Chapter 3: A conspiracy?

As the minutes passed Aldous did not notice the changes in the room, but, he perceived that it was a little difficult to breathe, since due to his fluctuating emotions he was a little agitated, he tried to calm down by regulating his breathing and little by little he returned to normal, his expression was calmer and he was breathing normally, In turn, the atmosphere in his room lost that suffocating and gloomy feeling, however, the darkness did not disperse completely, in the corners of the room where the shadows of the objects were projected these were darker than usual and moved from time to time like a flickering candle in the breeze.

A few minutes earlier in a large study in the castle, Count Blackstone was seated behind the desk, next to him a middle aged butler was calmly pouring him a cup of tea, as the hot water was poured into the cup thick steam rose steadily from it, this steam was of a pale blue color and emitted a refreshing fragrance; in the cup after being filled in a proper proportion faint flashes of sapphire blue could be seen, the tea already prepared shared the same color as the steam. After finishing serving the tea, the butler returned the teapot to a nearby serving trolley which poesied other unused cups, both the teapot and the cups were made of porcelain and had beautiful floral patterns, on them was a flower resembling an orchid, however, in the center of its petals was a dark blue hexagonal sapphire.

Immediately after returning the cup of tea to the trolley, the middle-aged butler stood next to the count, with his hands behind his sword and with a straight posture facing the front where another middle-aged man was standing. The latter had a nervous expression on his face, traces of cold sweat could be seen on his forehead which he was constantly wiping with a cloth, he seemed to be uncomfortable waiting in silence, but did not dare to say a single word in front of the count. In contrast to that man's discomfort, the count had a calm expression, he took a moment to review some documents on his desk, taking sips of tea between intervals of time; two minutes after he poured himself he seemed to have finished reviewing the documents, but instead of talking to the man in front of the desk he looked towards the butler next to him and said.

"This blue orchid tea is really good."

Hearing the count say that the butler smiled slightly at him as he replied.

"If my lord likes it so much, I will personally make arrangements to buy more of this tea."

The earl nodded his head and then fixed his gaze on the middle aged man in front of the desk and said.

"how are my son's lessons coming along, Sir Evan."

Evan sensing the count's gaze on him immediately looked down and quickly replied.

"young master Aldous is definitely a genius, he is endowed with great intelligence, his learning ability is exceptional"

Evan spoke quickly and with a slightly trembling voice; hearing Evan quickly praise Aldous as soon as he opened his mouth the count kept the same expression and said nothing.

Evan realized that he was too agitated due to his nervousness tried to calm down and elaborated his answer more clearly this time

"The young master's lessons are carried out smoothly, count, this is because your son is very intelligent, he learns the contents he taught him with great ease, be it geography, politics, etiquette, in general no matter what subject it is that he taught him, it is very easy for him."

Saying this Evan sighed with a slightly surprised expression as he continued.

"I have been a tutor for a whole decade, and I have taught many students, some lazy and some applied, but all of them were prodigies with a great capacity for learning, among them Tristan the crown prince of the kingdom stands out, who I can say at the time was the most brilliant student I had"

Saying this far Evan had a nostalgic and slightly dazed expression as he said.

"But I can safely say, that at the moment the most brilliant pupil I have ever taught is young master Aldous."

As Evan spoke, the count's expression did not change, listening silently, but occupationally nodding his head, and then making eye contact with the butler at his side who was nodding his head towards the count. After he finished speaking Evan still looked a little nervous, although his breathing was a little more orderly and he stopped sweating, he had a worried expression as he looked towards the count.

Evan knew why the count had called him, after noon a rumor began to circulate in the castle, according to which the young master Aldous was going on a trip to gain experience; this rumor caused a strong commotion because everyone in the castle knew how the young master behaved, he usually did not leave the castle, he kept himself secluded studying and reading and did not have excessive social interaction with anyone in the castle not even with the count.

To tell the truth, it is true that some months ago Evan had suggested to Aldous that he undertake a trip abroad, to familiarize himself with the county and to put into practice what he had been learning in lessons; at that time that suggestion was completely honest with no ulterior motive, he was concerned as a tutor, however, Aldous did not seem very interested in going on a trip and because he knew his personality he did not pursue the matter in question.

But, a month ago he made the same suggestion again with more insistence this time, and as he tried a little harder to reason with Aldous he seemed to end up convincing him of it. Under normal circumstances he should be happy about it, but thinking this far Evan's expression paled a little as he observed the count standing silently watching him. This was because his recent insistence on the matter was caused with ulterior motives; a month ago he received a letter in which they asked him as a favor to manage to convince Aldous to go on a trip outside the castle, of course, in the letter they made it clear that they had no bad intentions and only wanted to interact with Aldous but due to his seclusion in the castle they couldn't talk to him.

Because the sender of the letter was not someone he could offend and because he made it clear that he had no bad intentions towards the young master, Evan agreed, but he did not expect that the count would realize this matter so quickly. So far it seemed that the earl was only asking about Aldous' lessons without mentioning the trip at all, but Evan knew that the earl was aware of this matter and was only giving him a chance to explain himself.

This was not an unfounded idea, Earl Blackstone's reputation was well known not only in his lands but also throughout the kingdom, there was no movement that went unnoticed to his gaze in the county, as to how he was so well informed no one knew, but what they did recognize was that trying to conspire against the earl in his own territory was simply courting death. Now why even knowing this he dared to do such a thing, Evan had a dejected expression on his face as he knelt down, lowered his head and said.

"count, this ingrate has made a mistake, I have bitten the hand that feeds me, please punish me."

The earl did not seem surprised that Evan knelt down out of nowhere and asked to be punished, he took a sip of tea and asked with a slight smile on his face.

"oh, tell me what mistake you have made that you deserve to be punished?"