Chương 39: The Oathrunner... And His Lack Of Ambition

.. And His Lack Of Ambition

"... What?" Enel stared at Marshal Tommen Uller, not quite sure he had heard him correctly. The snow continued to fall around them, settling on his shoulders, his hair, and the black stone beneath him... Then Tommen calmly sat beside him as if he had merely asked a normal question.

"Are you planning to take over Aldwyn?" Tommen repeated.

"No," Enel said immediately.

"No?"

"Of course not."

"How disappointing." Enel's brows lowered.

"Why would you even ask me that, sir?"

"Because you have already committed treason once, no?"

"I—" Enel could not really come up with a response to that. It was... true.

"And because you are a young lord from an old house that has been abandoned by the Crown, rumored to be Blessed by the gods, strong enough to frighten Duke Gawen, tied by betrothal to his only daughter, loved by commoners, whispered about by soldiers, and already carrying a title the people made for you without permission from the Crown." Tommen smiled.

"And you have been public for what... a month or so? You are the perfect ingredient for a coup."

"My oath is to protect people, sir. I would never go against the people."

"The Crown."

"Hm?"

"You did not say you would never go against the Crown," Tommen said, smirking.

"That is not what I—" Tommen stood then, brushing snow from his coat with one hand.

"Come," he said.

"Where?"

"I wish to show you something. Consider this your first official lesson... and your punishment for causing trouble in the middle of the night and breaking some of my windows, hm?" Tommen turned and began walking up the mountain. Enel remained seated for a moment longer. He wanted to argue that Sigrud started the fight... but it was true that it was he who broke the windows. And so, he just stood and followed.

"Where... are we going?" Enel asked when he noticed they were not walking toward the entrance.

"Just follow." Tommen led him around the side of the mountain, through a narrow path hidden between two black stones. At first, Enel thought they were walking toward nothing. But Tommen placed two fingers against the rock, and a line of pale light appeared in the seam. It was a door.

"A secret... door," Enel whispered, and a small excitement crept across his face. He, of course, immediately stood straight. But the thought of Lamb going crazy if she were there made it hard for him to contain it. And so, he cleared his throat and just gazed at the opening door.

"Is this a secret door, Marshal?"

"If it were a secret, then I would not have shown you, would I?" Tommen chuckled and stepped inside. The passage sloped upward. It was too narrow for two people to walk side by side, so Enel just watched the marshal's scarf bounce as they walked. He could hear voices far away, guards calling to one another, and the students he and Sigrud had woken from their battle. And he could also hear Tiny. Enel slowed slightly.

"My friend is looking for me."

"Yes. He is quite loud for one so small. He was the one who found me and woke me up. Just come. Worry about your friend later."

"I think... he is the one worried about me, Marshal." Tommen did not answer that. Enel continued to follow him until the passage ended before another door. This one opened into a room that smelled of old paper and candle oil. The chamber was unusually long, with no windows except for a narrow slit high on the wall where moonlight entered in a thin blade. Lamps burned along the sides, each one carrying a small Script beneath the glass.

Shelves lined the walls, filled with ledgers, scrolls, sealed letters, and wooden boxes marked with symbols Enel did not recognize. At the center of the room stood a large table. And on it... was a map. It was carved. Rivers were painted in blue strips, and the roads were marked by silver thread. Forests and mountains were painted in their proper colors, too. The map extended to the sea, surrounding the island-continent in deep blue paint, and beyond that... it was left unpainted. Enel stepped closer.

He had seen maps before. Mira had shown him some when he was younger, but never like this. Tommen walked to the opposite side of the table and rested both palms on its edge.

"This is Aldwyn," he said. Enel looked at the center of the map, where a small golden crown had been placed over a city carved larger than the others.

"First Crown," Tommen said before Enel could ask.

"Where the king and his warrior son live, hidden away from everyone else. Everyone who goes there bends their knee even without seeing him. Fools."

"You... do not like the king?"

"I once tried to kill a duke, pretty lord. Not liking the king is a compliment to him. And truth be told... I am scared of my wits of him." Enel looked at him.

"Why did you try to kill His Grace?"

"Oh, the Duke of Veyrmark paid me. It was a long time ago. Do not mind it."

"Wha—""That is not why I brought you here." Tommen waved him off, then handed him a pin.

"As a lord, I assume you know your geography?"

"I... believe so?" Enel took the pin, which had a red thread attached to it.

"Then can you mark where Gawen Lorran's territory begins and where it ends?" Tommen backed away, motioning for him to come closer. Enel's finger moved west, then north, then down again across a vast portion of the map before he finally pressed the pin.

"Good." Tommen nodded.

"Gawen's territory is the largest of the three duchies. He holds nearly half of Aldwyn."

"... The people hold Aldwyn."

"Psh." Tommen rolled his eyes at Enel.

"The ideals of the young. How cute. Although if it is you... hmn. Maybe?"

"Maybe what?"

"Maybe let us move on." Tommen moved a silver pin toward the east.

"And this is Veyrmark Duchy. Where the Adventurer you softly executed used to live. It—" You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Tommen instantly stopped when the table creaked. He turned to Enel, whose hands were gripping the table.

"Oh, worry you not, pretty lord," Tommen said, seemingly not caring at all.

"The man had it coming. He was part of a brigand group that terrorized its way through Veyrmark. Whatever crimes he confessed to you, I am certain it was not even half of what he did." Tommen smiled.

"But who am I to guess, right?" Enel slowly released the table, then Tommen moved his hand farther south and east.

"Southmere Duchy. This will probably die by the time you have outgrown your nighties, pretty lord. Too many mouths to feed, with nothing to feed them. Full of beastfolk with their sharp, pretty nails."

"We are all beastfolk, sir."

"Huh?" Tommen looked at him. And Enel looked back.

"Men are beasts." For a moment, Tommen's smile did not move, then he chuckled.

"Ah, yes. Of course. How could I forget?" Tommen waved one hand.

"I was not being demeaning, pretty lord. I quite adore them critters. Then, lastly..." Tommen's finger returned to Lorran, toward a small dark line near the east.

"The Woldmarch." Enel leaned closer, and there it was. So small that, at first, he nearly missed it.

"... Widow's Wall." Widow's Wall was marked by a black deer pin beside a patch of dark forest. The name of his home had been written in neat little letters, smaller than Tommen's fingernail.

"Blackwood Barony," Tommen said.

"Widow's Wall. The Dark Forest sits west of it, advancing to the east slowly. Your old outer wall has been gone for a century, eaten by the forest. The current settlement is what remains. Do you wish to see what it used to look like, pretty lord?" Enel looked at Widow's Wall, then shook his head.

"I know what it looked like. Is this your lesson, Marshal? Geography?" Tommen's smile did not fade, but the look in his eyes did.

"No," he said. The tone of his voice was so cold that the hair on Enel's neck stood.

"Power." Tommen slammed his palm on the map, obliterating Widow's Wall beneath his hand.

"Power is my lesson." Enel glared at him for a moment, but Tommen's smile only grew wider. Then Tommen slid his palm across the map, spreading the black paint of the barony outward. It smeared across roads and fields, across threads and borders, and not once did he move his eyes away from Enel. But before his hand could reach First Crown, Enel planted one finger to block it.

"What are you trying to do?"

"This." Tommen's eyes moved to Enel's hand, then back to his face, then back at the map.

"This could be House Blackwood... my lord."

"House Blackwood is not interested in politics, sir."

"Because it never had the power to be." Tommen backed away, spreading his arms wide and letting black paint drip from his palm.

"But now it has you."

"I think I want to go back to sleep, sir." Enel looked away, clearly uncomfortable. Tommen leaned down, following his eyes so that Enel could still see him.

"Pretty lord. Everyone knew Widow's Wall was suffering." Tommen slowly stood straight again.

"No one helped. Do you know why Duke Gawen's father and grandfather decided to pull your barony's funds as soon as the vemons slept? There were a lot of frontier houses next to Veils, like yours. And like yours, some of their Veils had also gone dormant—yet they continued to receive funds from the Crown. Why do you think that is?"

"I am sleepy, sir. I wish to leave."

"Because Widow's Wall produced warriors like no other. Robert Blackwood's great grandfather was one of them." Enel stilled, then whispered, "... The Vemon of the Woldmarch."

"Yes." Tommen almost grumbled in excitement, his fingers dancing under his chin.

"Named after defending the region of Woldmarch and its people from the vemons. Alone. From one full moon to another, with only his axe beside him. Oh, you could find no one who did not tremble upon hearing his name."

"How would you know, sir? You were not there."

"Oh, but I might as well have been." Tommen glanced at one of the shelves filled with books and scrolls.

"On that shelf are all the secrets and whispers of the realm. Records of why Widow's Wall is as poor as it is today are there as well. My lord. Do you wish to see them?"

"No," Enel answered immediately.

"How boring."

"Where did you even get them?"

"Oh, you know. Servants, merchants, priests... noble children who like to gossip. Daughters angry at their fathers, sons trying to impress fathers. The Crown's Guild has plenty of those." Enel stared at the shelf.

"The Crown's Guild gathers information?"

"As it has done for hundreds of years." Tommen shrugged, then walked toward one of the desks and leaned on it.

"We get information. We sell it. We also buy it from time to time."

"Does the king know about this?"

"Oh, His Majesty is my number one customer." Tommen laughed.

"Do you know what information he is trying to buy now?"

"I... do not wish to—" Tommen pointed at Enel.

"You." Enel went quiet, then glanced at the shelves.

"Why... me?"

"Oh, you really are only three and ten. It is not just the king. Everyone wants a piece of you. Must be a curse to be so... delectable, hmn?" Tommen covered his mouth and giggled.

"That is a great compliment, to be noticed by His Majesty. They mostly stay out of everything and let the little folks do politics, they probably do not even know Widow's Wall had not received fundings for years."

"They... do not care about their people?"

"Oh, they do. Everything they do, it is for the good of Aldwyn, that is what they always say. But do you know why, even as they remained completely separated from the disputes, the lands, and all the other things. Why no one wants to usurp the throne? Why no one challenges them? Why no one can speak against them?"

"... Power."

"Yes!" Tommen lightly slammed his palm on the table again.

"Not just political power. Actual power, like you."

"I am aware of how strong the prince is from the stories, Marshal."

"The prince?" Tommen scoffed.

"Yes. That little monster is strong and could probably kill me here from all the way in their pretty little castle. But it is not the prince everyone is scared of, it is the king."

"His... Majesty?" Enel squinted.

"But father..."

"Please, I mean no disrespect to dear Robb, but he is at the lowest of the low and has probably never even met His Majesty personally. But I assure you, your father knows what the king is capable of from his father's bedtime stories." The tone of Tommen's voice changed.

"Duke Gawen does not follow the king because of oaths, order, or loyalty, my lord. He is scared out of his wits of him. Lord Commander Duncan is terrified of him, too. Well, to be fair, I think Duncan is afraid of you, too." Enel frowned.

"Then why would Lord Commander Duncan risk making me his enemy?"""You? An enemy? Lord Commander Duncan have seen right through you." Tommen chuckled.

"You are a kind person, my lord. Yes, you might have been angry, rageful, wrathful. Maybe even went to war with Aldwyn. But... maybe. The wrath of the king is not a maybe." Enel went quiet.

"Think, pretty lord. If Duncan spared your father on his own, the next man sent to Widow's Wall would not have been Duncan. It would have been the king's little monster, and I assure you, the prince does not play around." Tommen leaned closer.

"Duncan might have been scared of the monster you could become, but he was already scared of the monster the king and his son is...... the king is the Sovereign in human shape."

"That is blasphemy, Sir."

"Oh? Then clamp your ears. You have been trying to say you want to sleep and you want to leave... and yet here you are still." Enel looked back at the map.

"... Why am I here, truly?"

"That would depend entirely on you." Tommen looked him in the eyes.

"Do you wish to know more?" Enel continued to stare at the map... then shook his head.

"Then I suppose you were never here at all, pretty lord." Tommen motioned to the door.

"But do know that if you wish to know more, once you are ready... do not forget that I offered. I am your ally, my lord."

"What I wish is to not put a hole between my family and the Crown." Enel bowed, then finally turned.

"Oh, pretty lord." Tommen pointed back at the map, at the hole Enel had made when he pressed his finger through it.

"But you already have." Enel only looked at it for a moment, then left for the door. Tommen watched him leave, then let out a long and very deep sigh.

"Roger." Roger appeared from another secret door on the other side of the chamber.

"Marshal."

"Send a raven to the king and to everyone who was interested in the boy."

"And the contents?"

"Hmn. Tell them the boy is nothing special and that the reports are exaggerated." Roger stared at him.

"But—""Do it." Tommen's voice became cold as he glared at Roger. But Roger did not budge.

"This will put you in His Majesty's bad grace."

"And?" Tommen rolled his eyes.

"Did you see what just walked out of this room, Roger? Do you want to be in the bad graces of that... thing?" Roger looked toward the door Enel had left through. Then he bowed.

"You... make a fine point, Marshal." Hours passed, and morning came too quickly. Or perhaps it only felt that way because Enel had barely slept. Well, no one really slept well after what he and Sigrud did, and what he did was... currently being exaggerated by those who were saying it.

"M'lord... one of them is saying you erased half the mountain."

"What...?" Enel waved Tiny off.

"And where are we even going, M'lord?" Tiny looked around, and everything just looked the same everywhere.

"The Lady wanted to meet us somewhere in the west wing."

"M'lord... this is the east wing."

"Oh, yes. I meant to say east wing."

"You did not sleep at all, did you, M'lord?"

"Pft... no." Enel didn't really know whether to sigh or laugh. He walked with his mind clouded, though his feet eventually carried him to the eastern courtyard, where several students had gathered before morning drills. He was about to continue walking when he heard Guinevere's name.

"Instructor Guinevere is brilliant, yes," one boy said.

"Very beautiful, too. No one denies that."

"My mother said her mind is not well," another answered.

"Do not say that here."

"What? Everyone knows. She is not of sound mind. That was why the duke sent her here. Since she knows a lot about everything that is happening and likes to talk to herself a lot, too. The duke sent her here since here, at least someone will hear." A few laughed, then someone else spoke more quietly.

"Is it true about her... mother?"

"That she killed her?" Enel turned toward them as soon as he heard that and began walking. The students noticed too late. Their faces changed the moment they saw him, and one of them quickly stood straighter.

"Lord Blackwood—""That is enough." The voice did not come from Enel. Guinevere stood at the edge of the courtyard with her book beneath one arm.

"I-instructor Guinevere," one of them said quickly.

"Your group's combat training begins in the southern hall," she said.

"If you still have enough breath for gossip, then you have enough breath to run there." No one argued. They bowed and scattered, leaving Enel standing in the courtyard with his lips slightly parted. As for Guinevere, she only watched them go, then stood beside him.

"Were you about to protect my honor, Lord Enel?"

"It is not true," he said.

"What is not true?"

"What they said about you." Guinevere looked at him for a moment, then blinked.

"None of their words were lies, My Lord." Enel's chest tightened.

"But... they said you killed your mother." Guinevere held her book a little closer.

"But that is true. I did kill my mother."