Scum

"You must be the friends my son brought along today. Welcome to my house," the Duke spoke in a regal voice. He held his head up high as he spoke and never kept it at eye level with Ning or the others.

"Thank you for having us," Ning said, and Saphandra followed.

The Duke was more focused on Saphandra than he was on Ning. Ning didn't think much about it after all it would have been weirder if he hadn't focused on Saphandra.

"What's your name, young lady?" he asked.

"I am called Saphandra," she said.

The duke gave a curious look. "No surname?" he asked.

"No," Saphandra shook her head.

The Duke frowned a little bit and barely managed to hide it from fully appearing on his face. Ning caught it as he had been staring at the duke, but the others seemed to have missed it.

"Are you not from any big family? My wife says you are from the west, but certainly, you must belong to a noble household right?" the Duke asked.