Han JiHyo
Goddess of Fortune/신화창조
IRWIN VALDAR
Tugging the dark, unobtrusive cloak around his neck, Irwin fastened the brooch with a final click, sounding as though it was the locking of a metaphorical door, sealing his fate and ensuring he could not turn and run. Mentally grimacing, he curled the fingers of his left hand around the leather-wrapped hilt of his sword, the weapon a familiar, grounding presence at his hip. Taking a quick, deep breath, he caught Advisor Tancred’s eye and nodded once to signal his readiness for departure, acutely aware of his younger siblings standing just outside the hallway.
The plump man pursed his lips, gave Irwin a slow once-over. “Loose the sword, Valdar.”
Irwin stiffened more at the demand rather than the stern tone it was delivered in. Advisor or not, the man should know it was unheard of for a member of the Valdar Family to leave their home without some form of protection on their person. To ask him to relieve himself of the sword he had used for near a decade was more the unreasonable. Sure, he was going to the castle, but it wasn’t as if he would be meeting the King himself or anything, much less going to abruptly draw his sword and stab random people in the face with it. Who did Tancred think he was?! Besides, he wore no armour to protect himself beneath the plain tunic and breaches.
“I am afraid that is not something I can comply with, Advisor. My sword goes with me.” Irwin replied with a light challenging glare which contrasted with his dry tone. “Rest assured I am not mad enough to draw it in the castle, barring in self-defence, of course.” It wasn’t an impossibility, to have to defend oneself from a sudden dagger to the back when roaming the castle. Many such assassinations have occurred, and with a fairly new king upon the throne, many more were bound to come until such a time when either the King settles matters with a firm hand, or the court sorts itself out. Personally, he could see the former coming true, for far as Aranath may be from the Capital, even they have heard about the ruthlessness of the present King towards those who stand in his way. The young Wolf King was definitely not someone to piss off.
Tancred opened his mouth, looking like he dearly wished to press the issue, only to be distracted by the light whinnying of the horses outside. The man’s eyes wavered between the sword – now covered by the cloak but not enough to hide the fact that it was a weapon – and the darkening sky outside. If they were to reach the castle on time and not keep His Majesty waiting, they would need to leave now. Well, five minutes early would have been preferable, but…never mind. With a click of his tongue and a frown towards the Valdar heir, the Advisor left the house through the side door, heading straight for the stables as fast as he could. Just his luck it was the Valdar who managed to strike a deal with the Kingdom of Cairn. They were tight-lipped about how they did it, and in time, Tancred swore to uncover the truth, whatever it may be. For now, however, he just needed to get Heir Valdar locked into an indefinite contract as the King’s temporary bride in order to further ensure Cairn could not attack Attalia without a significant consequence.
Back in the house, Irwin turned his back on the Advisor as soon as the rotund man stepped away, pulling Trina and Fyre into a tight embrace, promising them to return as soon as he could. He held no delusions that being involved with whatever secret things this job was going to entitle would allow him the same freedom he had now, but surely he would be able to visit once in a while. And if there was another positive side to being at the castle, it was he could finally keep a stricter eye on his troublesome father. Irwin respected and loved Edmund, truly, but sometimes, the Count could be a handful and half. He counted another couple of heartbeats before letting go, patting his younger brother on the head one last time.
The Advisor was already seated atop his horse, face still grumpy but other than the scowl, he didn’t deign to verbally reprimand Irwin. It was possible he knew the ride awaiting them was going to be long and harsh – or at least until they cleared the mountains. Mounting his mare, Asper, the heir urged it into a canter, leading the way out of the stables and onto the rocky trail. Aranath was his territory, and so Tancred was happy to let him lead the way, taking safe shortcuts and twisting through unfamiliar paths in order to significantly shorten their time spent travelling on the road. These various passageways trekking through the mountains was obviously not something commonly known. In fact, only the members of the Valdar family and the scouting parties were privy to this information, for if it landed in the wrong hands, Aranath could fall, cut off from their nearest allies and no back alley to retreat. Thus, it was also with careful calculation that Irwin did not take them through the best possible paths, diverging once or twice at random forks in order to throw the Advisor off as he had no idea how smart Tancred truly was, if he would be able to mentally retrace the path perfectly. Even semi-perfectly did not sit well with Irwin. Who knows, the King might call for the Valdar Family to be removed one day. Such was the dangers of the court and being a noble.
It was nightfall when the pair finally galloped across the plain towards the castle, a light layering of travel dirt clinging to every surface. His horse was visibly panting from the exertion of running non-stop across dozens of miles. As soon as the castle’s main gate came into view, Irwin slowed, wheeling his mount around in order to face Tancred.
“I assume we are not about to ride through the front doors.” He muttered with a glance at the armoured soldiers standing guard. “Care to show me the side entrance, Advisor?”
“Hn. Leave the horses here. I’ll get someone to collect them later.” Tancred eyed Asper closely as Irwin dismounted. “She’s trained not to wander off?”
“Of course. Raised her myself, I did.” He replied, patting Asper on her flank and motioning her to stay put next to Tancred’s steed.
No more conversation took place as the two men scooted around the northern wall to the eastern side, where an iron grate could be seen poking out from a hole in the stone wall, covered by thick, limply hanging vines. Ducking his head, Irwin followed the Advisor in, casting a swift glance around and noting the few blazing torches that lit the small passageway. None too brightly, but adequate enough he wouldn’t need to feel his way around. It was a straightforward tunnel, something he wasn’t quite expecting from a castle’s secret passage. He had expected a lot more traps, dead ends, forked roads and hidden doors but they made it into the castle faster than he had estimated. They emerged out into the inner courtyard which was deserted at the moment, and Tancred wasted no time pulling Irwin down another series of corridors before pushing him into a small, sparsely-furnished room. It had a single bed tucked in a corner, with a rectangular table and three chairs occupying the middle and a large closet stood forlornly opposite the bed. That was the extend of furniture within.
“Sit down, Valdar.” Tancred said, gesturing towards one of the chairs even as he took a seat himself. “We might be waiting a little while for the other to come.”
Irwin shook his head in refusal, instead wandering over to the wall at his left and leaned his back against it, arms crossed. “No, thank you, Advisor. I would very much prefer to stay standing.”
PanOtterPus
