The Optimal Moment
The mansion appeared in the distance. Pearl Mansion sat perched on the edge of a cliff like some decadent dare to gravity itself.
My name is Calix. I am the Empire’s first divorce lawyer.
And right now I had come to catch the three daughters-in-law of the Archduke’s household in the middle of their affairs. Live, raw, and legally admissible.
The Archduke had arrived in full plate. A man well past sixty, he wore armor that must have weighed thirty kilograms by itself. Yet his spine remained ramrod straight on horseback. That was the real flavor of nobility—something my own father had never managed to acquire.
A hundred heavy cavalry blocked the narrow cliffside path. The eldest son’s hand tightened around his sword hilt.
“We’re going in now.”
“Not yet,” I said. “Three minutes remain.”
“What the hell do you mean, three minutes?”
“Until the optimal moment.”
The eldest son’s face twisted into something ugly. “Lawyer. Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to hold back right now?”
“I do. I’ve reviewed several thousand similar cases at the Academy alone.”
“You think that’s the same as this?”
“Similar enough.”
He glared at me like he wanted to add my name to the casualty list. “You really are an insufferable bastard.”
“I get that a lot.”
From inside the mansion, laughter spilled out—high, bright, and utterly careless. The eldest son’s eyes went dead. The second son lowered his head. The third son drummed his fingers restlessly against his scabbard.
I spoke again, calm and precise. “Let me remind you once more. No one is to be killed.”
The Archduke turned slightly in his saddle. “And injuring them?”
“If necessary, injuries sufficient to prevent escape are permissible.”
He gave a single nod. “Reasonable.”
I liked him. A man who understood cost-benefit analysis even when his blood was boiling.
I checked my pocket watch. “Thirty seconds.”
The music inside swelled. Footsteps tangled with it. The bright clink of glasses. More laughter. Sounds that might have been moans or screams—it was impossible to tell from out here.
I drew a slow breath. “Ten seconds.”
The eldest son drew his sword with a metallic rasp.
“Five.”
The second son closed his eyes.
“Four.”
The third son pressed his lips into a thin line.
“Three.”
The Archduke raised his blade.
“Two.”
The cavalrymen stopped breathing.
“One.”
I snapped my fingers.
“Zero. Let’s go.”
The front gate exploded inward.