Chapter 3: Precarious Pact
"His Grace, Duke Allen, asks for Sire Knight" the footman says, glancing on the brown flooring.
I look up, befuddled, setting my empty tea cup on the table "huh?" I say, completely unsure of my environment. "Oh" I continue, taking grasp of the situation. I straighten up and take 'Règina' from the nearby seat; keeping it inside my báldric. I steel myself then bow to Baroness Clara Yorkiel and receive a firm nod in exchange. I move to the footman and continue to walk out of the room.
The hallway was incredibly laid. The tenacious sun rays illuminates the extensive foyer. The deep maroon carpets spread generously over the vast expanse, now pales in attendance of honoreè sun rays.
As we walk further away from the guestroom; I hear the servants, dusting the interior, whispering. I slightly glance sideways.
"That's him?" a brunette maid asks the other one, she seems quite young, probably 17 or so.
"Seems so" another one retorts, having the same brunette hair. They must be twins for the latter also seems young yet quite sensible.
"Handsome!!" the younger brunette squeaks
Oh hoho!! That girl really got some tastes. I mean, I'm just beautiful, be it a male or a female.
The footman walking with me, jerked his head towards the maids. Probably giving them a warning, I am not sure because I can't see his face properly. The maids rush away inside the rooms. Too bad! I wanted to hear them praising me. However, we continue walking.
We halt in front of a room, it had huge rococo doors. Well, this might be the room, where Duke Allen is waiting. The footman strained on putting up a composed appearance. I too brace myself to meet The Duke. The footman opens up the doors and moves backward. That's my cue to go in, I go inside. The footman closes the door behind me.
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Deep, molten lava amber eyes with hues of copper stares at me. The raven-black hair proves to be a good match for the fulgent eyes. The man had an exceptional built, neither too bulky nor too slender, an elegant air around him. He was holding an insidious smile with an arresting gaze. The epitome of perfectly crafted handsomeness with sophisticated skills. The entity before me is the Duke Allen, the man I'll be serving for my adjoining years.
I blink a few times, taking note of the unfamiliar surroundings. The Duke was seated on the baroque seat having an adjacent colossal desk. Sebastian was standing, as sternly as possible, to the Duke's right. The room was decorated with maroon rug over the brown flooring, the curtains were particularly lighter in color and were thin, to reflect most of the sun rays. There were no servants in the room, since Sebastien is here, I guess it's unneeded for any more personal.
As I was familiarizing myself with the alien environment, Duke started coming towards me. I won't be lying if I say, I failed to notice him advancing towards me. It seems I'm still incompetent in some areas.
"A pleasure to meet you, Knight" the Duke says cautionary, maintaining a good distance from me, having a sinister aura around him "You may already know me, but let's have a proper introduction"
Yes, I already know you, yes, you are a formidable opponent and yes, I have already been warned about you a lot. But now, I'll witness the Eagle myself " I'm Duke Allen Barnhart Ferdinand, Duke of Altermis" he finished his introduction, his tone diabolic. He is exuding his power, he wants me to know my worth-- that I'm nothing in front of a Duke, that he can just snap his fingers and I'll be removed from my family records. All of that to make me cower in fear, so that I'll never raise a finger against him, no matter what. That's right. That's what he wants. But Alas! You are not so frightening to me. I may have over-estimated you, I was really prepared to meet a monster. Let me show you, who I am.
"I'm Edgar Radford" I exhale, faintly "Extremely gratified to make your acquaintance" that's what I have to say. That's what my 'Etiquette' teaches me. Even though I say all this, I'm still intimidated by his presence, I can hear my heart beat getting faster and faster. But Never will I give in to some arrogant jerk.
"So, you are the 'special' knight, huh?" he says in a condemning tone
'Pardon me, but can I punch you?'
Only if I can ask that directly. Hah! I let out an unnoticed sigh. Alright Mill, calm down. I take a deep breath, "I hope to meet your expectations, your Grace" I exhale.
"I'm sure that will be Alright" Allen, the Duke replies "So then, you may already know your obligations?" he asks
There is only one answer I can give "Yes" I say, because a 'no' will make me an incompetent person and no one wants an incompetent knight.
"Even if you do or don't" he says, knowing full well--a knight has different 'obligations', just as his master is different. And since this is my first meeting with him, he may already know he hasn't given me any set of rules. But oh well, I do know my basic knowledge so it is not a lie when I reply 'Yes'.
"Sebastian here" he points towards his butler, who is standing ever so sincerely, "he will make sure to provide you with necessary details" Hmm I hope he is different than his master "On the same note, Sebastian also knows about your 'guise' " the Duke says. I really do hope Sebastian is not twisted like his master.
Though both the parties agreed on a deal, I still don't know what Duke's intentions are. Trust is an underlying principle in an accord, however, that trust is missing for me, yet I'm still playing along. I'm just given a thin string, and I'm holding onto it firmly. Whether this brings triumph or defeat, I'll just leave my fate to it.
"I understand" I try to sound as neutral as possible
Taking a file from the colossal table, "Then, isn't there anything you need to tell me about Miss Mireille?" he asks, as his calm tone changes to hostility.
Miss Mireille? You want to know about her? You want to catch my weakness? He is already holding a file and that's to tell me, he already has data upon me. Though I don't know just how much he scooped about me, but I'm sure he knows he's missing the big picture. And anything I say will be an important clue. I don't even get why he's probing about Me. Even if he knows or doesn't know, I can't make any slip-ups "This humble knight has nothing of sheer importance to report on Miss Mireille" I say in a calm voice, though my expression shouts 'No'. Wasn't he looking down on me? Did he really think I will cower down in fear? Screw that.
Let me also ask you something Duke. "Dare I ask, why Your Grace, wants to know about Miss Mireille?" I ask looking directly into his eyes, with a haughty front.
A muffled laughter escapes the Duke, a wide smile decorates the white face "because it's fun" he says cheerfully.
Huh? Fun? That's.... a jest, right? wait, did I here it correct? Is he serious or a dunce? Or does he think I'm so easy to fool? I really think my head will burst now.
"Anyway, I'm sure you are prepared for your 'Evaluation'?" he asks, raising one of his brow
"Naturally" I nod. Evaluation, a knight is selected after going through an assessment or a test and in that test, he validates his limit. Before appointing me as a knight of Duke Ferdinand, my ability needs to be tested.
"Good. Baroness Yorkiel might be waiting for us in the saloon" he says "and it's unethical to make the Madam wait for a long time" I'm sure he is more 'unethical' here. He really is so twisted that it annoys me to another level.
"Well then" he says, turning to the window "get ready for your evaluation"
"I shall take my leave for this" I say as I eye his back "I ask your permission to do so"
"You may leave" he says glancing sideways
"Then allow me-" I exit the room after a faint bow.
Phew! I'm out alive. Seriously, I can't believe this narcissistic side of me. It may kill me one day. I didnt have to aswer him with such insolently. But uh whatever, I'm still breathing and that's what it matters.
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"Sebastian" Allen says, a mischievous grin plastered over his face "That knight....."
Sebastien sighs slightly, saying "Surely, that was very insolent of him" he steadies his glasses "I will train--" someone abruptly cuts him
"No, not that, the air around that person" Allen says, as his tone grows shrewd "is mystifying..... And that's very intriguing"
'For the Duke to be interested in you, Edgar Radford, I wonder if you are fortunate or unfortunate' Sebastien thinks skeptically
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Since I'm alone now, I guess I'll go to Aunt and wait for Duke to come and meet her. And then go for evaluation process. But..... I wonder which way I came from. There are no guards, no servants or anything? What is the use of having so much wealth when even servants are so scarcely present. I look at both the sides- to the right and to the left, the hallway is not so lengthy, yet I don't know the way to saloon. I'm going to take the right.
Just then, I hear rushed footsteps approaching from behind. I jerk back, only to see a footman, the one I met before coming this way, he seems to be in great urgency. He abruptly bows to me and politely knocks on the study door of the Duke. Upon hearing a 'yes' from inside, he opens the door and bows to the Duke "My lord, Baroness Clara Yorkiel has willingly headed to the training grounds"
"My, my" Duke says "isn't that a good thing?"
I really don't know why I'm hiding behind the pillar. It's not like I'm spying on them, and I did no wrong then why!? I really don't feel good about it but I somehow feel even worse to go and stand in front of that twisted Duke.
"Maybe the inside was musty for the Baroness and so she eagerly came to the grounds to lighten herself" he says.
Wait-- lighten herself? Come to think of it, She doesn't have much stress with her unless he means I'm a burden and she wants to get rid of me??? How naive.... Does he really want me to get annoyed at this? I agree I'm immature at times, but that happens when I'm being narcis-- I mean, when people are wrong about me.
As I bicker with my thoughts, the footman interrupts my internal debate "Shall I guide you to the training grounds?" he appeals
I didn't see when he closed the door, maybe I was very engrossed in rebutting, that I failed to notice.
"Do guide me" I say as strictly as possible. If I'm going to be a knight in this estate, I need to show my dominance to the servants or they can get quite impudent since I'm a commoner right now. Well even though I'm not, maybe? I'm not sure about my origins either, but if I was supposedly a commoner, I wonder if I would have been allowed in the Count's residence. And what people know is that Edgar- despite being a commoner, has been living in the Baron's residence. But not many will accept that, I guess.
Time will unravel all my doubts. And it'll be best to focus on my upcoming test instead of these petty thoughts. The footman leads the way and I follow behind. We move down a lengthy passage, at the end of that passage is a door leading to the outside. We move from the highly genteel interior to the outdoors. We did not come out of the front door, this was one of the many ways to the outside in lieu the front. The outside was simply serene. The flourishing green gardens were beautifully trimmed, the sun masking behind the clouds. From there, we go on to the southeast direction.
"The training grounds are at a 5 minute distance from here" the footman says, after we have walked for approximately 15 minutes "as you can say from the sounds"
True, I can clearly hear cling clang from the swords striking. And those sounds are making me thrilled. I really wonder what kind of swordsmen I'll meet, someone insanely strong, someone totally new... Ahhh I'm so excited. It's been so long, I haven't fought someone stronger than me.
"THAT WAS AMAZING!!" "WO HOO" I heard shouts from the grounds, I wonder what happened? I ran to the ground, leaving the footman behind.
A far-reaching ground nestled by the crude walls. The length of the ground, going as far as the eye could see and it's vast width, accompanied by numbers of men. At one of the wall, all the weaponries embellished, from swords to daggers to guns and every hand-held weapon was in it's place. There was a specialized locale for six swords. The scabbard had distinct carvings over them, with the insignia of Ferdinand Family over it. There were only 6 of these swords, exclusively made for those who have a higher command among the Knights. Two of them were missing from the spot, only four were present. Two members might still be wearing their sword.
As my ardent sight wanders the weaponries, it halts over a familiar figure, perceiving the figure to be none other than Aunt, I run towards her. All the Knights were gathered on one side of Aunt, surely she must have been verifying their skills. This is the reason, I was not astonished, when the footman informed about her, coming to the grounds. I come to Aunt and heave a sigh. "Aunt-" I begin my sentence, when I get cut by the chilly atmosphere.
"What is everyone doing?" a blood-curling voice came from behind. The joyous atmosphere changing to a spine-chilling one. The Knights turn behind, looking aghast, as if meeting death. The man now stepped forward, standing opposite to us. He was facing us, ready to say his next monolouge. I notice the man, standing in front of me and the next thing I know-- my gaze was frozen over him.
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Gifts
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received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone