Rouge Guild

***PRESENT TIME***

"Make way for the Imperial Knights!" Yelled a man with a grand attire. He was the empire's announcer, carrying a glowing light that let his voice echo throughout the Capital city, Moressley. The light was powered by mana, as the kingdom was blessed with numerous amounts of it that almost everything was run by mana.

Even the people, including the commoners, which are at the lowest level of society, had their own manas in their bodies.

People came rushing towards the central point of the city. The sun was already up and the morning light glistened throughout the sky. This was a typical day for the kingdom of Orthosdem Imperium as they await the arrival of their honored knights. It almost felt like there was a festival, with the loud drums and singing and dancing and a variety of food in the stalls.

Such a special day. Surely, the king would not miss the chance to let people celebrate this day with a feast.

Of course, it was thanks to their remarkable knights. They had returned from the battle with a victory on their hands.

"We could have just waited for sir Knight Titus to arrive at your house, my lady." Said a maid named Roxy to her lady despite the huge crowd's noise. She was a typical bubbly girl with brown hair and brown eyes. Together with her lady, they stayed at the back of the crowd to avoid getting from the mess, waiting by their carriage.

"No, I want to see him...." The lady said. She was the daughter of the Duke and Duchess, Lady Vienna "Estelle" Thaleia Xaviera. Growing up as a spoiled and bratty child, she had always thought that she was the female lead, but when a handsome mysterious man gave her a book a few days ago, she learned her whole life was superficial and her fate was already decided in the book. What more, she learned that she was a villainess.

And that is why she can't just keep still.

Opening her carriage's curtains, she watched as the knights appeared with their shining armor, waving at the crowd with a big smile on their faces, some were still, taking pride in being called the heroes of the empire.

Lady Vienna Xaviera scanned her surroundings, her red off-shoulder dress, complimenting her red flowy hair and glimmering green eyes.

This won't do.

Opening her carriage door, she grabbed tightly on her dress and ran out. Her maid Roxy screeched in surprise, asking where she was going. She ignored her, continuing on running towards the crowd.

Amidst the crowd, she heard a voice from afar.  "Is that my lady?" Looking at the source, she saw from the row of the knights marching towards the palace, there he was, her personal knight. 

Liutenant Titus Matthan de Vivar, son of the General of the imperial army. 

His bright silver hair shone from the light and his purple eyes stared at her, a big smile on his face. The lady smiled at him. "Titus!" She called out, and the crowd broke apart to make way for the lady.

She embraced her knight despite the huge chatter in the background. She knew it was not allowed to break through the boundary and approach the knights as they have to enter the palace first, but the palace guards did not even reprimand her and just let her do what she wanted.

Of course, she's a noble, a daughter of the duke, and close to the emperor, who would dare harass her?

"How'd you manage to see me?" She asked, quite shocked at her knight's eyesight. There were too many people. Titus's eyesight is remarkable. 

Her knight chuckled beside her. "You were the only one standing out with your red hair," Titus replied, his deep voice calming her. "I've missed you, my lady."

There were childhood friends, and once the knight, Titus, trained to be a knight, he swore to serve her lady for the rest of his life, despite the fact on how the emperor himself wanted Titus to serve him.

This is because Titus earned the title of "The Nation's Hero" after he managed to save the army from fall and killed the enemies, and overcame the enemy's territory. He was considered their second strongest warrior after his own father, general of the imperial army. After that, he was thrown into escapades here and there, and from their recent voyage, it was him who led the army to victory.

"But you could have waited for me in the carriage, you could have gotten injured from the crowd!" He said to her, a bit worried. Smiling, he smirked at her. "What's the rush? Were you that excited to see me?"

Her eyes then looked around the knights, searching for someone.

"Now, where's the crown prince?" She asked, looking around. It’s not like she’s still obsessed with the crown prince, well she was once obsessed with him before she received the book, but she’s only checking so that she won’t have to encounter the crown prince soon. 

"Awe, you just saw me, your own knight, and you're looking for him already?" Titus jokes, gently caressing her red hair and looking her softly in her eyes, but there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. Silence fell between them before he decided to clear his throat. "The crown prince was injured, he came earlier than us and he's back at the palace's infirmary."

"Good, How about Princess Avelina?" From their recent battle against the Lumen Empire, she knew that they had captured her as she was offered a treaty for the crown prince to marry. She hadn't seen her, but she could tell she's beautiful from the book.

And according to the book, they were supposed to be married by now. But they haven’t met yet. That’s strange…

"How did you know of her, my lady?” Asked Titus. “She's already in the palace.”

“Oh, I just heard earlier.” She lied. 

She said goodbye to her knight, glanced at her carriage, and hid amongst the crowd, making sure her maid wouldn't see her escape. Now that the crown prince and female lead’s marriage is late, there’s a chance that the coup d’etat initiated by the villain, Duke Raziel Valen Donovan would start early. 

He would kill all the nobles and once that started, then she would be included too as she is also a noble. She has to prevent that. And in order to prevent that, she has to go to the Sylvian Library, located at the southern border, the hometown of Glenarm. It looks like a normal library filled with books and all. But that was only for the show…

Behind the library, there was a secret information guild named "Rouge" owned by Fedel. But the true head of this is a man named Dillon...and he is the key for everything. 

The book did not provide not many details as it only mentioned that Lady Vienna from the book used the guild to kill the female lead. 

But she wants to meet him not to ask him to kill the female lead, but for another reason...and that is to ask him to kill the villain. 

Plus, she has to find the mysterious man who gave her the book. But that should be shrugged off for now. Finding Dillon should be first.

Hastening her steps towards a dark alley, she saw Stellan, her own horse. She had already prepared her horse in advance so that her maid won’t notice she’s gone. 

Hopping on her horse, she headed on the southern border. She brought with her precious sword and some gold bars for payment.  

I have to hurry before my father's guards find me. She thought. 

She used a different route and traveled through hometowns. It took her an hour to reach the southern border. 

“Welcome to Sylvian Library. How may I help you?” A masked man greeted them once she reached the said library. Another two masked men appeared, standing close to her and intimidating her. 

Oh...she forgot. The book said that all the staff here wore a black mask. It was like their shop’s customs, their shop’s selling point. It looks strange, but people come here for that reason. She stood still. “I need to talk to Dillon.” 

The masked men froze. 

The one she talked to earlier spoke up, “Can I ask who is that miss? We are only a library.”

“Dillon. Head of Rouge Guild.” She spoke firmly against their lies.

The man stared at her for a minute, reading her face, then nodded, realizing she’s a client. He lunged at her, unsheathing his sword as his red eyes burned holes in her. "How did you know of this place? Who sent you?” His tone was calm, but there was killing intent. 

She shrugged her shoulders. "I just heard it from the town."

He gritted his teeth, he pointed at her with his finger. "Liar."

She bit his finger.

The masked man, the masked man grimaced in pain. He pushed her away. "What in the...are you even a lady? What kind of lady bites off people's fingers?"

She ignored his question. "Your master. Now." She commanded. "Before I have truly bitten off all your fingers."

He shook his hand to relieve the pain. There were four masked men surrounding her by now. "This is why I don't want to deal with noble ladies." 

The lady chuckled. "Of course. I know you want to push me away here, but I would return again if you don't grant my request. That's how persistent I would be." She warned him.

The other masked man sent a signal to the other three and spoke up, "Then how about you guess which one of us is Dillon here?”