Chapter 136: Trust

Chapter 136: Trust

The next day went by rather quickly, at least for Leland and Jude. Glenny, while not relaxing like his friends, technically had a simple day. Being induced to a dream-like state by a ghostly Priest of the Void did that to a person.

With the adults and Sybil moving around the royal campus preparing for tomorrow’s arrival, little was left for Leland and Jude to do. So after morning exercises, they explored the city together. It was strange seeing the Reflections now that the curtain was pulled back.

Streets full of ghostly citizens of an ancient civilization, each partying like their lives depended on it. Which, to Leland at least, was ironic since they were long dead. But now knowing that King Harlen was the sole cause of this phenomenon was something special.

Leland had eased out some details about Harlen from the man himself. After the duel, Harlen had a much keener interest in the boys, specifically Glenny. From the young rogue’s pleas to help him with the voices in his mind to Leland’s heritage and Lord, Harlen was more than willing to speak to them.

“It’s a simple tale,” Harlen had said to Leland while sipping on a chalice made of golden ghostly mana. “A failure of a King led his people to a slow death but the King couldn’t let his people die, so he made a deal with his Lord for the power to keep them alive. The power came at a cost, however, and now my people and I are one and the same.”

“That does not sound like a simple tale,” Leland had muttered, sipping his own wine, which was probably the most expensive drink he’d ever tasted. “Then what about the Reflections? Why are you not in Ruinsforth at all times?”

“The Void comes for all,” Harlen said with a shrug. “But sometimes the Void needs assistance in making sure that happens.”

“It can’t be a coincidence that the Royal Dream is the same week as the Reflections.”

“It is not, and I suppose I can tell the tale to someone with your stature.”

Leland was slow on connecting the dots. “I don’t have any idea what you mean.”

Harlen laughed. “I’m sure, I’m sure.” He gestured to his right, sending a glob of blue mist to the floor. The glob morphed into the form of a server, who then poured him another cup. The person melted back into mist, which then rejoined with Harlen.

“Tell me,” he then asked Leland, “what do you know of the Royal Dream?”

“Not much, only that it is the ceremony around a Palemarrow’s Dream Ceremony.”

“Correct, but only partially. No, the Royal Dream is a cover for a Lord to walk this realm.”

Leland flinched at the statement. He suddenly felt an odd sensation on the back of his neck, like someone was staring at him. He turned, finding Aunty P. smiling harmlessly at him. He returned the gesture, then turned back to Harlen.

“What do you mean,” Leland leaned forward and whispered, “’a Lord walks this realm?’”

“Well now,” the ghost King said with a smirk, “I can’t tell you the Palemarrow Kingdom’s greatest secret.” He swirled his drink around. “I suppose you, being who you are, do have the right to know.”

Leland frowned. “I’m not who you think I am.”

“Oh, right. I forgot again. Silly me.” Harlen’s eyes drifted past Leland to Aunty P. She did not look back at him. “An awkward predicament you’ve found yourself in. One I will not mention again, if you so wish.”

“Please.”

Harlen threw up his hands, nodding at the request. “I see. But to answer your question—”

“Excuse me, everyone!” Aunty P. dinged her glass several times with a snail-shucking fork. “Your attention please, I have a few announcements.”

Everyone gave her their undivided attention.

“Tomorrow is a big day, one filled with many appointments and many more preparations.” She raised her glass to Sybil. “My youngest niece officially arrives in the morning, meaning her nineteenth birthday nears.” Aunty P. then drawled on about what it meant to be family and such. She ended the speech with, “So, since tomorrow is such a big day, let us end the night here and get some much needed rest.”

Suffice it to say, Leland didn’t get to finish the conversation with Harlen, not that he wasn’t disappointed. He had long learned that Lordly dealings were something of a slippery slope. He didn’t want anyone besides those he trusted knowing about his contracts, and frankly not knowing about the Palemarrow’s operations was probably for the best.

Knowing where to set traps, reinforce weak points, and just how an invader would think were a set of abilities crucial to the Queen’s and the royal family’s protection. And Spencer had long proven to have such capabilities. He was trusted, almost implicitly, by Aunty P.

“A few,” Spencer replied. “Blips, gone as quick as they appear. Legacies of the Pathway are sly, and she’s only creating pathways for a short time, which makes tracking impossible. Truthfully, I think it’s a scare tactic, not an actual threat.”

“All threats are actual threats.”

Spencer might have argued with that when he was younger, but after Sybil was taken... he wasn’t too sure about things anymore. The enemies had already proven themselves capable, something which was incredibly worrying since Carmon had found the traitorous maid. Was the maid a ploy or an accident? Both were possible, while the former was more likely.

Harbingers didn’t often make mistakes.

“Of course,” he replied. “I’ll make sure to—”

Aunty P. moved her eyes from the city skyline. She found Spencer stone frozen, concentrating on something far beyond her ability to understand. Magic was always magic to her, she never truly sought to learn the craft.

“Weird,” Spencer said after a moment. “The Pathway just tried to break one of my anchors.”

“And that means?”

“She’s looking for weak points? Testing my strength, I’d assume. It was incredibly blatant, however. Almost like she was...”

“Spencer?”

His eyes were darting back and forth, tracing his invisible creations with a master’s touch. As he went, he rethreaded mana up and around, searching everything again and again until...

“Found it,” Spencer said, creating a portal beside himself. He reached a hand in, pulling out an item from the far end of the city. A piece of paper, folded and addressed to Sybil. He quickly handed it to Aunty P. after a quick series of diagnostic cantrips. The letter was safe.

The Eldest Princess flipped open the paper with a bored look. She read over the lines, scoffed, and then tore it to shreds.

“Spencer, I’ve overheard a few concerning conversations the last few days about Leland.”

He recoiled at the sudden topic change. “Have you?”

“Unfortunately so. Now, I remember how I was at his age and he reminds me of myself. Troubled. Yearning. Stepping foot onto the cusp of power, a power he isn’t sure he should be privy to.” Aunty P. locked eyes with one of her few subjects she trusted almost completely. “I don’t even wish to begin to understand the secrets he holds, nor care to learn them. Those are his and his alone... I do, however, have to ask, is he going to be a threat?”

The air went cold and the balcony dry. If Spencer was younger, he’d have answered right away. He’d have declared his son’s loyalty and delivered him to the kingdom hand over fist. But now that he was older, he saw the writing on the wall. He understood what Aunty P’s tone meant and how she expected the future to play out. Luckily he understood the game and what it meant to be a father.

The air had gone cold, yes, but it also went dry. And not even the Eldest Princess could create rain. Nor could she defend against a Legacy of Pathways without him or defend against a Harbinger without Lucia.

“Of course not,” Spencer mused casually, like the topic was deciding a place to eat dinner and not the life of his child. Any showing of defiance would only prove ineffective against Aunty P. She didn’t get to the position as Eldest Princess by being born second to the Queen.

No, she had taken it by force with a bloody dagger.

“I see, thank you Spencer,” Aunty P. said, mimicking his tone artificially. Internally she was scowling.

Spencer was trusted almost implicitly, but unfortunately for him, Aunty P. saw trust as a fake measurement of self-necessity. Everyone was trustworthy until their own goals clashed against hers.

Which was more often than not.