A brief day

"Man, breakfast! With all of you! Couldn't make me happier," said Thunder, adding another bite to his toast.

Around the table was everyone from the previous day, even Grant who loudly rested his head on the table as he arrived.

Levi and Helian were the last ones to arrive, they sat together and joined everyone as they were served eggs, toast and bacon.

"A classic," said Levi when they were served.

"This might be the last time we're all together," said Thunder.

"It's not like we'll be stuck inside the tower, we could do this again" said Syllia.

"Right? Maybe after a few floors we could celebrate," added Levi.

"We have to! Also, you still need to come back occasionally and check on your estate and land," said Aya toward Levi.

"Don't worry, we'll come back from time to time. It was a condition the King set," said Thunder.

"We?" said Syllia and Levi in unison, looking at each other.

Thunder's smile was worth a thousand words. 

"Well, this day couldn't be better," replied Levi.

Levi looked to his left and noticed Helian had stopped eating, blankly staring at his plate.

"Everything's alright?" he asked.

"I want to go too."

Levi's frown turned into a surprised look as he processed what Helian said.

"Inside the Tower?"

"We've always wanted to, back when Pell..."

The atmosphere at the table became heavier.

Thunder who still had a bright smile asked, "Why would you want to go?"

Helian's face brightened a bit as he looked straight at Thunder.

"We were planning on becoming adventurers, make a decent living, and then we'd buy a house..."

Thunder chuckled, "That's a good plan, but it's dangerous in there, you think you could handle it?"

Helian's gaze went to the ceiling while he rubbed his chin.

After a moment, he nodded to himself and lifted his hand above the table.

His palm was facing up, and he gently touched his thumb and ring finger, as if holding onto a thin silk sheet.

Slowly, his hand descended. As it did, it felt like a light veil descended upon the room, shrouding it.

For the first time, Grant's head lifted from the table and a soft smile painted his face.

As everyone looked at each other, Thunder's mouth opened but no sound came through.

Grant's smile scaringly grew larger while Thunder's expression was mostly surprise.

Helian 'let go' of the veil, relaxing his hand, and everyone realized it had cut off most sounds from the room.

It only became apparent with the small sounds, from the chairs' old wood to utensils touching the plates. The contrast was day and night.

"Sound! That's unique, never seen this before," said Thunder.

"Please, come work for me," said Grant. 

Everyone frowned, tilting their heads.

"This power would make my life so much better..." trailed off Grant.

Aya rolled her eyes.

"The carriage rides, the meetings, the audiences...." continued Grant.

"No way I'd let this happen," said Aya.

"Sound-based magic would allow all kinds of surprise attacks, and it would make it impossible for people to pinpoint where we are based on it," said Thunder.

Helian was holding onto Levi's shirt and started slightly pulling. When Levi finally realized, he quickly finished his bite.

"I think it's fine really."

Helian face lit up as he smiled and finished his plate.

Grant on the other hand groaned and went back to resting his head on the table.

"So, what's planned today?" asked Levi.

"Tomorrow Joh should be done with his parting gifts, so I'll take Helian with me and get his Adventurer's card in order. Meanwhile, you guys enjoy your day?"

Levi shrugged, a day to relax wouldn't be the worst, he thought.

The breakfast was soon over, Grant left with Aya to meet with the kingdom official from the previous day.

Thunder had taken Helian with him, leaving in a loud fashion.

"I guess it's just us," said Levi.

"Well... I also need to prepare, but I'll see you a bit later?" answered Syllia while moving toward the door.

"Alright."

***

Levi was sitting on a bench in his Garden, it was facing the massive willow tree. 

Levi occasionally threw breadcrumbs a few meters away, attracting all sorts of birds when they noticed he wasn't moving.

He was still surprised by the sheer size of his estate and staff. Not only the gardens but also the mansion itself: it was spotless.

Levi never owned anything, and being a noble had a learning curve. He barely knew what to ask for, quickly delegating to a head butler for most of the staff, and Lydia for most of the maids.

So as he sat in this tranquility, nobody bothered him.

It's so boring.

Beside the Willow tree and grass, there was a small pond. It wasn't only for looks, as some ducks elected it to be their home.

Levi's eyes just followed them as they drifted, a small family that just enjoyed the day like he was.

"Enjoying the day?" 

Levi's eyebrows twitched, he would've jumped up but he was getting used to the jump scares.

Lydia made her way around, moving the books on the bench that were sitting in a pile next to Levi and sat next to him.

"It's just so peaceful," he said without taking his eyes off the ducks.

Lydia simply hummed in response, as she slowly rested her head on Levi's shoulder.

Well, I have nothing against it but now I'm locked in this position...

Levi tensely stood still while his heart started beating faster. 

The sound of someone clearing their throats grabbed Levi's attention. To his left Exsa was approaching, he hadn't heard her either.

"I was looking for her everywhere," she said as she stood next to the bench. She was speaking softly, using her usual low volume.

"Was there something urgent?" asked Levi.

"Oh no, it's fine I'll manage."

Looking at her maid outfit, Levi noticed it was dirty with red stains covering the lower part, the same way her gloves were.

"Ah, sorry, I would've changed first, Lord Leviathan, but thought I should find Lydia first," she said as she followed his gaze.

"What is it, even? Blood?" chuckled Levi.

"Yes."

Levi had a small laugh but realized Exsa's expression was serious and confused by his behavior.

"You're serious?"

"Yes, the church sent someone again, but we've taken care of it, just needed to let Lydia know," she answered.

"What do you mean, taken care of? You caught him?"

"We usually try to, but unfortunately we killed him," she replied.

Levi's face became pale. "You do that often?"

"Well, it's the third time this week, we've had slower weeks."

"But how? Isn't it dangerous? Do they teach self-defense in... huh, maid academy?"

Exsa chuckled, breaking her neutral expression by bringing an amused undertone to it.

"You are mistaken, Lord Leviathan, we're not maids who've trained to kill. We're killers who've been trained to be maids."

At that moment, it was as if the blood on her dress became brighter. As if her gloves were dripping.

"...You're killers?"

"Assassins, yes. Had nobody told you?"

Levi's surprise was written on his blank expression, as he stared at Exsa. He slowly turned his head, looking at Lydia who was still on his shoulder.

At that moment, a tingling sensation rose from the tip of his fingers to his heart, while he could feel cold sweat at the back of his neck.

His hands were tense, he slightly moved his feet but was stopped by Exsa's voice.

"Maybe you're misunderstanding, Lord Leviathan. We're working for you. Lydia here is tired because she stayed up all night, making sure your guest wasn't an assassin."

"Helian? There's no way, they killed his brother in front of him," he said as he looked at the willow tree.

"You've been shown something that could've been something else, Lord Leviathan."

"Thunder seems to trust him. Doesn't that amount to something?"

"Lord Thunder has also stayed awake part of the night, his annoying static messed with the rooms."

"His static?"

"You hadn't noticed? Lucky for you, for us, resting was almost impossible. Still, Lydia stayed outside of your room the whole night, we'll miss her when she leaves."

Levi's tense body had relaxed a bit. He was looking at Pell's grave, lost in thought.

After taking a deep breath, he let his shoulders fall back.

"Well, I shouldn't be surprised, I guess. I'm barely able to keep up with everything happening to me since I arrived."

Levi looked at Lydia's peaceful expression again.

"Well, at least she's getting some good rest."

"Oh, she's not sleeping," replied Exsa.

Levi's forehead wrinkled, but Lydia's voice vibrated through his shoulder.

"We'll work on your social skills, Exsa. Just go, I'm coming."

Levi quickly glanced at Exsa but she was already gone, no traces of her remaining, he hadn't even heard her leave.

Lydia sat upright, and after a deep breath stood up.

"Thanks for allowing me this brief moment of respite. I wasn't trying to hide all of this from you, just wanted you to not worry about it," she said.

"I'll be honest, I can't help but feel overwhelmed by everything," he replied.

"I'm on your side. The other maids, the butlers, the king... Nobody else's side but yours, Thunder didn't lie about that, you can trust me."

"I will," replied Levi.

Lydia slightly bowed and started heading toward the mansion, leaving Levi to his thoughts, as the sun was close to setting.

So we're killing people here, huh?