Chapter 131: The Measure of a Man
Ronan stood before Kael with the others behind him.
The courtyard had grown quiet.
Even the servants had stopped to watch.
Kael looked at the seven candidates once more.
"You will each receive payment for the work you completed today."
The former cavalryman looked surprised.
"We didn’t finish the task."
"You returned with information, rescued a traveler, and prevented seven people from making a foolish decision that could have cost them their lives."
Kael’s eyes moved toward the forest.
"The beast is still alive."
Ronan nodded.
"Yes."
"That means there is still work to be done."
The hunter stepped forward.
"My lord, we can return tomorrow."
Kael looked at her.
"Why?"
"To find the missing travelers."
"Even though you know the creature is still there?"
She nodded.
"Yes."
Kael studied her expression.
"You aren’t afraid?"
"I am."
Her answer came without hesitation.
Kael raised an eyebrow.
She continued.
"Being afraid doesn’t mean I should abandon someone."
For a moment, Kael said nothing.
Then he nodded.
"Good."
He turned toward Lily.
"Bring the payment."
Lily stepped forward with a small pouch for each of the seven.
The former cavalryman looked at him.
"This is more than I expected."
Kael answered calmly.
"You were sent into danger."
"We accepted the task."
"And you completed part of it."
Kael looked at each person.
"If this becomes what I believe it can become, nobody working under it will be expected to risk their life for nothing."
The words caught their attention.
Kael continued.
"But payment will not be based only on how dangerous a task is."
Ronan listened closely.
"It will also depend on what you accomplish."
Kael picked up a parchment.
"There will be different levels of work."
He looked at the seven.
"Someone who escorts a merchant along a safe road should not receive the same reward as someone who enters a monster’s den."
The tracker nodded.
"And someone who can lead others safely should receive more than someone who can only fight."
Kael looked at him.
"Exactly."
The tracker smiled.
For the first time, the seven seemed to understand what Kael was building.
It wasn’t simply a group of hired swords.
It was something more organized.
Something that could grow.
But Kael wasn’t ready to announce it to the Empire.
Not yet.
He needed proof.
That evening, the candidates gathered in the estate’s dining hall.
Kael joined them.
It surprised several of them.
Ronan looked toward the empty seat beside him.
"You are eating with us?"
Kael sat down.
"I am."
The former cavalryman smiled.
"That is unusual."
"Why?"
"Most nobles wouldn’t sit at the same table."
Kael looked at the food.
"Then most nobles aren’t hungry."
A few of them laughed.
The tension disappeared.
Food was placed before them.
Roasted meat.
Bread.
Vegetables.
Warm stew.
For the first time, Kael saw their personalities outside of danger.
The former cavalryman was called Garrick.
He spoke loudly and laughed easily.
The hunter was Selene.
She rarely spoke, but when she did, everyone listened.
The young tracker was Tavian.
He was curious about everything.
The older retired soldier was Harlan.
He spoke little and watched everyone.
The brothers were Merek and Marek.
They argued constantly.
Kael noticed that they were completely different despite being brothers.
Merek was impatient.
Marek was careful.
Ronan sat quietly.
Kael took note of all of it.
People revealed more about themselves when they weren’t trying to impress someone.
Garrick raised his cup.
"To survive the first day."
Merek lifted his cup.
"To surviving Kael’s questions."
Laughter filled the room.
Kael shook his head.
"I wasn’t that difficult."
Seven people stared at him.
Kael sighed.
"Fine."
He lifted his cup.
"Perhaps I was."
More laughter.
Lily watched from nearby.
She smiled.
It was the first time since Kael returned that she had seen him genuinely relax.
Later that night, Kael walked outside.
The courtyard was quiet.
Torren stood near the training yard.
"You’ve made your choice."
Kael looked at him.
"Not completely."
"You know which seven you want."
Kael nodded.
"Yes."
Torren crossed his arms.
"Then why hesitate?"
"Because choosing them means taking responsibility for them."
Torren was silent.
Kael looked toward the dark road.
"If they become part of what I’m building, their failures become mine."
"And their victories?"
Kael smiled slightly.
"Theirs."
Torren nodded.
"That’s a good answer."
Kael looked at the barracks.
Three soldiers remained.
Seven new candidates.
A small estate.
A province filled with problems.
It wasn’t an army.
It wasn’t even close.
But it was a beginning.
Then Kael heard footsteps.
Lily approached.
"My lord."
Kael turned.
"What is it?"
"The healer sent word."
Kael’s expression changed.
"The injured traveler?"
"He’s awake."
"Good."
Lily hesitated.
"He remembers what happened."
Kael immediately started walking.
"What did he say?"
"He claims the people who took the others weren’t beasts."
Kael stopped.
Lily continued.
"He said there were people in the forest."
Kael’s expression hardened.
"People?"
"Yes."
"What did they look like?"
"He couldn’t see their faces."
Kael’s hand slowly tightened.
The missing travelers.
The destroyed wagons.
The blood.
The beast.
And now people.
He had assumed the danger was another outbreak of creatures.
Perhaps it was.
But if people were involved...
Then this was something else.
Kael looked toward the western road.
"Bring Ronan."
Lily nodded.
"And Selene."
She turned.
Kael stopped her again.
"Not the others."
"Why?"
"Because I don’t know what we’re dealing with."
He looked toward the darkness.
"And I don’t want everyone walking into something they don’t understand."
Lily nodded.
"I’ll bring them."
Kael remained in the courtyard after she left.
The idea he had been building was supposed to help people.
Yet before he had even given it a name, the first real problem had already become more complicated than expected.
He looked toward the stars.
Tomorrow, he would return to the western road.
Not as a prince.
Not as a commander leading an army.
But as someone trying to understand what had happened.
And if people truly were behind the disappearances...
Kael intended to find them.