Romanoff Dukedom: The Valk League (4)

"They only call us when they deem it convenient. These knights are just frightened of being robbed of their imaginary glory." Herkel said with a sneer, crossing his arms to assume his usual posture.

Ius hardly gave the other five a look, busy on preserving the serenity of his limited space. His silence prompted Fluger to throw their leader a glance.

"Ius, what should we do?" Fluger queried, glowering at Ius to urge him to reply.

heaving a deep sigh for the uncountable time in the day, Ius then gave them his opinion.

"Yes, they are the Orschettas. Yesterday, I was given one hour to interrogate them. Though, I can't claim that it was a productive use of my time."

His statement garnered the attention of his companions. They all anticipatedly awaited his next words. They were curious about how the interrogation went, considering it was rare for the knights to allow them to talk to the prisoners.

"The reason why they stormed through the gates of the capital was to arrest the runaway currently hiding somewhere here. They said that the runaway was one that could affect the balance of power within their clan. They took off with a highly valued item. I think it was a 400-year old treasure."

"A runaway who had stolen a treasure?" Fluger reiterated, the real circumstances of the case catching him off his guard.

There were a plethora of beast clans that refused to be under the rule of Atreschivel. It was mainly for the reason that most of them weren't of noble descent. Though it was not being done in the open, the aristocratic society of the Empire intimidated those who were of lower status.

Prideful beasts wouldn't subject themselves to such treatment. Humans were in fact the weakest species in terms of physique, but they were the most influential. No matter how powerful a clan was, they would only be subdued by other clans who were under the control of humans.

The Emperor, for instance, could request for the assistance of the Romanoff Clan, one of the most powerful Wolf clans, to subdue a beast clan that was antagonizing his citizens.

Regarding the current case, the Orschettas was the most infamous snake clan. They were infamous for the simple reason that they were the most vocal in expressing their hatred for the Empire. They should be fully aware of the repercussions of committing an invasion, doubled with the fact that they escaped the prison.

That reasoning alone was enough to stamp the importance of the runaway and the treasure they stole. That's also why the identity of the runaway piqued the nerves of the young men.

"Yes, to be more exact, a criminal who broke out of their clan's prison. Based on the Orschetta clan elder's descriptions, I presume that they're trying to catch a man." Ius stated as he crossed his legs.

He then leaned his back on the couch, closing his eyes to get a brief moment of relaxation.

At first, Ius wasn't planning on divulging the information he had gathered until the afternoon tea was served. However, the footman was taking a tad too long to return.

He couldn't possibly sit unceremoniously with the piercing gazes of his companions, leaving them hanging for answers, and hope to get a moment of repose.

Aaviren Brosch tilted his head to the side, lightly contemplating what Ius had just said. Once he had sorted out his thoughts, he locked gazes with the young Romanoff.

"Ius, if the Orschettas were that insistent on capturing the runaway, then they should've brought more people with them. Perchance, there will be more of the snake clan's people arriving at the capital within the next few days."

It stands to reason that Aaviren's words struck the minds of his companions. That was the conclusion they had all arrived at, yet didn't voice out in fear of it coming to fruition.

Ius merely nodded as a reply as he darted his eyes towards the door that had been opened. It was the footman who finally showed up after several minutes. He was holding a rectangular tray that carried a charming white ceramic tea set.

Upon the attendant's entrance, the group embraced a rather troubled silence.

The footman casually made his way to the circular glass table surrounded by the young men. Arriving beside the table, the servant adeptly arranged the ceramics on top, first putting a saucer in front of each of the six young men, then the teacups followed.

A stream with the hue of a faded gold came streaming out of the pot, allowing the Echinacea tea to drown the interior of the cups, as the footman carefully served the refreshments.

The instant that his task was over, the servant left the room in a hurry. He had disturbed the group's discussion longer than desired already.

Once the door was closed, Ius lifted his teacup to take a sip of the minty tea. His peers did the same, knowing that the tea will help them compose their jumbled thoughts.

As soon as he was done, Ivar Chroly cleared his throat. For a few seconds, he formulated what he wanted to say.

"So, despite the potentiality that there exists a dangerous criminal mousing around the capital, the sole focus of the Empire's knights is to recapture the Orschettas only? Are they not concerned for the safety of the citizens?" Ivar queried, though his tone was more of a given bewilderment.

"Oh!" Herkel exclaimed as if he had just received enlightenment, "The help they are requesting is for us to track this criminal down, right? Am I correct? Please tell me if I am."

Even though it was a tad obvious, the other young men, save for Ius, only realized the actuality of the favor when Herkel said it out loud. None of them were the least bit pleased with the nature of the request.

Ius scoffed as he lowered his tea, uttering, "They want to pass the responsibility to us, basically."