Chương 122: Interlude: My Redhead Librarian Can’t Be a Spy (Sir Deren)

Deren was in the Military Keep, instructing a group of noble kids who had recently become interested in the art of dueling after watching his duel with Salvek. There were also a few squires among them who actually knew which end of the sword to hold, having taken a step toward the path of knighthood before this new fad of interest in swordsmanship had began.

Deren was not particularly fond of teaching, but he was now respected enough by the young nobles to be listened to, so he used that respect to drill the basics into them. Balance exercises came first, followed by teaching them how to fall without breaking anything, and finally, a few basic kata that needed to be repeated a thousand times before they could even think about sparring. After a week of that, the number of children asking to learn from him had been reduced to a quarter, which suited him just fine.

The ones who remained were either genuinely interested or too stubborn to give up, and Deren was willing to work with either. Lyth was also among them, which Deren found reassuring. That boy was far too attached to his books, and some exercise would do him good. He had initially expected the prince to complain about the repetitive drills, but Lyth had surprised him by taking the lessons seriously. Unlike Aric, he was not particularly talented, but talent was a crutch anyway.

Discipline beat talent in the long run, and Lyth seemed to have that in spades. Perhaps that was another consequence of spending so much time buried in books. Lyth was patient enough to know that good things needed time to develop, and being corrected was not something to be embarrassed about.

"Again," Deren ordered after demonstrating another kata. Some of the young nobles groaned before doing as they were told.

"Again." Deren watched them repeat the movements, correcting a shoulder here, a foot there, and occasionally knocking a sword aside when someone became too eager. Lyth was already sweating heavily, but he kept going. Deren smiled proudly. He would make a proper warrior out of the boy, in time. Perhaps there was hope for this kingdom if two out of the three princes were worth something. Speaking of princes, that was when Aric showed up, followed by Sir Henry.

The prince was dressed in a blue velvet suit rather than his armor, probably having come here directly from his dance session with Luxia. Henry, on the other hand, was in full plate despite it supposedly being his day off. Deren couldn't help but wonder if Henry had somehow gotten himself into trouble. Nah, not Henry. He is far too sensible for that. Lyth noticed them as well and immediately glanced at Deren. When the knight nodded in permission, the boy's expression brightened.

"Aric! Henry!" Lyth hurried over to his brother and bodyguard.

"I heard you have been working hard," Aric said.

"How is it going?"

"Very well." Lyth glanced back toward Deren.

"Sir Deren taught us another kata today. I think I can do it properly now."

"Is that so?" Aric raised an eyebrow.

"Show me." Lyth immediately raised his practice sword and took his stance. He went through the first few movements with confidence, stepping forward, turning his hips, and bringing the wooden blade around in a controlled arc before transitioning into the next position. The three experienced swordsmen watched him carefully.

Deren could see that his stance was a little too narrow, and he was relying too much on his arms during the transition, but the overall movement was well done for something he had started learning today. Lyth finished the kata and looked toward his brother expectantly. Aric stepped forward and gently adjusted Lyth's sword arm, raising his elbow and shifting his wrist into the correct position.

"Here," Aric said.

"You are dropping your arm too much during the second movement. Start moving from your hip." Lyth nodded and repeated the motion.

"Better." Aric stepped back and smiled.

"That was good, Lyth. You have improved a lot since I last saw you train." Lyth beamed at the praise, and Deren couldn't help but smile as well. Henry had remained quiet throughout the exchange, standing a short distance behind Aric. Deren noticed that he looked exhausted, but before he could ask about it, Aric turned toward him.

"Deren, come with me. I need your help with something." Deren raised an eyebrow.

"Now?"

"Yes." He glanced at the children, then back at Aric. Whatever this was, it must be important, especially if those two were involved. He nodded and turned toward the young nobles.

"You heard him. I am leaving for a while." A few of them immediately began looking relieved.

"Don't look so happy. Repeat the kata we practiced today." A collective groan rose from the group of youths.

"Keep at it for twenty minutes. And no funny business. Sir Liam and Sir Ian will watch over you, so listen to them." A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Yes, sir," said Lyth first, before the rest echoed him. Deren stared at him before getting an idea.

"Head to the library when you are done. After all, a good knight needs to train both his body and his mind." With that, Deren turned and walked toward the exit with Aric and Henry. Deren and Henry walked beside Aric as they exited the palace, with the two knights taking up positions on either side of the unarmored prince.

"So, what's the deal?" Deren asked.

"Henry found dying children in need of healing," Aric said, as blunt as ever.

"Ah, shit." Deren stopped for half a step before continuing.

"You aren't going to use your tier-two spell, are you?"

"It's the only thing that would work," said Aric.

"You aren't the only one who knows it," protested Deren.

"Go to the Mage Guild and order someone to do it."

"I can't do that," said Aric.

"Mages that cast tier-two spells are outside my jurisdiction. It was hard enough to get them to let me imprint it. I can't go around souring my standing with the guild."

"Your father is going to be mad at you," sighed Deren.

"You know he doesn't like it when you use that spell."

"What's wrong with this tier-two spell?" Henry asked.

"Side effects," said Aric flatly.

"At-least, let's try to mitigate those," declared Deren knowing that Aric wouldn't relent when he was like this.

"To the barbecue grillhouse!" Ten minutes later, the three noblemen left the grillhouse with all the precooked meat they could carry. Deren carried a slow-roasted beef thigh, the bone sticking out of the wax-paper wrap, while Aric had a paper bag containing two spicy turkey drumsticks and a jug of juice attached to his belt. Henry was still empty-handed, acting as their bodyguard while also guiding them toward the part of the western slums where the sick children were located.

Deren almost laughed at the dumbfounded expression on Henry's face, especially when Prince Aric opened the paper bag and started eating while walking. The prince seemed entirely unconcerned with appearances, tearing into a drumstick with big bites like a ravenous wolf. Henry had to wisely duck into a tailor shop and get the prince a butcher's apron so that he wouldn't ruin his expensive velvet jacket. As he returned, he heard Aric say, "Go over your investigation once again, this time sparing no details."

"What investigation?" asked Deren.

"He was investigating Lira," said Aric between bites. Deren immediately got defensive and stepped into Henry's personal space.

"Get your own clever redhead," he glared at Henry.

"That one is mine. I swear she will be my baroness in time." Henry blinked before stepping back and raising his hand in a de-escalating gesture.

"Whoa there," he said.

"I was looking for a spy to hang, not a wife to marry."

"What? Lira, a spy?" Deren frowned.

"What nonsense is that?"

"She did come out of nowhere and got close to two of the three princes in no time," said Henry.

"And she is manipulating Lyth into reading weird stuff."

"Explain," said Aric, taking the apron from Deren and putting it over his head.

"She was always weird, you know, never sticking to a topic for long, reading anything and everything, incredibly good at recommending books. But what made me suspect her was when a new maid started helping her around. Young Tessa was only two years Lyth's senior, and the prince started developing a harmless crush on her." Both Aric and Deren frowned at that.

"Lira pretended to read a book in front of him just so he would ask her about it," continued Henry.

"And when he did, she told him it was too mature for him, making the boy want it even more, so of course she let him have it. The book completely killed Lyth's crush. I read it after he was done with it, and it was a tragedy about a man marrying his slave, and it highlighted why a relationship between Tessa and Lyth would never work."

"Good on her," said Deren.

"Teaching Lyth not to be like Kavard. You should have thanked her instead of investigating her."

"Yeah, I'm with Deren on this one," said Aric.

"He'd better learn from a book that abusing maids is off-limits than from me beating it out of him."

"Your Highness!" Henry said, "doesn't it bother you that she gets to decide what morals Lyth should have?"

"I would if she abused it."

"What about the name?"

"What name?" asked Deren. Henry went over again how Alexander Waxillam Nurad had accidentally called her Lira Valora.

"Now you are reaching," said Deren.

"Lira is a common enough name. The old librarian had a friend with red hair with a daughter also named Lira. What's the big deal?"

"What are the odds that both Liras would be the same age and have similar features?" asked Henry.

"Quite high, actually," said Aric after swallowing another bite of meat.

"The name Lira means 'well-read girl' in the old Fatian language, and the Fatian people are indigenous to the western province. They have been completely subsumed by the Kingdom of Haltar. The Fatian people have now lost their language and culture and have more or less integrated with Haltar society. They are almost indistinguishable from native Haltarians, except for one thing. They predominantly have red hair."

"See, that means it's not that uncommon for a scholarly inclined family with red hair to name their daughter Lira."

"I guess," said Henry.

"Especially since Pallan confirmed that Lira Valora was dead."

"No, that testimony might be complete garbage," Aric shook his head.

"You shouldn't believe a word that man said."

"I had a truth stone on me, and it never moved," said Henry, extracting an enchanted crystal from his pocket.

"He was reading from a report. He didn't lie but the report could have," explained Aric. Henry blinked.

"Wait, so you are with him?" Deren frowned.

"You do believe that Lira is a spy?"

"I didn't say that," Aric shook his head before taking a sip of his juice.

"From my cold reading of her with my Grand Perception Spell I deduced that she is far too smart and independent to be anyone's lackey."

"Told you!" smirked Deren at Henry.

"Still…" continued Aric.

"Henry should keep an eye on her and report anything suspicious to me and only me. The girl could be an independent asset, whose true loyalties are yet to be determined. Although, she has demonstrably shown a positive inclination toward me, Lyth, and the kingdom as a whole, so I doubt she is a foreign agent."

"Toward me too," insisted Deren.

"She gave me the Sword Saint Manual, remember."

"Yes, toward you too," said Aric with a chuckle.

"In her defense, other than her interference with Lyth's education, she doesn't do much..." Henry finally said.

"She mostly just read everything and anything while eating an unhealthy amount of candy." Deren made a mental note to get her some candy as gift.

"But I will keep an eye on her for you my prince!" declared Henry. Deren immediately narrowed his eyes on the other knight.

"I guess this make sense... since you are the one who spends the most amount of time in the library... But don't you dare fall in love with her, or you would have to answer to me."

"Don't worry. That's the last thing on my mind right now." Henry's expression changed as he led them down a narrow street toward a small, rundown house.

"We are here. This is where the children are kept."