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THE PATH OF RENUNCIATION 24
Smiling, he nodded and, glancing in the direction of the edge, waved his hand: through the green-brown field, a dozen riders were slowly riding, leading several free horses in a bridle. Paraman arrived from Lausens about a day ago and, judging by the reports of the servants, he never left his chambers and did not receive anyone. Something was clearly going on, and it was obvious: the cousin really wanted Karl to understand this and come to bow to him. Unlike the rest of the castle, where there were more guards than servants, the Green Corridor was empty. Two young palechniks, placed at the main chambers rather for show, were talking among themselves in a relaxed manner. Seeing Karl, they reluctantly drew themselves up and, without asking anything, parted. Paraman did not miss the opportunity to once again show himself the master of the situation and emphasize that he was not afraid of anything or anyone. Karl was in no hurry to dissuade him. Over the past six months, he managed t
THE PATH OF RENUNCIATION 25
The room was quiet and almost dark. To the side of the entrance, dimly flickering, burned a two-horned golden candelabra. Taking a torch from the wall, Paraman waited until it flared up properly, and, bypassing the stone table, approached the secret door. Two turns of the key opened a passage to a narrow dark corridor with an almost sheer stone staircase, worn out over hundreds of years. Holding the scabbard, Paraman intercepted the torch and began to rise slowly. There were still a couple of hours before dawn - it was time to take a bath and get some sleep.- Need to talk. - The voice, which was heard from the darkness, to which the light did not reach, reverberated with a booming echo from the cold walls. Paraman stopped and, reaching for a steel ring driven into a stone, inserted a torch into it.– How long have you been waiting? he asked ingratiatingly, climbing a few more steps. "No," said Carl. I decided it would be safer here.- For whom? – Not holding back a smile, Param
THE PATH OF RENUNCIATION 26
A thin thread of dawn was woven into the clouds, connecting them with the horizon with wide stitches. The sky gradually brightened. The white-pink curly crowns of the apple trees, which were still covered by a thick shadow, barely fluttered under the cool morning wind, and the first golden-orange rays were already approaching the borders of the castle garden. Liramel awoke long before dawn. She still had time to see the floating moon and a scattering of fading constellations, and even caught a star sparkling halfway across the sky with her eyes. Kneeling before the open window, Liramel placed her hands on the sill and bowed her head in prayer. The ancient apple orchard was fragrant, enveloping the castle with a tart honey aroma, and under the windows, loud cat weddings were noisy, depriving them of sleep. These days in the Kingdom, bad weather was a rare guest, and nothing overshadowed the birth of a new life. Only once every few years, the Singing Winds Trails, which had fallen f
THE PATH OF RENUNCIATION 27
The evening mist was already swirling over the swamps when, riding out onto the path, Yakir spurred his horse and sent it into a gallop. It turned out to be easy to escape from the guard: as a boy, he climbed the local forests and swamps up and down and knew every tree in his lands. Nature itself became his school, and practically everything that Yakir knew and was able to do was experienced from personal experience. Bending down so as not to hit the birch branches with his head, he patted the horse's withers and looked around. Flames of torches, already visible in the falling twilight, flashed south of the path. With a sharp cry, a bird fluttered overhead, then another. The stallion snorted loudly and pulled the reins. Dismounting, Yakir took him by the bridle and pulled him along, leading him into the thicket. Morning conversation with Liramel did not go out of my head. Yakir saw that she was not indifferent - Lirdan's daughter was still too young and inexperienced to hide
THE PATH OF RENUNCIATION 28
“If I let this go, I’ll set myself up and set you up.” I'm sorry, but I'm within my rights. And not even as a lord: this is my duty to the Leader. Sighing convulsively, Novera pushed him away and covered her face with her hands.“Go away,” she said shortly and almost authoritatively. - You are all the same. All! I won't forgive you, Yakir. Do you hear? He wasn't going to make excuses. The sister was no less guilty than her father, but Yakir could still close his eyes to her involvement - his conscience would not reproach. After all, it was also his duty to protect them according to the word given to the deceased mother. He understood that, having remained a widow, she could not protect him otherwise than by marrying and interrupting her lineage. Tarham wouldn't mess with Missara. Two children and her own life were the price for his, Yakir's, safety. This was never said out loud, he drew his own conclusions. Aarmani only confirmed the guess. By his death, the father really managed
THE PATH OF RENUNCIATION 29
In the afternoon, after giving Movron the last instructions regarding the rest of the students, Karl recalled from duty several officers whom he trusted more than those appointed by Paraman, and ordered them to lay down the carriage. For the first time in his regency, he, along with his sister and brother, left the walls of the White Castle for two weeks. Since the visit to Lausens was unofficial and no social events were planned, as a pretext, Charles voiced the most convenient version to the Council: to complete the training, Liramel had to personally inspect the tax records of the fiefdom. For several months he himself had been openly looking for an opportunity to check his cousin's internal documentation thoroughly and with passion. Karl had long realized that he was dishonest about contributions to the Family Treasury, and the analysis of the reports filed since that time, how the fiefdom passed to him officially, finally convinced him of the validity of suspicions. There was no
THE PATH OF RENUNCIATION 30
Strange, very strange, he thought, and weighed the blade in his palm. The sword was a little lighter than it should have been. Squinting, Karl caught the light and read the inscription along the chute in a whisper. The language belonged to the Allotars.“Interesting little thing,” he said, and reluctantly returned the weapon to his brother. “I'm sure Yakir did his best - I haven't seen anything like that in the treasury. “An alloy from another world,” Christian remarked, sliding the blade back into its sheath.“Mountains hold more secrets than I thought,” Karl nodded in agreement. - This is a weapon of the northern people, although it was obviously forged as a gift. Their blades themselves were curved. – Is that how? Glancing sideways at him, Christian frowned slightly. - By the way, I have long wanted to ask ... What reports from the border? Did the Council's fears come true? Turning around at the sound of approaching footsteps, Carl shrugged vaguely.“So far, it’s quiet,” he a
THE PATH OF RENUNCIATION 31
The small village, bypassed by the road, was just waking up: goats released to pasture were bleating, two fat geese were grumpily cackling ... Liramel had not heard these sounds since she had been visiting Anders's farm with her brothers.“Well, have a good trip…” Glancing at the envoy who was still accompanying them, Karl tucked his thumbs into his belt and, nodding in response to his bow, looked away. The man, whose face was hidden by a hood despite the warm day, hesitated. Sitting in the carriage, Liramel gazed with interest at his straight, tense figure. She already knew that he belonged to Secret Intelligence and had no name or family, but she was curious what a man with such a sharp and unusually deep voice could look like. For some reason, Liramel felt like he looked like one of the Auric family. At least the man carried himself the way only Aurika could, independent and unreasonably proud. As Boanolak wrote, whose works Liramel hardly read every morning, it was always the sm