“I ordered her to do it against her will. There is no way a lone candy crafter could have defied my orders.”
“Hugh!”
“Shut up!” Hugh shouted at her over his shoulder, and Anne held her tongue. “All the blame lies with me.”
Anne felt so guilty and frustrated that she began to cry. “Hugh, I’m sorry. If only we’d been able to run farther…”
If only the soldiers hadn’t found this place, at least they could have rescued Reginald. Then there would still be hope of getting the Fairy Merchants Guild to cooperate. Hugh’s plan and his sacrifice would not have been for nothing.
But if Reginald died here, no matter how hard the royal family and the Earl of Downing tried to put up a good front, the guild would be suspicious. They would never again be willing to deal with the royal family.
Without turning around, Hugh whispered in a voice only Anne could hear, “I heard about Stowe’s injury. This was as far as you could flee. You did well.”
Anne shook her head vigorously. She didn’t feel worthy of praise like that. She was deeply frustrated she hadn’t produced the results they needed.
“Royal authority is a nasty thing, huh?”
They heard a low, mellow voice coming from the front door of the house. At some point, Reginald Stowe had come out, and now he was leaning against the doorframe and holding his side, his lips curled into a smile. The injured wolf was staring at the Earl of Downing. Despite his condition, his eyes still had an aggressive, lupine glint to them.
“Reginald Stowe,” said the earl. “You abandoned our negotiations. For the safety of the people, we have no choice but to confiscate the fairy’s coffin from you.”
“I don’t intend to give it up. If you’re gonna take it, you’ll have to kill me first.” With his dark-gray eyes, Reginald stared intently at the Earl of Downing. “The royal family robbed me of everything I had. I was a child back then, so all I could do was watch it happen with my thumb in my mouth. But now I’m a businessman. I can’t hand over merchandise without compensation. If you want to steal something from me without paying for it, you’ll have to kill me. Like a thief would. And I’m sure you know what the Fairy Merchants Guild will do as a result.”
“I don’t need to kill you. We will not kill anyone, in fact. It’s the possibility of another bandit attack that should concern you.”
“You’ll make enemies of the Fairy Merchants Guild.”
“We aren’t going to kill anyone. And there will be no evidence to lead the Fairy Merchants Guild to suspect the royal family, should you die.”
The Earl of Downing’s words and expression were as cold as ice. He didn’t even seem like the same person as the old man who had told Anne about his adorable granddaughter.
Anne knew two souls could not dwell in a single body. So how was it possible for the earl to have two sides that were so different? There had to be something at his core that fueled both his love for his granddaughter and his drive to ruthlessly eliminate his opponents.
“This kingdom is finished,” Challe said quietly.
As he moved slowly forward to stand in front of Anne, he opened his right hand slightly. Glittering beads of silver light began to gather in his palm.
The Earl of Downing frowned at Challe’s words. He could not overlook them. Keeping Anne behind him so he could protect her, Challe walked around Hugh and confronted the earl.
“What did you say, fairy?” asked Downing.
“A kingdom that can’t even negotiate with its people over honest grievances is doomed to perish. And it’s foolish to follow the laws of a kingdom that will, in time, fall to ruin… Salim.”
Still staring directly at the Earl of Downing, Challe called Salim’s name.
“You protect the people you need to protect,” Challe said. “And I will do the same.”
Hugh saw Salim’s startled expression and shouted frantically, “Salim! Don’t listen to him!”
Salim bit his lip and shook his head forcefully. He stood in front of Hugh and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.
“Viscount, I beg your pardon. But I will protect you.”
Challe had his sword in hand, too.
“Challe! Wait! Not yet—wait!” Anne ran over and clung to Challe’s arm.
“We can’t change this man’s thinking,” he said. “If he does things like this, the kingdom will fall to ruin. That part, I don’t mind. Why should I care? Let Highland perish. But I will not let him harm you.”
The Earl of Downing promptly leaped aside, and his soldiers drew their swords. The bright spring sunshine reflected off countless blades.
“Earl of Downing!” Anne shouted as loudly as she could. “Strength alone won’t get us the results we need! I’m begging you! Please!”
“I will protect the royal family and preserve the kingdom!”
Anne was startled by the earl’s answer.
This man is also protecting something!
It was precisely because he loved his granddaughter that he wanted to preserve the kingdom’s stability. And to do that, he was willing to be ruthless.
Anne pulled away from Challe, stepped out in front of him, and spread both her arms.
“I won’t let you through! None of you!”
The soldiers looked at Anne in confusion. Even they would probably feel ashamed to trample an unarmed young woman with their horses. All Anne could do was make herself into an obstacle.
“Halford, move. You’ll be crushed!” the Earl of Downing shouted angrily, and Anne shouted right back.
“Go ahead and do it, then!”
“Why must you go to such lengths?!”
“For the sake of the kingdom and the future of sugar candy!”
The Earl of Downing made a pained expression. “I don’t understand you!”
“If you don’t understand, then believe! My lord! No one here wants any conflict!”
The earl frowned intently as she shouted. But when he replied, his voice was tired. “Halford…I also don’t want there to be any upheaval. That’s why I can’t let this alone!”
Abruptly, his expression changed. His eyes turned cold, and he raised his right hand high in the air.
Just as he did, the soldiers standing near the gate shouted and began to scatter.
Startled, the earl turned around to look. Anne’s eyes went wide. A one-horse wagon was plowing into the garden, heedless of all the people filling the small yard.
Horses and soldiers alike fled its path. Challe picked a stunned Anne up in his arms like a baby and jumped out of the way.
Anne stared in surprise at the young man gripping the reins of the intruding wagon.
“Keith?!”
The wagon’s driver was indeed Keith. He pulled on the reins and brought the wagon to a sudden stop right in the center of the garden, sending up a cloud of dust.
Then he got up on the driver’s platform and raised his voice.
“This is an order from His Majesty the King! Everyone is to withdraw!”