Chapter 78: Black Barrow Hill
Robi smiled faintly.
"You speak as if you are the elder here."
Lucard looked at him calmly.
"Tomorrow, I might be the reason you stay alive."
Robi laughed.
"Then I will allow it for one night."
Outside the Marovain shop, Gravehold sank deeper into darkness.
Inside, three dangerous people prepared for a meeting that was not a meeting.
It was a trap waiting for another trap.
Lucard left the Marovain shop before midnight.
He did not use the front entrance. Celia wanted to send guards with him, but he refused before she finished speaking. Robi did not stop him. The old appraiser only looked at Lucard for a few seconds, then told Celia to let him go. That small order annoyed Celia more than Lucard’s refusal because it meant her uncle understood him better than she did at that moment.
Lucard moved through the back streets of Gravehold under Blood Concealment.
The city felt different at night. The merchant square had become quiet. Some shops were closed. Some still had lamps burning inside as workers repaired damaged shelves, wrote witness records, and whispered about what had happened in front of the Marovain shop. The death of Dorian Velkhur had become a shadow that touched every street. Even people who had not seen it had already heard three different versions. In one version, Lucard killed Dorian with a demon hand. In another, Celia Marovain ordered the attack herself. In another, Dorian had turned into fire and Lucard swallowed him whole.
Rumors were stupid, but useful.
Lucard heard two men whispering near a wine stall that House Marovain and House Velkhur might fight. He heard a servant say the city lord had sent more guards toward the noble district. He heard an old woman tell someone to stay indoors because noble blood had fallen on market stone, and that always invited more blood.
Lucard ignored them and returned to The Black Lantern Inn.
Orven and Malik were outside the room when he arrived. They straightened the moment they saw him. Both men looked relieved and frightened at the same time, which was a strange but common expression around Lucard now.
"You returned," Orven said.
Lucard looked at him. "Obviously."
Malik lowered his voice. "Lady Jenny has asked about you six times."
"Only six?"
Orven looked uncomfortable. "Young Lord Jake asked more."
Lucard walked past them.
Inside the room, Peter was sitting near the inner door with his sword across his knees. His face looked much better after the second half of the healing potion. The color had returned to his cheeks, and his breathing was steady. He was not fully healed, but he was no longer a half dead knight forcing himself to stand by pride alone.
Jenny rose from her chair the moment Lucard entered.
Jake was sitting on the bed, but he also jumped down quickly.
"Brother," Jake said. "You came back."
Lucard looked at him. "You told me not to die."
Jake nodded seriously. "I did. It was good advice."
Lucard removed his cloak and placed it on the chair.
Jenny looked at his clothes, his hands, and his face. "Where did you go?"
"Outside."
"That is not an answer."
"It is the place."
Jenny clenched her hands. She wanted to argue, but she also saw that he was no longer bleeding. His face was calm. The wound that had frightened her earlier seemed healed. That did not make her less angry. It only made her more confused.
Peter stood and bowed slightly. "Young Master, did you learn anything?"
Lucard looked at him. Peter asked the correct question. That was why he was useful.
"Yes."
Jenny waited.
Lucard sat down and poured himself water from the jug. "A Velkhur elder is in Black Raven Manor. His name is Garran Velkhur. He is Dorian’s grandfather, a Fifth Circle fire battle mage, and Robi Marovain’s old rival. He plans to trap Robi during a meeting."
Peter’s expression changed.
Jenny’s face became pale again. "You went to House Ravencroft."
"Yes."
Jake’s mouth opened slowly. "You went inside the bad house again?"
"Not inside."
Jenny’s eyes narrowed. "Then how did you hear this?"
Lucard drank water and placed the cup down. "Window."
Jake looked impressed. "That is almost inside."
Peter rubbed his forehead. "Young Master, that was dangerous."
"It was useful."
Jenny stepped closer. "Lucard, you cannot keep walking into danger alone."
"I can."
"That is not what I mean."
"I know."
"Then why answer like that?"
"Because your meaning is wrong."
Jenny stared at him.
Jake whispered to Peter, "I think Brother is winning the conversation."
Peter whispered back, "No one is winning. We are all losing peace."
Lucard looked at Peter. "You recovered enough to complain. Good."
Peter straightened. "I was not complaining."
"You were preparing."
Jake pointed at Peter. "He does that."
Peter looked at Jake. "Young lord, please do not help."
Jenny closed her eyes for a moment. The strange thing was that the small exchange helped her breathe. After everything that happened, hearing Jake say foolish little things and Peter answer him like an exhausted older guard made the room feel less like a grave.
Lucard looked at Jenny.
"Tomorrow, I will go to Black Barrow Hill with Robi."
Jenny’s relief died immediately.
"No."
Lucard’s face remained calm.
Jenny stepped forward again. "No, Lucard. You just said a Fifth Circle Velkhur elder is there. You said he plans to trap Robi. Why would you go there?"
"To make the trap useful."
"You are not making sense."
"I am making more sense than everyone else."
Jake raised his hand halfway, then lowered it when Jenny looked at him.
Peter spoke carefully. "Young Master, if Robi Marovain fights Garran Velkhur, that battle is beyond us. Even if I were fully healed, I could not interfere."
"That is why you will not go."
Peter froze.
Jenny’s eyes widened. "We are not going?"
"No."
Jake looked relieved, then guilty for looking relieved.
Lucard continued, "You will stay at the inn. Orven and Malik will stay with you. Peter will guard the room. Do not leave unless House Marovain moves you."