Bab 8: Chapter 7: Everbright (3)
Noah woke up with a start, eyes vigilantly darting back and forth before a spike of mental fatigue had him lying flat back on the bed he found himself in. He pressed his hands over his eyes, groaning while trying to assess his situation.
Wait- John! What happened to John!
Noah forced himself back upright, gaze quickly focusing on a girl seated next to him with a neutral expression. She had the deepest shade of blue hair, and the violet of her pupils appeared to shine like gems within a dim lit room. Her bangs formed a crown braid around her head, and the back of the hair flowed freely like a waterfall.
"You're awake," the girl said, the contours of her face briefly lighting up before she quickly hid her intentions behind a composed expression.
Noah did not answer right away. Rather, he observed the room. Candles aligned the walls, and the furnishing reminded him heavily of a medical ward. A clean bed, the scent of herbal remedies, and an assortment of bandages, incision tools, and healing pastes made it all too obvious.
The Lambert family had its own medical wards that Noah could still remember back when he was a child, but that didn't matter anymore.
John and Leah were nowhere to be seen.
Noah and the girl, likely a noble, were the sole occupants of the room.
"You are?" He asked, hand opening and closing into fists, testing how much of his strength he could muster in the case of a break out.
"My name is Annette Everbright, your current employer."
Noah blinked, taken aback. He clued in that the woman was one of the cloaked people that authorized the request he'd taken at the market request board. At the time, he figured that they were likely nobles, but an Everbright was something he never expected.
Whether to get involved with a lesser noble, or a highly influential one were two different scenarios. The risk was high, solely due to Noah's personal background.
Frowning, a question cut off his trail of thought.
"And who are you?"
Noah hesitated while studying Annette's face. If it was Everbright, there was a chance that they would have known the Lambert's. Duke Everbright was among the list of people Noah's father had dragged him along to introduce during hosted banquets. His memory was hazy due to his young age, but the list was something he only remembered because it must have been important.
What mattered was if he'd be recognized.
He had been a rather talented child, but several years had passed and rumors had long since died down.
His image then compared to now was far too different to associate.
"My name is Noah," he introduced himself.
Annette did not react more than to nod, showing no signs of recognition or familiarity. Inwardly, Noah felt relief, losing the tension in his muscles. He could predict what had happened from here.
Annette had likely been there to see him heal John, giving credence to his ability to take up her request. Despite her feigned stoicism, Noah could feel her anticipation. It showed in the way she kept subtly leaning forward or the way her knees were slightly bouncing. Her hands were no better, fingers idly drumming on her lap.
"My younger brother and sister?" Noah stopped thinking too deeply, and asked what was important to him.
He'd sought work only for the sake of his family rather than himself. Their livelihood was first and foremost. Orphaned after their aunt forcibly deposed them of their birth rite in light of their parents murder, Noah, the eldest, was John and Leah's father figure.
Childhood brilliance was both a blessing and a curse for Noah. It meant that from young, he stood head-over-shoulders among his peers, enabling him to effectively care for his younger siblings. However, it meant that even now, he was still under pursuit from his aunt's paranoia.
What Noah was trying to determine now, was whether he should help and involve himself with House Everbright. The closer he tied himself to them, the greater the potential of recognition...
"Safe in another room with my handmaiden Mary." Annette answered without pause, her voice soothing like clinking bells. It may have come from her natural disposition or the somberness of her upbringing, but Annette was soft spoken.
"Are they safe?"
"They are."
"I meant healthy. The little boy, John, how is he?"
"...As if he were never injured."
Annette's eyes visibly brightened as she recalled the analysis of the healer who admonished her. The healer had said something about burdening her mother again and again, and that wasting a healer's time by bringing healthy patients was a violation of the law. The encroaching dark fog had culled most of humanity to the far reaches of their once prosperous kingdoms, and healers could not afford to let valuable personnel die.
Only Noble families like Everbright of the Six Stars or the central families of Aletera's capital who organize and raise troops could call healers down from the front lines.
Annette had seemingly taken advantage of this privilege to play a joke.
The exact words of the healer were harsh and biting, but in short, he lamented about the lives lost in his absence to respond to what was basically nothing.
"Apart from malnutrition, everything else was fine." Annette continued the healer's diagnosis. "The healer recommended a course of high-fat foods and salts to fill the body back in."
Noah swallowed, recognizing the worth of such food only after he'd started high and fallen low. He wet his lips, trying to read Annette's blank face for an answer, but not getting anything substantial. To prevent being misunderstood at staring at a pretty face, Noah focused on the violet of Annette's eyes.
They were vibrant rather than cold.
His mouth felt dry, but he couldn't not ask.
"Then-"
"I approved it," Annette answered, a ghost of a smile tugging at her lips. "Everbright will provide him with his meals until he is healthy."
Noah bowed his head in embarrassment. His concern had been all too evident in his reaction. Considering that he lived in the slums, the preconception among nobility about slum rats being starved and feral had actual merit. In which case, it was a blessing he'd passed out and hadn't seen the way Leah acted. Whatever was left of his noble's dignity would have shattered and died as he prayed to his parents for forgiveness for leading Leah astray. In contrast, John was his only saving grace.
"Thank you," Noah said sincerely before growing tentative. "How about Leah?"
"Leah?" Annette stiffened.
"You know, the little girl I was carrying?"
"Ah," Annette coughed, her expression growing evasive. "Is she your sister?"
"Yes." Noah answered. "She's a handful, but she always means well. Though I'd celebrate if she could finally get out of the habit of dumbing her words down because it's easier and shorter."
Only those who knew Leah well could interpret the numerous meanings in a word or name. Like the difference between a soft Noah, a loud NOAH, and a moderate Noah! Or a bad bad, a bad BAD, or BAAAAD!
.
.
.
Suddenly, Noah felt like crying as he realized he was habituated, and that his and John's understanding of Leah made them 'enablers.'
Wracked with an onset of guilt, Noah didn't notice Annette's prolonged silence, or the awkward twitch of her brows.
"She's accounted for," Annette eventually settled on.
"Can I see them?"
"Sure," Annette answered, her vibrant eyes suddenly growing erratic. "But first, let's discuss our terms of employment."
Noah fell silent in contemplation. Likely, John and Leah's favorable treatment stemmed from him. An ingratiating maneuver that would leave him with a feeling of indebtment- which was working. He would have already refused if he wasn't feeling conflicted.
Once, there had been a time where others ingratiated themselves with him to curry favor, but he'd never felt an obligation to reciprocate. However, the circumstances differed greatly from before. Few if any nobles would go to such lengths to leave a good impression on beggars, and Annette was doing just that.
"It said you needed an innovative healer?" Noah needed a bit more time.
"Blight," Annette answered, the intensity of her gaze sharpening. Most healers would give up from that word alone, and those that don't either bulk or hesitate, but Noah was different.
Noah looked thoughtful.
Annette felt butterflies forming in her stomach as hope began to rise.
Humming, Noah glanced at the mark of the cross behind his hands, but paused from a sudden banging on the room's door.
Annette's breath hitched, a scowl making its way onto her face as the banging grew more aggressive and pronounced.
"Ignore it." She told Noah with pursed lips. "We were talking?"
Noah glanced from Annette, then to the door, and back. Annette was trying to give a pleasant air, but the gesture came off strained and forced.
"Dammit, Annie I know you're in there!"
Annette's eyes twitched violently. There were few if any people who would call her by a nickname, and it all but verified who was behind that door.
"Mother was mad enough about the 'legendary elixir' you brought last time. Now you bring three beggars and say you've found father's last hope?!"
It sounded ridiculous to anyone, but it was true! Still, Annette winced from the reminder of her prior failure, but this time she wasn't alone in her thoughts.
"You even managed to trick Mary into vouching for this insanity!"
Annette pouted with neutral features. With Noah staring at her with second-hand embarrassment, Annette grew flustered and finally raised her voice.
"Second brother-!"
"Oh now you call me brother? Who was the one who covered for you last time and came back from the battlefront to save you from mother?! Open this door if you have any respect left for me!"
Feeling wronged but reproachful, Annette flicked a finger, and the magic on the door vanished; the gesture disenchanted the knob. As the nobles of Aletera garnered their station through strength, the common perception was that the death of each noble was a loss to humanity. All noble medical wards came with enchantments as injured nobles were the most vulnerable to foul play. Everbright's facilities were no different.
"The door's open, Henri. Stop shouting." Annette insisted, a tired sigh escaping her lips. "My ears hurt."
The door opened, and a man with a shade of hair lighter than Annette's walked in. Rather than the violet of Annette's eyes, Henri Everbright took more after his father and had deep golden pupils. His hair was cropped in a clean cut, and he wore the tailored white uniform of an Everbright Knight. Sleek plate armor was hidden beneath an intricately woven surcoat emblazoned with the crest of the White Wolf on the left breast.
In contrast, Annette wore something simple, comfortable. A white dress and slippers as if the maids had neglected to dress her. Unfortunately, it was more likely that she'd run away before she was made to wear a corset.
"You better have a good explanation for this Annette." Henri stifled a fit of frustration. "There's no way mother hasn't heard of this."
"This time will be different."
It was not the answer Henri was looking for or wanted.
"Of course it will, you broke house arrest!" A vein popped over Henri's temples before he quickly shifted his attention to Noah, ready to mete out a growing tirade towards audacious scammers.
"And you…?" Henri started, and then trailed off.
There was a vague feeling of familiarity like he'd seen Noah's face before, but it was impossible to place. The picture Henri was thinking of pertained to a child prodigy and Noah had obviously aged. More than that, Noah's complexion, features, and build, although gaunt and malnourished, still emanated with an aristocratic grace. Was this what fooled his sister?
Noah met Henri's eyes, but it was Henri that ended up glancing away.
"Are you really a beggar?" Henri muttered before shaking his head. It didn't matter.
"Forget it," Henri continued muttering as he marched to Noah's side and lowered his gaze to glare down over Noah.
"My sister is naive."
Annette drop kicked Henri over the head, but Henri didn't even budge, a layer of mana exploding and throwing Annette back instead. She yelped, indignant, but Henri was a full fledged Knight.
Henri acted as if Annette wasn't even there and carried on without pause, golden eyes narrowed.
"Annie neglects her training for our father's sake, and that's why if you intend to scam her, you best leave now while I still have the patience to offer you grace. Hell, we won't even ask you to pay back your meals until you and the other two have recovered."
"Henri!" Annette growled, finally showing her emotions through her face. Desperation and anger were clear, her back arching like an angered cat.
She glanced at Noah and then started inwardly panicking.
W-What sort of expression was that?
Kindness and opportunity were things Noah the 'beggar' had learned to exploit in order to survive, but Noah the 'aristocrat' vehemently refused. The mental clash showed on the awkward expression he made like he'd encountered a problem with his stomach.
"I'll take you up on that offer."
The beggar side won, the lofty demeanor of a noble shattered by reason.
"Y-You can't do that!" Annette protested.
If Henri was willing to do Annette's offer with the only condition to get out of Everbright's hair, Noah was not foolish enough not to accept when considering his circumstances.
Noah shied away from Annette, his beaten aristocratic honor and pride cutting deeply into him when he noticed Annette's wronged expression. A noble must be decisive and reliable, not evasive and shrewd…But his life wasn't the only one he had to look out for.
Henri paused, as if not expecting the answer. Noah's aristocratic disposition gave Henri the wrong impression, but this was a pleasant surprise.
Quickly, relief flooded Henri's face, as he grew more amicable, his tension easing up.
"You're more sensible than I thought," Henri nodded and gestured with a strong hand. "Come, I'll lead you to the other two and call a maid to make arrangements for your earliest departure."
Noah obliged, ducking out of Annette's dazed eyes.
Left gobsmacked, Annette's brain finally rebooted when she realized she was standing alone in the medical ward.
Henri, Henri! HENRI!
"Second brother, you're making a mistake!"
Annette gnashed her teeth and gave chase, miffed, yet politeness was engraved too deeply into her to cuss or swear.
D-Dumb blockhead!
It didn't mean she couldn't think about it.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone