Skeleton Knight in Another World Vol. 3

by Ennki Hakari

  I opened the shutters covering my room’s window and gazed out at the bustling streets below. It was already rather late in the morning.

  After stretching to loosen up my body, I grabbed my neatly folded black cloak and slipped it into my bag. I decided it would be better not to wear it, since I would be posing as Ariane’s bodyguard. Sometimes, standing out had its benefits.

  Ponta sat patiently as it watched me go through my routine.

  “Welp, now the question is whether or not they’ll meet with us. You coming, Ponta?”

  “Kyii!”

  Ponta hopped up and, with the help of a gust of magical wind, glided up to its rightful place atop my helmet. After making sure the fox was firmly in place, I left the room.

  Ariane stepped out of her own room at almost exactly the same moment, dressed in her familiar charcoal-gray cloak.

  “Good morning, Arc. You’ll certainly draw some eyes like that.”

  “If I’m playing bodyguard, I may as well look the part.”

  We made our way outside.

  We’d wandered quite a ways from the south gate we’d entered through the day before and now found ourselves closer to the central gate. We took the street in front of the inn west to the first waterway. From there, we followed it south until we hit the large bridge that led into what was apparently called the old district.

  Unlike the new district between the first and second waterways, here, the town consisted of a collection of ancient stone buildings that had somehow stood the test of time. They were much larger than those in the new district, the streets much wider.

  We made our way down the main thoroughfare and up a small hill, where we found ourselves at a gate built into a large wall. Beyond, I could see the outline of a massive, imposing castle. Several guards stood in front of the gate, watching over the area.

  As we approached them, the guards snapped to attention.

  “We seek an audience with Lord Petros’s wife.”

  One of the guards stepped forward, his eyes taking in my entire frame before settling on my helmet. I quickly realized why he found the sight of me so odd and reached up to my helmet to remove Ponta, though the strange look on the guard’s face didn’t change.

  “And where do you harken from, sir?”

  “We are messengers from the Great Canada Forest.”

  The guard furrowed his brow. Before he could respond, however, another guard came running up and whispered something into his ear.

  The first guard shot me a steely glare. “If you are an elf, as you claim, then please remove your helmet and state your name.”

  Ariane pulled back her hood.

  Her long, snow white hair spilled out, dancing in the sea breeze. The guards swallowed hard as her pointy ears, amethyst-colored skin, and golden eyes came into view. Surprised gasps erupted from several nearby townsfolk as well, who had been watching the exchange.

  Ariane’s voice rang out clearly in the now-silent street.

  “I am Ariane Glenys Maple, a messenger from the Great Canada Forest. Please allow me to see the lady of the house.”

  The guards exchanged looks, frozen with indecision, until one finally managed to pull himself together and speak.

  “Notify the lord!”

  “Y-yessir!”

  Another of the men hurriedly climbed through a small door and disappeared. Ariane pulled the hood back over her head.

  A short time later, a call came from the other side of the gate, followed by a deep clunking sound as it slowly raised. The guard from earlier stood on the other side, saluting.

  “Lord Petros has agreed to meet with you!”

  Upon hearing this, the line of guards in front of the gate parted to make a path for us.

  I relaxed slightly. Even though I’d suggested this plan, I hadn’t thought it would be this easy to arrange a meeting.

  An older gentleman stepped toward us, offering a reverent bow. He fixed his gaze on me, speaking in a slow, easy tone.

  “I take it you are the bodyguard?”

  I nodded, and the man waved us in. I let Ariane go in first, and I brought up the rear.

  The older gentleman led us through a large garden and up to the front door of a towering castle. He gestured us inside, and we found ourselves in an entrance hall. Almost no surface had been left unadorned, from the decorated pillars and joists, to the dazzling chandelier hanging from the roof, to the large paintings mounted on the polished marble walls.

  We took one of the staircases that sat at either end of the room up to the second floor, where we continued through another door and down a hallway overlooking a smaller garden. We eventually reached a large room, where the older man left us to go call the lord of the estate.

  The room was impressive and filled to the brim with luxurious, high-quality furnishings. Compared to what we’d seen in Branbayna, this place was downright palatial, clearly a sign of the financial power its occupant wielded.

  Ariane sat down in one of the chairs while I stood behind her with my arms crossed, in my best imitation of a bodyguard. Foreign diplomats always had an air of importance about them, so I figured this would look appropriate…or at least, I hoped it would.

  A door opened in front of us, and a young man and woman entered the room, followed by the old man from earlier.

  The young man had wavy, blond bangs that fell in front of his eyes. He brushed them out of the way as he greeted us with a gleaming, toothy smile. I assumed this was Petros du Lamburt, the lord of the estate. He walked toward us with a casual, even gait, reminding me more of an actor than a noble.

  As soon as he reached us, he spun around elegantly on one foot and stopped, facing us.

  What the hell?

  Before I even had a chance to think about what I’d just seen, the man spoke.

  “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting. I am the lord of this town, Petros du Lamburt, twenty years old and newly married!”

  Petros threw out his arms in a grand gesture and offered up another wide smile. He looked like the kind of prince you’d see in a comic marketed to little girls. I was more interested in the odd addition after his self-introduction though.

  Ariane, still in a state of shock at his behavior, stood up as Petros walked over to her. The lord of Lamburt pivoted on his heel, took her hand, and gazed into her eyes.

  “And you must be the beautiful little messenger I heard about. Welcome to my estate.”

  A loud cough echoed through the room at the conclusion of Petros’s greeting. It had come from the tall, slender, pale-skinned woman he’d entered with. She was wrapped in a deep green evening dress that nearly brushed the floor. Between her green-tinged blonde hair, elongated ears, and green eyes, she was quite obviously an elf.

  As far as I could tell, she didn’t seem to be here against her will. She silently approached the young Petros from behind, a warm smile on her face, though there was something chilling about her presence. Petros turned around leisurely to shoot her a charming grin.

  “Ahaha, excuse me, Toreasa. You are, without a doubt, the most attractive woman in the land! But I can’t help but recognize the beauty of other women. It is simply like admiring a lovely flower to me.”

  As he continued moving about like a performer in a musical, he dramatically took Toreasa’s hand and brought it to his lips. Assuming this wasn’t all some sort of affectation, he made for quite the bizarre fellow.

  Toreasa seemed used to this behavior, though, and simply gave a small shrug, bowing her head.

  “Thank you for traveling such a great distance. Honestly, I can’t believe a messenger would come from Maple just for me. My name is Toreasa, though I am now known as Toreasa Darine Lamburt.”

  As she spoke, she approached the chair directly across from Ariane. Petros cheerfully slid it back for her to sit before seating himself beside her.

  I thought for a moment about pulling out Ariane’s chair for her as well, but she sat down before I had the chance. She didn’t seem to care about suc
h things.

  “Greetings. My name is Ariane Glenys Maple. And this is my bodyguard, Arc.”

  I bowed low. “It is an honor to be here in your presence.”

  Toreasa watched me with great curiosity. I didn’t think she’d spotted Ponta, since the fox was currently curled up in my bag, but something had certainly caught her eye.

  “Wow, wow, wow. To think…an elven knight. You truly put the human knights to shame!”

  Petros’s eyes narrowed slightly as he regarded me anew, a grin spreading across his face. Ponta popped its head out of my bag.

  Toreasa seemed like she was about to say something, but Ariane spoke first.

  “I apologize for being so blunt, but I heard a rumor that you and Lord Petros had gotten married.”

  Toreasa’s expression changed almost imperceptibly, a faint smile gracing her face, as if she’d suspected that this was the true reason for our visit. She looked over toward Petros.

  “Yes, it’s true. We held a wedding ceremony about a month ago. There was quite a lot leading up to that though.”

  Petros and Toreasa joined hands and rested them on the table in an easy, natural motion. They gazed deep into each other’s eyes, as if they were alone in the room. Ariane tilted her head, seemingly as confused—and uncomfortable—as I was. It certainly didn’t seem like this was a forced marriage.

  Ariane shot another question at Toreasa, breaking up the loving atmosphere.

  “We came here in pursuit of a band of men who have been hunting elves. Until we heard about your wedding, we were under the impression you’d been captured.”

  The couple unclasped their hands and shifted in their seats.

  “I see. So, you’re no messenger after all. You’re a soldier on a rescue mission.” Toreasa didn’t seem all that surprised. “Well, it’s true that I was captured by slavers and brought here to Lamburt.”

  Her gaze drifted off into the distance. Petros let out an uncomfortable laugh, smiling awkwardly. But his expression quickly turned to one of concern for Toreasa.

  “My father, the previous lord of Lamburt, was the one who bought her. I was absolutely stunned to learn that my own family would so flagrantly violate an international treaty.”

  Ariane shook her head. “So then, what happened to your father?”

  “He is currently confined to another section of the castle. When I found out he’d broken the law, I took over everything. It’s probably not proper to speak so casually about such a scandalous affair, but seeing as how you’re a messenger sent from my wife’s home country, I see no reason to hide the truth.”

  Petros looked troubled as he explained the events leading up to their marriage. Apparently, Toreasa had been brought to Lamburt approximately one year ago, and Petros’s father, Lundes, had purchased her from an underground slave market. When Petros discovered what Lundes had done, this began a power struggle between father and son, until Petros finally overthrew Lundes on the grounds that he had violated international law. From what I could tell, Petros had made no attempt to hide these events from the other nobles. Otherwise, it would have been quite difficult to keep Toreasa by his side.

  “So then…why did you two marry?” Ariane still looked puzzled.

  Petros stood from his seat, gesturing theatrically as he spoke. I wouldn’t have been at all surprised if he suddenly burst into song.

  “That’s quite simple! The moment I saw this enslaved woman, it was love at first sight! It was as if I’d finally met the person my heart was calling out to…”

  “Teehee! Oh, Petros…”

  Toreasa gave an adoring sigh as Petros continued to wax romantic, her cheeks flushing a deep shade of red. She reached out to take his hand. The elderly gentleman beamed from the back of the room. I couldn’t help but feel like I was part of some elaborate musical. Would I be the next to launch into soliloquy? But the two stars were in a world entirely of their own, seemingly unaware of the rest of us in the room.

  Ariane watched this all unfold with a look of astonishment. Then she shook her head, as if returning to herself. When she spoke, her voice was strained.

  “And you’re okay with all of this?”

  She must have been worried at the thought of another elf living among humans. Had we not already met Carcy, I’m sure she would have been downright distraught. The differences between species ran even deeper than I’d known.

  For example, there was a huge disparity in the lifespans of the husband and wife that sat before me. If I recalled correctly, elves lived for something like 400 years. Petros, on the other hand, would be extremely lucky to reach one hundred. Actually, considering the barbaric state of medicine in this world, making it to the age of sixty would probably be impressive. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Petros would almost certainly pass away first. Was that part of what Ariane was getting at? Surely Petros and Toreasa had already considered this…

  As I watched the two of them stare into each other’s eyes, I knew how Toreasa would answer Ariane’s question.

  “Of course. This is the life I chose.”

  Ariane still looked troubled by all this, but she also seemed to accept Toreasa’s response.

  “I see. Well, if you’re happy, then there’s nothing more for me to say. It would be my honor to pass a message along to your parents or family, if you’d like. Where do they live?”

  “I’m from the village of Millest.”

  Ariane repeated the name, as if trying to remember where she’d heard it before. “Mill…est. Millest combined with several other villages bordering on human settlements to form one large village. It no longer exists.”

  That was right. I recalled Ariane’s mother, Glenys, telling me something similar.

  Toreasa seemed taken aback by this. Sensing her sadness, Ariane changed the subject.

  “Lord Petros, you said your father was confined to the castle. But what became of the slave market?”

  Petros crossed his arms and frowned. “Yes, well…the main people involved in the underground slave markets have already been punished. However, many of the slavers escaped our raid and made their way outside the town walls. Some have even set themselves up as bandits. It’s a mess I’m still dealing with.”

  Petros’s story reminded me of the group we’d encountered attacking the young mercenaries. Ariane turned back to look at me, as if thinking the same thing.

  “Just yesterday, we ran across a group of young mercenaries who managed to defeat and tie up several bandits.”

  Petros nodded. “I received a report that around a dozen men had been captured. That still only puts us at about half of those we’re looking for though.” He let out a loud sigh and slumped deeper into his chair.

  Toreasa leaned over and whispered something in his ear. His face brightened in surprise and he nodded firmly before sitting up straight as an arrow.

  “I have something related that I would like to discuss with you. Actually, I have a favor to ask of you.”

  “Wait,” Toreasa cut in. Her face was serious as she turned toward us. “This is my request, so I would like to be the one to ask.” She lowered her voice. “I would like you to find someone for me.”

  Ariane perked up, suddenly interested.

  “Perhaps it’s unreasonable for me to ask something like this, but since you two have come so far just for me, I hope you’ll consider it.”

  Toreasa looked at Ariane hopefully. Her green eyes brimmed.

  Ariane returned Toreasa’s gaze. “Who do you want us to look for?” She sounded suspicious yet willing to hear the other woman out.

  “When I was first brought here, a chambermaid told Petros about what his father was up to. Her name is Frani Markham. She disappeared three days ago, and we have no idea where she may have gone.”

  Toreasa’s eyes implored Ariane for assistance.

  “And you owed a debt to this…Frani woman?”

  Toreasa responded with a single nod of her head. “I am truly indebted to her, of course, but she was
also my very first friend when I came to Lamburt. When I was in hiding while Petros wrested power from his father, she took care of my every need. She was my confidante.”

  “Is it possible she was captured by the bandits you mentioned?”

  Petros immediately rejected Ariane’s theory. “We believe that that is incredibly unlikely. However, there have been many merchants coming to Lamburt from across the sea to buy enslaved criminals, and, in some cases, people have even been kidnapped and taken away on their ships.”

  The face of the whimsical bard, who had only moments ago professed his love for Toreasa, had taken on the somber bearing of a lord.

  “I don’t understand humans. Enslaving elves isn’t enough? Now you enslave your own people?”

  Toreasa nodded her agreement with Ariane.

  Being the only human at the table—or so he thought—Petros could offer nothing but an uncomfortable smile in response.

  “And is it your belief, Lord Petros, that the chambermaid was taken by one of these kidnappers?”

  Petros nodded, wearily.

  “That’s what I assume. With the underground slave markets driven out, the town is in chaos. Various gangs are vying for power, going so far as to drag merchants from across the ocean into the fray. This is all my fault of course. I may have overthrown my father, but I still don’t have full command of all our forces yet, which has hindered our ability to look for Frani. Toreasa wanted to conduct a search on her own, but the situation in town is too dangerous for me to allow that.”

  If this Frani had been abducted by kidnappers from another country, they would have to leave Lamburt by ship, which suggested one obvious place to look.

  “If you know people are being kidnapped and exported through the port, what’s stopping you from inspecting each ship before it leaves?”

  Assuming she actually had been kidnapped, this seemed like the easiest way to find her. Unless she’d already been taken across the ocean.