Chapter 293 - Army hearings
Scarlett frowned.
Her gaze lifted to the vast expanse of blue sky above, the sun’s bright rays blinding as they filtered through a few wispy clouds. It was hard to believe all of this wasn’t real, but going by what The Gentleman told her, it had to be fake one way or another. Interstitial spaces usually weren’t as big as they appeared to be.
Not that she was entirely sure if she could consider this an interstitial space. The Gentleman had described it as a crossroads between realms — a nexus of possibilities and potentialities. How the scene before her fit that lofty description was beyond her understanding. Still, as far as she knew, the man wasn’t one to lie.
Then again, he wasn’t exactly reliable either. It was hard to trust someone whose motives and limits were a mystery. He often acted as if some unseen force barred him from fully involving himself in worldly matters, but it was clear things weren’t that simple. Not only had he admitted to revealing Rosa’s existence to the Blazes, but he had also seemingly considered helping Rosa back in Bridgespell when Scarlett had asked him to.
If that wasn’t involvement, what was?
Frankly, it annoyed her. If it weren’t for the fact that she knew he wasn’t outright hostile—and that he had helped her before, granting her access to Freymeadow and aiding her preparations for entering Beld Thylelion—she wouldn’t have wanted anything to do with him. If there was one thing her dealings with him had taught her, it was that he was an unpredictable factor disguised as an inconsequential presence.
One of these days, she really needed to get to the bottom of what truly guided his actions. His cryptic comment about Empress ‘joining his delusion’ had stuck with her. What exactly had he meant by that? Nothing she knew about him—either from her encounters or from the game—offered a clear explanation that fit.
After a few minutes of sitting in silence, listening to the faint, unfamiliar calls of a bird hiding somewhere nearby, Scarlett sighed softly and stood. She scanned the courtyard, her eyes lingering on the overgrown walkways and greenery, before retracing her steps along the same path she’d come from.
The Gentleman hadn’t told her how to leave this place, which she assumed meant such knowledge wasn’t necessary.
At the end of the courtyard, she paused, narrowing her eyes as she looked at the passage she was sure she had exited with Empress earlier. It had changed. Before, the hallway had been old and worn, its carpets frayed and the air heavy. Now, the carpets were plush, the walls immaculate, and the atmosphere somehow lighter.
She glanced back at the courtyard, only to find that it, too, had transformed. Gone were the overgrown walkways and the lone willow tree at its center. In their place was a pristine expanse of stone columns and statues, lined up in neat, gleaming rows.
…Shifting environments weren’t exactly new to Scarlett at this point, but she wondered what it meant in this place specifically.