Chapter 70 - Perilous propositions
Allyssa swung her legs back and forth as she looked at the people working outside. She sat on the window ledge in Shin’s room, and the people outside were walking around, cleaning away uprooted bushes, dirt, and all the other things that’d been spread about during the chaos earlier in the day.
“Do you think she’ll tell us what’s going on?” she asked out loud, rolling a few strands of hair around her finger.
“I don’t know,” Shin answered from behind her. “You could try asking.”
“I already did, didn’t I?” Allyssa turned toward where he was sitting, next to a small table at the other end of the room. As usual he wasn’t paying her much attention, occupied with the book in his hands. The sight of him wearing his grey armor while reading—with his sword and shield lying on the floor nearby—was fairly funny, at least.
But after what happened just a few hours earlier, she’d also changed into her normal equipment. She couldn’t be stuck in her dirty old clothes and alchemical apron in case things started up again. She also had her cloak, bandolier, and crossbow placed next to Shin’s weapons for easy access.
“Then there you have it,” Shin said as he flipped a page in his dusty, boring old book. He’d been extra absorbed in reading ever since they’d arrived here in Freybrook. Scarlett had allowed him to read any of the books in her library, which Allyssa imagined was the same as giving a kid free access to a candy stall.
“Ugh.” She rolled her eyes at his reply, glancing over the rest of the room. It was large. And fancy. That was about how she would describe it.
Back when they had started staying at Scarlett’s mansion in Elystead things had felt kind of weird. Staying in an expensive-looking place like that, getting to enjoy great food, and being served by other people most of the day was so far removed from what she was used to. Still, it had only taken a few days to get used to it. But for some reason, it felt different staying here in Freybrook.
The rooms were bigger, yes. But they were still about the same level of fancy. The food was, somehow, even better than in Elystead, but it was still just food. And the people working here did basically the same work as the people that had worked in the mansion back in the capital. So Allyssa wasn’t really sure what it was that stuck out about staying here.
Shin hadn’t seemed to notice anything. Or he just didn’t care.
Maybe it was in the expectations she had? In Elystead, living in a mansion for a short while was a unique experience, but she hadn’t expected it to last long. But here? Now? She wasn’t so sure.
For some reason, both Leandro and the branch head in Elystead hadn’t had any objections to Allyssa and Shin continuing the contract with Scarlett when they’d asked about it. Allyssa thought they’d want the two of them to help after what happened with the Tribe of Sin, but apparently not. It had almost seemed like they preferred for them to remain with the Baroness instead. And there’d been no mention of any time limit. Neither from the Guild’s side nor Scarlett’s.