Alton and Sybil had definitely noticed that Duxton had quite suddenly shoved Zaniyah into a random room. It wasn't a smooth operation and it didn't help that Zaniyah had opened and slammed the door shut again quickly afterward. Alton pointed to the door and tilted his head.

“... Why did you do that?”

Duxton kept his smile on. “Her father wanted to speak to her.”

“Paladin Arbutus is here?” Alton was even more confused. “He shouldn't be leaving Fogbloom. They wouldn’t allow for someone in his position to do that.”

“He will leave the city whenever the king orders him to. There was an emergency in Carapace that required the king’s immediate intervention and Paladin Arbutus’ presence was a must. Lord Cowl is eager to explain the details.” He made a motion to a door down the hall.

Alton felt concerned. If Paladin Arbutus was traveling away from Fogbloom, it meant that the king was serious about ensuring that his voice was heard. With what he had heard from Gwyn about Duke Rubire wanting to put himself and the Toval family on trial, his worries only increased. He grasped onto Sybil's hand, holding onto it tightly. She gave him a reassuring squeeze in return before the two entered the room.

Inside, Enzo was conversing with a group of well-dressed people. If Enzo was traveling with Nicolas, that meant that it was a serious enough issue that Elbellziara also involved. At the sight of the three entering, a man in goldenrod garments gave a wave of his hand.

“A moment please, allies,” said the one in the goldenrod garments. Everyone but himself and Enzo filtered out of the room.

Enzo smiled as Alton stepped aside to let the others pass. “It is good to see you again, Master Alton. I am also pleased to see that Lady Sybil has accompanied you. She would also be interested in what I have to say. Today, I have the pleasure of introducing you to Duke Sickleson. He has generously taken time out of his schedule to speak with us today.”

This was it. Alton’s life was officially over.

He had thought that maybe he was pushing Duke Rubire a little too far, but he wanted the man to see what a mess he was making of his region. Now the king, who had never liked Alton to begin with, was sending him off to be executed for his crimes. The experience was only made worse by the fact that Duxton was here to laugh at him.

“... I was unaware that the Duke would have the time to see to this personally.” Duxton crossed the room and shook the man's hand. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you, sir.”

“The pleasure is mine, Prince Duxton. My sister-in-law informs me that you have been thriving at Braytons. It has been an honor to know that you are enjoying your education in the Gilded Region.”

“Lady Till is a wonderful woman and I value the lessons that I have learned from her establishment.” The prince made a wide gesture to the pair that had entered with him. “These are my associates. Lady Sybil Toval, and her husband, Alton Toval. Please forgive their appearances. They were attending the festival and were unaware that they would be having this meeting today.”

Sybil didn't know if she should be feeling embarrassed or not. Since this was a date with Alton, she had worn a simple dress and hadn't done anything to her hair. Not to mention that Zaniyah had convinced her to go to the face painter. She had a butterfly painted on her cheek. Why did she have to have a butterfly painted on her cheek while she was standing in front of the Golden Duke?

“It always makes me happy to see people enjoy a festival in Tilrey. Days such as this are one of the few times we can feel like children again and I relish the opportunity to celebrate just like anyone else does.” He bent down and lowered his voice as he pointed to his own cheek. “I was thinking of getting a rose painted here. Too childish?”

She shook her head. “Not at all, my lord.” Much to her relief, he seemed much more laid back than the nobles she had met in Carapace.

Alton was still tense. “I don't wish to be rude, my lords, but may I ask what all of this is about?”

With a wave of his hand, Enzo beckoned to have them sit around the table. “The information I am about to share with you will be made public after a few week's time, but I ask that you do not share any of it until then.

Myself, along with an entourage provided by the king, and some of Duke Sickleson’s men, are traveling to Carapace. We have scheduled an emergency meeting with Duke Rubire. He has sent word that he believes that some of the lower class nobles within the city have made allies with members of the core. There are rumors that a coup is being planned. Paladin Arbutus will be escorting himself and his family to Fogbloom while I hold an official investigation to his claims.”

Leaning towards Sybil, Duxton whispered softly in her ear. “I told you, gloom girl. Little innocent actions meant to help people can lead to dire consequences.”

It was her fault that Duke Rubire thought that the core was conspiring against him. She knew that releasing the defense golems was the correct decision, but the Duke used that to prove that the core had been planning a war. Duxton had promised that he was going to help her out of this situation... How had it come to this?

Alton leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. “I assure you that Duke Rubire's claims are based on his own paranoia, brought on by the fact that he knows he has something to hide”

“We agree with you,” replied Duke Sickleson. He then gave Enzo a nod.

“Prince Duxton was sent to Carapace with a considerable amount of money and supplies in order to fund the Crimson Region’s prosperity during a time of need. This was a gift given to him freely by both the Violet and Gilded Regions. King Howell also gave him certain orders to ensure that his people would survive the winter. Part of Prince Duxton’s mission was to see how Rubire spread out these supplies.

Rubire was ordered to put the Carapace on lockdown. His capital would have limited rations, conserve spending, and he was to send reports on the condition of people. Prince Duxton’s investigations have proven that Rubire had chosen to do the opposite. He had even gone as far as to forge the data on reports so that he could ask for more funding.”

Alton couldn't hide the rage on his face. The people of Carapace were constantly assured that there were no problems. Those of the core were temporarily exiled from the city. Supplies that could have gone to the north or east were instead squandered so that those of Carapace had no want or need for anything. Towns that had been literally buried behind walls by the Duke had been left to fend for themselves.

“I understand your anger, Master Alton,” added Enzo. Sybil reached for Alton's hand under the table. She gripped it so tightly that her knuckles turned white. “Once Rubire has reached Fogbloom, he will be put on trial for his crimes against his people. We will investigate and strip the titles of any nobles who assisted him during these troubling times.

Their assets will be sold off, and any families who used their own funds to help the people, such as the Toval family, will be reimbursed. We will be performing our own coup and replacing the members of his court until they are proven guilty or innocent. I will be taking the temporary title of Duke of Crimson until I have located Rubire’s replacement. This is only a temporary coup, and we plan for the next Duke or Duchess to be of crimson blood.”

“Who will be the replacement?” Sybil didn't want another tyrant in charge.

“We believe that a good candidate would be a young and flexible thinker. With that in mind, we will be looking for candidates among the younger nobles of Carapace and from the barons and baronesses within the region. In the meantime, we have suggested that Lady Till begin your training for the crimson court. Prince Duxton has said that you would be a good representative of the core. It may even be possible for you to become the Crimson Duchess if we fail to find a good candidate.”

Sybil didn't say anything. She just shook her head back and forth and looked at them like they were crazy... She didn't want to be a duchess. Being a knight was the highest ranking she wanted. A lifetime of dealing with parties and nobles and… All that other nonsense... It was a nightmare. She could never survive that.

“It's two years away,” whispered Alton. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “You should study. If you still don't want to by the end of that, you can say no. No one will hate you for it. It’s more than likely that they would have found someone better suited for it before then.”

Enzo nodded at the sentiment. “There are several candidates already, so it is unlikely that you will be expected to answer the call.” He took out some paper and slid them each a sheet. “While you are here, we would like for each of you to write a testimony.”

“A testimony?” Sybil frowned. “To use against Duke Rubire?”

“Both of you acted as Lady Flay’s liaison to Duke Rubire during the tainted beast attack,” replied Enzo. Gwyn was with Duke Rubire, while Alton was with Lady Flay. They used their letters to communicate back and forth. Once Sybil was out of the core, she took over for Alton. “I would like your testimony for the actions he took that day. We will also be getting testimonies from Miss Hewitt and Mister Atwater.

Ah, yes, Miss Twist. We will also need an affidavit that you were the one that operated the golem army during the attack, and that you chose to do so on your own and without permission of a knight. Master Shaw has already provided one, but we will also need one from you.”

Sybil froze up. “Am I in trouble?”

“We will let those in charge of the core decide your punishment, but we will strongly discourage them from taking any form of harsh action against you and your father,” replied Enzo.

“Oh…” Now Sybil was petrified by the thought of being banished from the core, but she supposed she would have to wait and see. “... Thank you.”

They quickly wrote down their statements and Enzo gestured to the door. “We must make more time to see each other next time we meet, Master Alton. For now, I am responsible for purchasing more supplies for our trip, so I must excuse myself.”

Standing up from his seat, Alton walked around the table and grasped the man's hand so that he might shake it. He then pulled the man closer and gave him a hug. “Thank you for this, Enzo. Thank you for everything.”

“Unfortunately, I won’t have time during this trip to visit the barracks,” added Duke Sickleson. “Send Nita my regards. Tell her that her sister misses her.”

They said their goodbyes and went back into the hallway. Sybil leaned towards Alton as they walked. “Is it just me, or did Duke Sickleson imply that he married Lady Till’s sister?”

“Considering how we didn’t know that, I don’t think it’s a good idea to bring it up,” replied Alton. Till seemed like the type of woman to hold a grudge, and he knew that she used to work in the gilded court, but was forced to leave and find employment elsewhere. It likely wasn’t a good memory for her.

Duxton flashed them a wide grin. “How positively fascinating,” he said sarcastically. “Shaw is attending to some personal matters that I am not allowed to meddle in. I will wait for your little blue-haired friend while you two go and enjoy yourselves... I'm certain you have much to talk about.”

“We'll wait here,” said Alton. He leaned against the wall outside of the door Zaniyah was in. Sybil stepped beside him and he put an arm around her shoulders. “Go on ahead.”

“Unfortunately, I am not supposed to head anywhere by myself. You'll be stuck with me until Shaw has finished his business.” Duxton leaned on the wall opposite of them and folded his arms. His mood was soured by their closeness, but neither of them cared.

After only a few minutes, Zaniyah exited the room and became tense when she noticed them waiting for her. She walked over and hugged Alton tightly. He became alarmed as she buried her head against his shoulder.

Alton patted her back. “Sorry about leaving you alone... We should have gone in to make sure you were okay,” he said softly.

“I'm so sorry, Alton.” Zaniyah shook her head back and forth. She pulled away and put on her best smile. “Let's go enjoy the rest of the festival now, but is it alright if I talk to you about some things afterward? Dad said some stuff that... I mean, I want to tell you about them when I can. It's important, but kinda depressing, so I want to have some fun first.” He gave a nod. Zaniyah then flashed a sour look at Duxton. “... He can follow us around, but he's not allowed to talk.”

Duxton gave a nod. “Of course, my lady.”

“Strike one,” said Sybil. “Next one you get, we're getting you a horse and shipping you off to Braytons in a barrel.” The prince smirked at her snark and gave her a nod.

“Can we do that anyway?” Alton loved the idea of putting Duxton in a barrel full of nails and having a horse drag him around in circles. He grunted as both Zaniyah and Sybil elbowed him in the ribs. Why were they ganging up on him now? Duxton was the worst.

Sybil was thinking of something similar but wasn't saying that out loud. “Let's go and try to make the best of things. Even bad company isn't enough to ruin a festival.”