Chapter - 16
When Aliana finished her story, a self-satisfied smirk played on her face.
Lord Caelum, on the other hand, processed the information for a while and then nodded slowly, the expression was unreadable.
He was her father. He could tell after years of experience when one was lying, and he could tell that his daughter was lying, at least she was not telling the whole story.
But he had his daughter back, and he had a narrative he could control. Now, all that was left was to play his cards right and get the boy out of here. After that, he can deal with this matter accordingly, without blowing it out of proportion.
"My dear comrades! Present and Fallen..." The lord rose from his chair and grabbed a glass of wine as he started speaking, "Everyone of you loves this town more than your lives. And by saving my daughter, the fallen have strengthened this resolve even more."
He spoke of the bravery of the fallen guards, the resilience of his daughter, and the city's gratitude to the brave soldiers who laid their lives for the town, "Nothing can compare to the ultimate sacrifice and the part they played in keeping the peace of this town."
"And for your part in this affair," he said, finally addressing Leo directly, "The city of Auravale owes you a debt." And with that, Lord Caelum gulped down the glass of wine in one go. And following him, the others who were in the room, put their hands on the chest and saluted the fallen.
The Lord then gestured to a servant, who stepped forward holding a small, pitifully light leather pouch.
"Here is your reward, boy," the Lord said, his voice leaving no room for negotiation, "Ten gold coins for your trouble. A generous sum for a man of your lowly birth."
"You will sign a statement, prepared by my scribe, attesting to the events as my daughter has described them. Then, you will take your gold, leave Auravale by sunrise, and you will never speak of this again. Am I clear?" The Lord raised his eyebrow and said. He wasn't asking for his opinion. He was ordering him, instead.
Leo looked at the Lord, and then towards the pouch and he could not help but smirk. It wasn't a reward. It was hush money, to keep his mouth shut.
Grendel, who was standing behind Leo, looked shocked at the pathetic amount the Lord gave them. He managed to scrap off more than this from the corpses after Leo killed the Blackfang Bandits.
Meanwhile the guards in the hall exchanged smug grins. Aliana looked in Leo's direction with a triumphant little smile. The commoner was being put back in his place.
But while others gloated, Leo didn't move. He didn't even look at the servant who was now standing beside him with the pouch. He simply looked at the Lord, a faint, almost imperceptible smile playing on his lips. Then, with a casual flick of his wrist, he backhanded the servant's hand.
The pouch flew through the air, hitting the stone floor with a pathetic little clink. The leather ties burst open, and a meager scattering of gold coins spread on the floor, shining under the torchlight.
The hall fell into a stunned, absolute silence. Every guard, every advisor, even Aliana, stared in disbelief. Grendel almost shit his pants. He wasn't happy with the Lord's reward, but the stupid boy just signed his death warrant.
Even Lord Caelum's face changed expressions for the first time, the calmness on his face hardened into a mask of cold fury.
"I have had enough of your brazenness," One of the guards pulled out his sword and rushed towards Leo, "Do you think just because you saved the Lady, we won't cut you in half?"
"My Lord," Leo said without an ounce of fear on his face, "This was more than just a bandit attack."
"Wait!" The Lord yelled at the top of his voice, stopping the guard who had already reached Leo, and was about to hack Leo's head away from his body.
The guard barely managed to stop himself, his sword stopping just an inch away from the back of his neck.
"Don't rush things buddy," Leo turned to look at the guard and smiled, "Or you might end up losing more than you bargained for."
This was when the guard looked down and saw the boy holding a dagger in his hand, pointed at his dick, barely a centimeter away. Cold sweat ran down the man's neck. He was so so close to losing his manhood.
"Get back," The Lord intervened and commanded the guard. The guard getting his orders slowly and cautiously pulled away from Leo.
"Boy don't make it dramatic," Lord Dargan then asked Leo, "Spill whatever you have to say or get going."
"I will try to be straightforward, My Lord," Leo nodded slightly towards Lord Dargan, "You seem to be operating under a few critical misconceptions. First, my price is significantly higher than that. Second," he paused, letting the tension build,
"And let alone the Grave Stalker attack that My Lady innocently forgot to mention, you seem to think this was a simple bandit attack."
And with that, he put his hand into his pocket and in front of everyone's eyes, he produced a small, metallic object.
"I seem to notice something in the hands of the guards in the town," He held the object up for all to see. It was a ring, with dirt and blood on it, but the crest was unmistakable. It was the silver wolf's head, the Dargan Family's sigil. And the ring was what belonged to the guards of the Auravale City Patrol.
"I found this on one of the dead bandits," Leo announced, his voice like ice. He casually tossed the ring onto the floor, where it clattered to a stop near the Lord's feet.
"I checked the dead bodies of all the escort guards that died. All of them had one," Leo shrugged casually, "So where did the bandit get the ring from?"
"And why would he only have that one ring?" Leo looked around the hall and asked, "Why not two, three, four or more? Why just one?"
"It made no sense," Leo tapped his chin, as if he was in deep thought, "Unless... Unless maybe it seems one of your own guards was working with the Blackfangs."
"What if, My Lord. This wasn't a random ambush. What if it was a planned, coordinated kidnapping. The only question is… who in this city gave the order?"
"One of your guards?" Leo's eyes moved from.one guard to the other. And just then Captain Valerius walked into the hall and Leo's eyes stopped at him, "Maybe your captain?"
Valerius had no idea what the hell was going on, but when he saw all eyes in the hall turned towards him, his heartbeat began to race fast. What was this boy talking about?.
Several advisors began whispering to each other in hushed tones.
But Leo did not stop here. His gaze continued to move to only stop at the Lord himself, "Or maybe..."
Lord Caelum's eyes narrowed into venomous slits. In the space of ten seconds, Leo had transformed from a disposable peasant into the single most dangerous man in the room.
And he just hinted in front of everyone that he was behind his own daughter's attempted kidnapping?
'This bastard… Didn't he get the hint that I want to brush it under the rug?'
"I fought the Blackfang bandits, parried a pack of Grave Stalkers," Leo thumped his chest and looked at the Lord proudly, "Overcoming all the dangers, I present to you a safe and sound Lady of the Dargan household."
DING!
[Quest Complete: A Thorny Rose]
[Objective: Escort Lady Aliana Dargan safely to her father, Lord Caelum Dargan, in Auravale.]
[Rewards: 1 Body Tempering Pill, Magical Fingers Skill]
Leo smiled hearing the chime in his head. This was going to be fun.
He wanted to check the rewards, but he did not have the time right now. He continued to press his advantage.
"I also caught one of the involved parties alive," he said coolly, gesturing vaguely towards the doors where Brena was being held.
"This woman was the maid accompanying the lady in the court," Leo began to explain, "But this woman was also quite close with the bandits."
"Now how you do it is up to you. You chop off her limbs, pull out her tongue, offer her the right price or promise that she will avoid the executioner's axe, I don't care."
"But perhaps she knows which one of your most loyal men have been making late night visits to the Blackfang camp."
Lord Caelum was completely and utterly cornered. Leo had him, and they both knew it. The power dynamic in the room had been turned completely upside down.
As the Lord stared at him, he could not help but admire this commoner. He at least had enough guts to speak up his mind and was not afraid of making enemies.
But if you did not have enough strength or a powerful backer to hold your hand, no amounts of guts can prevent your guts being pulled out.
'What a pity,' Lord Caelum thought.
He finally spoke, "It seems," he said, showing no expression on his face, "That we have more to discuss. In private. Your… reward… will be substantially greater. Once you have assisted me in rooting out the traitors in my city."
As the Lord spoke the words, a new quest window flared to life in Leo's vision, its text glowing in front of Leo.
[New Quest Available: The Serpent in the Keep]
[Objective: Uncover the conspiracy behind Lady Aliana's kidnapping and identify the high-ranking traitor working with the Blackfang Bandits.]
[Rewards: 1000 Gold Coins, Favourability with the Lord: +40, 1 Random Spin]
"Your wish is my command, my lord."
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Author's Note:
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