Chapter 5 – The Hollow Cipher
The path led to the quieter edge of the city, where the stones of the street were uneven, and the walls of buildings bore cracks like scars. Here, Tharelle’s grandeur faded into silence. The air smelled faintly of rain-soaked parchment and metal. Lilienne followed the pale-haired boy through an alley lined with shuttered windows and rusted signs. He did not speak again, and she did not ask question.. yet.
They reached a narrow iron door, barely noticeable behind a crumbling wall. He knocked once, waited, then tapped twice more. The door creaked open.
“Go in,” he said without looking at her. “He’s waiting.”
Lilienne stepped inside.
The room was dim, lit only by the flickering glow of a low-hanging ntern. Shelves lined the walls, filled with scrolls, books, and locked boxes. There were maps pinned with red thread. Names scribbled in the margins. It smelled of ink, wax, and secrets.
At the center of it all sat a boy– no, not quite a boy.
He couldn’t have been more than seventeen, but something about him felt older. He was seated at a cluttered desk, dressed in a dark tunic with golden trim, sleeves rolled up, fingers stained with ink. His deep red hair fell over a pair of sharp, unreadable bright green eyes.
He looked up, and for a long moment, they just stared at each other.
Then he rose.
“You’re Lilienne Aeris Caelistra,” he said softly.
“You seem certain.”
“You look exactly like General Sirius.” He pointed out, almost too calm.
“So they say.” She took a step forward, heart pounding. “Who are you?”
“Lucian Elion Caelistra,” he said.
The name hit her like wind against gss.
“Lucian…?”
He nodded.
“I’m your cousin, Marquess Elric Caelistra’s son.”
They had met once, barely, when she was small. She remembered him as the quiet boy who barely looked at her. She hadn’t thought of him in years. Not since her side of the family disappeared into the halls of Veyrath.
But now here he was. Grown, confident, cloaked in mystery and ink.
“I didn’t think you’d come,” he said, gesturing to the seat across from him.
“I wasn’t pnning to.”
“And yet here you are.”
She sat, slowly. “Why now? Why contact me?”
“I didn’t. But when I heard someone from House Lysarian had sent a letter… I traced the message. I needed to confirm it was you.”
She narrowed her eyes. “So you’re a spy?”
“No,” he said, almost smiling. “I’m a cipher.”
“A what?”
“A royal cipher scribe. I decipher and record messages for the Crown, both public and secret.” He leaned back slightly. “I read things most people never see.”
“And that includes… what happened to my father?”
Lucian’s smile vanished.
“Yes.”
He rose and pulled out a small, locked box from the shelves. The key came from a chain around his neck. He unlocked it slowly, then id out three folded sheets and a cracked seal.
“This is all I’ve been able to piece together. Most of the records were destroyed, or... never filed properly.”
Lilienne picked up the first sheet.
It was a letter addressed to the King. The writing was rushed, parts of it smudged. Her father’s name was mentioned, General Sirius Alistair Nocthrein, along with words that made her stomach tighten: interrogation, treason, withheld information, execution postponed pending further review.
The second page was worse.
A decree from the Royal Council. It bore the seal of DeLacroix. The nguage was cold and final: General Sirius Alistair Nocthrein found guilty of undermining royal security through secret correspondence with enemy borders. Sentence carried out on the 14th Day of Hollowlight.
Lilienne’s hands trembled.
“I… don’t understand. He wasn’t a traitor.”
“No,” Lucian said softly. “He wasn’t.”
She looked up. “Then why—?”
“Because he knew something,” Lucian said. “Something dangerous. Something about House DeLacroix… and possibly House Veyrath.”
Lilienne stood, pacing. “My mother… she never told me anything. Only that he died suddenly. That no one was allowed to see the body. Not even her.”
Lucian’s expression darkened. “Because there wasn’t one.”
She froze.
He stood and unfolded the st page, a medical report. “They cimed his body was cremated after an outbreak in the eastern garrison. No autopsy. No witnesses. Not even a grave.”
“But that’s not—”
“I know,” Lucian said. “That’s what made me start digging.”
Silence stretched between them. The room felt colder now, like the walls had drawn closer.
Lilienne finally spoke. “Why are you helping me?”
Lucian hesitated.
“My father—he was cruel. I had my suspicions that he was a part of all this. You aren’t the only one who wants to know what happened.”
She studied him. “...”
“I work under the royal court,” Lucian said. “I see things. Hear things. Lies woven into truth.” He looked at her. “When I saw your name… I couldn’t ignore it.”
Lilienne’s chest ached. “You think someone had my father killed.”
Lucian nodded. “And it wasn’t just a military decision. It was deliberate.”
“Do you know who?”
He met her eyes, voice low. “I suspect the King. And someone else. Someone close to him. Someone smarter than most.”
“But why would the throne betray him? My father gave nothing but unwavering loyalty– his very soul.”
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he gathered the papers and handed them to her. “Keep these hidden. Burn them if you must. But don’t let anyone else see them. Not yet.”
Lilienne took them with both hands.
Lucian looked at her quietly. “If you want answers, you’ll need to go deeper into this kingdom than you’ve ever dared.”
—-
It was te evening by the time she left. The city lights flickered like distant stars.
Lucian had offered her a pce to stay at the royal pace. As a trusted royal cipher, known for his exceptional mind and unwavering service, he had earned the favor of the court.
The Caelistras were known for their brilliance. Lucian, a child prodigy, was the perfect example. His father, Marquess Elric Theon Caelistra, had once been a sharp strategist and a close companion to the throne.
Their house carried not only the weight of intellect but also deep-rooted ties to power. The Caelistras were allies to both the DeLacroix royal family, who ruled the kingdom, and House Veyrath, renowned for its military might and influence. No one would dare provoke a Caelistra, not when former Marchioness Isalyn Caelistra, Elric’s sister, had married Grand Duke Thaddeus of House Veyrath. The bond between their houses made them untouchable. With Nocthrein fallen from grace, and DeLacroix reigning supreme, Veyrath stood as the second most powerful house in the kingdom.
The royal pace welcomed the Caelistras as their own, for their legacy of loyalty and intellect had long served the crown. Their contributions, both in strategy and diplomacy, had earned them the monarch’s hospitality. No one in the pace would dare question the presence of a daughter of Caelistra-Veyrath beneath its gilded ceilings, not even one who bore the blood of Nocthrein.
Given that, securing a pce for Lilienne within the pace walls would be no challenge at all for Lucian. He’d promised to contact her again in two days, once he made the necessary arrangements for her stay. Until then, she was to lie low, act like a common traveler, and draw no attention.
As the saying goes: keep your enemies close.
