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(part 1) (part 2) (part 3). (Part 4) (part 5) (part 6) (part 7) (part 8)

Baron Ramsey knows a secret.

It is a very good position to be in, to be a noble and to know an important secret. The base of the aristocracy’s power comes from secrets after all and knowing one that many others don’t  means he holds a special power. A different power. An important power.

Baron Ramsey subtly pulls his collar away from his neck as he’s led down the long, ornate hall to the audience chamber. He can feel a bead of sweat just shy of his hairline and he hopes it doesn’t roll down his temple at the wrong moment. The knight leading him to the King and Queen has a hand on the silver hilt of his sword. He doesn’t look back at the Baron, but Baron Ramsey can feel his attention regardless. Like a flock of birds looking down from the trees as you pass underneath.

Knowing a secret is a very good thing, he reminds himself. He dabs away the bead of sweat a beat before the knight opens the doors the audience chamber. He most likely has only been called to discuss a new item the Queen wants. Something that he who spends so much time abroad could find for her. It is a common occurrence. That is why he takes pains to never let her find him at home.

“Baron David Ramsey,” the knight announces. He steps smartly to the side and bows without ever once looking at the occupants of the room. “Your majesties.”

Baron David Ramsey. His name curls inside of his chest and settles like a band around his lungs. When he was a boy, his father took him to meet the Queen and King. His father said it was only natural to feel anxious and frightened in their presence. Natural and right, even. But now he can feel the unnaturalness in it and he struggles to take the first step forward. He could be crushed by their attention alone.

Addendum to A Lack of Due Diligence

@venus-ratt pointed out that Widow actually calls Hornet the child of Wyrm and Weaver, which is a line that I completely forgot about.

It doesn't change the core premise of the last comic (Lace not knowing that Wyrms were real, let alone one of Hornet's gene donors), and is likely me misunderstanding the situation altogether.

However, it also offered up a much funnier (and sadder) scenario.

I read Lace as one of those kids who was both neglected and raised in a high control environment. She's self-sufficient, but her knowledge of the world is inconsistent and once she's outside of her comfort zone she rapidly comes up against her incorrect assumptions. The tortured and potentially half-mad Widow is the only version Lace has ever known; she's likely never met any of the other First Children, was never told the details of their rebellion, and it never occurred to her to question Widow's physical condition.

(Also, Ghost beat Seth's records before Hornet did, and therefore claimed the Guardian Memento. They will wear it as a charm and somehow gain new magical abilities from it.)

Other Hollow Knight Comics:

Hornet Enacting Big Sister Rights Lace Gets Adopted Ghost Exhibiting Cat Behavior ™ Addendum to Adoption A Lack of Due Diligence

Bonus:

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