Chương 26: The Starboy And The Duke

"You should get this healed."

"No." Robert's blood had already dried by the time they returned to the manor. Outside, however, everything was still fresh. The people still stood in front of the gate, with the duke's men telling them all to settle. But inside was completely different. They were back at Robert's meeting hall, seated at a new table. But the hole that Enel created was loosely covered with a blanket that snapped with the wind from time to time. This time, Duke Gawen sat at the head of the table.

Duncan stood behind him, his hands folded behind his back. Robert sat on the side of the table while Mira stood beside him, wrapping cloth around the side of his head. Enel stood near the wall and watched every strip of white cloth turn red. And whenever his father glanced at him, he looked away.

"Are you certain?" Mira asked, her hand trembling hard. Robert winced as she pressed the bandage against his cheek and what remained of his ear, then smiled as if that would make her hands gentler.

"Yes."

"Duncan can heal this," she said, and Duncan immediately stepped forward.

"It will still leave a scar, but it will not be so noticeable." Robert touched the bandage with two fingers, then looked at the red left behind on them.

"No," he said.

"Some wounds should not disappear." Mira's hands stopped for a moment, and she quickly glanced at her son... whose head was now lower than before. Duncan looked at Robert for a while, then spoke quietly.

"It was my blade."

"And my neck beneath it," Robert said.

"Do not claim everything, Lord Commander. Leave some foolishness for the rest of us." Duncan stared at him for a moment, then bowed his head and returned to his position. Duke Gawen leaned back in the chair, and everyone turned quiet as he looked at Robert.

"A sentimental answer. But not an unwise one," the duke said.

"Scars are the best records of the worst and proudest moments of our lives. So..." Duke Gawen turned his focus to Enel, and he quickly bowed his head and faced him.

"You are the one who made the Lord Commander ride here without sleep." Enel straightened.

"Your Grace."

"I heard you threw Duncan and destroyed your wall."

"Forgive me, Your Grace."

"Do not apologize to me. It is not my wall." Gawen glanced toward the blanket covering the hole, then at Mira.

"Though I suspect the boy will be in much trouble for this?"

"I... will see to it, My Lord." Mira bowed her head.

"My house welcomes you, though I confess the circumstances of our meeting are a bit... odd."

"I have been welcomed worse," Gawen said. Tiny, who was on the other side of the door with Lamb, quietly leaned closer to her.

"Has he?"

"Sshh. They would hear you." Lamb shook her head.

"... And why would Enel be the one in fucking trouble? They should be the ones kneeling for our forgiveness."

"Lamb... he's the duke of Lorran. Second only to the king in power."

"So? We have Enel!"

"S-Shh!" Duke Gawen heard both of them, of course. But only glanced at the door before placing both his hands on the table. His fingers were thick, ringed, and scarred in small places.

"The matter of Robert Blackwood's sentence is respited," Gawen said. Enel's back immediately straightened after hearing that, a gasp almost escaping him as he looked at his father with a smile on his face. Mira, however, did not share the same enthusiasm.

"A respite?" she said.

"Not lifted?"

"The law does not vanish because I arrived at a convenient hour, Lady Blackwood," Gawen continued.

"Lord Commander Duncan carried out his duty. Baron Blackwood accepted the burden of his house. The boy committed treason. All of those are true, and there are witnesses. Boy, you have doomed this house." Duke Gawen glared at Enel.

"Yes. You." Mira wanted to stand to comfort Enel, but Robert stopped her. Gawen's mouth curved, but it was not quite a smile.

"Do not worry, Lady Blackwood. I did not ride here to cut down the boy after stopping another man from doing it."

"Lady... Guinevere?" Mira asked.

"Yes." For the first time, Gawen smiled.

"And please, stop looking at the Lord Commander with hostility—he was the one who sent word to me about your boy."

"... What?" Mira and Enel looked at Duncan, whose eyes remained looking ahead.

"A boy from a forgotten barony infiltrated the war. He killed a barbarian of the 4th Depth in one strike, and attacked an enemy camp by himself that should have taken a hundred men to break," he recollected.

"The boy has no Breath, and also no fear. Then Duncan, by the end of his letter, said that this boy committed treason in front of hundreds of people and a dozen knights." Mira closed her eyes and winced. She'd heard from Duncan that there were witnesses... but hundreds of people and a dozen nobles?

"And then," the duke continued, "he told me he would serve the execution himself. He might have insinuated something here and there in the letter that I should come and stop it—but that would be ordering me, his superior, would it not?" Duncan bowed his head.

"I would not dare, Your Grace." Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"It matters not. I am not as lawful as you lot are, the lady can relate?"

"I..." Mira couldn't really come up with an answer.

"Unlike the two men and the sniveling child in this room. I prefer the law to be... flexible." Duke Gawen stared into Robert's eyes.

"And I prefer it when it is on my side—tell me, why hide the boy? A Blessed."

"Because... we did not want him taken, My Lord."

"Why?"

"The lady and I have been... trying and begging the gods for a child for a very long time." A smile immediately crept onto Robert's face. He looked at Enel with such gentleness that it almost hurt the boy.

"Enel is a gift from the gods, Your Grace. To have him taken would be an insult to them."

"The only thing the gods have gifted us is our mind and the Breath. Though I have to admit..." Duke Gawen looked at Enel from head to toe.

"If the boy truly is the gods' gift to House Blackwood, they have done a very good job. When I heard the boy's feats, I imagined him to look brutish—but it is as if he is sculpted by the gods himself. I have no regrets giving my daughter to you."

"Regarding that matter, Your Grace," Mira interrupted.

"Enel is but three and ten. He has not even had his coming-of-age ceremony. He cannot—""As I said." Duke Gawen tapped his finger on the table.

"I prefer the law to be flexible. Your boy will marry my daughter, and then the sentence upon your family will be lifted. If Enel becomes my son, then what he did during the war would be my responsibility. They would be my orders, and my orders are... absolute and only beneath His Majesty's."

"How... old is Lady Guinevere?" Mira quietly asked.

"Nine and ten."

"Oh..." Mira blinked.

"I had her late with my fourth wife." Gawen glared at Mira and Robert.

"My only daughter." The two lowered their heads, no longer knowing what to say.

"In truth, it was my father who removed the provisions for Widow's Wall."

"My... Lord?"

"Judging by the state of your barony, it was only after Enel, the very same child you had been trying to hide, ventured out into the kingdom that your city started recovering." Gawen once again looked at the broken wall.

"Ulric Goldhand, of all the people your son could have encountered and saved. Ha... he might be a gift from the gods, after all." Gawen went silent for a moment, then nodded to himself.

"You have no choice in this matter, Robert. Either you die, or your son marries my daughter." Enel finally stepped forward.

"My Lord, if I may—""You may not. If you want agency, then you must learn its consequences."

"But... Your Grace, this matter concerns me."

"No. It matters because of you, boy."

"It..." Enel opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He had been told already. By Duncan. By his father. By the blood on his mother's mouth. And... by the wound Robert now refused to heal.

"What are you still doing here?" Duke Gawen motioned to the door.

"Leave." Enel's hands curled, his teeth sinking into his lip. Duncan noticed, and his hand slowly moved toward his sword. Enel still stepped forward, but then his eyes found the dried blood and bandage on his father's face. He saw the burns Mira was trying to hide beneath her sleeve. And slowly, his fists opened. He bowed to his father first, then to Mira, then finally to the duke.

"As you command, Your Grace."

"Good," Gawen said.

"You have been raised well to have such restraint, young lord—but perhaps you have also been loved too much." Enel paused at those words, then turned and walked out of the hall. And as soon as he opened the door, Tiny immediately jumped away and started looking at the wall.

"O-oh... is this a new painting?" Tiny pointed at an empty wall. Lamb, however, was not as subtle at all.

"I heard everything," she said while crossing her arms.

"It would seem I have misjudged the Lord Commander. I still do not like him, though. But... I quite like the duke."

"You don't like anyone," Tiny whispered.

"That is not true, I like Enel."

"Let's... go." Enel sighed at the two of them, then started walking away. Tiny chased, looking back toward the hall.

"Should we not listen? They were about to talk about you, M'lord."

"They asked me to leave."

"Yes. Which is why we should listen?" Lamb nodded.

"For once, the little tit speaks with sense."

"I... told you not to call me that."

"Why? Are you my lord that I have to follow what you say? And walk faster, Enel's leaving us." Outside, Widow's Wall had not returned to what it was before. People were still standing in the square, though many tried not to stare when Enel stepped out of the manor. A few bowed. But the others quickly looked away. Some, however, approached.

"M'lord... is the baron alright?"

"Do you need food, M'lord?"

"I could clear my tavern, M'lord. You can—""Oy, oy, oy!" Lamb moved in front of Enel and started waving them away.

"The lord needs some air. Step back! Back!" They quickly dispersed after that, bowing their heads as they made way for their young lord. There were still others who tried to approach, but Lamb just glared at them along the way. The three were quiet for a moment... that was until Tiny could no longer contain his mouth.

"So," he said.

"Betrothed." Enel looked at him.

"Yes?"

"That means you are getting wed, M'lord."

"Apparently so." Tiny frowned, then looked between them.

"Are you not bothered, Lamb?"

"By what?" Lamb asked.

"By Lord Enel being promised to another girl."

"Why would I be bothered by that?" Tiny looked back and slowly raised both hands.

"What? But aren't the two of you a... thing?" Those words made Lamb stop. Her face twisted first, and then Enel's. For a moment there, Tiny thought he said something he shouldn't. But then... Lamb laughed. And it was loud. She burst into laughter so loud it made people nearby turn their heads. Enel lowered his head, and even though he tried to cover his mouth, his shoulders shook. For a moment, the children forgot the tragedy that had almost befallen them.

"I asked a fair question! Must you laugh at me so?!"

"You thought…" Lamb pointed at Enel, then at herself, then had to lower her hand because she started laughing again. Enel tried to speak. He failed. Tiny crossed his arms.

"But you two are always together."

"Of course, we are always together. We have sworn arms to each other, until death."

"I would also like to add," Enel said, now finally recovering, "that Lamb once told me she would rather marry a vemon than anyone in Widow's Wall."

"I would," Lamb said.

"And then she said she would also kill it before the wedding."

"I would." Tiny looked at them both.

"You are both very strange people."

"So we have been told."

"Yes. But..." Lamb raised a finger.

"If this Guinevere or whatever her name was is terrible, I will bite her."

"Please, no biting." For the first time since his father's supposed execution, Enel smiled without needing to force it. They continued walking away from the manor. The city was still wounded. The repairs Ulric had started were everywhere, but it was still outweighed by the things that needed repair. But if there was one thing that had truly not been touched, it was the empty lot that Enel and Lamb used for their play. Well, it wasn't so empty now. Several children were there.

"What the?!" Lamb moved forward.

"Those kids are in our spot again!" She stopped, however, when she noticed someone else was there with them.

"Who... is that?" A woman was kneeling in the dirt with her sleeves rolled to her elbows. Her dress was stained and muddy at the hem, and her hair, which had been tied back, was loose. The strands of silver were sticking to her cheek along with the mud. Still, it was quite obvious she did not look like anyone from Widow's Wall. She held a child's hand carefully in hers, wrapping cloth around two scraped fingers while speaking to him in a calm voice. The child nodded, then pointed toward one of the houses.

The woman glanced that way and saw a house whose walls were filled with cracks. But then, her eyes adjusted toward Lamb. She looked at the bandages on her arms, then at the sword on her waist. Then to Tiny, who bowed his head in instinct. Then her eyes reached Enel. For a moment, the two only looked at each other. Lamb leaned closer and nudged Enel with her elbow several times. Smiling at him while raising her eyebrows.

"You lucky dog," she whispered.

"Must be excited, eh?" Enel did not answer her, just subtly motioned for her to stop teasing him. The woman nodded at Enel, then turned her focus back to the child she was mending. The child, however, suddenly moved away from her. And so did the others surrounding them.

"Ah! It's Lord Enel!"

"... Enel," the woman whispered, watching as the children ran to him all at once. One grabbed his arm. Another clung to his side. A smaller girl hugged his leg and nearly tripped herself doing so. Enel quickly lowered his hand to steady her, while another child took that opportunity to climb him.

"You're back!"

"Did your father die?"

"Why is the duke here?"

"Did you fight the Lord Commander? Did you kill him?"

"Ah! Lamb is here, too! Attack!" One boy punched Lamb in the side with all the strength his small body could manage. Lamb looked down at him, then gently flicked his forehead. He fell backward into another child and started laughing. Enel carefully removed the child from his back and placed him on the ground.

"Who... is that lady?"

"Ah. She was asking about the city, M'lord," one child said.

"She also mended my hand. Look," another added, raising the bandage proudly.

"I got it from fighting a vemon."

"Sure, you did." Lamb snickered.

"What else did she ask you?"

"She... asked where we are getting our water? And if it is clean?" the child said.

"Why would water not be clean? It's water." And while the children were gathered around Enel, the woman stood there watching them. She looked at the smiles on their faces, then at the city, then finally back at Enel.

"So," she said quietly.

"This is Widow's Wall."