Chapter 87: You’re not in your right mind, Lady Diana.

"Noble’s ward?" Dorin took another long sip from his mug, contemplating the question. "There’s always at least five rumors circulating in that place. And there’s always some random man who wasn’t even seen with one’s own eyes. Which one do you need?"

"Tell me everything you know." Felix sat back in his chair. "I have no other place to be."

Corbin laughed from the end of the table, wiping off some foam from his mouth. "Tell you the easy one. Lord Halloway has been sneaking his second cousin into the manor via the servant’s gate every full moon."

"Second cousin," Felix echoed in a flat tone.

"At least, this is how they call her." Sorin winked.

"No one ever saw her face." Dorin said. "Cloaked woman, arriving late night and leaving by morning, before the servants can see her."

"That’s not the one I’m looking for." Felix rubbed his forehead.

"Alright, alright." Corbin gestured with his hand. "What about the ghostly carriage? It’s coming down Vesper Row every third night, without the driver or a horse, rolling right through and vanishing into thin air past the abandoned chapel."

"A carriage without a horse."

"Indeed. This is how three drunk men told me personally," Corbin stated completely seriously.

"I think that these three men were very drunk indeed."

"But this doesn’t mean that it’s not real."

Sorin bent closer to Felix, speaking in an almost whispering tone. "Want to hear something real? Lady Ashworth’s youngest son isn’t her real child. The rumor is that she bribed a traveling midwife to switch the babies, as hers was born sickly, and she did not want a weak heir on the estate."

"This is creepy." Felix frowned.

"Everything becomes darkness after that second gate." Dorin shrugged. "The rich man’s problems just come with additional decay built-in."

"And what about somebody being the source of trouble?" Felix leaned forward. "Not affairs, not secret babies. Somebody causing trouble, turning up in places, beating people up."

The three of them shared a look.

"You mean the phantom knight." Corbin spoke the words slowly, carefully.

Felix stood straight. "Phantom knight."

"A man in armor, appears without warning, mostly at night." Sorin nodded vigorously. "He threatens shopkeepers, beats up people that stand up to him. He’s supposed to be a disgraced soldier that returned to get his revenge on the nobility that exiled him."

"Other people say he’s cursed." Dorin continued. "The ghost of a knight that wears armor and can’t take it off, destined to roam free making trouble until somebody breaks the curse."

"That’s silly." Felix said.

"Everything seems silly until you meet the ghost at midnight," Corbin said. "My cousin says he saw the man’s eyes glowing from beneath the helmet."

"And your cousin was sober when he saw this glowing eyes?"

"...Possibly not entirely."

Felix gave a sigh and scratched at his face. "Does anyone have a name to go with this phantom knight, or is it just a story told in bars by drunks at the end of the night?"

"Morrow, they say." Sorin said casually, taking another drink.

Felix froze. "Morrow."

"Yeah, some knight family, serves a noble family or something. I don’t know anything else but the name’s tossed around." Sorin shrugged, oblivious to the change in Felix’s stance. "It’s probably nothing. Nobles love to blame each other for anything nasty, prevents the peasants from thinking about it."

"That’s an insight for you," Dorin said.

"I have my moments."

Corbin snapped his fingers. "And there’s this rumor going around about this noble’s whole household being quietly restricted, servants not allowed to speak on it, double guard presence at the gates. Nobody knows the reason for it."

"How restricted?" Felix inquired.

"It is unclear," Corbin said. "Some claim it is a discipline problem, other say that this restriction is connected to the phantom knight issue somehow, cleaning their record of this scandal till it passes by." Corbin shrugged. "Who knows. Half of what happens behind those gates does not go outside clear."

"You three really have no concrete information, do you?" Felix sighed. "All that is just people retelling made up stories to each other."

"Welcome to the Noble’s Ward," Dorin raised his mug. "Half of our town entertainment budget is built only on rumors which no one bothered to verify."

Corbin lifted his mug and joined. "To gossip. Much cheaper than the theater, much more entertaining."

Felix did not lift his, just looked into the mug, considering the one bit of information which might prove useful to him. *Morrow. This is the name people put to this phantom knight rumor. Not proof of anything yet, but it is a lead nonetheless.*

"You going to finish that?" Sorin nodded towards Felix’s mug which was still untouched.

"Take it," Felix said, sliding it towards Sorin as he was already standing. "I have somewhere to be."

"What? Where?" Corbin looked at him inquiringly. "We just started telling a story about the tax collector and goat—"

"I am not interested in this goat story," Felix said and left, leaving some money on the table.

...

"No, no. You keep saying this is all rumors, lies, but you haven’t shown me a single piece of proof." Diana’s voice cracked through the room, sharp enough to carry past the walls. "Why would I be kept locked in here like I’ve committed a crime?"

"The Duke doesn’t want you caught up in this." Hakimi kept his voice level, hands clasped tight behind his back. "I was also told not to step outside. Acting too openly right now would only fuel the rumors further."

"Or you’ve just been hiding this from me all along." Diana wasn’t calming down, her hands trembling at her sides. "Lady Diana this, Lady Diana that. You were just using me, weren’t you? Sneaking off behind my back, and I have no idea where you actually go, or who you actually see."

Hakimi’s head dropped slightly, and no answer came.

"I get it now." Her voice shook, half fury, half something closer to breaking. "This is all just your own deeds finally catching up to you. Who in their right mind spreads rumors like this about someone unless they’re not afraid of dying for it? Unless they’ve got nothing left to lose? Maybe you’ve been tormenting people for years, and someone finally snapped and did something you never accounted for. And now father’s covering for you, locking me away so I never find out what you’ve actually done."

She grabbed a fistful of his collar, knuckles white. "Say something! Why are you just standing there? Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me it’s all lies!"

Hakimi lifted his head slowly and met her eyes. "You’re not in your right mind, Lady Diana."

"I’m not in my right mind?" Diana shoved him back hard, putting distance between them. "Were you in your right mind when you did whatever it is you did?" She was breathing heavy now, chest rising and falling fast. "Don’t you ever speak to me again."

She turned and slammed the door shut behind her, spinning to press her back flat against it, eyes squeezed shut as hot tears finally broke free and ran down her face.