Chapter 7: Cat 2
Opening his eyes, Will saw a bright sun, heralding the new day. He got out of bed, thanked the innkeeper and was about to leave when he said:
- If you need to get to the main residence of the royal family, you should go north. You will see a large building there.
Will nodded gratefully, but at the same time he was gripped by anxiety.
"How does he know where I need to go?"
Coming out of the inn, Will made his way decisively towards the royal residence where he believed the prince was.
As he got closer, Will saw that the residence was huge, with two smaller buildings on either side. However, he could not get inside because of the high iron walls and gates that surrounded the area. Will wanted to approach the guards at the gate and ask his question, but stopped, realizing that a simple conversation with the prince would not be enough.
He needed to get close to the prince and get to know him better. But, as a normal man, he knew it would not be easy. Turned around, Will headed to the market to buy food and get more information about the royal family.
"You can ask the innkeeper."
Having set his goal for today, he continued on his way to the market.
Walking through the trade and looking at the goods, Will smilingly remembered a merchant who had sold him bread in exchange for information. As he continued to study the food, he was about to leave when he heard a cry:
- Stop him! He stole the bread!
Turning to the sound, Will saw a merchant who was chasing a boy holding bread in his hands and wearing an unusual bag on his head. With a quick reaction, Will overcame the distance between them and found himself in front of the boy. He could not understand how old he was and what he had planned.
Will and the boy froze in silence, looking at each other. Will approached slowly, holding his hands in front of him as if trying to calm him down. But the boy stepped back and said:
- Why does everyone say I'm bad?
When he heard these words, Will was stunned. He couldn't understand what they were talking about, but something had to be said.
- What do they say about you? he asked, trying not to scare the boy.
The boy, who had a bag with eye-holes on his head, brushed it in place and said:
- That I am the son of a bad man and must die.
Will was amazed by these words, but could not change anything. Now he had a lot to do and he could only ask:
- Why did you steal the bread?
- I didn't steal it, this merchant told me to return the bread without returning the money.
Will understood what the boy was talking about. Because of his reputation he could not deny anything, but his principles as a policeman did not allow this to go unnoticed.
Will, realizing the complexity of the situation, could not stay away and decided to intervene in the conflict between the boy and the trader.
- Let's go right now and talk to the merchant so he doesn't say you're a thief, he suggested.
- No! I don't want you to be accused of helping a bad man.
The boy answered, and Will, understanding his fears, agreed.
- Okay, then wait here, all right? I'll go talk to this man.
He offered, and the boy nodded in agreement. He stood by the wall and waited for Will to return.
Looking at the boy, Will went to the market to find a baker. As he walked through the market, he noticed that the trader was still doing his trade as if nothing had happened. Will approached him slowly, staring into his eyes. The Merchant saw him and smiled, but Will came closer, grabbed him by the collar, and with a wave of his fist said:
- If you ever accuse this boy of stealing again, I'll hit you, got it?
Frightened of such a rush, the trader nodded quickly, indicating that he realized his threat. Seeing that his words had reached the merchant, Will, not holding back, struck him, and he nearly fell on his back, but stood still. His eyes were filled with surprise and anger at Will, he wanted to say something, but then he closed his mouth abruptly, sat down on a chair and lowered his head.
Will, seeing that the merchant had said nothing, was surprised that he had made no attempt to resist. But, having accepted it, he turned and went to the boy. On the way to the boy, he saw the same cat who was sitting and staring at Will. Ignoring him, he continued his journey.
When he arrived, Will found the boy was waiting for him. As he got closer, he said:
- I took him down, and he won't cheat you anymore.
- Thank you.
The boy responded with gratitude, bowing slightly. Will, standing in front of him, felt a little awkward at such a show of appreciation. Having made sure that everything was in order, he asked:
- What's your name?
The boy, who was about to leave, turned around and said:
-Vincent, Vincent Roland.
- Nice to meet you, Vincent, my name is Will, Will Grace
Upon meeting each other, Vincent turned and headed east. Will, looking at him, wondered about the boy's name.
"We'll have to find out about the Roland family".
He thought, and turned to the side of the inn.
***
When Will entered the inn, he saw that the innkeeper was talking to a tall man. Will waited for them to finish their conversation, and noticed a man walking toward the hallway with the rooms.
Will approached the innkeeper and asked him a question:
-You don't happen to know the Roland family?
Upon hearing Will's question, the innkeeper gave him a suspicious look, as if to make it clear that this is not the best topic for conversation. However, despite this, he still replied:
- It was a family once a Viscount. Unfortunately, during the war they betrayed the king by colluding with the Larro Empire.
The innkeeper rubbed off the jar and looked around the room as if to see if anyone was listening. When he saw that they were alone, he continued:
- After the Roland's actions were revealed, almost the entire family was sentenced to death. But there are those who have avoided this fate.
When the innkeeper had finished his speech, he began to look around the room again, and after listening to the innkeeper, Will decided to ask another question:
- How can you talk to the fourth prince?
The innkeeper, noticing Will's interest, gasped as if tired of such questions, but still decided to answer:
- Recently I heard that princes require servants. You can try yourself in this role.
When he finished speaking, the innkeeper waved, showing that he no longer wanted to answer questions. Will got his answers and went to his room.
As he approached the door, he felt a tremor running through his body. Not knowing why, he opened the door to his room. But when he did, he saw that there was a man who had only recently spoken to the innkeeper, and he looked at him with a questioning look, as if to ask: «What are you doing here?»
Will and the man stood there, looking at each other, unable to understand what was going on. Will wanted to say something, but the man quickly interrupted him.
-Is this room four?
Will shook his head, showing that it was the wrong room. The man, who had looked at Will in a confused way before, looked at him and bowed:
- Sorry, I confused your room with mine.
Will didn't notice and went to the table to put his backpack on it. However, when he was about to get his food out of it, the backpack fell over and things were pouring out. Will bent down to lift what fell on the floor, but the man managed to grab it. Handing the object to Will, he said:
-Here, this looks like a pendant, it looks like...
But, stopping at the margin, the man stared with surprise at the pendant, which represented an image of a fox. Taking his breath, he asked Will:
-Where did you get this?
Will noticed that the man was very surprised and looked at him with suspicion. He clearly suspected the boy of something bad, and Will had no choice but to tell him everything.
- I found this pendant near a burning carriage, not far from the city, on the way from Valios village,' said Will.
And when he had laid out all that he knew, the young man looked at the man. He was still looking at him with suspicion, but after thinking about Will's words, he breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the pendant.
- That's all that's left of her, he said quietly.
Suddenly the man, as if remembering something, turned sharply to Will and asked:
-What was the coat of arms on the carriage?
Will, hearing the question, tried to recall what was depicted on the carriage. Because of the fire and burnt parts he could see only some elements of the coat of arms. After careful consideration, he said:
- I may be wrong, I won't be able to describe the coat of arms exactly because some parts of it are burned. But I do remember that there was a bear on it.
The man, having received his answer, nodded, showing that he understood. After a brief pause, he bowed and introduced himself to Will.
- My name is Renard Wolpe, I was a count, but after the betrayal of the Roeland viceroyalty who was my deputy, I lost all my power. I was deprived of all my titles and territories as a punishment for not being able to control the Viscount. I now live in the capital.
- Then why are you staying at this inn?
Renar looked at Will in silence and, with a slight smile, replied:
-I saw you hit a merchant who often cheats or takes advantage of the newcomers. But the most important thing I noticed is your unusual appearance for these places. I remember one family that had a similar appearance, and I felt like I needed to make sure of it.
Will tried not to attract attention, but it seems to have been unsuccessful, and Renard noticed him. However, it seemed strange to him that Renard had mentioned a family similar to him and he asked:
-What kind of family is this?
Will was eager to answer his question, but Renard did not hurry with it. He studied the pendant he was holding. At last, having lost interest in his class, he turned his gaze to Will.
- The Margrave family of Grace, which was completely destroyed at the end of the war.
Will, staring into Renard's eyes, was convinced of his sincerity. He took a step back and uncapped himself. Against the background of the window from which the sunlight poured, his snow-white hair seemed glowing. Bowing to Renar, he introduced himself.
-My name is Will Grace.