Chapter 125: The Carriage
Lucard went to the Marovain shop the next morning.
He did not take Peter with him. Peter wanted to come, but Lucard told him to stay with Jenny and Jake until called. The knight did not like that, but he obeyed. Silver Ash House had become more crowded after Brant and the Ash Wolf men entered, and Peter understood that a house with new allies was not the same as a house with trusted allies. Someone needed to stand near Jenny and Jake.
Lucard walked through Gravehold alone.
The city had changed again.
The streets were cleaner than yesterday. Too clean. Shops had opened early, but the merchants did not shout as much. Guards stood near corners that had been empty before. Servants from noble houses moved in and out of side streets with urgent steps and quiet faces. Carriages waited near inns and small courtyards, as if many nobles had suddenly remembered business in this part of the city.
Lucard noticed all of it.
Something was coming.
When he reached the Marovain shop, he saw the answer waiting at the entrance before anyone spoke.
Robi stood near the front door with Celia at his side. Several Marovain guards lined the road in polished armor. They were not placed like shop guards. They were placed like a formal receiving line. Behind them stood a few senior workers from the branch, all dressed better than usual. There was also an old man Lucard did not know, wearing a dark green robe with a thin gold chain across his chest. He looked like a local official or a noble house representative, someone important enough to stand near Robi but not important enough to stand in front of him.
The road in front of the shop had been cleared.
That meant the guest was not only important.
The guest was public.
Robi saw Lucard and immediately walked toward him.
"I am glad you are here."
Lucard looked at the guards, the old man, and the quiet street. "You are waiting for someone."
"Yes."
"Imperial?"
Robi’s eyebrows rose slightly. "You guessed quickly."
"The road is cleared, but there is no noble banner. Marovain guards are formal, not defensive. You look annoyed instead of afraid. That means someone too high to ignore but not openly hostile."
Celia stood nearby with her arms folded. "You could have simply said yes."
Lucard looked at her. "Yes."
Her mouth tightened.
Robi gave a small laugh. "The imperial representative should arrive soon. Maybe within the hour. A message reached me early this morning. I already sent someone to Silver Ash House to bring the Vardros family."
Lucard’s eyes narrowed. "Why?"
Robi looked toward the road. "You will know soon."
Lucard’s voice cooled. "I have not told them to come."
"The person I sent will inform them and bring them safely," Robi said. "I used Marovain guards. Peter will come too if he has any sense, which he does."
Lucard did not answer at once.
He disliked other people moving Jenny and Jake without his order. But if the imperial party was coming, keeping them at Silver Ash House might create a different problem. The emperor’s envoy had asked for involved houses, and House Vardros was now the center of too many reports. If Jenny and Jake were absent, others could speak about them before they could speak for themselves.
Still, Robi had moved quickly because he had to.
That was acceptable.
Barely.
Lucard said, "You should have sent word to me first."
Robi’s smile faded a little. "I sent someone, but you came here before that person could reach you."
Lucard looked at him. "Yoi could send someone earlier."
"The imperial message arrived suddenly, and the arrival time changed faster than expected. I had to come to the shop first and prepare the reception."
"Jenny and Jake might face danger alone."
"I sent guards to protect them," Robi said. "Peter and my guards will decide the safest way to bring them. If they think it is dangerous."
Lucard did not answer at once.
Robi’s words were reasonable, but Lucard still disliked it. Jenny and Jake were not pieces for other hands to move freely. Even useful allies needed limits. Robi was smart enough to understand that, so he did not push the matter with jokes.
Celia looked between them and said, "If the palace representative asks for House Vardros and they are absent, it will look strange. Uncle made the safer choice with the information he had."
Lucard turned his eyes toward her.
Celia did not step back. "You know I am right."
"You are half right."
"That is still better than being wrong."
Robi gave a short laugh, but he stopped when Lucard looked toward the side entrance of the shop.
"The prisoner," Lucard said. "I came early because I wanted him to talk. I told you yesterday I would come prepared."
Celia’s expression changed slightly. "You brought the method?"
"Yes."
Robi looked at Lucard’s empty hands, then at his face. "Of course you brought a method that cannot be seen."
"That is the better kind."
Celia lowered her voice. "Then we should go below now. If the imperial party arrives, the knight will become harder to question. Everyone will watch what we do. We can’t go until everything is over."
Robi shook his head. "No. Not now."
Celia frowned. "Uncle."
Robi’s voice became firm. "The imperial carriage may arrive at any moment. If we disappear into the prison now, every person watching this street will wonder why. If something goes wrong below while the palace envoy reaches the door, we will look guilty before anyone even speaks."
Lucard said, "The knight may be worth more before the palace arrives."
"I know," Robi said. "That is why he is still alive. But timing matters. A useful secret becomes a noose if opened in the wrong room."
Celia still looked unhappy. "He has already resisted everything. If Lucard truly has a way, waiting may waste the only clean chance."
Robi turned to her. "And if the envoy asks for the prisoner the moment he arrives? Should I say he is currently screaming under my shop because Lucard Vardros wanted a morning exercise?"
Celia opened her mouth, then closed it.
Lucard said, "He does not need to scream."
That made both Robi and Celia look at him.
Robi studied him for a moment. "That answer worries me more than screaming."
"It should."
Celia whispered, "Lucard."
He looked at her. "I said I came prepared. I did not say I came loudly."
Robi’s metal fingers tapped once against his cane. His eyes moved toward the road, then toward the shop entrance, then back to Lucard. For a moment, the merchant smile disappeared from his face, and the old Marovain fox looked out from behind it.
"We wait," Robi said at last. "Not because your method is useless. Because this street is full of ears, and the palace is almost here. After we know what the imperial side wants, we decide whether the knight speaks today or tonight."
Lucard’s eyes became colder. "Delay gives others time."
"Yes," Robi said. "But impatience gives them proof."
Celia looked frustrated, but she did not argue again.
Lucard glanced at the guarded shop door. "Keep the prison sealed. No food, no healer, no visitor, no guard change without someone you trust watching it."
"Already done," Robi said.
"Double it."
Robi looked at one of his captains and gave a small nod. The man immediately left through the side door.
"We will talk later. For now, be careful. The imperial envoy may come with soft words, but soft words from the palace are still wrapped around power."
Lucard said, "Who is coming?"
Robi’s gaze turned toward the far end of the street. "That is the problem. I do not know."
The unknown old man in the green robe stepped closer and bowed slightly to Lucard.
"Young Master Vardros."
Lucard looked at him.
Robi introduced him. "Lord Havel Grint. He handles the city’s noble registry and formal witness records."
Lord Havel gave a polite smile. "Gravehold will be very busy for the next few days."
Lucard said, "Then your records will not be bored."
The old man’s smile stiffened. "Indeed."
Celia looked down for a second, hiding her expression.
Robi did not hide his. He smiled openly.
Before Lord Havel could decide whether he had been insulted, another Marovain guard approached from the side road.
"Lord Robi," the guard said. "The Vardros family has arrived."
Lucard turned.
A carriage stopped near the side of the shop. Peter stepped down first. His hand rested on his sword, and his eyes immediately searched the street. Jenny came down after him, wearing a simple but proper dress that Celia had likely sent from the Marovain store. Jake followed beside her. He looked nervous, but he tried to stand straight.
Behind them, two Marovain guards stayed close.
Jenny saw Lucard and walked toward him.
"What is happening?"
Lucard answered, "The palace sent someone."
Jenny’s face changed. "The palace?"
Jake moved closer to her. "The emperor is coming?"
"No, someone sent by the emperor," Lucard said.