CH. 21

"Apologies, miss Arabella. But master Seth has awoken and I was paying my gratitude for saving your life."

"Master S-Seth? Is a-awake you say?"

That demanding attitude instantly vanished as her eyes laid on me, sitting upright in bed, surrounded by Mera and Freya. We locked eyes briefly, as they widened in surprise, before she quickly averted them from me.

"That he is. As you can see, he is quite well, albeit still fatigued from the incident. Please, come and take my seat so that you can speak with him. I'm sure there's plenty the both of you would like to discuss."

Mera stood and stepped aside, offering her chair to the now trembling Arabella.

Stepping forward, Arabella looked between Mera and me, before hesitantly taking the seat next my bed.

"I'm not sure if you're aware master Seth, but allow me to have the honor of formerly introducing miss Arabella Helios Astrea, second daughter of Duke Marcus Helios Astrea. Miss Arabella, this is master Seth Vite Brumann, son of Baronet Keiran Vite Brumann."

"I'm well aware of who he is Freya!"

Arabella snapped at Freya before glancing at me and then immediately looking away, twiddling her thumbs in her lap.

"It's a pleasure to meet you properly miss Arabella. I'm sorry for any trouble I might have caused you."

"Huh? Y-you're sorry for causing trouble for me? Y-you have nothing to be sorry for… It's me who should be apologizing for what's happened. If it wasn't for me then none of this mess would have…"

She trailed off into a mumble and stared at the ground.

The soldiers who had perished, the near fatality of her personal knight Freya, the attempted abduction of herself and then, to top it all off, I had been present and placed in harm's way as well. She obviously felt bad for what had transpired.

Even me being there was entirely through the causation of my own actions and no one else! But she didn't know that and I definitely was not going to enlighten her.

She probably even blamed herself, since she was the target of the ambush.

Leaning down, I tried to look up at her, taking her hands gently in my own.

"Having passed out towards the end there, I wasn't sure exactly what had happened to you. But I'm glad to see you're okay."

I smiled at her as she glanced once more at me from the corner of her crystal blue eyes. Making eye contact with one another once again, a blush spread across her cheeks.

Smack!

"Baka!"

"Owww!"

Holding my stinging cheek, I reeled back from the almighty slap across my face I'd just copped. I ran a hand over the skin, feeling the rising welt across it. There had to be an imprint of a tiny hand there, if only I had a mirror to check it out against!

"Did I say you could touch me? Much less get close to me!"

Breathing heavily, she hopped down from the chair and strode across to the doorway, puffing her little chest out.

"Lady Mera, thank you for your hospitality, I'll be sure to explain in detail the accomplishment of your family and towns guard in person as soon as I return home."

"Thank you miss Arabella, please visit us whenever you feel like it."

Mera curtsied to Arabella and thanked her. Arabella inclined her head once then glanced once more over at me. An eye twitched uncontrollably as she addressed me.

"A-also t-t-t-t-th-thank y-y-you m-m-m-m… Come Freya, we're leaving!"

Exploding into a shout Arabella stormed away down the hall.

"At once miss. Goodbye, lady Mera and master Seth. I'm sure we will see each other again, once things have calmed down."

Freya paused to salute us momentarily, then followed her charge down the hall.

Bang.

With a subdued slam, I heard the front door to the house close and then there was silence.

"She sure is full of spirit. It's nice to see that she's recovered from her ordeal. When the guards arrived and found the both of you, the poor mite was in complete shock. She wouldn't let go of your hand until your father managed to convince her that you and her were both safe." Mera smiled.

"Full of spirit… That's one way to put it, I guess. Haa…"

Once more I sighed, rubbing my cheek a few more times before the pain faded away. My spinning head swinging between the highs and lows of her personality would take longer to subside however.

The whirlwind which had been the Duke's daughter disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared, leaving me dumbstruck with just how exactly to take her.

"Let's get you something to eat, before someone else arrives to interrupt that plan again."

"Yeah sure."

I climbed out of bed and stood on legs that felt weak. Having not eaten for three days was taking its toll on my body. If I hadn't woken up, would I have died in my sleep from hunger? I imagined myself as a coma patient in a hospital, except devoid of the medical equipment required to sustain my life.

I shuddered. Thankfully, that was not an issue this time.

Once at the table, Mera dealt out a stew, the smell of which caused my stomach to rumble once again and my mouth to salivate.

No sooner had the spoon been pulled from my mouth and I was swallowing the delicious food, that out of nowhere I was struck by a tiny missile, which I could swear was flying faster than the speed of light, and tackled me onto the floor.

"WAAAAHHAAHAHAAA!"

"COCOCOH!"

Coughing to clear the food from my throat that threatened to choke me, I knew before I actually confirmed who it was, who had caused me to nearly die. After all I had endured, death by suffocation would be the icing on the cake.

"Calm down Lilly, you are going to be the one who kills him the way you are going."

A couple of powerful slaps on my back cleared the blockage and I was free from the stranglehold it held on my throat. Taking in deep lungfuls of air, I surveyed the mini titan that had caused the near-death experience and the Baronet of the household.

"WAAAAAHHHHH!"

Continuing to clutch tightly to me and wailing like a banshee, Lilly refused to loosen her grip on me.

"She has been very worried about you. I am sure this has been another traumatic experience for her worrying about her big brother."

Keiran sat down at the table and served himself up some of the stew.

"It's alright. There, there Lilly, I'm alright see. Just starving. Please let me at least eat while you hold onto me."

I rolled my eyes and patted her head, causing her to, which I didn't think possible, howl even louder than before.

"They've departed to the dukedom dear?" Mera asked Keiran.

"Yes. The Duke's soldiers that returned with the runner I had sent to alert him of the situation will escort her safely home, of that I have no doubt. Their numbers were significantly larger compared to those poor souls killed on the road."

Keiran eyed me from across the table, the expression he wore difficult to read.

Nervously, I waited, preparing myself for the second stage of the parental lecture I believed was inevitable. Round one went to Mera, while round two was within the territory of Keiran. No doubt he would want to jump on the bandwagon and chastise me as well.

"I am relieved to finally see you up and about once again. Although, I knew I need not be worried about the fact you were sleeping for so long. It was inevitable that you would eventually wake. Still, as your father it still brings a sense of relief all the same."

He leaned back in his chair observing me, waiting for my reply. I chewed over what exactly to say to him, as I had with Mera.

Should I continue to argue my innocence and push the blame elsewhere? Or should I submit my fault and accept the consequences of my choices?

"I'm sorry I worried you. Placing Lilly in a situation like that was tremendously dangerous. Going out into the forest and then heading towards the battle instead of turning back with Lilly was irresponsible of me. I didn't mean to cause trouble for you and, uh, mother… I will endeavor to be a better son, one that doesn't make so many mistakes."

But ultimately, there was only going to be one response that was the right one. Lilly clung to my arm, no longer crying anymore just still silently refusing to let go.

Mera silently watched from where she stood, mouth pursed, as she too waited for whatever it was Keiran wanted to say.

"Haa…"

Having observed me for a few moments longer, he eventually sighed and relaxed his stiff posture and glanced at Mera. She nodded once and returned to the kitchen bench, seemingly satisfied with the response.

"Sometimes, I swear you act mature and intelligent far beyond your years, it can be unnerving how much you appear to have grown in such a short space of time... You never spoke and acted with such humility before that time in our lives when… You used to be an uncontrollable brat if I am to be quite frank about it."

Throwing out a statement like that sent cold beads of sweat rolling down my back. I didn't even know how to respond to such an… Accusation could you call it? Not quite but almost eerily similar.

There were times when I could almost catch Mera or Keiran looking at me strangely, but I usually would just shrug it off.

But it felt more and more like the mask I wore of their dead son was unwillingly slipping bit by bit, threatening to expose the con artist below it.

What would they do once they realized the shell that I wore didn't reflect the soul within?

"Well, for whatever it is worth, I do not intend to punish you. Regardless of the happenstance, what you did was rather honorable. Defending the Duke's daughter and saving her from a horrendous ordeal, I could not be prouder of you."

Whoa! Where did this praise come from?! Usually, it was all doom and gloom from Keiran. This was the first time that I could recall him actually positively commending me for something that involved me.

"Uh… Thank you. I appreciate that."

Best give a short, honest answer in response. The last thing I would want to do is open my big mouth further and inadvertently kick start another inquisition.

"However, from the reports I have been told, by miss Arabella mostly, and through inspection of the scene where the two of you were located, I have come to a conclusion of sorts."

He left the room and returned shortly thereafter, carrying something wrapped in cloth. As he placed it on the table in front of me, it made a soft thud as it landed.

Hella curious as to what it was, I reached to unwrap it.

Whack!

"Ow!"

"Wait until your father finishes telling you what is planned for your first!"

Rubbing my now stinging hand, I looked up at Mera who had smacked my hand away from it. Scolding me she stood behind me, almost like a sentry to prohibit me from doing anything I shouldn't have been doing for the moment.

What the hell is with me getting slapped suddenly today!

"As I was trying to say, your mother and I have decided that no matter what we try to do with you, you manage to somehow involve yourself in trouble. Or trouble finds its way to you, however you choose to look at it. Starting next week, you will be training in swordsmanship and other weapons skills with Stoldt. He has agreed to it, and as you are already aware, is exceptionally talented and perfect for the job."

He nodded to the item on the table, giving me permission to unwrap and inspect whatever was hidden within. Pulling it out, I immediately knew what it was.

A sword, nothing extravagant, smaller than what I would have expected compared against a proper one, but obviously that was because of my age and size. A genuine, hand and a half-sized sword would be way too big for my tiny body.

"Thank you!"

My heart swelled with excitement! Finally, I was going to be learning something that I had been wanting to experience for a long time. My dream of being an Adventurer began with this!

"One last thing. It is obvious that you possess an aptitude for magic. Those stakes that sprung from the ground and miss Arabella's report are a testament to that. The fact that you slept for three days is evidence that you completely exhausted your mana due to being inexperienced and overuse of it. To what extent though? I do not know. It is something that you will have to leave with me for the time being, so that I may decide the best course of action in that regard."

"I understand. This is more than I could have hoped for already. Really. Thank you to both of you!"

That night could barely sleep as I lay clutching the sword. Even though I had once again somehow escaped certain death by the skin of my teeth, I was excited for what the coming week brought.

Not only that, but the acknowledgement from Keiran that I could indeed use magic was incredible! Although that had to be put on the back burner for now, at least I had something to work towards.