Felix stared at the man he had overlooked all this time-Baros Alexston-and broke out in a cold sweat.
In his memory, this man had disagreed with VanCleef and refused to take the path of armed resistance against the nobles. He had therefore accepted an offer of amnesty and stayed in Stormwind City as its chief architect, and had even had a heartbreaking romance with a lieutenant from Gilneas named Thorn.
But the most pressing problem now was that Felix did not know exactly when he had accepted the Council of Nobles' offer of amnesty!
What if he had already hooked up with SI:7, which was loyal to Stormwind City?
So there were many heartfelt things that absolutely could not be said in front of him. Considering that he was VanCleef's personal apprentice and the guild leader trusted him deeply, as much as possible had to be kept from VanCleef as well. Who knew whether he could keep his mouth shut?
Then who else was trustworthy? Scanning the crowd around him, Felix turned his gaze to Vladimir.
Over the past few days, this fellow had dutifully traveled between his pigeonhole dormitory and the construction site, and nowhere else. Most of that time had also been under Felix's own watch, so the possibility that he was an SI:7 spy could basically be ruled out;
Besides, he had never had any liking for the Council of Nobles from the very beginning. A few days ago, when Felix had pretended to have a favorable impression of some of the nobles, Vladimir had even mocked him mercilessly.
It could be said that, unlike VanCleef, an honest man who had originally been a law-abiding citizen and was forced into rebellion, Vladimir had a natural contempt for authority. He was a born outlaw, a rebel forever!
Some things could only be said after VanCleef and Baros had left.
"Felix," VanCleef suddenly said, "I still intend to pay Grand Duke Bolvar a visit. Would you like to come with us?"
Felix was about to decline, but his team leader, Lightfinger, smiled and said, "Felix, you're not much good at working with mortar anyway. Staying here getting nowhere won't do much good. Since the guild master specifically asked for you, just go along."
He glanced around at his fellow workers and discovered, to his sorrow, that they were all nodding. Everyone seemed to have much the same opinion of him as his team leader did.
Is it my fault that I'm no good at working with mortar? As long as I'm good at rebellion and maliciously demanding unpaid wages, that's enough.
"Then let's get going, guild master, and try to come back early," Felix muttered. "Otherwise, the mess hall might close again, and you'll have to spend money at a restaurant outside."
"What are you thinking?" A smile finally appeared on VanCleef's troubled face. "Even if we miss dinner today, you'll only get coarse bread to gnaw on. Do you think I still have money to buy you another bowl of noodles? Are you treating me like a bank?"
Noble, learned, beautiful, elegant, capable, possessing the bearing of a leader and boundless charm-any word of praise suited her perfectly.
She could rob bards of speech and make them lament the scarcity of words of praise. With every gesture, she determined the direction of policy in one of humanity's greatest kingdoms.
With every frown and smile, she stole the hearts of countless handsome men and beautiful women in Stormwind City. Nobles chasing fame and fortune flocked to her, merchants currying favor with the powerful followed her lead, and even Stormwind City's regent-Duke Bolvar Fordragon-made no secret of his admiration for her.
If Grand Duke Bolvar Fordragon had not already married a female priest from Southshore, he would certainly have courted her.
Katrana Prestor. That name hung over Stormwind City like a curse, casting a terrifying shadow.
"Dune," Katrana asked, turning elegantly after rinsing her mouth with clear spring water, "how are things coming along?"
Before her, a middle-aged mage in humanoid form was leafing through the memorandum in his hands. "Our people successfully stole the medicinal herbs from the herb shop. The prices of the remaining herbs have now gone through the roof."
"If that unfortunate young stonemason wants to cure his mother, he'll have to spend another eighty gold coins at the abbey. Sure enough, he broke down emotionally at once. However, he did not cry aloud on the spot."
The countess turned around, reached out to pick up a piece of steak cooked to perfection, and put it in her mouth. Chewing silently, she continued to ask, "Then how are things with Bazil, the vice guild master of the Stonemasons' Guild?"
"His son has been born, and both mother and child are currently safe. But at your command, we can erase them from this world at any time without a trace and make it look like someone else's doing."
"What about that guild leader's daughter?"
"She's in Goldshire, and some of our people nearby are providing 'protection.'"
"You've done very well." The countess was unstinting in her praise of her loyal servant. A beguiling smile also flickered across her face as she opened a seemingly unrelated topic. "Dune, have you studied the psychology of that inferior species, humans?"
"Your Highness, I... I know nothing about it."
"Dune, I hope you won't call me 'Your Highness' again," Katrana corrected him sternly. "I am now a countess of Stormwind City."
"Do you know what tragedy means in human psychology?" She gazed intently at the Wizards' Guild mage before her-no, more precisely, a black dragon: Darkflame, offspring of The Destroyer.
"Please enlighten me."
"Tragedy is destroying beautiful things for people to see. And the more beautiful the things destroyed, the greater the tragedy." Katrana gave a bored sigh. "That is why we must help the people of the Stonemasons' Guild now."
"We must first give them hope, make them believe that everything can turn out as beautifully as they wish-then, at the most crucial moment, we will have those foolish nobles of Stormwind City snuff out all that hope with their own hands. That way, extreme grief and anger will kindle extreme hatred. I have no doubt that the stonemasons' fury will burn everything here to ashes."
"So," Katrana said, rising elegantly, "we'll wait a few more days. Once what's done cannot be undone and they no longer need the money, I will personally bestow several hundred gold coins on VanCleef, then have him take them to his brothers."
"I very much want to know," a glimmer of mercy flashed in the countess's beautiful, alluring eyes, "what expressions those stonemasons will show when, after finally getting their money, they discover that their older sisters have already been sold off, their mothers are terminally ill and beyond saving, their uncles have killed themselves, and their wives and children are dead."
"Their despair will surely be delicious. I can hardly wait to taste it. By the way, how are things in the Redridge Mountains?"
"As you requested, Rend Blackhand has launched a full-scale offensive along the Lakeshire, Lake Everstill, and Stonewatch line. However, their raids can also stop at any time, allowing Varian to lead his army back to Stormwind City."
"Very good." A cold smile appeared on Katrana's face. "Once Stormwind City has descended into utter chaos, we can make our move and have that young, ignorant, reckless human king come scurrying back just in time to collect his wife's corpse."
Before you continue