Adui somehow was able to enter the Sumor Keep and become a butler there. And he was glad that he took the job because this Keep was the treasure trove that he had been looking for. He was getting paid to get close to one of the three Marquis families of the kingdom, which was his ultimate plan. Which is why he was quite surprised at how easily he was able to come close to such a family.
And most importantly, he got to read all the books at the Keep.
Books were a precious, resource in the world. Not everyone is allowed to touch the books, but the rule doesn't apply to butlers. They are the caretakers of the place, and even the library needs cleaning. These people allowed him to read all the books that he could get his hands on, only because he took care of the library, and also handled his regular tasks daily. Further, it was his friendship with the Mistress of the Sumor Family that made it easier for him to read the books of the library.
Sumor family is one of the three Marquis families of the Alanor Kingdom. They hold a lot of power and money. And from what he had come to know, the house of Sumor had been living on the island way before the rebellion, and even before the previous empire. Some believe that the Sumor Family was established way before the Era of Ice, an era when this kingdom was covered in ice.
Currently, the Sumor family consists of Gregor Sumor, the previous patriarch, his son Daniel, and his son’s wife Helen. Gregor had one elder and youngest daughter as well, who are both black sheep of the family. All Gregor's children are mana wielders, but it was only Daniel who was able to raise his martial prowess and Mana circles, which made Daniel the current Patriarch of the family.
Daniel has only one daughter, Agatha, the bossy brat that he met at the river bank.
That bossy little brat was a pain in the ass and was not a very pleasant girl to work with. From the whispers of the maids, he came to know that the brat was the narcissistic egoistic smaller version of Gregor Sumor, her grandfather. She orders everyone around and is kind of an unsufferable brat to everyone. But as Drac has killed one of her soldiers, and is not afraid of her, she remains in check while in front of her. Because of this precise thing, he had come closer to Helen Sumor, her mother.
Helen came into the Sumor family because of politics. Although she is a very loyal and good wife to Daniel, she is still unsure whether this is truly where she belongs. From what Drac had come to understand, she could give her life for the Sumor family, but she was this gullible mess that he could mold as he wanted. And if he plays his cards right, then he could use her to create chaos in the whole Alanor Kingdom.
As soon as he realized that Helen was the opportunity that he was looking for, he got to work.
He basically stalked her and tried to understand way on how to get close to her. And he basically got the chance that he had been waiting for on a silver platter when he realized that she liked reading just like him…
That particular morning, Drac had a certain spring in his step. Today was a very special day for him because he found something last night that he had been itching to talk about. His partner in crime would surely be interested in what he found out, which is why, after his daily training, he took the book in question from the library and started walking towards the Sumor’s Keep dining hall.
He was not in charge of the resident's food and dining so he hardly came to the hall. But today was different. As he pushed open the very heavy redwood doors, he was greeted by Travis, the head butler, who looked surprised to see him there.
The dining hall was a very big place, where many dinners with other nobles and bannermen took place. Which was why there were 5 huge tables lined together at the entrance, which was sufficient to host around 500 men. The honor table, where the Sumor’s usually eats was three steps up from the normal tables, on the other side of the hall.
“What are you doing here Drac?” Travis asked. The old man usually stays here, accessible when needed, but at a safe distance so as not to eavesdrop on the private conversation of the residents.
He passed the old man a fake smile, “Good morning to you as well old man,”
“Call me boss,” the old man said, clearly irritated from the fact that he had to remind him over and over again what he was supposed to call him.
“Sure,” he said, “Is mistress done with her breakfast?”
“No. Not yet, why?”
It was not something to hide about anyway, “Found this last night,” he showed the book to the old man, “And there is something in the book that mistress would like to see,”
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“What could possibly be in the book that you came all the way here, ignoring your responsibilities and chores?”
The old man looked rather pissed. Drac knew that the old man had been keeping an eye on him, and had been wary of him since the very beginning, so he figured this was probably the time to throw some dirt in the eyes of the old man. Show him that he was not hiding anything.
“Okay,” Drac said and looked around, “You know about the Era of Ice right?” The old man nodded, looking at him rather suspiciously, “Well, I found something about that era in one of the books. So I went to my mistress to talk about it, as she likes reading like me. Figured that she might shed some light on the matter,”
“You wanted to talk to mistress about such a trivial matter? Have you forgotten the code of conduct that I talked about?”
Travis had given him a rundown of the rules that usually butlers follow. These rules were not something that the family implements, it was just something that the old man made up of his ass. So he never bothered following any of them, “Just listen okay,” he said, and the old man fell silent, “I went to talk to the mistress, and the discrepancy that I found made her curious as well. So she started finding out more about the discrepancy, and she took my help as well. And yesterday I found something that blew my mind,”
“Travis,” an unknown voice rang in the hall. They both looked at the table. It was then Drac noticed that there was an old man sitting at the seat of the patriarch, a person that he didnt recognize. But the identity of the old man was obvious to him, that man was Gregor Sumor.
Gregor lives in Alanor City, the capital of Alanor Kingdom. This was his first time visiting the keep ever since he came here, which was why he couldnt recognize the old man.
Travis as heard his previous master’s shout, went running to the table. Thinking that it would be better to leave, he turned around to leave, when he heard, “Bring the new guy with you as well,”
Drac immediately darted towards the table, acting as a reliable butler. He came and stood just behind Travis, completely straight and still like a soldier in front of the commander. Agatha was smirking at him, while the rest of them didnt seem to care about them.
As far as Gregor was concerned, he was staring straight at him. Up close, Drac realized that Gregor was a rather tall man, from what he could guess, that man was at least six and a half feet tall. Combined with the cruel and unforgiving face, Gregor looked like a typical gangster.
“What are you holding there boy?” Gregor asked.
Drac came forward, went down on his knees, and presented Gregor with the book. With interest, the old man took the book with his greasy, steakjuice-filled hands. “So this is it huh?” the old man mumbled.
“What is it, father?” Daniel asked, who was sitting beside his father.
“Remember what I told you about mine and your grandfather’s bet?”
Drac noticed that Daniel didnt understand at first, but then suddenly his eyes widened with surprise. “You mean that book is it? That book is the answer?”
Gregor nodded, “Yes. This brat found the answer.”
Helen then asked, “What is in this book?”
“You should know Helen,” Gregor said, “This book contained the answer to the question that you asked me about in the letter,”
Helen’s eyes almost popped out of her socket, “Is that it? Is this the book that you told me about?”
“That is what this brat thinks?”
So it was not random that Helen asked me to go through old history books. She knew that the answer would be here. He thought.
“Stand up brat,” Gregor commanded, and he stood up, “Tell me..” Gregor stopped, and then looked at his daughter and granddaughter, “We will discuss this matter after breakfast in the study,”
“Woah, what?” Kaila, the eldest daughter of Gregor exclaimed, “What kind of thing is it that you can't discuss in front of me?”
“It is a family secret honey,” Gregor said, “Cannot…” Gregor stopped midway, realizing what would happen if he had continued.
But the damage was done, “Family secret?” Kaila said, “Oh I get it. Just because I have yet to complete my first circle like you guys, I cannot get to know family secrets. Isn't that right father?”
“No it is not honey,” Gregor said nervously.
But Kaila was not having it, “It seems like that way to me father,” she then slammed her hands on her food, spilling her stew everywhere, “Now you have started disrespecting me in front of servants now father. What is next father? Will you throw me out there one day, or sell me to whorehouse to become a WHORE!” she huffed and then left the hall.
“Aunt Kaila,” Agatha said and then ran out of her favorite aunt.
Gregor then turned towards him, “What have you uncovered boy?”
“Father!” Daniel looked offended, “Shouldn't you go after Kaila? She is very sensitive at the moment. Especially ever since Avery went to the continent.”
“Forget her,” Gregor said, “She shows throws tantrums at everything. I dont want to deal with that brat right now when the secret is in front of me. I have waited 70 years for this, Kaila can wait for a few hours,”
Helen then asked, “Father, what am I missing here?”
Gregor then looked at her, “Daniel’s grandfather told me that the secret of our family and the secret of Era of Ice has been hidden in the library. If I could find it, then he would show me the secret vault of our family. He was never able to do that as he died very young. And as I was not that into reading, I never looked for the secret. Same went for my kids as well.”
Daniel then added, “Well I was busy training my sword. While my sisters.. They were not that into reading as well,”
Gregor then turned towards him, “So what is the secret boy?” Everyone then turned towards him…