The Invite From Count Lark

The whole thing happened in an odd fashion. Lith received a letter instead of a holo-call, and despite being addressed to him it was delivered to Nana's house.

Being the host, Nana took the liberty of reading it before handing it to him. She was just concerned about Lith's well-being, of course.

The letter said in a perfect penmanship:

"Dear Lith,

"Thanks again for slaying the monstrous magical beast. You have served the County of Lustria and deserve to be rewarded accordingly. To this end, I would like you to join me in my manor in ten days after receipt of this letter. We have much to discuss. I urge you to contact me as soon as you can via Lady Nerea's communication amulet.

Count Trequill Lark."

"What does this mean? It sounds so serious to almost be ominous. It doesn't seem like something a joyful and spirited person like the Count would write." Lith asked Nana.

"Hmmm." Nana nodded, eager to avoid the outrageous accusation of being nosey.

"I can smell good news and bad news.

"The good news is that there isn't anything serious. Despite the somber tone, worthy of a payment order, Lark used a letter. This means it's nothing urgent or important, since he could afford to wait for the delivery and the reply.

"The bad news is that all the above stinks of formality and etiquette. I fear that you are in for a whole day of boredom, while attending all the official business regarding your prizes and whatnot. As I always say, little imp, no good deed goes unpunished!"

'That's my line!' Lith inwardly screamed. 'Not only you open my mail, you even steal my shtick?'

Even the following holo-call was awkward. Count Lark was uncharacteristically calm and composed, managing not to ask Lith any questions about magic, nor did he lose his monocle once during the exchange.

After hearing that Lith had accepted his invite, he stated that his personal tailor would stop by later to take Lith's measurements, and that he would send his stagecoach on the set date, one hour after dawn in front of Nana's house.

Then, the Count politely but promptly ended the call, saying he had many things to attend to. For Lith, it was like talking to a complete stranger.

The tailor arrived less than an hour later and he didn't give Lith any mean look or nasty remark. On the contrary, he somehow recognized him at first glance, complimenting him for his height.

Despite being only eight and a half years old, Lith was already over one meter and thirty-five centimeters (4'6") tall, and in the County of Lustria any man above 1.75 meters (5'9") was considered tall.

"Keep growing up so fast and soon you'll be as tall as the Count, young man."

After the man left, Nana whistled in surprise.

"Good gods, I know him. That's the tailor that personally prepares the clothes for the Lark's family. It's even worse than I thought. This occasion must be something really big, like being invited to a ball kind of big.

"This is one of those rare moments when I'm happy not being part of high society anymore. Prepare yourself for long awkward silences, insufferable small talk and being shown around like some kind of exotic beast."

Lith spent the next ten days in his usual routine, obsessing about Nana's words was pointless, since he had already taken those things into consideration when he decided to tighten his relationship with the Count.

Except dancing, of course. Lith had always hated dancing, even back on Earth, mostly because of his two left feet. But even that wouldn't worry him much, there was no way for him to learn the Court's dances in so little time.

Even if he managed to find a book about it and added it to Soluspedia, knowing was not doing, he would still need to practice. He could only suck it up and endure.

When the fated day came, a luxurious stagecoach stopped in front of Nana's house. It was all white, with the d��cors painted gold, drawn by four snow-white stallions.

A valet descended, bowing to Lith before giving him a small wooden box.

"My Lord, would like you to change into your new outfit, before getting into the stagecoach?"

So much respect was dumbfounding for Lith, so he bowed back without a word, before going into Nana's living quarters to change.

He came out wearing deep blue velvet pants over hard leather shoes, a snow-white silk shirt and a blazer that matched with the pants, with the Count's family crest embroidered in gold over his heart.

'Neat! I'm probably wearing more money than my family's farm is worth. Judging from the crest, I guess Nana was right. Lark is going to introduce me to someone, and he needs that someone to know who I belong to.'

Lith was alone on the stagecoach. After opening the door for him, the valet went to sit beside the coachman.

Despite the horses' remarkable speed, the ride lasted over half an hour. Having nothing to do, Lith spent the whole time using Accumulation. His deep cyan mana core had yet to change by even a shade, it definitely needed more work.

When the stagecoach finally stopped, Lith looked out of the window, only to discover they were just at the gates of the estate.

Two fully armed soldiers talked to the coachman, inspecting inside, above and below the stagecoach before letting them pass.

'Going at full speed, guards armed to the teeth who performed a full check on the coach. Maybe Nana was wrong, this looks more pressing by the second.'

Once inside the gate, and beyond the high grey walls, the stagecoach slowed down, allowing Lith to take in the full manor view. The park around the manor extended as far as the eye could see.

The air smelled of cut grass, flower beds and finely trimmed bushes adorned the cobblestone paths that went across the whole park.

Halfway between the gate and the manor, there was a plaza, surrounded by benches. At his center there was a huge pedestal with a marble statue of someone that Lith assumed had to be either the first Count Lark, or an ancestor of which they were proud of.

The manor itself was bigger than he had imagined, extending for at least 3,000 square meters (32,291 square feet), divided into a main building, a left and a right wing forming a reversed U shape.

It took almost five more minutes to actually get to the manor's entrance.

The more he looked around, the more he could feel that something was amiss. One of the greatest changes that happened after Lith's mana core evolved to cyan, was that alongside his five senses, his instincts had greatly improved.

He was able to sense hidden dangers, like with the Ry, and to more easily grasp someone's real demeanor and intentions. So, he didn't miss that there were too few servants around, and those few he managed to spot all had a tense expression.

A butler in a white and deep blue livery welcomed him with a deep bow.

"The Count asked me to apologize on his behalf for not personally receiving you, Magico Lith. His Lordship also tasked me to bring you to his private quarters as soon as possible, where he will explain everything to you."

The butler's poker face was impeccable, but Lith could have cut the atmosphere with a knife. He followed the butler until they reached a double-doored room guarded by four soldiers.

Looking through the windows, Lith could see that there were even more guards on the outside, patrolling the windows and the glass doors leading to the park. 

Inside, he found the Count nervously pacing around. Two youths were sitting on armchairs, and both were showing signs of anxiety, either tapping their feet or fiddling with their hair.

Count Lark hadn't changed much since the last time he had seen him in person. He was in his mid to late fifties, around 1,83 meters (6') tall with a thin build, that made him appear even taller.

The Count had thick black hair with streaks of grey and a short-trimmed goatee of the same color. His inseparable black rimmed monocle was attached to his breast pocket with a blue silk string.

As soon as he saw Lith, his somber demeanor disappeared. The Count was back to be his old, passionate self.

"Good gods, Lith, you are finally here!" The Count shook his hand with such vigor that Lith thought he was actually trying to crush it.

"Where are my manners. Allow me to introduce you to my beloved children."

The two youths stood up and extended their hands in turns.

"This is my third born, Jadon. He is also the next in line to become the next Count Lark. Hopefully it will happen many years from now."

Lith shook his hand. Jadon had a firm but gentle grip, physically resembling his father, except being almost ten centimeters (4 inches) shorter and with a much more muscular built. He was in his early twenties, with pitch black hair and a goatee.

"And this is my fourth born, Kelya. This beautiful young lady is almost sixteen and ready to make her debut at the King's Court. They are the only family I have left."

Kelya was a petite girl, 1,53 meters (5') high, with flaming red hair with shades of gold and emerald green eyes. She was wearing an emerald green day dress that highlighted her hair and eyes. She fitted the Count's bill, except for the beautiful part.

She wasn't really well endowed for Lith's tastes, and despite all the make up she wore it was impossible to hide such a bad case of acne. Even if she somehow got rid of it, Lth would have considered her pretty at best.

Keyla offered him her hand, the palm facing downward. Lith didn't need his etiquette book to know that she was expecting a hand-kiss. 

It was awkward for him, he had never done such a thing even for his past girlfriends when things had got almost serious. Luckily, after being dead and reborn twice, having faced killers and magical beasts, it would take much more than that to embarrass him.

So, he gave her a small bow while giving a short peck on her hand.

"It's a real pleasure and an honor for me to meet you all." Lith said following the etiquette.

"Now please, your Lordship, could you explain to me the reason of my summoning?"

The more Lith saw and heard, the less he understood. Lith couldn't figure out why the Count was giving him all those useless details nor why the hand-tailored suit he received was so similar to the one Jadon was wearing.

The Count facepalmed himself.

"Oh! Of course, I'm so sorry. I'm still so shocked by the recent events that my head doesn't work properly. Let me explain, I called you here because I need your help to save our lives. My wife wants to kill us all."