Unlike back at his birthplace, the sky doesn't sniffle in the capital of the Febrerian Empire, it weeps. Its tears consist of his wife's blood and its winds carry Erik's shouts.

Erik still recalls how he walked in on his wife, his dear Princess Aurora, exchanging sweet nothings with her bodyguard as the rugged man decorated her golden hair with crumbled roses. His palms were calloused and dirt sneaked under his fingernails, his brown hair was just as yellow as his teeth. And yet the young lady beamed at the man in armor like she had never done around her husband. Erik's heart fell in unison with the book he was holding in his pale hands: Vengence & Where To Find It. The last chapter lead him back to Granz, a part of his familiy's province - home of cold and earned damnation.

Amongst the endless towns, it was the most miserable and dangerous of them all, where witches, and therefore poison, are easy to find. His sister, Duchess Corvina von Granz, had been kind enough to provide him with a few roots of Badgerglove found by her newly hired witch-hunter. It should free him from his now worthless love-pact and carve for him to live again. Why Corvina still bothered with him despite their fallout and the curse putting a strain on their relationship, Erik still could not understand. Likely pity.

Only, Erik was born a noble, not an assassin. And to the amusement of the gods watching, he ended up caught mixing the toxic powder of the roots into his wife's tea by a servant of the castle. His heart was drumming, his blood froze and before he knew it, his long legs had brought him to the wooden door. Letting the servant leave would mean death penalty for him.

"Stop screaming, now would you?! Come on, I'm sure we can make this situation beneficial for you too, right?" His trembling hands betrayed his nervousness, sweat clung to his long black hair while his voice remained steady against all odds. He could not and would not budge.

"Think about it - what do you get out of this by telling His Imperial Majesty, hm? A pat on the shoulder and a half-hearted compliment?", he spat, having clearly never liked the Emperor to begin with, "I can give you riches, land, maybe even make you a low-ranking noble if i pull the correct strings. "

But just in case this little mouse didn't agree, Erik had more remnants of the roots left. Though he'd hate to use that... the servant had nothing to do with his wife's infidelity, aside from being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The royal consort cleared his throat and straighted his back, his gloved hands were elegantly placed behind his back with his position remaining a firm block to the servant's exit.

"I get my revenge, you get... whatever your heart desires. It's either that or i will have to do...something about you. I hope you understand which option is the more reasonable, little mouse."