章 4: Chapter 1.3
Chapter 1.3: Tutorial (III)
With nimble movements, he separated a small piece from the steak and placed it into his mouth after piercing it with his silver fork. Silently munching and savouring its cooked flesh, his long lashes masked the clouded thoughts swirling in his pupils. He made his decision to accept both tasks despite their difficulties. After all, he had nothing to lose, and he would be able to gain experience for similar tasks in the future as well as receive a large amount of points if he ever succeeded.
[Task accepted]
[Task: Find Love—
It is one of the wishes of the original soul. An optional task to complete.
Difficulty: ★
Rewards: 90 Points
Penalty: None
Status: Active
Time Limit: ∞
Condition(s) to complete:
•Find your loved one
•Get into a relationship
•Get married
•Have a family]
[Task accepted]
[Task: Experience all types of emotions—
It is one of the wishes of the original soul. An optional task to complete.
Difficulty: ★★
Rewards: 180 Points
Penalty: None
Status: Active
Time Limit: ∞
Condition(s) to complete:
•Let your body experience all types of emotions]
When his gaze scanned the condition for the second task, he mentally raised a brow and pondered. Since it had specifically stated "body", Zhong Renjun thought it depended on the reaction of Jaqelheim's body. But it would be hard to stir Jaqelheim's heart, and in order to thaw the frozen barrier surrounding it, he needed to make use of the strongest factor in Jaqelheim's life—his father. According to the man's memories, despite being neglected and treated strictly since childhood, he had always placed his father upon a pedestal with wishful desires of becoming a similar man. He especially admired his cold demeanor and his stern ways of teaching; to him, that was what a man should be. Thus, the boy—who previously endured the harsh beatings with silence as he trembled on the cold hard floor with his body riddled in bruises and newly formed scars, the boy who would avert his gaze whenever he made eye contact, the boy who couldn't even lift a sword—had gripped onto the slightest of hope and stood for himself on that very day, strengthening his body with torturous training methods whilst equipping an invisible mask to hide his weaknesses and grew up to become who he was today, with his desire to make his father look upon him with pride. If Jaqelheim's father were to reveal even an ounce of emotion to him, that would be enough to crack his barriers and it would be far more simple to change Jaqelheim's demeanor.
Gently placing his silverware down, he proceeded to dab his mouth with the napkin wrapped around his collar before untangling it and folding it neatly onto the table. His refined actions compared to his brothers who simply crushed the napkin in between their fingers, caused the duke and duchess to nod in slight approval while the eldest daughter released a quiet snort and the other two daughters' focus remained on their unfinished food. When all the occupants of the dining room had ended their feast, the host of the occasion had begun the main topic of discussion, "Now, let us inform our children of our intentions for today."
Casting a glance at each other, the two dukes and the duchess released a shocking statement to their children—with Zhong Renjun remaining unperturbed as he had long expected this to happen, "We have decided to join hands through an engagement between both houses."
Silence crept upon the smooth walls, the chandelier dangling above their heads emitted soft creaks before their trance was broken from the impact of a spoon colliding against the floor. Laven, the culprit, was the first to speak; "What a surprising outcome! I-I, well, I mean, who hasn't heard of the history between our houses?"
A faint shine passed by his father's eyes, "Laven, that's far in the past and in time, people, well; things change."
". . . I guess it's fortunate that their presence here means that they're not here to find trouble." A hushed voice with not much of an attempt made to suppress its tone, spoke out before a loud smack seemingly on the back followed by a grunt resonated within the room, and silence befell them once again. Everyone's deadpanned gazes prickled the back of Halenfor, who was hunched forward in pain.
Pinching the slender body of the half-finished wine glass in front of him, Zhong Renjun brought the edge of the glass up to his lips before taking a sip and voicing out his thoughts, "Not a surprise. May inquire who the lucky pair is?"
The duke of Diamonds' piercing gaze scanned him from head to toe before his lips parted with an answer, "It is much preferred for the heir or the future heiress to be engaged, nevertheless, anyone is fine. Of course, all of you are free to marry each other or pursue another, only if at least one of you marry into either house."
'. . .Future heiress?. . . So it appears that the heiress to the house of Spades has not been decided, yet. No wonder none of them revealed themselves to be the heiress. . .'
"Why so sudden may I ask?" The youngest daughter of the house of Spades finally spoke up, her voice soft and intentions straightforward causing Rolenfid to lock his line of sight on her.
"In time, dear, all would be revealed to thee." The duchess's eyes slightly lost the tension it possessed.
"How exactly would the engagement be decided? What if none of us harbour feelings for one another?" Ameltine blinked a few times with a tint of confusion.
"Of course, all of you would be given enough time to spend with each other. At the end, you would be allowed to voice out your decisions regarding the engagement. If none of you hold any affection, we would simply choose a pair with the highest compatibility." The duke's chin buried itself deeper into his palm, his blue locks falling into place as he moved.
The two dukes made eye contact and seemed to understand each other with a single glance. Varentin directed a smile to the rest of us, "The three of us have something private to discuss, the rest of you may proceed to the garden the duke of Diamonds has generously reserved for all of you. Your needs will be attended to by your personal servants."
Lifting up from the seats, the three young women and the four brothers bowed in courtesy before excusing themselves from the dining room as their servants, positioned just by the entrance, tagged along. Passing through the long corridor with intricately carved pillars aligned just across the endless row of paintings decorating the candlelit walls, Valforey exclaimed as her delicate mouth parted with amazement, "What beautiful paintings! Which masters created these masterpieces and where did you acquire them?"
Throwing a mere glance at the wall, Zhong Renjun spoke before Laven could, "Gavenlorn Hartyler, the renowned genius of the arts during the Harford Era. All these paintings belong to one of his many collections: "Long Live The King". We were fortunate—too fortunate to be able to come across an individual who possessed an entire collection. To others, the price was hefty, but to us, it was cheaper than we expected despite being an entire collection and one that was rarely shown to the world back when Lord Hartyler still lived. It was truly worth the trip to Barten."
Valforey took in a small breath from shock, Gavenlorn Hartyler was a name with power large enough to shake the entire world. Despite being from the Harford Era that had long passed, his name still existed within the hearts of individuals as his name was recorded down in history. In an Era where war was often made and deaths a common occurrence, the only beauty left in the world were his collections of paintings that brought so much emotion and seemed almost too vivid; enough to bring the witness to an entirely different world. But of course, his paintings were the most famous due to the hidden meanings. One would be able to read amongst the surface, but would they be able to decipher the hidden message amongst the hidden clues behind each stroke? Not only that, such prized treasures were found in a deserted place such as Barten!
Valforey's thoughts became clouded and she looked upon the towering man in a slightly new light. Laven pressed his sharp nails against his palms but not enough to pierce through. Paying no heed to both people's reactions, Zhong Renjun merely summarised what Jaqelheim had known about these paintings, and his eyes narrowed. If his guess about the meaning of the paintings were right, then that would only prove his speculations correct and the intentions of Jaqelheim's father were clear as day.
Nevertheless, he would only interfere if it brought about disadvantages to his goal of conquering. Right now, he was focused on the third task which was: Earn the respect of all the servants.
He naturally had his ways, and if his methods proved ineffective; there was nothing that stated that he couldn't get rid of those who disrespected him. Besides, Jaqelheim had long earned most of the servants' respect. All that was left were those part of his brothers' entourage. So what if they lost a few servants? His brothers were of no threat to him. He wasn't the type to bribe others for their loyalty, so it was time he did some housecleaning while he kept those he deemed worthy.
Such a situation reminded him of the palace affairs back in his former world. . .
When the fresh scent of mother nature invaded his nostrils, a vision of petals being carried by the gentle breeze engulfed his sense of thought and an archway of white roses and twigs greeted their entrance to the garden. A walkway of bluestones trailed a fair distance away whilst surrounded by bushes and patches of grass decorated with a variety of plants and flowers, until it encircled a round stone table with a few chairs just the right amount for the visitors. Four towering pillars surrounded the table as they supported a roof whose shadow casted upon it. A small sized wall made with cobblestones aligned itself along the circumference of the area and the blooming cherry blossom trees rooted into the ground increased the serenity of the place.
Ameltine's pupils widened in astonishment, "How stunning. . ."
"You may help yourselves and explore the place." Zhong Renjun sat himself on one of the chairs.
"R-really? I might as well help myself then!" With joy evident in her tone, Ameltine fast walked to another path of bluestones leading to a different section of the garden. The twins immediately followed after with the offer of showing her around to which she agreed to.
"May I inspect the paintings? I absolutely adore Lord Hartyler's works!" Valforey's eyes glistened with hidden anticipation as she gazed at him.
With a nod of approval, she delightedly skipped back to the corridor they went through with Laven running after with the intention to discuss about the paintings with the lady. Despite the three brothers holding interest for the youngest daughter of the house of Spades, in the end, it was merely interest and the type of women they prefer were Ameltine and Valforey. Besides, the brothers harboured the thought that Nevanna was more suited for Jaqelheim since their personalities were similar.
Neatly arranging her dress before sitting on the chair, her eyes peeked at the man who was observing her with similar intentions of probing each other's motives.
"I guess they were not wrong when they thought we were similar. The look on their faces were too obvious." She finally spoke more than when they were present in the dining room.
"I suppose you're right." Their gazes locked and not one was willing to break the eye contact.
"I consider myself a lover of history, and you seem to know a lot; especially some information about the Harford Era that was long lost in history and the only remaining evidence of such Era being—Gavenlorn Hartyler." Her fingers intertwined, and she rested her chin upon her hands.
"I was fortunate enough to be able to access such valuable history." His oceanic hues narrowed as he tried to probe her intentions.
Lifting her pale hand, "Maril, prepare some tea for the young master and myself. The usual, please. Oh and, would the young master grant her the permission to make use of the kitchen?" She waved at the maid stationed not far from behind her.
"Of course. It would be much preferred if you'd serve me some herbal tea. Uncle Han will guide you to the kitchen." He glanced at the old man observing the two like a hawk—standing not far from the place.
"Very well young miss, the young master." Maril, Nevanna's personal maid, bowed and twirled onto her heel before the old man approached and the two figures strode towards the corridor.
Casting her attention back to Zhong Renjun, their stares clashed and Nevanna broke the tension with a simple sentence, "Let's get to know each other well, Jaqelheim Von Diamonds."
"To you as well, Nevanna Von Spades."
As the gentle breeze carried a combination of gold and crimson threads slightly past their faces, the corner of her delicate lips hooked.
"Shall we start with a recap?"
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