It had been a long time since Elaine had set everything in motion. First having found Henry, figured out just who it was that he was, what he was worth, what stood in her way of taking all of it for herself. She spent more time than she wished to admit in following him, understanding just what it was that stood in her way, of all of the details. First it was who might have been considered his greatest allies, the ones that would have come to his defense, and once she realized that that would have been something that would have been easy enough to turn on her own, she moved in closer towards just what it would be for her to be able to progress further with her plans. The next challenge, and arguably the toughest challenge that would present itself at least for the time being would be the man’s wife, the one true love who everything that Elaine had come to know was that it would have been impossible for the two of them to be separated from. She would not be able to break them apart, but she would be able to get what she wanted in a different way, becoming friends with Henry’s wife, eventually elevating herself ot best friends, and then taking advantage of that to kill his wife. Then, in his moment of grief, she would be there for him, to offer him a shoulder to cry upon, an ear to hear his cries and sadness, and eventually a person to fill the love and the voide that was left with the passing of his wife. Once she had gotten that, it was just a matter of making sure that future plans all involved her moving forward, and once Henry had worked out a more impressive deadl that further built up his power within Dahlia Town, she had managed to work her way into the inner circle at that point, giving her nearly as much control as she wanted. However though, there was a huge problem in that she had not taken into account first. Henry’s son. She hated the kid, hated that he existed, hated that he was an obstacle, hated that by all appearances, he stood to be in the best position to take from her everything that she desired and deserved. To make matters worse, it appeared that even though she had managed to marry Henry, she was not the one who would end up taking over everything. It would have been the kid, the kid who never truly accepted her as a mother, nor the kid that she hserself ever accepted as her own kid. She hated kids. Never wanted them, and never would. She much preferred the free lifestyle, to enjoy all the benefits of the high life without having tow orry about any of the responsibilities that came with it, or that of the family that she had never wanted. But now she was finally free.

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One only has to wonder how much of that was achievable thanks to the introduction of her new lover, the Boscon noble Levi, who had arrived in Dahlia not too long ago, but very quickly had made herself a favorite whtin Eliane’s circle. The two of them seemed to immediately strike up a strong report between each other, both of them seeing a benefit that they could provide to each other. For Elaine, it was someone who was wicked enough and had enough drive and tenacity to carry out whatever it was that she needed, as well as an attractive woman who might have been fun to play with, though the latter reasoning may have come later than what she might have first come to suspect. For Levi, it meant that she was going to integrate herself within the nobility of Dahlia, and using those connections to further bolster her own name and prestige, but that was secondary against what she really wanted. She wanted Elaine, in body and in possession, like how she had been with so many in the past. This woman was upset, frurstrated for a number of reasons that eventually became clear to Levi as time went, but was more than enough for her to start off and go ahead and integrate herself within that trust. But to have her in bed, as she had had already now, that she had come to lust over herself, that was what she wanted more than anything else, and Levi had it. She was delighted with how things had turned out, how quickly the few tasks that she had been asked to carry out had elevated herself and made her into the beautiful lover of what was quickly becoming one of the most powerful people within Dahlia Town, and in time, within all of Fiore. It also stood that there was great potential as far as what Levi could offer in terms of her mother, the connections she had in Bosco, not to mention the huge military empire that she had helped to build, the weapon contracts and the mercenaries companies under her employment that Elaine could reach out to to further cement her control over everything that she had right now, and only further expand. It was not at all outside of the realm of possibilities that eventually the name Latimer was going to be on that was known all throughout Fiore, both one that people would come to respect, but also fear. And so long as Levi remained in the ideal position that she found herself in right now, it would not be hard to believe that the name Levi would not also be one that was tied to it, and vice versa. Levi was going to do what she wanted, and as her own fame and notoriety grew, so too would it extend to Elaine, showing just what sort of company she kept and what stood to happen for those who sought to challenge Elaine Latimer.

1000/4000

And yet, for as much as Elaine and Levi were both enjoying their new stature within the empire that the two of them had worked to create, Levi could tell that there was still something off with it all, something that was eating at Elaine that she had up to this point been reluctant to convey to her, even after everything that had happened, after Levi had seemingly finished tying up all of the loose ends and secured Elaine’s position within this place for the indefinite future. While Elaine was reluctant to bring it up at first, eventually Levi was able to pry just what it was that her lover was so worried about, particularly during a period in which she ought to have been elated, celebrating all the good fortune that stood to come to her at this point. What was worrying Elaine was the fact that there seemed to have been a point of concern towards the Rune Knights that Levi had dealt with earlier, not just that they had been there, which proved to be a moot point, but more given the fact that there should have been no reason for them to arrive. How could have Henry known anything as to try to tighten what little power he still had to stop Elaine? They had been careful, more than careful, in ensuring that everything was going exactly as how it had to have gone, and yet, he still found a way in order to try to stop her. There was little doubt in her mind that had he not suffered a terrible accident at the party a few nights before, there stood a very real risk that Elaine might have been forced to suffer from something, whether it were a decision by Henry to divorce her, or something else even worse. But he could not have known that on his own, which led to Elaine believing that someone had betrayed her, which broke her heart to a degree, but now meant that there was a new threat that they had to deal with. Whomever it was that conspired against her, they stood in the way, a pteontial thorn in her side for as long as they might have existed and lived, making whatever chance Elaine had of fortifying her power or expanding it further in jeopardy to the point that it may have had very real and very serious implications towards it all. This was something that they could not allow to remain, especially at the risk of turning into some sort of rebellion down the line, and for as benefcitial as Levi had proven to be, it was too great of a risk to put upon herself or Levi to simply believe that this was going to go away. This was something that had to have been taken care of now, as quickly as possible, and without even having to think twice, Levi offered to provide the assistance, to figure out just who betrayed her.

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There was one key benefit to this whole scenario though, or rather, there were two things that were working in the favor of Elaine and Levi. One, there was no reason to believe that whomever had betrayed Elaine had come to realize that she was betrayed. Often times, and as Levi knew form experience, betrayals like this are usually believed to be once the act was committed, the suspicion would never fall onto the person. Most of the time as far as she was concerned, it was not the case, with the exceptions being that Levi was the one who betrayed someone, as she was crafty enough to go ahead and shift the blame onto someone else. It was unlikely that Levi was dealing with a counter in herself, so it was safe to assume that whomever it was that betrayed her, they had to have believed that Elaine would not suspect them at all. The other plasubile advantage was the fact that their plans had failed within the grand scheme. No doubt there was some hope within whomever it was that had betrayed her that they would have been in the clear once the Rune Knights have arrived within Dahlia, that they would have perhaps rid themselves of Levi to a high probability, as whomever betrayed Elaine had to know at least to a degree of Levi’s involvemnent, and it was likely that the conspirator was hoping that Elaine’s step son would have survived and would be in a position to restore order to Henry’s empire. That now the Rune Knights had been returned to Era following their failed rescue and the death of their commander, that Henry was dead and the only person that stood in the way of Elaine in her step son was also dead, it meant now that there were no plausible ways out for them to be able to further any sort of resistance. They had played their hand, and came up short. So now, they had only one of two options, to go into hiding, which only stood the very real chance of bringing up suspicion and shifting whatever focus there may have been onto them, or otherwise it would mean that they would have to return to their usual duties. And if it were someone that was close to Elaine, as it seemed like it had to have been, it would mean that they had to be extra cautious, to not reveal something that might have incriminated them, but at the same time have to not draw suspicion onto themselves, which was going to be hard to do. Even if they believed that they were in the clear, it wasn’t impossible to believe tat some point down the line they might be caught, and therefore it only meant one thing, that for as long as they were near Elaine in some capacity, they were on borrowed time. And given that Levi knew there was a traitor, that time was even shorter now.

2000/4000

One problem that Elaine and Levi had was that the pool of suspects were too great, if taking into consideration the fact that anyone who had been close to Henry was a suspect and may have had reason to interfere with her. However, that was a bit harder to believe because by all indications, the only thing they had seen of Elaine was a loving wife who desperately wanted to be loved by her step son, a wife that cared and worried for her husband’s health, who insisted that he did not drink, and was visibly distraught at his passing. Neither, none of them had been aware of Levi’s existence prior to the party, and by all indications, the Rune Knights had been called in much earlier, around the time that Levi had first begun to meet up with Elaine, which narrowed the suspect pool down considerably, to a point where it was only one or two people who might have stood the potential to bring her down. The first was the man that once upon a time Elaine had loved, the man who she apparently had castrated after finding out about the false narratives that Levi had spun to the both of them, who Elaine had believed, and by all rights, the man had also believed. It would be hard to imagine that after what had happened to him at the hands of his ex wife that he would be willing to overlook or forget about her sudden rise in power. The other one was the hand maiden who had been involved with setting up Elaine with Levi. As to just why it was that she might have been the guilty party, it was hard to say entirely. Levi gave considerable thought as to why she might have, and a few scenarios came up, a few of them being jealousy. Jealousy of perhaps the hand maiden hating Levi for stealing away Elaine from her, for hating Levi for appearing to love her, only to instead gravitate towards Elaine, hatred towards Elaine for making her moves to limit the power of Henry and his son, a son that likely the hand maiden was far closer to than Elaine would have ever been, or just the hope that if Elaine were removed, with all of the key players removed, that she stood to inherit something, something to elevate her out of whatever situation it might have been that would have forced her into a position as demeaning and invalid as a hand maiden. She was essentially a fancier slave, forced to do the bidding of a woman whose darker side was made apparent throughout. Levi was able to piece it apart through her own trust and confidence in the woman, but it was likely the hand maiden saw this too, but did not gravitate towards it in the same manner that Levi had. It would not be hard to believe that she despised this and would have sought to end it.

2500/4000

It was worth checking both of them to see if either of them might have been involved, and Levi had to suspect that least one of them were to some capacity. She leaned more toa ssuming the hand maiden was presonpsilbe, as much as she wished it weren’t. There was no question as to the fact that Levi had more of a sexual attraction to the hand maiden than anything on an emotional level, and same arguably could have been said for how she felt about Elaine, but between Elaine and her hand maiden, the pure beauty and prestige of Elaine made her all the more interesting and worthwhile companion than that of what the hand maiden could have ever hoped to stand up to. Levi could not help but realize too, the hand maiden had not been present for a good while now in the Latimer manor, having been absent since the party, which even then, Levi could not have recalled seeing much of her save for a little bit in the beginning, when she was talking with Henry over some matter. Now, during this point Levi was on the other side of the room, and between the guests and the music playing, it was impossible to tell just what might have been said, but to the best of her knowledge, and her memory was keen with how grandeous of an event that was, she could not remember seeing her again after that brief discussion. But, even for as suspicious as it was, it was impossible not to forget about the ex husband, how he had been wronged, how Levi could have seen that he was still in love with her, perhaps even in spite of the poison that she told him about how Elaine had forgotten about him. The man clearly was depressed, and it would not have been the first time that Levi had seen someone fall so deep into depression that it would result in them lashing out in a way that would bring down anyone who might have been in their way path. And no doubt Elaine and Levi would both be in there, and trying to bring down Elaine and have the Rune Knights arrive in Dahlia would be a great way to kill off two birds with essentially a single stone. The hand maiden had been working hard to keep herself hidden from Levi and Elaine, but it was only a matter of time before she returned to avoid suspsiion, so she was not as huge of a need to get everything dealt with and go out and try to locate her. She would end up coming to Levi, whether she realized it or not, and given that she had been gone, Levi highly doubted the hand maiden was aware that Levi was now Elaine’s lover and her de-facto enforcer, beyond just some hired mercenary. While that would resolve itself on its own, Levi set out to find Elaine’s ex husband to talk.

3000/4000

The one challenge that seemed to exist was that it appeared that this man, the ex husband of Elaine had disappeared in the middle of the night. It was something that was a bit surprising to Levi, all the more reason to believe that he was involved in some manner. This was further confirmed when she saw that the place that she had taken Elaine on the night that she castrated him that the building had been apparently burnt to the ground in what had to have been a hastily set fire, as though someone were trying to get away quickly without being detected. However, from what she could see of what remained through the wreckage and the destroyed area, this man had barely anything to his name. He was poor, if that was to be said. More like he was less than poor, barely surviving on whatever means he could have. No doubt a huge percentage of whatever money he did have went towards alcohol, given what a sorry state he was in when Levi first met him. It had her convinced that he was not likely to have gotten too far without having another drink, nor did she suspect that even if he was sober enough to formulate and try to burn down his own home, that he would have been able to get very far. If he was indeed wounded as Elaine had said she did to him, he would be in a severe state, his blood thin from the alcohol, his situation dire. He would have to find somewhere that was nearby, and fast at that. If anything, it meant that his location had to have been somewhere nearby, just a matter of exactly where it was that he might have gone to. She did not believe that the people of Dahlia would have put much effort or attempt to salvage the life of a drunken man, so he would have been on his own, which made more sense than perhaps she had realized at the time. Barely a few hundred feet away from where the home had once stood, she found him, in a pool of his own urine, blood, and vomit. It was clear that he tried to salvage and save himself, though for one reason or another, he was unable to get very far. When she looked closer at the man, she realized just why. He was basically catatonic from the injury that Elaine had given to him, combined with what she may have said, as well as his alcohol abuse, and what Levi said to him to set everything in motion, he was very likely in shock. To believe that this man would have convinced Henry to deploy the Rune Knights was foolhardy, but nonetheless, it was worthwhile to bring him back to Elaine. There was no doubt that she felt him to be a risk all the same, and to get rid of him would certainly help in the long run.

3500/4000

When she returned with the drunken ex husband, she noticed that Elaine was not there, at least she did not seem to have been. Looking around, she searched the manor, leaving the husband on the ground in his stupor, not worried that he may have done anything. Not as though eh could have any way, given the restraints that were tied around him, making it impossible to use either his arms or his legs. He was a prisoner of hers, and soon enough, whether or not he was guilty, he would end up being her victim, much to no doubt her own delgith and that of Elaine. When she did find her lover, it was in a surprising state. There she stood, dressed in a lovely gown, the silver reflecting off of the sunlight, highlighting the blood that was stained upon it. Fresh blood at that. Right in front of her, she saw the hand maiden, the hand maiden who Levi had shared in a romantic encounter with once upon a time, in the nude, with numerous cuts across her body, blood beginning to cover her entire body. In Elaine’s hand was a large knife, the blade covered in blood. It was clear that Elaine had figured out just who might have been the traitor, and she was dishing out her own form of torture and retribution for the offense. It was a beauty, to say the least. And Levi could not help but inform Elaine that she had found her ex husband, figuring that he may have been involved. Elaine figured that he may have been involved, knowing that at the very least, the hand maiden had been responsible for setting the man’s house on fire and trying ot help him escape, but the Rune Knights arriving made that impossible. She had hoped to find the man, but couldn’t lead him to safety, so she returned home in hopes of saving face. However, she did not know that Elaine knew that she had betrayed her, and was already preparing a proper punishment ofr her former servant. Pouring what appeared to be some sort of liquid on to woman, Levi could recognize it as oil by the smell, a smile appeared on her face as she came to figure what would happen next. Before Elaine could do it though, Levi brought forth her ex husband, believing that it was only appropriate that they both suffer the same fate for betraying her. While the husband was still largely unaware of what was going on, the hand maiden pleaded for forgiveness, begging not to be killed, especially ont in this manner. Elaine did not listen and threw a candle beneath the two, now both covered in oil. The flames very quickly lit and began to burn both of them alive, their cires of pain echoing throughout the manor as they had to watch the final sight of Levi embracing Elaine in a passionate kiss, a reminder of who had killed them both.

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