Ascension of the elder

Chapter 45: Getting late

"I knew it I'm surrounded by A-holes."

Anyone, anyone at all? Well there you go Kyle the funniest thing you're ever going to say and you got nothing. Feeling a little depressed Kyle looked out of the window and allowed Isaiah to proceed.

"Good afternoon captain, you may remember me from last night. I have been dispatched by Lord Powell with his son and guard to enquire as to where the prisoners have been placed as they haven't been delivered as ordered."

Hearing Isaiah the major looked at the captain in anger while the junior guards looked confused and worried. The captain however looked arrogantly at Isaiah and responded.

"The prisoners were brought to the guard barracks as I hadn't received orders from anyone with the authority to command me otherwise."

Hearing this Kyle came back to himself and looked at the captain like he was an idiot and decided he needed to show the authority that was accorded to him as the heir of the family. He didn't want to use this card as he preferred to have his own authority won by his own hand but by saying it in the way he did it was obvious this captain looked down on Landon.

"Captain it seems you are unaware of the laws within the family, have you not been through the induction when you were brought in as a guard or when you ascended to be a captain?"

"Of course I know the laws within the family and far more so than you kid."

By now the junior guards were looking at their captain like he was an idiot while the major had a visible vein pulsing at his temple, he was furious with his idiot cousin how could he speak to the heir of the family who was doted on by his parents like he was some beggar.

Ash for his part was resting his hand on his sword hilt preparing for any strange movements. He had finally found someone worth serving and he would be damned if he let anyone hurt him through his negligence. He couldn't do anything about the previous attacks Kyle had suffered but he did feel bad even for the poisoning though he wasn't even there to prevent it.

Kyle smiled at the captain as he had given him all he needed to have the man clapped in irons without even mentioning disobeying his orders with regards to the attackers.

"Well captain it seems you must have missed the lessons about the hierarchy of the family. As the heir to the family my orders can only be countermanded by my parents, even elders do not have the authority to rescind my orders. Also to be clear not receiving orders from my parents does not count as a defence for disobeying me. By the way captain you must also have missed the basics of the etiquette required when speaking to nobles as well. Even though we don't abuse our authority like some we are to still be accorded a certain level of respect which you have not displayed, this was also witnessed by these people but you must be aware my word is enough as evidence."

Finishing his teardown Kyle watched the captain for his response. The captain was beginning to sweat, he had a backing but within the family Kyle had more authority. He had also allowed this backing to go to his head and he had forgotten the rules when commoners deal with nobles. He was going to struggle to even keep his life let alone his position at this point. Looking for a way out of his predicament he looked to his cousin the major in charge and felt this would be his best option.

"Cousin this kid is trying to frame me you have to help, think of my mother."

"Don't try to drag me down with you. You've broken the law and don't even care about what problems you may cause the family, even your mother would disown you after this."

The A'hole family had been vassals of the Powell's for many years and could be considered one of their closest allies, if this cousin had soured this relationship he would be cast out if not outright killed to prevent the Powell's from seeking vengeance.

Seeing the major wasn't going to step in on his behalf the captain turned to the men who were beside him. Seeing this as his last chance he shouted.

"MEN PROTECT ME THEY ARE TRYING TO FRAME ME."

The men just looked at him and then at each other before moving away from him just in case someone thought they were connected to this idiot. These men may have been related but the captain treated them as if they were servants rather than kin, he shouted abuse at them but when the major was around he was quite happy to kiss ass. He was a climber and he didn't care how he got there or who he had to step on to get further. One of the men who was as far away as possible suddenly spoke out.

"We won't attack you as we are kin but we won't help someone as corrupt as you."

When he heard this the captain lost his temper and in a moment of rage targeted who he thought was the weakest here. That target was Kyle, in his blind anger he seemed to have forgotten how Kyle fought against his attackers. Drawing a dagger from a sheath at his back he lunged towards Kyle. Kyle was surprised to see someone using a dagger but he supposed some people carried them when they didn't want to carry the large swords most people used.

As the man came close to him Kyle stepped towards him and to the left. He caught his shirt and spun him sending him to the waiting Ash who slammed the hilt of his sword onto the back of the captains head sending him to night night land.

Kyle looked at Ash and nodded to him. He had decided to let Ash decide how to deal with the captain as he wanted to see if Ash could pick up on his intentions. He wasn't worried as he didn't think any mastermind would give the captain anything useful so if Ash did kill him it wouldn't be a loss. However Ash excelled in this little test and could read what Kyle was doing so he backed him up.

The major and the rest of the guards were impressed. Even though the guards knew Kyle had some skill they hadn't seen him fight and seeing how easily he dealt with their captain they felt a sense of respect growing within them. The major hadn't even heard about what happened before so he was gobsmacked. 'Isn't the young master supposed to be trash?' This was what was on the major's mind but now he had seen him in action it was radically different than he expected. He could only hope Kyle wouldn't take his anger out on their family.

"Okay now that's dealt with can anyone let me know what happened to my attackers."

Kyle asked and the major looked to the junior guards as he now knew what had occurred he hadn't been informed beforehand. The same guard who spoke up before the fight spoke up again.

"I'm sorry my lord they were found earlier dead, they appeared to have all committed suicide."

Hearing this Kyle knew this was the captain's doing as he would be tying up loose ends.

"That's okay, I believe the captain killed them as he was involved in the attempt. Have him chained to a wall in a cell. There must be 2 guards with him at all times I don't want another suicide while you're on watch. This must be kept between us so your direct superior will be the major and the guarding will be dealt with by this detachment alone."

The major understood there was something untoward going on so he immediately nodded but then thought of a problem.

"Sir while I can make this group guard him around the clock I need to manage other groups, they'll need a captain to keep them in line."

Kyle looked over the guards and he could see the junior guards would occasionally look toward the one who had spoke up. He was a little older than the rest and had probably been placed in this unit as a sergeant or aide to the captain.

"That man there should be able to function as the captain in the short term. Remember unless it is me or my parents in person nobody else is allowed to have access to the prisoner."

Hearing Kyle's words the new captain gave a smart bow before he ordered his men to roll the previous captain in a sheet while the strongest of them would carry him over his shoulder. If anyone saw this it would at least prevent them from knowing who was being taken into the cell.

"Ash we'd better get back it's almost time for dinner."