Word of the events in Castle City made it back to the Manor even before Dominic did.

So, the moment that he stepped through the gates he was greeted by the stern faces of not only his advisors, but also his wife.

"Wait, I have an explanation."

"We’re waiting." Alexis informed him in a dry tone.

"You see, they made a point of coming to the event to threaten me, insisting that I owed them a hundred thousand gold coins for the Wistover goods that moved through their territory without authorization.

I gave him a chance to reconsider, but he refused. So, I implemented a cost-saving measure.

For one tenth of what he was demanding, a kindly young lady and her friends took care of the issue for us. But even better, the ones who replaced his organization seem all too eager to work with us."

"So, you didn’t go to that house and wipe out an entire mafia?"

"Of course not. I paid someone to do it."

"You overpaid someone to do it. The going rate is only fifty coins." Lord Blackwell informed him.

"And that’s why they were so prompt and efficient."

"And how do you suggest that we explain this to the King? A hundred murders in one evening is a major crime spree that can’t be overlooked." Alexis asked.

"I’ve been thinking about that, and I’ve got a plan."

"I thought I smelled smoke," Alexis muttered.

Dominic ignored her criticism and continued. "What I’m going to do is, I will release a statement that in my capacity as the Duke of Wistover, I deputized a group of upstanding local citizens to serve as a Sheriff’s Posse and crack down on the organized crime problem in the Castle City area.

As a kindness to the City Lord in recognition of his years of service, of course.

Then, I will make an official request that they be given a medal for bravery, and that’s that.

We both know the King won’t issue it, but having the request in is enough that the announcement gets read before the court. And once it is read, there is a plausible reason that this wasn’t actually a massacre, but a law enforcement action."

Lord Blackwell snorted in amusement. That was the first time that he had heard someone suggest actually giving assassins a medal for their work.

More than once, either the Assassins or Thieves’ Guilds had been deputized to legitimize their work for a week or two.

But nobody had ever been brave enough to send a letter to the King suggesting that it was a level of heroism equivalent to a village guard force fighting off a monster horde.

"Just leave out the precise numbers, and any mention of names. That way, the King has a reason to refer it back to the Advisors’ council after reading, as an incomplete petition. It can vanish quietly into someone’s shelves that way, and no protocol will be broken, while the King doesn’t have to actually acknowledge it at all." Jack Merlot added.

That was brilliant in a way.

Alexis sighed. "Well, that’s better than doing nothing and just letting the rumours spread through the nation that you’re acting like some sort of crime boss, slaughtering mobsters in other Nobles’ territories for infringing on your sales."

Dominic chuckled, and Alexis slapped him in the back of the head.

"You’re not supposed to agree with that."

"Well, the problem is solved, we’re not going to have anyone bothering us about our shipments through the Merchants’ Guild, and a lovely precedent has been set.

You know, in case someone forgets."

Jack Merlot laughed at Dominic’s earnest expression.

"You’re definitely not supposed to counter with a fancy way of saying you’ll do it again."

"Fine, just get inside where I can yell at you properly," Alexis grumbled.

"I understand. I know just the place for a proper argument."

Dominic led the way into the house, then up the stairs.

"Are you planning to argue in the bedroom?"

"Yep. When the argument gets heated, I think that you’ll appreciate it."

Alexis laughed and shoved him backwards onto the bed.

"You’re incorrigible. Now, help me with these buttons, we’ve only got an hour before the baby is going to be awake and demanding attention again."

"I was hoping you’d see it that way."

Outside the door, Benedict and Wilkes shook their heads in dismay as the soundproofing barrier went up.

"Well, the Duke might have his failings, but I must say, he does know how to apologize. I had my Battlemages go clean up the incident, so there won’t be any way for nosy individuals to trace anything back to the Guild." Benedict whispered.

"That’s not really necessary. They have their own to do the cleanup when it’s needed. Especially so in this case, when nobody was even trying to hide who did it."

Benedict shrugged. "I wasn’t sure if Amie had gone to help, or if any of them were connected to the Royal Family. I know in the past the Royals kept their own force of Assassins. But the history books that I have didn’t mention anything about a Guild.

The merchants, thieves and innkeepers, yes. But not Assassins.

The books only mentioned that there were Mage Sects and other mercenary organizations that would take on the jobs as needed. The Duskblade is one of those Sects, so I had assumed it was correct."

Wilkes nodded. "That’s understandable. They’re kind of an open secret since the invasion of Wavemates. They stepped in to save a number of Nobles who had hired them in the past, and news spread fast.

The Innkeeper’s Guild is more understated, but they also operate the highway stations, which makes them close friends of the Merchants, who also operate out of them.

Of all of them, the Thieves’ Guild is the strongest.

However, they have rules that involve not attracting too much attention, so they actually keep crime at a manageable rate within the cities.

Every time that changes, too many of their members get killed.

It’s bad for business."