Chapter 36: Invisible follower

A few moments later, the group of four dispersed towards the capital, with Nigel grumbling at the additional company they were having. With his mother chaperoning them, he was certain that he could not spend more time with the girl he liked and get to know her more. Crying inwardly at his misfortune, he lightly tapped the reins, and the horse moved, pulling the carriage with it.

Samantha and Itri sat beside each other, excited to visit the capital, while Lily took the opposite seat. 'Am I doing this right?' She wondered, watching the girl in front of her. 'Should I have left her at the mansion?' As soon as the thought came to her, she shook her head, killing it instantly. 'No. I cannot leave Samantha unsupervised. What if she were to do something again in my absence? No, I need to keep an eye on her.'

Lily consoled herself and moved her gaze to Samantha's hands. She smiled seeing the gloves covering her palms, and her shoulders relaxed. 'At least, the girl did not forget my instructions.'

"Samantha, I am so excited. I never expected I would get to see the capital. It is a dream come true for me.' Itri squealed, displaying her exhilaration blatantly. Samantha just smiled at her, not commenting about it. She was recalling whatever had occurred in the dining hall and how the glass pane had shattered into pieces.

'How did it happen? Who could be responsible for it?' She tried to speculate but could not settle on an acceptable answer. On her way out, she had heard the other maids whisper, and their words had left her dumbstruck. 'If the guards could not find anyone who could have possibly attacked us from outside, then was it someone from us? Did someone in the dining hall do it?' She had a lot of questions but answers to none of them.

"How about you, Madam Lily?" Itri's loud voice stopped the two women from thinking further, and they focused on her. "Have you visited the capital before?"

"Yes, I have."

"Could you please tell us if the place is as magnificent as the people claim it to be?" Lily smiled at the girl's innocent question. She decided to humor her and forget about her worries for the time being. 'We have a long journey ahead. I could as well talk to the girls and keep myself engaged.'

"Yes, it is. The capital is opulent and majestic compared to Soren. Also, it is thronged with people. So, stay close. Don't wander off on your own." Lily warned, her eyes fixing on Samantha, and the girl realized that the last words were meant for her, instead of Itri. But she had no idea why.

"Yes, Madam Lily." Itri agreed. They were visiting a new place, and she knew getting separated from the group was not a good idea.

Itri continued with her questionnaire, and Lily answered them patiently, not once getting frustrated at her absurd questions. Nobody sensed a mysterious presence at the dickey seat, observing all their actions from the window at the back.

As Alastair had ordered, the librarian had kept an eye on the mansion, formulating a plan to enter in without getting noticed. However, even before he could think of one, he noticed the mansion gates opening, and a carriage drove out. He would have ignored it if not for the girl inside the coach. He noticed the same girl his Lord had ordered him to keep an eye on sitting inside, and he frowned.

'I need to follow them. The Lord has asked me to watch over the girl. Come on, Martell. Let's get to work.' He closed his eyes and chanted a spell. In an instant, he had turned invisible and was sitting at the dickey seat at the back of the carriage. Nobody could see him while he could see and hear everything they were talking about from where he was.

'So, the group is visiting the capital. Why are the two girls with the lady? Do they know something crucial too?' He pondered, relaxing at the back, enjoying the free ride he was getting. 'I need to inform the Lord about it. But how?' He wondered looking around. 'I need fire, and where will I get fire here? Looks like I will have to wait until we reach the capital.' He sighed, shaking his head at his plight.

He got back to his work, keeping his ears open, listening to the women's conversation inside the carriage. They were discussing the glory of the capital, and one of the questions from the girls made him chuckle softly. "Who told them that the capital is ornated with gold?" He muttered, chiding the humans for their ridiculous conjecture.

Meanwhile, Nigel frowned when he realized something unusual about the carriage. He was used to driving carriages with people inside them. 'Why are we moving this slowly when there are only three women inside?' He turned back and saw the three women deep in conversation. However, he could not find the reason for the slow pace. 'There must be something wrong with the wheels. I need to get it checked when we reach the capital.'

They had now reached the outskirts of Soren, and Samantha looked outside, admiring the view while Itro continued with the questions. "Madam, have you seen the Lord?" Itri queried, and this caught Martell's attention, who had been taking a light nap. He focused his ears on them, waiting for the old woman to answer.

Lily recalled the time when she had seen the Lord. 'Did I even see him that day? I did not even see what he wearing, let alone see his face.'

"Yes and no." She answered vaguely, and Martell squinted his eyes, glaring at the woman from the window for not giving a clear reply.

"I don't understand, Madam Lily." Itri took a look at Samantha, who seemed as confused as her before returning her gaze to the old matron.

"Do you remember the time when the Lord had visited our village a few days ago?" The two girls nodded. The people had gotten excited suddenly that day, and they had not stopped talking about the man who held the ultimate power in the kingdom. The girls had been devasted to think that neither of them were at the location the Lord had visited, especially Itri.

"I was in the crowd when the royal carriage stopped before us."

"Did you see the Lord, Madam?" Itri queried, her eyes sparkling in curiosity.

"No, looking at the Lord directly is considered disrespectful. So, I did not lift my head at all." Her words extinguished the curiosity in the two girls, and Samantha went back to appreciating the view outside.

"That was a given." Martell scoffed. "Do you think anybody can see the Lord's face?" He continued to listen to their conversation. But nothing was interesting in it. Bored out of his wits, he went back to take a nap, keeping his ears on alert, focusing them more on the woman who had visited his library.

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