A Mother's Wrath

As they moved towards their destination, townspeople were gathering around, waving and cheering towards the carriage.

Ayla pulled the curtains that covered the windows of the carriage and began waving back to the people while smiling brightly.

After her response, the cheering became even louder and they began waving even more enthusiastically than before.

'Seems like she is really popular with the citizens. They should be satisfied with their life.' Ubel thought.

Soon they arrived in front of a wall and gate similar to the ones when you enter the city, but they were much smaller in scale. The wall covered a magnificent white castle that looked to be around 20 meters high. It seems that the Ruthergett House was richer than he thought initially.

The gate was lowered when they were in the appropriate distance and the carriage headed forward. It stopped in front of a big garden that was filled with flowers that he did not have knowledge of.

There was a beautiful middle-aged woman with long brown hair sitting around a circular table and drinking what appeared to be tea.

She got up when William and Ayla emerged from the carriage and smiled towards them, though the smile didn't reach her eyes.

"H-hey, Mother. It's good to see you." Ayla said somewhat hesitatingly.

"Oh, you remembered you had a mother?" Her mother sarcastically responded.

"I'm sorry..." William's daughter hanged her head and muttered.

"Melissa, don't be too harsh on her. She had her reasons this time and she won't do it again. Right, Ayla?" Her father tried to help her.

"Yes!" Ayla quickly replied.

Her mother, Melissa, sighed.

"You shouldn't spoil her so much. She ran away from home without informing anyone. She should be aware of the trouble that will cause for everyone and bear the consequences of her actions."

"I did not run away! I had a legitimate reason..." Ayla protested vehemently in the beginning, but trailed of in the end after seeing the stare her mother was giving her.

"...I'm sorry. I'm aware of how much trouble I caused everyone and this won't happen again." She apologized sincerely.

"...Somehow, I very much doubt that. Well, we'll see in the future." Her mother forgave her for now.

When she looked towards the knights, they immediately bowed towards her.

"Good work, you all. Oh, there is someone I don't recognize here. Who might you be, young man?" Melissa asked Ubel.

"Hello, My Lady. My name is Allen and I was taken in by Lord William temporarily in order for him to teach me various things for me to be able to live in this city since my village was destroyed in a beast tide." Ubel bowed towards her and said.

"Oh my. That sounds terrible. I hope you will recover from your loss and live a good live in Lathe." William's wife expressed her sympathy and smiled at him after that.

"Thank you, My Lady." Ubel bowed once again.

"For now, you will live in this castle until you are taught basic things about the city and we find somewhere you can live in." William said to Ubel.

"Yes, My Lord." While Ubel looked with gratitude towards William outwardly, he wondered why is he going so far as even letting him live in the castle. Perhaps he was still suspicious about Ayla's vision?

Well, there was no use thinking about this for now. He was mentally exhausted and he wanted to rest before everything else. It was a very taxing day for him, after all.

Ayla's father clapped his hands twice and a dozen or so maids appeared.

"Arrange a living space for this young man. Take him around the castle too." William instructed them.

They bowed towards him and 9 of them left and 1 stayed behind.

"This way." The maid gestured to Ubel to follow her.

"See you later, Allen!" Ayla called out to Ubel.

"Yes, Lady Ayla." He responded to her and followed behind the maid.

Everyone left in the garden watched him leave for a few seconds, before William dismissed the knights, besides Grant.

"Follow me, Grant. Ayla, let's talk again later." He instructed Grant and said to Ayla.

"Okay, Father." She waved towards him with a smile as he departed with Grant, but she immediately lost her smile when she realized she was alone with her mother. She slowly turned her head towards Melissa and saw her smiling sweetly. Somehow, to Ayla that was very terrifying.

"We have a lot of things to talk about with you, young lady. Come and sit over here." Her mother gestured towards the table she sat on earlier.

"...Yes, Mother." Ayla said while sweating.

***

"I know you have something to say. What is it?" William spoke to Grant after a few minutes of silence.

"I apologize for questioning My Lord, but I was wondering why did you show that man so much kindness." Grant responded.

William was a kind man, but he was a Margrave with heavy responsibilities first before anything else. He wouldn't do something like letting a nobody live in the castle, especially with the various risks that come with that, with no special reason.

"...I guess it's fine to tell you now."