158 A sympathetic demon (1/2)
”STOP IT! HAVE YOU GONE CRAZY OVER THE YEARS?” Coming out of an unknown street, a panicked old man rushed to stop the merchant before he could end his action. If the guard only felt that he seemed to be similar to the merchant, the two humans near him immediately recognized the elder. And realized why someone came here. ”Good morning to you, Lord Eltritch.”
Listening to the young feminine voice, the nobleman began to relax a bit. After all, in his eyes, she had managed to pacify the three types of people that were staying in Archet. As for asking for merchants to come back, he did not dare to hope too much, leading to the current situation. ”Good morning to you too, Mayor.” After that, he began to discreetly squeeze the arm of the one near him, pressing him to do the same.
”If the sun shines off its glorious light, it is nothing compared to the one emanating from you, Mayor.” Unfortunately, for him, the only result he achieved by doing that was his old father blinking two times in a row and suddenly pulling him out of the group. ”One moment, please.” Excusing himself, he grabbed the neck of his incorrigible offspring and looked at him very seriously. ”Donatello, what was that? You remember what I said before you left, right?”
”Yes, I just greeted her. What is the problem?” Sneaking a peek to look at the faces of Andre and Gwendoline that were starring at him, he could only increase the pressure on the neck of the merchant. And murmured all the complaints he had. ”You lazy womanizer! The rumors about you had spread in the entire city, and every day I had a young girl knocking on the door saying you took advantage of her. And you are doing it again!”
From afar, all someone could see was just a father and his son having a normal discussion. But if that person would have been facing them, they would have seen the helpless face of the young man and the embarrassed expression of the old one. ”But I was telling the truth, you didn't believe me back then and you are still not trusting the words of your own son. I didn't do anything to all those girls, besides a few compliments or drinking with them sometimes.”
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Hearing another set of lies, this time Lord Darkwater did not care about his face anymore. Seeing the guard that accompanied the Mayor gone, and because he trusted her, he used enough strength to make the back of his descendant bend. ”What about Aria?” ”Eh, that was ...” ”And Melissa?” ”It was just one nigh ...” ”Marjolie? Ellena? Elsa?”
Faced with all those names and because he knew very well how much his old father could know about them, the merchant raised his hands in surrender. ”I admit about them, alright, you win. But for the rest I ...” Noticing the intense stare of the pair eyes right in front of him, he couldn't finish his sentence. Swallowing his saliva, he tried his best to hide his embarrassment and smiled widely.
TAP
”Ouch! My head, what was this for?” ”You trying to fool me another time. Now, I don't care about anything you do, but can you just listen to me once?” Massaging a bit his forehead, the guilty man tried to remember what was the problem. He had done everything his father asked for, he had come here with one of his usual convoys, had entered Archet and had reached the front of the castle, so what was the problem?
”The part where I said do not disturb the one living there but go to the City Hall?” ”Ahhhh ... Never heard of it. You wrote knock to enter the castle” Even as he was saying this, he did not fool anyone. Even when for once he said the truth. Because his words were not believed, this time, he was truly annoyed. Searching his pockets, he found out the letter that he received and showed it to the old man. That was surprising, to see that what he wrote was not the same in his memories.
”But, I was sure that I ... Those BASTARDS!” Hearing the spark of anger, even Andre and Gwendoline that were patiently waiting nearby approached. Showing them the letter, he then explained everything that happened as his son was smiling for real this time. Sensing the stare of the Mayor on him, he tried to put up his best appearance, but she only looked between him and the huge castle a few times before hurting his self-esteem greatly.
”Only a fool would do that so confidently. Do you think the Dark Gods are the friendly neighbors that invite you to dinner once in a while?” Her thoughts were shared by the only two other adults present, even if the merchant was a bit older than Gwendoline herself. As for him, when he saw the glance of pity Andre threw to his paternal, he couldn't help but feel exasperated. He was a good merchant, or at least, he was not losing money.
”So, Lord Darkwater, why did you do that? You know very well the situation of Archet, what kind of goods could get the interest of the Republic of Avenio?” She accentuated her voice when pronouncing the word goods, as a way to remind the two to not try anything funny. Everyone knew exactly what could interest them, but it was not something material, it was only information. Without the White Hand present, the city had become a dark zone.
”Of course, of course. I would never think of ... that thing. I still have my family here. No, I was thinking about the trolls. More accurately, their food.” Seeing the light shining in the eyes of that old fox, Gwendoline realized that someone still managed to get his hand on something that shouldn't have been known. But even if Andre seemed as impassive as her, she could sense he was a bit surprised too.
”If I am not mistaken, they have brought cattle with them at their arrival, the usual animals one could find in a farm. But they were also eating vegetables bigger than anything I have ever seen. Only something out of the Grey Lands could match it. And if I am not mistaken, they are capable of growing it.”