Idoia's POV
I opened the door leading to Lady Moorde's private chambers. Every Lord of Valencia had a private chamber in the palace where they could rest in between gatherings.
Most issues that require the noble court usually take anything between a couple of days to a couple of months to resolve. I've never seen a case been resolved in an afternoon but I would be lying if I said this was the first time I've seen Lady Moorde upset after the proceeding of the noble court.
Being a Lady certainly has its downsides, despite being the first female Lord of Valencia, she's still looked down or ignored sometimes but I will admit this is the first time I've seen get this mad.
She walked back and forth across the bedroom muttering to herself probably unaware of my presence.
"Lady Moorde?"
"What!" she screamed back as she hurled a jug at me. I effortlessly caught the jug with my right hand before placing it in on the stool just beside the door.
"You seem stressed, Lady Moorde? Perhaps I could get you some tea?"
"Idoia, If I wanted tea don't you think I would have asked the guard who called you to get me tea?" she yelled.
"My apologies Lady Moorde, I only…"
"Leave it be for now" she said as she arranged her gown before taking a seat on a resting bed made from soft red kruttle feathers. She used her hand to massage her temple and gave me angry look.
...
"Were you followed?" she asked as she poured herself some tea I had just brewed from the jug she had previously thrown at me
"No, My Lady"
"And you're sure we are not being listened to?"
"Yes, my Lady Moorde, I have spiders on the lookout for oncoming personnel and they have their orders to deal with them, discretely"
Spiders, that's Lady Moorde call us, the network of spies she set up in the palace to keep an eye on the royal family and the on goings of the things that transpired in the palace.
"You're no fool so I'm pretty sure you are aware of why I am in such a state"
"I take it that the proceedings of the court did not go as you had wished for?"
"No, they did not"
"But I thought you had no interest in today's court proceedings" I responded
"I didn't, that's why even when that foolish Lord Caspian accused me falsely, I kept my cool"
"What would you have me do, my Lady?"
"Lord Caspian comes later. There are more pressing matters at hand" she said as she pointed to the table where I had just placed the Jug.
I noticed a pile of documents underneath the Jug, I pulled them from underneath the Jug and began reading its contents.
There was a lot of information on the documents, mostly irrelevant but not all irrelevant.
"Well?" Lady Moorde asked me after a few minutes of me browsing the contents.
"The man in question, Alaric was accused of treason for publicly announcing that he will be king, he was taken by the royal guards…"
"I didn't ask you to spit back the report to me, I asked for your opinion"
I took a deep breath as I recalled all the information that I had just read before exhaling.
"Something doesn't add up" I spoke out as soon I was done reflecting.
"Go on" she said as she adjusted herself on the seat.
"He claims not to have any last name so it wouldn't be a stretch to assume that he's orphaned commoner but he has received some degree of education but they are no records of him receiving such education which would suggest that a Lord educated him illegally…"
"You're beginning to sound Like Lord Caspian" she said cutting me off "are you going to accuse me as well?"
"Nothing so crude, my Lady. If he had been indeed been educated illegally, what Lord would have sat back and let their dirty laundry be aired in public?"
"You think he's outsider? It would explain why there are no official records of his education and why no Lord took any pre-emptive measures to deal with him"
I nodded my head to show my affirmation.
"While that is a theory that is worth looking into, that isn't the reason I called you here", "What do you think the verdict of the case should have been?"
"Simple" I responded almost immediately "There was only one outcome, his execution"
Lady Moorde began to giggle why using her hand to cover her mouth as she continued to laugh.
"That's what I thought too…" she paused as she stopped laughing "Do you want to know what happened in the end?"
I nodded my head.
"In a month's time, that commoner Alaric will be able to compete for the title of royal advisor of Valencia, have you heard anything so ridiculous Idoia?"
The news shocked me to my bones.
"What?" I stuttered to myself. "How would that even be possible, my Lady?"
"Within a month's time if Alaric is able to pass all three trials, he will be deemed an aristocrat enabling him to eligible to contest for the title of royal advisor"
"I'm sorry my Lady, but I am unfamiliar with this rite?"
"Its ancient rite of Valencia, long forgotten but never removed", "Only a hand few of nobles and the royal family know about it and that's why your idea of him being an outsider while intriguing simply isn't true"
"You believe him to be a pawn in some noble's plan?" I asked quickly catching on to what Lady Moorde was insinuating.
"Or Royal? But we'll never find out if we stay here and chat all day now will we, Idoia?"
"This mission will have two objectives" she began as she placed her tea cup beside her "One is to find out what happened in that royal court and the other is to find out who the mastermind is"
"You believe him to be a pawn?" I asked a bit more disappointed than I had hoped.
"But of course, he is but a pawn in another's game but as it stands is our only lead" she says as she takes a sip of her tea.
"I'll assign a spider right away, my Lady"
"You will do no such thing" she replied quickly in a stern voice as she dropped her cup as took a huge stride towards me until we were face to face. "This is an important mission, Idoia", "And I trust no one else to do it than you, unless you cannot".
I stared at her blankly but only for a brief moment, silence can sometimes be taken for an answer.
"I can, my Lady"
"Oh, that's wonderful" she said with a smile on her face before turning around to return to her chair "For a moment there, I thought I was going to have to get rid of my most skilled spider, what a shame that would been"
What a Shame Indeed
"The aristocracy trials will end in a month, you have until then to figure out who the mastermind is, contact me on any progress you make only by kruttle, now get out".