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((Triple Saturday -- Page 2 of 3))
Garovel, however, simply laughed. ‘Well, if you’d like to make this a permanent solution, I can’t say that Hector and I would mind. And it would certainly make the deception easier if it actually WASN’T a deception, eh?’

Horatio and Yovess did not seem to share his amusement.

But Garovel was not deterred. ‘So serious. Fine. If you want to actually hear us say it, then no, we are not trying to trick all of you into working for us--or something. How would that even work, precisely?’

“...I was merely mentioning what I think some will believe,” said Horatio. “I did not say that I believed it, myself.”

‘You must understand,’ said Yovess. ‘Lord Goffe’s recent... accomplishments have left quite an impression on our people, particularly the younger ones. And though we know you are our allies, it is also in our nature to be... cautious.’ Her hollow gaze fell upon Garovel. ‘Especially when it comes to reapers. We know all too well about how manipulative our kind can be.’

Holy shit, Hector thought. Was this gonna be yet another problem he had to worry about?

Agh...

‘I understand completely,’ said Garovel, sounding less jovial now. ‘And I most definitely do not want there to be any ill feelings between us. I hope that if you are ever beginning to get the impression that Hector and I are trying to manipulate you, then you will give us the benefit of the doubt first and communicate your concerns to us. There are many out there who would like to do us harm, and if we allow a rift to form between us, I fear that will only make it easier for them to succeed.’

‘Heh. You know just what to say, don’t you?’

‘Well, I’ve had lots of practice,’ said Garovel.

Yovess shook her skull and chortled. ‘Very well. We will continue to place our trust in you, for the time being.’

‘Thank you. We’ll do the same.’

‘And in this spirit of trust,’ said Yovess, ‘there is something that we should tell you.’

‘Oh?’

‘We have heard rumblings on this matter already. That is why Horatio said that, just now.’

‘What kind of rumblings?’

“There is a concern that you may have lied to us,” said Horatio.

Hector couldn’t help blinking. “Lied? About what?” Oh shit. Had he lied to them? He didn’t think so, but...

“Regarding your age, specifically,” said the Lord Blackburn.

Hector couldn’t help blinking even more.

“Given your recent track record, some have been worried that you might be... shall we say, significantly older than you claimed to be,” said Horatio.

Wait, what the fuck? They thought he might’ve lied about how young he was? Shouldn’t it have been the opposite?

Yovess continued where her servant left off. ‘A few have expressed concern that you might have been pretending to be weaker than you really are. Acting like you needed a climate suit, for instance. And now, your mother appearing to be relatively young and a non-servant.’

Oh shit, they’d met his mother already? He hadn’t even thought about how she must be handling all of these foreign visitors.