บท 32: Chapter 32: Is it War? (II) Cratos Valen

Dante looked back in surprise but shook his head. The teasing had gone too far, he could not let this happen again and again.

He looked into those ice-blue eyes, wondering what had made him even join in the tub, to begin with.

The entirety of Kilian was enticing to him, and the playful demeanor, which was sometimes cold and sometimes warm, kept him on his toes.

He had thought for once he would surprise Kilian back. The young master had a way of teasing him when he was least expecting it, and somehow he wanted Kilian to know that he was not gonna hold back forever.

He leaned down and got closer to the curious-looking blue eyes, then kissed Kilian on the forehead, letting his lips touch the pale skin, and enjoyed the surprised look Kilian gave him, who didn't move away.

Dante then placed his hands on the edge of the tub, raised himself from the water, and stood up to get out.

A knight is what he had to stay as, nothing more.

His frame stood in the lavish room, with water dripping from his wet body, and he turned to notice Kilian's embarrassed expression.

Kilian had not expected the usual docile Dante to get away on his own, but at the same time, he did not mind, though he did sneak peeks of Dante standing completely naked in the room.

Instead, he stood up as well and got out of the tub, starting to get dressed as well.

"Well, let's see what kind of man Cratos Valen is".

Kilian pretended nothing had happened, and Dante looked at the naked body getting covered in clothing that became wet from the undried slender body underneath.

He honestly regretted getting out of the water now and slowly clenched his hands, remembering the feeling of holding the young man in them.

'Ha'. He knew Kilian was not interested in love, he had teased Dante a lot, but Dante knew there was no particularly deep feeling behind the antics.

Dante smiled and shook his head. Kilian was an entity too far from him to grasp a hold of, any more than he already had.

There was a knock on the door, and a loud shriek, when the two maids came back in and ran over fussing over Kilian with his wet clothes.

"Young Master, we brought new clothes!".

They seemed desperate to correct his ways.

"The Lord would like an audience if the Young Master is up for it, and a doctor will has been summoned to the castle.

The shorter one of the two looked apologetic when mentioning the doctor, but Kilian gave her a warm smile that left her dazzled for a moment.

'An audience with me' It had sounded like Cratos had asked for his permission and not commanded him. Maybe there was still hope for this to turn out well.

"It is just that there is no capable doctor in town currently, with the war and all…"

Her words trailed off, and she seemed even more apologetic.

Kilian realized the girl seemed apprehensive and nervous. 'Is she waiting for me to scold her?'

"It is ok, I am fine, and let CRatos, I mean my grandfather know I will meet him".

Soon Kilian was covered in towels, and they were drying his body all over for him.

In only a few minutes the wet Kilian now stood in front of Dante completely dry and fully dressed in pale blue nice clothes, that fit him perfectly.

He was a sight, was all Dante could think, and he was beating himself up for rejecting that gem now.

Why did his pride as a knight have to be this big?

Dante had dried himself and gotten dressed too, on his own.

The girls were giggling when looking at the two men, most likely thinking of things that didn't happen, and it made him sigh deeply.

He had once again done something outrageous, but this time he would need to steel himself from falling into the same situation again.

Kilian looked down at himself and was curious if the man Cratos Valen had already accepted him as his grandson.

The clothes were not flashy but they were of good craftsmanship and enhanced his features well with the blue colors and small golden details.

He did feel like he was a blue peacock now compared to the worn travel clothes he had arrived in, but his looks were one of his few weapons against whatever may come up.

He heard the sigh from Dante and saw the almost longing look the man was giving him.

This time he had probably taken the teasing too far, and maybe this time he should apologize.

He had expected the man to refuse with embarrassment.

When he had asked for him to join the bath, he had felt something like a small tickle behind his eyes.

'Command'. His eyes widened. That is what his mother had called his ability.

But he had asked, and not commanded, 'maybe it is more like a suggestion?'.

The few times he had used his ability since, it had felt like the power that gathered in him, had done what he had asked. It had removed things in his way.

With new thoughts on his mind, he gave off a small smile to Dante and walked over, grabbing the man's arm to pull him down to his height, and whispered in his ear.

"Sorry".

Kilian let go and left the room followed by the two maids and the baffled Dante.

This was all he could muster right now, he needed to focus on the next wall against them.

The big wall that was the only Archduke of this continent, the war hero he had read about in books, and the ruler of the north, reporting directly to the King.

Kilian walked to make sure everyone around them could hear the thuds of the cane.

Maids and castle staff would turn their heads and bow whenever he passed them, and he nodded back, giving each one a smile that would linger in their minds.

If he wanted to be a part of the Valen family, he might as well act the part, and see if he could get on their good sides.

He was not built like his grandfather who had seemed like a huge bear to him, but he was finally in halls where nobody dared to scorn or beat him.

Dante followed behind them, puffing out his chest, enjoying how his Master was being met by others.

A Noble no less, that would change his personality on a dime to fit the situation, and would go through hardships without complaints.

He doubted many nobles would have had the same patience and stubbornness to work toward their goals, as they were mostly handed to them if they raised their voices loud enough.

Kilian was weak, he had to admit that, but at the same time, he wasn't.

He could not explain it, and he didn't need to, he just needed to follow the young man, and see where it would take him.

Even then, here in the north in the castle and mansion of The Archduke, people were greeting him, and giving him the respect a knight would normally receive, even when he had already stated his name to the local knights, and admitted he was a commoner.

It had not seemed to change anything, they had simply welcomed a fellow knight with pride.

In fact, many had praised him the evening before, for standing by his master even during the harsh conditions. Protecting him.

He could not help but feel proud at this moment, nodding back to the people who greeted him with courtesy.

They came to a big door, and it reminded Kilian of the time when he had to enter the Yule Ball at the Heathgrave mansion.

This time the double doors, were enormous, and it was not just any servant who stood there to open them for him, it was 2 knights, both twice his size, staring down at him.

Kilian stood for a second and didn't know what to say, the knights were intimidating, decked in full armor like they were setting off for war any second.

Then they bowed, deeply, to the point Kilian was unsure how they even managed to bow with their heavy armor.

One of them gave him a brilliant smile, giving off a sudden aloof characteristic, like a puppy who wanted the approval of its master.

Kilian cleared his throat and spoke up.

"I am Kilian Heath… Kilian Valen, I am here to see my…Grandfather."

Kilian let them know he was there as a grandson for a family matter and not there for the Archduke of the country.

Both of the knights looked at each other and then turned to push with all their strength at the big doors, opening them to give entrance to an enormous hall, that Kilian would not even think could fit in a mansion or even a castle.

"Kilian Valen, I greet you".

The loud deep voice rang through the big hall.

Everything was made out of beautiful stones like granite and marble.

The floor and ceiling had a midnight dark color, that shone and reflected light from several floating lights hovering everywhere in the hall. Making it look like a starry night sky.

It was almost ethereal, and Kilian felt like his feet would get swallowed up by the beautiful abyss that was the floor if he were to step on it.

Ahead of him, on a throne, sat a huge man with golden hair and piercing blue eyes. Even with the distance between them, the presence was huge.

The man was wearing armor as well, and there was a long table in the middle of the hall, with 12 chairs around it, the throne being at the opposite end.

Kilian moved across the room and got on one knee bowing to his grandfather

At first, Kilian thought it had been a throne, but in fact, it was simply just a big wooden chair with ornament carvings, that barely even fit the size of the man in it.

The man gave Kilian an impatient stern look.

"So you are finally here."

The man that had carried Kilian the night before sat still as a rock, and Kilian swallowed his saliva, unable to even think about the reasons that had led him to come here in the first place.

When Kilian didn't reply, the man continued.

"I hear you are a cripple".

Kilian finally looked up in horror. Maybe this man had found out from the maids, and did not want to be associated with him anymore.

A loud crack filled the silence, and Kilian saw how the worn hands resting on the wooden armrests tightened and the fingers digging into the wood, were breaking and tearing the edge apart.

The man was furious.