By now, Cale could understand why he was doing that. Sir Freigoud was not the calmest person, especially when there was someone who had known for years what the kidnappings were all about. In contrast, Cale stood silently behind him and watched the whole thing without comment. His entire relationship with Jarle was null and void, but that didn't bother Cale much, even though the soldier seemed to have placed his hopes in him. However, since he didn't need Jarle, he didn't really care what happened to the nobleman. As long as Sir Freigoud didn't hurt him and possibly trigger an internal war.
"Yes", Jarle finally said, after he had explained how he had learned about it and whether his brother knew about it. "My father and my brother did. Only my mother and theoretically I know nothing about the origin of these crystals."
Sir Freigoud was furious at this statement and distanced himself from the table with a loud stomp. Cale, on the other hand, did not move and had regained his inner calm. The longer he watched Loys, the more he realized that the situation could be a major turning point in their relationship.
So, after a minute of silence, Cale ventured to say something.
"May I ask a question, Duke of Freigoud?"
"We both will have a long discussion after this", Loys admonished him sternly, but after a polite, wordless nod from Cale, he finally allowed him to ask his question.
"Jarle, I asked you a question some time ago, and I would like an honest answer: Why did you come to the capital?"
"That question preoccupied you just as much then as it does now, didn't it?", Jarle said calmly, grinning faintly. "I had to do something."
"Do something?", Cale repeated in surprise.
"Yes, against the kidnappings. I can't stand idly by and watch thousands of children serve as the basis for Mornet's economic prosperity. Since the day I found out about it, I've been working on a way to counteract it."
"And that's why you came to Bellator?"
"Here in the city, I had the best chance of revealing the abyss to the public without running the risk of my father killing me. On the contrary, he even seemed pleased that an annoying source of trouble would be living a good day's ride away from Gueladann. "
"How long had you planned to live with this secret?", Cale retorted, as the suspicion that Groka had influenced what was happening in Sylve became more and more confirmed. The danger posed by the creatures seemed to have preoccupied the province that was furthest away the most. Perhaps Duke Mornet had feared at the time that his machinations would be unintentionally exposed if another place in the north were to be attacked.
But there was one thing Cale did not understand about the statement. Cale was quite sure he remembered that Jarle of Mornet would commit suicide. That was one of the mysteries in society that had never been revealed. Until now. How likely was it that Jarle couldn't live with this thought and had really tried to change something?
"As long as it would have been necessary."
"You bastard, do you know how many children have been missing since the beginning of the year?", Sir Freigoud said angrily, approaching Jarle before grabbing him by the collar and lifting him into the air.
Jarle did not resist, while Loys stood menacingly close to him, one hand already on his sword. In a way, Cale could understand why Loys reacted so sensitively. Apart from the negative image of the population, Loys' own son was the right age of the children who were being kidnapped. Nobles were by no means exempt from the kidnappings, which made it just as dangerous for them as it was for commoner children. Their only advantage was that it was much more difficult to make these children disappear unnoticed. That was one of the reasons why Ben was brought to school with more soldiers than usual.
"Sir Freigoud", Cale interjected in a gentle voice, stepping behind the broad-shouldered swordmaster before placing his hand on the arm with which he was holding Jarle in the air. Loys didn't look at him, but hissed irritably through his teeth and threw Jarle back into his chair. Jarle groaned in pain and gently held his neck while Cale let go of the advisor and looked down at Jarle. "We have our answer, don't we? How about you report to King Leonhardt and think about what you're going to do with Duke of Mornet."
"I hate it when you're the smarter one of us", Loys said disapprovingly, snatching his coat from the chair and heading for the door. Cale suspected that Loys couldn't stand the sight of Jarle's face any longer, which was why he was rushing toward the exit. Without a word, he took a few steps back before he could hear Jarle's voice.
"Thank you for helping me."
He paused for a moment and clenched his hands together. At that moment, Sir Freigoud knocked on the metal door and looked back into the room, as if waiting for Cale to answer. Cale, however, turned around and saw Jarle smiling at him, which he absolutely did not want to accept. Mana spread through him and Cale revealed his true eyes, causing Jarle to drop his smile and look up at Cale with his mouth half open.
<"I didn't help you, and I'm not your friend, Jarle. I never was. Do something stupid, and I'll be the one to kill you. I promise.">
Jarle clearly flinch in fear as Cale let his false appearance reappear and suppressed his mana before putting on a dry expression and turning his attention to the door that was just opening. He had lost any sympathy he had ever felt for Jarle. Watching children being killed for money for months on end was something even Cale couldn't accept. After all, they were all potential soldiers he would need in the future in the war against the Thormods.
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"Don't let him out of your sight", Loys warned the soldiers at the entrance, who all agreed in unison and stepped aside so that the two swordmasters could pass through the corridors without any problems.
They had barely turned the corner when the advisor spun around with such force that Cale reflexively dodged backward. A fist came straight at his face, which he stopped with his bare hand. The two men stared at each other wordlessly for a few seconds, with Cale waiting for Loys to say something.
"What did I do to deserve this..."
"You have no idea how angry I am with you right now."
"Should I break your arm, or what are you planning to do?"
"So you want to fight? Are you showing your true colors now? Bastard!"
"How nice", Cale countered, annoyed by the situation. Jarle's statement had obviously put him in a difficult position, but Cale would shamelessly take advantage of the duke's emotional outburst. "Nice to see that even a duke prefers to respond with brute force rather than words. Where are we? On a battlefield or in a capital city?"
"In a dungeon for prisoners", Loys interjected condescendingly. "I just don't get it. I really liked you, and you just lie to me."
At that moment, Cale's patience snapped and he threw Loys to the ground with such force that the duke couldn't react. Loys immediately tried to push himself up, but Cale was by no means as gentle with him as he had been in the practice fights. He pulled Loys's right arm back and held his head to the ground with his other hand, so that the duke was in pain with every little movement. If he tried to free himself, he ran the risk of Cale breaking his arm. Which Cale didn't want. If Loys didn't even give him the opportunity to explain himself, then he would force him to do so now.
"I didn't know", Cale finally got to the point, even though he would have liked to teach Loys a lesson for his rash actions. Disrespect was something Cale really couldn't stand. "I had no idea that these crystals were connected to the child abduction."
"Then why did Jarle make that comment? Besides, I seem to remember quite clearly that you came to Bellator for the safety of children."
"Of certain children... four, to be precise."
"Four children? So not...?"
"I didn't come to Bellator because of child abductions in general. As I'm trying to explain to you... you've misunderstood. I care about the well-being of four children, whom I won't name for security reasons."
"And what did that have to do with Jarle?", Loys asked.
"His father is the brother of the swordmaster, who is in posession of Zurakekama. The only reason I didn't want Jarle to get too close to me is because of Jonat Paseru. I want to avoid him noticing me."
"Why is that? Are you in conflict with each other?"
"Master Paseru and I are not, no. He doesn't know me, but our two swords have a long history. It doesn't matter. I just wanted to avoid Master Paseru, which is why I avoided Jarle. I didn't see it coming that he would misunderstand my behavior like that."
"I... understand", Loys finally replied, relaxing his muscles, but Cale didn't let go. "Will you please let me go?"
"Don't you want to say something first?"
"I'm sorry", the duke said, turning his head slightly backward so he could look into Cale's eyes.
"That's not enough for me."
"What else do you want to hear from me? I acted rashly and didn't give you a chance to explain the situation. I'm sorry."
"I would appreciate it if you would at least listen to me in the future before you act."
"I will", replied Loys, but when Cale still didn't let go of him, he also seemed to realize that his actions had hurt Cale. With a depressed expression on his face, he looked back at the floor and fell silent for a few moments. "I'm really sorry."
Hearing this, Cale felt that Loys of Freigoud was sincere and let him go. Slowly, the duke straightened up again, while Cale ignored him and simply walked on. His mana helped him find his way in the dark hallway, and after a few steps, he discovered an end. Cale had taken a shortcut and made his way to the entrance, where Mamoru and Cedrik were still standing.
When the two spotted Cale, Cedrik immediately jumped to his feet and called out his name in an exaggeratedly excited tone. Sighing quietly, Cale stepped past the soldier into the open, followed by Sir Freigoud.
"What's going on? What happened? Where is Jarle? When will they let him go? What does all this have to do with the child abduction...?", Cedrik rushed to ask, but Cale interrupted him with a slap on the head.
"Quiet, you'll wake up the whole neighborhood", Cale admonished him. "Jarle is fine, he's just in a bit of trouble for family reasons. He'll be kept here for quite a while, but that doesn't seem to bother him much. Don't worry about him, worry about yourself instead. You should go home and get ready for class. Do you want to keep walking around town in your nightgown?"
"By the gods, I completely forgot", Cedrik admitted, embarrassed, holding a hand to his chest before Cale rolled his eyes and began to take off his coat.
"Here, I'll lend you my uniform. Go home, you too, Sir Meyrl."
"And what are you doing?", Mamoru Meyrl asked bewildered.
"I...", Cale began and turned around. Loys was holding his right shoulder and leaning against the wall of the house, looking at him expectantly. The reaction made it clear to Cale that the duke was waiting for him. "I'm going to take care of a few things for Sir Freigoud, see you later."
"Well then, see you and take care", Mamoru replied calmly and nudged Cedrik in the back to urge him to get moving. The young man complained for a few moments that he wanted to see Jarle too, but his guardian quickly put a stop to his whining. Cale, on the other hand, went in the opposite direction and followed Sir Freigoud down the street for a while before they turned north and headed for one of the side entrances to the palace.
"Have you calmed down?", Cale asked after a few minutes of silence.
"Not at all", Loys of Freigoud replied, kicking a slightly larger stone lying on the ground away with his foot. "I've been searching for answers for half an eternity, and then this. How can I not be angry?"
"Understandable, considering the facts."
"Do you always have to be so ambiguous, Sir Adenia? Can't you just say what's on your mind for once?", Loys retorted sharply as Cale crossed the street without saying a word.
"On the one hand, I can understand Jarle, but on the other hand, I can't understand him at all. If he had just told the truth, who knows how many children he could have saved? However, you have to consider that he couldn't be sure who else was involved in the child abduction, and given his position, it would have been difficult to get an audience with the king without attracting attention. But the whole thing could have been handled differently."
"I agree. Nothing justifies silence when human lives are at risk", Loys retorted, unintentionally hitting a nerve with Cale.
The impending war with the Thormods was basically no different, even if it would take several years before it came to pass. He compared the situation to the child abduction, but was relatively quick to conclude that he was currently doing the right thing. Of course, human life takes precedence, but Cale had been counteracting the danger for some time.
For a brief moment, Cale wondered how Loys would react if he found out about the Thromods. He glanced over at the grim-faced man, who kicked the stone in front of him again and sighed in frustration.