Elizabeth did not allow them to return to the mansion afterwards, stating that the mood in there was already too low, which would make them unpredictable.
"For now, we will spend the night in an inn that was already paid for by the detective. According to him, they might seek to exact revenge on the three of you, so he wants you to be safe. A carriage will pick us up from there tomorrow"
The carriage did not take long to arrive, as Hal and his friends soon found themselves driving away from the mansion they had spent almost three months living in
Lyrrah had fallen asleep once again, and Elizabeth had chosen to sit outside with the carriage's driver, leaving only Tai and Hal awake in the carriage.
"I'm going to miss this place. We may have only known it for a few months, but I still couldn't help but get attached, and the fact that they hate us now rubs salt in my wounds"
Hal turned his eyes to look at Tai, who wore a face of disappointment and guilt. He looked for words to reply to his friend, but found his mind currently blank, unwilling to think about their situation.
"Umm, Hal, I've been wondering, remember how Duke Walter asked how the detective became the duke of Malentei without being from a high-ranking royal lineage?"
Hal knew Tai was trying to cheer him up, and so he had two options: he could accept his friend's attempts or stay in his gloomy state.
The answer flew into his mind. He liked to think of himself as a logical person, who wouldn't dwell on such matters like Lyrrah said; they only had their duke because of them, yet they turned their backs on them at the moment something went wrong.
But still, he could bring himself to hate them; he turned to Tai and tried his best to pull off his curious expression and hide his depressed expression.
"Yeah, actually, I've been wondering about the very same thing"
And there was Tai, the first person he had met on this journey and the one he had gone through so much with; in fact, he wouldn't even be here without him, so he made his choice, for his friend, he would accept the attempt to cheer him up
Tai smiled at seeing Hal's curious face surface as he stroked his chin with a proud look on his face
They were both wearing a mask to make the other feel better, and who cared, at least he knew they didn't
"I actually know how, so guess what, just like the High Court Prime Minister, Count, the duke of Malentei is chosen from the butlers residing within the area, the only difference is that they are selected by the king, while the Duke of Malentei is chosen by the nobles living in Malentei"
Hal stroked his chin, though more gently than Tai, as a sigh slowly escaped his lips
"Is this because there are already so many high-ranking nobles in the capital that putting them under the power of some random family can incite devious thoughts?"
Tai nodded, still keeping his façade of pride.
"Yeah, but only high-ranking nobles can be voted for, and they keep the role for about six years, though. There is a law that states that if the current duke dies before his term is over, then the king can choose whoever he chooses, even commonfolk"
Hal felt something familiar about this system of handling power. As of late, he was unable to remember anything from the other world; it left him distressed, but he was expecting it to happen sooner or later.
"That's understandable, the King wants the cult put to a stop, so once you think about it, putting all the resources behind the detective wouldn't be such a far-fetched idea, though I still find it stupid and made on impulse"
Tai's face turned to shock as soon as those words left Hal's lips. He put his index finger on his lips in an attempt to make Hal keep quiet.
"You shouldn't say such words about the king, you know, or you might find your head on a guillotine"
Tai's facial expression at the current moment almost made Hal laugh, but he controlled himself as Tai now looked at him with a strange expression. There was silence between them until the two boys broke out into laughter.
Before the laughter subsided and the two fell silent once more
"Thanks for this, Tai"
Tai nodded
"It's fine, I think I secretly needed this conversation too"
The carriage suddenly came to a stop, causing Lyrrah to shift and fall on Tai's lap, causing the young swordman to almost jump as his face turned red
The carriage door opened as Elizabeth gestured for them to follow. Hal quickly got up and walked towards the door
He turned back after realising no one was following, only to see Tai trying to wake Lyrrah, who, no matter what he did, failed to wake up
"That's soul exhaustion for you. She tired herself out and maybe even did the most work, so I think you should carry her Tai"
Tai's eyes narrowed as he stared at Hal with a bit of indignation in his eyes
"Why don't you come and carry her, my dear friend Hal?"
Hal made himself look confused as he shrugged.
"First, she is on your lap. Second, you're more muscular. Lastly, because I believe in you"
Hal did not listen to further excuses as he hastened his steps and left Tai to deal with his Lyrrah problems.
He reached the entrance to the inn and looked up at its sign, which was lit up by crystals that read Riddler's Inn.
He made his way in and found Elizabeth, who threw a silver key that he reached out and grabbed. The key had a number engraved on it as Elizabeth's calm voice soon followed.
"That's you and Tai's room, so get to bed, we'll be travelling early tomorrow"
It didn't take him that long to find the room they were going to stay for the night, and for one, he was impressed. The place was lit by crystal bulbs, and the beds were of good quality with a finely painted wall that put all the inns he had ever seen in anime to shame.
He quickly picked up his bed and lay to rest, and as he did, the depression that had left slowly started to return, only for the door to burst open, and Tai ran in before quickly locking the door.
He was breathing was erratic as if he had run for his life
"Tai, what...happened?"
Tai turned to Hal with an angered look in his eye.
"Well, guess what, Lyrrah wasn't Lyrrah seemed to have gained some weight in her sleep, and I ended up commenting when I took her to their room and…"
"She heard all of it"
"Yeah, pretty much, so I had no other choice but to run for my life"
His legs failed him as he slipped into a sitting position, and before Hal knew it, he was close to laughter once more. He buried himself in his blanket and pretended to be asleep as he fought to retain the laughter that begged to be free
Though somewhere in the process of fighting laughter, Hal ended up drifting to sleep, a voice echoed in his ears. He tried to open his eyes, but found that he couldn't as the voice said to him
"The King will rise, and you shall be his slave"
Hal sprang awake and looked out the window to see a beautiful sunrise rise, but he found himself unable to enjoy it at the moment.
It did not take long after that for Elizabeth to come get them as she ordered them to get ready to travel to the capital, but for that entire morning, he found himself unable to forget the words that had woken him up that morning