Elin-5

Elin and a companion stood beside a dilapidated building, watching an old man weeding a nearby vegetable patch.

"That's him?" Elin said.

"Yes. Cookee Fielding, sixty-four years old. He used to be the commander of the Stromgarde Maritime Guard but resigned after accidentally killing a comrade. Actually, that last part was revealed by his neighbors. They like to talk about such things."

"Wait here."

Elin approached. When he was three or four steps away from the edge of the garden, the old man stood up straight, pointing his sickle at him.

"Hold it," he said. "You're stepping onto my land without permission. Do you want to lose your head?"

"Relax, Mr. Cookee. You shouldn't attack someone who came specifically to see you."

"Who are you?"

"I'm Johnson. Prince Galin sent me to talk to you about your daughter."

"My daughter?"

"Yes. Niaes Fielding."

Cookee glanced at Elin and said, "Follow me," before turning and walking toward a small shack behind the vegetable patch. Elin followed. There was no door on the shack, just two long boards covering the entrance. Inside, it was cluttered with various items, and Elin had to lift his legs to avoid tripping over things strewn across what passed for a hallway leading to the living room. Elin assumed it was the living room because there was a half-burnt sofa that looked like it had been salvaged from a fire.

"Sit," Cookee said.

"Thank you." Elin sat down and shifted his position.

Cookee remained standing, placing his sickle on a nearby crate. "Do you have any contact with Niaes?"

"Yes, I'm responsible for delivering messages from Prince Galin to her."

"I recall someone named Varokar was doing that."

"Oh, I took over from him. He's not as capable as I am. So, do you know what your daughter is going through?"

"I've heard some things."

"What are your thoughts?"

"Are you planning to visit my daughter in the Refuge Valley?"

"Yes. I'll have deep and sincere discussions with her on many significant issues."

Cookee fell silent for half a minute.

"I want you to do me a favor. Wait here."

He left the room. Elin heard sounds of rummaging in the corridor. Five minutes later, he returned, holding a rusty short sword.

"Take it," Cookee said, pointing the sword at Elin, looking more like he was going to stab than hand it over.

Elin took the sword and pretended to examine it seriously. "Mr. Cookee, may I ask..."

"When she was seven, I taught her swordplay for the first time using this."

"Is that so? Well, this is... significant. Do you want me to give it to her?"

"No," Cooke said. "Kill her with this sword, then give it back to me. I want to see her blood on it."

"Um."

"I don't have such a daughter. I didn't raise her to rebel against the country. This is simply a curse of the devil. She is a demon, not my child. Do you know, Mr. Johnson, what I said when the former king personally awarded me the medal? I said the Felding family will serve you for generations, shedding the last drop of blood for the glory of the kingdom. And then that woman gave birth to such a demon for me. If I could, I would kill her myself, but now..."

"I understand, Mr. Cooke," Ellyn stood up. "By the way, I still need to see Prince Jorgen. I've remembered what you said. Goodbye."

Ellyn walked towards the exit of the house, gradually picking up his pace. He heard Cooke grab the sickle again, following behind him.

"Will you help me with this favor? It's not just for me, it's for the country too. I'm not joking, I want to kill her myself, no joke. Find a way to get me out of the city, I want to go..."

"Next time, Mr. Cooke, another time." Ellyn exited the house first, resealing the door with the few boards. Cooke pushed aside the boards, standing by the door continuing to shout. Ellyn quickly walked to the side of his attendant, patting his shoulder, and the two turned around the back of the building.

"Why didn't you tell me he's a lunatic?" Ellyn said. "I don't like an old man waving a sickle behind my back, shouting for me to chop off his daughter's head."

"Is it that serious? Sorry, I really didn't know. Their neighbors didn't reveal this. They only said Cooke was proud when his daughter became the captain of the refuge valley. Maybe he's been through some shock because of this."

"Because of your inadequate intelligence gathering, you've put superiors in life-threatening situations. If I could, I would cut your allowance next month."

"That being said, boss, what do you have in your hand?"

Ellyn looked at the rusty sword in his hand. Perhaps the crazy old man's story of using it to teach his daughter swordsmanship was also false. However, he finally decided to temporarily put it away, otherwise he would feel like he had gained nothing from this trip. He had hoped to learn more about Niaes's character and experience through Cooke, to facilitate future dealings with her, but now all he got was a rusty sword that might be worthless.

During the few days at Stromgarde, Ellyn spent a considerable amount of time collecting intelligence with his attendants, but the results were not significant. What he most wanted to know was whether Tusha and Lawrence were inside the city, but it turned out that Prince Jorgen's secrecy measures were still very successful. For most of the people who knew about the tribe's exchange request, the sudden appearance of Lawrence's name was still very confusing. He also sent his attendants to investigate Jorgen's current situation, and although what they finally got was not very useful, it was still much more successful than the visit to Niaes's father.

"Prince Jorgen is preparing to get married. He has already chosen a candidate." Two hours before leaving Stromgarde, an attendant told Ellyn the information he had just obtained.

"At this time?" Ellyn said.

"I heard that the plan is for Jorgen to officially hold the coronation ceremony and then have the wedding ceremony after becoming king. Only then can that girl become the rightful queen."

"His previous vow was not to wear the crown until the kingdom is restored, it seems he can't wait anymore. Have you investigated what kind of person the woman is?"

"I haven't seen her myself. Jorgen has kept her protection very tight, saying there's no problem even if she's locked up. It's only found out that her father was a friend of the previous king. If according to the original plan, the wedding will probably be held in two weeks, when she turns fourteen."

Ellyn scratched behind his ear with his index finger. Jorgen's mother became queen at this age too.

"According to the customs of Stromgarde's royal family, the king's coronation ceremony must use the Tolkar sword, for example, to swear allegiance to it, but I don't quite understand the detailed steps," the attendant said. "Of course, Jorgen can choose to modify this tradition, after all, no one can really control him, but this will definitely make the impact of the stolen sword more serious."

"So, without the Tolkar sword, he can't wear the crown. Without the crown, he can't get a wife. He should be more nervous about whether he can get back that broken sword. What else do you know?"

"The maid of the lady complained that Jorgen did not provide better living conditions for his future wife. It seems that although Jorgen has been actively arranging things since the selection began, he doesn't seem very enthusiastic. This matter was also unexpected for the lady, she comes from nobility but is not very accustomed to this kind of thing. She now stays in the house all day and speaks very little."

Ellyn wondered if he should mention this to the prince when he talked to him. This might prompt him to take further action, but it could also have negative effects. However, he felt he still had plenty of time to consider. Because now he had to return to the refuge valley, and if things didn't go well in the future, he might never have the chance to talk to Jorgen again. Riding out of the city gate, Ellyn looked back at the gray-white wall, recalling that Jorgen had once said he left Stromgarde with regrets about unfinished tasks. He thought, although Jorgen seemed not good at controlling his emotions, without much cunning, he might be one of the most difficult people he and Jorgen had ever seen.

The return journey went smoothly, and when Ellyn returned to the refuge valley, it was close to midnight, just like when he first arrived here. Although most people were already asleep, Ellyn felt a more tense atmosphere around him, as if this place was closer to an imminent war than a few days ago. Some people looked at him with hostile eyes. Ellyn believed that most people didn't know he came from Seven, their hostility was just because of unfamiliarity.

Before entering his tent, Ellyn stood there for half a minute, but couldn't come up with any plan of action. He had promised Glocara to stay at Stromgarde for only two or three days, and the round trip wouldn't exceed five days, but now that number had doubled. He stepped into the tent, but quickly turned back out because there was no one inside.

He looked around. The remnants of a burnt-out campfire on the muddy ground, guards steadfastly holding spears on the black cliff, and discarded bandages hanging in the bushes. Before taking a step, he saw Niaes walking towards him, stopping about ten steps away.

"Meeting again, Lady Hero," he gestured with his right hand towards the tent behind him. "Do you know where she went?"

"Mr. Ellyn, I'm very glad to see you safely back. But please, don't call me that again."

"Did you not hear my question?"

"Of course I did. Please come with me, I want to talk to you."

Ellyn followed Niaes to her command cabin. A fire was burning inside.

"Nice place," Ellyn said.

"Please, have a seat."

Ellyn sat down at the table in the center of the room.

"What's next, are you planning to serve me tea as well?"

Niaes sat down opposite Ellyn.

"It's difficult to say. I met with Jorgen, and others too. If you want to know, I'll tell you when I have the time. But I just asked you, where did Glocara go?"

"I've always wondered, what's your relationship with her?"

"She's my woman, isn't it obvious? Do you need to ask me repeatedly? Just say what you want to say, Niaes."

"Well... there's been a bit of a problem."

Niaes interlocked her fingers on the table. She didn't meet Ellyn's eyes.

"Speak," Ellyn tapped the table with his knuckles.

"Perhaps it was an accident," she said. "But... Miss Glocara killed Lieutenant Varokar."