Chapter 118: The Seal (2)
Jake nodded. "He used a magic spell. It hurt a little, but not much. He said the seal would hide inside my blood and soul until the right time. He said I must never tell outsiders."
Jenny covered her mouth for a moment.
"That means you are the seal yourself."
Jake lowered his head. "I think so."
Jenny looked at Lucard. "That is why they are after him."
"Yes."
Her voice trembled with anger. "They were not trying to capture him because he was a helpless child. They wanted the seal inside him."
Lucard said, "Both can be true. A helpless child is easier to cut open."
Jake’s face became pale.
Jenny snapped, "Lucard."
Lucard looked at Jake. "Better he understands."
Jake swallowed hard, but he nodded. "I understand."
Jenny looked pained, but she did not argue further. The world had already tried to take Jake by force. Soft words would not protect him from that.
Lucard leaned forward and placed one finger on the table.
"No one else hears this. Not Peter. Not Brant. Not Lysa. Not Celia. Not Robi. From this moment, this secret belongs only to us three."
Jenny hesitated at Peter’s name.
Lucard noticed. "Peter is loyal. That does not mean he needs every secret. A secret told to a loyal man can still be pulled from his corpse, his mind, his family, or his pain."
Jenny’s face tightened, but she slowly nodded.
Jake nodded too. "Only us three."
Lucard continued, "If anyone asks why Jake was targeted, we use a smaller reason. Old inheritance. Father’s ring. Vardros documents. Bloodline claim. Anything believable but incomplete."
Jenny said, "And Ash Wolf?"
"For now, accept them."
Jake looked surprised. "We accept?"
"Yes," Lucard said. "Brant’s offer has value, and the old debt gives you a clean reason. Ash Wolf needs a house to follow after Merrick’s betrayal damaged them. We need blades, scouts, and people who understand dirty work."
Jenny looked uncertain. "Can they be trusted?"
"That is up to you," Lucard said. "But I have a way to make them loyal."
Jenny’s eyes narrowed. "What way?"
"It needs preparation."
"Lucard."
"I will not damage the useful ones."
"That is not a full answer."
"It is the safest answer for now."
Jenny held his gaze. She disliked that he was hiding something again, but she also understood that some of his methods were not things she wanted Jake to hear before he could sleep at night.
Jake looked between them and asked quietly, "Will they become our people?"
Lucard looked at him. "If you accept them properly. Not as beggars. Not as tools thrown away after one use. They must swear to House Vardros with terms, duty, payment, punishment, and future reward. Loyalty grows better when it has both roots and a knife above it."
Jenny whispered, "Roots and a knife."
"It works."
"It sounds terrible."
"So does betrayal. Choose the useful terrible thing."
Jenny took a long breath.
"Then we will speak to Brant tomorrow."
"Good."
Jake looked at Lucard. "What about the vault?"
"We do nothing about it now."
Jenny frowned. "Nothing?"
Lucard’s voice became firm. "There is no point chasing a door when we do not know where it is, cannot open it, and do not know who else wants it. For now, we watch. We accept Ash Wolf. We strengthen this house. We let Ravencroft stay afraid. We let Marovain and Velkhur move. When our enemy takes the next step, we learn from it."
Jenny slowly nodded.
Jake looked down at his chest with a strange expression.
"I am a key!?!"
Lucard looked at him. "No."
Jake looked up.
Lucard’s voice was cold and clear. "You are Jake Vardros. The seal is inside you. It does not define you unless you become weak enough to let others use you only as a door."
Jake’s eyes widened slightly.
Jenny looked at Lucard with surprise.
Lucard stood. "Train your body. Train your memory. Train your mouth to speak less when afraid. If enemies want a key, make them find a blade instead."
Jake slowly nodded.
"I will."
Lucard walked to the door, then stopped.
"And Jake."
"Yes?"
"If Father told you anything else, even something you think is small, you tell us later."
Jake nodded again. "I will."
Lucard opened the door.
Peter turned at once from the hallway.
"Young Master?"
Lucard looked at him. "Bring food. Jake needs to eat."
Jake blinked. "I do?"
"Yes. Family heads should not faint from secrets."
Peter looked confused, but he nodded. "Yes, Young Master."
Jenny leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes for one second.
The secret was out now.
House Vardros had been born from royal blood, created as a hidden weapon, broken by forgotten wars, and reduced to almost nothing. But the seal had survived inside Jake.
Somewhere in Valoria, someone wanted that seal.
Somewhere, a vault waited with a secret only a transcendent ancestor and a founding emperor had known.
Lucard looked toward the window.
For the first time since waking in this weak body, the lower world had shown him something that might be interesting.
Lucard turned away from the window.
Jenny was still sitting at the table, but her face had not relaxed. The secret Jake had spoken did not leave the room just because the words had ended. It stayed in the air between them, heavy and cold, like a locked door that had suddenly appeared in their small house.
Jake also looked tired.
He had spoken more than a child should have to speak. The words from their father had sat inside him since before the fall of House Vardros, and now that they were out, he seemed both lighter and more afraid. He kept one hand near his chest, not because anything hurt, but because he now understood that something inside him had made enemies circle him like wolves.
Jenny noticed and pulled him closer.
Lucard saw it, then looked back toward the door.
Before he could leave, Jenny spoke.
"Celia came here while you were gone."
Lucard stopped.
Jenny continued, "She came twice. The first time was the day after you left. The second time was yesterday evening. She said she came to check the house guards and ask if you needed anything."
Lucard looked at her. "And you told her?"
"I told her you were training inside and had ordered us not to disturb you."
Jake lowered his head a little. "I also said you get angry when people interrupt training."
Lucard looked at him. "That was believable."
Jake’s face brightened a little, but Jenny’s expression stayed serious.
"She did not push," Jenny said. "She only looked at me for a while and then left."
Lucard’s eyes sharpened slightly.
Celia was not stupid. A poor lie could fool a fool. It could not fool someone raised in House Marovain, especially not someone who had already seen Lucard move through danger like a knife through cloth.
"She knew," Lucard said.
Jenny nodded. "I think so."
"She must have guessed I was not in the house."
"She probably did. But she did not expose it."
"That means she wanted me to know she knew."
Jenny frowned. "How does that make sense?"
Lucard walked back to the table and picked up the cold tea cup. He smelled it once, decided it was not worth drinking, and placed it down again.
"If she truly believed I was training, she would not come twice. If she knew I left and wanted to threaten us, she would tell Robi or place more guards. She did neither. That means she came to show concern, confirm the lie, and leave me space while keeping the right to question me later."
Jake blinked. "That is a lot from visiting twice."
Lucard looked at him. "People speak when they do not speak."
Jake nodded slowly. "That sounds difficult."
"It is."
Jenny watched Lucard carefully. "Will you tell her where you went?"
"No."
"Will you lie?"
"Yes."
Jake raised his hand slightly. "Can I learn which lies are allowed?"
Jenny looked at him. "No."
Lucard said, "Later."
Jenny closed her eyes. "Lucard."
"He asked a useful question."
"He is ten."
"He will not stay ten."
Jake whispered, "I am getting older every year."
Jenny gave him a tired look. "Everyone does that."
Lucard turned toward the door. "I will meet Celia today."
Jenny’s face changed. "Now?"
"After I eat."
That answer surprised her.
"You agreed to eat first?"
"I am not going to meet a Marovain lady while I’m hungry. She speaks too much."
Jake nodded seriously. "Food helps against talking."
Jenny sighed, but this time the sound carried a little relief.
Lucard looked at her. "Do not speak of the seal again unless the room is checked."
Jenny nodded. "I know."
"Do not accept Ash Wolf yet."
"I thought you said we should accept them."
"We should. But not quickly. Make Brant wait until tomorrow. Waiting shows him we are choosing, not grabbing. It also gives him time to think about the weight of his offer."
Jenny took that in slowly. "So we make him value the oath before he gives it."
"Yes."
Jake looked thoughtful. "Father used to say a promise made after fear is weak, but a promise made after thought can grow teeth."
Lucard looked at him.
Jenny also turned.