Capítulo 20: Introductions

"Knock. Knock." The door to Lucian's room rattles.

"Young master, dinner is ready now." Baldwin calls.

Lucian awakens from his blissful dreams by the sudden interruption.

'That felt amazing. Sucks that it was so brief.'

"I'll down soon, Baldwin. Thank you." Lucian calls back.

Rising from the bed, Lucian begins to look at the new set of clothes laid out for him.

The tunic is similar in design to the Marquis's own tunic but with some alterations. The most glaring alteration is the absence of enchantments and the leather being made of a much lesser quality hide. Lucian puts his head through the leather cuirass, feeling the craftsmanship at his fingertips. They run along the center of the cuirass tracing House Adalwolfen's sigil. A wolf with aggressive posturing. Leaving the sigil, to his surprise, his fingertips meet a metallic object embedded into the cuirass.

'What's this?'

Lucian walks towards the mirror atop his dresser to better examine himself.

'It's like I'm the hand of the king or something. This reminds me of that show Game of Swords'

A silver pin reflects off of the mirror. The pin depicts a wolf's head with fangs bared towards the world. A metal circle surrounds it. A bar pokes through the back of the head, its sharp end embedded inside of the cuirass.

Lucian traces the wolf head.

'This must mark me as a high-ranking member of the household. I bet if I walked to one of the guardsmen right now, they would salute me. This could be useful in the future.'

Lucian continues dressing. He now looks like a fine young noble boy. He leaves the equipment belt and gauntlets on the bed, unneeded for a dinner party.

'Alright. He said the dinner would be held in the main hall. I should head down, now.'

Lucian descends the staircase. Once reaching the first floor, he opens the door to an atmosphere much different from the hall earlier in the day. The hall is very silent. A long table has been placed upon the podium, with the castle's seat of power being moved to somewhere else. The table is filled with the exception of two chairs. One is at the head of the table, the other next to his parents. Lilith sits beside Siegfried, with a seat open to her left.

Lucian walks towards the seat, taking a brief overview of the table members.

The table is filled with what seems to be members of the Marquis's hierarchy. Ranging from military personnel equipped with armor to what appears to be the Castle's Alchemist based on his grey robes and Alchemist's insignia. In total, four mysterious people are sitting at the table. All of them watch Lucian as he takes his seat with keen eyes. Lilith and Siegfried seem to be uncomfortable by the silence but have no idea of the customs of a Lord's table.

Lucian, now seated, raises his head, returning their looks in kind. His gaze stretches to a grey-bearded knight towards the head of the table, causing a break to the silence.

"Hoho!"

"I like that look in your eye, boy! You already have the look of a soldier at such an age!"

"Why don't we start off with introductions!"

"I am Jorgen, Knight Commander of the House Adalwolfen. I am an old friend of your father, so please feel free to drop any honorifics." he says in a friendly tone, stretching himself across the table to shake Lucian's hand.

He nods to a younger knight sitting next to him.

The young knight wears similar equipment to Jorgen. His face is clean-shaven, adding to his defined jawline. His brown hair is cut short, styled into a comb-over. His eyes regard Lucian with a youthful kindness, innocent to the world's tragedies.

"Kline. Pleased to meet you, young master. I am one of the newly appointed knights under Ser Jorgen." Kline says, his enunciation proper and elegant. He gives a slight bow to Lucian with a genuine smile.

'This guy seems to be the living example of a true knight.'

Kline extends his hand to a beautiful woman sitting next to him.

"Sitting next to me is the Noble Lady Isla, ambassador of House Adalwolfen."

Isla takes Kline's hand, elegantly rising from her seat. Every facet of the movement flaunts her body's best characteristics.

'Such control over her body, this must be planned.'

Lucian takes notice of the action, his gaze locked onto her appeal.

Shiny black hair drifts down her shoulders, curling around her ample boozum. Her hands rest against her stomach tightening, the already skin-tight dress she wears. Where the dress ends, her perfectly toned olive skin begins.

"You can just call me Isla. We will be spending quite a lot of time together soon. Your court etiquette will definitely be needing an upgrade." Isla says, playfully scolding Lucian.

"Pleased to meet you, Isla." Lucian replies.

Isla curtsies at his response, raising the dress higher up her thighs, exposing the luscious curvature of her legs to Lucian's eyes.

Lucian attempts to hold his own at the sight while his guilty cheeks blush as his thoughts delve into dark thoughts.

Isla gives him a seductive smile noticing this.

'This woman is a seductress if I've ever seen one. I need to keep my guard up around her, or I'll just become her toy.'

"Ahem!" The old man sitting next to Isla struggles to stand, supporting himself on a wooden cane.

The old man is exceptionally tall. Even with his hunched-over posture, he stands around 6ft tall.

"Excuse this old man for his absence of youth." The old man apologizes.

Lucian nods while sudden curiosity piques his interest. Causing him to activate the full extent of his perception on the old man.

'This guy's body seems to tell a different story. With my heightened perception, I can see that he is still muscular under that grey robe he wears. He could probably outlift the Knight Commander. I wonder what purpose there is behind him acting like he is senile.'

The old man notices Lucian's interest in him, responding with a glare that echoes a warning. His eyes glint white for the briefest of moments to show Lucian the depth of this warning.

"Alaric Adalveiss, Steward of Faerdham. At your service." The old man orates, with calm strength etched into his words.

'I think it is best if I do not get on this man's bad side. The "Adal" in his surname must mean that he is a member of the branch family of House Adalwolfen.'

Lucian bows to Alaric, symbolizing his respect for the man.

The introductions finished, the members of the table quickly spark up conversations with each other and Lucian's parents. Dinner is served not long after that. The rest of the meal progresses peacefully. The table members question how Lucian met the Marquis, requiring Lucian to recount the events of their fateful encounter. Satisfied with his response, the Marquis Hierarchy give their respect for Lucian's actions and excusing themselves shortly afterward.

With dinner finished, Lucian and his family move to check on Talia, who is currently under the watchful eye of the maid Myriam.

Lucian watches over Talia, resting in her crib, for several moments before leaving his family to meet with the Marquis.