I raised an eyebrow at that. It was not a skeptical look I gave him, but more of a confused one. "You… swear it on your beard?"
"Yes, m’beard," he said his Dwarvish accent. "If I’m lying, I’ll shave it all off. The size of a Dwarf’s beard makes him more attractive, see? Women love it big!"
I sighed, lowering my weapon and rolling my eyes simultaneously. "That’s inappropriate."
"It was not an innuendo," Gennady said, relaxing his shoulders as I sheathed my dagger.
"I guess I’ll believe you for now. At the very least, you haven’t tried killing me, so there’s that."
The Dwarf took a seat, clutching a hand on his chest. "Sacred piss, girl, this is the second time you tried to kill me in two days. Let’s not make it a habit, shall we?"
"Only if you don’t tell anyone what you saw," I said, reaching for my mask which I found inside of a drawer. I caught myself, realizing that I had no reason to wear it now and that I did not actually enjoy wearing it because of how uncomfortable it felt, then went back to my food to continue eating.
"And you’re not going to threaten me with that thing again to do that, are ya? Make me promise to stay quiet, else you’d kill me."
"No," I said, finishing up my meal. "I won’t threaten you again. I think I’ve done that enough." Gennady snorted, as I took a sip of water. "However," I continued, "I will have to figure out how I’m going to keep your mouth shut. So if you can tell me why exactly I should trust you won’t go telling the Church that the daughter of the Fiend is in Locke, then maybe it might prevent me from doing other unsavory things I don’t like."
I was trying to be threatening with my words, rather than just overt violence; it might seem harsh— actually, it was very harsh. I immediately regretted saying it, but kept it from showing on my face. Next time, I’ll try being a good cop rather than a bad cop.
My guilt only doubled as the Dwarf’s eyes bulged like an insect, as I finished speaking. Was I that menacing? Perhaps saying it while cutting a piece of meat with a knife like in movies really worked. Gennady opened his mouth to speak—
"Wait, you’re the daughter of the Fiend?!"
I fell out of the bed.
"What? You mean you didn’t know that?!" I exclaimed. "You mean I just revealed that myself by accident?"
I’m an idiot! Idiot! Stupid! Idiot!
I smacked my head on the floor a few times, before picking myself up and walking towards a desk to slam my forehead into.
Gennady quickly leaned forward, bringing a finger to his mouth. "What are you doing, keep it down. Stop making so much noise!"
I paused, cocking my head at his reaction.
The Dwarf came close to me, speaking so softly I could barely hear him. "Is that really true? You’re talking about the Fiend, right? Valeria of the Shadow’s Evangelium?"
I bit my lower lip, mentally cursing at myself.
"...yes."
There was no use hiding it, since I literally just revealed it. Gennady walked over to a chair, rubbing at his forehead. "Goddess grace us. That would explain how you were so good with magic. With all those spells you were throwing around, I’d have thought you were at least B Rank like me. Possibly even higher!
"You’re lucky the walls in this inn are thick, lass. If anyone heard you, and if they believed you, you’d have Inquisitors coming down on you in an instant. There’s no way you’d survive the year. Even if you can fight off Inquisitors, they could even send a Saint or a Saintess. And I estimate their average strength to be at S Rank. They’re dangerous. And you should know that."
"I do," I said, realizing that he knew what happened to my mom. And of course he would. Apparently, when the Holy Xan Empire announced it a few months back, they made sure to keep it on the news for over a week. Anyone who had access to a television would know that Saint Theron slew my mom in battle, aided by a group of Inquisitors— conveniently leaving out the fact that they attacked her while she was unprepared and not looking for a fight.
Gennady slumped over in his chair. "Lass, you do realize that these are the things you have to be tight lipped about, right? I didn’t think about it when I saw you at first, but now that you mention it, I can see the resemblance. You should be more careful!"
"I know," I sighed, "but I just thought that you knew. I don’t know why, but I just assumed…"
Every individual of note I had met so far who was unbothered by my magic somehow seemed to easily draw the connection between me and my mom; I mistakenly assumed Gennady would be the same, and let it slip. I need to work on being more covert. I’m too new to this! I resolved myself for the future.
For now, I turned to Gennady who was still looking stressed in his seat.
"What are you going to do now?" I asked, studying any visible changes in how he seemed to regard me.
The Dwarf glanced back at me, and I did not notice any fear; he was unnerved, but by something else other than me.
"I already told you, Aria— wait, that’s not even your real name, is it?"
I did not respond, but he shook his head.
"Doesn’t matter,"
