We had finally reached Lucy’s home. It took a while because my companions got a bit distracted by the rain when it was hitting the barrier that I made.

 

Well, that’s actually a nice spectacle to behold, so I don’t blame them. I also got distracted by the rain.

 

It took us thirty minutes to reach the enormous white castle which stands tall near the heart of Nueva Cádiz. The castle was surrounded by very tall cobblestone walls.

 

A few knights were standing guard in front of the portcullis of the castle. They were wearing some sort of poncho on top of their plate armour.

 

When we approached them, a male knight ran towards us and stopped us. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties.

 

“Halt! Who goes there!?” The male knight asked with a menacing voice.

 

“Your future countess… Leopoldo, you don’t need to ask for my identity every time I go out and bring some friends…” Lucy said with a blank expression.

 

“My apologies, but I’m only following the commands of your father. Once again, I apologize to you, my lady... But I’m afraid your friends will have to identify themselves as well.” He looked at us with a serious expression.

 

He then started analyzing us from head to toe…

 

“Two elves and one dwarf. Very peculiar friends you got, my lady.” He said while still analyzing us.

 

“Leopoldo, stop harassing my guests. Seriously, you do this every time… Why are you even asking for the identity of the heir of this household!?” Lucy was a bit annoyed.

 

“Sorry, my lady. As I have said before, it is my duty to identify everyone before they come into the castle. I’m just following my orders.” Leopoldo replied with a very serious expression.

 

“Sigh… I give up…” Lucy had a defeated expression.

 

It seems like I’m not the only one with eccentric subordinates. Lucy and I might have more in common than I thought.

 

“It is fine, Lucy. My name is Raul. I’m also known as Erlan Aerieth, but I don’t mind if you use the first name I mentioned, as I am a simple wandering adventurer. I’m pleased to make your acquaintance.” I bowed to the guard while I introduced myself.

 

“Thank you very much, Mr. Raul. My name is Leopoldo and I’m in charge of the main gate of this magnificent castle!” He nodded in satisfaction.

 

He then looked towards Katia and Alma.

 

“I’m afraid that my companions don’t speak this language. The dwarf is called Alma and the other elf is Katia.” I explained to the guard.

 

Katia and Alma were pinching my back while trying to gain my attention. They wanted me to translate.

 

“He was asking for our identity.” I said to the pair.

 

“Did you tell him that we are natives from the Sky Archipelago?” Alma asked.

 

“Nope, I would prefer to keep that a secret for now.” I said with a serious expression.

 

I actually talked about this with Lucy while we were walking towards the city. She asked me to hide our identity as inhabitants of Isles of the Gods until we meet her father, the current ruler of this city.

 

She said that she wanted to prevent panic or us being surrounded by a crowd. I agreed with her.

 

“Erli, you must be very nervous to meet your in-laws! I will be here holding your hand to calm you down!” Katia said with a teasing tone.

 

“Can you drop that joke already? It is no longer funny…” I said with annoyance.

 

“Hehehe!” Katia simply giggled in response.

 

“I see, that’s unfortunate. Is this by any chance their first time in Numancy?” Leopoldo seemed very understanding.

 

“Yes, it is our first time visiting this Kingdom.” I smiled bitterly.

 

Lucy suddenly put herself between Leopoldo and I.

 

“Can you raise the portcullis now? They already introduced themselves, so hurry up. I want to treat my very tired guests to some tea.” Lucy sounded a bit annoyed.

 

“As you wish, my lady.” Leopoldo then gave the thumbs up to the other guards.

 

The portcullis started being raised as soon as he gave the order.

 

“Now, if you’ll excuse us…. Let’s go, Erli.” Lucy started dragging us towards the insides of the castle.

 

Leopoldo waved his hands at us while we were being dragged inside. The other guards smiled bitterly at us. Some of them had apologetic expressions.

 

“You don’t seem to like him a lot.” I smiled bitterly while we were walking towards the insides of the castle.

 

“No, I’m actually quite fond of him… He has been like a big brother to me since I was a child. It is just that his obsession with checking everyone’s identity is very annoying… He once arrested my favourite baker when he was bringing a delivery to the castle… Leopoldo arrested him even though the baker had a letter signed by me with my permission… I had to come to the gatehouse and talk to Leopoldo in order to release the poor baker...” Lucy said with a tired expression.

 

I looked towards the perverted maid and the drunken sailor… They had pulled that very same move on a girl I became acquainted with in the academy. They didn’t actually arrest her, but they did start interrogating her about her relationship with me…

 

That was a nightmare to deal with...

 

Katia smiled warmly at me as soon as she noticed my gaze. Alma simply stuck her tongue out at me…

 

“I get how you feel, Lucy…” I nodded in agreement.

 

Lucy simply smiled bitterly in response while we continued to walk through the gates of the castle.

 

It didn’t take long for us to leave the gatehouse and come into a very large garden.

 

“Welcome to the garden of the castle!” Lucy said with enthusiasm.

 

The garden was very beautiful. There were plant walls, several types of flowers and fruit trees. The most predominant flowers in the garden are lilies and roses.

 

“Woah! They have some orange trees! I want to get some!” Alma looked at the orange tree with sparkling eyes.

 

As expected of a sailor… The first thing she noticed was the oranges… 

 

“Are those strawberries!? Erli, let’s make a cake right away!” Katia was also very excited.

 

That doesn’t sound that bad actually…

 

I looked around the garden while we were walking, I noticed that there was a building made out of glass on one corner of the garden.

 

“The garden is pretty beautiful. I didn’t think you also had a greenhouse, Lucy” I said to Lucy.

 

“Thank you! So you also have greenhouses in your homeland huh… The only ones who use the greenhouse are my mother and I. She likes growing medicinal plants, and I help her every now and then.” Lucy explained while nodding to herself.

 

“Is she a healer?” I asked.

 

“Not really, she’s an alchemist. She knows some basic healing magic though.” Lucy started rubbing her chin.

 

We were able to enjoy a nice stroll through the garden. Katia and Alma were having a good time admiring the wonderful despite not being able to join the conversation.

 

“The castle is divided into four wings. Each wing has three floors. The east wing has the quarters of the servants and the kitchens in the lower and middle floors. The west wing has libraries and guest rooms in the middle and superior floors. On the lower floor, there’s several storage rooms. On the south wing, where we currently are, there’s a ball room and a dining hall where we host parties every now and then! Those rooms are on the lower and middle floors.” Lucy explained everything with a very excited expression.

 

I immediately translated everything to Alma and Katia.

 

“Ohhh! It reminds me of the castle of Sky Harbor!” Katia nodded to herself.

 

“They are similar, yeah.” Alma nodded in agreement.

 

We were actually able to go into the castle of Sky Harbor once. It was when I was accepted into the Royal Academy. We were only allowed on the first floor, but it was an extremely luxurious place.

 

But that’s actually a story for another day.

 

“What about the northern wing?” I asked.

 

“Most of the rooms of my family and my father’s office are located there.” Lucy smiled.

 

That makes sense.

 

“I don’t know about you, but I’m kinda hungry! Let's go and have a meal!” Lucy said with a bitter smile.

 

I simply smiled in response.

 

“They are flirting again…” Alma whispered to Katia.

 

“Yeah. They must be talking about how nervous they are before revealing their relationship to their parents.” Katia nodded vigorously.

 

I simply ignored them and started walking with Lucy towards the gate of the castle. Katia and Alma immediately catch up to us.

 

As soon as we approached the actual gates of the castle, the gates opened on their own…

 

All of us immediately stopped walking as soon as we noticed the opening doors.

 

When the doors were fully opened, the luxurious insides of the castle were revealed. Gorgeous marble pillars and statues, stained glass, exquisite paintings, those were the things decorating the insides of the castle.

 

The floor was decorated with a very extravagant red carpet. Several maids and butlers were forming two lines on both sides of the gates and bowed.

 

“Welcome back, young miss and guests.” All the servants spoke in unison.

 

We made our way towards the insides of the mansion. As soon as we were inside, the doors were closed immediately.

 

Lucy looked back at us and smiled bitterly.

 

“Sorry, it is always like this…” She said with an apologetic expression.

 

“I’m used to it, don’t worry.” I replied.

 

The butlers and maids were still bowing while we walked through the entrance of the castle. There was a man and a woman waiting at the end of the lines. The two were humans and seemed to be middle-aged. They were looking very intently at us.

 

The man was very tall. Standing at 1.90 meters tall. He already has white hair and a beard which looks perfectly clean. His eyes are brown. He’s wearing a very elegant suit.

 

The woman is also tall, she’s at least 1.71 meters tall. She has black hair and blue eyes. She’s wearing a maid’s outfit.

 

As soon as we were in front of them, they bowed.

 

“Welcome back, my lady.” The man said with a gentle tone.

 

“I hope your stroll was pleasant, my lady.” The woman spoke with a caring tone.

 

“You could say it was very pleasant! I made some new friends thanks to that!” Lucy said with excitement.

 

I looked back at Katia and Alma and nodded.

 

The three of us bowed at the same time.

 

“My name is Erlan Aerieth, it is a pleasure to meet you. I also go by the name of Raul. You can use the name you feel most comfortable with to address me. The one with the maid outfit behind me is Katia and the dwarven sailor beside Katia is Alma. Both them are very precious friends of mine and my companions. They do not speak this language, so we do apologize for that.” I introduced ourselves to the butler and maid.

 

The man and the woman bowed elegantly.

 

“My name is David, I’m the head butler of the Herrera Palacios household. I’m pleased to make your acquaintance, Lord Erlan.” He said with a gentle smile.

 

“The pleasure is mine, Raul. It is so admirable that you’re so polite even to the servants at such a young age. Kids really learn fast these days huh. My name is Helena and I’m the head of the maids of the Herrera Palacios household! Nice to meet you!” The maid introduced herself with an easygoing tone.

 

Helena seemed to think that I was actually a child… Sigh… I can’t blame her...

 

“I’m twenty…” I smiled bitterly.

 

Helena looked a bit shocked… She was actually speechless.

 

“I apologize in the name of Helena, Lord Erlan.” David bowed again.

 

“No worries. I’m used to it…” I could only smile bitterly in response…

 

Lucy noticed that the atmosphere was about to turn a bit awkward, so she immediately changed the subject.

 

“David, where’s father and mother? I would like to have a talk with them as soon as possible.

 

“The Count and the Countess are in a meeting with some merchants at the moment. Would you like to have some tea while you wait, my lady?” David asked.

 

“Yes, please! Take everything to my room! Let’s go, Erli!" Lucy nodded before grabbing my hand and she started dragging me again.

 

Katia and Alma looked at us with a grin on their faces.

 

“It looks like Lucía seems a bit desperate to get an heir and secure her bloodline!” Katia said while smiling from ear to ear.

 

“It seems like it. What an impatient young girl…” Alma spoke with an overly dramatic tone.

 

“You don’t even understand the language, how did you even reach that conclusion…?” I asked them with annoyance.

 

“Woman’s intuition.” The two of them said in unison with a mischievous expression.

 

I was dragged towards the north wing of the castle while being teased by a perverted maid and a drunken sailor… Lucy had no idea what we were talking about during our journey towards her room...