Chapter 155: From Horse Thief to Honored Guest
"Sugar? The beast is foaming at the mouth...how is it supposed to eat sugar?"
If there is one mandatory course for a knight, it is the care of their steed. It was for this reason that when Arthur called for sugar, the surrounding knights looked on with skepticism and curiosity.
One "expert" among them, convinced he understood Arthur's motive, muttered, "I suppose he wants to make Invincible's passing a bit sweeter."
Leah didn't care for such talk. Wiping away her tears, she thrust a small satchel into Arthur's hands. "I only have nut brittle. Will that do?"
"...Is there any cane sugar? Or honey drops?"
Arthur was momentarily speechless, but he explained with forced patience, "Sugar water can restore vitality. It's the only way I know to pull him back from the brink."
"I'll go buy some right now!"
Hearing that there was still hope for Invincible, Leah didn't even stop to dry her face. She grabbed a knight's leg and vaulted onto the back of his horse. "Take me into the city! I know exactly where the confectioner is! Fast! Fast! FAST!!!"
The knight cast a helpless glance at Sir Ervin. Seeing that his lord remained silent, he squeezed his mount's flanks, and they thundered back through the gates.
Thanks to Leah's familiarity with the streets, it took only five minutes for bags of cane sugar and jars of honey to be placed before Arthur.
"Dissolve the sugar. I'll start with the honey first."
As Arthur spoke, he moved his hands in a fluid motion. The honey seemed to take on a life of its own, swirling into the air and blending instantly with the fresh water before being guided down Invincible's throat.
"By Kreve! He's a sorcerer!"
"I've never heard of sugar water being used for healing."
"I think it makes sense. Don't you feel a surge of energy after a sweet treat?"
Of course, there were those whose concerns lay elsewhere:
"Ye gods, feeding sugar water to a horse? What a waste! A pound of sugar costs two full Crowns!"
"So what? A nobleman's horse is a purebred...one of those costs over a hundred Crowns!"
"Hah! What's the difference between a purebred and a mutt when it's dying? Feeding it sugar is a waste, mark my words!"
Regardless of the peanut gallery's commentary, the effect of two large bags of sugar water was visible to the naked eye.
Invincible went from lying limply in the dirt to shifting into a kneeling position. With a coordinated lift from several knights, the mare finally managed to stand, albeit on trembling legs.
Leah let out a cheer and threw her arms around Invincible's neck. The mare responded by nuzzling against the girl's shoulder in a display of weary affection.
"Well, look at that! The beast is back among the living!"
The onlookers broke into a chaotic mix of cheers and sighs of relief.
"You are the most incredible knight I've ever met!"
Arthur was standing with his hands on his hips, monitoring Invincible's condition, when Leah suddenly lunged at him. Before he could react, she planted a wet, impulsive kiss on his cheek.
"Thank you! Today was the first time Invincible and I ever beat all of my father's men in a race. He truly means the world to me!"
This time, the voices in the crowd were unified...a chorus of clear, ringing cheers.
Arthur, for once, was genuinely taken aback. He knew that on the eve of Belleteyn, village youths only needed to lock eyes before disappearing hand-in-hand into the woods; their customs weren't just liberal, they were positively primal. But he hadn't expected Leah to make such a bold gesture in broad daylight. He had always assumed that no matter how decadently nobles behaved in private, they maintained a certain "human-like" decorum in public.
Fortunately, after the kiss, Leah turned back to embrace Invincible's neck. It seemed she had simply been swept away by the fervor of the moment.
"Invincible was Leah's fourteenth birthday present," Sir Ervin the Younger noted. "I had originally planned to give her a gemstone necklace purchased from an Ofieri merchant. The Crowns I spent on it would have been enough to purchase a manor estate outside the city walls. But that morning, the child came to me with tears in her eyes, asking if she truly had to marry some Grand Duke's son just because they had looked at each other's portraits."
Sir Ervin sighed, his tone losing some of its practiced aristocratic stiffness.
"In that moment, my heart softened. I took her to the stables to pick out the finest Kaedweni purebred we had. I told her that as long as she mastered horsemanship, no matter how far away she was married, she could always ride him back home to me."
Sir Ervin delivered this tale with great pathos. Arthur might have been moved by this display of paternal devotion...had the knight not made the superfluous gesture of dabbing at a tear that didn't actually exist with a silk handkerchief.
Sensing a potential lull in the conversation, Sir Ervin shifted gears and renewed his invitation.
"This weekend, I shall host a banquet at my residence. Several esteemed knights have already confirmed their attendance... men of great standing and reputation. Should you deign to grace us with your presence, it would be a profound honor for my house."
He reeled off the names of several knights, none of whom Arthur...a foreigner...recognized. However, judging by their titles, they were men of significant status.
Compared to the previous vague offer, this invitation was formally phrased, with a set time and a list of attendees. According to the "Etiquette for Beginners" lessons Triss Merigold had once given him, this was a gesture of genuine respect; the previous one had merely been a "summons."
Recalling those lessons, Arthur provided a formal and courteous acceptance. Privately, however, he decided this would be a one-time affair. Socializing with the nobility held far less allure than the mysterious fortress of Gorthur Gvaed in the far south that Kolgrim had spoken of.
Arthur had expected to be intercepted by the Shadowblades the moment he re-entered the city, but he made it all the way back to the Moonlight Moss without being questioned.
Strange, he thought. While Cintra had struck him as a direct and blunt nation, they weren't so sloppy as to ignore a man who had just chased an assassin through the streets. Had something else happened?
The question was answered the moment he stepped into the main hall.
Haxor, the Lord Mayor, was sitting at a table nearest the stairs, staring blankly at the door with a bottle of amber-colored mead before him. Beside him sat the two clerks who never left his side...whom Arthur now knew were the liaisons between the Shadowblades and the municipal government.
"Are you... waiting for me?" Arthur stopped before the Mayor and asked tentatively. He received an immediate, weary nod.
"After that mess today, half of Cintra has been tossed into a boiling pot," Haxor said. "Every street in the North Ward is under martial law. The Shadowblades are searching every shop and alley for the assassin's accomplices. Gods know when the lockdown will be lifted."
Haxor picked up his glass, drained the jelly-like mead in a single gulp, and felt the worry lines on his face soften slightly. "I heard you and the assassin each hijacked a horse and rode all the way out of the city. Well? Did you lose him?"