The Crusoes were even more removed from the rumors, as the majority of their soldiers made up the guard under Captain Li. They'd heard them and admitted their forces seemed to be just as split over whether they were true or not, and they'd been eager to be helpful.
Too eager, unfortunately. It had taken hours to extract themselves from the overly helpful family that had come out in force, all sixteen of them, to greet Eirian and answer their questions.
Eirian had been twitchy enough by the end that Yuze had worried she was going to snap, and Kai Low had been looking forward to it.
It had only been a couple of hours until dinner by then, but the Darrows were on the way back to the main estate, so Eirian had insisted on seeing them.
The Darrow home was understated compared to most noble families. They still claimed to celebrate their roots as cobblers and milliners working for the Crimson Army, before they managed to gain a trade monopoly that earned them enough money to buy a title. Now they controlled all the manufacturing involved in making and repairing uniforms for all ranks of the Crimson Army. The textile trade had made them one of the wealthier families in the Camelia, as they also dabbled in fine garments and traded heavily with the villages in the borderlands and the capital.
The home lacked the ostentatious decorations of many of the noble houses Eirian had visited in the capital, but somewhat made up for it with subdued tapestries and carpets of such fine silk and furs that they outdid even those in the main castle and Eirian's private rooms. The carpets themselves were so thick that it felt like sinking in sand with every step, and Eirian had to focus for the first few steps to remember how to walk on them in heels without breaking an ankle.
Lord and Lady Darrow had four children between them and several nieces and nephews from siblings, but they met with them alone in a simple seating room.
Yuze sat down and immediately sank several inches into the luxurious chair and realized he was going to have trouble getting back out of it.
"We humbly welcome Princess Soliel and her companions to our home." Lady Darrow offered as a maid set tea on the table in the middle of the room.
Eirian offered a regal nod in return. "I thank you. Apologies for stopping in so close to dinner."
"It's no trouble." Lady Darrow assured her, her husband nodding along beside her. "We've heard the rumors." The Darrows shared a look. "It must be serious if there's an investigation."
"It is." Eirian accepted a cup of pale, steaming tea. "What have you heard?"
Lady Darrow cleared her throat gently, and her husband straightened up immediately. "The same as anyone else, your grace. Very little that seems reliable. There are many who seem convinced Lord Zhao must have known what was coming. That he ignored intelligence that could have prevented the losses, but there are just as many that insist otherwise. There seems to be ample strength to both parties, but little evidence either way."
"And what do you think?" Kai Low asked, sounding bored. "Now that you've explained what everyone else thinks."
Lady stiffened, insulted, but her husband seemed to miss the implication and blundered. "Oh, well, we share the same opinion as everyone else. I assure you. We want to know the truth as much as anyone."
"Which is?" Kai Low pressed.
Lord Darrow blinked. "That we would like the truth, of course. Nay, we demand it." He pounded a fist on the arm of his chair. "The soldiers deserve the truth, and Lord Zhao is a public figure, one of their highest-ranked commanders. They are owed answers."
Eirian and Yuze shared a look. Lord Darrow was starting to sound like he thought Mingzhe was responsible for something by virtue of insisting on the need for answers.
Kai Low had picked up on it, too, because he kept pressing. "The truth is, they're rumors. Why is anyone owed anything?"
Lord Darrow sputtered inelegantly. Lady Darrow's lips thinned as she pressed them together. "I believe accountability is important in life, but even more so in matters of life and death. Soldiers put their lives in the hands of those they follow into battle; they must be worthy of that trust."
"Meaning that Lord Zhao is not?" Eirian's voice had a chill to it.
"Meaning that such rumors must be answered." Lady Darrow simpered. "Our soldiers deserve to know they are not being sent off to slaughter. That is our responsibility as leaders."
The corner of Eirian's mouth lifted in a snarl. The Darrows' soldiers were some of the least likely to end up in combat, since most of them hadn't done well enough in combat training and had been relegated to supply. Granted, there were a few whose families had paid to send them there, or who had real skills with the machinery used and couldn't be risked without the supply falling behind the demand.
The Darrow's insinuations grated on Yuze, too, but he'd long since mastered his facial expressions. "What makes you doubt Lord Zhao?" He asked because Eirian was too angry to do so, and Kai Low looked like he'd already gotten the answer he wanted.
Yuze was going to have to talk to him as soon as they were alone, because it didn't seem like Kai Low was taking the investigation seriously, and Yuze wasn't going to let a faulty outcome endanger the Camelia or the Zhao's.
Lady Darrow patted her cheek, like she was comforting herself. "Rumors always start from a pearl of truth, however misunderstood that truth may be. It simply seems impossible to imagine that the bas- Bandri would be able to outmaneuver our forces so completely." She shared a look with her husband. "We would never allow something like that to happen to our soldiers."
Even Kai Low raised an eyebrow at their certainty.
"There must have been some sign." Lady Darrow continued, looking distraught. "Something was missed, and it killed all those young people."
~ tbc