Lorian leaned back and began his story.
"From the moment the messenger from Valoria arrived and tried to rage-bait us, I knew their new government had no intention of being a good neighbor, as Valoria has always been," his speech became slower, more decisive, "To secure Veridia's future, we had to stop them from ascending to power. That is why I hatched this plan. If I had arrived openly, every eye in the city would have been fixed on me, paralyzing our movements. The Lord of Veridia would be a high-value target; a maid of a Veridian noble, in comparison, would be practically invisible."
"But why keep us in the dark, my Lord?" Alsnow asked, his voice thick with a mix of hurt and desperation, "Do you not trust your own council?"
Lorian's expression remained bland, "If you knew who I was, you would have spent your time protecting me instead of doing your jobs. Furthermore, men as cunning as Mordan can read the truth in the twitch of an eyebrow or a nervous step. It would not take much time for them to realize that Ariana was not just a simple maid, but a very important one- the Lord himself. I am a trader at heart, Alsnow. I am not risk-averse, but I prefer to minimize the variables."
He leaned forward, his voice dropping lower, "When that girl first approached us, she was too perfect. Everyone knew a Veridian delegation was here, and Lord Lorian Throne was not part of it. Yet she sought me out specifically to see if I had arrived in secret. And think- a maid who claims to be so close to Selena Stormhold is not apprehended, but rather left to run loose by the Paladin Council? Man, I am telling you, it was too convenient to be anything but a trap."
"You think she was a lure? A lamb sent by the Paladins to lead us to the slaughter?" Leo asked, his voice was tinged with concern for the girl, "But what if she is innocent? What if she was just used to lead us into a trap unknowingly? She might have thought she was acting to rescue her Princess, while in reality, she was just a puppet whose strings were held by the Paladins. I feel she was innocent!"
"I suspected it as well, Count Leofrick," Lorian admitted with a thin smirk, "until I saw her map. I had already memorized the castle's true layout (using Architect's Glimmer). When she was explaining the map, I (used a Vial of Clarity and) discovered the discrepancy was glaring. She was actually leading us toward an escape path that didn't exist in reality. It was just a 'false door' designed to trap victims."
Lorian tapped his temple, "They wanted to catch us red-handed with Selena. They were going to let us extract her easily, only to spring the trap at the dead end. To confirm her involvement, I asked for a forged letter from Mordan Terance. As I suspected, she didn't bring a forgery; she brought a genuine letter with a real seal. At that moment, I was certain. She wasn't just a maid; she was Mordan's own tool."
He turned to Zara, "Tell them what you found at the dead end."
Zara nodded, "The Master had gifted Jax and me a pair of magical devices (Gossamer Earrings), which allowed us to whisper across the distance for an hour. When I reached the 'escape path,' I found exactly what he had accurately predicted- a battalion in ambush. But more importantly, the delegates from the other city-states were already there. Master told me they were waiting to be 'witnesses' to our crime."
"Yes, you see, that was the endgame of Mordan and his gang," Lorian explained. "They wanted to prove Veridian interference to force a unanimous declaration of war. It was a perfect setup for an irrefutable 'casus belli'. But not on my watch. I simply changed the script. We extracted Selena, disguised her as Ariana, and I moved to the Throne Guard quarters to take this post."
"When we failed to walk into their trap, and the 'witnesses' began raising their voices, Mordan went to the cells in a panic. There, he found his own guard telling 'the truth'- that a Justicar, carrying a letter signed by Mordan himself, took the prisoner. The guard furnished the real letter with Mordan's real seal and signature to the group. So, basically, the very evidence Mordan meant to use against us is now a noose around his own neck. In a desperate attempt to clear his name, he sent the girl here tonight to find Selena; after all, even he cannot break diplomatic protocol and search this room without proof."
"So it is Mordan who faces the pyre now?" Torin asked with a fierce grin, "I told you, Master Alsnow- our Lord's schemes have more layers than an onion."
Count Leo hesitated, then spoke softly, "My Lord... was this for Veridia? Or was it personal?"
Torin's chair screeched as he stood, "Count Leofrick! Excuse me for overstepping my rank, but you are forgetting yourself! Do not mistake the Lord's magnanimity for a license to forget our place!"
Leo realized his fault and immediately dropped to his knees, his forehead touching the floor repeatedly. Lorian watched him for a long moment before taking a slow breath, "If this were a personal vendetta, Count Leofrick Vane-Ashbourne, I would not have brought you, or Torin, or Alsnow. For a private mission, I take only my shadows- those who would die for me without asking why. I do not bring my Nobles and Officials on a personal suicide mission."
Alsnow looked up, his eyes full of questions, "Do you alienate me, my Lord, because I question you?"
Lorian smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes, "A ruler's fall is certain when he surrounds himself only with Yes-men. I need men who point out the cliff before I walk over it. I appreciate your questions, Alsnow. But tonight was a gamble of life and death, and I would not ask you to bet your lives on a cause you didn't yet understand."
He stood, the armor of the Throne Guard he was still wearing clanking softly, "Sleep now you all. Tomorrow, you will realize why I brought the three of you here. It is going to be a very long day. You all need a good rest for tomorrow."