"I've got nothing to do with them. This is just the second time I meet them." Orpal said, feeling more cornered by the second.
He was certain to be capable of taking on both Lith and the old fart, maybe even the petite creepy woman. Yet Night kept screaming at him that those weren't guards. They were Royal Guards wearing the Royal Fortress armor.
One wrong move and defying Baba Yaga's will would be the least of their problems.
"I believe you, but that changes nothing." Lith showed Orpal his army amulet, where he was receiving updates in real-time from the Constables in the Empire with whom Jirni had been coordinating her efforts.
The legal system there was different, they even answered to different rulers, but they all served justice. One of the perks of the war against the undead was that sharing information had become of paramount importance for the three great Countries.
The Undead Courts moved through the borders and efficiently coordinated their actions disregarding their old rivalries. To have a chance of survival, the officials of the Garlen continent needed to beat the undead at their own game.
"Mom, Dad, please look at this." There were too many files filled with legal jargon and numbers that only an expert could decipher so the Empire's Constable had added a summary table at the end of each doc.u.ment that even a child would understand.
"As you can see, Orpal started his business around the same time I went to the White Griffon. Also, during the past seven years, he has earned more or less the same amount of money I did." Lith said, amazed that Orpal had gone to such lengths just to not feel inferior to him.
"So?" Raaz's heart was torn between pride towards his sons and fear of the unknown.
"Dad, I know that I usually downplay my achievements, but back when I was just a fourth year student, I received 2,000 gold coins as a reward for my help with the plague. Then I fought Balkor, Nalear, and every time the Royals paid my services in gold.
"How likely do you think it is that a blacksmith, no matter how talented, can earn as much as the youngest Archmage and Spellbreaker of this generation? Don't you find it odd that Orpal followed a career path so similar to mine?" Lith said.
He had hoped that Orpal's need to be always on top would be his downfall and so far, it had worked. All of Lith's provocations had riled his brother so much that while telling his story, Orpal had listed his most important backers like a collector would with his most valuable pieces.
It had allowed Jirni and the other Constables to know where and when to look.
Lith could have beaten Orpal an inch from death or six feet under in a snap, but that would have solved nothing. It would have only made him look like a violent thug and hurt his parents.
His goal for both the Retta couple and Orpal had been to kill them in the hearts of their respective victims. Only then could Lith kill them physically as well without putting at risk everything he held dear.
"There's more to it." Jirni chimed in. "All of Orpal's clients are clean and his story checks out, but that's actually odd. How come no one of his business rivals ever played dirty and how could he avoid making business with sc.u.m?
"It's not like a merchant can choose their clients, some dirt has to be expected. On top of that, I find it suspicious that so many important figures bought goods from him in person instead of just sending their servants."
"That's because they wanted to admire my work!" Orpal couldn't accept that even the highest of nobles might treat him as an inferior.
"Son, when I like an artisan's work, I empty their shop, but I never went to visit one. They all give their merchandise to my staff that then bring it to my home. Lith is the only craftsman I receive in person and that's solely because of our relationship.
"I never met a single goldsmith aside from him nor do I let strangers into my home, because I'm just that important." Jirni managed to look down on Orpal despite the considerable height gap between them.
"Son, be honest with me and I'll forgive you, no matter what you did. How did you make so much money in so little time?" Elina asked.
"Mom, I swear that I can explain. I just need some time for-"
"Time?" Raaz cut him short while sitting on a chair before his knees gave out. "I don't need time to remember how I made my money. Either I know it or I don't. The only reason you're stalling is that you're making it up."
'Night, help me. This wasn't part of the plan.' Orpal thought.
'You idiot. I told you not to chase after your brother so hard. No one has such a clean career, not even Lith. He has failures on his resume and made lots of enemies on his way whereas you made your story too perfect.' That was all she could say.
Baba Yaga's slave spell kept her from harming the people of Lutia directly or indirectly and making up lies was covered by the latter. Night could help Orpal if the one questioning him was Jirni or someone from the Empire, but not Elina.
'And admit that I'm inferior to him? Never! Everything he can do, I can do it better.' He replied while Elina cleared her throat and snapped him out of his reverie.
"Before you get out of my house, Meln Narchat, apologize to my children for what you did to them in the past. If you don't remember some of your wrongdoings, I'll be glad to jog your memory." All of her words marked Orpal as someone who didn't belong to the family.
Orpal's pride bled as he felt as if his mother was disowning him a second time.
"I didn't do anything wrong, I just tried to open your eyes! She was nothing but a parasite that s.u.c.k.e.d the life out of us." Orpal pointed at Tista who grinned in reply, making his anger rise.
"And Leech is a monster! From the moment he came into my home, he took away from me everything that made it home and you let him! How can you disown your own blood and keep a monster under your roof?"
Jirni's fist answered his question by striking his solar plexus and making him double over in pain.
Awakened or not, his nerves were still in the same place as regular humans and it took little strength to harm them.
"I'm a monster as well and you've made my friend shed a tear too many." She said while twisting his arm and dragging him out of the house like a dog on a leash.
"That was as brief as it was unpleasant." Vastor stood up and looked at the misery in the room.
Zinya was crying in Kamila's arms, barely able to stand. Elina and Raaz, instead, had dead eyes as if they had been notified of Trion's death again. They didn't cry nor speak, their minds were still buried under the rubble of their broken dreams.
