[Side Quest: Visit the Wounded Alpha — Completed]
[Objective: Visit Alpha Julian to uncover the truth.]
[Reward: +15% Evolution Point, Key Items, 20,000 Gold]
Key Items?
I wonder what they will give me.
Before they left, Julian handed Oswald several things he had taken from the men who attacked him and Ophelia.
A short knife and some silver coins.
All bearing the same insignia: a wolf with three crossed spears.
Ophelia recognized them immediately.
“That’s the Segrave crest.”
Oswald frowned.
“Segrave?”
“House Segrave. It’s Elder Miles’s family’s insignia.”
Vivianne leaned closer to examine the key items.
The attackers had been carrying equipment belonging to one of Canavar’s most prominent houses.
Elder Miles.
The old bastard who wanted to mate his awful daughter Clara to Oswald.
Wait.
What was her name again?
Patricia?
Annette?
Ah, no.
I think it may be Samantha, the rabies bitch.
Oswald carefully gathered the items and tucked them away before turning toward his sister.
“Are you sure you want to stay here?” he asked for what was probably the fifth time.
Ophelia sighed.
“Brother, Julian is still bedridden. I’m not leaving him.”
Oswald’s eyes moved toward the injured Alpha lying behind her.
His expression remained sour, but he didn’t argue.
“You’ll come back once he’s recovered?”
“I will.”
Oswald studied her for another moment before finally nodding.
“Fine.”
And so, Ophelia remained in Balto territory while Oswald and Vivianne prepared to return to Canavar with the warriors.
They didn’t leave empty-handed.
The Segrave items Julian had given them were tucked safely away, along with the memory of everything they had learned inside that den.
What had started as a simple rescue mission had turned into something far more complicated.
By the time Oswald and Vivianne returned to Canavar, evening had already settled over the village.
They went straight to Oswald’s den, where he placed the items Julian had given them on the table.
Vivianne leaned over the short knife and the small metal coin.
“So… we have proof that the attackers had something belonging to the Segraves.”
Oswald nodded.
“And Julian said they claimed they were sent. Which means someone sent them.”
They stared at each other.
Neither spoke for several seconds.
Vivianne finally pointed at the coin.
“So… we ask Miles right away?”
Oswald frowned.
“Just ask him?”
“Yeah.”
“Wouldn’t that be rude?”
Vivianne blinked.
“That doesn’t mean I should accuse my own Elder without proof.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it.
Annoyingly, Oswald had a point.
Miles wasn’t some random villager they could drag before the Alpha and accuse on a whim.
He was one of Canavar’s Betas, and his family had served the Theodolf family for generations.
Several older warriors respected him.
If Oswald openly accused him and turned out to be wrong, it could create a serious rift within the pack.
Vivianne tapped the Segrave coin with one finger.
“We can’t exactly walk up to him and say, ‘Hey, did you send people to murder your Alpha’s sister?'”
Oswald sighed.
“Of course no, Vivianne. That’s called accusing someone.”
“Oh.”
He nodded solemnly.
“Then we shouldn’t do that.”
“Let’s just ask where these things came from,” he suggested.
“And what his retainers were doing yesterday. Nothing more. We’ll see what he says.”
The next morning, Oswald called two senior warriors who had witnessed the capture of the Balto attackers, along with one of the older council members.
They wouldn’t be there to accuse anyone.
They would simply serve as witnesses to the discussion and ensure everyone heard the same information.
After all, this was no small matter.
A misunderstanding between Canavar and Balto had already resulted in an attack on the village.
If Oswald handled the situation carelessly, it could easily turn into something much worse.
Once the witnesses had arrived, Oswald sent a messenger to Elder Miles.
“Tell him the Alpha wishes to discuss the evidence recovered from the men who attacked Ophelia.”
That was all.
Miles arrived later that evening.
Miles entered the den with his usual respectful expression, though his eyes briefly flicked toward the objects on the table.
The knife and coin bore the Segrave insignia.
Miles’s attention flicked over them before he turned back to Oswald.
“Good evening, Alpha.”
Oswald gestured toward the seat across from him.
“Sit, Elder Miles.”
Miles inclined his head and took the offered seat.
Vivianne studied him carefully.
His expression remained calm.
Almost too composed.
Oswald picked up the small coin and turned it between his fingers.
“Alpha Julian gave us these.”
“That is a Segrave retainer coin.”
“So it belongs to your household?”
“Yes.”
Oswald placed it beside the knife.
“And this?”
Miles picked up the knife and examined the engraving.
“The mark is ours as well.”
Vivianne remained silent.
Oswald didn’t accuse him.
He simply continued asking questions.
“Do you know which of your retainers carried them?”
“I would need to check our records.”
Oswald nodded.
“Then we’ll start there.”
They had evidence that Segrave retainers were involved.
And even if Oswald suspected Miles, suspicion alone wasn’t enough to condemn one of his own Betas.
The questioning continued for several minutes.
Miles answered each question calmly, but nothing he said gave Oswald a clear proof that he was involved.
Vivianne listened quietly, occasionally glancing at Oswald.
He was about to move on when he paused.
Then Oswald seemed to remember something.
“One more thing.”
Miles looked at him.
“Where were these retainers supposed to be yesterday?”
Miles hesitated for only a moment.
“Near the eastern border.”
Oswald’s fingers stilled.
“The eastern border? That’s interesting. Did any of your retainers see Ophelia before they left?”
“No.” Miles paused.
“She had already gone with Alpha Julian.”
Everyone in Canavar believed Ophelia had been taken as hostage by the Balto pack.
But Miles had spoken as though he knew she had gone willingly.
For a moment, nobody in the den spoke.
Oswald slowly lifted his head.
“What did you say?”
Miles’s expression changed.
Only slightly.
“I said… she went there with Alpha Julian.”
Vivianne felt her heartbeat quicken.
Everyone in Canavar believed Ophelia had been taken hostage.
The Balto warriors had said so.
Oswald believed so.
Even the people who had witnessed the attack believed so.
Only Vivianne knew the truth—that Ophelia had gone willingly with Julian.
But she had never told anyone.
Not even Oswald.
She stared at Miles.
How did this old geezer know?
“Everyone believes my sister was taken hostage.” Oswald’s brow furrowed.
“Why don’t you?”
The question hung heavily in the den.
Miles shifted slightly in his seat.
Vivianne’s mind raced.
Elder Miles couldn’t have learned it from the Balto warriors.
They believed Ophelia was their hostage.
“You said Ophelia went there with Julian. You didn’t say she was taken.” Oswald’s fingers stopped moving.
Miles cleared his throat.
“The girl is Julian’s fated mate. Surely you knew that.”
Oswald went completely still.
Vivianne’s breath caught.
He knew.
He knew Ophelia had gone willingly with Julian.
Slowly, Oswald’s eyes narrowed.
“How,” he repeated, “did you know that?” His voice had become quieter.
For the first time since he had entered the den, the Elder looked like he had run out of answers.
Oswald kept staring at him.
He wasn’t playing some clever game or piecing together a brilliant deduction.
He simply couldn’t understand how Miles knew something he wasn’t supposed to know.
Miles’s lips parted, but no answer came.