Elias descended the final step with deliberate grace as if he had all the time in the world. The cold look of the knights did not make him flinch as Velmore had expected. He scratched his neck uneasily when Elias laughed.
A low, cold, infuriating laugh that curled around Velmore's gut like a sneering whisper. Why! Why was this man still so confident? No, he must be faking it.
"This is your last laugh, Elias. Tonight, you will be ruined." Velmore hissed as his eyes narrowed and he glared at Elias with hatred.
"You think you have the power to ruin me, Velmore?" Elias said in a smooth voice full of mockery, "You have brought a borrowed sword and mistaken it for your own strength."
Velmore's face twisted. "Watch your tongue, Crestford!"
But before his fury could ignite fully, the royal official stepped forward with an outstretched arm, silencing him with quiet authority.
"I will handle this, Lord Velmore."
Turning to Elias, the official adjusted the seal pinned to his chest, his voice firm but diplomatic. "Lord Elias Crestford, I am here on behalf of the Crown. There is a formal complaint lodged against you regarding the use of forbidden magic. We are instructed to bring you for questioning. You are to cooperate."
For a moment, Elias said nothing. The torches cast flickering shadows across his face, but his dark eyes were still, unreadable. He studied the official with a quiet, unsettling intensity. The silence stretched just long enough to make the knights tighten their grips on their swords.
Velmore shifted eagerly, waiting for resistance, for a refusal or rebellion. any excuse to step in and force Elias to the ground and kill him this instant.
But then, Elias smiled
"…Very well," Elias said calmly, folding his hands behind his back. "I will cooperate."
The official blinked, momentarily caught off guard.
Elias continued in a voice as composed as if he were discussing the weather. "However, I insist that we depart at dawn. It is late, and the roads beyond the forest are not safe under the night sky. My men will prepare guest quarters for your stay. You are welcome to inspect any part of my estate in the meantime."
The official frowned, clearly weighing the offer.
Velmore immediately stepped forward, barking, "Don't listen to him! This is just another one of his games. He's stalling for time."
"I said," the official cut in coldly, "I will handle this."
Velmore's mouth snapped shut, trembling with fury but there was nothing he could do.
Turning back to Elias, the official gave a slow nod. "Very well. We will leave at first light. But remember, Lord Crestford, you are not to leave the estate grounds. Any attempt to flee will be seen as an admission of guilt."
Elias bowed slightly, as though he were hosting a noble guest instead of facing arrest. "I Understood my duties well."
One of the knights leaned closer to the official. "Are you sure, sir?"
The official murmured low, "He is hiding something. I want to see this place tonight before we take him in."
He looked to Elias again. "Prepare the guest rooms. I hope you do not mind us moving around at night, we will be watching."
Elias inclined his head in perfect calm. "Of course. As will I."
He turned with his cloak swishing behind him as he strode back up the steps of his manor, leaving behind only the soft echo of his footsteps and a thick silence that even Velmore dared not break.
Velmore clenched his fists. His eyes blazed with suspicion, hatred, and worst of all, doubt.
Why was he so calm? What was he planning?
And what if, just what if… there was something in that manor he doesn't want anyone to find?
Velmore's head snapped toward the official with a commanding look as if everyone there was to obey his command.
"Search the estate! Now! He is hiding something, I am certain of it!"
The official's jaw tightened. His expression betrayed the faintest flicker of irritation, the kind reserved for a child who had spoken out of turn one too many times. He turned slowly, deliberately, and fixed Velmore with a look that could freeze steel.
"I believe I told you once already, Lord Velmore," he said, each word clipped, "I will handle this."
But Velmore would not relent. His eyes burned with wild urgency as he gestured up at the looming manor. "You are blind if you can't see it! He is weaving a trap around us all. If you don't act now, you'll regret it."
A subtle glance from the official was all it took. The knights at his side moved without hesitation. Two stepped in, gripping Velmore's arms hard enough to make him stumble back.
"What are you? Unhand me!" Velmore barked, struggling violently, but the men tightened their hold and pulled him away from the official's path.
The official barely looked at him as he spoke, voice low and cold. "Enough. You are not in command here. Keep your tongue, or I will have it silenced."
Velmore's face twisted in outrage. "You fools! You don't understand! That man is a serpent! He will strike the moment you turn away!" His voice rose, raw and frantic, but the knights dragged him further back, ignoring his protests as though he were no more than a disruptive drunk in a tavern.
The official exhaled through his nose, the faintest sigh of exasperation. He adjusted his cloak and lifted his chin toward the looming manor. His eyes narrowed with suspicion, but his voice carried the calm authority of a man who refused to be rushed.
"Let him shout," he murmured to the nearest knight, who nodded sharply. "The louder he screams, the less he hears."
Velmore thrashed once more, his heels scraping against the stone as the knights hauled him aside. His voice echoed into the night, hoarse with desperation.
"You will regret this! You will regret letting him walk free even for a night!"
The official's gaze lingered on the dark windows above, where Elias had vanished. The torches cast long shadows across the estate walls, and the wind carried the faint creak of shutters in the silence.
"Yes…" the official whispered almost to himself, his hand resting on the hilt at his side. "We will see what Lord Crestford hides in his house of silence."