Based on: Chapter 3: The Bandits of Borgo
Seth watched the exchange between Neimi and the thief and sighed, staying hidden behind the corner of the crumbling wall. For a moment, he had hoped that the young man wasn't the one that took Lady Eirika's bracelet, but the proof of his crime peeked out from under his cloak.
The two didn't seem to notice him as the boy returned a small mirror to Neimi, which prompted her to start crying again. While Seth didn't want to interrupt, he had to retrieve the bracelet.
He stepped out with a loud clack of his boot against the stones, startling the duo. "...This is quite touching, but... I think you'd best return Princess Eirika's bracelet to her now."
Seth had to give the boy credit; he wiped the surprise off his face fairly quickly, replacing it with what would've passed for a convincing innocent look if the general hadn't been who he was. He sighed again as Colm started to deny his involvement. They didn't have time for this.
With a quick step more often seen with his swordsmanship, he snapped his hand out to curl in the cloak bunched at the thief's shoulder. Neimi let out a squeak, but he only spared her a glance before following through with his motion. He didn't really want to hurt Colm, as nothing foul resulted from his actions, but Seth needed to make a point. A twist of his wrist had Colm pushed into the wall several inches higher than the boy stood.
As he expected, the thief panicked once he knew the knight wasn't going to fall for his tricks. He reached inside his sleeve, but a quick glare stopped him cold. It wouldn't do for him to pull a blade and make a run for it.
Colm threw up his hands up and surrendered. "It's right here! Take it!"
When set down, Colm handed over the bracelet without another word. Inspecting it to make sure the thief hadn't pulled any sort of trick on him, Seth pivoted to turn. However, he found he couldn't just leave like that. Regardless of what had transpired, he was still a knight of Renais, and it was his duty to protect their people. After a brief appeal to the boy's morals, Seth started to walk away. He hoped words were enough.
"You're mercenaries, right? Well, then take us with you," Colm said, causing the knight to pause again.
Seth raised a brow. Had he not heard him mention Princess Eirika before? They were much more than simple mercenaries. Still, he couldn't just abandon their people. Lady Eirika would be disappointed. So, he compromised. He didn't hide his reluctance in agreeing to the arrangement, especially considering that those in hard times were often unpredictable. However, it was his liege's choice, and he would follow what she decided.
When he returned to her, he held out her heirloom. "I retrieved your bracelet from the bandit's stronghold. Here you are, Princess."
His face betrayed nothing as she refastened the jewelry to her wrist. Lady Eirika had not seen who bumped into her clearly when it was so dark. While the white lie didn't sit quite right with him, he did not correct it.
Behind her, Colm's eyes widened as he stopped, probably expecting to be reported. Seth took a bit of satisfaction in the way the boy paled when he realized just who it was he stole from. That fact alone spoke that Colm was redeemable. If anything suspicious happened, he would tell the princess what had happened, but for now he would ignore that slight unease in his gut.
Lady Eirika had a certain innocence to her that he wished to preserve as long as possible. It was a gentle naivety that had provided the base of her kindness. While he did not wish her ignorant, she deserved to keep her faith in humanity. Fighting would cure her lack of experience and unearth truths hard-learned. He would protect her from the rest.
She didn't need to see just how far their people had fallen in order to survive. The bitter taste reminded him of his own failures as a knight in protecting them. This small thing would not hurt her, for the darker side of people did not have to bared at all times. Seth did not believe Colm to be a bad person—judging from how he cared for Neimi—just enduring hard times.
It was hard to place blame when there was little he wouldn't do for Lady Eirika in the same situation.
I found it pretty interesting that he didn't reporting Colm as the thief right away, considering he wasn't exactly thrilled to have him along. Thank you for reading!
