Chapter 10
The reason Elliot had made such a generous offer was not only to bring Liam into his circle, but also a matter of a life debt. Liam had no son yet, so Elliot intended to repay the debt to the man himself. However firmly he had resolved to keep the past and present separate in his mind.
A debt of the heart still needs to be repaid.
It was a contradiction with his own resolution, but this was no ordinary debt it was a debt of life. Repaying it was the only way he felt he could be at ease with himself. Beyond that, Elliot had a personal desire to make Liam wholly his own.
Though I must be careful about assumptions.
The past was a valuable source of reference, but human relationships were unpredictable things. Someone who had been a good person and a good connection then might have become someone entirely different by now.
The closer the relationship, the more caution is needed.
That was a truth about the world Elliot had learned across his long years of living.
Betrayal tends to come not from strangers but from people one is close to.
Every instance of being stabbed in the back that he could recall had followed that pattern.
And they say you cannot change a person.
Rarely, a wicked soul did turn over a new leaf. But a good person turning bad was something that happened far too often to count.
"Then I leave it to you."
With those words, Elliot took his leave of the training grounds.
After Elliot had gone, the other knights gathered around Liam.
"What was that about? Did you two know each other before?"
"First time I have ever seen him."
"Then why the sudden offer like that?"
"My thoughts exactly."
Saying there had been a prior connection seemed unlikely, given that Elliot had clearly spent his earlier years living as a commoner.
A commoner would have had no opportunity to ride horses.
It was all a consequence of something only Elliot remembered from a past that no longer existed. That Liam could not make sense of it was entirely natural.
"So are you going to go along with it?"
"Not much choice, is there."
"Heh. How many days do you think he will last?"
"Three days would be generous."
One of the knights glanced around, then lowered his voice.
"Want to make a bet on how many days?"
"We would get disciplined if we were caught."
But the disciplinary measure for something like this would not be severe. And while Elliot had the duke's regard, he had been completely removed from the succession.
Still, he looked at my face and showed neither surprise nor pity.
Liam considered it, then decided to open the floor himself.
"I will serve as referee. Ten percent commission."
"Is that not a little steep?"
"Then sit it out."
"I did not say I was sitting it out."
"Then participate. Or be quiet."
When Liam pressed the point, everyone fell silent.
The atmosphere around here has grown far too lax. I will need to bring it up with the duke when the opportunity arises.
In truth, Liam had no particular need to organize a betting pool. Knights could not wager large sums given their position.
But information is another matter.
By seeing which knights chose to participate, and observing the attitude with which they engaged in the betting, he would be able to gauge what they actually thought of Elliot. Those who revealed themselves through this exercise were precisely the ones who ought to be excluded from any escort selection.
That much information is sufficient return for the goodwill.
Liam brought the mood to order and spoke.
"I will only take bets for the next thirty minutes, so anyone who wants in had better speak up now."
"Right then, I say one gold for one day."
"I will go with..."
Early the following morning, Elliot rose well before the others and had himself ready to depart for Harvy City.
"Please take care on the road, young master."
With Leona's farewell behind him, Elliot made his way to the main gate of the estate and reached out in his thoughts to Endairon.
Endairon.
"Yes?"
Going forward, let us communicate through thought.
"Why?"
It is difficult to speak aloud in front of others.
"How so?"
Without this kind of advance explanation, Endairon would sulk. For reasons Elliot had never fully understood, the spirit preferred spoken conversation.
Other people cannot see you. So I would just be someone talking to empty air, which looks rather strange.
"You could just materialize."
I want to keep your existence a secret for the time being.
"Understood."
As expected consent given, but with the faintest trace of a pout underneath it.
In return, we are going somewhere new. You will get to see things you have never seen before.
"Really?!"
Yes.
"I really like you, Elliot!"
I like you too.
Traveling hard on horseback, the journey would take a full five days at minimum, and perhaps seven with reasonable rest. But to a spirit, that was practically next door.
"Young master, you have arrived."
"Shall we depart immediately?"
The party numbered fifteen in total.
Five knights including Liam, and ten cavalry. Under ordinary circumstances this composition would not have been assembled, but since Elliot had insisted everyone travel on horseback, there had been no alternative. The matter had even been reported to the duke, who had said:
The boy seems to be underestimating what riding entails. A bit of hardship might do him some good. Teach him what you can along the way.
And so Liam had quietly arranged to have a carriage waiting at the next village, just in case.
How many days will he manage, I wonder.
No one said it aloud, but the curiosity was universal. Looking at him and going by what was said, Elliot's body was reasonably well-conditioned.
But that conditioning comes from swordwork.
And the muscles used in swordsmanship were entirely different from those demanded by sustained riding. Even so, Liam, as the one responsible for the group, said nothing.
A person never really knows until they have experienced something themselves.
Saying anything in advance would only wound Elliot's pride.
Still, his seat in the saddle is genuinely proper.
On the light ride to the gate, Elliot's posture had been completely stable.
"Shall we pick up the pace?"
"Lead the way and we will follow."
The moment they passed through the gate, Elliot made the suggestion, and Liam accepted it with quiet satisfaction.
"Then I will go ahead. Forward!"
Elliot set off with energy while the others fell in behind him, and before long every member of the party found themselves staring in disbelief.