Chapter 126: The Carriage (2)
Peter stopped beside them and lowered his voice.
"Young Master, I received the message and came at once. I did not want Lady Jenny and Young Lord Jake to appear absent if their names were called."
"You chose correctly," Lucard said.
Peter looked relieved for half a second, but he did not fully relax. His eyes kept moving across the road, the windows, the rooftops, and the people who were trying very hard to look like they were not watching. He had the face of a knight who understood that danger did not always come with a sword raised. Sometimes it came with silk sleeves, lowered voices, and polite greetings.
Jenny stood beside Jake with her back straight. She looked calm from the outside, but Lucard could see the small tension in her fingers. She understood that this was no simple noble visit. The imperial palace had sent someone, and House Vardros was standing in the middle of a road full of people who had mocked them only days ago. Now those same people were watching them like a hidden chest had opened and shown gold.
Jake looked around the road with open curiosity.
"Why are so many people hiding badly?"
Jenny immediately looked at him. "Jake."
Lucard said, "Because nobles like watching danger from the edge."
Jake looked down the street. "That seems cowardly."
"It is also common."
Jake thought about that seriously. "So they want to see what happens, but they do not want to stand close enough to be blamed?"
Lucard glanced at him. "Good."
Jenny whispered, "Please do not teach him noble cowardice in the middle of the street."
"I am teaching recognition."
Peter looked at Jake and said quietly, "Young Lord, for now, speak less and notice more."
Jake nodded and pressed his lips together.
Robi walked toward Jenny and gave a proper bow. Not too deep, but respectful enough for everyone watching to notice. That small bow was not only a greeting. It was a statement. House Marovain was showing the gathered nobles that House Vardros was not being treated as common refugees anymore.
"Lady Jenny. Young Lord Jake. Thank you for coming quickly."
Jenny returned the greeting with careful dignity. "Lord Robi. We came because your message said the matter involved House Vardros."
"It does," Robi said. "But I advise patience. Until the imperial party speaks, every word we say may be wasted or used."
Jenny nodded. "Then we will listen first."
Robi’s eyes showed approval. "That is usually safer than speaking first."
Jake looked at Lucard. "Should I speak if they ask me something?"
Lucard replied, "Answer simple things simply. If they ask something important, look at Jenny first."
Jake nodded. "And if they ask something dangerous?"
"Look at me."
Jenny did not object.
That alone showed how much things had changed. A few days ago, she might have argued that Jake should not be pulled into Lucard’s cold methods. Now she knew the road they stood on had no place for soft pride. Jake was a child, but enemies did not care about that. If they asked him dangerous questions, he needed to know where to look before his fear answered for him.
Time passed slowly after that.
More people appeared.
They did not arrive like guests invited to a feast. They appeared like rats finding cracks in a wall. A baron’s carriage stopped near a tea house across the road, and the old baron inside pretended to check a broken wheel while looking toward the Marovain shop. Two count family representatives arrived on horseback and acted as if they had only happened to pass by that exact street at that exact moment. One of them even told his guard to ask about the price of cloth, though the shop doors were clearly not open for normal business.
A group from House Karswell appeared near the end of the street, though Tina was not with them. The man leading them had a narrow face and careful eyes. He looked once at Jenny, then quickly looked away when Peter noticed him. Several lesser noble families gathered in small groups, their guards standing behind them while they whispered behind sleeves. Every whisper moved like a small insect across the street. No one wanted to be the first to ask why the imperial palace had come. Everyone wanted to hear the answer.
Then House Ravencroft arrived.
Baron Ravencroft stepped down from his carriage with a stiff face and a still-red mark on his cheek that no powder could hide fully. Adrian was not with him. That was wise. Tina was also absent. That was even wiser. Ravencroft saw Lucard, Jenny, Jake, Robi, and Celia, then quickly looked away and took his place among the smaller nobles. He tried to stand like an innocent lord invited by duty, but his shoulders were too tight and his eyes moved too fast.
Jake noticed the cheek.
He whispered, "Did someone slap him?"
Lucard answered, "Yes."
"Was it you?"
"No."
Jake looked surprised. "Someone else slaps people too."
Peter closed his eyes for one second.
Jenny whispered, "Jake, please."
Jake lowered his voice even more. "Was it Lady Celia?"
Celia heard him from nearby and slowly turned her head.
Jake immediately looked forward like a perfect young noble.
Lucard said, "Robi."
Jake’s eyes widened a little. "Oh."
Robi, who also heard it, smiled as if nothing in the world had happened.
Then the air changed near the other end of the street.
Red cloaks appeared.
Velkhur.
They came with fewer people than expected, but enough presence to make the lesser nobles step aside. Their boots struck the stone road in the same rhythm. Their guards did not look around with curiosity. They looked around like soldiers entering a place where enemies might already be hiding. Their leader was a tall woman with red hair braided tightly down her back. She wore a dark military coat with fire patterns on the sleeves, and her eyes looked hard enough to strike sparks from stone.