Kapitel 33: A Different Air
Sebastian reached the gate of his mother's residence without trouble. But, because there weren't any alleys near the estate, he had to take off his mask. He kept his hood lowered so that nobody would see his face and people thought of him as a beggar instead of a suspicious person.
"Halt!" the estate's guards pointed their swords at Sebastian. Normally, they would have only warned him to turn back or if he had any business inside the estate so Sebastian was confused.
Nevertheless, there was no point in hiding his identity anymore so he removed his hood. The guards' eyes gaped and they quickly sheathed their swords and bowed their heads.
"Welcome back, young master! We apologize for pointing our swords at you!"
Sebastian waved his hand, "it's fine. I was covering my face after all."
When Sebastian was about to go through them, they turned to look at each other and hesitated.
"Is there something wrong?"
One of the guards answered Sebastian's query, "young master, we're glad that you're finally back but it would be best for you to rein in your bloodlust. The madam can't be exposed to such things."
Sebastian raised a brow, "bloodlust?"
—Your entire body is emitting bloodlust. The reason that nobody disturbed you in the carriage and why the man at the bar approached you has to do with it. It helped you avoid weak beasts in the forests but you have to learn how to contain it when you're near others.
"...and why did you tell me this only now?"
Sebastian didn't receive an answer and tried to calm himself down. He wasn't in the forest anymore.
When the guards felt Sebastian's bloodlust fade, they sighed in relief. The hairs on their bodies had been standing the whole time because of the chill they felt from Sebastian's presence. Weak people might not feel it so much but to them who were trained by a major house, it was as if Sebastian's aura was screaming, 'danger'. They felt that if they carelessly approached him, they would die.
What happened to him? He had gone missing for a week and now, he returned that seemed to have surpassed them. The Sebastian they knew was disappointingly weak but he made up for it with his smarts. Is the young master in front of them really the same one?
Sebastian walked past the guards who couldn't leave their post. There weren't many people in the estate in the first place and now that most of them were out searching for him, the place looked even more barren than before. He could see his father's carriage stopped near the door.
"..."
When he walked inside, the first thing he saw was Martha and Baritos pacing around the entrance. The two of them seemed deep enough into their thoughts that they wouldn't notice Sebastian but the sound of the door woke them up.
Miss Martha immediately dashed towards Sebastian and gave him a squeeze. Baritos on the other hand, kept rubbing his eyes to see if he was hallucinating.
Martha released him and quickly held his face with her hands, "young master, where have you been for the past week! The entire capital is in chaos!"
"Well, I—" Sebastian was about to explain to Martha, his second mother but was stopped, "wait! We can talk about this later, go see the madam!"
Sebastian's expression changed, "what happened to mother?"
"Ever since the day you had gone missing, she's been overwhelmed with grief and hasn't stopped crying! It's been days since she's had a proper meal, she only ate porridge and drank water after we advised her to take care of the baby.
"Yesterday, the madam finally collapsed and the master arrived to check up on her this morning!" Martha explained while leading Sebastian to the second floor.
The one who was still in shock, Baritos quickly followed after them.
The first and only thing Sebastian saw when he entered the room was his collapsed mother. Clarice's complexion and lips were pale and her forehead was drenched in sweat.
"Mother!" Sebastian called out and kneeled directly to the side of Clarice. He put his uncovered hand on her forehead with furrowed brows before sighing in relief.
"Relax," Jonathan's voice caused Sebastian to look over at the opposite side of the bed in shock. He could see his father in his usual suit with a moist towel in his hands.
Sebastian looked at him speechlessly while he wiped the sweat from Clarice's forehead and neck. Only after he finished did he turned his eyes towards Sebastian.
"Where have you been?"
Jonathan's voice was calm, as if it was only a matter of fact that Sebastian disappeared and returned.
Sebastian glanced at Clarice to see if she really was asleep before talking, "I was trying to get stronger in the forest."
"You were trying to get stronger? You took an entire week without informing anyone. Your mother collapsed in worry, the House of Luna and Walt House have been searching high and low to find even a tiny trace of where you've been.
"Do you have any idea how much it costs to keep a search ongoing for a week? Not only that, three of the major houses mobilized. I can understand not offering compensation to the House of Luna but the Walt House is another matter."
Sebastian lowered his head. He had nothing to say against Jonathan. He had been sneaking out often for the past few weeks and was never gone for more than half the day so he didn't feel the need to inform anyone.
"Do you have any excuses?"
"...none."
Jonathan looked at his son who had lowered his head. There were a few seconds of silence before Jonathan spoke again, "what happened that you had been delayed this long?"
"I was attacked by an Adept-level beast on my way back," Sebastian spoke after a bit of hesitation. Jonathan is the only other person who knew that he was already capable of using his powers.
For the first time, Jonathan furrowed his brows and kept his silence. Sebastian took that as a cue to continue and began explaining, "I went into the forest to train and was about to head back when the hawk-like beast found me. When I had thought I escaped its sight, it ambushed me by the stream with wind.
"I was thrown into the stream and then flowed along the river. I took shelter in a cave while taking care of my wounds," Sebastian raised up his shirt to show the giant wound that was about to turn into a scar.
"I encountered a Demon Fox that just entered a Adept-level and was forced to set the forest on fire to flee."
When Sebastian finished speaking, Jonathan's furrowed brows knit together even closer and he stood up with a grave expression.
"Take care of your mother and get that wound checked out," Jonathan handed him the moist towel and pointed at the bucket on the other side before leaving in a hurry.
Sebastian looked at his departing back and turned his eyes back to Clarice.
"Balanos, is she alright?"
—No need to worry. Her state is just because of stress. If you were to rest and comfort her for a few days, then I'm sure that both she and her child will be fine.
Sebastian wanted to stay until Clarice woke up but he had to meet Amy first. He walked back to his room and changed his clothes. Although the wound still hurt him a fair bit, it was doable.
When Martha and Baritos saw that Sebastian was about to head out again, they quickly tried to stop him but after a few minutes of talking, he managed to convince them and left his mother in their care.
Sebastian arrived at the House of Luna's gates. He didn't take a carriage and kept his face covered with a hood and mask that he had taken from his drawers. Now that he arrived, there was no point in concealing himself so he walked up to the guards at the gate in confidence.
"Halt!"
Just as Sebastian stopped his approach, the two guards widened their eyes. One of them began running inside the estate while the other one lowered his sword.
"I'm sorry for the impudence, Sir Sebastian!" the man spoke while bowing.
"It's fine. I'm here to speak to Miss Amira."
Before, Sebastian would have cowered under the pressure and tell the guard to stop in a fluster but there was no hint of him doing so now.
"The mistress is out right now..."
"Then tell me where she went," Sebastian followed up. He had to meet with her soon. The words that the seekers earlier had really shaken him. Is it true that Amy would declare war?
If that were really the case, then the royal family would have to intervene and punish the participants. They couldn't have two major houses at war with each other.
Sebastian only knew the kind and cheerful side of Amy, she had never once revealed her darkness to him.
But, he knew.
Nobody in this world has a pure heart unblemished by sin and evil. Sebastian truly believed that.
Still, she isn't the type to do something like this.
"That... would be a bit of a problem, sir," the guard made a complicated expression, he couldn't just very well reveal her location, could he?
"I have official business with her as someone from the House of Sol," Sebastian talked again.
The guard hesitated again but if it was official business, then there's no other choice. "She's at the—"
Before the guard could finish speaking, a voice called out from behind him. Sebastian turned his eyes to the person walking with the guard who ran earlier.
"Markus Luna..."
This was their first meeting since that day.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein