Chapter 9: Nobles

Amadeus listened to his mother while observing that group. They seemed to be trying to earn the favour of the girl. You couldn't blame the minor nobles and scholars around the girls as a title of nobility bought a lot of benefits. So, upgrading or becoming one will always be sought after.

The stupid looking guy went by the name of Jack Smith and was the son of the Earl. He was also one of the guys trying to woo the girl and was the one with the highest rank of nobility.

The rank of nobility within Orbis went from (highest to lowest):

Royal Duke/Duchess

Duke/Duchess

Marquis/Marchioness

Earl or Count/Countess

Viscount/Viscountess

Baron/Baroness

The girl was from a viscount family while Jack Smith was from an Earl's.

So purely looking at titles, his father's title was higher than the girl's father but looking at power, territory size and the rest, it was clear that the girl's father had more.

So, although the title may be higher, it didn't mean that the power was also greater.

To Amadeus, they looked like clowns trying to impress their audience by showing off their various talents. He could also tell from the girl's face that she didn't mind the attention she was receiving.

Suddenly, a boy ran in front of the clowns while being chased by a group of kids. Behind them was a nun that wore a happy smile on her face. The kids seemed to be from an orphanage by the looks of it and had come out to help their caretaker with shopping. In the midst of that, they must've decided to play a game of tag.

Without looking the boy ran into the girl and caused her to fall on the ground. The girl was clearly surprised by the sudden push.

"Kyaa!"

The men surrounding her were clearly surprised as well.

The guards around them were the first to come back to their sense as they apprehended the boy.

The one known as Jack Smith got all gentlemanly and helped the lady up.

"You okay? m'lady"

"Thank you, Sir Smith. I'm okay"

After helping the girl up, a few servants were called to help clean her. Jack then turned around to the boy his guard was holding.

"Ho, why haven't I heard an apology?"

Disgust immediately flashed through Jack's eyes as he saw the dog ears on the boy. This was, however concealed deeply, so apart from Amadeus and Lily, no one else saw this.

"Sorry"

A meek voice came out the boy as he looked down. The distinction between nobles and commoners was clear in the world. Although this distance was the smallest in the empire, it was still there. Anywhere else, he probably would have been killed on the spot, but this was the capital city of the empire, Emerald City. No one would dare to do such an act near the emerald palace in case it was seen as some sort of provocation to the royal family. Plus, no noble was allowed to take a citizen's life without a reason, even in their own territory.

Only the royal family was allowed to have someone executed on the spot, but no one ever minded this rule. They were the emperor's citizens and the apathy shown to other races by the royal family seemed natural in their eyes.

Seeing the commotion, the nun ran up to try and stop the guards from harming the boy. One guard held the boy while the rest moved to protect their masters.

The nun was not too worried of something happening, but she didn't want any harm coming to the orphans. She viewed them as her children, so she was the most worried of something happening to them.

"Be careful next time"

The guards let the boy go only after giving him a warning while the men around the girl checked to see if she was alright.

Amadeus knew that it wasn't the end due to the small possessive light that flashed through Jack's eyes when he looked at the nun and the dangerous glint in the eyes of the girl. She was the most embarrassed by the incident.

'Don't tell me this will be that cliché scene'

Indeed, it was, as one guard was missing after the commotion, presumably to follow the nun and the orphans.

Although, in the open, something bad won't happen, you can't say the same thing if it happens in the dark.

Amadeus seeing this scene, looked back at his mother who just smiled in return. Knowing that his mother had it all covered, Amadeus decided to confront them later when they made their move.

They decided to wait a little before they saw the girl and Jack heading into their respective carriages. Once everyone dispersed, the two carriages suddenly met with the girl entering Jack's carriage.

Both silently made their way towards the location of the orphanage.

Inside the carriage,

"I never expected a noble of the empire to do something like this"

The girl just scoffed at the man as she looked away. It was a crime to do this, but she wanted her revenge. The girl had been pampered since young and it was the first time, she was embarrassed like such.

Time passed as they made their way towards the orphanage. Although Jack tried many times to initiate a conversation, the girl opposite didn't open her mouth. Although she looked cool on the outside, internally her mind was a mess. This was her first time doing this and her father's warnings kept repeating in her mind. Before she knew it, she was questioning her own decisions.

'Shall I do it, shall I not…'

'He was just a kid…'

No matter what she thought now, it was too late. The milk had been spilled and there was no turning back now. Suddenly, as she was drowning in her thoughts, the carriage came to an abrupt halt.

"Wha…"

Jack was also perplexed with the sudden halt as he shouted at the driver

"What happened?!"

A reply came

"Sir, there is a carriage in front, blocking the way"

"Then tell them to move"

"But…"

Giving out a sigh of frustration, Jack smiled at the girl and got off the carriage. The sun was currently setting as its last rays elongated his shadow.

He stepped onto a cobbled road in between a line of houses. This was the resident district where most commoners and lower level officials lived. They were in the side streets, so the road was quite narrow. Only enough for one carriage to pass without harming anyone else. They were currently before an opening where the orphanage was just in front. One of the lights was on meaning that the they were yet to go to sleep.

What currently stopped them from their goal was a lone, ordinary carriage. There was no rider and the horses just stood there.

"Hello, anyone there?"

There was no response given out no matter how many times he called out. Stomping the ground in frustration, he ordered a few of his guards to move the carriage. Due to it being astonishingly heavy it took the men quite some time before they cleared the road. During this, Jack tried to find any clues to the owners of the carriage but came out empty handed.

Once more they embarked towards the orphanage. Arriving at its entrance, the guard that had left to follow them came towards them and bowed.

"Young master, here is the orphanage of that kid"

"Mmhmm, any strange things"

"No, there were a couple of visitors that have yet to leave but none so far"

Although Jack was suspicious, he never minded it.

'Will just have to silence the witnesses'

Thinking this he turned to look at the orphanage. The first thing was that it stood out. Unlike the multi-storey buildings around it that housed numerous apartments, the orphanage was just a two-storey building with a triangular roof. The second floor was the house's attic where a circular window was present.

Jack then turned to a guard and gave a nod. The guard then proceeded to break the front door and storm inside with his comrades behind him. They first went through a hallway and broke through a door where light was coming out of.

A few screams of surprise were supposed to be heard but no sound was out. Jack and the girl who were waiting outside felt some trepidation but ignored it. Jack started walking in and shouted at his men,

"Oi, what's happening?'

The girl followed behind only to see Jack frozen in his place. His eyes were expressing shock as he looked into the room.

"What's happ…"

She was unable to finish her sentence as she came across an odd set of eyes staring at her from within the room. One was gold while the other silver. What was most unusual was the vertical slit in its eyes. She couldn't clearly see the individual's face due to a veil but from his stature it could be seen that it was a young child, a really young child. The child could be seen playing with toys that someone around his age would play with but was currently staring at the intruders.

Looking down, the four guards that had entered were lying unconscious in front of them with dented helmets and bruised faces. It seems they were taken down in one hit. Chills were sent down through her body as she looked at the cause. Blood red samurai armour with the royal family's insignia depicted where their heart is. A sword with two roaring Chinese dragons coiling round it. On the back of these dragons were a pair of wings that vaguely shaped it into a coat of arms. Only their vertical slit eyes could be seen as the front of their helmet depicted a dragon roaring forwards and they had a blank mask covering their face from the nose downwards. She could feel the threatening gaze of the soldier as he looked at her, daring her to move.

The imperial guards.

Worst yet, the blades.

Even among the dragon knights there were a special group, the most elite soldiers in the kingdom. Their only duty was the protection of the emperor, empress and the crown prince. Only these three, no one else.

The presence of even one of them meant one thing, someone from the royal family was here. Suddenly, a flash went through her mind in the shape of two oddly coloured eyes. Looking back to the kid she saw the clothes he was wearing. A long black robe covered his body with a golden dragon depicted on it. The dragon had four claws and was coiled around the side. The seams were inlaid with gold and overall the robe looked really expensive.

Seeing this only one thought went through the mind of the girl,

'The crown prince'