Chapter 98: The Price of Honor and the Silent Night

“Lady Princess of Airandil, do you not have even a shred of mercy?”

The words from the fellow before me made me startle, and I instinctively wanted to speak, only to suddenly remember that Kritiya had unilaterally severed our mental link before the banquet.

The reason was simple—even after being insulted by Marcus like that, I had repeatedly urged her to decline this hypocritical feast.

I must have annoyed her to the point where I was now left in a state where I couldn’t even transmit a single word of argument.

“So be it. In the years past, I had long since grown accustomed to this kind of silent rejection.

It was only the recent state of being able to talk freely with her that made me lose myself, almost forgetting that silence is the natural state of life.”

I pulled my attention back to the present.

After the reckless young man shouted that senseless question, he froze in place like a wooden stake, his head buried deep.

Kritiya scrutinized him silently for a moment, while the surrounding guests gradually gathered, their whispers spreading from every corner of the hall like a rising tide.

“Sir, you had best make yourself clear.”

Arendel took a step forward, blocking the youth, his voice steady but carrying an unquestionable pressure.

“Yes… that’s right.”

The youth’s lips trembled, and he finally squeezed a hoarse voice from his throat.

His gaze bypassed Arendel’s shoulder, staring fixedly at Kritiya seated at the table.

“Yesterday… my brother came to pay his respects with the highest regard for the Lady Princess, standing up to fight to defend your dignity!

But you… how could you watch him fall before your door and remain indifferent? Such behavior is something I cannot accept!”

The whispers around them instantly intensified, buzzing like a swarm of bees.

The confusion on Kritiya’s face grew deeper—we truly had no clue regarding the youth’s accusations.

“If you dare speak such nonsense again!”

Arendel’s face took on a fierce look.

“I will make sure you are quiet forever!”

Even though he and Kritiya had a prior engagement, at this moment in a foreign land, he knew his place better than anyone.

The reckless youth still did not respond, but Arendel moved a step closer, attempting to suppress him with his aura, yet the other party remained motionless.

“Wait, wait. It is a beautiful night; why must you two lose your tempers? Surely there must be a misunderstanding.”

Just then, Governor Marcus suddenly appeared from the side, stepping between the two to play the peacemaker.

“Allow me to introduce him. This gentleman is a son of the Amour family.”

“The Amour family is the largest alchemy potion merchant in this city and one of the owners of the Mercury Workshop.

This child has recently suffered a tragedy at home; he must be overwhelmed by grief, leading to such erratic behavior. I hope you can be magnanimous.”

“Lord Governor,” Kritiya’s eyes flickered as she remained silent for a moment before saying, “Of course, as long as he does not speak further.”

“On the contrary, Lady Princess! I am here to demand a clear explanation and an understanding!”

Kritiya had clearly made a concession, but the youth stiffened his neck, looking as though he wouldn’t budge an inch.

“Presumptuous! How dare you behave so rudely here?”

Marcus feigned anger, but there was no real intent to stop him in his scolding.

The youth instead took the opportunity to step forward, nearly pushing the Governor behind him.

Then, in a grief-stricken tone, he began his narration.

The story was roundabout and tangled; I listened intently for a long while before I could untangle the sequence of events.

It turned out that his brother, known as “the elder Amour,” was a famous playboy in Romern. Relying on his family’s wealth, his usual style was one of extravagance and competitiveness.

Yesterday, he too was among the crowd huddled in the garden outside the Governor’s Mansion waiting for an audience.

There, the elder Amour and another unidentified visitor had a heated argument over something as trivial as who was more qualified to curry favor with the Lady Princess.

The tempers and vanity of the young men quickly pushed the quarrel to a climax, and ultimately, both sides decided to settle the grudge with an ancient “Honor Duel.”

Under the watchful eyes of many, the elder Amour was heavily wounded by the opponent’s rapier.

Although he managed to struggle back home at the time, his injuries worsened, and he died that very night.

What raised suspicions was that when the grief-stricken Amour family pursued the killer’s whereabouts, they found the person had vanished as if into thin air, leaving no reliable clues.

The other bystanders present at the time also looked at each other in confusion; none could clearly state the challenger’s exact origin.

“So, it was your brother whose skills were lacking, bringing calamity upon himself?”

Kritiya had not yet spoken, but Arendel had already let out a cold laugh, looking down at the younger Amour, who was clearly a head shorter than him.

Amour’s face turned from green to red, and then he spoke:

“Lady Princess! My brother died with your name on his lips! You were clearly close at hand at the time; why wouldn’t you even step out to take a look? Is this how you treat a warrior who fought for honor?”

“Listen!”

Arendel suddenly reached out and grabbed the younger Amour’s collar, but before he could say a word, Kritiya slowly stood up.

She ignored the gazes that were either curious or gloating, her voice clear and cold as it pierced through the noise.

“I am feeling unwell; I shall take my leave for today.”

Arendel stood like an iron tower, blocking the agitated younger Amour.

Kritiya maintained her composed stride as she walked toward the exit.

Behind her came the tearful shout of the younger Amour:

“Lady Princess! My brother will be buried in the coming days! If you have half a shred of mercy… our family… will await your arrival!”

Kritiya’s steps faltered for an imperceptible second. Her gaze seemed to accidentally sweep over Governor Marcus, who was watching quietly from the side.

Then, without looking back, she stepped through those heavy doors.

***

Walking on the road away from the Governor’s Mansion, Arendel maintained his imposing manner as a loyal guard.

However, once they turned into a secluded street where no one was watching, his true colors were immediately revealed.

He didn’t even bother to offer a perfunctory word of farewell; he merely gave Kritiya an indifferent glance, then turned and strode away toward the barracks.

Leaving his mistress alone in the night, even her breathing became very light, as she didn’t dare make a sound.

And at this moment, deep within Kritiya’s mind, a different kind of intense scene was already unfolding.

‘I told you so!’ I could almost hear the surge of my own thoughts.

‘We shouldn’t have bothered with this hypocritical banquet from the start! Marcus clearly wanted to make things difficult for you; why did you proactively go there to give him the chance to humiliate you?’

‘Your rhetoric makes it sound as if we actually had any choice in the matter.’

Kritiya’s thoughts were like a pool of deep water—calm on the surface, but with undercurrents surging within.

‘Of course you did! We always have a choice! It’s not like we must accept everything as a puppet just because Airandil orders us to!’

‘In some matters, what’s important isn’t “what must be done,” but rather “what can be chosen not to be done.”’

‘Yes, yes, yes! What a brilliant theory!’ I seized the logical flaw in her words and mocked her mercilessly.

‘Then why didn’t you continue to display your exquisite philosophy of life and those reasons for things that “must be done” at the banquet?

Why didn’t you use your signature meticulous logic and sharp words to leave those fellows speechless and utterly defeated? Didn’t you say you had no choice?

Why did you run away like a deserter? And you left Arendel there to deal with the mess?’

I thought this interrogation would leave her speechless, but the girl’s thoughts shifted slightly, and she asked out of the blue:

‘Are you angry?’

‘Angry? What do you mean?’ This completely unexpected question left me momentarily lost for words.

‘Because I didn’t speak to you.’

‘I… of course I’m not. I was just advising you; it has nothing to do with that.’

‘I understand, but I really wanted some peace today. It won’t happen next time.’

‘I already said it wasn’t because of that. Do you think I would be upset over something like—’

‘Wait!’

We had just reached an open area between the temporary camp of the Duke’s caravan and the mansion.

Kritiya suddenly stopped, pressing her index finger lightly to her lips, her entire body tensing up as if she had sensed some danger.

‘What is it?’ Just as I asked in our minds, a strange sensation also climbed into my consciousness.

Kritiya slowly turned around, looking at the empty street behind her, and called out softly in a testing manner:

“Sally?”

There was no answer.

The maid who had been following her step by step just moments ago had vanished as if swallowed by the night.

“Sally?”

Kritiya’s tone dropped lower, carrying a hint of alertness.

Her gaze slowly moved downward, finally freezing on the ground—there lay a decorative silk scarf belonging to a maid’s attire, lying solitary on the cold stone slabs, trembling slightly in the breeze.

***

At the same time, in a dark alley not far away, Nolan was deathly gripping the wrist of his elven companion, trying to pry his fingers away from the young girl’s neck.

“Are you crazy!?” Nolan whispered, both shocked and angry. “We aren’t here to attack innocent passersby!”

However, the force applied by the elf’s hand did not diminish in the slightest.

His cold eyes flashed with a cruel light in the shadows as he whispered words devoid of any warmth:

“She saw us.”