Chapter 147: The Fate of Traitors
When Zedya arrived outside the icy prison cell that held Paulus and Torsten she was both surprised and slightly dismayed to find an exhausted-looking Captain Lennart standing outside the prison.
The Frost Walkers had sent their own guards, of course, and from the look of the men sent by Lord Ritchel, they were refreshed and had only recently come on shift. By contrast, the bearish captain’s rounded ears drooped with fatigue, and his relaxed posture leaning against the wall concealed how much difficulty he was having just standing at the post he’d assigned himself.
"Little Lenny," Zedya said, gliding across the floor to him before reaching up to cup his cheek. "What are you still doing here? These men won’t escape. It would have been fine to allow one of the wagon drivers or someone else to watch and report if my instructions weren’t followed."
"Hm, hm," Lennart could only chuckle in response. Among all the soldiers in Nyrielle’s army, the number of people who would still call him ’Lenny’ likely amounted to no more than five. But before Nyrielle’s progeny, none of them could escape their embarrassing youth.
"Isn’t it the oath, Madame Zedya?" Lennart said lightly, pushing off the wall and saluting respectfully. "When she sleeps, we carry her will. Anyone could watch, but if one of those Elders came to cause trouble, could any wagon driver stand up to represent Lady Nyrielle’s will?"
"And?" Zedya asked lightly, her amethyst eyes moist with concern. He had lost a soldier but instead of taking the time to grieve, he was standing guard over their captives. If this wasn’t punishing himself, she couldn’t think of any other reason for him to be here. Or perhaps, as a good commander should, he was standing here so others under his command could grieve. "Did anyone come to cause trouble?"
"He didn’t cause trouble," the bearish soldier said with a shake of his head. "But Commander Jannik still wanted to ask questions of Elder Paulus. He wanted to understand why his old friend would betray them so badly. I gather that Jannik lost a nephew to Paulus’s schemes a few years ago."
"Then take a message to him," Zedya said, turning her gaze to the prisoners. "Tell him that Paulus believed that fewer people would die this way than if he let the Tuscans rampage without control. Tell him that Paulus wanted to choose the most ’expendable’ people in his nation so they didn’t lose any treasures like his own grandson. Tell him that Paulus thought he would be remembered as a great man one day when people understood that this was better than fighting the Tuscans openly."
Beside them, the Frost Walkers standing guard all stared open-mouthed at Zedya’s words. None of them had been present for the explosive revelations the night before and they had only half believed what they had been told when they started their shift this evening.