Chapter 63: In the time we were gone XIII
Upon returning to the mansion, Jacob allowed the two female knights to get acquainted with the maids who were busy discussing their jobs. Ava had the girls lined up in the main hall while she told them what they needed to do for the day.
Teressa had no problem introducing herself to the maids, but Amber only said hi, before she followed after Jacob - who was headed towards the study.
As a noble, Amber had little thoughts about the maids. She did not even put them in her sight. That was the case for a large majority of nobles, and she was taught to be that way from a young age.
Entering the study behind Jacob, she stood in the center while her eyes locked onto Jacob's figure.
Amber knew who he was, there were not many who did not know of him. He was made famous due to the incident that happened with his parents years ago. At that time, the whole city was in an uproar, and although Amber was not from the capital she heard all about it when she arrived.
She was honestly curious about lord Lezhalt, wondering how the aftermath changed him. How was he living since their passing?
Since meeting him, Amber felt drawn to him. He was like a giant mystery waiting to be solved.
Jacob sat at his desk, but his eyes looked over towards Amber.
Her hair was light brown and long. Her hairstyle was unique, the back of it flowed straight down her back, but on the side of her face were two long braids. The freckles on her face were cute, along with her brown eyes added to her charm.
Since arriving here, Jacob has encountered a lot of beautiful women. In his past life, he has met a few before, but never on a scale this large. He was not captivated by their appearances, but that might be because of his lingering feelings for his fiancee.
It definitely hurt, not knowing if he would see her again.
Not to mention, he was not looking for love or romance now. He's never been one to actively search for it. If it happens, it happens.
"Do you need something?"
Amber was expecting him to say something like that. She had a feeling he would bring it up once she followed him here. It would be more strange if he was not curious.
"Yes. You told me to send word to my father, I wish to know why?"
"You are a noble's child correct? Not to mention, you are the sole daughter of the Eaglewood family. Your father more than likely sent you to the academy to gain experience, as well as increase your worth. Yet, now you have pledged your life to me, it is only right to inform him of your circumstances."
Jacob answered her.
All of it was true, but he did leave a few details out. It was the main reason he wanted her out of the rest of the students. Mostly because of her father.
Having a connection to a merchant group was never a bad thing, and in the months to come, he knew he should prepare. He did not know who Varus was, but as long as his daughter was by his side, Varus was sure to show up here to see who she served. He would also want Jacob to relinquish Amber of her vow.
"I think you have a lot of faith in him. I regret that you may be sorry, he is not someone you can depend on."
"You should still send the letter. Mention that I would like to meet him as well."
"Very well, if that is what you want, lord."
"You have an understanding of economics correct?"
Amber nodded.
"I'm the child of a merchant, of course, I know how the market works."
Amber could not hide the proud smile on her face as she said those words.
She used her knowledge of prices to her advantage. Haggling the prices down to the lowest possible, finding items that others would see as worthless, only to buy them, fix them up and sell it for an even higher price.
Her trading skills were perfect in her eyes.
Jacob nodded his head before he grabbed a clean sheet of paper on the table. His hands snatched up the black pen, as he began to write.
"Check the market in town, see what the prices of these items are. Also, see if you can find out the prices of them in neighboring towns while you are at it."
Amber took the paper, and read it.
"Why do you need all of this?"
"I would rather buy it now, than later. I'm sure you've heard about the incident that left me alone. Because of that, I like to stock up on items so I do not have to go out much."
Jacob said with a smile.
"Besides, we are running low on most of them. It was about time I resupplied anyways."
"I can understand that, but what about the horses?"
"I'm interested in learning horse riding. What kind of noble would I be if I could not even ride a horse?"
Amber felt like there was more to what he was saying, but did not question him any further. When she asked him a question, he answered but not in the way she wanted.
It was a first, meeting a boy who did not show their cards. For some reason, she found it exhilarating. All the other young noble men she's come across liked to show off their wealth, and tell everyone about their plans.
Especially at school, if they disliked someone all the nobles would know about it. Their hatred was mostly aimed towards the few commoners that attended, but still. To her, they seemed to behave like little children.
However, the person in front of her who was actually a child years younger than herself was more mature than them.
Nodding her head, Amber turned to leave. When she opened the door, she saw Matthew standing there with his hand raised as if he were about to knock.
She made room for him, allowing him to pass by her.
Amber did not have him as a teacher, but she heard the stories. It was best to keep a distance from him.
As Matthew passed, he slightly turned his head to look at Amber. Snorting, he took the place Amber was at before, standing in the middle of the room.
"I've surveyed the area."
Matthew said.
"Yeah, what do you think?"
"Trash. All of it."
Short and got right to the point.
Jacob chuckled.
Was it that bad? He remembered training there for a while, but he never had that thought.
"The building is terrible, give me permission to demolish it. A new one needs to be built in its place, new training equipment should be ordered."
"How much will that cost?"
"Five thousand silver. It is what they call chump change in the academy."
Jacob could feel strings tugging at his heart. Chump change?
Five thousand may be a small amount to nobles, and sure, Jacob was one right now. However, did he have five thousand to spend?
"Why is it so expensive?"
Jacob could not help but ask.
Matthew was taken back by his words.
Was this expensive? Even he had more than enough money saved up to buy what he needed, but he felt it was his lord's responsibility to buy it instead.
"Well, you need…"
Matthew started listing off various items, and their estimated cost.
"Stop. We'll talk about this later, where is Jack?"
Jacob had his right elbow on the table, while his head was slightly tilted to the right, allowing his thumb to massage his temple. A lot of what Matthew was listing off, Jacob never heard of it. Some, he was wondering why they were even on the list.
"Who... oh, him. He should be outside, probably won't come back in until dark."
Matthew said as if it was not a large matter.
Jacob furrowed his eyebrows, wondering what Matthew meant by that.
"We merely had a disagreement, but I solved it."
"I'd like you to know that we do not discriminate here. Between you and him, I consider you two to have the same status. Any problems that arise due to any of you thinking you're still a well respected noble will be dealt with. Knight, noble, commoner. You are all a subject under my command, do you understand?"
The situation was unexpected, and Matthew never saw it coming. Jacob's whole aura changed, the matter between status' was something everyone talked about. Usually, nobles had no problem with it, since they held the power.
This was his first time meeting a noble who thought little about superiority.
Matthew was the same way, which is also why he was disliked in the academy. He never took it easy on nobles, even if they were from a high standing family. No matter who it was, he taught them the exact same way.
If they sucked, then they sucked, and he made sure they knew about it.
He could still remember that year the son of some duke assumed he was better than a commoner at swordsmanship. Therefore, he arranged a duel between them, and the duke's son was put flat on his ass.
Still cracks him up to this day. The look on his face as he stated the commoner cheated and started degrading him. Matthew already warned his class earlier that any disrespect towards another of a lower status would end in their failure.
Most of his students did it behind his back, or outside of class so he could not take any action. Some thought he was full of it, and would never fail a noble from his class. However, that day he proved them wrong and failed the duke's son.
Matthew looked at Jacob in a new light. He was not like the others, which was a delight.
"I understand. However, I would never use my status against someone else."
"Then how did you fix the problem? What was the problem in the first place?"
"Well…"
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