Chenk…

“Here, a couple of silver and bronze Krons! Sir Fionn also will your guard!” As the Lord Protector drop the bag full of silver and bronze Krons on top of the Grand Duke’s study desk as well as assigning me to a new task, Lady Marie’s eyes went bright like stars. “Just… be careful out there okay!!” the Lord Protector said in a concern tone, which wasn’t unfounded considering Lady Marie’s last outing alone.

As Lady Marie finished her preparation, leaving little Lady Roison in proper care with Lady Eleanna, and cloaked and the bag of silver and bronze Krons in hand, we finally set out of the castle and into Geamradh, The Winter City…

It… really hasn’t change from the people shovelling piles of snow off their porch, the girls and boys playing snowball fights, and to the elders, adults too, drinking mead in the middle of the day while playing dice. I really am back at home even if I am escorting a giddy middle aged woman excited for some foreign delicacy in an even foreign establishment.

During my time in Geamradh, the Coffee House has always been an enigma to me. His late grace, Grand Duke Alaxandair I, has travelled to many places in his youth, bringing a lot of new exotic and luxurious things. He even invited foreign people from his travels, like the black beans that use to make coffee, was brought by a faraway brown skinned merchant from his late grace’s travels.

His late grace as well was a very sociable person, even to the point of breaking the established norms that he and I have been taught since a child. The Coffee House was and still is the product of his defiance against the status quo and why… it’s always been an enigma to me.

I’ve personally never went there nor tried its products, but the varying degrees of people his late grace brought like peasants, merchants, scholars, blacksmiths, and even some nobles, was quite a curious sight, all thanks to their love of coffee.

It was actually quite a nice sight really, like the usual tavern and alehouse that brought all walks of live to bond over something, even if it was an enigma in this rigid society nonetheless.

Sadly though, this enthusiasm and openness that his late grace have nurtured in his time has stagnated. His late grace’s successor, Grand Duke Alaxandair II, didn’t nurture upon it, he was actually quite against it, but out of respect and love towards his late uncle, he kept that Coffee House open, his grace just doesn’t support nor fund it like his uncle.

Predictably this created a sharp drop of visitors, but somehow it survived, survived to became something unique on Geamradh.

When we finally arrived at the Coffee House I could smell that roasty aroma coming from the building and Lady Marie acted like a woman being allured by a handsome nobleman.

Like I said before, I’ve never really tried it but I could tell that roasty pungent smell from a mile away.

I knew of this scent, thanks to none other than my weekly patrol back in my youth and to be honest, even if that pungent smell was quite nice, I just… never really had the motivation to tried it, my cousin and captain did tried it and they even recommended it to me.

But… I don’t know, there was definitely nothing holding me back then, but, I just… can’t really find that motivation and will.

Entering the Coffee House, where that roasty smell became more stronger, I could see the room was quite rowdy and lively.

Like the taverns in the night, lots of people were chatting, complaining, bonding, and just being open with one another. The charm was definitely similar or even the exact same as that of a tavern or an alehouse, but maybe because of the lack of alcohol made the feeling of this room of openness quite different, in a… more peaceful way per says.

After we found a table for us two, Lady Marie then ordered a coffee, she was quite giddy while waiting for this dark roasty drink. It was quite interesting and kind of cute to say the least, seeing how childlike her awaiting is.

When the maid arrived, with the cup of coffee in her hand, carried quite elegantly on a wooden plate, she served it to Lady Marie, placing the cup of coffee, a salt shaker, a sugar shaker, and a tiny wooden spoon which was neatly arranged in front of Lady Marie.

The professionality and elegancy on how the maid arranged it, amazed Lady Marie, as she gave a applauding thank you for her service.

Soon after the maid left she gave a pinch of salt to the coffee and dived deep into it.

To say she was delighted from the coffee was an underestimation really, she was beyond joyful when that hot black liquid touches her lips and went inside her. If I have to be frank, looking at her with that pure joy was quite intriguing… yet at same time, quite vexing…

“Sir Fionn! Why don’t you try it?” Maybe she noticed me staring at her but either way, she offered her cup of coffee to me with an overflowing enthusiasm.

“Ahh… thank you, but no…” I said it again, like when captain recommended it to me… even though there’s no harm in it.

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“Cmon! Don’t be shy, there’s no harm!” She insisted.

“But...” I stopped for a minute, I don’t know why, at this point I usually gave a straight no, but… I don’t know… seeing her that enthusiastic about a drink, really, really, made it very alluring. “…Enfer, why not!”

I then grabbed the cup of coffee from her hand and took a sip from it.

And, it was… wow… I mean it’s not sweet for sure, quite bitter really but… after getting through that bitter flavour I felt like I just opened my third eye, like my body was zapped by a lightning, filling me up with energy, making my mind more ecstatic, like… for Lux sake, why didn’t I tried this sooner?

As my face was filled with overwhelming joy with that sip of coffee, Lady Marie looked at me with a smile, probably knowing that she just introduced a man to a new and exciting thing.

She then ordered another one from the maid, I was… reserved on this because I don’t want to overstep my boundary, but like how she offered her cup of coffee, she insisted heavily on ordering one for me.

Returning her cup and waiting for mine to come, Lady Marie said something quite personal to me.

“You know… the first time I tried coffee was behind enemy lines.” As she said this, something peaked on to my brain.

“You were soldier! But you’re a woman?” I said with a surprised tone.

“Haha, yes you’re not wrong that I am woman.” she let out a little chuckle. “But back in my world, men and women are equal in many ways! In my case, it was on the martial side, I joined the air force, which is basically an army operating in the skies.”

“Wow… so you use wings and smite your enemies from above?” I asked in astonishment.

“Yeah, something like that…” She answered a bit awkwardly. “Getting back on track, I was struck by an enemy from below, that flung behind enemy lines…” She paused contemplatively. “I should’ve died back there, in the desert, with no water, no food, but… I don’t know, maybe because I really want to see my unborn niece or I was just that stubborn to die, but either way I kept going, surviving until I found help in a form of a goat shepherd who found my crash site, he more or less brought me back to health and fun fact! He was the one who introduced me to coffee.” She smiled while reminiscing her old days. “To this day, I couldn’t help myself but to remember that part of my life, whenever I took a sip of coffee…”

I was silent when hearing her story, her world was astonishing, quite alien, but interesting nonetheless. And her struggle as a soldier, a female soldier at that, who kept going forward was quite inspiring really.

After that brief heart-moving and personal story, the cup of coffee that Lady Marie ordered for me came, but the one who served it to me was someone… I haven’t seen for a long time.

“C-Captain Conor!? What are you doing here??” I said in shock as I realized this old man who was serving the cup of coffee that Lady Marie ordered for me, was none other than my old squad captain.

“Haha, long time no see Fionn… I am actually the owner of this Coffee House now and I see you finally got around to drinking coffee huh?” He said with delighted smile in his face and then proceeded to piece the puzzle on who convince me to drink coffee when he saw Lady Marie. “Ohhh, it seems… this fine lady must have been the one who convince you!”

“Y-Yes…” I somewhat stuttered answering him.

“Hahaha… well, don’t want to interrupt anything personal here, so I’ll leave this here!” He said jokingly, while leaving me with the cup of coffee he personally served for me.

“I am only on duty captain…” I murmured with a slight blush in my face.

“Mmm… sorry Sir Conor, isn’t it? I have to say this coffee is really good! I mean the aroma, the fruitiness and especially that earthy flavour… it’s quite exquisite!” As I was sipping on my own coffee and enjoying it fully, Lady Marie called Captain Conor and complimented the coffee his establishment was serving.

“Ahh… you’re making me blush milady, but in all honesty it’s actually because of the beans! A Sahrawukir merchant in the port was selling a different kind of coffee beans that I usually bought, he said that the beans have a much more refined and rich taste, it is a little bit expensive than the one I usual bought, but when I tried giving it a go, my patrons said somewhat the exact thing milady said!” he recounted.

“Wait… did the merchant explained that the beans were a bit more expensive because there was something to do with ferret like creatures?” Lady Marie, invested in this recounting, asked.

“Yes! How did you know?” Captain Conor answered.

And right there, where I was still enjoying every sip of the cup of coffee, I could see her starry eyes again and it seems, we’re going to the docks.

After finishing and paying for the two coffees we ordered, we then went straight to the docks. In there we encountered the Sahrawukir merchant that Captain Conor said, Lady Marie then went straight to him and it was kind of a surprise, first it was the Lord Protector speaking Tuathic, now it’s Lady Marie speaking Sahrawukiran.

I didn’t fully understand on what they were saying but after that conversation, Lady Marie was left with a sour mood. I asked her what happened and she said that a bag of those beans costed over 50 gold coins, which was expensive as enfer.

I suggest to her that we should go back and asked for the Lord Protector if she really wants it, but she said that the Lord Protector wasn't going to let her buy frivolous things. She was a bit down when realizing the prospect of not getting those exotic black beans is high, but… something clicked on her.

When she heard, presumably the Sahrawukiran merchant’s employee, accidentally dropped a crate full of exotic supplies, Lady Marie took this as a chance. From her eyes… I could tell what she was about to do.

She then looked at me, saying that after she grabbed one of the bags we’re going to run for our lives. I was solidly against this and tried to reason with her but… this woman… ignored my pleading and grabbed one of the bags filled with coffee beans.

I was shocked, shocked I say, as I just witness a Lady acting so deviantly.

Lady Marie, with her magic powers, easily carried that bag of coffee beans while running from the docks. I followed suite where the Sahrawukiran merchant quickly realized this, as he screamed something in his language and went on a pursuit at us.

We ran from them, dodging the people on the streets and tried gaining more speed for them to lose sight off us. It worked as every peak behind I took, I saw them getting more farther and father away.

But in the end it was Lady Marie’s quick thinking that made loose from them, as she saw another opportunity by taking a sharp left, leading to a dead end alleyway.

I went in there too where we quickly huddle up to the walls, hoping that they will run pass us which… quite surprisingly, they did. Seeing first hand of them passing by us, Lady Marie let out a laugh.

It was… something I couldn’t put my finger on, I was really confuse and mad more or less at at her actions, but… I couldn’t help but to laugh with her too.

Somehow, it was fun. Running around, doing new things, tasting new things… it was really, really, fun… hahaha…

After the coast was clear we returned back to the castle, on the streets also I offered to carry the bag she was carrying, which she accepted.

As we entered the castle, going upstairs to Lady Marie’s room and opening it, we were greeted with the Lord Protector, Lady Eleanna, Sir Arthur, Lady Ruith, Lady Sofía, Lady Chloé, Lady Sapphire in her cat form, Sir Pere, his grace, and his and her royal highness, playing with young Lady Roison.

“What’s up with that bag Sir Fionn?” The Lord Protector noticing our return, said with his eyes locked in curiosity from the bag in my shoulders.