Chapter 11. Hospitality (1)

Velten glowered at Mathis, who looked relaxed and showed more indifference to what was happening. But a couple of seconds ago, after Mathis saw Russell's appearance for just a moment, his face was distorted with a grimace of disgust.

Russell tried to calm down, because he understood that his poor health was directly related to emotions that he could not control. But his anger only continued to grow. Russell was leaning on the table with one hand and clutching his heart with the other. From the expression on his face, it could be said that he was in great pain.

At some point, Russell's ears started ringing and his vision blurred.

(Temper your anger!), — the ghost's voice that rang in Russell's head was rougher and angrier than the previous time.

"You'd better follow my orders!", — Velten said in a haughty tone, addressing Mathis.

"So it was an order, what a pity that I didn't understand it.", — Mathis said guiltily.

Velten was shorter than Mastis, but it seemed that it was Velten who looked down on his interlocutor.

Mathis' hand, which had a slave chain, was enveloped in a barely noticeable red aura. Then she filled the chain and collar that the slave was wearing.

All this happened in less than a second.

* A-a-a-a

The girl began to moan hoarsely and grabbed her neck. The collar became much tighter, it literally dug into her skin with its metal base, which made the slave unbearably painful.

At that moment, Velten began to pull his hand towards the maliciously smiling Mathis, clearly intending to start strangling him, but Russell beat him to it. Despite his current condition, the guy very quickly shortened the distance and now his fist was flying in the direction of Mathis' face.

Velten and Mathis noticed this, but they knew that they would not have time to stop the guy. They were amazed at the incredible speed of a guy who looked much younger than them.

(Enough!), — the voice in Russell's head became so loud that the ringing in his ears increased tenfold.

His heart squeezed so hard that it seemed as if it had stopped.

In just an instant, a golden glow flashed in Russell's eyes, but it was enough for Velten and Mathis to notice it. Before he could strike, Russell lost consciousness, his eyes completely blurred, and his heartbeat became so weak that it seemed as if his heart could stop at any second.

Russell's weakened body started to fall down, but Mathis caught him by the shoulders with his free hand. He held the guy, not letting him fall. At the same time, he stopped the flow of aura into the collar and it returned to its previous size.

The recently suffocated girl wanted to fall to her knees and sob, but continued to stand still with a glassy look and heavy shortness of breath. She spent a lot of effort just not to show her true feelings, because it could aggravate her situation.

Velten and Mathis were slightly shocked. It happened in less than a second, but they felt the aura of a familiar person that emanated from Russell, so Mathis stopped pissing Velten off and mocking the slave.

"Does he know Theophilus?", — Mathis looked inquiringly into Velten's eye.

"We'll have to ask him.", — Velten studied Russell with his eyes.

The commander was surprised that Russell's appearance resembled one of his acquaintances, but at the same time the aura that he felt in his body belonged to a completely different person. The amazing thing here was that these two people had to be enemies for each other.

Velten was lost in thought.

"Hey you!", — Mathis shouted loudly, but in a friendly way towards one of the soldiers of the Eastern Division who were standing near the table and watching what was happening.

"Y-yes, sir!"

Mathis let go of Russell, and the guy's body collapsed to the floor. Velten looked disapprovingly at Mathis again.

"Take THIS to the Velten residence!", — now the tone of Mathis' voice has become arrogant.

"B-but..."

"Hoo...", — Velten exhaled and turned to the soldier in a calm voice, — "Do it!".

***

Russell was lying on a large double bed. He abruptly jumped up from it and cautiously began to inspect the surroundings. Now the guy was in a luxurious room.

He felt a slight tightening in the area of his heart, and a quiet noise was ringing in his ears. First of all, Russell tried to calm down. Soon, his expression became calm again, and all the pain left his body, and the slight trembling stopped.

He looked out one of the big windows, it was already night outside. The sky was clear, and the bright moonlight gently dispersed the night darkness. The two large doors leading into the room swung open. They were opened by an elderly man who was dressed in a butler's uniform.

"I hope your sleep was good.", — he turned to Russell in a respectful tone, — "Mr. Velten asked me to accompany you to him immediately after you wake up, so please follow me."

Russell quickly assessed the situation. Apparently, he had been unconscious since the moment he fainted in the tavern. If this man, who was called Velten, wanted to harm him, he would not have kept the guy in such a luxurious room, but simply locked him in some basement.

The guy nodded to the elderly butler. The latter turned and silently walked forward, indicating by his appearance that Russell should follow.

They were walking along a long corridor, in which there were several servants engaged in cleaning, and soldiers, apparently to guard other rooms in which someone could live. Now the corridor was lit by burning lamps. On its walls hung a variety of paintings, whether they were images of picturesque landscapes or strange and scary drawings.

After a while of calm stride, the two people came to an even larger door.

"Come on in.", — The elderly butler addressed Russell without looking back at him.

After the elderly butler opened these doors, a large room became visible. It was very spacious and well decorated. There was a large dining table in the center of the room. On one side of him sat Velten, who was currently eating.

"Have a seat.", — an elderly butler with a calm voice addressed Russell.

He gestured to a seat at the table and left the room, closing the doors behind him. After Russell sat down, Velten spoke.

"Your portion will be delivered soon."

The two people sat in silence for a while, after which the elderly butler brought several dishes and placed them in front of Russell, and then left.

"The food looks great.", — Russell with a calm face looked at the dishes that were in front of him.

"My estate employs some of the best chefs of the Hamerum Kingdom."

Velten cast a quick glance in Russell's direction to gauge his reaction. The guy's face did not express any emotions, however, in his heart he was slightly surprised, but it was impossible to notice.

The words that the best chefs from the kingdom of Hamerum, which is the most advanced in economic terms, decided to move to an independent island, which personified freedom and lawlessness, sounded crazy. But Russell decided to ignore this situation. Now he was hungry, so he decided to eat the food kindly provided.

In a short time, Velten finished his meal, and Russell just got into the taste.

The following words came out of the commander 's mouth: "We haven't been able to contact Theophilus for all these four years."

To Russell, they sounded like a bolt from the blue.