Reputation

“A hundred years ago, a knight in the Duchy of Keating tried to secure a minister's post. During a public speech, his strongest rival suddenly kissed Mr. Fia, the mayor of the capital at the time. It became a sensational scandal. The knight accused his rival of being corrupted by Chaos and lost in an illusion of pleasure. He was all but certain to become a minister.”

Fronning, one of the Twin Ministers, was telling a story from his homeland:

"Then I asked him, 'How do you know?' Perhaps Chaos had eaten away at the Knight's brain, because he explained the symptoms of Corruption by Chaos in remarkable detail."

"At my suggestion, the Grand Duke had the poor fellow who'd lost his chance examined. It turned out he'd merely drunk too much absinthe and fallen prey to hallucinations. The one truly corrupted by Chaos was the Knight who'd described its symptoms in such detail."

Fronning spread his hands.

"When a politician wants to frame another politician, he usually accuses him of something he's done himself."

So making an Assassin a Guards sounded strange, but it made perfect sense—only an Assassin knew how to kill someone.

It reminded Annan of something similar on Earth: nobles sought auspicious sites to bury their dead in Tombs, while grave robbers sought those same sites to find the Tombs.

Lady Fine Wine, who had accompanied Annan to visit Fronning, added, "Making Assassins into Guards is a tradition. What else would you do, rely on a defensive Guardian Mage?"

The lean, ramrod-straight Fronning laughed heartily. Lady Fine Wine's jab referred to an old story.

There was a famous joke from the Royal Capital of Reekan. An Elite Mage had been hired to protect a Noble. The pay was generous, so she used every measure she could: