Having enough gold to afford the best doesn’t guarantee someone has the taste to make the most of that wealth. The Teppin house isn’t a gaudy monstrosity, thank the saints, but it is practically empty by the standards of the capital, with a minimum of furniture, a sensible lack of extravagant waste, and a bland array of colors.

Compared to that, the main bedroom, with its scarlet walls, two dressers, a handful of tapestries on the wall, and a full-length mirror with a golden frame, is downright vibrant. Much better than I expected. I only have one complaint. The bed, both the mattress and the frame supporting it. Their small size and weak construction discourage rowdy nighttime activities, which is a shame, but we’ve made do.

The room does have something I like, that being its location. I don’t know why it’s so far from any communal room in the house, but no one wanders down the hall its connected to unless they’re coming to this room and I have plenty of warning before they do. A perfect place to have a conversation without being overheard. Rolly’s magic could accomplish the same, but mana is too precious to use it for every little thing. Especially when the city could explode at any moment.

I might have also wanted to see the saintly man squirm. He is annoyingly calm for someone caught searching the house in a very suspicious manner. People are much easier to read when they’re nervous and I figured that someone of his moral disposition would be flustered entering a woman’s bedroom. Or so I thought. His expression doesn’t even flicker as I tell him to close the door.

Hm. He’s objectively handsome, physically fit, good-natured, and has a bright future as the single disciple of a well-known knight.

…this bastard probably gets invited into women’s bedrooms all time, doesn’t he?

Saints, he’s annoying.

I scoff to myself as I take a seat at the end of the bed. Smartly, Lancecain remains by the door. Whether it’s out of respect or to make an escape attempt easier, that’s the question. Normally, I’d assume the former, but I don’t know. Things don’t look good for him at the moment. “No stray ears are going to hear us. Now, why are you here and what does it have to do with me?”

“Suppose I should start with an apology.” The fearless bastard has the audacity to smile at me, sheepish though it may be. “My actions were an intrusion on your privacy and a violation of your generosity, made even more grievous seeing as your wife healed me of a crippling wound. I truly apologize and thank you for giving me the opportunity to explain.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Don’t think your sincerity will work on me. “Get to the point.”

“Very well. I haven’t lost my memory, but my tale is so incredible, playing dumb was by far the better option. The beginning is true. I took a walk after settling many displaced residents in the walls of my order. Just to get a little time away from the chaos. And on that walk, I was ambushed…by the estrazi.”

I sit up, his words grabbing my full attention. “The same lizards that attacked us, fucked Khan’s mind to oblivion, and tried to kidnap him? Those estrazi?”

He winces. “That would be them.”

“Is that why you were asking so many questions about Khan?” I climb to my feet as my thoughts race. Something in my posture must give away my feelings as Lancecain stiffens. “That’s why you were poking your nose everywhere. You were looking for him, for the lizards. What were you going to do if you found him? Kidnap him? Kill him?”

“Lou, please. This will make a lot more sense if I tell the story in order.”

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“Talk fast.”

“As I said, they jumped me.” He sighs. “I like to think of myself as a skilled fighter, but my style is centered around fighting a single opponent. I signaled for reinforcements but was overwhelmed before they could arrive and taken to their underground hideout. They kept me there for…I don’t know how long as they waited for things to calm down on the surface. Then they gave me a choice—"

“Give them Khan or die,” I interject. “Surprised you surrendered.” I don’t mean my words as an insult. I understand. There’s nothing wrong with having a strong desire to live. A little surprised to see it in a Victorian knight, especially one strong enough to allow one to work for their mortal enemies.

Lancecain’s sour expression tells me my assumption is wrong before he speaks a word. Huh. I had my doubts whether the man could be anything but pleasant. Guess so. “I’m no coward. I told her where Khan was to draw her away from the fort. Victory was vulnerable after the attack. The last thing it needed was saboteurs on the inside. I’m the most reasonable of my whole generation, you know? Every other man my age would have died rather than give up the information. Again and again, for no good reason. I spared them that.”

“I know. You don’t have to explain to me how crazy you all are.”

He relaxes when I don’t insist on his cowardice. “I agreed to escort her to Quest to avoid her stumbling onto any hapless villagers. The average villager doesn’t know anything about other races. They’d see the estrazi and mistake them for manabeasts. They’d do something stupid to get themselves killed. There was also the matter of being blind. It made sense.”

I agree. Those are all very good reasons why he would escort the estrazi here, but not why he’s working for them. And there’s something else. “Her.”

“What?”

“You said her. You told her where Khan was.”

“Ah, yes. The leader of the group is a female estrazi who goes by Little Water. She is reluctant to share information about her people, but I gather she is the daughter of their leader. The others certainly treat her like royalty. And she treats the others like peasants, if you take my meaning.”

Saints. That word no longer makes me cower, but it does make me uncomfortable. “Important then. Powerful?”

He shrugs. “Hard to say. I did injure them while surrounded by half a dozen fighters but I’m not exactly average. I’d say they have the fighting prowess of the average hunter, not a veteran. Keep in mind that evaluation doesn’t take into account their natural advantages. Do you recall their camouflage?” I do. “Suggests they are ambush predators. I also haven’t seen them with proper weapons. Nothing but daggers between them.”

“So, you’re confident they’re not master casters in disguise but not much else?”

“That’s as much as I’d swear to.”

That’s good news, but also confusing. “If they’re so weak, why are you doing their biding?”

The young knight’s confidence is rocked. Something makes him shuffle his feet discretely, like a boy being interrogated by his parents. Sigh. I’m not going to like what he says next, am I? “She was careful not to share too many details about her family or their home, but she was happy to talk about herself and her goals. Lou, she wants to make peace with Harvest. Create an alliance between the estrazi and Victory.”

“Impossible,” is my immediate response. I’m not a Victorian but even I know that’s nothing more than a dream. A fever dream at that, something a mind could only conjure while delirious with sickness.

The north’s hatred of the creatures they know as the Lords of Winter has raged for literal generations. It is the worst blood feud I’ve ever heard of. Worse than any story has ever imagined. It’s a part of them. But even if they could put that aside, Victory needs the campaigns. Their culture, and more importantly their economy, rely on war.

“I thought the same at first.” One of his feet rises, as if he wants to take a step forward, but then he thinks better of it. “Little Water confirmed that her people have the ability to direct the beasts of the north, including the titans—"

“Saints blessed asses!” What is this idiot thinking? She confesses that her people are responsible for the horrendous casualties Victory suffers every year and he’s talking about making peace?

Maybe one of the estrazi’s mental casters did get their hands on him.

“The only reason they send beasts after us is to keep us out of the north,” he continues hurriedly. “That is their duty. To defend us from a threat greater than even a wave of titans. Her hope is that if she can make Harvest understand that threat, Victory will join the estrazi as the north’s guardians, before the war escalates any further.”

Oh, so not just peace. “An alliance. With Victory.” Maybe, maybe, I can imagine a world where both sides lay down their arms and glare at each other from an established boundary, but the two groups working together?

Time to crack his head open to see how scrambled his brains are.