章 23: The choices we make III

Passing through the kitchen, Jacob saw very few maids around. Ever since the incident with Barbara he found the maids gossiping less and working more. When Diana walked by them he could even see the maids shiver in fear.

It was a night that no one would forget.

Since that night, Jacob found it weird for him to face Diana. There was some sort of feeling emerging within his heart, but he was not sure what it was.

He knew what it felt like to be in love with someone, as he was engaged in his previous life. The feeling in his heart was not the same, but he was unsure of what it was exactly.

Diana, on the other hand, spoke to him every now and again. The way she communicated with him was more respectful than before, clearly showing that their relationship has improved.

Seated at the wooden table that they normally ate at was a maid with short blonde hair. Her attention was focused on the piece of paper in front of her while her right hand held a pen.

"What are you up to, Jewlieah?"

The blonde-haired maid looked up only to spot Jacob's dirty body that was starting to take a nice shape. He still was not the tall, rich and handsome she wanted in her life but she found him becoming more attractive as time went on.

It was not to the extent she would do anything to him. He was give or take thirteen years old.

While there was no law against it, she just could not bear it if she seduced him. His future prospects were limitless, from what she could make out from the guards. Eventually, Jacob would become the type of man she desired, but at that time she would be an old hag.

It is funny how the world works. When you want something you do not get it right away, but when it appears you can't have it. A pity she was not ten or twelve years younger. Things would be different then and she would not mind wrapping the little guy around her finger.

"Helping the head maid organize these plans for the lord's fifteenth birthday. He proposed the idea of inviting all the other lords his family had good relations with to come and attend. After all, when one is fifteen they can be considered a full-fledged adult."

Jacob had no idea that the lord was hosting a birthday party, he did not even know when the lord's birthday was.

Considering the fact that he would be fifteen, it would surely be a wonderful get together.

Soon a thought flashed in his mind, the lord does not attend events. He even told Vulcan that he would attend those events in his place.

Just the thought of meeting all the other nobles and interacting with them brought joy to Jacob. He could learn about their backgrounds whilst seeing if any of them had connections with any famous figures. Nobles were nobles for a reason, their wealth, power and status allowed them to meet famous generals without an introduction.

He was positive they had stories to tell.

As long as he played his cards right he should be able to find out the location of Veronica and Albert.

In the long scheme of things, he still wanted to enlist in Veronica's army. Those under her command were all skilled, even the recruits were young noble men and women who hoped to escape their families shadow. Not to mention she was wealthy, one of the wealthiest generals in the Valorian empire. Meaning the gear she could supply him with would be top class.

"Do you need any help?"

"Not really, I am just a little confused is all. She asked me to send all the names on this here paper an invitation, but a few of them died. Not really sure who took over the family after they passed."

Jewlieah said as she sighed. It was a bit frustrating to send an invitation without a proper receiver. Sure, the family would get the invite but they would not know who was invited.

"Is there not a log for that type of information? If I am not mistaken, city hall should keep a registry of who owns what property as well as the current nobles."

Jewlieah moaned in distress. It was not something she wanted to do. The walk to city hall would take her an hour, then she would have to wait in line and wait for one of the employees to search through all the documents.

For one name on the list, that could take up to an hour. There were five names on the paper who have died recently, so that was five hours she would have to wait around for.

"Why did I even bother? Forget it, I'll just send it saying their family is invited. Save myself the hassle of all that waiting."

Jewlieah spoke to herself as she shook her head. She glanced over at Jacob and pinched his cheeks.

"Thanks for trying to help, but that is just a lot of waiting around. Don't tell the head maid that though, she'll skin me for sure. Also, you smell."

Jewlieah told Jacob as her lips curled up into a small smile.

"Oh yeah? Then come here!"

Jacob playfully reached out his arms towards her, but she pushed him away while giggling.

"Behave yourself or I'll dunk your head in the bath myself!"

Jacob smirked.

"A bath together? I would love that."

His words were alluring causing Jewlieah to blush slightly. She was just messing around with him, never thought that he would say something so roguelike.

"I'll think about it…"

Jewlieah led him on. It should give him something to think about in the days to come, but she would never go in with him. Unless she was ordered to, then that would be a different story.

To her, Jacob was starting to become a little brother. His mischievous ways and curious mind started to grow on her. She's never had a brother before, but if she did she would probably treat Jacob a bit differently.

Their relationship was a bit weird, she was old enough to be his mother, yet found herself playing around with him as if she was in her youth. A shame that she wasted a lot of her younger years tending to the animals instead of enjoying herself.

"You said it."

Jacob's words lingered in her ear as he stepped away from her and left the kitchen.

Jacob liked Jewlieah, she reminded him of his aunt Samantha. Samantha never had her own kids and treated all her nieces and nephews like her own flesh and blood. When he was with her, he could relax and not worry about a thing.

While his body was still bare and his trousers damp from the water he dumped over his head, Jacob still hurried in his steps towards the study.

He was presenting himself to Renold, not the lord. He did not believe he needed to clean himself up for Renold. After all, Renold was a warrior and surely he would understand Jacob's appearance. May even praise him about the gains he has earned himself.

With two light knocks on the door leading into the study, Renold's large figure appeared.

Looking down he saw Jacob and stepped out of the study.

"I heard you have been training under Oswald, tell me how is it?"

Does Renold know? Was the first thought that passed through Jacob's mind when Renold asked him that question. But, the percentage of him knowing what Oswald was up to was fairly low. He was still keeping it a secret, knowledge is power and the more he knew the extra cards he could play later on. Only if the situation was dire enough would Jacob say anything. Nothing could be gained from sharing that sort of information, at least, not yet.

"It is alright. I've learned a lot from him."

Renold nodded as he placed his right hand on Jacob's shoulder. His grip was tight almost as if he wanted to break Jacob's shoulder into small pieces.

"Not bad, it is easy to see how fast you are progressing. I can already feel your subscapularis begin to grow. No one mentions it, but having strong shoulders makes it easier when swinging a weapon, or parrying a blow. Adds a little kick, but that is all you need to turn the tide. Oswald is a decent soldier however, he is nothing like me. You seem more like me than anything else."

Renold told Jacob as he looked over his small body. It was becoming more toned, where you were able to see distinct muscle sections. To others, it may not be noticeable, but for Renold, he had a keen eye for these things.

"What do you mean by that?"

"It is safe to say that Oswald has been building up your foundation, but he does not have the skills necessary to teach you beyond that. I, however, can guide you far beyond what he can."

Putting Oswald and Renold side by side, one could tell the discrepancies between the two. Renold possessed a body made of steel while Oswald was a giant with muscles. At first glance, one would say Oswald would win in a fistfight, but Jacob could safely say that Renold was packing some heat.

"You plan on training me?"

Renold hesitated for a bit before he nodded.

He was still a bit unsure about the kid learning his techniques. Renold believed Jacob would die sometime in the near future, thus making his teachings pointless. Yet, he could not leave nothing behind in this world. Better to die in the hands of another than die alone with him and never have a chance daylight again.

"I want to teach you a thing or two. Learning it is up to you, but if you do you'll come out more fearsome than you are now."

"If we are talking about your body, Oswald is not smart enough to come up with a regimen capable of keeping your body confused so it is always building up more muscle."

"How do you know that?"

Jacob asked in a surprised manner. He started to wonder if Renold had a sixth sense of some kind. To think, he was just talking to Rolf about the same thing not that long ago.

Renold let out a small chuckle.

"Does not take a genius to see the shape you are in. Bet on the first day you were in constant pain wishing things would end. By the fifth, your body already started to get used to the same motions. Don't worry about it. It happens to all of us that were born to be a warrior, a real warrior."

Jacob admitted that Renold was right. Oswald's training was becoming less effective as time went on and his worst fear was that eventually, his experience would decline.

"Let me show you what I can do, then you decide for yourself if you want to learn from me or stick around with Oswald. Just remember, it is the choices we make that define who we become."