Loki looked at Rita as she fell to the floor and cried in pain. Well, well, well. This just made things a great deal more convinient. he supressed a snicker as he watched the chaos unfold around him. He had considdered smearing some of Ardimas' blood over Tophat's blade, but decided this would be too risky.
The guards arived on the scene, the majority of them being stunned by what they found. "Lieutenant colonel!"
Estella stood still, enraged by seeing cold-blooded deed, and yet being unable to act against Loki, this leaving her utterly torn. A few moments after the guards arived, she shakily pointed to Tophat, unable to resist Loki's orders. "He...! He did this!" Hearing Estella, two of the guards rushed over to Tophat and pulled it away from Ardimas, while Estella herself rushed over, kneeled besides Ardimas and attempted to heal him. Another guard reached for his pendant to contact healers.