“And then, is the rumor about the visitor in Goltrenak real? Or any of the others?” Ricardo asked.

In the last meeting with the nobles, they had treated it just as another rumor, as one of the many that had emerged in the last week. Everyone seemed to have seen him in every corner of the kingdom, whether those rumors caused by the rebels themselves or simple imagination.

He wanted to know if there was any truth in any of them. It was impossible to verify them all, in addition to the fact that most of them lacked solid enough foundations to even begin an investigation. And that also made the real Eldi Hnefa more free to move, although he didn’t know that.

“It’s one of the more reliable reports, but there are also contradictions. Apparently, he had a demihuman as companion, and his appearance doesn’t match, not even his weapons or spells. It’s true that he could be wearing a disguise, or hiding his power, but we barely have any information. It could be as real as another hundred ones, so we’ve only offered a reward for his head to the local Assassins Guild, just in case. For now, there’re no more clues about that supposed adventurer than having killed some bandits,” Elsa reported.

Ricardo sighed. All reports were like that, or worse. Only a few of them could be true, or maybe none.

“And the plan B?”

“Heh, heh. It seems that, in the end, you’re also betting on it,” Elsa stifled her laugh.

“What other choice is left…?” he shrugged.

“Two of the candidates seem interested, I think they’ll accept. We just have to negotiate the price, although it sure won’t be cheap. I don’t think they’ll ask for only money, some of the artifacts in the treasure could be needed to pay them.”

“I understand,” Ricardo assumed, very serious.

The artifacts Elsa referred to were precious and unique, irreplaceable. But the threat that Eldi Hnefa posed to them couldn’t be taken lightly, so both assumed that they would have to sacrifice some of them. Unless, of course, they could retrieve them later. That was something they had to plan carefully, since they couldn’t afford to make enemies with those candidates.

The ideal situation was they killed each other, or got seriously injured, after which they could finish off whoever survived. Or, if they were careless, ambush them after a drunkenness.

But all this was just speculation. They had to assume that they could lose those treasures in exchange for maintaining their power, in exchange for eliminating the threat that Eldi Hnefa represented to them.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“I’ll let you know when the negotiations progress. We’ll try to show them the least valuable ones, but surely they have information about what we have, and know exactly what they want. I don’t think they’ll ask for little.”

“I’ll talk to her majesty. She won’t like it, but she’ll end up accepting.”

“I trust it to you, there is no one better for that job,” said Elsa with a somewhat mocking smile.

Ricardo sighed, it wasn’t going to be easy. The first thing he had to do was to approach the queen when she was in a good mood, something that lately didn’t happen frequently. The second, to convince her, but without seeming to do it, getting her to have the impression of being the decision maker. He turned and left to test the waters and pave the way.

“The Dukes of Felgrok tried to set a trap for the twins, but failed. Right now, I don’t know where they are, but I guess they’re planning some kind of retaliation,” Threefingers reported in the middle of the meeting, when someone asked.

Actually, giving that information had been their idea. After searching and questioning a dying Eagle of Fire, they had discovered who was behind, one of the suspects. Mentioning their names there, and knowing that it was going to leak, was their retaliation, their revenge, at least for now.

Having acted alone and failed would have negative effects in front of other nobles, weakening the dukes’ stand. In addition to scaring them, making them fear that they were after them, that each shadow hid an assassin who had come to kill them.

“What about Eldi Hnefa? Is any of the rumors credible?” finally one of the supposed rebels asked, a spy of the nobles who had nervously waited for someone to ask. But hadn’t been so, and he had lost patience.

“We don’t know where he is, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he showed up in the Duchy of Felgrok,” Threefingers suggested, convinced that it wasn’t going to be that way. But if he could make them believe that it was a possibility, and they mobilized their troops, better than better.

The spy nodded, somewhat disappointed. Although, at least, he had something else to report, however much they were only guesses.

The dryad’s heart was moved once more at his attitude. She couldn’t have reproached him for letting himself be seduced. After all, there was no promise among them, no commitment to fulfill.

She felt relief at the release of the anxiety that, until that moment, she hadn’t been aware that it had accumulated in her chest, although not all was released. She was still afraid that, when he saw her as a real being, he would be disappointed. At the end of the day, for him, she was only a distant memory, and the memories tend to be adorned with the passage of time, embellished, and making reality pale in comparison. She feared and craved the moment of an encounter that she couldn’t even know if it would take place. For now, she could only wait.

She also feared he wouldn’t forgive what she was doing, that he would hate her for it. In fact, simply the possibility that he could feel insulted or disappointed terrified her. She had been waiting for him for so many years and now, when she might have the chance, she was more scared than she had ever been, in her entire long life.

But nothing could she do except wait and try not to think about it too much. She didn’t want to imagine what would happen to her if he didn’t reciprocate her, if she could continue living, if she would have enough strength to move on. The wait had been hard all these years, but now it was unbearable. However, if something could not be done, it was to deny her commitment, her duty. She had to endure it until the end.