Chapter 137: A Legacy of Blood
Old Svenja’s words swept away the growing tension between Nyrielle and Ritchel like a bucket of ice water thrown on the floor. The entire council turned to stare at little lord Hauke, curious about what Old Svenja sensed in him.
"Old Svenja," Hauke said slowly, uncertain how he should speak of what happened. "I..."
"Stop," his father interrupted. "Old Svenja, I will accept your wisdom. Lady Nyrielle, do with these traitors as you please. So long as their horns never reach our ancestral caves, I no longer care."
"Wise indeed," Nyrielle said, leaning back on her icy throne with a slight nod of approval to the old woman.
"Everyone else, leave this place," Ritchel commanded. "Matters of the ancestors should not be spoken of lightly."
"My Lord," Commander Jannik said, standing and giving a salute to Ritchel. "I still have questions for Paulus. We don’t know why he betrayed us or...."
"It doesn’t matter why," Nyrielle interrupted. "It will do you no good to understand the motives of a traitor. He gave up the sons and daughters of others to preserve his own life. That is all you need to understand about him. Anything else that he says, any rationalization he presents, any noble justification of his actions is nothing more than a delusion manufactured by a desire to see himself as somehow righteous."
Hearing Nyrielle’s words, Ashlynn frowned. A person driven to preserve their own life could often be forgiven when they were forced against their will and from Torsten’s words, that had been the case, at least at the start. What happened after, however... she struggled to imagine anything that could justify it. Perhaps Nyrielle was right that it didn’t matter, but she understood Jannik’s desire to understand why a person he thought he knew well had betrayed them so badly.
For a moment, Ashlynn considered asking Zedya to help Jannik find his answers, but in the end, she said nothing. Matters had already escalated beyond individuals. The honor and pride of both the High Pass and the Vale of Mists were at stake in this hall tonight. Since Nyrielle had made her statement on the matter, it would reflect very poorly on both herself and Nyrielle if she offered a different opinion on the matter.