White Ravens: Advent of War

Unseemly Ally

The following morning, Corselia and Tatiana set out for Melissa McBride's manor. Sigil sent them a letter signed under "Liam Valor's" initials. And Tatiana was not the least bit happy about Sigil's faux name.

Melissa's manor was located in the western part of New Valeria. It was a gated mansion with several guards stationed outside. It seemed that the McBrides really were a prominent family. At the gate, Corselia was spoke to one of the guards regarding their intention to speak to Melissa. She told him to tell Melissa that they were sent by Liam Valor, and the guard immediately obliged.

A few minutes later, the guard returned and told his colleagues to let Corselia and Tatiana in.

Inside, there was an outer garden and a path to the courtyard just outside the main house. There was also a fountain in the middle of the courtyard, and several servants busy with their tasks. Most of their servants seemed to women, and only the guardsmen were male.

At the steps leading into the main house, there was a hale old man waiting for them. The man introduced himself as Basil, Lady Melissa's personal butler. He invited Corselia and Tatiana into the backyard, where Melissa was waiting for them.

She was having tea at a dainty gazebo, and when she saw Corselia and Tatiana, she was delighted.

"Please, have a seat," Melissa said to them.

Tatiana hid her displeasure and sat across Melissa, while Corselia sat next to her. Melissa offered them refreshments, which they both accepted, albeit Tatiana was reluctant to do so. However, they had to show gratitude towards her, since they were about to ask for a favor.

After telling Melissa that they were Liam's friends, Corselia went straight to the point. "Lady McBride, we wanted to ask you if you knew anything about the underground tunnels that lead into the city's underground prison."

Melissa pondered for a moment, and pounded her right hand over her left palm. "Hold on. Basil, can you come over here for a moment?"

Earlier, Corselia didn't notice that Basil had a fairly muscular figure. She gauged that he might not be just an ordinary old man. Perhaps he also acted as Melissa's personal bodyguard in a pinch.

Once Basil had reached them, Melissa asked, "Do you have any knowledge of the city's underground pathways? I think may have read about them in my father's study, but I can't, for the life of me, remember where it was exactly located."

Basil nodded at once and replied, "There are at least four pathways leading into the city, each one is connected into four vantage points, ma'am, although... I'm not sure we could discuss such sensitive information in front of strangers, Madame." He glanced at Corselia and Tatiana warily as he said those words.

Tatiana was visibly displeased, but before she could voice out her grievance, Corselia decided that it would be better to admit who they were. She told Melissa that they were here to help Lelei Merces escape her execution, and that their best chance of helping Lelei was by cutting off her prison wagon at the underground pathways.

Surprisingly, Melissa was not the least bit shocked. "Liam Valor isn't really his name, is it?" she asked.

Corselia was taken aback by the question at first, but then she remembered who Melissa was talking about. "I'm afraid not, milady. I can't tell you his true name, but I assure you, he is an honorable man. We really are here to save Lady Merces. We all believe that she and her revolution are the key to finally putting an end to this meaningless war."

Basil's initial vigilance had now been replaced by awe. It seemed that his years of serving under the McBride family had taught him who to trust, and who to be wary of.

Similarly, Melissa wasn't antagonistic of Corselia and Tatiana, so she asked Basil to tell them where the pathways were.

"The first pathway is connected to the castle's throne room. It is normally used as an escape route for the royal family, and other than the royal family itself, nobody knows where it leads. The second pathway is connected to a city to the east of New Valeria called Mantra. The pathway was built in order to secure a safe route between both cities in cases of crises, but it hasn't been used in years. There is a third pathway connecting New Valeria past the mountains and into Hadar. I've seen it for myself, but I doubt the good Lady Merces would be transported through that pathway," Basil explained.

"And why is that?" asked Tatiana.

Basil fell silent for a moment before he answered, "The pathway has long been abandoned, and it is now crawling with monsters and foul beasts."

"Hold on, you mentioned that there's four pathways, right? Where's the fourth?" Corselia asked with concern.

Melissa cleared her throat to catch everyone's attention. "The fourth pathway is one that nobles use as an escape route. Coincidentally, it leads to the southern grasslands near Fort Vestige. If Lady Merces would be transported, that's the pathway they'll take."

Corselia's and Tatiana's eyes lit up. Melissa's information could be pivotal to Lelei's rescue. "Lady McBride, how can we ever repay you for this?" asked Corselia.

Melissa waved her hand in dismissal and chuckled. "Goodness, there's no need! All I want is to see Lady Merces unharmed." Then, she paused for a moment before she continued, "But I will hold you to that favor someday. I hope I can count on you 'til then."

Corselia made a courtly bow, and replied, "You have my word, milady."

At midday, Corselia and Tatiana went back to the hotel to meet up with Sigil and Gust. However, they were nowhere to be found. Corselia went back to the room, saying that she needed to rest, but Tatiana set out to look for Sigil.

As she walked around the city, she found a nice little cafe. There, she saw Sigil enjoying a cup of coffee without a care in the world. Tatiana immediately sat across him, but he didn't even cast her a glance. It seemed that he was still a bit upset by what happened yesterday.

She ordered herself a cup of Earl Grey tea and a slice of strawberry shortcake, and told the waiter to charge Sigil for it, much to his chagrin. Once she had finished her food, she finally plucked up the courage to speak to him.

"I'm sorry for hitting you," she said. "Melissa seems like a lovely woman."

Sigil chuckled and shook his head. "Not as lovely as you."

Tatiana blushed when she heard that. She immediately turned away from him, fearing that he would notice. Then, she said, "It's been a while since we've had a calm day like this. It's hard to believe we're enjoying tea and coffee in Regalia's capital. But I do wish this wouldn't be the last."

This time, Sigil looked at her intently. "As much as I hate to say this, I believe in Rune's vision. I believe in what we're doing, and I'm certain that at some point in time, we'll be able to come back to this city and have slow, peaceful days like this one again."

He held her hand which was on the table, and smiled. "And one day, you'll be able to take your sister on a cruise. We'll take her."

Tatiana smiled back at him and said nothing.

Back at the hotel, Corselia and Gust were already preparing weapons, salves, tonics, and food for their arduous task of retrieving Lelei Merces. It took them thirty minutes to finish everything, but the other two still hadn't returned to the room.

For some reason, Gust had a hunch that something had gone wrong. He peered through the hotel room's window and noticed that there was a commotion at the town square. He and Corselia immediately went to the square, and there, they found Sigil and Tatiana locked in a standoff against Kael and his personal retinue.

The central square of the city had been thrown into disarray, and several soldiers had already arrived to break up the fight. However, Kael told them that he recognized Sigil and Tatiana to be Regalians.

Corselia was about to intervene, but Gust stopped her. "Don't. If we rush in there, there will be no one to save them."

"Are you saying we should just stand here and watch them get arrested? They'll be hung! Spies are publicly executed in Regalia," Corselia complained.

Gust gnashed his teeth. It seemed that this time, he had no idea what to do. "If only Yelena were here instead of me, she could save them. Damn it!"

While they were figuring out how to save Sigil and Tatiana, a beautiful aristocrat intervened. Corselia and Gust recognized her to be Melissa, and she was accompanied by Basil, and another man who resembled Melissa. This middle-aged man was dressed in blue noble garbs, and he exuded a daunting presence.

The soldiers who came to break up the fight immediately saluted at him when they saw him, but Kael and his men did not.

"What's going on here, Kael?" said the nobleman.

Kael grunted and clicked his tongue. "Piss off, Anderson. This is none of your business!"

Anderson shook his head disapprovingly. "Oh, but it is! You see, that man over there—the one you're harassing? His name is Liam Valor, and she's my beloved daughter's friend. Furthermore, any and all public commotions within the city of New Valeria are under my jurisdiction."

He then walked towards Kael, standing face to face with him, and added, "Or would you like me to exercise my capability to arrest you along with Liam and his companion?"

Despite Kael being a whole head taller than Anderson, the latter still managed to intimidate the former. Kael clicked his tongue once more and spat on the ground. "You're making a big mistake here, Anderson. You're protecting Regalians," he whispered.

"Leave," Anderson whispered back.

Feeling defeated, Kael ordered his men to leave. And soon, Anderson told the soldiers to disperse as well. Afterwards, he approached Sigil and Tatiana. During this time, Gust and Corselia followed them.

Once they had all gathered together, Anderson invited the four of them back to his manor. It seemed that Melissa had made her father aware of Sigil's intention to help lady Merces.

Despite their reluctance to accept Anderson's invitation, Sigil realized that this man was their only option to survive in this city.