Luckily when Mr Longbart and his men reached his home, they saw the angry mob no more. A fight seemed to break out, and his servants won. He found a few of them were injured.

  However, most importantly, all of them were packing his belongings onto the carts. His wife might have decided to run. He sighed heavily.

  He went straight to his son and grabbed his shoulder.

  "Why did you leave the store? Did I not tell you to stay there before I came back?" He asked his son.

  "But mother said..."

  "You are a man. How could you leave your store just because your mother says so!?" He yelled at him.

  Suddenly Mrs Longbart came in between and protected her son.

  "Why are you yelling at my son? He just came back from horror."

  "I am teaching my son. Don't interrupt me."

  "Then you should have taught your daughter first. Everything is because of her. Isn't it?"

  "Why are you bringing in the poor child who was already suffering in the cold and dark? This is not about Leila. This is about him. How can I ever trust my business if my only son ran away when in danger? Workers and servants protected it but their master ran away? A man must stand his ground and protect his own property."

  "And die? Like you said. He is our only child. What if he dies doing so? Who will succeed us?"

  "Nobody died."

  "Can you promise that? Hmm? You want to risk our only child left for one stupid store!?" Mrs Longbart confronted her husband.

  Mr Longbart could not fight back. He believed he was right but she was not wrong too. Bran was their only child now.

  Suddenly, a voice came from outside the room, sneering at them. It was no other than Mrs Borger.

  "Is that so? Bran is the only child now? What about Leila? Is she not your child?" She asked them.

  "Oh finally. You came back. Where were you all this time?" Mrs Longbart asked her back without answering her.

  "Answer me first. Why did you say like she is dead already?"

  "She is as good as dead anyway." Mrs Longbart answered coldly to her.

  "Humph* fine. I understand you. You are her stepmother. But Mr Longbart. You are her father. You promised Lily that you would always take care of her daughter. So how could you pretend like she is dead when she is still alive? How could you give up your own daughter so easily?" She shouted at him.

  Her words stroke to his heart. He dropped to the floor.

  Mrs Longbart could not believe what she just saw. A servant yelling at her master and a master kneeling in front of a servant. She immediately grabbed his arm from his shoulder and made him stand. Then she confronted Mrs Borger.

  "How dare a servant yell at her master? A mere nanny thinks she is a parent?"

  "Shut up. What did you ever do for her?"

  "Shut up? How dare!" She raised her voice and tried to intimidate Mrs Borger. She noticed their heated argument turned others' heads to them so she collected herself. In front of them, she still wanted to be known as a good stepmother.

  "You think we did nothing for her? We apologized to the Temple for her. We begged to be merciful. We tried to negotiate with them. We used all our power. But her sins were too big to be forgiven. As a parent what more can we do than atone for her sins together."

  She looked to the sky and prayed. Then she glared back at Mrs Borger.

  "So answer me. Where were you all this time?"

  "Trying to save her."

  "You will save her? How? Break the jail?"

  "If that is an option, yes."

  "Are you crazy? Do you want to destroy our reputation? Who will buy from our store then?"

  "You just said you can give up the store for your son. Then why not for Leila."

  "This is different. She is a sinner while my son did nothing wrong."

  "Drop your act. You never care about her. And I don't blame you. I just want to ask Mr Longbart. Do you love Leila just as much your wife loves her son?"

  Mrs Borger asked Mr Longbart directly. With his shaking lips, he answered, "I do."

  "Then stop whining and follow me. We still have time."

  She left as soon as she was done speaking what she wanted. Mr Longbart also got up and followed her hurriedly. He was confused about why she told him to follow her. But if there was a chance to save Leila.

  He was stopped by his wife. She was afraid that they would do something criminal and destroy everything. However, he had decided he would not give up his daughter until the last moment.

  "I have to do this, my dear wife. I hope you understand. She is my daughter."

  At last Mrs Longbart gave up and let him go.

  "So what do you have in mind?" Mr Longbart asked Mrs Borger.

  "Get your horse, Mr Longbart. We will search Ethanial."

  "Ethanial? That bastard from the Temple. What is with him?"

  "We will ask him to break out Leila."

  It shocked him. And angered him. He could not believe he left his family to hear this nonsense.

  "Fucking hell. He is the reason."

  "Which is why we must make him take responsibility?"

  "He is a fugitive. A deserter. What honour did he have? I would rather kill that bastard than ask a favour from him."

  "It is from Leila. Your daughter wanted it. Before she went to the temple, she trusted a letter to me to send to him. Most of its content is personal, but at the end of it, she asks him to break the jail for her and run away together. She believed he would become a Templer after the trial."

  "But he ran away from the trial. Didn't he? He is a fugitive. We don't know him where? Even if we know, there is no guarantee that the bastard will save my daughter. He is a runner. A betrayer."

  "We will make him do it. I will make him. Even if I have to drag him all the way to the temple."

  "This is ridiculous. You may search for him. I will not. I will find an assassin or a hitter, a criminal and hire him to break her out."

  "Then I will search him alone. Thank you for not giving up on her."

  "Humph* I am her father. Don't tell me like I am not."

  "I pray you success."

  Three days. It was the time they had before the public execution of Leila. While Mrs Borger travelled to the village near the pilgrim trail and searched for clues of Ethanial, Mr Longbart had been busy making deals with the underground. He searched for men who would dare to break into the temple. But a day over and a sun set yet he could not find one. The grip of the temple on Gambit was so firm that no one dared to challenge it.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  They were either scared of divine punishment or the might of Templers or simply hated Leila. Most of the victims of the storm were the poor, and those who lived in underground sewers. Some of them nearly tried to kill him for stepping into their turf. Luckily, his feet were faster than his mouth.

  At the same time, his wife and his son, together with his servants, left for the capital. Bran had some good friends in the capital who could help them settle in the crown city. Longbarts already had a branch store set up in the capital, so everything was ready. They asked Mr Longbart to come along with them. But he said that he would join them in the capital later.

  On day two, he went out of town to find adventurers or fighters who would dare take the job. He rode to the infamous gold-finder camp. Even there, he failed to find a warrior or a dirt-poor soul desperate to get money in any way. There, he found out that no one in dukedom was either brave or stupid enough to go against Temple. He came back empty-handed.

  At the town gate, he met with Mrs Borger who also came back alone without Ethanial. He asked her if she had found him. She shook her head.

  She asked everywhere along the road to Northern Glacier where Ethanial was rumoured to run off to. It was as if Ethanial never ran to the north, no one saw or found traces of him.

  Desperate he was, before the night of public execution, Mr Longbart went to the Temple. He asked his old friend in the kitchen to save Leila.

  "We have known each other for decades. You also have a daughter so I am sure you can sympathize with me. Please save my daughter. I will pay handsomely for your troubles. I have a secret route that can take you safely to the east continent after it."

  "But how can I do it? I am just a mere servant in the kitchen."

  "You can. Left the key secretly while you deliver the meal."

  "What if I get caught?"

  "You can just say you forgot it. It can happen for old men like us to forget things and misplace them." "No. I am scared."

  "Come on. No one would punish you for a little mistake."

  "I am sure his holiness will notice my intention right away. After all these years you don't know how scary he can be. He sees through all lies."

  "That's an exaggeration."

  "Then how come he saw through your daughter's lie. I won't do it. I am sorry."

  "Fuck."

  Since he failed to persuade his inside man, he looked at another man. A jailor from the dungeon. He heard that man lost a lot in a game yesterday. His money and his house are gone in the gamble. He approached him secretly and tried to negotiate with him. Luckily, before he could, his friend from the kitchen got to him first. He took Mr Longbart outside quickly.

  "I knew why you approached him. It was for that, right?"

  "Yes. So what? You said you won't help. Why came back?"

  "Have you gone nuts? You can't just ask someone to break the jail. The bad rumours about you are already spreading. You are lucky that they do not have definite evidence to take you to court yet. You tell that jailor, and he will immediately run to Ayeegyee and become a witness for your treachery. He will sell you for money. You are too blind to not see a simple risk."

  "It is a risk I have to take."

  "No. Your daughter will not want that."

  "You don't know."

  "I know Leila. Her heart will be shattered if you are to be killed because of her. I know it is hard. But accept it. Leila did wrong and she must atone for her sin."

  "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!" Mr Longbart yelled in agony.

  "Cry, my friend. Don't hold your tears. Cry. I understand your pain. Cry and let tears take away your pain." The man soothed his poor friend.

  That last night. Mr Longbart and Mrs Borger met in front of the temple again. Both of them were exhausted. Regardless they had no time to rest. The last moon was up.

  "I don't think Ethanial ran to the north. There were no traces of him there." Said, Mrs Borger.

  "You mean he took pilgrim road to the east?"

  "Or he is here."

  "Huh? I see. I hope you are right."

  He sighed heavily. He took out a betel leaf and put some herbs into it. Then he rolled it up and offered it to Mrs Borger.

  "Thank you. ... This is Eastern Chew, right? I had already forgotten how it tasted. How did you get it?"

  Mr Longbart chuckled.

  "I am a trader from the east. You think spices are the only one I brought from it?"

  "And you never thought of sharing with me?"

  "This is my secret stash. Lily hates it. She did not like my bloody teeth after it."

  "Right. She hates it."

  "... ... Mara," He called her name. It had been a long time since he did not call her her real name. It surprised Mrs Borger.

  "Mara. There is something I must speak to you."

  "What is it? You are scaring me. The last time you called it was when Lily ..."

  "I have accepted it. Through his benevolence, I negotiated with his holiness. I donated the land of my store in exchange with...tomorrow Leila will atone for her sin."

  "Atonement? What does that mean? Did you give up?"

  "It is the best option. If I have to let her go, I don't want people to remember her as a devil who brought pain and suffering to them. I want her name to be cleared and her soul cleansed of all sins. So that she will be reborn in a better life."

  "Bullshit!"

  "Listen, Mara! I understand you are from the East and never believed in the Temple. But for me, as a father, I will not let my girl be damned in hell."

  "Then tell me, what did Leila do wrong to deserve this? She only slept with the man she loved. Is that so wrong?"

  "She gave her first to a mortal."

  "Then are all girls from the Eastern continent damned in hell? What about Lily? Is she too?"

  Her words stroke him. It made him dizzy and confused. What was right and what was wrong?

  She looked up at the moon. It was above her head. Soon would be curfew. She had no time left. It was the end.

  For execution of the criminals, the temple did at dusk. However atonement was done in the morning to signify the new better life.

  Tomorrow dawn, would be the last sunrise for Leila.