Time and its truths...

-You want to explain the whole damn story to me again? And this time calmly.

Rick sat down heavily in the armchair.

He massaged his temples, doubting what was hearing. The information... All right. He knew Mayra was the jealous woman type. It wasn't much new. And neither is Philip's ambition. Even so...

"Are you trying to tell me that Cassie left Scarlet because of my brother's plots with the Council?" These are serious accusations.

Mary Jane was trying to help. Keeping the girl out of trouble there… It felt like a test of fate. Everything happened to her.

-That's right. - the woman declared with a lot of firmness in her voice.

Madame crossed her arms in annoyance.

-Your brother is completely irresponsible... Do you know how many people around here depend on the Armada to survive? If Muir decides to send troops from the Successrium to Chabone... The Armada's days will be numbered. Think of the innocent families... There is a plague in the city... There are already enough people here without resources to support themselves.

Rick listened vaguely, trying to assimilate and process the information that was too much. Of course, there was no way could agree to let Philip stay close to Cassie, but all this...

-Are you sure it's Cassie? - he needed to hear it again.

Irresponsible!

silly!

inconsequential. She was there in Chabone herself and difficulties.

-I'm explaining to you...

Rick narrowed his gaze at the two women.

And what about the damn comments that the girl had left with a small fortune?

-MaryJane.-He took a deep breath. A lot depended on that information. - I was informed that this girl after all the confusion demanded an absurd amount to leave. Bribery. I made a fool of myself and...

And he didn't like it at all.

Hurt male pride…

She'd preferred money. It infuriated him more than could accept. Knowing that the girl had been expelled without any recourse and was struggling and working in a kitchen and as a servant... Right in Monsieur Garro's tavern?

Rick was counting to ten not to order them to destroy the miserable place. The news were radical changes in his life. Just the idea of ​​arming the Gaia cannons and attacking was too tempting.

-From what I've found they put the girl out in disgrace. They say there's an unfortunate dowry and...

Rick crunched more information.

To hell with the damn dowry.

Was this what Philip wanted so badly?

Money?

A mercenary rogue.

- Well, Philip wasn't so lucky. So far. - MaryJane reinforced each word in front of the suspicious eyes. This past week... It was your brother who made the complaint to the authorities. The girl doesn't know anything. Believe from what she has been told that you ordered her to be expelled from the castle, irritated by her presence.

Rick's eyes widened in surprise.

Heavens!

How much confusion! And all at the same time. Couldn't even catch a breath.

Madame sighed uneasily.

They were talking about the unfortunate auction. And there were still rumours about Black Order mercenaries around town.

-Your brother...- she started with disgust.

Crazy?

Stupid?

Traitor?

A miserable scoundrel?

There was no shortage of options. are you trying to kill the girl?

-You said Cassie is... ...from what I'd heard she was safe. And well cared for, perhaps in a comfortable house and...

Mary Jane shook her head regretfully.

Things weren't going very well.

The rented room... Monsieur had deducted so much money from the poor thing's salary... he vaguely knew that the girl had sought refuge and shelter with so many others around the forest. A small invasion region on the outskirts of the city and with humble people.

No resources.

It is far from the centre where the richest people lived, even though the nearby location is refined with wealthy residents.

Rick poured himself a mug of steaming soup, enjoying a nice, decent, hot meal. Local stalls offered an endless variety of food for travellers and workers. He drank the mug of bittersweet coffee with a heavy feeling in his stomach after so long with just snacks.

He needed to regain strength and...

-I didn't quite understand the part where she... How come she didn't take the money? The keys to the safe... They were lying on his dresser in the bedroom. Of course, she had all the damn keys.

-Well, I find it hard to believe that someone like that has so much money that he lives among such humble people near the centre of Chabone. There's not even water so close by... The girl barely eats... She certainly doesn't appreciate the tavern's menu with so much meat and fat.

Rick sighed.

Telepathy.

He knew the girl liked fruit more than anything. And boiled vegetables and veggies... No. She wasn't even going to eat well in the tavern anyway. It was a goddamn hell. And just in that plague...

"The diet of every good sorcerer...

Do not think about it!"

-All right. Suppose I believe the story...

-Why don't you see with your eyes if you don't believe? She barely leaves the tavern. She works all the time and... They told her to leave and...

Rick frowned in disgust.

Did she believe he was to blame for all this? It was absurd. He had never taken advantage of a woman before. Women! Why hadn't she come to him and told him what had happened? Mayra? Mayra had set up another one of hers? Rick shook his head in disbelief. He could seriously argue with Mayra because of all the problems she had created out of jealousy. Heavens!

He scratched his stubble, looking forward to a good shower. He was miserable. Lili's tavern despite the comfort… It wasn't at all the comfort of being home and relaxing. On the outskirts of town…

Rick tried to imagine where Cassie might have gotten into there. Maybe one of the old caves there? Curse? There was no protection. He doubted the irresponsible one knew how to shoot. would you know? Did she have a pistol? Or a knife at least?

There lived those excluded from society. Peasants and serfs. People who fought to survive.

Social conditions of poverty and misery excluded people and groups from society. The poor, whether for food and housing without many resources, were the first victims of diseases and also became victims of abandonment. Indifference and exclusion from living in a society were nothing new. People walked away as if they were lepers.

Did Philip think about making so much trouble for the girl to accept his unfortunate demands? A man needed to be a despicable scum of shame to a race... Submit a woman to that if she wasn't able to win the affection...

- Well, Cassie won't accept any help from this wretch. She even complained to the authorities. All the damned harassment of the unfortunate...

Rick arched an angry brow. He would love to have a serious talk with Philip and demand satisfaction... A man who couldn't understand when a woman despised him and wanted nothing...

Philip exceeded limits. And the girl was still his wife.

- You know what else he's been talking about? - wanted to know.

He needed to at least have a sense of the territory where he was going to advance.

How much hurt did the girl have inside her to accept any conversation?

Destroyed dreams? Betrayal? Disappointment after the night they'd spent together… By God! He couldn't believe it.

-Do you know where she is, Mary Jane?- Rick starts strategizing.

-It's just a bunch of people looking for shelter. They leave many horses and carts there.

Mercy. Even the gipsies! Attempting any rapprochement with Cassie…would need to be careful until he could explain that she was innocent in the long list of scheming and lying. In all that confusion... both she and he had been vilified. He had gained a reputation as a scoundrel profiteer and she... an opportunistic con artist.

Damn Philip. They needed the Armada's help.

Of course, she would come looking for him. Not after they had warned her to stay away and not to return to the castle again. She wouldn't expect any help either. Since when had his peaceful life turned into such a storm?

Would it be aloof?

Would you trust him?

Philp's odious little show was over. He would first find a way to approach and take the girl away. Keeping his wife away from Philip was essential. And then...

The castle... Was it still a shelter for them? These were questions I still didn't have answers to.

-Heavens, ma'am. They should have informed me from the beginning of all the confusion and...

- Are you going after her?

Did he go?

He looked at Mary Jane seriously.

What kind of man did she think he was, damn it?

-Of course, I will. For all that is most sacred. I go after her. And bring the girl back. Only then will Philip and I settle the differences between us.