The marketplace pulsed with life: hawkers shouting, coins clinking, wheels rattling against cobblestone. In the midst of the chaos, a young man in plain linen walked with the unhurried steps of someone who owned none of it… and everything within it.
Lucian Ashthorn moved like a shadow among the noise. His raven-black hair was tied back simply, his dark tunic dusty at the edges, boots worn enough to pass for a commoner's. To the vendors, he was just another wandering youth. To the men tailing him through the crowd, he was prey.
He smirked. Fools.
Up ahead, a fat merchant bellowed at a scrawny farmer, shaking a forged ledger like a whip. The farmer's face was pale with desperation. "I swear the weight was fair! I would never cheat the guild!"
"Liar!" The merchant's rings glinted as he raised a hand to strike.
A voice cut through the commotion, soft yet cold."Careful. If that hand falls, so will your business."
The crowd turned. Lucian stood between them now, one gloved hand resting lazily on the merchant's wrist. His smile didn't reach his eyes.
"Who the hell are you?" the merchant spat.
Lucian tilted his head, feigning thought. "Who am I? Let's say… someone who dislikes sloppy liars." He plucked the ledger from the man's hand, flipping it open with casual grace. "Interesting ink you've used. Bleeds too much for authenticity. Amateur work."
The merchant blanched. "T-That's not—"
Lucian's finger pressed to the man's lips. "Shh. Don't embarrass yourself further." He turned to the farmer, voice honeyed now. "You owe the guild three silvers, correct?"
The farmer nodded frantically.
Lucian tossed him a small pouch without looking. "Paid in full."
Gasps rippled through the onlookers. The merchant's face purpled. "You can't just—"
"Oh, I can." Lucian's smile sharpened like drawn steel. "You see, unlike you, I am the guild."
Silence crashed over the square. The merchant stammered, eyes darting to the guards at the edge of the crowd, but they didn't move. They bowed their heads instead.
Lucian leaned in, voice dropping low enough for only the man to hear. "Next time you forge my ledgers, I'll make sure you're selling your jewelry for bread crumbs." He straightened, smooth and unbothered. "Leave."
The merchant fled without another word.
Lucian exhaled, almost bored, and brushed a speck of dust from his sleeve. "Pathetic. At least make it entertaining," he muttered under his breath as the crowd whispered.
Without fanfare, he slipped away into a side street. A plain black carriage waited there, polished to perfection. As he climbed in, his hands stripped off the worn gloves and tossed them aside.
Moments later, the man in rags was gone.
When the carriage doors opened again, a different Lucian stepped out, draped in tailored obsidian silk, crest of the Ashthorn family stitched into his mantle. Rings glimmered on his fingers now, and his boots gleamed like oil on water.
The merchant king had returned to his throne.
He strode into the upper chamber of his office, a room lined with ledgers, maps, and contracts that could topple houses. The air smelled faintly of ink and old coin.
Lucian dropped into his high-backed chair with a languid sigh, stretching like a cat. "Another day, another fool who thinks ink can outweigh iron," he murmured, lips curling into a grin that didn't reach his eyes.
The door burst open.
"LUCIAN!"
A small blur of golden curls hurled across the room and collided with his chest. He blinked, arms instinctively steadying the giggling weight clinging to him.
"Elinor?"
His little sister beamed up at him, stuffed fox in hand. "You didn't come play with me! Mama said you're busy, but I told her you'd never be too busy!"
Lucian stared down at her for a heartbeat, then chuckled softly, the sound rare as sunlight in winter. "And since when do you give orders to Mama?"
"Since now!" Elinor declared, puffing her cheeks.
Lucian laughed, a low, genuine sound, and ruffled her curls. "Fine. You win."
Her eyes sparkled like dawn breaking through storm clouds. And for a fleeting moment, the weight of names, crowns, and coin seemed very far away.