2. Trust

Summary: Asthar and Therius arrive, but Calista just snuck out of the castle!


Time had passed since Arganan refused to let Jirall marry Calista.

Calista herself was still single. There were certainly suitors pining for her hand, for obvious reasons, but Calista had turned down all of them so far. Arganan knew that, in time, there should be someone else on the way – someone that would treat her right and truly loved her.

A man with a specific mark on his right hand – a mark Arganan knew well about.

The Mark of the Outsider, he mused, as he sat at his desk in his office. That man should arrive at some point soon. He has to.

Arganan already met Dagran, the leader of a group of mercenaries, and Arganan already made arrangements for said group to be guards for the upcoming ball tomorrow. Calista would be making her formal debut into high society, and since she was still single as she could be, Arganan knew that he'd have to be careful and make sure she didn't get hounded down immediately by tons of new suitors.

I thought Jirall was bad enough but dealing with these other suitors is worse. A sigh left him as he leaned back in his chair, closing his good eye briefly. At least Calista's being incredibly good with rejecting all of them, though, so that's a relief.

Calista had grown into a confident, strong-willed woman, and Arganan was proud of the progress she'd made with studying the current political landscape and learning more about the duties of ruling Lazulis. One day, she'd have to rule Lazulis, whether it be thanks to Arganan eventually passing on the duties to her himself or because of any untimely circumstances like death.

Hopefully I live long enough to pass on my duties to her rather than just straight-up dying and leaving everything for her to figure out. He shuddered, shaking his head slightly. I have a better relationship with my niece at least, now, so I think I've avoided one part of my doom.

But a war was coming with the Gurak. Arganan wasn't sure when exactly it would begin, but he had to keep an eye out for any signs of potential enemies approaching the island. Plus, Calista's ball debuting her to high society officially weighed heavily on his mind, and he knew that it meant dealing with more unwanted suitors, making sure everyone (guests included) stayed alive and safe.

Additionally, he had guests he was expecting – General Asthar and Sir Therius. General Asthar was well-known throughout the Empire as being the former Imperial Supreme Commander, before he left his position to go travel the Empire. Despite no longer being the Supreme Commander, however, he still earned much respect and notability for his work as a great knight. Arganan was quick to greet Asthar and his pupil, Sir Therius, in the Great Hall.

"General Asthar. Sir Therius. I'm honored to have you here as guests for my niece's debut ball tomorrow. I hope the journey has treated you well." Arganan greeted them. In the back of his mind, he did his best to try to recall why they were here last time – in accordance to the visions he had. I had them as guests for Calista's engagement party back then…but they also stuck around afterwards, because of the war with the Gurak. But I also remember that they did research…

Wait. Fuck.

Asthar died during this war, didn't he?

Not only was he worried about his own doom, but Asthar's doom. He'd been killed during a later fight with the Gurak, right? When they tried invading the castle a second time?

Which meant that Arganan only had until whenever the second invasion occurred to save Asthar's life. He's got an even worse time limit for staying alive than I do, and he doesn't even realize it!

Asthar smiled as he bowed. Despite him being older, in about his forties or fifties at this point and therefore around the same age range as Arganan himself, the Count could see how the General was a hit with the ladies. "It's a pleasure to be invited."

Sir Therius also bowed, giving similar greetings. Arganan knew the white-haired knight had a reputation for being overly formal, but at least he was committed to his duties as a knight.

"I have your rooms already prepared." Arganan told them both. "I do hope they are to your liking, and…"

"Count!" A servant rushed over, and Arganan swallowed lightly, looking towards the servant. "Apologies for interrupting!"

"What is it?" Arganan frowned. What could be so urgent?

"Lady Calista is nowhere in the castle!"

"What?" Arganan's good eye widened.

Hold it. Didn't she do something similar the night before her and Jirall's supposed engagement ball at the time? Tomorrow's the day of her debut, why would she…?

Right. Shit. Arganan recalled when Calista had returned originally on her own, and arguing with her over her sneaking out in the first place. She just wanted to see the world one more time…

But she's not engaged! Why would she…? Well, I guess I didn't exactly let her out often. Fuck. Because Calista occupied so much of her time learning the ways of a noble and studying the political landscape ontop of constantly rejecting unwanted suitors, she didn't have much time to venture out into the surrounding city by herself. He had let her go out a few times accompanied by guards for shopping purposes and so on, but she'd never gone out completely by herself, for the sake of her protection (though at least there were no reports of her running away at the time).

But she came back fine, he recalled. That night before the engagement ball at the time, Calista had returned without a scratch. She would be fine. She has to be fine.

But there was also the risk of kidnapping. Getting lost, or…?

Is the right option to trust that she'll be back safe…?

Either way, he knew he had to save face for Calista and himself in front of Asthar, Therius and the servant. At least for now.

Arganan paused, before looking up at the servant reporting to him. "She'll return." He spoke. "I'm sure of it." How do I cover up for her…? Think! What would she reasonably do outside the castle? "I sent her out for a specific errand or two earlier, actually, and she promised to return by late this evening. She'll be fine."

"What?" The servant seemed stunned. "Are you sure…?"

Arganan glared at him. "My niece is not so careless to get herself kidnapped, alone or not." He spoke. "She'll manage. Keep an eye out for her return and report to me immediately when she does."

He knew that Calista was far better at using light magic than him. He'd even given her the types of daggers that mages typically used when out on the field to practice with, too, during the past few years. If there was anyone that could hold her own in a battle despite not being a trained knight, it was Calista.

"U-Understood, sir." The servant bowed and left them. Arganan looked towards Asthar and Therius.

"I apologize for Calista's current absence, but I'm sure she'll be back soon to greet both of you." He managed. "It's not often that she goes outside of the castle, and I blame myself for the poor timing."

"As long as she arrives back safely, I'm sure it will be of no problem." Asthar offered him a light smile, but that was when the same servant from earlier ran over with a gasp.

"Count! Apologies for interrupting, but Lady Calista has returned!"

"Just now?" That was fast. "Er…thank you. That's very good to know."

Only just after the servant left did Calista appear. She wore a dark blue dress with a traveling cloak overtop, probably meant to serve as some disguise to make herself look less of a noble and more like a civilian, but it did little to help disguise her at all, in Arganan's opinion.

"Uncle." Calista bowed her head a bit, before curtsying in front of Asthar and Therius. "General Asthar, Sir Therius, I apologize for my initial absence."

"We're just glad that you're safe, Lady Calista." Asthar reassured her.

Calista bowed her head a bit as she looked towards her uncle again. "I-I'm sorry. For leaving. I just…I was so curious, and…"

"I'm just glad you're back safe." Arganan managed. She didn't look hurt, at least, so she came back without a scratch as he hoped. "What happened out there?"

Calista blinked, a bit surprised, but she managed to speak regardless. "Well, I met a few new friends. They're mercenaries, but they were very kind."

"What were their names?' He knew he was expecting people. He also knew he had a group of mercenaries lined up to help guard the ball tomorrow. Were those the same mercenaries that Calista met?

"I mainly remember Zael, because he's the one I met first." Her cheeks lightly flushed, and she shook her head quickly to stop blushing. "He had a few other friends…Dagran was among them? And Syrenne, Lowell, Mirania…Yurick, too."

Ah. Those were the same mercenaries he'd hired recently. Phew. "They're good people?"

"Definitely. They're quite amusing, actually." A soft chuckle left her at that, before a light frown appeared on her face. "Though…I admit I had a rough time in the marketplace."

The Marketplace? It was well-patrolled by guards since it was one of the busiest areas of Lazulis City. "What happened while you were there?"

"Some of the town guards were forcing the merchants to give away their wares to them for free. I tried to butt in, and they didn't recognize me, so they tried to arrest me and Zael simply for doing the right thing, but…"

Arganan looked towards the closest guard. "Who was supposed to be patrolling the city's marketplace tonight?"

The guard faltered, before mumbling, "Er…I don't have the assigned schedule, sir…"

"Then bring someone who knows here immediately! Their behaviour is intolerable and needs to be punished."

Calista seemed just as stunned by the guard, who now half-ran out of the room to go fetch the captain. "Uncle…are you sure…?"

The Gurak invasion ended in such bad results because of incompetent guards. If I root them out and get them to straighten up their behavior, then we should be better off…I think. "I'm sure of it, Calista. Their behaviour is inexcusable, trying to do that to our people. It's not fair to them considering the work they put into what they do."

Besides, it was also bad for the local economy if guards kept trying to take free stuff from the merchants. That was also an issue Arganan wanted stopped as soon as possible. The guards that were from the Marketplace arrived shortly, and Arganan looked towards them with a raised brow.

"Good evening, gentlemen." He spoke, eyeing the pathetic guards standing there. "I was informed that both of you have been taking advantage of the merchants in the Marketplace. Is that true?"

"Er…" One of the two guards seemed surprised, before asking, "What do you mean by that, sir?"

"I think you know perfectly what I mean. You used your positions to take wares from the merchants for free instead of paying for them like everyone else." Arganan glared at them. "And my niece, who happened to be there to try to call you out for such intolerable behavior, reported to me that neither of you were willing to listen to reason."

"What!?" The other guard gasped, and Arganan noticed Calista glare at the guards herself. "You…!?"

"Both of you are to be suspended from your duties, starting immediately." Arganan stated. "I'm sure you'd both need some time to think about your terrible behavior. As guards working for this castle and the city, you are supposed to uphold the law, not take advantage of it for yourselves."

"What!? B-but…" One of the guards choked out, but Arganan glared at them, making them go silent.

"This behavior is inexcusable. And I've heard that this isn't the first time you've abused your positions to do such a thing, either. In fact, I take back what I said earlier – you're both out of work here and will be removed from your positions entirely, starting now." He looked towards the other guards. "Escort them out of the castle, please. Make sure they have their belongings with them before you boot them out, though."

"What!?"

"Out!"

The other guards escorted the two now-fired guards out of hall. Calista exhaled shakily, and Arganan looked towards her quietly.

"I'm sorry you had to go through what you did earlier. You did well, speaking up for those merchants." He managed, looking her in the eye. Calista nodded a bit, taking another deep breath. "Will you be alright?"

"I will. I think I just need some rest." Calista smiled lightly. "And I do need to be ready for the ball tomorrow."

Ah, yes. The ball! He'd nearly forgotten... "Of course," He managed, offering her a light smile. "Go get some rest, Calista. You'll need it."

"I'll see you in the morning, Uncle. Goodnight." He saw a soft smile appear on her face, just before she, too, left his office.

Asthar watched her go, before looking towards Arganan, expression unreadable for a moment. "Will you be alright with less security, Count?"

"I'd rather have a mercenary competent at their job than a guard who would abuse his power like that." He spoke, looking Asthar in the eye. He'd already talked to Dagran earlier, before Asthar arrived, about having Dagran and his whole band of mercenaries act as extra guards for Calista's debut ball tomorrow. "I'm confident that things will be fine despite the sudden…changes."

"I see." Was that a smile playing on the good General's face? "That, I'm glad to hear. Taking responsibility for incidents such as these is sorely needed."

That was an odd phrase. Arganan frowned lightly at that. Incidents such as these? Were there other cases of insubordination that Asthar faced in the past?

What do I know about him? I know that he was renowned General. Still is, despite laying down his former position as the Imperial Supreme Commander. He came here to Lazulis for a reason…other than me inviting him and Sir Therius to attend Calista's debut ball…

He tried to think about those memories he had when he hit his head a while back, but nothing quite came up relating to Asthar other than the sudden death he faced in combat. There has to be a link between why he came here, other my invitation, and his death. There's definitely more to him than meets the eye. I need to keep close watch on him…

"Of course." Arganan managed. "I trust that we'll adjust with any needed changes now and in the future. Surely you have the experience to handle it."

"What sort of knight would I be if I didn't learn to expect the unexpected?" A soft chuckle left Asthar at that.

"I'm sure you and Sir Therius must be tired from your journey." Arganan managed. "Please, feel free to get some rest for the night. You'll need it as much as the rest of us."

The Gurak are on their way. He didn't know when exactly they would strike, but it had to be soon, right? For the first invasion. I better make sure the castle is well-guarded.

"Of course." Asthar bowed lightly and Therius also bowed. "Goodnight, Count."

"Goodnight."

Asthar and Therius left the office, and Arganan heaved a slow breath as he closed his good eye, doing his best to process everything.

So Calista has met Zael…things are getting into motion. And I have to figure out why Asthar's here, other than the invitation I sent him to attend the ball tomorrow. It could be potentially linked to his upcoming death…I just hope I figure it out before it's too late.

He couldn't think too hard about it. Right now, he had to make sure arrangements were finalized for the guards stationed during the ball as well as those mercenaries. And then he needed some rest, himself, or else he'd be nodding off the next day and that wouldn't end well either.

Either way, the Gurak will appear tomorrow. I just know it.