Wait…what?
They’d captured the members of Blue Pride who were involved in slavery? What was the Beast King playing at?
It was clear the fight was over. Fran still maintained her guard, but her murderous intent was gone. Royce was already tending to Zehmet with some healing spells. This might just be the biggest misunderstanding we’d gotten ourselves into yet.
Fran turned to the Beast King. “What’s going on?”
“You didn’t tell her, did you, Your Majesty?”
“Well…umm…” The Beast King avoided Royce’s gaze and scratched his cheek.
“You picked a fight with her on the spot without trying to explain the circumstances, didn’t you?”
“Urk…” The Beast King bit his lip. He looked like a child in the middle of being scolded.
“Are you hurt, young lady?”
“No…”
“Really now? That’s amazing. And are you involved with Blue Pride?”
Fran looked troubled by the degree of respect Rosch was showing her. “I’m friends with Zehmet. Just him, though. I hate the rest of them.”
“I see. Your Highness?”
“Well, isn’t this an interesting turn of events?”
Rosch and Royce stared at the Beast King until the ruler threw his hands up in defeat.
“Fine! I’m sorry! Gods!”
“Why were you trying to kill Zehmet?”
“He was covering for the rest of his crew.”
“Goodness… Allow me to explain,” said Rosch. “This has been a fundamental misunderstanding. His Majesty the Beast King is apprehending Blue Cats in order to protect Black Cats.”
“What?”
“I knew it…”
The story unfolded from there. Apparently, Beast King Rigdith was opposed to slavery and was, in fact, trying to put a stop to it. That was what had prompted his coup against his own father. He’d killed the previous king to take his place on the throne.
“The old man didn’t put up much of a fight. All the bribes he took made him weak.”
“That man was a politician first and foremost,” Royce agreed, unfazed.
Rigdith had become an adventurer so he could execute his coup. When all the A-Ranks in the beastman country were his to command, it was easy to overthrow the previous king. He got rid of the slavers and spies his father kept, and was now on a mission to set the Black Cats free.
And I didn’t detect a single lie in any of that.
The Beast King really wanted to set the Black Cats free, and he really was in the middle of putting an end to the slave trade. Fran couldn’t believe it. “So why were you fighting with Zehmet?” she asked again, still suspicious.
If Zehmet had obeyed Rigdith’s orders to hand over the slavers in Blue Pride, he probably would’ve gotten away with a slap on the wrist. But Blue Pride was like his family, and he couldn’t bring himself to betray them, even if they deserved it. He’d pleaded with the Beast King to delay his judgment and give them time to change. Given Rigdith’s temper, that was enough to bring them to blows. That was when Fran interrupted.
Now that I thought about it, Rigdith had never actually belittled the Black Cats. He’d said, “Anyway, you seem to be chummy with him. Can’t imagine why, what with you being Black and him Blue,” and “Such beautiful friendship between a Black Cat and a Blue! It’d be funny if it weren’t so twisted!”
Clearly, he’d meant all of that. He might have been provoking Fran, but he genuinely couldn’t understand why she was defending Zehmet. As we continued our conversation, his guards brought in the captured members of Blue Pride.
“Curses…” Zehmet lamented, still on his knees.
“Hate me all you want. But I was clear when I told the Blue Cat tribe to put a stop to that slavery stuff. Your men and your sister ignored my explicit orders. You’re partly responsible for this.”
“I…understand.” The Beat King’s words only deepened Zehmet’s pain. If he’d known about his tribe’s underhanded dealings, he could have acted sooner. All of this might have been avoided. “How many…are left?”
“About twenty.”
“I…I see.” That seemed to sap the life out of Zehmet. Blue Pride had been a large mercenary band. Only twenty survivors? I couldn’t imagine his pain.
“The ringleaders, Lord Rig.” Gaudartha brought two Blue Cats forward. They were bound and tied, and he held the rope. “These are the two members of the previous Beast King’s slave syndicate.”
“Senec, Tord…have you been lying to us all?” Zehmet sounded dumbfounded that the two old cats had been apprehended. He must’ve trusted these two with his life.
Much as he must have wanted them to deny it, the old men knew that the time for excuses was past. “Hmph…damn Black Cats can’t even evolve… What’s wrong with putting them to work…?”
“That’s right! If anything, we’re making their existence worthwhile!”
“But you’ve always supported us. All the way back since my grandfather’s time…”
Senec and Tord had been with Blue Pride since it was a small crew. They’d only held advisory positions of late, but still took advantage of their station to carry out underhanded deals behind the scenes. They’d brought Zehmet up to hate slavery as a cover, so that no one would ever suspect them. The rest of the tribe, like Zehmet’s little sister, were taught to see Black Cats as inferior filth. The old schemers were good at hiding their crimes, and knew that even if Zehmet found out, he was far too kind to suspect them.
“But I suppose we went too far in your education. All that idealistic nonsense really got on my nerves.” Senec’s scoff was aimed at Zehmet as much as Rigdith.
“Big talk for a Tailless,” said Fran.
“Don’t you dare call me that!”
Tailless? I asked.
Beastmen who have lost their tails.
Tails were a status symbol among long-tailed tribes. You could easily lose yours in the heat of battle, especially if you were trying to flee. The old man Senec lacked his tail. I’d thought he might be hiding it in his pants, but
