Chương 37: The Oathrunner... Is Applying The Lesson Already?!

.. Is Applying The Lesson Already?!

"Ha..." After things had settled down, Enel was escorted to the room provided to him by the Crown's Guild. And as he already expected, it was much grandiose than his room back at the Blackwood manor. That was the first thing he noticed when the attendant left him there with his pack and a bow. The second thing was the warmth. There was no fire in the hearth, but the room was warm enough that the cold from the mountain outside his window seemed like a lie.

The walls had Scripts on them, and he could hear them working underneath... almost like veins moving through the entire guild. Just how many people with Breath does the guild have to even think of providing this sort of luxury?

"Widow's Wall... was once like this," he whispered to himself, remembering all the books about the barony Mira had read to him. The walls around Widow's Wall used to breathe, and it was much bigger—the Widow's Wall now was just a small part of what it once was. They had another wall closer to the Dark Forest. Enel stood in the middle of the room for a while, then his eyes caught the shelves that were filled with books.

He glanced at the window again, looking at the path they took to get there, and imagining Lamb just jumping into the room at any given moment.

"Heh..." He laughed at this, but the smile withered soon enough. He turned his focus back to the books, but before he could approach and read one of them, a knock came from the door. Enel turned.

"Come in." Tiny opened the door just enough to look inside. Then he opened it all the way.

"What... is this?" Enel blinked.

"What is it?" Tiny stepped in, eyes moving across the bed, the shelves, the mirror, and the basin.

"This is bigger than even Lord Blackwood and Lady Mira's room!"

"I know." Enel looked around again.

"It is... excessive."

"It is beautiful," Tiny corrected. He touched the blanket, then quickly pulled his hand back with a sinister smile on his face.

"Do you think they count these things when we leave?"

"Tiny."

"I do not intend to steal anything, M'lord. That is why I asked if they count." Enel sighed. Tiny grinned, but his grin did not last long. The sound of his stomach grumbling made him gaze down.

"Well, I, for one, am too hungry to think of even stealing anything. Do you know where the food is, M'lord?"

"That is why you are here."

"... I cannot lie to you, M'lord. I am." Enel sighed, then turned to the door.

"I believe I saw a map in the hallway. We can find the dining hall there. Lady Guinevere also said she would meet us there, so—""So, we go!" Tiny immediately rushed to the door.

"Tiny." Not before almost grabbing one of the fancy towels near the door, of course. The dining hall was not difficult to find. They didn't even need to look at the map at all, as the smell of roasted meat and fresh bread practically led them there. Compared to the testing hall, however, the dining hall was quiet.

"Oh. I... was expecting a lot of people." Tiny blinked.

"Where are all the pretty girls who were chasing us earlier, M'lord?" The dining hall wasn't empty, and there were still enough people to fill the several long tables that were there—but it wasn't like the earlier crowd who filled the entire hallway... and it wasn't the earlier crowd at all. The people there seemed older, and most of them wore a different training coat than the trainees from earlier. And like Enel, most of them had a sword on their waist, and a few looked up when he entered.

Sigrud, the hisker who introduced himself earlier, was also there... but he only glanced at Enel once and looked away.

"Who's... that?"

"Is he royalty?" Some stood up from their seats and bowed, but were quickly pulled down by their peers.

"Probably a bastard? It would explain the face."

"That's true... most bastards are beautiful."

"Huh? You guys do not know who he is?" There were a few, however, who seemed to notice him. But without a crowd backing each other up, no one dared to approach Enel again. One girl near the far table straightened slightly and murmured to the boy beside her. The boy looked at Enel, then quickly looked away while clicking his tongue. Another lady straightened up and fixed her hair, and one who was about to place a spoon in her mouth decided to stop eating.

"M'lord... what does it feel like to be like you? To be so... handsome."

"Stop it." Enel waved him off, awkwardly smiling at the sudden compliment.

"No, I am serious, M'lord." Tiny leaned closer to Enel.

"I do not think you know how much you stand out, even in a room full of nobles."

"Let us just get ourselves some supper and wait for Lady Guinevere." Enel sighed, motioning for Tiny to follow him as they finally walked toward the buffet table. Some people bowed to them, but most just blatantly looked away. Tiny walked carefully at first, bowing to the trainees who were also bowing to them with respect. Well, that only lasted until he saw the food. He'd already seen a lavish meal back when the duke arrived—but this was too much.

He could barely even recognize the foods they prepared, and even the bread was in the shape of a pig for some reason. It didn't matter, however, as he just started grabbing all the food he could fit on the tray. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

"M'lord. Here!" He quickly found a table and started devouring his food without even waiting for Enel to sit down.

"Tiny. Cutlery was provided." Enel sighed as he sat down beside him.

"Psh. I would not even know how to use them, M'lord. And the duke ate with his bare hands. You should try it, too."

"I..." Enel looked at the oil in Tiny's hands.

"Perhaps some other time." Enel also began eating, but a laugh soon came from the table behind them.

"Why are the servants on this floor?" Tiny froze for a moment, then pretended he had not heard anything. But then, the laugh came again, louder this time.

"Look at how he eats," someone said from the other table.

"Do you think he just picked him up from the street? I always wanted to get one." That was when Tiny's hands and mouth stopped moving. Enel also heard their words and began to stand... but Tiny grabbed his sleeve.

"M'lord," he said quietly. Tiny didn't really look offended, and instead, a mischievous smile even crept across his face.

"I got this." Enel looked at him, confused as to what Tiny was about to do as he suddenly stood up. He then turned toward the table behind them. There were four trainees there, perhaps sixteen or seventeen. Three boys and a girl, seemingly all dressed in silk. The boy who had spoken had light brown hair and a cup in his hand, and he looked surprised that Tiny had turned around at all. And to their surprise, Tiny bowed... and he bowed deep.

"My apologies, My Lords and Ladies," he said, imitating Enel's tone loud enough for nearby tables to hear.

"Perhaps before our words get the better of us, I should introduce myself first." The boy blinked.

"What?"

"I am Tiny," he continued, still bent low.

"Hand of Lord Enel of House Blackwood. Young lord of Widow's Wall. A Blessed. Hero of the West Camp." And as soon as he said those words, the entire mess hall became quiet. And from the smile that Enel could see on Tiny's face, he knew exactly what he was doing. Enel sighed at this, realizing what it was Tiny was doing. And true enough, Tiny slowly lifted his head as he said the title most of them would recognize.

"The Oathrunner." The juice in the boy's cup rippled when he heard that, and the other tables started whispering.

"Blackwood?"

"That is him?" Enel lowered his eyes, sighing even deeper now. Tiny turned slightly toward him with a smug look on his face.

"M'lord, psst. I am applying Marshal Tommen's lesson, M'lord." Enel nodded several times in response, clearly exhausted of his antics.

"Yes. I know, I know." The trainees at the other table had gone very still. The boy who had spoken looked at Enel properly for the first time, wincing as he noticed him glancing back.

"L-Lord Blackwood," he said quickly, standing.

"I meant no disrespect."

"Good." Tiny nodded.

"I accept your surrender."

"Apology," Enel said quietly.

"What's that, M'lord?" Tiny whispered." I accept your apology."

"Oh..." Tiny blinked, then turned back to the boy.

"I accept your apology and surrender, M'lord." The boy hesitantly bowed his head.

"My... apologies." The others at the table did the same, though one of the boys looked more annoyed than ashamed. But Tiny didn't care. He sat back down, proud of himself, and reached for the bread he had stopped taking.

"Are you happy now?" Enel glanced at him, trying to prevent himself from smiling.

"Yes, M'lord." Enel shook his head at his quick reply. He was about to eat again, but he accidentally focused his hearing too much on the other table.

"I told you not to be too loud."

"I did not know he was of some status."

"Are you crazy? Look at him. His hair is better than the courtesans my father has!"

"I hate it. Having to bow to a stupid and dirty-looking peasant."

"Ssh. They might hear you. Let us just leave."

"Why would we leave? If anything, it is the peasant who should leave. He should be cleaning the latrines—" Enel suddenly stood up, and the whole room became quiet. Tiny's eyes widened as he looked up.

"M'lord...?" Enel walked to the other table without saying a word. The boy who had apologized stiffened as Enel approached, and the others followed. Enel stopped in front of their table and placed one hand gently on the edge. He did not mean for the wood to groan under his touch, but it did anyway.

"Do not speak to him that way again," Enel said. The boy opened his mouth.

"Young lord, I only meant—" Enel then began pushing the table. It was slow, but that only made the creaking worse. It was almost as if the table was screaming as its legs scraped against the floor. The cups rattled, and some of the spoons rolled over the edge and clattered down. The table slid toward the trainees, stopping just before the edge touched their stomachs.

"E-eep!" One of the girls leaned back so sharply her chair nearly tipped. It wasn't only her. The others she was with completely held their breaths. Enel tilted his head, and the whispers he was hearing around him all finally stopped. It would seem... Tommen was right, after all. Learning when not to practice restraint would stop more problems before they even start. But then, his eyes fell onto their faces... and he saw their fear.

"T—" Enel quickly removed his hand from the table. He looked at the others, and they, too, were looking at him in fear. Even Sigrud, who did not seem to care for him at the start, looked alert now.

"I apologize," he said, suddenly crouching down to pick up the spoons that dropped. The boys and the others quickly kicked off from their seats and started picking up the cutlery, too.

"My Lord! L-let us!"

"Please, My Lord! It... it was our fault!" Enel closed his eyes for a moment upon hearing the fear in their voices. But still, he nodded.

"I... apologize for scaring you," he said, trying not to raise his voice.

"But Tiny is my friend. Please, remember that the next time you say something like that." Enel bowed his head once more, then finally returned to his seat. Tiny watched him sit down. For once, he was at a loss for words. He looked at the trainees still picking up their things, then at Enel.

"... Thank you, M'lord," he said.

"But... you did not need to apologize to them. They started it."

"I know." Enel shook his head.

"But I did not have to treat them like that. It did not feel right, Tiny. And I do not want you using my name to frighten people, too."

"M'lord... I used your name to stop them from frightening me." Enel stared at Tiny for a moment, then his eyes lowered. But soon enough, Tiny snorted.

"But... you are right, M'lord." Tiny swallowed.

"You were scary. I almost shit my pants."

"You—" Enel looked at him again... and a small snort also escaped him soon enough. He covered his mouth, but that made it worse as his shoulders began to move wildly as he tried his best not to laugh. Tiny also gripped the table hard. Neither of them wanted to make noise, as laughing felt wrong after what had just happened. And soon, eventually, night came, and Enel returned to his room. He sat on the edge of his bed, once again staring out into the window.

He remembered the faces of the older trainees again, and how they looked at him in fear. It... truly did not feel right for him, and it caused his stomach to churn. But they also did not try to do anything or speak badly of Tiny again. Was... Tommen truly right? If people feared him, if those witches feared him and his name, would the things that have happened in Dalerly be prevented?

"Ha..." He lay down, but sleep did not come. He only stared at the ceiling, feeling like he'd been at the guild for weeks when it had not even been half a day. Still, he closed his eyes. He heard the Breath hum softly through the walls. And he could also hear the cold wind singing between the mountains. And then... he heard the window click.

"Hm?" Enel opened his eyes. A shape slipped through the window and landed inside his room without a sound. The moonlight caught purple scales first, then a thick tail, then dark eyes that turned toward him. Enel sat up, lightly rubbing his eyes.

"Sigrud?" The hisker stood near the window, one hand resting on the sill.

"Who are you?" Sigrud asked.

"Huh...? I am—""No. What are you?" Sigrud raised his palm.

"What... do you mean? Did you need something from—wait. Why did you enter through the window in the first place?"

"You are not Blessed."

"What?" And without even drawing Breath, or writing a Script, a small flame bloomed above Sigrud's palm. He stared at Enel, completely fixed on his eyes.

"You are not one of us," he repeated.

"You are something else."