Chapter 174: Lettering
Janeya was walking towards my quarters, holding a letter then I recognised its symbol all too well. That Duke had something else to say after lying to us.
"You know what it would be, right?" Janeya asked, raising the letter when she saw me at the door.
A small sigh left me as I ushered her into the small room I stayed in for a change of pace.
She worked to remove the wax seal and handed me the letter inside. I opened it with a flick of a finger. The content was vague, yet the last bit fell directly.
To visit his place for a hunt.
"He should leave the duties of a Disciple to his son." I sighed, folding the letter. "He shouldn't always get involved in decisions disciples handle even when he has handed over to his adopted son."
It was no question that a major reason he took the current Disciple as his son was because he got the mantle of a Disciple of the Goddess.
Since my mother was able to birth her own heir, many other Disciples hoped they would do the same.
I wondered if they always assumed they'd still be able to be in control. They weren't really wrong, like in my case.
"Yes, there's another report for you." Janeya added, reminding me she was in the room before my thoughts drifted away again. "From the Duke of Melancholy."
My neck slowly craned towards her. I tilted my head and she answered my questioning expression with a nod. I returned my gaze outside.
"That is quite odd. I have never spoken to him before." I sighed. "Let's send a reply back. Was he just giving his greetings?"
"Yes, and he also said he wanted you to know that you are free to visit him because he's quite lonely."
I stopped the unconscious thoughts that drifted to her, lowering my head to the ground.
I was free to visit him? That part was more odd. The son of that family wouldn't send a verbal report asking me to visit him.
While I didn't know him well enough to guess his temperament when lonely, unless he was utterly miserable, there's no reason to plead for visits.
He came from a very proud family.
"Unless he's utterly miserable." I said to myself.
How much of his 'gift' affected his current stats, with being abandoned in a foreign land?
"I will pay him a visit when I can. Prepare a gift based on a pet he once kept." It could soften the hurt of his loneliness.
Janeya made a short bow, and left the room.
"Heavy is the crown that wears the head."
I smiled, leaving the room shortly after her. "You know you say gibberish."
But his point remained. How many responsibilities could I perform while integrating Esmeralda into my life? Even my family would be distant at some point.
How long would Esmeralda wait for me? It's been many years already.
"Sire."
I snapped from my thoughts, turning to him. Why was he here again?
Chapter Ninety-One - Child In The Shadows
Lumiere's POV
As I walked back to my office, thoughts drifting from the files on my table and a certain redhead with a fierce gaze, I never noticed him till I was at the door.
I adjusted my posture.
Levine's instructions had been simple yet he stood in front of me again. "Is there a problem, Levine?"
He raised his gaze without raising his head, and a frown creased my forehead. He pushed himself off the door he leaned on.
"I want to quit."
I blinked once.
"What?"
He mirrored the frown on my face. "I want to quit being a warrior here. If you are right and there's trouble back in my region that will affect those I care about, then I want to stay close to them."
This righteousness disgusted me for some reason, and I didn't try to hide it. His frown deepened but before he'd try to speak again, I raised a hand.
"First, you should see the mission and be sure it really entails you quitting before you say such rubbish in front of the head of a region."
My last words wiped the frown off his face. Had he forgotten that he was only a mere warrior even if I gave him preferential treatment?
If he wasn't involved with Esmeralda, he'd never have caught my attention.
"Second, you don't quit. At least not as easily as you think. Have you never asked why they're old men in the warrior lines that only leave when they retire or die. What did you think your oath was for?"
While I removed those restrictive terms in the oaths meant for warriors under my region, a good part still remained to ascertain loyalty.
All oaths can always be overridden if I please.
The realization didn't dawn on him as quickly as I'd like so I added.
"You can't leave till you have permission. You can't have permission unless you are no longer needed. Go there and protect the girl for me. I'd overlook this nonsense today."
I waited to hear any other refute, but he only bowed and walked away. I added as he left.
"From now onwards, meet Beta Janeya for your mission reports and assignment."
His steps had slowed as I spoke, but returned its pace when I finished. It would be better to stop anything that would make him feel we had a closer relationship than warrior and head of region.
"Did you not want to be his friend while chasing Esmeralda's attention? If I recall correctly, which I do, that was one important reason why you accepted him here."
If only he wasn't too rigid, then it might've happened.
______
The mansion of the Disciple of Fear wasn't a good place to get missing. I turned back to the entrance, hoping to get out how I came.
I returned to the fountain, shaped like a naked lady hiding her jewels. A sigh left me.
All in a bid to buy time— while familiarising myself with the wonder of a building this place was rumored to be— I ended up getting lost in a boring quarter.
I kept walking, hoping to bump into a servant or a child like I did before but left them to their game of hide-and-seek.
"Ah!"