"You know nothing! The whole city’s talking about it by now! Let tell you it again what my sister heard it from the son of his aunt’s mother’s sister... he saw it with his own eyes whole."
Alex slowed his steps. It sounded like a familiar na, but he couldn’t quite place it.
Henrik... Henrik... where?
He stopped to listen.
"Found at a brothel again?" the second person asked, hardly holding in his delight.
"Yes, but this ti everybody has seen him! There are no more rumours about it... dozens of people witnessed it firsthand! He was caught tumbling out into broad daylight, drunk and with the brothel girl hanging all over him."
"Half the city knows by now. Even his father can’t cover this one up! Lord Bjornson must be furious. All that gold he’s spent over the years, silencing rumours and paying off witnesses. it’s all gone down the drain. This was too blatant to hide!
Alex turned to Nathan, his curiosity piqued.
"Henrik? That na sounds familiar, but I can’t place it. Should I know who they’re talking about?"
Nathan’s jaw tightened. And when he spoke, his voice had a barely suppressed anger mixed with vindictive pleasure tone.
"How can you forget about him, Brother Alex? He was the very sa guy at the McCoy family banquet. He is the one who accused you of being a bandit accomplice in front of everyone."
The mory ca flooding back.
"Ah," said Alex recalling. "That Henrik. The one who wanted my arm cut off when I couldn’t make it rain, that one?"
"The very sa," Nathan confird, satisfaction clear on his face. "And it seems karma’s finally caught up with the bastard. Well tid, if you ask ."
Alex frowned. "What’s this about a brothel? I an, I’m not naive—I know such places exist and n visit them. But why is this particular incident causing such a fuss; surely it would not his first ti?"
Nathan’s expression darkened. "Yes, Brother Alex although this isn’t his first ti being caught at such establishnts. In fact, it’s not even his tenth.
Henrik’s been frequenting brothels since he was barely sixteen and eight years of regular visits had made sure that everyone in the city knows about it; but everyone pretends not to see it."
"He’s been caught before, multiple tis. But his father, Lord Bjornson, always managed to cover it up.
The Henrik family is the largest dicinal herb rchant in Ironhold, after all. They control most of the herb trade routes, both import and export.
That gives them enormous wealth and political influence. Lord Bjornson’s used that influence ruthlessly over the years to protect his son’s reputation or what’s left of it."
Nathan leaned forward, trying hard not to let his glee get the better of him.
"But this ti is different. Too many people saw him this ti. It happened in the middle rchant district and in broad daylight too.
According to the rumours Henrik ca stumbling out onto the street, completely drunk, his clothes disheveled, with—" he lowered his voice so that Lucy might not hear, "—with visible lips marks on his neck and scratches on his face that left absolutely no doubt about what he’d been doing inside."
Jacob nodded. "The timing couldn’t have been worse for him. It was market day, so the street was packed."
"How long ago did this happen?" Alex asked.
"Three days ago," Nathan replied. "The sa day you rescued Lucy, actually. Word spread through the city like wildfire while everyone was focused on the kidnapping.
By the ti Lucy was safely ho, half of Ironhold was gossiping about Henrik’s latest scandal instead of the bandit situation."
Nathan added with satisfaction, "Plus, Lord Edmund McCoy was at an auction in that district that day with his daughter. He saw the whole thing personally."
Alex’s eyebrows rose. "I imagine Lord McCoy was quite pleased with what he saw."
"Pleased?" Nathan laughed quietly. "He could barely contain his joy.
According to the rumours, Lord McCoy took one look at Henrik stumbling around drunk and disheveled, he imdiately turned to his daughter, and said loud enough for everyone nearby to hear—’The marriage agreent between the Bjornson and McCoy families will be annulled.’"
Nathan paused. "Boss, not many say it openly, but everyone in the city knew that Lord Edmund had been aware of Henrik’s habits for a long ti. He was just waiting for the right opportunity."
"And no one expected Henrik would hand it to him on a silver platter himself," Jacob added.
Alex couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at his lips. That sounded exactly like sothing Lord Edmund would say... direct, cutting, and delivered with perfect timing for maximum impact.
"Lord Bjornson must have wanted to disappear into the ground," Alex murmured.
"Oh, it gets better," Nathan continued, clearly enjoying the story. "Apparently Henrik was so drunk he didn’t even recognize Lord Edmund at first.
He started yelling about how he should mind their own business and stop staring at him like he was so kind of criminal.
Even though when one of his companions recognized Lord Edmund and tried to shut Henrik up."
Jacob picked up the story. "But Henrik wouldn’t stop. He started ranting about how he was the eldest son of the Henrik family and soon he will be the head of the McCoy family too and how people must show him proper respect.
Lord Edmund just stood there with this cold expression, not saying a word. No one knew what he was thinking, but his silence made it clear that Henrik had thoroughly humiliated himself and his entire family in front of one of the city’s most powerful n."
"By the ti Henrik’s companions managed to drag him away, the damage was done," Nathan concluded.
"Within hours, the story had spread through every rchant district in the city. By sunset, even the common folk in the poorest quarters had heard about it. There’s no covering this ti up. No amount of gold can make this many people forget what they witnessed that day."
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