Freesia City Gate

"Nachtwald's main city Freesia. Not bad. I thought we were sent to some destitute dump just to clean up trash." The average height one said to the huge man beside him. "That idiot young master of ours could have prevented this fiasco from happening if only he had half a brain to control his lower half."

There was no reply from his companion.   

"He shouldn't have killed that lass. Now the parents are making a huge issue out of it and pointing their hands on the bastard Toad. Once those from the royal capital catch him, it won't take long for Toad to sing the young master's involvement. The whole house will be turned upside down then. Not to mention jeopardize his position in the court."

What he finds even more exasperating is that their young master intends to let Toad off by letting him run to this faraway territory to escape persecution in the royal capital. But instead of keeping a low profile, it seems he was sent here to find new 'goods' to be sent back. 

Ha, what a mess! 

Fortunately, the master's father still has some brain on him. If not for the old man giving them the order to chase and kill, Toad would arrogantly strut back to Aurea with a new batch of bodies.

And it would only be a matter of time before the authorities catch him and the whole member of the lord's family was thrown to the dungeon.   

 

She was supposed to be sitting inside Omnia. That was the original plan.

When they arrived at the city, the moment she came down from the carriage a harried staff of Golden Leaf came flying in front of her and quickly plopped down on the ground begging for her help.

"Lady Sterne, I beg your mercy. Please save us!"

Aiy?

It was already nine in the morning when she was dragged to Golden Leaf before she could even protest. Instead of the guest room, she asked Manager Roux to just let her sit in one of the tables below. Surprisingly the table she chose already had dishes on it. Her breakfast was served with mostly light choices of fruit salad, soup, sandwich, and eggs.

Looking around, almost everyone is having the same light meal as her. Everything looks normal but what's with the big fuss back then?

"I apologize for the sudden invite Lady Sterne but I had no other choice."

She looked up at the exhausted Manager Roux, his naturally shiny hair had become coarse not worse than a bird's nest and he looked so drained he could fall any moment.

"What seems to be the problem?"

"Please help me milady, this is a matter of life and death, only you can solve my troubles. If it weren't for the urgent thing I wouldn't be so brazen as to disturb you in your leisure… huhuhu…"

Sterne almost jumped off her seat when the tall man suddenly broke down gushing fountains of tears with pitiful sobs as though someone had left this earth.

Σ(•’╻’• ۶)۶

"Yikes, who died?" She mumbled but the manager heard it and began wailing.

"My career!"

"M-Manager, please sit down first."

"Uhuhuhu… you see it's like this." Thus the adult man began sniffling.

Manager Roux recounted his bitter experience since yesterday when a certain troublemaker came to stay at Golden Leaf. The food they serve is by no argument 'the best', their staff service is superb whether it is with communicating with the guest or attending to their needs but since that troublemaker came, their supposed to be smooth flowing work was overturned. The troublemaker nitpicks the smallest thing down to the food they serve, vowing that he won't touch it if it doesn't suit his taste.

Problem was, they cannot let that particular one starve or have him to eat in another establishment else twelve bolts of lightning from the heavens will descend and incinerate them all.  

The person is a picky eater and an overall pain in the butt, Sterne concluded. Poor manager is about to lose his hair because of this. Even the staff are looking at her like a life-saving raft.

"What food does the person not eat? Is there a particular illness? A taboo? Favourites if you noticed any?"

Out of nowhere, Manager Roux fished out a detailed diet menu and handed it over like a hot potato. Truth to be told, they already did everything they could. The aforementioned taboos and whatnot were followed with utmost care yet to no avail. With no other choice, the adults were forced to turn to the little food goddess.  

Sterne gave out a helpless sigh, finished her breakfast and went to the kitchen. Emilia won't be back until later, what she has now is a lot of free time so might as well. 

In the terrace of the third floor, a pair of amused curious eyes followed her until her back can no longer be seen.

The menu on her hand has plenty of oily food in it, if eaten in the long term it will surely develop into an irreversible health condition. How can someone stand eating meat every day without getting sick of it? No wonder that person is being cranky.

For half an hour Manager Roux waited outside the kitchen full of anxiety. When a waiter came out with a pushcart of food in a silver cover he felt his chest tighten a little. The real challenge is to bring it to that room.

"What about Lady Sterne?" He asked.

"She said she will be in Omnia if you need anything more."

"What!? She already left? Why didn't you stop her for me?"

"You never said so."

Manager Roux wished he could kick this subordinate hard, how could he let the young lady go without waiting for him?

Resigned to his fate, the middle-aged manager mournfully went to the room on the fifth floor. Upon opening the huge double door, an exquisite carpeted room greeted his sight. He needed to distract himself or else he'll start quaking from head to foot.

The opulence of this suite did not lose to the Golden Leaf's main branch back at the empire. Lavishly strewn with rarest treasures like the Helios Crystal, a blue mineral that can illuminate an entire room like its daylight, fitted only with highest grade furniture and the most exquisite fabrics. Anyone who wishes to stay here should be ready to spend thousands of gold coins.

As the manager walk slowly with a cart in tow he is also in the midst of calming his chaotic mind. Breakfast has never been so nerve-wracking before. Up ahead is no other than the troublemaker, a boy no more than the age of twelve lazily lounging on the chaise with his nose into a book. One of his feet dangles down tapping on the floor.  

As of the moment, he looks docile and tamed, but who could predict when he will suddenly decide to go volcanic?

"I told you I'm not going to eat that crap from your kitchen. How many times do you think I've eaten those? I'm tired of it."  

"Young Lord, this one was freshly added just this morning. Asking for the Young Lord to sample it."

No answer. The boy kept on his reading.

"We noticed that Young Lord's appetite has gone down so we decided to ask a friend for a new recipe."

The hand that was about to turn a page stopped. Is there finally a reaction? Manager Roux waited suspensefully.

"New?" He perked up, putting the book down revealing the decadent face of the youth.

In the depths of those jewel-like aquamarine eyes shines a sudden interest. Moist and playfully romantic lips rose in an arc.

"Yes, yes. That friend of ours made this dish exclusive only for you. I hope the Young Lord doesn't find it too inappropriate as the person only thinks of your well-being."

"Oh?" A quick rise of that eyebrow has thrown Manager Roux from the precipice to the deepest abyss.

Every time he sees it, a disaster always follows. How he hated himself for blabbing.

"Open it." The boy commanded, his tone decisive, leaving no room for protest.

Gingerly, Manager Roux lifted the covers and braved the storm. Whatever happens, he must make sure Lady Sterne will not be harmed by the blast when this little monster starts to unleash his wrath.

The corner of the boy's mouth rose higher and higher filled with all evil intentions. He was so bored he was dying to find a bit of entertainment but none seem to catch his interest lately. Then he remembered that particular girl he saw a few weeks ago… those eyes, how will they look when they are swimming in tears?

He could barely wait and began rubbing his hands internally when his thoughts were rudely interrupted by an enticing scent!

"W-What is that?" He eyed the tray as if seeing his most hated enemy.

"It's red snapper in rich lime and ginger soup, Young Lord."

The boy's eyes saw the white and delicate fish meat floating on a clear soup along with chopped onion chives.

(￣￢￣*)

He hurriedly wiped the liquid seeping at the corners of his mouth but at the same time his stomach could no longer hold it and began to rebel after a whiff of that tangy savoury scent. How is that possible?! He can go for five days without a meal but it wasn't even twenty-four hours yet the hunger knocked him fiercely!

The second cover is lifted revealing perfectly grilled pork ribs glistening with caramel sauce. A smoky sweet aroma then wafted attacking his olfactory sense. The boy swallowed unconsciously, the reddish brown sauce on the white plate melted, beckoning his appetite. Before the third cover is opened, the Young Lord is already holding his cutlery ready for battle.

Manager Roux sighed with relief and wiped the tears in his heart. Why did he have to suffer for so many hours selecting and rejecting a lot of gourmet dishes only to end up feeding the Young Lord a homey one?    

"Oh right, where did that fellow go?" Young Lord suddenly asked.

"Fellow…" His mind is a little sluggish for a moment.

"The girl you ushered in."

Manager's heart fell to the pit of his stomach. Of all things, why don't you just quietly eat and forget about it?

"I'm waiting."

"D-Do you mean Lady Sterne?"

He raised an eyebrow, "Lady? That one?"

Manager Roux bobbed his head dejectedly. "She's the only daughter of this territory's lord. Has two elder brothers and is a student of Sir Ahmose Vohn. I also heard that their soldiers are more loyal to her than the three males in their family, the apple of their eyes. If she happens to get a teeny weeny bit of scratch the offender can only pray." So if you have any designs against the young lady, you better stop right now.

Young Lord narrowed his eyes at him for a brief second appearing to have read his insolent thoughts but it quickly vanished.

"Ahmose Vohn," He mulled over the name for a few good seconds. "The Sword Sai—"

The manager cleared his throat, interrupting his words. He intended to say that it's not going to be easy if he had any plans with the young lady only to end up opening a taboo. The manager wanted to slap himself right now.

"She went back to Omnia, that building across the square."

"Hmp! Why did she have to eat breakfast here when she can directly go in there? Is their food not good enough?"

The one you're eating came from the girl's very own hands! Manager wanted to retort when his Young Lord's face abruptly stilled and became solemn.

"Strange, she has such a good foundation and familial background. Why didn't she qualify to be a candidate for Hallowed Ones?"

"Err, that is because the young lady's constitution only showed signs of improvement recently."

"It's only an illness, who knows when it can be cured completely. Unless of course there are people who didn't want her to enter or is it because the duke doesn't want her to?"

"The situation in this kingdom only appears quiet on the surface. I think House Nachtwald knows where to stand."

"So, it is the duke then." the boy said thoughtfully. "He sure is wise.  Let your enemies play to their heart's content first, in a way he is also keeping their paws off his family then, wait until they become complacent before striking."

"Why does the Young Lord say so?"

"Come on, Duke Nachtwald is not vegetarian. He doesn't dip his toes in the murky waters of the court to avoid giving them more reason to bite at him further. How many have tried their hand provoking the duke and failed? According to you, he loves his daughter fiercely, what do you think will happen when he allows her to fight for a title and suddenly meet a mishap? Of course, those are just guesses on my part."        

The manager looked at his Young Lord with a mixture of reverence and awe. Turns out his whimsical trips over here are not at all wasted. As for what his real goal is, he only mentioned alleviating boredom.

The boy rolled his fork between fingers and daintily poked on a yolk.

"If you ask me, the little girl is better off without that title. She doesn't look like someone who will just sit and look pretty."

Aye, Manager Roux also thinks so.