Chương 63: Lord Ceonwin

Lord Ceonwin stopped in front of us, arms crossed. He didn't have any guards with him, but then again, he probably didn't need any. He was a Gold.

"Sir, did we do something wrong?" I asked. I didn't actually think about my use of 'sir,' but in this case, it seemed more than appropriate. He was an Ealdorman.

"Not at all," he said.

"I came to inspect the team that slew the first quarter guardian—in a record time since beginning your SAP training, I must add."

"He didn't just arrive," Sage muttered.

"Knowing him, he was watching over us the whole time." Lord Ceonwin grimaced.

"Such accusations…"

"And, Father? Am I wrong?" Ceonwin shook his head with a grimace.

"No, no you are not."

"He always does this," Sage grumbled.

"Always someone stronger watching over me. Always someone to take away any and all risk. Always someone to make sure I couldn't even die if I wanted to."

"Forgive me for caring about my daughter," he snapped.

"You know how the Path works," she replied.

"Less challenge, less reward. Less reward means less chance for me to fix my legs."

"You shouldn't be here at all," he said.

"I—" A horn sounded in the distance. The signal for us to return. I said, "You know, my lord, when you said you would be watching over us, I didn't think you meant that it would be directly our squad."

"I'm a sapper now," Sage said.

"And you can't change that."

"Who was the recruiter that accepted you?" Lord Ceonwin demanded.

"I wish to speak with him." They were arguing like I wasn't even here. And while I didn't necessarily want to get involved in the family drama, I wasn't sure if I had much of a choice. I stepped between them and said, "We need to leave. Apologies, sir, but you can work this out later." Ceonwin grimaced, then opened his mouth—perhaps he was going to reprimand me—but I was right and he knew it too.

"Yes," he said.

"We shall move. I shall accompany you back to the Labyrinth entrance." So he and Sage marched through the city at the very front of our squad. I hung back, sticking with Anchor and Brawl and watching for threats—even if Ceonwin could probably sense them or something. I tried not to listen into the father-daughter argument, but it was hard.

He complained that she'd abandoned the estate without getting permission, and she claimed that she, being the highest ranked of their estate while he was gone, didn't need permission. I didn't want to pick sides. Ceonwin seemed genuinely concerned, but Sage was right—I could confirm that from personal experience. The Labyrinths didn't just give you free Skills. There had to be danger. And if Ceonwin was just standing there, making sure we didn't get hurt, all the danger evaporated.

Maybe that was why it had taken so long to finally complete my [Slinging] upgrade—because today, Lord Ceonwin had decided to watch over us directly. And if he was truly harming our growth with his presence, then we had to lose him. I wouldn't let him make us weaker.

"Every time I tried something!" Sage exclaimed.

"Every time I tried to learn an Art, you were always there, stopping me, your shadow always looming and influencing the Path! Every time I tried to funnel maegen into my legs or use a runic formation, even just as an experiment…" After that, they were perfectly silent, and we returned to the upper levels of the Labyrinth as quickly as we could. But just as we were about to leave, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck prickle. There were no monsters nearby, but I thought I saw a shadow slip behind a building.

"You see anything?" I asked Anchor softly, almost so quietly no one would've been able to hear it.

"I saw that blur, same as you," he replied in an equally low tone.

"Any idea what it is? You've got the Perception."

"Black cloak and an orange eye," he replied.

"A Subtle Man."

"Are they tailing us?" Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. He grimaced.

"I would've seen them earlier when I used a Perception scan," he replied.

"No."

"Then they're following Lord Ceonwin…" I muttered. What was up with the lord, then, if he had a bunch of Subtle Men following him? I had so many questions to ask, but they could wait until another time. But for the time being, nowhere was safe. We couldn't even talk privately inside the Labyrinth, for all I knew. Besides, despite the mood, I was still riding a bit of the high from taking down the quarter guardian, and when we returned to the castle's cellars, almost everyone had heard.

The Drillmaster congratulated us, and when I checked my slate, I was ranked second in the training program.

"Who's first?" I breathed.

"And how are they still first?"

"He's probably a lone wolf," said Anchor.

"Or someone who the Drillmaster favours unnecessarily." I chuckled.

"That's a good line of thinking to get overconfident. Maybe whoever's first is really that good." I paused.

"I just want to sleep. I've never used seven points of Presence in a single hour before."

"That doesn't sound like you. What you actually meant to say was 'I want more archery practice'." I grinned.

"You're right. Just give me a moment to get cleaned up." ~ ~ ~ After cleaning off in the baths, I found our loot allotment from last week, used the Presences set aside for me (which didn't increase my Presence stat this time, but surely I was close), and brought a chunk of the golem's stone to Shatter at the blacksmith shop. He took it and said, "You look exhausted."

"I am exhausted," I said.

"Now, I need to go get some more archery practice. You're good here?"

"I'm going to keep working away," he said with a smile.

"This should help a lot." ~ ~ ~ I spent the afternoon training my archery skills with Anchor. Clouds had rolled in and were now blotting out the sky, and with the cold breeze, I figured there was a chance of snow or cold rain. According to the others, we were now in Rakemonth, which was appropriately named, I supposed, considering there were plenty of fallen leaves still. Though this was the 'south' of Gate, it wasn't exactly warm.

It wasn't like we were on the coast of the Mediterranean or anything, where it would always be warm. About a half hour before dinner, however, one of Lord Ceonwin's thegns approached me. The man said, "My lord wishes to speak with you, Sergeant." I gulped.

"Lord Ceonwin?"

"Yes, the only lord here. With me, please." I didn't get the feeling I had a choice in the matter. I turned to Anchor and said, "Sorry to cut things short, but thanks for the help anyways." He offered a curt nod, and then I set off. I followed the thegn back to the keep, where he led me to Ceonwin's chamber—yet another office-like room that someone had set up in the keep.

"Duplicate Sergeant DD-333 is here to see you, my lord," the thegn said.

"Thank you, Sir Fihail." The thegn bowed his head and stepped out of the room and shut the door. At least Lord Ceonwin's office had windows. Otherwise, it was barren. There was a table in the center, covered in maps and pins, and an inkwell sat on the corner, open to the air with a quill resting on the corner. There were no chairs. Ceonwin stood facing the window, his back to me, looking out. At the moment, he didn't wear his armour—just a dark red coat with golden trim.

"I'm told you are an Atoning," he said.

"Yes, sir."

"Your name?"

"Levi, sir."

"I must apologize for earlier." He shook his head.

"It was bad form to argue with my daughter in front of you."

"Uh. It's alright, sir?"

"After a period of reflection…perhaps Sage is correct." He replied.

"I know it's perhaps not proper to say it to you, but I must let her do this." He sounded like he was looking for approval, and hadn't yet made up his mind. I shrugged. I didn't want to look like I had a stake in the matter, but if an overprotective father was going to harm the growth of one of my squadmates, it was going to be my problem whether I wanted it or not. Especially if it began affecting all of us.

"Sir, I believe you should let Sage attempt to become a sapper without watching over her."

"She's always been like this." I nodded, resisting the urge to say, I'm sure you've always been the same, too.

"But." Ceonwin turned to me, holding up a finger.

"You must look after her. No harm must come to her. You are a competent soldier and…certainly, you have a focused mind. As a side tangent, truth be told, I would have let you die when facing that golem. I was tempted to, as punishment for taking my daughter some place you should not have gone so soon. But it seemed that you knew what you were doing."

"It worked out in the end," I said. Lord Ceonwin scowled.

"Regardless, she is my only daughter. If she so much as gets a scratch on her wrist, I'll see you swinging from the gallows." I gulped.

"Sir, I will do my best, but I won't watch over her like you've been doing. And I don't think anyone should. She needs to make choices for herself." He raised his eyebrows.

"I was told an Atoning might have different…thoughts on the matter than I would."

"I'll protect her like I would with any other squadmate," I said.

"But to me, she's a squadmate, not a daughter. And I trust that she would do the same for me." Maybe it was treasonous, but I wasn't going to make promises I couldn't keep. If Ceonwin was going to kill me for a scratch, then he may as well just do it now.

"A noble spirit, for certain," he replied.

"And brave, if you're willing to speak like that. Perhaps you're right."

"Sir, if you want to protect her, you'll let her grow on her own, and you'll let her squad flourish."

"Perhaps. But you're young, and in some ways, foolish. For today, though, you have been honourable. Thank you for speaking your mind with me." He sighed.

"I must let the Path run its course, then. It has been a pleasure, Levi. You're dismissed, and—" Before he could finish, someone knocked on the door, and it echoed through the room.

"Come in!" Ceonwin said. Sir Fihail opened the door a crack and leaned in.

"My lord, there is a messenger for you. It's urgent."