Chapter 191: The Damning Lie

Loh Noir stood in front of a door on the second floor at the largest tavern the meager river town could afford. She had arrived with Stryg and Maximus half an hour ago. Elzri had already brought the other students a few hours earlier. They were all resting now in some of the tavern’s other rooms.

The local guards had already been dispatched to find Tauri Katag and Vayu Glaz and bring them safely here. Whether Hollow Shade’s own soldiers rescued Loh’s friends first was uncertain. Either way, Tauri and Vayu would be safe.

All that Loh needed to worry about was the person behind the door. She dreaded the confrontation, but there was no escaping it now.

“Might as well get it over with,” she muttered.

Loh knocked on the door with two rasps of her knuckles.

“Enter,” came a cold voice from the other side.

Loh pushed open the door and walked into the small room. It was an ordinary bedroom from an ordinary tavern, simple but clean. It was a far cry from Lord Elzri Noir’s usual office, though she did notice several red ward sigils floating around the walls, protection against eavesdropping no doubt.

Elzri sat behind a small desk that some of the tavern hands had brought up to his room. It wasn’t much, but Elzri seemed as daunting as ever.

The door closed behind Loh with a lazy creak.

“You’re finally here, good. We have a lot to talk about,” he said without a hint of emotion behind his grey eyes.

She cleared her throat, “Are the students okay?”

He narrowed his eyes, “Are you referring to the handful that survived? They are shaken up, bruised, and exhausted. Some are even suffering from mana overheating, but yes, they are as you so eloquently put it, okay.”

Loh winced, “Look, I know I should have been there with them. I made a horrible mistake, I won’t make any excuses for myself.”

“Mistake, is that what you think this is? A mistake? No, a mistake would have been keeping the students in Widow’s Crag instead of bringing them to the nearest river town. A mistake would have been splitting your squad and only sending some of your forces to protect the students. No, what you proceeded to do was a complete and utter clusterfuck, that only by sheer luck has not cost us this entire generation of mageborn talent.”

“...How many did we lose?” she whispered.

“Of the two dozen students only seven survived. Among the dead is Clypeus of House Gale. His body is being recovered as we speak. As for the four commoner families the students were escorting, they’re all dead to the very last child.”

Loh took a shaky breath and tried to steady her feet. She felt as if she would fall over any moment.

“Clypeus was a good kid, the bravest of the bunch. And he was Stryg’s best friend… House Gale will be furious,” she admitted bitterly.

“As will the Ruling Family, House Veres. They will blame not only the academy, but House Noir for the loss of Gale’s son.”

Loh turned away in shame.

“I thought we lost Stryg as well, but it seems you managed to salvage one shred of this debacle,” he said.

Loh swallowed, “...How is Stryg?”

“He’ll live, surprisingly. After you brought him in I spent what was left of my white mana to heal the boy’s injuries, which there were many. He had several bruises and scrapes. Judging from his soaked clothes and where the students had seen him last, I think it’s safe to assume Stryg fell off the cliff and into the Dire River.”

Elzri clasped his hands together, “A difficult fall to survive for certain, but what really surprised me, was the wound in his chest. Stryg’s heart had been pierced, most likely by a spear. There was a literal gaping hole in his chest… In my time, I’ve seen a few soldiers survive such fatal wounds, but only when they had immediate healing given by some of the most powerful white magi in Hollow Shade.”

She frowned, “But I found Stryg after several hours.”

“Exactly, even with his enhanced regeneration, that boy should be dead. I thought he was. Until I noticed something, remarkable or dreadful, I’m not quite certain. Loh, there should have been no blood flow in his body, his organs should have given out. That’s when I saw it or rather, I felt it. A beat in his chest. The boy has a second heart; it circulated blood through his body, keeping his organs functioning while his first heart slowly regenerated.”

Loh’s blue eyes widened in shock, “That’s... incredible.”

Elzri nodded, “Yes, the boy keeps surprising us. And to think we would have lost him, all because you decided to abandon your singular duty of protecting the students. Had I not flown to find the students the moment I received your letter, they would have all died.”

She bit her lip and clenched her trembling hands, “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t accept your apology. You abandoned your apprentice all so you could chase down Marek, who by the way, was the one who attacked the students.”

She grimaced, “I didn’t know…”

“Of course you didn’t. You were too preoccupied chasing down revenge or redemption, or whatever you want to call it. You do understand that none of that will bring Aizel back, yes?”

“...I know.”

He glared at her, “You say that, but you still disobeyed my orders and went after that wagon.”

Loh took a deep breath, “I was trying to right my wrongs. Had I succeeded we would have ended the warlord Marek’s tyranny in Dusk Valley. I never meant for any of the students to be hurt. At the time, my decision had merit, but now I understand I was wrong. I should not have abandoned my duty.”

Elzri shook his head, “You should have realized that before you chased after Marek… Do you know why I gave you your name?”

“Why does that matter right now?”

“Do you know?”

She sighed, “Because you knew I would hate it? It’s as stupid as Gale of House Gale. Why do you think I make everyone call me Loh instead?”

Elzri smiled to himself, “...I remember it as if it were yesterday. You were sleeping in your mother’s arms. You were so small, smaller than any baby I had seen. But then you opened your eyes and you looked at me, and at that moment I knew, I knew, you would make our family proud; you would carry our legacy with honor and dignity. That is why I named you Elohnoir. Yet all I have seen these past few years is a mage incapable of seeing beyond her own needs. You have brought dishonor to this family.”

Loh glared at him, “Well, excuse me for not being a cold-hearted bastard like you! I never meant for the students to be hurt. They were supposed to be safe, the enemy was nowhere near them. You want to talk about selfish desires? Then how about the man who killed his brother and sister, all so he could inherit the Noir throne?!”

“Careful with your words, Loh.”

“Or what? Afraid you’ll feel a hint of remorse? You killed your siblings and got exactly what you wanted, the leadership of House Noir!”

Elzri slammed his fist on the table with a resounding crash, “I never got what I wanted! My personal desires never mattered, all that mattered, all that has ever mattered, was our responsibility! Our duty, to protect House Noir’s legacy and this Realm’s safety. And you have placed all of that in jeopardy, again!”

Loh took a step back, “Wh-what?”

She had never seen her grandfather angry, not like this. He had always been a cold and calm individual, his every action carefully thought out.

Elzri glanced at the crack in the desk and the blood dripping from his fist. He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the blood off his fingers.

He sat back down, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, “Fortunately, none of the students are aware of your mistake. They all believe Stryg led them to a wrong cliff and that is why you weren’t there to save them.”

Loh covered her face in shame, “Oh gods, I told Stryg to meet me at the first sharp cliff. He must think I meant the second cliff.”

“And we will make him continue to believe that lie.”

“What? No, we can't!”

“We almost lost Stryg today. If we tell him the truth, we will lose him. That is not a question of ‘if’, it is a guarantee. If there is anything I have learned about that boy is that he is incredibly vindictive. How do you think he will feel when he finds out you are responsible for the death of his best friend?”

Loh bit her lip, “That’s…”

“The only people who know what actually happened are my secretary, possibly Ismene, your team, you, and me. My secretary is loyal, she will not say anything. As for Ismene, I’ll talk to her. That leaves your team. I’ve spoken a bit with your centaur, he is loyal and discreet. He refuses to say anything about what happened to you, except that only Tauri and Vayu survived.”

Elzri raised two fingers, “Tauri and Vayu are close friends of House Noir, they won’t say anything if I request it of them. So long as you and I keep quiet, then everything should be fine. We won’t have a war between House Veres, House Gale, and House Noir.”

Loh’s voice felt tight, a heavy lump rested in her throat, “...You are asking me to lie to Stryg. He will blame himself for all of this; for the death of the students, for the death of his best friend, all of it!”

“And in return Hollow Shade will not suffer a civil war. House Gale is honorable, they may end up hating Stryg, but he is a student, they will not try to kill him. This is the best solution given the circumstances.”

She shook her head, “No, there has to be a better way.”

“There is not. Stryg is still asleep, he will be for the next few hours, until his body recovers. When he wakes, I want you to lie to him about the true nature of last night’s events.”

“...Stryg will be devastated,” she swallowed bitterly.

“Then we will manage the situation accordingly. Give him whatever he needs to help soothe the pain, it’s the best we can do.”

“I hate this plan,” she muttered.

“And I hate how you ignored my original plan and got almost everyone killed, but here we are. Now, tell me why only Tauri and Vayu are all that’s left of the magi team I assigned you.”

Loh clenched her eyes tight, just the memory of the encounter terrified her. “...I saw it, the Monster in the Dark.”

“What? Are you certain?” Elzri furrowed his brow.

She laughed frostily, “Yeah, I’m certain. It killed everyone. We couldn’t stop It, let alone slow It down. And It knew me, by my scent, that thing knew I was a Noir. It wanted Its black dagger back, the one my grand aunt stole.”

“Una…” he whispered.

Loh rubbed her eyes, “6 years ago… Marek didn’t kill Aizel, the Monster did.”

“I see,” he said quietly.

“Look, I can tell you more about this later. I’m going to go check on Stryg, he shouldn’t be alone right now,” Loh turned away.

“Agreed. Stryg should see a friendly face when he wakes,” Elzri nodded.

Her shoulders slumped, “A friendly face that is about to lie to him and break his heart.”

“...Yes.”

She wrapped her shaking fingers around the doorknob and turned it with a click.

“Loh, wait,” he called out.

She looked back at him, anger clear in her eyes, “What is it?”

“...I’m sorry for putting so much on your shoulders, I truly am. I will be here if you need me.”

Loh blinked, she had never heard her grandfather apologize to anyone.

“Are you alright?” she asked, a trace of worry in her voice.

Elzri smiled wryly, “Always.”