Death of the Black Falcon

"In the room of that Grafton family knight? How did he end up there?" Ian continued asking.

"I don't know, my lord."

"Then where is that knight?"

"He's gone, and so is his squire," Jannie said, shaking her head.

"I followed your orders and knocked on his door. The first time, there was no response, so I left for the time being. I stayed in the hall for a while, then went back and knocked again, but there was still no answer. I found that strange, so I gave the door a push and discovered it wasn't locked."

"And then you saw Black Falcon's corpse?"

"Yes."

"Did you see what killed him?"

"What?"

"What wounds were on Black Falcon's body?"

"I'm sorry, my lord. I was terrified and immediately screamed. Then some mercenaries rushed in to see what was happening. When they discovered the dead man was their boss, the whole place erupted. I didn't dare stay there any longer, so I hurried upstairs to report to you."

"Damn it." Ian spat. You were the first to find the body, then came straight to me. Isn't that just giving me suspicion for nothing?

"Put on your armor. Prepare for battle," Ian ordered.

Roar immediately shoved all the tables and stools against the door. Then the three of them helped one another and quickly finished putting on their full gear.

Listening carefully to the sounds outside, Ian could only hope that when Black Falcon's mercenaries came pounding on the door, Denzel would stand by his side as promised.

Yet they waited for a long time. Not only did Black Falcon's mercenaries fail to come smashing at the door, but the noise downstairs gradually faded away.

After a while, there was finally a knock at the door.

"Ser Lucian, Jannie, are you in there?"

"That's Aunt Martha's voice," Jannie whispered.

"Martha?" Ian called through the door, though he had already recognized her voice.

"Yes, it's me, Ser Lucian," Martha said.

"And us," came Denzel's voice.

"What's the situation outside?"

"Most of Boss Mogen's mercenaries have already left. Only four are still in the room where his body is."

"Open the door." Ian stepped back and gave the order.

"Could it be a trap?" Roar frowned.

"Most likely not. Even if it is, this door won't stop anyone." Ian shook his head. If Denzel and his Mercenary Company had sided with the other party as well, he had no chance of winning.

Roar obeyed, moving the table away from the door before pulling back the bolt.

Outside stood only Martha, Denzel, and Ser Glason. There was no crowd of mercenaries like Roar had feared.

"Ser Lucian." They all lowered their heads in greeting when they saw Ian.

"Have you caught the killer?" Ian asked.

"No."

"Then why did they leave?"

"Catching the killer is far less important than fighting over the position of the new boss, isn't it?" Ian recognized Gransen's voice. "Other than Dorian, who was an orphan adopted by Boss Mogen and always regarded him as a father, only he and a handful of men remained behind, swearing to avenge Boss Mogen. Everyone else left in a hurry."

"Then why did you stay?" Ian asked with a smile.

"I don't..." Gransen had intended to defend himself, but changed his mind before the words left his mouth. "You truly see through everything. I am indeed a member of the Black Falcon Mercenary Group.

"I didn't leave because I don't think I have what it takes to compete for the position of the Mercenary Group's new commander. Besides, I think following you offers better prospects than becoming its new commander.

"But I'm curious. How did you realize I belonged to the Black Falcon Mercenary Group?"

"Two reasons. First, your attitude toward the Blackfyre treasure."

"My attitude?"

"From the very beginning, you seemed certain that I had hired you for something extremely dangerous. At the time, you must have thought I had come for the Blackfyre treasure, didn't you?"

"Ah? You guessed that?" Gransen looked surprised before admitting it.

"So when Blackfyre treasure first came up, you didn't avoid the subject. At that time, you were probably trying to find out how much I knew.

"But when you suddenly realized I knew nothing at all about the Blackfyre treasure, you immediately changed your attitude and became reluctant to discuss it.

"That was because you didn't want another competitor here to fight over the Blackfyre treasure.

"If you truly had been pushed out of the search for the Ghost of White Wall City like Denzel, then you should have welcomed a new competitor like me, just as he did. Only then would you have had a chance to get a share of the spoils.

"But you didn't. That meant you were either a member of the Local Landed Knights Alliance or one of Black Falcon's mercenaries."

Gransen's throat went dry.

"The second reason was how you addressed Black Falcon."

"Everyone calls him Boss Mogen. He doesn't like the nickname Black Falcon, because the title Black Falcon belongs to the position of the Mercenary Group's commander, not to him personally." Gransen seemed to realize something and hurriedly explained.

"I know that. Martha and Jannie have always called him Boss Mogen too, but they are merely innkeepers. You're different. You're a knight. Since even Denzel has always called him Black Falcon, just as I do, why would you lower yourself by calling another man boss?"

"This... so you had already guessed I was one of Black Falcon's men? Then why did you still choose to hire me?" Gransen blurted out.

"Didn't I say so? I'm not interested in Blackfyre's treasure. Since Black Falcon and I had no conflict of interest, what did it matter whether you were his man? In my original plan, I intended to use a large number of his people anyway. But that plan has fallen through now. By the way, you'll still work for me, right?"

"I formally apologize for deceiving you before, Ser Lucian. If you are willing to forgive me, then my sword is yours."

"You have my forgiveness, Ser, but do not ever deceive me a second time." After saying that, Ian looked at Denzel.

"Oh? I never deceived you, Ser. I swear it in Queen Nymeria's name," the Dornishman said hurriedly.

Nymeria was the Warrior Queen of the Rhoynar. To escape the Valyrian Empire's invasion, she led the Rhoynar across the sea in ten thousand ships, traveling through many places before reaching Dorne. There, she married Mors Martell of the Dornishmen, and together they united the fractured lands of Dorne.

In the hearts of the Dornish, she held an exceptionally lofty position. Even the equal inheritance rights enjoyed by Dornish women stemmed from this Queen.

"I know you didn't lie, my friend." Ian nodded and looked at Martha. "When can the inn resume normal business?"

"Black Falcon's mercenaries smashed things up downstairs and frightened nearly all the guests away. But there are spare tables in the storeroom, so business can return to normal soon. But what should we do about those mercenaries who want to avenge Boss Mogen?"

"I can try to persuade them to leave." Ser Glason prepared to take on the task himself.

"Why make them leave? They're mercenaries too, aren't they?"

"They only want to avenge Boss Mogen now. They won't be willing to work for you," Gransen explained.

"But now..." Ian narrowed his eyes. "I've become interested in this so-called Blackfyre treasure as well."