Chapter 106: Who gave the order?

.Felix arrived at the merchant market while it was still relatively early, the streets mostly empty, with half the stores boarded up and only some vendors starting to put up their tents for the day. Felix leant himself against the shut store and waited.

“It’s the young fella,” Rodrick’s voice came from the right, with a little bounce in his step as he walked closer.

Felix leant away from the wall, grinning. “Rodrick, I was counting on catching up with you.”

“Me?” Rodrick slowed, brow furrowing. “What for?”

“Well, I’ve got a few questions that I’ve yet to have answered.” Felix began walking towards Rodrick, holding a card between his fingers. “Seems like you know a whole lot more than most of the people here.”

The throat of Rodrick worked, and he twisted halfway, considering if he should run.

“Don’t.” Felix flicked the card.

…

Rodrick was strapped into the chair, his mouth parched, beads of sweat gathering in thick drops on his brow. Felix was a few feet away, lounging nonchalantly against the wall.

“Now. Why’d you do it?”

“Do what?” Rodrick’s voice quivered slightly. “I didn’t do anything.”

“The name. Hakimi Morrow. His full name, his discipline, whom he serves – everything, as if you’ve known the man for years. That doesn’t just come out of the head of a random merchant.”

“People know things. Things are discussed in this town.”

“Try again.”

A moment passed before Rodrick managed to say something. “Fine, you want to know the truth? It’s personal. Some years ago, long before you came into the picture looking for answers, Hakimi Morrow came through my business. He wasn’t quite the man he is today, only some kind of knight escorting Diana’s carriage, but he carried himself just like he does now, with an attitude like the whole world owed him. My daughter, my Elena, she was young at the time, only sixteen, and he fancied her. Couldn’t take his eyes off her.”

“And?”

“And nothing much happened, but just the possibility of something happening was sufficient. I told him to keep his hands off her. He only laughed in my face, saying that a man of his stature could have anything he wanted in this town and no merchant here would be able to do anything about it.”

“That’s quite a story.”

“Yes.”

“No, I said that it’s quite a story; doesn’t mean it’s the truth.” Felix stepped back from the wall and came a few feet closer. “Got a daughter?”

“Well… yes.”

“Name?”

“Elena, I already told you.”

“How old is she now?”

Rodrick paused for a fraction of a second too long. “Twenty. Twenty-one.”

“Which one?”

“Twenty.”

“Didn’t know it until I asked you.”

“She’s my own daughter.”

“Of course she is.” Felix folded his arms across his chest. “Where’s she staying now?”

“With her husband, outside of the district.”

“In which district?”

“East. East side, beyond the—”

“The eastern part doesn’t exist in Fillipo, Rodrick. North, south, and the market district are all we have.”

The shape of his mouth contorted three times. “It was the north.”

“It was whatever came to mind first,” Felix said. “You don’t have a daughter.”

Rodrick was silent for too long before answering, in a lowered voice. “Alright. Alright, I lied. There is no Elena.”

“Why the lie?”

“Because the truth is embarrassing,” he replied. “This isn’t about something noble.”

“I’m all ears.”

“It’s about business. It’s all about business.” Rodrick sat a little taller, as if the ground beneath him had finally become firm. “Hakimi has been trying to disrupt our trade in this area for months. Inquiring into shipments that were none of his business, questioning at the west gate that scared away two of my steady customers. I’ve lost money because of this man, real money, more than I can afford to lose.”

“What shipments?”

“General trade. Goods entering through the gate.”

“What kind of goods?”

“Numen stones, mostly. The same type of stuff I sell in my shop.”

“You told me a few days ago that you’ve never had problems at the gate. Said the business is slow because the customers are stingy, nothing else.”

“That was before. This one happened earlier. Months ago, as I said.”

“You said just moments ago that this made you lose some customers recently. Now it’s months ago and has nothing to do with the two customers who left your shop without buying anything yesterday.”

“I— it’s complicated.”

“It’s not complicated. It’s inconsistent.” Felix took another step forward. “You said Hakimi asked questions at the gate. Which questions?”

“He wanted to know about the shipments. Where they came from.”

“Which shipments, Rodrick? Numen stones or something else?”

“Numen stones. I already told you.”

“You hesitated before answering.”

“That’s not true.”

“It’s perfectly true. Want to know why I know? Because a man defending his own daughter wouldn’t have forgotten how old she is. And a man who lost money due to a rival would know which shipment lost him money. You’re reading from the script, Rodrick. Poorly.”

“I’m telling you the truth.”

“You’re telling me what you were told to say.”

Rodrick’s hands trembled, barely noticeable, on the wood of the chair. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Who’s backing you, Rodrick?”

“No one’s backing me.”

“Who gave the order?”

“No one gave any order, you know that already; it was my own personal reasons—”

“Which reasons? The daughter, or the shipments? Choose one because you don’t seem to be able to choose either.”

“Both. Neither. I don’t— stop confusing me.”

“I’m not confusing you. You’re doing that all on your own.” Felix stopped, “who?”

“I don’t know.”

“You do.”

“I swear to you, I don’t—”

Felix flipped three cards into the air in one quick motion, hovering just a breath away from Rodrick’s neck, spinning slowly as they caught the faint morning light.

“Who, Rodrick?”

“I don’t—I can’t say it, please—”

The cards spun faster, closing in around his neck with each refusal, while Felix stepped closer.

“Who.”

Rodrick’s entire body seemed to crumple in one swift motion, releasing all his pent-up resistance in one breath.

“It’s—”