The wedding feast lasted until late into the night.
When the last guests left the palace, the lights along both sides of Chiyan City's main street were still burning.
The ceremonial officials had already escorted Wharton and Nina back to the earl's estate.
Linley was preparing to leave when a palace attendant hurried after him.
"Lord Linley, Her Majesty asks that you stay."
Linley stopped.
Doehring was right beside him.
"I'll wait for you outside the palace," Doehring said.
Linley nodded and followed the attendant down the corridor.
Joanne did not receive him in the main hall.
Only a few lamps burned in the side hall, and the food and wine had already been cleared from the table. Joanne stood alone by the window, holding a military report.
"Your Majesty," Linley said.
Joanne turned around.
The smile he had worn during the wedding feast was gone.
"Linley, there's something I had intended to wait until tomorrow to tell you."
"What is it?"
Joanne looked at him and hesitated.
"It's about Reynolds."
Linley's expression changed.
Ever since parting at the Ernst Institute, the four brothers had each taken different paths.
Yale had joined the Dawson Chamber of Commerce.
George had returned to the Yulan Empire and taken a government post.
Reynolds had followed the Dunstan Clan's rules and joined the O'Brien Empire's army.
Over the years, Linley had rarely seen Reynolds.
But through the letters Yale sent, he had always known that Fourth Brother was still in Southeast Province and had become a cavalry battalion commander in the Golden Flame Legion.
"What happened to Reynolds?" Linley stared at Joanne.
Joanne set the military report on the table.
"A few days ago, the Luo'ao Empire's army suddenly crossed the border."
"The cavalry battalion Reynolds commanded was patrolling south of Nier City. They were ambushed and outnumbered. Only a handful escaped to the outskirts of Nier City."
Linley said nothing.
The side hall was frighteningly quiet.
"Nier City's defenders fired arrows to support them, but the enemy was pursuing too closely." Joanne's voice was low. "Reynolds and the remaining soldiers never made it into the city."
Linley's fingers trembled slightly.
"What did you say?"
"Reynolds was killed in battle."
Five words.
Linley stood where he was, as though he had not understood.
The dormitory at the Ernst Institute suddenly appeared before his eyes.
When they first met, Reynolds had been a child barely over ten.
The four of them had argued endlessly over who would be the eldest brother.
In the end, Yale was the eldest, George the second, and Linley the third.
Reynolds, the youngest, became Fourth Brother.
Fourth Brother had always said his age put him at a disadvantage and that they had to rank themselves again in a few years.
Later, they had drunk together, visited Bishui Paradise together, and graduated from the institute together.
How could the person who always smiled as he called him "Third Brother" suddenly be dead?
"Where's his body?" Linley asked.
His voice was very calm.
But Joanne clearly saw that Linley's right hand at his side had clenched into a fist.
"It hasn't been found," Joanne said. "When the enemy withdrew, they took the bodies of the fallen officers with them. The Golden Flame Legion has already launched a counterattack. The two armies are facing off south of Nier City."
"How many defenders are in the city?"
"This concerns military affairs at the border. The exact troop strength..."
"Your Majesty."
Linley raised his head.
Joanne stopped.
There was no anger in those dark brown eyes, only a stillness that chilled the heart.
"More than thirty thousand," Joanne finally said.
"How many men were left when Reynolds reached the city walls?"
"The report doesn't specify."
"What about the pursuing troops?"
"It doesn't say that either."
Linley walked to the table and picked up the report.
It was very short.
It said only that a cavalry battalion of the Golden Flame Legion had encountered enemy forces and suffered heavy casualties. Battalion Commander Reynolds had led the remnants to the outskirts of Nier City, but the defenders had failed to help them in time, and the entire force had been wiped out.
There was no enemy troop count.
No account of the battle.
And no body for Reynolds.
"Who sent this report?" Linley asked.
"The Southeast Province Military Affairs Office."
"I want to meet someone who saw Reynolds die with their own eyes."
Joanne frowned.
"There's fighting at the border. All the officers involved are in Nier City. They can't return right away."
"Then I'll go to Nier City."
"Linley," Joanne said at once. "I know Reynolds was your brother, but when two armies fight, anyone can die. You're a Saint Realm expert. You cannot intervene directly in a war between ordinary armies."
Linley looked at her.
"I only said I would investigate how he died."
Joanne fell silent for a moment.
"Reynolds died fighting for the empire. The Dunstan Clan has already received the death benefits and the military report."
"If you don't believe me, you can ask his father."
Linley put down the report.
"I will."
With that, he turned and left the side hall.
Joanne remained where she was and did not stop him.
When Linley left the palace, Doehring was still standing outside its gates.
Bebe crouched on Doehring's shoulder.
The moment he saw Linley, Bebe jumped over to him.
"Boss, what's wrong?"
The Soul Transmission rang out in Linley's mind.
"Reynolds is dead," Linley said.
Bebe stiffened.
It had met Reynolds.
During those years at the Ernst Institute, it had often lain on Linley's shoulder and listened in while the four brothers drank.
The smile vanished from Doehring's face as well.
"Is the news confirmed?"
"The imperial military report says he died in battle outside Nier City. The enemy took his body."
Doehring glanced at the palace.
"You don't believe Joanne?"
"The report doesn't make anything clear," Linley said. "I'm going to the Dunstan Clan."
"I'll come with you."
The three did not return to the earl's estate.
They went straight through Chiyan City in the darkness and arrived at the Dunstan Clan's residence.
The gates were already closed.
When Linley knocked, the gatekeeper initially looked thoroughly impatient. Once he recognized Linley, he was so frightened that he immediately ran inside to announce him.
Before long, a gray-haired middle-aged man came out to welcome them in person.
He was Reynolds's father, Nien Dunstan.
"Lord Linley."
Nien's eyes were bloodshot.
"Uncle," Linley said. "I came to ask about Reynolds."
Nien swayed slightly.
"Please come in."
There was no one else in the sitting room.
Reynolds's mother did not appear.
On the table lay the military report from Southeast Province, along with a military medal shaped like a golden flame.
After sitting down, Nien stared at the medal without speaking for a long time.
"Uncle, how did Reynolds die?" Linley asked.
"His troops were ambushed." Nien's voice was hoarse. "He broke through with his men and retreated all the way to Nier City's walls. In the end, they were overwhelmed."
"Why didn't Nier City open its gates?"
Nien jerked his head up.
Linley kept watching him.
"I never said the report mentioned the gates."
"Yet you knew they hadn't made it inside."
Nien's expression shifted several times.
His lips moved, but in the end, he only said quietly, "The battlefield was chaotic. The gates couldn't be opened at will. The defenders had their own considerations."
"What considerations?"
"Lord Linley." Nien suddenly stood. "Reynolds was a soldier."
"From the first day he joined the Golden Flame Legion, he knew he might die in battle."
"He died fighting for the empire. He brought no shame upon the Dunstan Clan."
Linley stood as well.
"I'm not asking whether he was afraid to die."
"I'm asking whether he could have lived."
Nien began to tremble.
He gripped the edge of the table tightly.
A stifled sob suddenly came from outside the sitting room.
Soon, whoever was crying was led away, and the sound faded.
Nien closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, only exhaustion remained in them.
"Lord Linley, Reynolds died an honorable death in battle."
"There was no injustice in his death."
He spoke that final sentence very slowly.
Linley watched him for a long time.
Nien was clearly in pain.
Yet he refused to say another word.
"I understand."
Linley turned and walked out.
When he reached the doorway, Nien suddenly called after him.
"Lord Linley."
Linley stopped.
"Reynolds is already dead," Nien said quietly. "The Dunstan Clan only wants to let him go in peace."
Linley did not answer.
He left the Dunstan residence.
By the time he returned to Wharton's estate, dawn was almost breaking.
The red lanterns from the wedding still hung outside the entrance.
The servants in the manor were clearing away the banquet.
The wedding wine had yet to be fully cleared away.
Linley walked straight into the courtyard where he lived and shut the gate.
He sat down at the stone table and took out two wine cups.
He placed one in front of himself.
He placed the other across from him.
Linley filled both cups.
"Fourth Brother."
"You still owe me a drink."
No one answered.
Linley raised his cup and drained it in one gulp.
Bebe crouched on the roof without jumping down as he usually did.
Doehring stood outside the courtyard gate and did not push it open either.
On the first day, Linley did not come out.
On the second day, Wharton heard the news and hurried to the courtyard, but Doehring stopped him outside.
"Let him be alone for a while," Doehring said.
Wharton looked at the tightly shut courtyard gate.
"Reynolds was my brother's closest brother."
"I know."
"What can I do?"
"Wait for him to open the gate."
On the morning of the third day, the courtyard gate finally opened.
Linley walked out.
There was no sign of drunkenness on his face, but his eyes were somewhat red.
Doehring was still sitting on the stone steps outside the courtyard.
"Have you thought it through?" Doehring asked.
"There's something wrong with the military report. Uncle Nien is hiding something too," Linley said. "But he won't talk, and I can't force him."
"Then what do you plan to do?"
"Go to Nier City."
Doehring stood up.
Just then, the urgent clatter of hooves suddenly came from the manor's front courtyard.
A galloping horse charged straight through the manor gates.
The rider swung down from the saddle, staggering a step and nearly falling.
"My lord!"
A servant chased after him.
"This gentleman says he's Young Master Yale of the Dawson Chamber of Commerce. We couldn't stop him..."
Linley had already walked out of his courtyard.
Yale stood in the front courtyard.
His noble robes were covered in dust, his face was pale, and his eyes were bloodshot. Clearly, he had not rested in a long time.
At the sight of Linley, he rushed over in long strides.
"Third Brother!"
Yale seized Linley by the shoulders.
His hands kept trembling.
"You must avenge Fourth Brother!"
Linley's gaze changed.
"What do you know?"
Yale took a confidential report from inside his robes. It was already soaked with sweat.
"It wasn't that help failed to reach Fourth Brother in time."
"He escaped with his men to the foot of Nier City's walls."
"There were thirty thousand troops in the city, and only three hundred pursuers."
Yale clenched his teeth.
"Prince Yulin gave the order not to open the city gates."