A thick, ancient looking book sat wide open in front of him. It was one of the stolen books from the Royal Library, but Adrian was not even reading it. He just stared blankly at the yellowed pages.

One single thought took up all of his attention. In other words, the guy was completely distracted.

His territory was getting way too powerful.

Oresfall was making a shit ton of money, his army was massive and he had publicly humiliated Count Frankenstein and there was also the issue of his "ally" being an enemy in secret.

There was a massive incentive for his enemies to strike him now. And they were obviously not going to fight fair since he managed to acquire support of both a Duke and a Marquis.

’They are going to send assassins.’ Adrian thought. ’They will target me and they might also target Aria.... The other in important positions aren’t safe either.’

Regular armored knights weren’t that great against stealth attacks and on top of that, they weren’t trained to stop assassinations.

He needed a specialized counter assassination team, a shadow group. And who else to hire than experienced assassins themselves? After all, they’ll be the only ones who know how an assassin’s mind works, which was already a big advantage compared to the regular knights and soldiers.

Adrian got up from the desk and walked out of the mansion.

He headed straight for the training grounds. He did not call for Burke or Claire and instead, he just stood by the edge of the training field and waited.

Forty minutes later, a specific group of young knights marched into view.

It was the forty eight teenagers he had rescued from the slave market. Octavia, Vance, Tessa, Hugo, and Milo led the group and they had spent the last month practically living inside the dungeon. They were completely unrecognizable from the bruised, starving kids he had bought in the capital. Their movements were uniform, like they were already well trained soldiers.

Adrian signaled for them to wait behind his mansion and then he waited for the second group.

The group of soldiers walked back to the training area and Adrian got a group of 100 which he had already picked in the past to come with him.

This was Adrian’s secret project. The moment these specific men had broken through to the F rank, Adrian had pulled them from the standard group of knights.. He had personally tested every single one of their hand to eye coordination, their patience, and their aiming capabilities before picking the best 100.

He had formed a dedicated rifle squad.

Adrian looked at the combined force of one hundred and forty eight elite soldiers.

"Follow me." Adrian ordered.

He led the group away from the main group of soldiers that were now busy training. They walked to an isolated, empty space at the far end of the training grounds.

"Listen up." Adrian said. "We are moving out tomorrow and we have a highly dangerous, classified mission."

The soldiers stood perfectly still and they did not ask questions.

"You will be operating in hostile territory." Adrian said as he mimicked the military commanders he saw in movies, "You will pack your bolt action rifles and whatever ammunition you have. But you will also gear up for extreme close quarters combat, so pack your combat knives and short swords. If the enemy closes the distance, you drop the guns and you cut them down. Always keep one thing in mind. Switching to your sword is faster than reloading."

"Yes, Lord Adrian!" the squad shouted in unison.

Adrian nodded. These men and kids were his absolute best. They practiced sword forms daily, but they were also the most lethal marksmen on the continent.

"Get your gear ready and get some sleep." Adrian dismissed them.

He turned around and walked back to the mansion.

The moment he stepped through the heavy front doors, he stopped. Aria was standing right there and she had her arms crossed over her chest.

"Papa." Aria said, trying her best to sound serious and adult like, only to fail grandly. "Can I come too?"

Adrian sighed. He could tell that she had overheard the preparations.

"I can be useful." Aria promised quickly. "I will do exactly what you say. I will not get in the way."

"No," Adrian said flatly. Because he knew if he hesitated for even a second, he would completely cave to her demands.

The blunt rejection took her completely by surprise. She just blinked at him, not knowing how else to respond.

"It is way too dangerous," Adrian explained. "We are going on a stealth mission with a massive risk of casualties. So you are staying here where it is actually safe."

Her small face instantly flushed a burning red and her tiny fists clenched hard at her side.

"I hate you!" she screamed.

And then she just spun around and ran down the hall.

Adrian froze. Those three words literally felt like a knife twisting right into his chest. Because throwing a massive tantrum in a crowded shop was fine and breaking an expensive vase was fine too. But hearing his own daughter scream that she hated him? 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

That stung like absolute hell.

He rushed down the hall after her, but...

Slam.

Aria’s bedroom door shut violently right before he could reach it. He heard the metal lock click into place.

Adrian stood outside the wooden door. He hesitated for a moment before he raised his hand and knocked softly.

"Aria." Adrian called out. "Please open the door."

"I hate you!" Aria screamed again from inside the room and her voice cracked badly.

Adrian rubbed his face and then, he leaned his forehead against the door. What was he even supposed to do here? He was an extremely rich baron with a blessing that could help him destroy empires if he wanted, but he was completely helpless against a crying five year old.

"Okay." Adrian let out a long, defeated breath. "Okay, fine. You can come."

The crying on the other side of the door hitched.