CHAPTER 197: BREAKING OFF WITH THE EMPIRE (1)

"How about you come to my lands. I will grant you a title. A keep. A workshop a hundred times the size of this longhouse. You and your... people... will have the full protection of House Falco. You will want for nothing."

Lila, who had been happily munching on a piece of chocolate, froze. She slammed her hand down on the table.

"He’s not going anywhere!" she declared, glaring at Lord Falco. "Elowen is his home! We are his people!"

Lord Falco just chuckled, unfazed by her outburst. "Okay.. Okay... young lady, I was just making a suggestion. You can come too.."

Riku just smiled. "I appreciate the offer, Lord Falco. Truly. But Lila is right."

He looked around the room, at the faces of his friends, at the warm, fire-lit hall. "This is my home. I am not leaving."

The sincerity in his voice was absolute.

Lord Falco sighed, a look of genuine disappointment on his face. "A pity. But I understand." He raised his mug of ale. "To new friends, then."

"Here."

Later that night, in the new guest lodge they had been given, Falco and Marci sat in silence.

"This place," Falco finally said, his voice a low whisper. "It is an anomaly. It should not exist."

Marci did not answer. She was staring out the window at the two churches, their spires lit by the soft glow of the moon. One of Light. One of Shadow.

"Kindness," she whispered to herself, the word tasting strange on her tongue. "He said it was their specialty."

"Maybe I have a lot to learn."

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The next morning, a fragile peace settled over Elowen. Lord Falco and Marci kept to their guest lodge, processing the strange events of the previous day. Riku and his friends oversaw the morning’s work on the Lifewell Project. The air was filled with the sounds of hammers and happy chatter.

That peace was broken by the sound of hoofbeats.

A troop of riders crested the nearby hill. They were not golden paladins. They wore the familiar silver-and-blue armor of the Korvan Royal Guard. At their head, on a magnificent white warhorse, was King Harius III. Beside him, on a black mare, rode Grand Luminar Seraphina.

Their faces were grim.

"It seems the commotion was noticed," Lord Arnold murmured as he and Riku walked to the village square to greet them.

The royal delegation rode into the square and dismounted. Riku, Barou, and the others stepped forward and offered respectful bows.

"Your Majesty, Grand Luminar," Barou said, his voice booming. "This is an unexpected honor. We were not aware you were planning a visit."

King Harius gave a tired smile. "It was not planned, Chief Barou. We felt a significant divine energy signature from the capital. We came at once to ensure all was well."

"All is well, Your Majesty," Riku said calmly. "Though we did have some... guests."

The King’s gaze swept over the scene. He saw the tense figures of the northern nobles cautiously emerge from their lodge. His eyes narrowed slightly. "So I see."

He turned back to Barou. "Your village continues to impress. The progress on the new buildings is remarkable."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Barou said proudly. "The people work hard."

"Indeed." The King’s pleasantries faded. His expression turned serious. "Now. Let us go to the longhouse. I want a full report on what happened here."

They all gathered inside. The mood was heavy. The King and Seraphina took their seats at the head of the table. They looked at the assembled group: Riku’s companions, the Elowen leadership, and the wary, silent nobles from the north.

"We felt the divine energy from the capital," Seraphina began, her voice sharp. "It was the signature of the Solari Legion. Then we felt a second, immense surge of power. An unknown one. Report. What happened here?"

Barou, as chief, stepped forward. His chest was still bruised. He recounted the events of the previous day. He spoke of Falco’s arrival and his demands. He described the duel between Riku and the Knight-Captain. And he finished with the Solari Legion’s final, chilling threat of quarantine and consequences.

King Harius listened in silence. His hands were clasped behind his back. His expression was unreadable. When Barou finished, the King was quiet for a long moment.

Then, he turned. His gaze fell upon Lord Falco and Marci.

"Lord Falco," the King said, his voice dangerously quiet. "You are a noble of the Northern Empire. And yet you bring an armed force into my lands. You attack one of my chieftains. You threaten to burn one of my villages to the ground."

Falco shifted uncomfortably. "Your Majesty, I had reason. They abducted one of my men—"

"I have heard the story," the King cut him off, sighing. "But that is not important right now."

He turned his gaze to the ceiling, as if looking at the sky where the paladins had appeared. His expression soured.

"This is another matter entirely."

He looked around the room, at Riku, at Seraphina, at his own loyal lords. "The Korvan Kingdom is a proud member of the Solari Empire. We have honored the treaties. We have paid our tithes. We have defended the northern border for centuries."

His voice grew louder, filled with a righteous anger. "And where was the Empire when we needed them? Where was the Solari Legion when the Crimson Creep was at our gates? Where were their golden-winged paladins when my people were starving from a famine that has lasted for years?"

He slammed a fist on the table. The heavy wood shuddered. "They offered no aid! They sent no supplies! They offered only silence!"

"And now," he snarled, "now that a divine disturbance has been felt, now that something of interest has happened, they appear. Not with aid. Not with offers of support. But with threats. With quarantines. They treat us not as allies, but as a vassal state to be policed."

He took a deep breath, his decision made. "I will be sending a formal complaint to the High Luminar in Krass. And I will make my stance perfectly clear."