I never imagined soone was watching . Since when, exactly?
According to Viktor, he’d felt those unpleasant eyes on him ever since the royal palace. At first he chalked it up to ordinary noble curiosity—just people sneaking glances at the famous Gale Knights commander—but the gaze had clung to him like a shadow, relentless.
"Maybe it’s because I lived in seclusion for so long, but I’m sensitive to that kind of thing."
"That’s a useful talent. Think you can catch them?"
"Hard to say. It won’t be easy, but I’ll try."
Viktor took a small group of knights and disappeared down a back alley. I had no idea why the Grand Duke’s Guard was watching , but the fact that their eyes hadn’t lifted made it clear enough that I was their target.
If the Grand Duke’s Guard was on the move, that ant the Grand Duke himself had taken notice of . Had sothing I’d done put him on edge? Just knowing I was being watched was enough to set off every alarm in my head.
Why now, of all tis, was the Grand Duke watching ?
Or maybe those eyes had been on for far longer than I realized. Viktor only noticed because they’d slipped up, and thanks to that, I knew the watchers existed at all. A foul, prickling feeling rose in my chest.
Viktor had taken his n to ambush them, so I expected to see those bastards’ faces with my own eyes. But the long and short of it was, he failed. The watchers vanished before Viktor could close in.
That ant there had to be other watchers besides those ones. Soone must have signaled them, allowing them to slip through the maze of alleys with perfect timing, just before Viktor and his n closed the net.
"It looks like there were other watchers. They slipped away before we could pounce. Sneaky little rats."
I couldn’t tell him they were the Grand Duke’s Guard. From a normal person’s perspective, how could I na them when I supposedly didn’t even know they existed? But this whole incident had taught one thing: I was being watched.
So I pulled every single soldier on standby at Knights headquarters and tightened security around . Outside the royal palace gates, I had every legal right to march ard n through Breisburg.
I expanded the unit from thirty-three to fifty-five.
The remaining twenty-two were standing by in Feuzen under August’s command. I also sent a ssenger to Feuzen to fetch Bodo. If I wanted help from the friends at the bottom of the heap, I needed Bodo.
Fiel, who had returned to his family estate, ca back the next day. One look at his haggard, drained face and I had to ask. He gave a wry, slightly embarrassed smile.
"My wife wouldn’t let go."
"Ah, well, that’s how it is. From now on, you commute."
"She already gave an earful about how I could be so neglectful of my own household."
It was my fault for not sending a married man ho sooner. Fiel’s wife was Elisabeth, one of Hilda’s friends and soone I’d t before. As the daughter of Viscount Loewenbert, she was quite the formidable woman.
"Sir Steinhof, treat your wife well. The person who’s always at your side, the one you take for granted—when she’s gone, you don’t realize how brutal the loss is until it’s too late."
"...I’ll bear that in mind. And what of your wife, Vice Commander?"
"Dead. Took ill while I was away on campaign and never recovered."
Viktor washed it down with a swallow of bitter beer. Ever since Rosengarden beca the unit’s temporary lodging, beer consumption there had skyrocketed. Viktor had a particular taste for beer heavy with the bitter scent of hops.
Maybe that bitterness on his tongue was the closest thing he had to the bitter ache he carried inside.
When the mood grew heavy, Fiel quietly let know that the Steinhof family was also looking into the rumors.
I didn’t know how much intelligence reach a swordsmanship dynasty had, but a friend with sharp ears could sotis turn up information you’d never expect. At noon, I headed for Beien Boulevard.
Just as Eisenach had told , the crown prince and his party were out incognito. To avoid drawing attention myself, I wore the old tunic and surcoat I used to wear back in the day. Comparing them to what I wore now, I had no idea how I’d ever managed in those clothes.
"Do you go for walks like this often, Your Highness?"
"If you don’t know what life is like at the bottom, you end up just a bird in a gilded cage."
"Not bad. You’ve changed since the war."
"I’d like to think it’s been a change for the better."
The crown prince grinned and offered one of those plain pretzels they sold on the street. Verer had already tasted it, so there was no concern about safety. Hmm—the sa heavily salted pretzel I rembered from before.
"Truth is, this really is just a walk. I needed to clear my head."
The crown prince’s mood seed different from the last ti I’d seen him. Since Eisenach was running the incognito detail, I’d brought only Fiel along to avoid getting in the way. Verer’s gaze, though, was bothering .
"How have you been, Sir Verer?"
"Well, thank you. Is Lady Hilda doing well?"
"She’s settling in just fine in Feuzen. Manages it better than I do, frankly. I think I could leave the whole thing in her hands."
"That sounds like her. I miss her sotis."
There was sothing oddly stiff about him.
The mont I checked Verer’s disposition, I understood why his attitude had shifted. Last I rembered, his disposition read loyalty (good). Now it read loyalty (neutral).
Through Winter, I’d learned that, while rare, certain triggers could shift a person’s disposition. So what had changed Verer? Whatever it was, the influence had clearly been negative enough to push him from Good to Neutral.
It was hard to predict what kind of complications this change in him might bring.
"Fiel, I’ve heard you’ve been making a na for yourself as Vice Commander of the Gale Knights. Was the reason you turned down my offer simply so you could serve under Sir Streit?"
"My deepest apologies, Your Highness."
"It’s water under the bridge. What’s there to apologize for? Just know that it stung a little."
The crown prince smiled mischievously, and Fiel was thrown into a fluster.
So how was I supposed to bring up what I’d co for? I needed to steer the conversation toward the queen naturally. The crown prince started in with all the little things he’d been wondering about lately.
"How does it feel, being Lord of Feuzen?"
"I was overjoyed when I first took possession of the village, but I quickly ran into its limits."
"The limits of a small village, you an? Right, it’s an awkward position. Hard to call yourself a prince when you’re lord of a place that small."
The grand title of "Ruler of Feuzen" was, frankly, like calling so kid the king of a back alley. To landless nobles it might still feel like a slap in the face, but compared to actual princes, it really didn’t asure up.
The crown prince asked about all sorts of things: life in Feuzen, how Hilda was doing, how I’d uncovered the embezzlent sche. I answered each question sincerely, watching for an opening, and finally turned a question back on him.
"And how have you been faring lately, Your Highness?"
"I’ve been feeling it for so ti, but Mother seems to be ddling more and more."
"Lord Franz, that’s a sensitive subject."
"What does it matter? This isn’t just anyone—it’s Sir Streit."
The exact topic I’d wanted to hear ca tumbling out. The crown prince started venting about the queen. He’d already disliked how she involved herself in every detail of his life, and lately it had only gotten worse.
"Slipping out for a walk under the guise of going incognito has beco a hobby of mine."
"I’m afraid I can’t offer much advice. I know nothing about Her Majesty the Queen."
"Ah, right. You wouldn’t know my mother."
The only ti I’d seen her was at the war council banquet after the war ended. Things had been such a whirlwind back then that I hadn’t really paid attention to the queen, and I never imagined the connections would lead here.
"I’ve t Prince Louis and Princess Evangeline, but never Her Majesty."
"You’ve t Louis? He never said a word to about it."
"Just briefly, with Hilda, before we left for Feuzen."
"I see. Well, ever since his health turned, he’s developed a real admiration for knights."
The crown prince seed to feel sorry for his younger brother. But based on what I’d gleaned through the Scouter, Prince Louis didn’t harbor warm feelings toward the crown prince at all.
Lies beco truth, and truth becos lies.
It was sothing Louis had once quoted to from the Gospel of Saint Mark.
At the ti I’d wondered why he was telling that, but only now did I think I understood.
"Mother has been wanting to et you for a while, but the schedules never aligned."
"If it’s not an imposition, I’d very much like to be presented to Her Majesty."
"You an it? I should warn you, she might catch you off guard with strange questions."
Was anything stranger than what I already knew? The crown prince promised to ask the queen and try to arrange sothing. The conversation had flowed naturally enough that I was satisfied.
"Oh, by the way, did you hear Leo has a fiancée?"
"Sir Verer? No, I had no idea."
"Lord Franz, that hasn’t been made public yet..."
Verer’s face crumpled in awkward distress. But the crown prince found his reaction so amusing that he leaned in and told everything, like a delighted little boy itching to spill a great secret.
"You’ll never guess. It’s the daughter of House Mainhof."
Mainhof. Wasn’t that the court noble Klugen had killed?
For the crown prince to call it surprising, the match really was unexpected.
What’s more, that young lady had been quite taken with the crown prince himself—so much so that I rembered him keeping Hilda seated next to him as a sort of shield. Hilda had gotten irritated because she’d wanted to be with , and the crown prince kept getting pulled away.
And now that very sa young lady was engaged to, of all people, Verer.
You really couldn’t predict a thing when it ca to matters of the heart.
"She was the only direct heir of House Mainhof, but as an only daughter, the family had no choice but to take in a son-in-law."
"There must have been a line of suitors, then. Or n trying to pressure her into a match."
"Exactly. And in the middle of all that, the one she ca to lean on was Verer."
Given Verer’s nature, he couldn’t bring himself to turn his back on the young lady, and apparently, while helping her, the two ended up falling for each other.
User Comments
0 comments from readers