Free Web NovelChapter 14: The Lane Beneath Suncrest
Zera looked down at Puff in her arms.
Kael had shoved the little creature into her hands so suddenly that Puff had not even had the chance to resist. Now she sat in the crook of Zera’s arm, her tiny paws pressed against Zera’s chest, her cheeks puffed up in anger as she glared at Kael’s closed door.
One look at her face told Zera exactly what Puff wanted: to rush back inside and bite him.
Zera held her carefully. Puff was so small that Zera was afraid even a little too much strength might hurt her.
"Um... Puff, right?"
Puff did not even look at her.
She gave a cold little snort, turned her face away, and lifted her chin. Her tail slapped Zera’s arm once, making her anger perfectly clear.
Zera’s smile froze for a moment, but she quickly tried again. She softened her voice and coaxed Puff as if she were coaxing a child.
"Why don’t we go get something to eat first? Lord Kael will come back later. When he does, you can play with him again. How about that?"
Puff pressed her lips together.
"Hmph."
This time, the sound was even shorter and colder than before.
Zera finally understood what was going on. Puff did not hate her, nor was she afraid of her. The little creature was angry at Kael.
Kael had handed her to someone else without any explanation. To Puff, it probably felt like she had been abandoned.
Looking at Puff’s puffed cheeks, stiff little paws, and angry little tail, Zera could not help feeling sorry for her.
How could Lord Kael just hand over something so small like this?
Zera sighed quietly. Holding Puff in her arms, she stood outside the door for a while, unsure whether she should leave, knock, or simply stay where she was.
This situation was more troublesome than she had expected.
Inside the room, Kael had no idea that Puff was angry with him.
He was busy searching for his Grand General’s uniform.
Wardrobe doors were pulled open and slammed shut. Drawers were dragged out one after another. Clothes that had been folded neatly were soon scattered across the room.
"Come to think of it..."
Kael paused.
"What was that maid’s name again?"
He frowned for a moment.
"Uh... tsk. Can’t remember. Forget it."
He did not have time to waste on a name.
As far as he remembered, that maid was probably reliable enough. Yesterday, she had come with Puff to pick him up, and she had not done anything strange. If that was the case, leaving Puff with her for a while should not be a problem.
And if she could not even keep an eye on that little idiot, Kael could deal with it later.
He finally found the uniform at the back of the wardrobe and pulled it out.
The dark coat unfolded in his hands. The collar was stiff, the cuffs were neat, and the shoulder pieces were polished. It was a formal military uniform, clean and dignified, completely different from Kael’s usual impatient appearance.
Kael looked at it with disgust.
"I really have to wear this damn thing?"
He complained, but he still put it on.
He pulled on the shirt, fastened the cuffs, and shrugged into the coat. His movements were quick and practiced. No matter how much he disliked the uniform, his body still remembered every step from his years in the army.
"Those bastards came all the way to the imperial capital just to cause trouble," he muttered. "If they want to die that badly, I might as well help them."
The metal clasps clicked softly in the quiet room.
Kael adjusted his sleeves, straightened the front of the coat, and checked the buttons. The entire process was smooth and efficient, but his expression only grew darker.
"And now I have to go to Blackrat Lane again. Of course."
He had not left Puff with Zera because he suddenly wanted someone else to take care of her.
He needed to investigate.
First, Puff had appeared beside him without warning. Then those black-cloaked men had shown up in the imperial capital. Kael did not like trouble, but this matter had already connected itself to him.
More importantly, it was connected to Puff.
He could not ignore it anymore.
As for the maid’s name...
Kael tried to think about it again.
Zera?
Maybe.
Her presence was strange. Every morning, something about her seemed to reset in his memory. He knew this, and he had already grown used to it. Names were difficult for him to remember, especially names like hers.
Even so, he still remembered that she had been careful with Puff yesterday.
That was enough.
At least she would not throw Puff away for no reason.
"Tch. Thinking about it won’t help."
Kael buttoned the last button of his coat and picked up the curved saber lying beside the bed.
The saber looked old. Its sheath was worn in several places, and the leather had already lost much of its color. Compared with his formal uniform, the weapon looked rough and out of place.
But when Kael fastened it at his waist, his expression finally became a little more natural.
The uniform did not suit him.
The saber did.
He checked his belt, straightened his collar, and looked into the mirror.
The man in the mirror looked different from the Kael who had just been cursing and throwing clothes around. The uniform made his shoulders look broader and his expression colder. The saber at his waist added a dangerous edge that could not be hidden.
After years on the battlefield, Kael did not have many obvious scars on his body. But the war had left something else behind.
It was in his eyes.
It was in the way he stood.
It was in the calmness that appeared when he stopped joking and complaining.
That was not the fake arrogance of a noble at a banquet, nor the forced confidence of a young officer. It was the presence of someone who had survived too many battles and killed too many enemies.
For a brief moment, the room became quiet.
Kael stared at himself in the mirror.
Then he looked away.
"Let’s just hope Mother doesn’t start one of her lectures today."
His irritation returned immediately.
"If she starts talking about duty before breakfast, I’m leaving."
He took out his pocket watch. The lid opened with a click, and the hands moved across the silver face.
It was almost time.
Kael closed the watch.
"What a pain."
Then he opened the door and walked out.
The corridor light fell over his uniform and the saber at his waist. A few servants who were passing by quickly lowered their heads and stepped aside.
Kael did not look at them.
He turned left and headed toward the palace gate.
His destination was Blackrat Lane, the dirtiest and most dangerous street in the capital of the Suncrest Empire.
Nobles did not go there.
Honest merchants avoided it.
Even ordinary citizens would rather take the long way around than pass through that place.
Blackrat Lane was hidden in one of the worst parts of the capital. The alleys were narrow, the buildings were old, and even in the daytime, sunlight rarely reached the ground. The air smelled of damp stone, rotten food, cheap alcohol, and other things no one wanted to identify.
Rats ran through the gutters in groups.
But the rats were not the real problem.
The people were.
Blackrat Lane was full of thieves, smugglers, mercenaries, slave traders, hedge mages, and all kinds of criminals. Some people there were simply poor and had nowhere else to go, but many others were dangerous enough that even the city guards pretended not to see them.
In the corners, slave traders spoke in low voices while watching every stranger who passed. Near the walls, mercenaries drank from chipped cups with their weapons close at hand. At the stalls, hedge mages sold strange bottles, dried herbs, bones, charms, fake blessings, and curses of unknown quality.
Everything could be bought there as long as the price was right.
Information.
Weapons.
Poison.
People.
Even lives.
The deeper one went into Blackrat Lane, the heavier the air became. Men sat outside broken doors, drinking, playing cards, and laughing loudly. At first glance, they looked lazy and harmless, but anyone with experience would know better.
Their hands were always close to their weapons.
Their eyes followed every purse, every blade, and every unfamiliar face.
If someone walked past with something valuable, those men would notice immediately. If someone looked weak, they would notice that too. And if someone had a bounty on their head, the news would spread through the lane before that person reached the next corner.
In Blackrat Lane, a smile did not mean kindness.
A laugh did not mean safety.
And if a stranger was careless, a knife could appear at his throat before he even understood what had happened.
