Mel was the name of the servant girl. Whether that was her real name or not, Henry had no way of knowing since she spoke little. She had introduced herself when she started guiding the three to their rooms. The maid’s words consisted of supplements to her courtesy and guidance. Her expression, on the other hand, was in dire need of scrutiny. She wore her emotions on her sleeves. She had done a decent job of maintaining her composure when she was in Vishara’s presence.

  Once they left the courtyard, the maid’s legs began to shake. Each step was a trial. She couldn’t help but gnce back over her shoulder as she led Henry and the two to their rooms. Sweat trickled at first but it then began to pour. Her movements became stiffer and stiffer as they went on. Eventually, she tripped on her own feet. Before she could fall face-first into the floor, Henry swooped in and caught her.

  “Are you alright?” Henry asked.

  “Y-yes, I’m fine!” the maid answered in a manner simir to yelling. She quickly pushed herself off of Henry’s arms. “I’ll be fine now. T-thank you! And I-I’m sorry!” She bowed frantically at Henry before resuming her duty guiding the three to their rooms.

  “A craven maid,” Rayne scoffed.

  “She’s not a craven,” Ani objected. “She’s just shy, that’s all.”

  “Craven or not, we are still just guests. Show some respect, Rayne.”

  “I meant no disrespect. I just simply find it fascinating.”

  Henry noticed how the maid’s face began to turn red but he said nothing to her. “What’s so fascinating about that?”

  “She’s a fighter, a trained one. She could probably beat that hero boy we came across with much ease. In fact, even the weakest servant in this manor would probably be enough to overwhelm the hero boy.”

  Henry could feel the maid’s embarrassment growing as her body temperature rose. They weren’t speaking softly but neither were they speaking loudly. Yet, the maid appeared to have caught every word. Speaking of servants, Henry realised the ck of them. They had walked quite a bit and other than Mel, he saw no other servants.

  “Where is everyone?” Rayne asked what was on Henry’s mind. “Girl, do you know anything about this?”

  “N-no…” Her answer came immediately. “I mean, yes, I do know.”

  “So, where are they?”

  “They are attending to their duties on the other parts of the manor. These parts of the manor are reserved for guests and I alone am enough in taking care of these parts. If there’s anything, please don’t hesitate to ask me.”

  Henry expanded his senses. True to Mel’s words, no one was in the vicinity but that didn’t mean no one was watching him. Though they kept their distance, Henry could still feel their gazes. Interestingly enough, Vishara was not one of these gazers.

  After tens of minutes of walking, they finally reached their rooms. To their shock, their rooms encompassed a third of the entire floor. Like every other parts of the manor, the room was built with some kind of material that Henry recognised as something simir to marble. Unlike the marble that he knew of, these ones don’t crack easily. He tried to crack the tiles by putting weight into his steps but the tiles remained intact.

  Mel took her leave in a hurry after saying some greetings and standard words of courtesy. She nearly tripped on her own steps again as she rushed off.

  “How can a girl like her remain composed in front of Vishara but crumble in front of strangers?” Rayne mused out loud as she made herself comfortable on a rge chair with a reclined backrest.

  “Not our problem to mind,” Henry muttered. He turned to Ani after noticing how quiet she was.

  Ani was just standing in the middle of the room, staring into the space around her with a face full of fascination and awe.

  “Ani?” Henry called out.

  “H-huh? What is it?” She snapped out of it.

  “Are you alright?”

  “Yes— I mean, no. W-well, I’m alright but… just look at this pce.”

  “We’re looking,” Rayne mumbled.

  “How are you not awed by this… pace?”

  Now that Ani mentioned it, the room and the entire manor did indeed look majestic and calling it luxurious would be an understatement. However, the tension with Vishara had taken Henry’s mind off of these material wonders. Even the chair looked like it would cost a person’s life savings but none of these gmorously ornate objects appealed to him.

  “There’s nothing to be awed by. This whole pce is nothing but a waste of fortune and wealth. Wait until you see the homes of Zevas. We decorate our walls with trophies of our battles unlike these… forged spectacles.” Rayne groaned as she wriggled in her seat. “Though I will say, these chairs are very comfortable.”

  Ani was still letting her gaze wander, taking in the opulence of the room. “How did she manage all of this? Who built this pce? Just where did she get the materials?”

  Henry got the answer immediately when he inspected the room just a little closer. “Murux,” he said. “I don’t know the specifics but this pce is built with the usage of Murux. I can still sense the lingering Murux.”

  “Even if it’s with the help of Murux, to be able to achieve such… magnificence in such a short time is simply a miracle.”

  “So, you like it here better than the nest?”

  Ani stopped her admiration and snapped her head to Henry. “No, of course not! I didn’t mean that! This pce is just fancy, that’s all. I still prefer the nest where I feel… safe and… at home.”

  Henry snickered. “I know. I’m just joking.”

  Ani’s face sank with embarrassment but then she regained her colours. She huffed and strode over to a bed before sitting down and pouting.

  Henry smiled wryly. He wasn’t jealous at all. Ani was right, the nest did feel safer. Here, they were under constant scrutiny, even now. He wagered more than half of the estate was surveying him. As he concentrated on his hearing, glowing tattoos appeared on his ears. Sounds and noises from afar rushed in. The discomfort was acute but he quickly adapted to it.

  Everything was jumbled and unsound. Not a single word could be heard clearly. He decided to focus his hearing on certain parts instead of the entire manor. As he looked for the ones that could provide him the most information, he heard his name being mentioned and that spurred him to devote his concentration to that conversation.

  “That dragon is out of line!” snarled a familiar voice. It was Lionel. Vishara’s councillor, Henry recalled, though he wasn’t sure. “He dared threaten the mistress in front of us. Who does he think he is?”

  “Watch your words, Lionel. That dragon is our guest and the Mistress will be most displeased if she hears you.” This voice belonged to Mikael, Henry guessed. He was the one that guided Henry to the manor. Mikale also happened to be the only one amongst Vishara’s ckeys who didn’t have a stick up his arse, Henry thought to himself.

  “Lionel is right, Mikael,” said a woman’s voice. Samira, Henry instantly recognised. “Lord Henry had done nothing but defied the Mistress at every turn. He objected to every proposal she made.”

  “Aye, what you say could be true.”

  “It is the truth, Mikael. Ask anyone.”

  “Be that as it may, what is it to us if the Mistress herself took no offence to any of that? Who are we to tell the Mistress otherwise?”

  “We are her loyal subjects, Mikael,” said Lionel. “Just because the Mistress said nothing, doesn’t mean such impudence is allowed to continue. We are not machines that only move when we are told. Moreover, the dragon might be taking advantage of the Mistress’ favour. As we all know, the Mistress longed for an equal. This longing may be clouding her judgement.”

  Mikael gred at Lionel and the mood seemed to shift a darker shade. “You’re more than welcome to doubt me, Samira, or any other of your peers, but you will not doubt the Mistress.”

  Instead of backing down, Lionel met his gre. “I’m not doubting the Mistress. I’m doubting the dragon.”

  “The dragon is the Mistress’ guest and you will address him as Lord Henry. Failure to do so is a stain on the Mistress’ honour as our sovereign.”

  “Lionel, this isn’t about our loyalty nor is it about us undermining the Mistress,” said Samira. “We are all concerned for the mistress. If the legends and myths are any true, Lord Henry could easily raze the entire region into nothing if he so wished.”

  “The Mistress will not let such a notion turn into reality. I’m sure you all have seen or heard about the sparring match between Lord Henry and the Mistress, no?”

  “A match of physical ability,” Lionel scoffed. “Aye, I have witnessed it but the dragon was holding back.”

  “And so was the Mistress. There’s a fine line between caution and paranoia. Be careful not to cross it without any realisation.”

  “How can you say this, Mikael? This concerns the Mistress and this region.”

  Mikael sighed. “You two… what is exactly your issue with Lord Henry?”

  “Insolent. He had not shown any respect that the Mistress deserved.”

  Mikael rolled his eyes. “If that’s the sole reason, then you are just making the Mistress out to be a tyrant.”

  “His uninhibited strength,” Samira added. “As of now, he had no sworn allegiance to the mistress. Words are winds. We do not know Lord Henry but the Mistress is already offering him too much.”

  “We do not know Lord Henry, yes, but can you say the same about the Mistress? Lord Henry was one of the first people she met upon her advent. I’m sure she knows Lord Henry better than any of us do. And the Mistress is not someone to be so easily taken advantage of. We will not speak of this again, you two.”

  And the conversation died. An abrupt end but Henry heard enough. He moved on to the other conversations and nearly all of them were discussing the sparring match that just transpired. As expected, many spoke highly of Vishara’s prowess and performance in the match. There were a small number who expressed their concerns instead. Though Henry lost, he stood his ground and he was still standing when the match came to an end. They all presumed Henry would be utterly demolished in the fight.

  Henry reined in his hearing a few minutes ter. He had heard everything he needed to hear. A few were awed, some were indignant over the result, and the most important voices were the ones who became wary of Henry. Prior to the match, quite a number of them assumed Henry was not even half the fighter Vishara was. The spar proved them wrong and fear was instilled in their hearts, fear for their sovereign.

  “You looked pleased,” said Rayne, who already had her eyes half closed.

  “I have gained from the spar more than I thought.”

  “That has always been your problem, Henry. You’re too… soft. You need to show your strength more often. People need to fear you and you need to learn how to instil fear. Otherwise, no one will care when you open your mouth. Only then, will they respect you.”

  “Respect brought upon by fear is no respect at all. That’s just fear under the guise of respect. The moment they lose their fear, they will turn on you in a snap. You should know that best of all people, Rayne.”

  “Better than letting people take you for a weak fool who can’t even bury your own shit. Thankfully, my dear ancestor had given you the opportunity to dispy your prowess and you swept their attention. That should keep them at bay.”

  “For now. Many of them are distrustful and I may have made plenty of enemies by simply participating in this spar.”

  “What do we do now?”

  “We sleep for now and for tomorrow… cross our fingers.”