Marquis Beilin wore a black blazer over a white shirt, black pants, and brown shoes.
When Jirni entered the room, the Marquis couldn't believe that such a beautiful and frail-looking woman could be the fabled Constable Ernas.
Jirni wore a light pink day dress that covered her from head to toe, making her look like a young maiden and emphasizing her cheeks reddened from the crying.
His first instinct as a gentleman was to console her and offer to defend her honor against that brute of her husband, but there was too much at stake for Beilin to act like a mindless fool.
'Remember who she is and what she has done.' He thought while inviting Jirni to sit down.
"Lady Ernas, how nice of you to accept my invitation." Beilin gave her a deep bow to which she replied with a curtsy. "I must apologize for not coming to you earlier, but this is really a bad moment for Ruham. Between the famine and the investigation, I barely have the time to sleep."
"Please, stand tall, Marquis." Jirni shook her head, sniffling. "You have no reason to apologize. It's my fault for coming here uninvited and unannounced. I was so desperate to talk with Orion that I acted without thinking."
Then, before Beilin could even offer her a cup of tea, Jirni drowned him with her sob story and tears. She told him how painful it had been being kicked out of her house just for doing her duty, and how much she had suffered from being forbidden to see her children for months.
Like most men, the Marquis could face a trial as well as an armed opponent without batting an eye whereas he had no idea how to deal with a crying woman. At first, he suspected it was all a ruse to gain his sympathy.
Yet after ten minutes of sobs and hiccups the situation became awkward. The maid that brought the tea and the pastries didn't even bother hiding her disgust, assuming it was all his fault.
Every time that a member of the house staff heard those desperate wails, they would peek inside and get sent away by their master without an explanation, only making things worse.
'If she keeps up like this, my reputation will be ruined no matter what this damn investigation is about.' Beilin desperately tried to console Jirni, but to no avail.
He felt clumsy and helpless, almost forgetting about the reason why he had invited her.
Almost.
"I'm really sorry for your misfortunes, Lady Ernas. Why didn't you come to me first upon your arrival? I would be glad to mediate with your husband in your stead." He said.
'I don't care about your marriage, but I can't pass up on the opportunity to get close to Lord Ernas and understand what Manohar is investigating.' He actually thought.
"Because I didn't want to trouble you." Jirni delicately blew her nose in a handkerchief. "With my reputation as an Archon, people would have thought that you were under scrutiny from the Crown.
"I kept away from you until you invited me here to protect your good name. I also chose to stay in a hotel instead of asking the local nobles for hospitality because the same would happen to them. I'm cursed to be alone."
'Damn! That's exactly what I would have said if she asked me to stay here.' The Marquis thought. 'Now, however, if I send her away after the scene she made in front of my servants and the consideration she has shown to me, people will think that I have something to hide.'
"Thank you for your kindness and for offering me a friendly ear." Jirni stood up, giving him a deep bow. "Now, I'd better leave. I already bothered you for too long and I can't wait to meet my daughters."
"Daughters?" Beilin echoed in confusion.
"Yes. My little Flower has finally returned to the army and she is helping Orion as his field assistant. Jirni said with a radiant smile that made him wish to be single. "She and Quylla have accepted to meet me later."
"I thought that your husband had forbidden them from seeing you." The Marquis couldn't believe his own ears.
"Please, children ignore their parent's orders when they are teens, let alone when they are adults." Jirni chuckled. "I'm still their mother. Even when we couldn't meet, they still called me to tell me how they were doing with their jobs."
"I'm glad to hear that there's a beacon of light in your darkest hour and I hope I can offer you a bit more." Beilin stood up as well and took her hands as if they were old friends.
"I can't stand the thought that after everything you went through, you have to meet your daughters in a cold hotel room and live like a commoner without even a maid. I insist that you stay here as my honored guest."
"I can't accept." Jirni said. "What about your reputation? I'm a married woman traveling alone and people will talk."
'Too late to worry about that now, damn you.' He thought.
"I'm the City Lord, people always talk about me and rarely to say good things." He actually said. "They already blame me for everything. One more rumor is just a drop in the ocean."
"I don't know what to say." Jirni timidly lowered her gaze, making him feel in control.
Back in the day, the Beilin had been quite the player. He knew a vulnerable woman when he saw one. Once Archon Ernas may have been a lioness, but now she was reduced to an emotional pile of rubble.
"Just say yes." Then, without waiting for her reply, he showed Jirni around the house and brought her to her chambers.
'My loyal slaves will keep her from snooping around and from this room, I will have the opportunity to listen to every conversation she has and to every call she makes. If her daughters tell her something about the investigation, I'll use their information to change my plans accordingly.
'Many birds with one stone.' The Marquis thought while inwardly congratulating himself.
Meanwhile, on the belltower, Quylla was busy picking up her jaw from the floor.
"What the actual fuck? Everything went as Mom predicted."
"I would have been surprised otherwise." Friya said. "Who do you think taught me how to use my assets to get us in here and made us come right when the soldiers with the worst disciplinary record stood guard?"
She made the first three buttons of her shirt, which was her shapeshifted Featherwalker Armor, open with a thought, blushing on cue like a timid maiden for the embarrassing "accident".
"That's why you were so confident flaunting those! You knew that those guys couldn't afford to get another complaint." Quylla said, pointing at her sister's chest.
"My eyes are up here, little one." Friya chuckled. "And yes. It was all planned."
"Maybe Dad had a point about Mom having a bad influence on us. At this point, I would never think you had been adopted." Quylla grumbled.
"Thanks." Friya ruffled her hair as if that was the best compliment she had ever received. "Now let's keep an eye on the Marquis.. I bet that as soon as he leaves Mom, he'll call his accomplices."
"Excellent thinking. I'm proud of you." Jirni said.
'Just when I thought that things couldn't get any worse.' She actually thought.
Jirni could easily picture two young and bored people "exploring" the house.
"Thanks, Mom. Your approval means the world to me." Quylla said, obtaining a whimper in reply. "That said, I want to be fully honest with you. I didn't come here just for a meal. I need your help with something important."
Suddenly everything made sense and Jirni's mind pieced together all the elements of the puzzle.
"What can I do for you?" She asked anyway with a warm smile on her face despite the knot in her stomach.
"With all the recent chaos, the Kingdom had to call Manohar back in the field. Professor Marth can't leave the White Griffon without putting the lives of all those who live there and received a Balkor card at risk.
"Lith is unavailable and quite pissed off with the Royals for threatening his family which leaves me as the sole candidate as Manohar's assistant. I've tried my best, but he's harder to predict and does more damage than a Blinking fireball.
"This is my only opportunity to make up with the Kingdom for quitting my job as Assistant Professor and maybe even become a Great Mage." Quylla said.
"Indeed. By volunteering, you have saved the Ernas household from further embarrassment. On top of that, whatever mission requires Manohar must be big enough for you to achieve plenty of merits." Jirni pondered out loud.
"The crazier he behaves, the more relevant your contribution will be and in turn the payoff. Let me guess, you want my help to keep him in line."
"Yes." Quylla nodded, making Jirni inwardly sigh in relief.
She would rather spend a month working with the Mad Professor than tell her estranged husband about Quylla's relationship with Morok and deal with its potential consequences.
Morok Ernas. Just thinking the name made the food in her stomach take a second tour of her throat.
"Kamila told me how much you want to leave your office. This would be the perfect opportunity to spend some time together and to get you back in the field, two birds with one stone." Quylla said.
"I don't think that the Royals will agree with this plan but I'll call in as many favors as I need to make it happen." Jirni replied.
"They already gave their approval." Quylla pushed a document bearing the Royal Seal on the table. "They refused at first, but then I pointed out that both you and they owe me that much for 'killing' me."
"You have guilt tripped the Royals and me into doing your bidding." Jirni was moved to tears again, but this time she didn't hold them back. "I couldn't be more proud of you, pumpkin."
"Thanks, I guess." Quylla knew that her mother used such words as a compliment yet they still stung at her conscience.
"Since when are you close with Kamila?" Jirni asked, realizing the role that her assistant had played to bring the ploy to fruition.
"Since Lith introduced her to us during your birthday." Quylla replied. "Also, even though we have been mad at you, we never stopped worrying about you and that damned Balkor card.
"We kept in touch with Kamila the whole time to make sure that you were alright."
"I was right. Lith is an asshole and that poor woman deserves better." Jirni said with a hiccup.
"Mom, not to ruin this moment, but-"
"I know. The kettle called and said that he wants the pot to stop calling him black." Jirni cut her short, regaining her composure. "When do we leave?"
"Tomorrow. I took into account that if you accepted to help me, you'd need some time to arrange the work in the office during your absence."
"If I accepted?" Jirni echoed.
Not even an Archon could defy a Royal Order. With that piece of paper, Quylla might have ordered Jirni to jump and she'd have to ask how high.
"Yes. I wouldn't force you to do anything you don't want to do, Mom. I just want to try and mend our relationship, if you allow me to."
Jirni was at loss for words so she simply nodded.
'I swear that as long as I draw breath, I won't betray my family's trust again.' She thought as the void inside her heart was filled by the missing piece that she thought was lost to her forever.
***
Zedken Region, city of Ruham, the following day.
"Good gods, my little Flower, why didn't you tell me yesterday that we have to deal with both the enemies of the Kingdom and Manohar?" Orion walked with fury at the idea of having to bear with the Mad Professor's antics for days.
His armor clinked at every step as if someone was shaking a sack filled with coins.
"For the last time, stop calling me like that in public!" Phloria scolded him. "Besides, what was the first thing you taught me about the Knight's Guard? The who, where, and what are irrelevant…"
"The only thing that matters is the mission." Orion completed the phrase for her with a grunt. "By the way, you look lovely in the uniform."
"Thanks, Dad. The receptionist, the data analyst, and that cute Lieutenant we met earlier must agree with you since they slipped me their contact rune. Too bad they were all women!" Phloria snarled.
All the members of the Knight's Guard wore a full suit of light armor made of Adamant that covered them from neck to toe, leaving only the head exposed. Both father and daughter sported a surcoat with the colors of the Kingdom, silver and gold.
They also bore the insignia of the Royal Family on their shoulders and chest. It depicted a triangular shield with on its center a prancing griffon wearing a crown on its head and holding two scepters in its front claws.
One scepter represented the authority of the Royals over the Mage Association and the other over the army.
Phloria wore Orion's magical pin that rolled and compressed her hair, turning her do into a pixie cut. Long hair was nice to look at, but for a fighter, it was nothing but a nuisance.
The combined effect of the armor, her height, and the pin made her look like a young officer with delicate but beautiful features.
"That's nonsense! Only an idiot would mistake you for a man. It's just that you are so gorgeous that no one is immune to your charms." Orion said.
"Thanks, Dad, but from now let me do the talking. At least I sure don't sound like a man." She grumbled.
They reached their destination, the private apartments of Krishna Manohar. The god of healing, the Never Magus, and the Royal Pain were only the most polite among the many nicknames he had earned during the years.
He was a man in his early thirties, about 1.74 meters (5'9") tall with black hair streaked silver. Thanks to his slender build and white uniform, he appeared to be slightly taller.
A stubble at least three days old was the sign of how busy he had been during the last few days dodging those that were supposed to make him behave.
