JU

Raiden grinned ear to ear after hearing Kerstein's voice; he chuckled. "This is nothing compared to what may happen if someone sees me bringing you to a hotel of some sort." He responded. "Besides, it's fine, it's late, it's not proper for a Lady to go home this late at night."

Kerstein replied with a chuckle, "You're tipsy now, so it's better to sleep here, you won't tell me your address anyways." With that, Raiden thought of an idea. "Or else, you really intended for this to happen?" Kerstein glared at him, which made him surprised.

Raiden patted her head, "There, there, I'm just joking you know." He said, trying to calm Kerstein. "Whatever, Mister!" Kerstein replied, rolling her eyes.

With Kerstein all calmed down, she once again lost her consciousness. "What a troublesome woman you are, what did I think bringing you here?!" Raiden complained once he grasped what situation he was in; Kerstein hated people who belong in the hierarchy; he even lied to accompany the damsel in distress. "For now, I should help you sleep comfortably. Let's pretend that this didn't happen."

His butler appeared with a bunch of servants. "Greetings, Sir Jin, you just came back, did you go drinking with Lord Theodore and your friends?" His butler greeted. "I didn't get to attend the inauguration, I've picked up a piece of excess baggage, please take her to a spare room." Raiden expressed as he handed her to a servant.

"May I ask who is she, dear Sir?" His servant once again asked. "Let's talk about this tomorrow, is my bath ready?" He responded, ascending to the staircases.

"Yes Sir, shall I prepare tea before you drift to sleep?" Raiden stopped in his tracks. "Please do so, Chamomile will do, I feel tired." He replied, still not facing the servants. He took a deep breath and continued to walk up.

The servants questioned, it was rare for the honored Sir to bring a woman without prior notice or announcement, plus they were both drunk and seemed to drank a lot. They just took a deep breath and took Kerstein up. "Bring her to the nearest room near the Sir." The butler instructed. "Understood, Mister Rios." The servants carried the girl to a spare room.

They wiped her sweat and removed her gown. Once they bathed the woman, they realized that she was beautiful; they changed her clothes to a nightgown in silk that suited her complexion. "She looks suitable to be our dear Sir's Lady right?" A servant commented. "Shh, the Sir may hear you, you may lose your job here." She bowed in sorry.

After laying the damsel comfortably, they left her all tucked-in in the sheets. As they got out of the room, there appeared in front of them the Knight, Sir Raiden. "Is she asleep?" The Sir asked. "The Lady is fast asleep, Honorable Sir. We clothed her silk nightgown." The servants explained.

"Is that so, thank you for your hard work." Raiden complimented the staff, which made them shook. "You may take your leave."

Raiden was not fond of giving compliments; he was always snobbish and arrogant. Raiden soon entered the spacious chamber. He walked up to the girl lying peacefully at the king-sized bed that he never expected to be filled with a woman. He sighed as he sat at the stool near the bedside.

He stared at the damsel sleeping like a baby that just came from a lullaby. He caressed his face gently as he tucked her hair behind her ear. His heart skipped a beat which made him stop and rub his palms across his face. "What's the matter with me now? I don't get attached to people this easily?" He said to himself. "I'm just drunk," He stated.

"Yeah, I'm just drunk, nothing less, nothing more." He uttered, mimicking what Kerstein said before at the speakeasy. He felt good with Kerstein beside her, even if they had just met recently. "You really fancy me, Kerstein, you are a puzzle to me, satisfying to solve, I can't help myself to know you more." He muttered.

In that instance, his feelings swayed; Raiden was one of the best Knights in Ylury, same with her best friend, Giovanni, they are partners in crime and in solving crimes. "Can you tell me more about you, don't make me wait for so long, Kerstein, of course, your pieces need to fit exactly at the right place." He added. "What do you think, Wijndelts?" He was like a madman talking to a sleeping person while staring at her.

The Lady was interesting for him; she just gave her subtle hints and pieces but did not conclude if the puzzles were complete. He needs more details to spice the chase a little. He was in such a mess right now; the thought of him lying and not attending the Noble Lord's inauguration is enough for him to lose his dignity in front of Theodore.

He did not only shelved himself not to attend the inauguration, but he did not attend it because of a woman. To make it worse, they drank at a speakeasy that is only exclusive to the people in the hierarchy. He was leading himself to a spider's web. He pulled his hair in frustration. His mind was full of questions with answers he cannot get. Knight should abide by the laws, protect, and serve, but what is he doing by now?

It was one of the reasons why Raiden chose not to be with a woman, they bring problems, and they are hard to understand. He hates the feeling of not being able to have a conclusion to every question he has. Nevertheless, he felt different from Kerstein, that she was a challenge, a hard one, a complex woman.

He may enjoy working as a Knight like this. As he was thinking of solutions, his phone rang, which gave him a scare. "Where the hell are you, Raiden?!" Giovanni, one of his friends, shouted that caused him to distance the phone away. "Forgive me, also I am sincerely apologizing to Theodore." He replied.

"And why is that?" A blank, monotonous voice answered; it was Theodore. "Hehe, hi there, old pal, so as you see, I'm in a tight situation right now," He explained.

"This is on speaker, explain yourself, I was at least happy to know that out of a dozen of my friends, four managed to come yet before the event even started one of the four screwed up." Theodore narrated, which made him shook; he was a man of few words. "Well, so I met this girl near the entrance and a bunch of weirdos was doing something bad to her, as a Knight, I pledged to protect all citizens then-" He did not finish his sentence because he heard Samuel laughing in the background.

"So you screwed her, Raiden? I thought you're a man of principle, what happened to you? Are you bewitched by her beauty?" Samuel reported, still laughing. "Hey, Yeong! Do me a favor, please punch him for me please!" He asked Yeong, his Noble friend.

He heard a thud on the ground. "Hey, get back here, Yi Yeong, I shall execute you." A running sound followed. "Such kids," Theodore commented.

"Theodore?" Raiden started, "Anyways, report to me, after my time off, of course." Theodore added.

"Raiden, consider yourself lucky Theodore is in such a good mood." Giovanni stated, "And why is that?" He asked as he heard footsteps away.

"I think he found her," With that, Raiden grinned from ear to ear. "So, Our Rightful Honorable Noble Lord Theodore Huber, I mean Schwarzburg finally met his match?" He said.

"It may look like that, I'll meet you tomorrow morning, don't even bother to skip it out just because of a girl, Raiden." Giovanni threatened, to which he agreed. "But of course, Sir Giovanni." He exclaimed.

The call ended with laughter. He looked at Kerstein once again. "Sorry sweetie, we'll have the questioning later on." He uttered, leaving the sleeping Lady comfy.