Chapter 84 - The Return of the High Elf (Part 1)

I was in the kitchen preparing Nate's breakfast when I saw Aunt Katie walk in.

“Oh, you’re already working?” she asked.

“No, I’m just making something for Nathan. Do you need anything from the pantry?”

Whenever Aunt Katie came to the kitchen, it was usually to get something for her plants. She made a special fertilizer that was used to strengthen the soil on the farms.

“Just something simple,” she said, heading to a door. When the door opened, it revealed a giant room full of stored food, and there was even another door where Aunt Margie kept meat frozen with her magic.

“Auntie, can I ask you a question?”

“Of course, my dear,” she replied.

Aunt Katie came out of the pantry carrying a sack of grains.

“Why do Nathan and Chloe do chores? I learned that they’re special nobles, yet they still do tasks that commoners do. They even spend entire days working in the fields under the sun.”

She let out a small laugh and placed the sack of grains on a table.

“It’s precisely because they are special nobles that we have them work. If we let them grow up without knowing these things, they’d become spoiled. That’s why we make them work periodically as if they were commoners.”

During my time living with the professor, I met some nobles, especially at Apsalon Academy. These nobles were arrogant and didn’t compare to Chloe and Nathan.

“What’s the difference between their nobility and other kinds of nobility?” I asked.

“There are two types of nobility in the kingdoms. There’s the nobility of wealthy families and political nobility. Political nobles can also be wealthy, or they may have acquired their nobility through holding political positions, particularly military ones, but just holding a military rank usually doesn’t make them as rich as other nobles. Political nobles can be barons, viscounts, counts, and marquises. These are the political ranks one can attain within political nobility, and that’s the highest they can reach,” she explained.

I had learned a bit about this while studying with the professor.

“However, Nathan and Chloe belong to a nobility above that. They are part of the upper nobility. In our territory, they are considered a prince and princess, or a king and queen when they reach adulthood. To avoid confusion with titles, the kingdom of Teresia changed the title to ‘Dukes.’ Those two are the rulers of the entire Evenhart territory. That’s why we make them work—they need to be taught to value every link in the chain of labor so they don’t become arrogant when they grow up.”

I thought about that for a moment.

“Nathan is upper nobility, but why are you considered a commoner? You’re his mother, shouldn’t you be upper nobility too?” I asked.

“That’s not how it works. Upper nobility is exclusive to the bloodline. You can’t become an upper noble; you have to be born one. When Nathan had to be registered, he pricked his finger and dropped his blood onto a special stone, and a Grand Duke recognized his lineage.”

She paused, noticing my confused expression.

“I’m just his mother; he’s the noble. The kingdom doesn’t recognize me as a noble because I was born a commoner—in their eyes, I’m just the womb that bore him. This is a cultural thing since many nobles have commoner wives just to produce heirs. That’s why in certain ceremonies, we have to stand behind Margie, Nathan, and Chloe. I’m considered noble because of the luxurious life I live, but my documents will always state that I’m of commoner origin.”

I tried to make sense of it, and it sort of did.

“But aren’t you considered a noble? You… you’re wealthy,” I said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

“Yes. I’m considered a noble due to the wealth Nathan’s father left for him and for me, but I am an ‘Ascended Noble.’ I became a noble through marriage, but I still have to respect my social position.”

“I think I understand a little,” I said.

She made a thoughtful expression.

“At first, it’s a bit confusing, but soon you’ll start your advanced lessons in politics and economics, and you’ll get to that part. Usually, the castle children learn this alongside their combat training, but due to your older age, we had to make up for the lost time to turn you into a warrior,” she explained.

I still had a question, so I decided to ask.

“Are Nathan and Chloe the only upper nobles?” I asked.

“That’s right. In the entire territory, those two are the only upper nobles. They hold a higher position than anyone else here. Not even Margie is exempt from this. Once Chloe turns 15, she’s free to assume the title of Duchess whenever she wishes. But we’ll let her enjoy a long life without having to take on that arduous role. She’s still young and has much to experience.”

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“I also want to help them. When the time comes, I want to support my friends,” I said.

Aunt Katie approached me and gently ruffled my hair.

“You don’t have to, Kinue,” she said softly. “However, when you’re older, Adrihna and I will have that important conversation with you that we mentioned before, which will be crucial for your future.”

I listened to Aunt Katie and decided not to press the matter further, but I had already made up my mind—I would help them when the time came.

Nathan Evenhart:

'Knock, knock,' someone tapped at my bedroom door.

I opened my eyes and reached for the crystal on the wall to dimly light the room.

'Knock, knock.'

“Nate…” a voice sounded from the other side of the door.

“Kinue? I want to rest; I’m not feeling well,” I said, turning over to lie back down.

The door creaked open, and Kinue stepped inside.

“I wanted to rest…” I grumbled, hiding under the covers.

“I brought your breakfast for you,” she said.

She gently pulled the blanket down, uncovering my face.

I looked up at a lovely girl dressed as a maid.

“I made it myself,” she said, placing the tray on my bed.

“Thank you, but you didn’t have to. I’m not hungry,” I replied.

Kinue placed her hand on my forehead to check my temperature.

“It’s just a headache this time,” I reassured her.

“It must be awful to feel that way,” she said, handing me a plate with eggs and bread. I couldn’t refuse after she had gone to all that trouble to prepare it for me.

I accepted the food and began eating while she watched.

“Why are you doing this? You know you don’t have to be a maid just because you’re learning to fight like them. Martha also offered to bring me breakfast earlier; you didn’t need to worry about it. I don’t want to disrupt your day,” I said.

Kinue put a finger on her chin, thinking.

"Martha is Aunt Margie’s personal maid, as well as yours and Chloe’s. But when you both grow up, I want to be your personal maid too. When Chloe becomes the Duchess and you the head of the personal guard, I want to fulfill my role as well."

I looked at the cheerful fox-girl, but part of me felt a little concerned. I didn’t want her to feel pressured by the responsibilities that Chloe and I would have to bear.

“Kinue, you’re like a cousin to me and my mother. You can choose to do whatever you want in life, and our family and Professor Adrihna will support you. You don’t have to take on our responsibilities. Chloe and I are obligated to fulfill our roles because of the duchy, but you’re free to be whatever you want.”

She smiled warmly.

"But that's exactly what I've chosen to do with my life. I want to always be with my family."

I felt a bit embarrassed hearing that.

I understand you, Kinue. I also want to stay with my family and never leave them.

I continued eating while she talked about what she was learning. Over the past three years, Kinue had been transforming into a warrior, learning to fight with various weapons and receiving training in martial arts techniques. They didn’t teach her the deeper aspects of the torture that the maids practiced, since she spent the first 10 years of her life in ordinary society, and they said that a child who didn’t grow up exposed to those things wouldn’t handle learning to torture someone very well. So they only trained her to be a ‘warrior maid.’ Because she was related to me and my mother, she was treated with nobility in the castle, but Kinue enjoyed acting as a maid. She said she liked feeling useful and helping.

Kinue was being trained to be both a warrior and a maid. She wanted to grow up to be a personal maid like Martha, who takes care of us. Although my mother and Adrihna told me that when Kinue was older, they would have a conversation with her about her future, they still encouraged her because Kinue had lived a secluded life with Adrihna and didn’t like being around other people.

I knew that the time she spent alone wasn’t very good. She had a childhood similar to mine as Icarus. She grew up in a poor place where people had too many problems to bother caring about a street child. Kinue had a small house where she lived for two years, learning to survive on her own. From the ages of four to six, she lived by eating what she could find in the trash and what she could forage from nature. Every time I looked at her, I was reminded of my younger self as Icarus, but slowly, I saw that sad expression of hers fade away, replaced by confidence and happiness. Watching Kinue grow gave me the feeling of saving that old street child I once was, who lived through cold nights alone.

"Thank you for caring about me, Kinue," I said, gently patting her head.

I looked up and reflected.

In my ideal world, Icarus would never have existed; he would have received a name from his family and grown up surrounded by love. But today, I can help someone else find a family and save them from loneliness.

"I don’t know what you’ll do when you grow up, but know that whatever you choose to be, I’ll always be by your side, supporting you," I said.

“T-thank you…” she replied, her ears twitching slightly.

I noticed that Kinue was embarrassed, and part of me felt a bit shy too, but that was a genuine feeling.

I will always support my family.

‘Slam!’ The door suddenly burst open.

A four-legged phoenix ran in and jumped onto my bed. Kinue and I were startled.

“Squaak!” Cylla squawked at Kinue, nudging her off the bed with her head.

“Calm down, Cylla!” Kinue said as she stood up.

I looked at the spoiled phoenix and stroked her back.

“Don’t be rude; she was just talking with me.”

“Squaak,” Cylla complained as she curled up beside me on the bed.

“It’s okay; I know she doesn’t like others being on her bed,” Kinue said.

Cylla heard that and nodded in agreement.

“Hey… you didn’t have to confirm it,” Kinue grumbled.

I let out a small laugh at the spoiled phoenix. She was a bit territorial.

Cylla had changed over the past few years. She had grown a bit larger and was no longer completely red. Now she had areas that were a dark, almost black, gray, and her feathers had transformed into fur on her quadrupedal parts. Her feathered wings had grown larger, with both red and black feathers. The most significant change was that her beak had become a jaw, and she now had teeth.

"Guys!" Chloe burst into my room.

We all turned to look at my cousin.

“So, there you are. I’ve been looking for you all morning, you little runaway,” Chloe said to Cylla.

The phoenix ignored her and settled down to sleep, resting her head on my leg.

“Professor Adrihna just arrived,” my cousin announced.

“What? I thought she wasn’t supposed to get here until tonight,” Kinue said, surprised.

I was even more taken aback since this wasn’t the usual time for the professor’s visit.

“I didn’t even know she was coming. Isn’t it still a month away from the four-month mark since her last visit?” I asked.

“I don’t know why she came early either, but our bet is still on. Whoever impresses Professor Adrihna gets to skip chores for a month,” Chloe reminded me of our wager.

“Wait, I’m having trouble with my eyes and it hurts when I use mana,” I protested.

“Not my fault you’re like that, silly,” my cousin teased, laughing as she dashed out of the room.

Oh no… I’m going to lose the bet.

We had our chores on the farm. This was the time to put all our knowledge about seeds and crops into practice.

“I… I want to impress the professor, sorry, Nate, hehe,” Kinue said, running out of the room.

“But I’ll help you if you lose the bet,” she added, darting back in before quickly running off again.

I sighed.

I’m doomed…