“Following him around has definitely been interesting, my lord,” Lucius said to Arakan. “And fruitful too.”

Arakan raised his eyebrows. He leaned forward from behind his desk, resting his chin against his knuckles. “Tell me,” he said.

“House Scarva is certainly being overzealous to an abnormal extent,” Lucius began. “But that’s not the only oddity. The servants that came with Agreis that day, seem to have… disappeared.”

“Disappeared?”

“Yes, you know, the kind where you leave no trace.” Lucius’s face crinkled up in a smile that did not reach his old, wrinkled eyes. “Most likely they are now fish food at the bottom of River Russet.”

“That…” Arakan exhaled, unsure of what to say.

Lucius chuckled. “This is the politics of the capital, my lord. You can’t just be surprised at something this small.”

“It’s not that,” Arakan said, shaking his head. He had grown up in the capital since way before Shaela took the throne and had also lived here in the era of the previous kingdom. Suffice to say, the capital’s politics were nothing new to him. “It’s… this act of theirs. It just screams ‘I am the culprit’! Is Agreis Scarva really that much of a fool?”

“I am fairly certain he panicked,” Lucius said. “He wasn’t expecting you to inform Her Majesty about this incident, so he panicked and did the first thing that came to his mind.”

“That makes sense.” Arakan nodded. “Anything else you have found?”

“As I said, following him has been quite fruitful. I have discovered at least two people who could be involved with him. One of them, I didn’t dare to get close due to a certain masked man that gave off a dangerous vibe, but the other man,” Lucius’s face turned serious. “You will never guess who it is!”

“Who?”

Unlike before, Lucius discarded every ounce of respect when he said the name. “Egregor Sergel.”

Arakan shot up from his seat, scowling at the old Knight. “Are you certain?”

Lucius shook his head. “No, I am not. But although I have not gotten close to them, I have certainly seen your uncle enter the same inn they Agreis went in. And with that timing, I don’t see any other reason for him to be going to that dilapidated lower city inn.”

“Still, it is a heavy accusation you are making,” Arakan said in a grave voice as he looked into Lucius’s eyes. “Have you tried following my uncle?”

“No. The two knights guarding him may be from the younger generation, but they are quite alert. I couldn’t guarantee my ability to stay undetected in their presence.”

“Good decision,” Arakan said as he sat back down. “Having them notice you at this point would not be ideal. And about my uncle, without being absolutely certain, no need to inform anyone. Continue watching Agreis. Let us see where that leads us before we come to a decision.”

“As you wish, my lord.” Lucius bowed to Arakan.

As he left, Arakan relaxed back in his chair and gazed out of the wide window beside him, staring at the cityscape under dawn’s grey light. However, he could see little through the silvery-white fog that coated the city in its misty cloak, hiding everything from onlookers, just like the city hid the true nature of the people living in it.

Arakan frowned. Did his uncle truly betray the house? He wasn’t willing to believe he did, but…

“Laureen…” He had thought he would return soon after acquiring the medicine and reunite with her, but everything was happening too suddenly. He sighed, wishing she were here with him.

Along with Arda, a group of fifteen other girls stood in a hall decorated with riches of every kind imaginable. From jewels to gold, flowers to furniture clad in soft buttery velvet, coloured glass window panes to crystal chandeliers, the hall lacked little to demean its lavishness. In fact, one would not be wrong to call it garish. But one obviously would not call it so. Not unless they wished for their heads to roll on one of the finest rugs the land of Clover could provide.

But Arda had neither the mind to appreciate the wealth, not the spirit to be disgusted at its luridity. For they had been ground down through years of harshness until she came to stand in this hall with those of like circumstance, at the ripe age of sixteen. She dressed as the others dressed, in clothes no less decorated than the hall, but one that either covered very little or if it covered, accentuated their supple forms from their satiny confines. Dressed as their caretakers provided them. Dressed to impress the one they waited for. The one who would be their beginning and their end. The dictator of their life till the day they died.

“I congratulate all of you for passing through the nine trials,” said the crooked old creature with little exposed skin, unlike the girls. With those age spots covered wrinkled leather on the little spots that did remain exposed, no doubt she had good reason. She limped down from her dais, leaning on a ruby crusted cane as she walked up to the row of girls.

“Now is the time for your inauguration to begin. So let me see how much truth there is in the words of your carers, and how much they have embellished.”

She took out a ledger, checking it as she circled them One by one. She probed and prodded them with her cane, commenting from time to time like a meticulous customer in a vegetable shop. The girls didn’t move. They had no right to accept or reject the woman’s judgement, being what they were.

“I see that you are all adequately prepared.” The old woman nodded in appreciation. “It is good that you are. Or you would be discarded just like those wastes.”

For the first time, Arda’s impassive demeanour faltered, letting show a flicker of pure dread that lasted not long enough to assure its existence. The other girls were no different either. In silence, they thanked their fates for leaving them unblemished and defectless as they passed through the life reaping ordeals the nine trials had presented them with. After all, no one wanted the fate of those wastes that failed.

“Good!” The old woman’s chuckle grated through the hall like grinding stones. “You are still able to feel. That is very good. My Liege only prefers those with feelings, not puppets. Especially those who feel fear and pain.”

The group of budding women found those words to be more unnerving than reassuring, but their plight was their own, not the old hag’s. She limped back to her dais and faced them.

“From today onwards, all of you are the humble members of the unnamed, the true possessions of my liege. You shall receive your names after he has baptized you. Also, whatever decorations your carers have decided to put on you to please him, are all unnecessary. He won’t choose among any of you because you already belong to him. So before you head to his chamber,” her eyes lingered on their bodies for a moment.

“Remove those clothes.“

Arda’s eyes blinked open to a hand shaking her shoulder. A shiver ran through her spine as a part of her body tried to shrink away from the touch and another craved it.

“Damn, woman, sleeping as if you were dead!” Hubrik took back his hand before noticing her face. What an odd expression!

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“Yes,” Arda said, heaving. “I’m fine.”

She closed her eyes, swallowing the bitter taste of bile in her mouth. She would be fine. As long as she did what she promised, she would escape that life.

What was it? Why did Sena do for them to lock her up?

The questions became a frown etched on her oval face as Laureen paced in front of her bed. Having cared for the girl for so many days, she had hoped to get to know her, talk to her when she woke up. She also wanted to tell her about Arakan’s plan about the marriage proposal…

Laureen’s eyes widened. Her feet stopped their pacing as she slowly sat on her bed. “Is it…?” she muttered. Arakan had said that day that she wouldn’t want to marry him. Did they lock her up because she refused the marriage proposal? If that was true, then what would happen to his plan to break off the marriage?

Her fingers tightened on the silky smooth folds of her bedsheet. What should she do? If only Arakan was here, he would be able to handle the situation...

A light knock came from the door, surprising the girl. “Please wait a minute,” she responded before taking a few deep breaths and hurrying towards the full-length mirror near the dresser. She fixed her hair and patted her dress of the wrinkles, taking special care to smoothen her forehead of the slight frown marring it since this morning when they took Sena away. Done preparing, she turned to the door.

“Please come in.”

The door opened and a young servant girl walked in carrying a tray containing a silver platter full of sliced fruits and a silver goblet. Laureen exhaled. She wasn’t sure why, but subconsciously, she had been expecting it to be someone else.

“Good afternoon, lady Laurania,” the servant girl said, dipped her head towards Laureen, and put the platter down on a small table beside the window, and turned to address Laureen again. “Our lord has requested your presence in his study tomorrow morning, my lady.”

Laureen’s heart skipped a beat. “Lord Robert has?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know why?”

The girl shook her head. “I’m not aware of the reason.”

“I see,” Laureen sighed, ungracefully plopping down on her bed.

“I will be taking my leave then, my lady.” The girl curtsied before turning to leave.

“Wait!” Laureen called out, stopping her.

The girl turned. “Do you need anything, my lady?”

Laureen’s eyes lingered on the ginger-haired girl, who should not, she judged, be above fourteen. “What’s your name?” she asked.

Puzzle coloured the servant girl’s face. Although this had been the first time she had directly conversed with lady Laurania, she had heard about her from the other servants; although the lady was rumoured to be a friendly sort, she talked very little. Did the lady take a fancy in making small talks all of a sudden? Or had she done something wrong and made her angry?

“It’s Mina, my lady,” she answered, somewhat apprehensively.

“Mina,” Laureen nodded. “A nice name.”

She put out her hand and gestured to the girl to come closer. Failing to miss the fearful appearance of the girl, a trill of laughter escaped her lips.

“Do not worry. I just wish to ask you a few questions,” she said, extracting a breath of relief from Mina. She patted the space beside her on the bed. “Sit down,”

The shocked girl shook her head like a rattle drum. “Oh no, my lady! I would not dare!”

Laureen pursed her lips but ultimately decided against the perusal of the matter. “Would you answer some questions of mine, Mina?”

“As long as I am able to, I will answer anything, My lady.” Mina smiled. Being adept at juicy gossip to please the palette of noble ladies is a must-have skill for any servants, especially girl servants like her. And at the budding age of thirteen, she was touted as a rising talent in keeping up with all sorts of secret happenings around the castle and the city.

“I was hoping to know…” Laureen hesitated a bit. “Can you tell me how lady Sena is?”

Mina’s smile withered like snow to summer sun. Never proud, always hardworking, standing up even after tens of failure, fighting against the enemies beyond the border, Sena had embodied everything a young, impressionable girl like Mina could aspire to. But now…

She hung her head down and shook it. “I am not aware, my lady. They are keeping her in the Southern wing,” she answered, unable to hide the grievance sneaking into her voice. “They aren’t even letting us servants near the place, only guards. I have never seen so many guards gathered in one place in the castle.”

Laureen nodded with a grave face. “Do you know why they are keeping her there?”

“I am not sure, my lady. But the rumour is she denied the marriage with lord Arakan,” Mina said, giving Lureen a glance full of accusation before lowering her eyes to the floor. If only they hadn’t accepted the marriage proposal…

Laureen did not mind her look. After all, the same thing was on her mind too. Even if only pretending, If Arakan didn’t accept the proposal, then all of this wouldn’t have happened. Sena would have woken up, anyway. And Laureen? She would also be back in her home, back with him.

She was beginning to miss him already.