A Scented Invitation

'Huh?'

'It seems that you became some sort of livestock to be bought and sold,' said Nocturne as he laughed.

"I Have to refuse, my Lady," said Lady Akari

With those words, I felt relieved but didn't show anything.

"I know what you are thinking, Indeed Basara showed remarkable talent and incredible power, defeating Lady Lissandra and managing to bring back honor to our house. However, we don't treat our servants as merchandise to be bought and sold at our whims." She said with a serious look on her face.

"Relax, relax," said Lady Selena as she laughed "I only wanted to see your reaction. Even I don't consider my servants as tools, they are like my family, and I treat them right. Thus I wanted to see how you are treating yours. I am amazed, though, as I understand… Basara is an orphaned child who was groomed by your house only a few months ago. And now he is the most talked-about within the royal School Visania. I believe the king will also come to know the name of the person that had defeated his prized daughter." She said with a grin.

Easily bringing about the fact that I am of an unknown background…

"What do you intend to say with words like these?" said lady Akari while raising a brow.

"I just want you to know that once the secret is known you will face heat from the rest of the students, I am here to elevate that heat. I am willing to do a business relationship with you." She said.

"As you know, the House Dantess is the one responsible for intelligence and acts as a safeguard to the kingdom's intelligence. We know everything about everyone. The current events have proven to be problematic. The fact that a servant reached the Higher class is enough to cause problems for everyone here in the school. What I ask is that Basara would accept a challenge from one of my servants and would lose the match. Thus demoting him back to the S class. In doing so, my servant will challenge Lady Lissandra and lose to her giving back her seat." She said

Yet before lady Akari would speak Lady Selena said

"I know this is rather selfish. However, you will be compensated for this. I am willing to give you 50 000 points in exchange for this. There is no need for Basara to remain in the S class, though I am a bit discriminative. However a noble will be much of use if they receive the teachings of the S class. On the other hand, I am ready to prepare for Basara to study in a B class without him being forced out of it or looked down upon by others." She said

Melinda looked a bit angry but didn't speak.

Even I didn't understand why she would be asking something like this…

"Lady Selena, I would have to decline. Basara had earned his class due to his hard work, and I will not be the one to force him out of that class, he has gained it, and it is his responsibility to keep it. No matter which, our house will not tolerate pressure and will stand firm against others trying to leverage us with pressure. As for lady Lissandra, I am sure someone with her talent can climb back easily to the S class." Said Lady Akari.

"It seems that you failed to understand the reason behind my words Lady Akari, Basara will sooner or later be demoted from his class, I am just saying that we should take advantage of that certain fact before it is too late. If we give back lady Lissandra her seat, then she will be indebted towards us, and we can use that dept in the future." She said, trying to convince Lady Akari.

"I don't think I am willing to listen to this anymore. I have said this and will repeat it. We in the house Ling will not tolerate being bullied. If Lady Lissandra had lost her seat, she better work hard to reclaim it. As for Basara, he earned it with his hard work, and I will not be the one to take that away from him, no matter the reward." Said Lady Akari as she stood up and left.

I gave a bow towards everyone and followed by Melinda Lady Akari.

'That is a good mistress you have there, Basara' said Nocturne

Indeed. I never thought that she would think so highly of me… I have to work hard to make her not feel that she made a mistake in not taking this chance.

"Thank you, lady Akari for everything," I said.

"What are you talking about, this is rather normal, I was expecting someone to do this anyway. She tried to take the place of power, mentioning the background of her house and how she knows about your background, then tried to give an easy solution that will benefit her more. I don't really like people like that. And you should better stay away from them, Points? Favors? Those are but sweet words that have no weight. I will not tolerate people trying to take what is rightfully mine, and you too Basara, don't let anyone take what is yours unjustly." She said as she moved forward.

Once we reached our dorm room, it seems that two people were waiting outside the door to our room.

They were two servants with the emblem of the lion on their back… servants of the royal family…

They turned around, exuding an authoritative aura. One of them was a tall man who was probably in his early twenties. While the other was a short looking buy probably around 14-15 years old.

"I presume you are Basara," said the short servant without giving a glance towards Lady Akari.

"Lady Lissandra wishes to speak with you." He said and gave me an envelope.

"Thank you for your time," he said and left the perimeter.

The tall looking man gave us a probing look and left.

Lady Akari looked at me and said

"Remember, Never let anyone take what is yours without your consent." She said without Asking what was inside the envelope.

Once Lady Akari entered the room, I looked at Melinda, who was a bit interested in the contents of the letter but didn't want to say it.

Sigh.

I opened the letter and saw something written inside it.

"Come meet me at the gates of the undying forest at Midnight, come alone," Lissandra Visania.

Huh…

"It seems that you have a night date with a royal princess," said Melinda with a smirk.

Sigh…

this letter smells of trouble…