“How long have you been there, Mercury?” asked the earl.
“For a little while. I heard about your beliefs, my lord.” Hugh walked around Anne’s chair and stood in front of her. “Your thoughts about the fairy king are your own business,” he said matter-of-factly. “It is not my place to object. However, I have one request. I would like you to stop trying to get other people to act on your convictions, such as Halford and my bodyguard Salim.”
“Are you angry?”
“Yes. Quite angry.” Though Hugh was smiling, his eyes were cold. “But I’m sure my anger is of no concern to you. More importantly, I came to hear your thoughts on a crucial matter. My lord, what do you intend to do about the transaction with Reginald Stowe? I find you sitting here leisurely drinking tea, without so much as consulting His Majesty the King. I have to negotiate with Stowe on the matter of the silver sugar fairies. So I’d like to hear your thoughts.”
“My conclusion should have been clear the moment we withdrew from that church.” Leaning back against the sofa, the Earl of Downing crossed his legs. “We’ll attack Stowe and kill the fairy. To ensure their silence, we’ll kill Stowe and his cronies, too. I’m sure they’ll be there.”
“No!” Anne rose to her feet in spite of herself, overturning the teacup set down in front of her.
“Stowe said he doesn’t intend to concede,” the earl continued. “It will cause problems for us if the fairy dealers go underground. So Stowe will be attacked by an unidentified gang of thieves and die with his fairy. Then the Fairy Merchants Guild can select a new leader.”
“And you don’t intend to bring this up with His Majesty the King?” Hugh asked, his expression severe.
The earl nodded. “There is no need to bring up something so minor with His Majesty.”
The tea Anne had spilled on the table began to drip at her feet.
“You will absolutely be exposed,” said Hugh. “And when the fairy dealers learn what you did, they will undoubtedly go underground. There will be no further negotiations.”
“I won’t let that happen. I will leave no evidence.”
“Even without evidence, the fairy dealers will suspect something! My lord! If you continue to bend everything to your will with force, eventually, it will all come out at once. If that happens, you’ll cause the very disturbance you’re so keen to stop! Please, reconsider.”
“That is how I’ve always handled those who bare their fangs at the kingdom. And up until now, we’ve gotten by without any problems. There is no need for you to meddle.”
“But they are not baring their fangs at us! They just want to negotiate!”
“Hold your tongue, Mercury!” The Earl of Downing rose to his feet and tossed back his black cloak. “What they are doing is no different! They would throw the kingdom into disorder! I cannot show them mercy! I am the one who protects this kingdom!” he thundered.
Hugh fixed the old retainer with a nasty glare. “Your thoughts won’t change, then?”
“You’re being tedious. Get out of here, Mercury.”
“…Yes, my lord,” Hugh answered him quietly, then gave the dumbfounded Anne a push on the back. “You too, Halford. Let’s go.”
Hugh urged Anne out of the dining hall and into a dark, narrow hallway.
He’s serious. The Earl of Downing is going to kill Stowe and the others. What do I do? What do I do…?
Anne was pale. She felt numb all the way down to the tips of her toes. She was still half stunned. Hugh put his hands on her shoulders, peered into her face, and called her name in a low voice.
“Anne. Pull yourself together, Anne.”
The sound brought her back to her senses. They were alone in the dark hallway, with only the cold, heavy air precipitating onto the walls.
“…Hugh. The earl is… Mr. Stowe…”
“He means to kill him. So I have a favor to ask of you. Take Challe with you right now and go to the Wolf. Before Downing’s men can attack them, tell them to run. The best place to hide would be one of the northern villages, around Balkram. The crown doesn’t have many soldiers stationed there. If the necessity arises, work with Challe to protect Stowe.”
As he spoke, Hugh pulled a map out of his pocket and pressed it into Anne’s hand. It was the same detailed map of the kingdom’s northern reaches that Hugh had been holding during their trip to Northern Blow.
“But what if someone finds out I did such a thing?”
“They will find out. And they’ll know I instructed you to do it. But you’ll be fine. If anything happens, you can just say you were following orders from the Silver Sugar Viscount.”
“I’m not worried about me. What will you do, Hugh?!”
“If I can put Stowe in my debt, that will go a long way toward the success of our negotiations.”
“That doesn’t answer my question, does it?! What will happen to you?”
“I’m defying my guardian’s wishes, so in the worst case, I’ll be beheaded. In the best case, I might get to live in the dungeon of the earl’s castle.”
“That’s awful!”
“There are five successors able to replace me as Silver Sugar Viscount. You’re all well acquainted with the true power of the silver sugar fairies, and you know we need them. I have no regrets. This is my duty as the Silver Sugar Viscount. If I don’t protect Stowe, we won’t be able to train any silver sugar fairies. Don’t say no, or that you don’t want to, or that we need to think of a different way. We don’t have time for such things. And I won’t let you refuse. I gave you an order, and you will obey. If you are a candy crafter, you will obey me.”
Hugh’s strong resolve quickened Anne’s heart.
“…I will obey, Silver Sugar Viscount,” she answered in a trembling voice.
“Good. Go.”
Anne broke into a run, as if his whisper had lit a fire under her. She dashed up the stairs two at a time. Before returning to Challe, she knocked on the door to Kat and Keith’s room.
“Kat! Kat! Keith!”
“Hey, shrimp. What’s all the racket…?”
As soon as Kat opened the door and she saw his face, Anne’s eyes overflowed with tears.
Kat seemed startled. “Hey, what’s the matter?!”
Keith appeared behind him and asked in a panicked tone, “What happened?”
“The Earl of Downing is going to attack Mr. Stowe and the others. Hugh says we can’t let that happen, and he told me to go with Challe and warn them. He will be in a lot of trouble, but he told me to go anyway, so I’m going. Kat, Keith, you have to protect Hugh!”
Even Kat and Keith were just ordinary crafters. She knew there was no way they could defy the Earl of Downing. But they were the only ones she could depend on.
“That dim-witted bastard. Why…?” Kat was stunned.
“Because it’s his duty as the Silver Sugar Viscount,” said Anne. “If he doesn’t protect the other party in the negotiations, we won’t be able to train any silver sugar fairies. That’s what he said.”
Keith nodded, his gaze firm and resolute. “Got it. We’ll do whatever we can. I promise.”
“Please do.”
After making her request, Anne turned and dashed back to her own room.
“Challe!”
Challe spurred his horse onward, holding Anne between his arms.
Anne had come rushing into their room, leaped at Challe’s chest, and clung to him. Then she’d pleaded with him to go with her and help Reginald escape. Anne was asking him to make haste in order to help out a fairy dealer—one of the people who had caused him so much misery. The prospect was deeply unpleasant for him.
But it was a request from Anne. And Anne’s wishes were for the good of the fairies.
Challe understood that, so he’d taken Anne by the hand and left the room immediately.
Mithril had jumped up in a panic, demanded they take him along this time, and slipped into Challe’s breast pocket. Unfortunately, Challe hadn’t had time to pluck him back out.
Challe ran his horse up the low hill into the driving wind without stopping, and they quickly arrived at the churchyard. It was bright, illuminated by the afternoon sun, but the wind was as strong as ever.
This location is terrible. They could strike at any time.
Normally, if someone wanted to stage an attack and blame it on bandits, they would come just after sunset. If the Earl of Downing’s troops would just wait until dark, they would have plenty of time to get away.
But the area around the church was deserted, and the strong wind could easily erase the sound of screams. There was a good chance their enemy would choose the afternoon to launch their attack so their quarry wouldn’t be able to slip away into the night. They couldn’t afford to tarry.
As soon as Challe let her down off the horse, Anne made a beeline for the church and threw open the door.
“Mr. Stowe!”