Chapter 8 Have Him Watched

• Sunlight poured through the tall windows behind Sinjun, casting golden lines across the polished floor and the table between them.
• On his right, a war banner hung on the wall, dark red in colour with a drawing of a silver wolf’s head at its center, with its jaws out and it's teeth shining in the sunlight.
• “Did anyone give you trouble?” Sinjun asked, staring at him with his ashen eyes, without as much as a blink.
• Leo tossed his gloves on the table, beside a few neglected reports, and sat in the chair across from Sinjun.
• “Only Lord Lance’s son, who acts as though we are equals. He questioned my authority.”
• “Whatever for? He’s always wanted your position, and he does a poor job of hiding it. If it weren’t for his father’s title, he’d have been dealt with a long time ago.”
• Leo waved a hand, as though the man was a mere disturbance he didn’t want to speak on.
• “I didn’t want to create a scene, the boys were on edge and the soldiers seemed disturbed already.”
• Sinjun nodded, not surprised.
• He’d heard the man’s statement just before he’d set foot in the yard, but he’d maintained his cool.
• He trusted that Leo would handle it.
• He shifted his drink on the table, finding that he had no stomach for it, and leaned into his seat.
• “We’re alone now,” he said softly. “You may speak freely, what troubles you?”
• Leo exhaled, as though he’d been waiting for permission to unburden himself.
• He dropped his goblet of wine on the table and faced Sinjun.
• “Tell me, what was that all about?”
• Sinjun frowned, confused.
• He didn’t like it when Leo spoke in parables before proving a point. It unsettled him, greatly.
• “Whatever do you mean?” He asked, his eyes narrowed.
• “You ordered that I halt routine inspection, right before it was the boy’s turn, why?”
• A smile lit up Sinjun’s eyes.
• Good.
• Roy didn't know what was coming for him.
• Moreover, he was worried about Leo, he wondered if his best friend was beginning to develop a soft spot for the boy.
• “It is just as I expected.” Sinjun put in, calmly. “He should be more than rattled, scared for his life even.”
• Leo stared at him like he’d developed eight heads overnight, but Sinjun only looked into the far distance like there was something there.
• “Why? You think he’s hiding something?” Leo leaned in, overly interested in the subject now.
• “Do not think. I know he’s hiding something.” Sinjun threw back at Leo with an air of confidence that even he was taken aback.
• Leo raised a brow.
• “Perhaps he’s wounded?” He queried.
• “No, I’m not referring to his wounds, Leo, damn it.”
• How could Leo not understand what he was driving at? Sinjun rubbed his temple, feeling an ache on his skull.
• The boy, Roy, troubled his thoughts.
• He knew what happened when rulers trusted blindly, his mother had trusted in mercy, until it had left her bleeding and almost dead, betrayed by someone she called brother.
• He could not afford her kind of mistake, not with everyone watching his every move.
• “Then what pray tell do you think? The boy looked pretty startled to me.”
• Sinjun rolled his eyes. He didn't feel pity or fear for the boy.
• Only threat and distrust.
• “Of course he does. He’s had you and everyone else fooled by his small body.”
• Sinjun ran a hand through his hair, a habit he’d picked up to soothe himself whenever he was nervous.
• “The boy’s small frame? It hides his true intent.”
• “How so?” Leo asked, now amused.
• “You did say you found him right after his father disappeared, did you not?”
• Leo nodded.
• “Do you not think he was placed in your path on purpose? Much like an agreement between him and his father?”
• Leo went still and Sinjun tapped his fingers lightly on the table.
• Perhaps he was beginning to understand now.
• “You think he’s being placed here, to spy on us?”
• Leo blurted out, and Sinjun nodded, before patting his back.
• Yes, that was the Leo he knew.
• Always a step or several ahead.
• “I never thought of that.”
• “No one would, except of course they think about it, just like we are doing now.”
• “Was that why you instructed me to stop the inspection?” Leo asked and Sinjun nodded.
• Now he understood, just like he knew he would.
• Leo always understood and acted.
• Without question.
• And it warmed Sinjun’s heart that his best friend trusted him enough to carry out his orders.
• He didn’t want the boy to suspect a thing. Needed him to feel they were neutral with him.
• He’d only whispered things to him so he could be alert, which would propel him into making mistakes.
• He’d trembled, of course, and it meant he was on to something.
• Sinjun changed his mind and reached for his goblet, downing his drink in one gulp.
• He let his gaze drift to the window, where a white bird perched, before returning to Leo.
• “He vanished into thin air and left his son behind. What kind of father would that make him?” He asked, his voice low and precise.
• “One with a quest. Isn’t it convenient that we’ll capture him, just so he can spy on us, learn our ways and weaknesses, and report back to his father?”
• Sinjun nodded his approval.
• He’d intentionally asked Leo that question to listen to his thoughts, and he didn’t fail him.
• “True. I wouldn’t put it past him, after all he initiated those raids, what would one expect from a man who failed to respect authority and pushed for his elders to halt the tributes.”
• “A foolish man.” Sinjun concluded as said as he made to rise.
• “Roy unsettles me. From the instant I laid eyes on him, I knew he’d be nothing but trouble. But it's where you come in.”
• “Come in? I don’t understand.” He stared at him, confused.
• “I want you to watch him, or get someone you trust to do it. What he eats, where he lays his head for the night, wherever he goes, see who he tries to speak to,” Sinjun ran a hand through his tightly packed hair.
• “And if he eventually decides to take a bath.”
• The thought alone made his skin crawl.
• He’d been told that Roy barely bathed, instead, he chose to scrub the visible parts of his body whenever the boys had to bathe.
• Perhaps he had little faith in the water.
• And rightly so.
• All it took was one wrong step, and it would swallow him whole.