"I, I have much I need to atone for after serving him," Hugo had said. "And that begins by telling this Court what I know."

Hugo drew a deep breath, and his hand found its way to the hilt of the curved dagger that had rarely left his side since the night Lord Jalal pressed into his hands on the eve of the Battle of Hanrahan.

After the battle, before he’d returned to the Vale of Mists, he’d tried to return the dagger to the Eldritch Lord, but Jalal had refused.

"What need do I have for a second blade?" Jalal had asked, gesturing to the stump that was all that remained of his arm after Loman’s Arrow of Judgment had nearly claimed his life. "The stars are there to guide us, young cub. My days of following the First Warrior are coming to an end," he said, tapping the hilt of the dagger with the tip of a claw. "Yours are just beginning."

"But, I, I’m not a warrior," Hugo protested. "I spent all night trying to stop people from fighting. A warrior would have..."

"A warrior has the strength to stand when others would flee," Jalal interrupted, tapping Hugo’s chest with the point of a claw. "Tonight, you stood. You fought with words instead of blades. What of it?"

"Strength will come later," the feline lord said, smiling as he gave Hugo a knowing look. "So long as you have the courage to stand, you have the heart of a warrior. Remember that, and the First Warrior will forever be your guide..."

Now, Hugo felt like anything but a warrior as he stood to tell his tale. He hadn’t felt like a warrior when he betrayed his father’s trust, listing out his crimes and revealing his secret ledgers to his cousin, Sybyll, and the people of Hanrahan. He didn’t feel like one now, as he prepared to betray Lord Owain’s trust, sharing the secrets of even greater crimes.

But as his fingers wrapped around the polished bone hilt of the knife, he felt the tiniest measure of strength in his heart. He could do this. He had to do this, and so he would. For Lady Ashlynn, for the people of Lothian... and, strange as it felt, for Lord Jalal.

"I’m not much of a warrior," he said softly. "But I’ll do my best."

Behind him, Sir Carwyn stepped forward, placing a hand on Hugo’s shoulder in a silent gesture of support. After facing the people of his village, telling them that he’d pledged to join with the Eldritch and the forces of the Vale of Mists under Dame Sybyll’s banner, he had an inkling of how hard this moment was for Hugo.

Now that Sybyll held the throne of Hanrahan, Hugo might not be one of Carwyn’s lords, but he treated him like he was nonetheless. They’d been through a great deal in a few short weeks, and both of them had changed tremendously because of it. Carwyn couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for Hugo to take a stand against his father the way he had, but he didn’t have to understand in order to do as a knight should and offer support to his lord.

"Thank you," Hugo said, nodding briefly to Carwyn before turning to face the assembled Lothian Court. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"This past spring," Hugo began. "Following the death of Sir Kaefin and Sir Broll, and after Sir Tommin left Lord Owain’s service to take up the sword of a Templar, Lord Owain put out the call for capable knights and lords to join his retinue. My father," he said, his voice catching slightly as he forced himself to be honest. "My father insisted that I take the position in order to earn a title of my own."

"I’m only a knight in name, by accident of birth," Hugo said. "But I have a good head for figures, and I studied hard in Keating. I know my way around ledgers and markets, logistics, and administration. I’m not like Sir Rain Aleese, who joined Lord Owain to fight by his side, but I like to think that I was skilled enough to be a useful Steward, even if I still have much to learn before serving as the Steward of a Marquis or Marchioness," he said, bowing his head slightly toward Ashlynn.

Next to him, there was a small motion as Peigi reached out to hold Tybal’s hand at the mention of her son’s name. Tybal’s hard expression softened for a moment, and he gently patted his wife’s hand, though his eyes were still as dark as storm clouds as he listened to Hugo’s tale.

The things he’d heard about Lord Owain tonight already left him deeply unsettled, and when he thought of Rain, people-pleasing, loyal-lackey Rain, who had always looked to his elder brother, Reynold, for guidance, he questioned the wisdom of sending the young man to find his own way following a lord like Owain.

Now, Tybal couldn’t help but worry about what kind of trouble Rain had gotten into during the months he followed Owain, and how that might affect the rest of his family.

"I wasn’t in Owain’s service for very long before we left the march to visit Count Rhys in Blackwell County," Hugo explained. "Count Rhys had promised to smooth the way for his son-in-law to meet with the Guild Masters of Blackwell. We were there to arrange passage for the Holy Warriors coming from across the sea, weapons, armor, transportation... It, it was important work," he said with a catch in his voice.

"It was work I was proud to do," Hugo continued. "I might not fight on the front lines, but if I could help the men who would, then this was my way to do it. I also wanted to help Lord Owain and Lady Ashlynn. We were visiting Lady Ashlynn’s home, after all, and I thought that we should bring back gifts to brighten her stay in the Summer Villa."

"Pfft," Owain snorted, though ne seemed to know better than to interrupt. Captain Albyn was still holding a knife to Sir Gilander’s throat, though he’d relaxed enough to allow the aging knight to sit, and the rest of the hall was so focused on Hugo’s ’testimony’ that interrupting him now would cost more than it was worth.

"Lord Owain showed little interest in the selection of gifts," Hugo said. "I asked him several times what kind of stones his lady preferred or what colors she favored, and he told me to use my own judgment. He told me anything tasteful would do."

"I didn’t understand then what I know now," Hugo said. "So far as Lord Owain knew, Lady Ashlynn was already dead. He would have been satisfied with anything so long as it maintained his image as a caring husband bringing home gifts for his pregnant wife. It didn’t matter what I bought, so long as it helped him continue the charade," Hugo said.

"But then, there were the other things he demanded of me in Blackwell," Hugo continued as his expression grew dark. "And those... I regret helping him with those almost as much as I regret helping him when we came home..."