Chapter 822: Traitors
“She’s well.” Hill laughed. “She spent some time on Sleeping Island in the Fjords and has since returned to Neverwinter. From what I’ve heard, Miss Quinn and Princess Tilly — His Majesty’s sister — are particularly close. She’ll be treated as an honored guest.”
Then Hill told him small things: that Andrea loved cards, was obsessive about her marksmanship, that she argued sometimes with another card-playing companion, that she had, on the whole, found her place among them.
The news made time disappear.
Until the argument started below.
Hill stopped mid-sentence and walked quietly to the door. He put his eye to the gap between door and frame. “Something’s wrong on the first floor.”
“Let me send someone.” Otto gestured for him to stay, raised his voice toward the door: “Who’s making noise out there? Go and find out!”
“Yes, my lord,” the maid answered from the corridor.
“Probably someone drunk,” Otto said, settling the blanket around himself again. “It happens in taverns. You were saying — Miss Quinn entered the Neverwinter hunting competition. Who won?”
Hill raised one finger to his lips. He pressed his ear against the door and listened.
When he turned back, his face had changed.
“The people downstairs are armored.”
“What?”
“Iron boots on stone floors. Sword hilts catching on chair backs. No one drinks in full plate.” He didn’t wait for the maid. He crossed to the couch and lifted the panel. “This is trouble.”
“How — how is that possible?” Otto’s brow tightened. “I swear I never—”
“I know. If I thought otherwise, I wouldn’t have come.” Hill cut him off. He looked at the shaft. “I’ll leave. Can you hold them?”
“Go.” Otto gestured toward the passage. “If they’re after you and I’m still here, they’ll have less reason to search carefully. You can get clear.”
“You won’t come?”
“I’m the eldest son of the Luoxi family. They can’t touch me.” He didn’t say the rest — that he hadn’t told his father about the witches, about the contact with Roland’s scouts, about any of it. Running now would confirm everything Appen suspected. An empty room raised questions an occupied one didn’t. “Stay here, and you have time.”
Hill studied him for one moment. Then: “Good luck.” He released the edge of the panel and dropped into the dark.
Otto straightened the blankets, settled back on the couch, and arranged his expression.
The footsteps came up the stairs shortly after — heavy, unhurried, the scrape of metal against the banister. The maid who had gone to inquire never returned.
They didn’t knock.
A company of fully armored knights came through the door, and Otto was on his feet before they had fully entered. “This is the private property of Earl Luoxi! What in God’s name—” Two of them stepped forward and pushed him down onto the cushions with the flat ease of men who had done this before.
“Forgive us, my lord. You are the one committing treason. Not us.” The lead knight offered a small, composed shrug. They wore gold plate and the emblems of the royal knightage on their chests — but Otto had never seen any of them before.
Where had Appen found these men?
“Let go of me!” He shoved against the grip. “That’s a slander!”
“Save it for His Majesty,” the knight said. “You have disappointed him, my lord.”
When he heard the name Appen Moya, the last of his composure fell away.
He didn’t see the king until two days later.
“I’m told you haven’t eaten,” Appen said, standing on the other side of the bars. He looked older. Not old — there was something consolidated about him now, something settled into the lines around his eyes that had not been there before. “Your request has been granted. Eat something.”
“Where am I?” Otto’s voice had gone rough. He kept his hands on the bars to steady himself. “Why did you do this? What have you done to my father?”
“Are you not satisfied with the accommodations?” Appen glanced around the cell. “I had it arranged after your rooms in the Duke mansion. Small — but there’s a bed, a desk, chairs, a bookcase. You’ll be comfortable enough.” He paused. “As for where — beneath the palace, naturally. I need to know where you are.”
“Your Majesty.” Otto pressed forward. “Let me speak. I didn’t—”
“Betray you?” Appen’s voice didn’t rise, but the word landed like a door slamming. “You think I’ll believe that, after everything? Two months of work to trace the witches — two months — and at the end of it I find you. You arranged for Yorko to attend the Black Money auction. You helped him leave the City of Glow.” Now the composure cracked, just slightly — not weakness, something harder beneath it. “That day in the palace: didn’t you hear it? Didn’t you hear how the King of Graycastle discarded the covenant and made my father’s friendship into nothing?”
“I—”
“Do you want to talk about traitors? Or about the witches who deserve damnation?” Appen’s voice went flat. “Enough, Otto Luoxi. If you were not my oldest friend — if the three noble families didn’t need to remain intact — you would already be dead. I still need those families’ support. But that won’t protect you indefinitely. This is your last chance. Do not waste it.”
The man behind the bars was someone Otto had grown up beside, had argued and ridden and played cards with — and he did not recognize him.
The new knights. The cold voice. The eyes with nothing familiar in them.
Perhaps they had lost the old king’s trust with the old king himself. Perhaps the new one had arrived at the throne already armed with a different set of loyalties.
“One more thing,” Appen said, turning to leave. “You asked about your father. Nothing has happened to him. He attended court this morning. As long as you eat, the Earl continues to be a loyal and useful nobleman.” He didn’t look back. “Stop the hunger strike. It helps neither of us. If you persist, I will be forced to take other measures.”
The door closed.
Otto stood at the bars for a long time after the footsteps faded, his hands still curled around the cold iron.
Chapter 822: Traitors
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
“She’s fine. She lived on the Sleeping Island in Fjords for a while and has returned to Neverwinter now.” Hill laughed and said, “I heard that Miss Quinn is especially close to Princess Tilly, His Majesty’s sister. So His Majesty will definitely treat her as a distinguished guest.”
Afterwards, Hill told him some trivia about Andrea. Otto learned that Andrea loved playing cards and improving her marksmanship. She occasionally argued with another card-playing buddy, but on the whole, she got along well with them.
Her news made him nearly forget about the passage of time.
Until he heard arguments outside the room.
“What happened?” Hill stopped talking and quickly walked to the door, peeping through the door slot, and then he said, “Something is wrong on the first floor.”
“Let me send someone to check it,” Otto indicated Hill to sit down first. He then yelled toward the outside, “Who’s making noise outside? Go to see what happened!”
“Yes, my lord,” replied the maid who had been at the door.
“Maybe someone is drunk.” He then said to Hill, drawing the blanket on him, “It’s unusual, but does happen in the tavern. You mentioned Miss Quinn participated in a Neverwinter hunting competition. Who won?”
Instead of replying, Hill raised a finger to his lips as a sign of silence and gently leaned his ear on the door.
After a few seconds, his face clouded over.
“Those people downstairs are armored and armed.”
“What?” Otto was a little stunned.
“I heard the sounds of iron boots and sword hilts hitting the ground and chairs. Do you think anyone would wear a full set of armor when drinking?” Hill no longer waited for the maid but directly opened the soft couch. “I don’t think a drunk would like to dress up as a knight. We’re in trouble.”
“How… how is it possible?” Otto frowned and said, “Please believe me. I absolutely didn’t…”
“Of course. If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t be here,” Hill interrupted.
“Well… We can meet next time. You leave first. If they’re really coming for you, I can stop them.” Otto replied. “After this meeting, I don’t know when I will learn about Andrea again,” he thought regretfully.
“Won’t you leave with me?” Hill was slightly surprised and asked, “Apparently, they aren’t coming for a visit. You’d better go back to your own domain.”
“Rest assured. I’m the eldest son of Luoxi family. They can’t do anything to me,” Otto shook his head. He did not tell his father that he tried to rescue witches and secretly contacted Roland’s scouts. If people outside the room came to search for the emissary delegation members while he ran away, it might raise the suspicion of the king. Then he would really be in trouble. “No one knows the secret path, but it isn’t difficult to find it. If they saw an empty room, they would be suspicious. I’ll stay in the room. Only in this way can you withdraw more safely.”
“Then, good luck.” Hill did not insist. He loosed his hands and slid into the secret path.
Otto rearranged the blanket and quilt and lay on the soft couch again.
A short while later, he heard heavy patters of footsteps at the staircases accompanied by the scraping of metal. The maid who left to inquire about the situation never appeared again.
Without knocking or asking for admission, they directly broke in.
A group of full-armored knights rushed into the room.
“What’re you doing?” Otto furiously questioned, “This is the private property of Earl Luoxi! Are you planning to commit treason?” He intended to stand up and drive the rude knights out of the tavern. Out of his expectation, the knights stepped forward and tightly pressed him on the soft couch.
“I’m sorry, Sir. We aren’t committing treason, but you are.” The leading knight replied, shrugging. Though they wore the gold armors and royal knightage emblems on their chests, Otto found that he had never met this group of knights.
Hell, where did they come from?
“Let me go!” He struggled and shouted, “That’s a slander!”
“Say this to His Majesty,” said the knight. “You fail to live up to his trust, my lord.”
When he heard the name Appen Moya, Otto’s heart suddenly sank.
…
It was two days later when he saw His Majesty again.
“I heard that you haven’t eaten anything for two days, but insist to see me?” Appen said. He still seemed to be a little weary, but looked more mature. His eyes revealed emotions which Otto was unfamiliar with. “Now your requirement is satisfied. Start to eat.”
“Where am I?” Otto asked in a hoarse voice, hands on the steel bars, “Why did you do so? What did you do to my father?”
“Are you not satisfied with the room?” Appen said, looking around, “It’s decorated according to your room in the Duke mansion. It’s not large, but you have a bed, a desk, chairs, and a bookcase. I think you can live a comfortable life here.” He paused and said, “As for where it is… Of course, it’s under the palace. I can only feel at ease when you’re kept here.”
Otto gritted his teeth and said, “Your Majesty, I need to talk to you. I didn’t…”
“Betray me?” The King of Dawn interrupted him, “Do you think I’ll still believe these lies and continue to be deceived by you? It took me two months to find some clues about the witches. I have never thought that you were actually involved. You asked Yorko, the Ambassador of Graycastle, to ‘Black Money’ to participate in the auction, and also helped him leave the City of Glow. Wasn’t that betrayal?” He raised his voice, as he apparently did not want to suppress his anger anymore. “That day in the palace, didn’t you hear how the King of Graycastle abandon the covenant and trample on my father’s feelings?”
“I…”
“Do you want to talk about the traitors or the witches who should go to hell?” Appen asked in a tone full of hatred. “Enough, Otto Luoxi! If you were not my friend since childhood, the eldest son of the three noble families, I would have long sent you to the gallows! I still need the support of the three families now. But that doesn’t mean I need you forever. This is my last chance for you. Don’t force me to do that!”
Otto’s heart sank at his words. He had never seen his playmate show such a ferocious look. Thinking of those “royal kights” he never saw before, he suddenly understood something.
Perhaps they had lost the trust of the new king since the death of the old king.
“But the way, you just asked what happened to your father.” Before leaving, Appen suddenly said in a cold voice, “Nothing happens to him. He still attended today’s court meeting. As long as you eat food, Earl Luoxi will still be a good loyal noble. Stop this stupid hunger strike. That’s good for both of us. If you persist, I have to take the hard way.”