Chapter 137: The Branding Rod
"Are you okay?" Caelum asked, his right arm stretched protectively across Lethia’s chest to keep her from lurching forward at the sudden brake.
Lethia nodded, eyes still fixed on the dark plume of smoke in the distance before her. It wasn’t large, but it was too close to the main house.
"What is that?" Caelum asked.
"I don’t know. That’s clearly coming from around the main house—and my father always strictly forbade burning anything, even grass, near the main house or anywhere on the ranch. We have a special annex for that behind the hill near the forest. So... that must be something unusual," she explained, her voice tight with unease.
But a small voice inside her whispered that everything could’ve changed in the month she’d been away.
"Should we just stop here and walk over?"
Lethia bit her lip, her thumbs fidgeting in her lap. Showing up unannounced would definitely startle a lot of people.
She hadn’t contacted anyone to inform them or ask about the ranch’s current state. She couldn’t be sure if her return would bring trouble or not.
According to the schedule Chasey gave her, Varrel should be busy flaunting himself at some social event in Ashenhold, which was why she chose today, specifically to avoid an encounter with him.
But really, what could go wrong when she had Caelum and six beta-level buff butlers tailing her?
"No. Let’s go through the gate and stop at the main house."