Page 18 of Gilded Crown

“I’ll tell her. I know what to say.”

“Oh, that’ll go great.”

“I can be pleasant.”

Hardly. Something flashed in Aurelius’s face as he glanced at Jari’s snide expression.

“I comforted Sheline when I went to speak to her and got her to admit who harmed her. She said her parents didn’t want to believe that alordhad violated her, but I believed her. She cried on my shoulder while I hugged her.”

“I thought you killed them because of the slave’s original charge, and the fact that Lord Brith was going to release him.”

“I didn’t learn about that until a day before the incident. When Sheline disappeared, I was positive it was Lord Brith, but I had to be sure no other sick bastard was loose in the Palace. I said if she told me who it was, nobody would ever have to know that she’d spoken up, and I’d ensure that person was permanently dealt with. I gave her my word. Nobody else was prepared to do anything, and I couldn’t let someone get away with violating a child.”

Aurelius wasn’t the huggy and cuddly sort, but that had been an entirely different situation. The muscle in his cheek twitched even though his face was blank. Despite his cold attitude, he was still a fairy and capable of feeling. The fact that he hadn’t killed Lord Brith in time and prevented something must have been heavy. Beyond that, Eurig hadn’t done much during his disappearance, so Aurelius knew what it was like to feel abandoned, and nobody else had been willing to avenge Sheline.

Jari wasn’t sure what else to stay to that. Aurelius would snap if Jari asked if he’d felt guilty or anything. “If you speak to the wife, how are we going to explain her husband’s gold eyes?”

Aurelius actually hesitated and appeared unsure of himself. “There are drops you can use to change eye color.”

“Really? I didn’t know that.”

“It’s a newer thing, but they don’t work very well, and they often cause problems, so they’re not easy to get.”

“That doesn’t sound very convincing.”

“Do you have something better?” Aurelius nudged his horse to walk.

“No.”

He’d only eaten a roll earlier, but he didn’t want lunch anymore, and he kepthearingthe guy hit the cobblestones. He thought he’d toughened up since he’d had to kill before, and he’d seen dead bodies. At the moment, he could have used a hug and something to distract his mind for a bit.

They wouldn’t have been able to fix Blue’s mind after what had been done to him. That didn’t mean he deserved to die like that.

He had to follow Aurelius to the servant’s quarters in the back. Someone had taken the wife to a room, and Aurelius went in. After a few seconds, Jari heard the woman let out a wail.

It was probably so much worse if she’d kissed someone else. She’d always remember how her thoughts strayed in his last days. Hopefully, her husband hadn’t suspected a thing.

Eurig must have kept Blue in his room all night and made him gild and gild. That’s why he never came home and had so much gold in his eyes.

What had Eurig made the man gild? Trinkets? Probably, so he could stuff his shelves with more useless shit. Or maybe the treasury was stuffed with extra crap.

He almost wanted to return to the shop, not to stay and go back on his word, but to spend some time working on something. A task for his hands would be helpful.

The woman’s crying faded after a couple of minutes. Aurelius didn’t reappear until after about ten.

“I did my best. I convinced her that he must have tried a drug, and that caused his actions. I said he probably had no clue about anything she’s done.”

“Erm, I guess that works. We all know certain shit can fuck up a person.”

“She said he never did drugs, but I said sometimes they seem safe and lure people into trying it just once because they think nothing will happen.” Aurelius paused in the hallway. “She said his eyes looked funny, and I mentioned drops. Turf causes impulses, so maybe he tried it.”

Honestly, she’d be so devastated at his passing, maybe his eye color wouldn't even matter in the long run. She knew nothing of the items either.

“This won’t be easy for her, but I’ve alleviated some guilt. I’m late for lunch, so…” Aurelius gave Jari a single, hasty pat on the arm. “Thanks for trying to catch him, and… I’m sorry you had to deal with that.”

Jari was surprised he even got that much.

“You can go upstairs if you want,” said Aurelius. “You’re probably tired…”

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