Thankfully, the rest of the journey to Keene was incredibly boring. Aside from his cousins being agents of chaos, he had a lot of time to himself to meditate and focus on his core and his mana. He was certain Wisteria and Olana had absconded and done something stupid while they were out before, but they were home safely by the time they returned, so he had no proof for his assumption. Alister just figured Olana was not the sort to listen to instructions given everything he knew so far about the girl. She was even worse than he was about it.

And, of course, he was proven correct. The night before they made it to Keene, Blas noticed a few pages missing from his checkbook. He was quiet about it, stoic even, and didn’t mention it until they had arrived and were stepping out of the carriage.

“Olana,” he said, grabbing her shoulder as she tried to step away into the town, “I’d like you to stay by my side for a bit.”

Marabell tilted her head slightly at him in confusion, but saw his ‘serious dad’ expression and shrugged, “Harriet let’s go look at the town before we start working on stuff. This is a lot smaller than what you’re used to. It’ll be fun.”

“Ok! Have fun sis!” she happily shouted, rushing off back down the driveway ahead of her mother.

Marabell waved as she turned to follow, “Good luck with that. I’ll be back in a bit.”

Wisteria barely noticed others had stopped. She hurried into the mansion and nearly ran face-first into her mother. She flailed, apologizing profusely, but her apologies swiftly turned into babbling as she started to cry, realizing it was her mom. Wisteria hugged her so tightly.

Myrtle smiled down at her and held her, tearing up as well. She was still skinny, but she looked like she had been eating better the past few months after getting the job with the Severins. She pet her daughter’s hair, voice soft, “You’re wearing your gem hair proudly… I missed you dearly, na’ah. Are you well? We should go inside and sit. Relax for a while. Your trip was long and we have a lot ahead of us.” She still had on her rings that muted the color of her own gem features back to normal black, happy her daughter felt safe enough to do so but not feeling that way herself quite yet. She squeezed her, and turned to bring her in fron the foyer.

Alister watched all of that with a pleased sigh, staying back with his father and Olana to give them space.

He was happy to be back… somewhat. He felt conflicted. This place felt more comfortable, but he knew he’d be leaving here again soon. This place was also less useful for what he wanted to research and what he wanted to work on. It was less useful socially as well, which was something he had to get more familiar with. It was just… quiet. That was something he knew he’d be missing in the coming years.

“I noticed a few papers missing,” Blas stated, pulling Olana along, keeping the stealthy girl close to his side, “If it were with most other nieces and nephews I have, I’d think little of it. Alister wouldn’t - he’d be too prideful about wanting to get the money himself, or would confidently ask me for it. Wisteria has been nothing but a sweetheart, but she’s also easily swayed and convinced of something when it involves someone she cares for. Your mother would never. And your sister Harriet would rarely have reason to. So. I’m left with you. What did you buy?”

Olana looked side to side, before sighing and taking a few promissory notes out of her sleeve, “...A monocle for Wisteria. An eastern blade from Tzuli. And two body elixir ingredients, one being a vitality ginseng, and the other a drake heart."

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Blas took the notes with a deep sigh and looked them over, “...Did you go to an illegal auction, Olana?”

She looked away with a polite cough, fluffy ears wiggling and betraying her surprise at the question, her tone rising, “No…?”

“You’re not even trying to hide it.”

“There’s not much point in hiding it, uncle, since you found out…,” she responded, lip quivering a little, “I wanted to get something for my cousin since he’s not as well as us and he wants to feel better. I… I heard about the auction and thought maybe I could get stuff for him there.”

“Is that right? And a sword for yourself and what I presume is an enchanted monocle for your dragged-along accomplice too?” Blas asked, having none of the crocodile tears, “Olana I know you are a sneaky, mischievous child with a penchant for disobeying and manipulation. But please recall who I am married to. I know Alliana fascinates you - I mean you essentially want to grow up into a mix of her and your father’s jobs - but I am very accustomed to her brand of chaos. What I am frustrated about is yes, in part, the money, but more than that it’s the fact that you two went out without protection.”

“I-I was cautious and made sure not to get followed,” Olana grumbled, annoyed that her plan hadn’t worked but just as concerned that his tone sounded so sincere and firm. It was far and away different from the tone her father usually had, and much less boisterous than her mother’s. She wasn’t sure yet how best to deal with it, but her eyes widened a little when he sat on a simple bench inside.

He pat beside him for her to sit, and when she did he spoke up again, “I want you to understand, I look forward to when you all get to have a taste of freedom and can enjoy your own interests. I do. I think you’ll deeply enjoy the academy in a couple of years - your sister too. You’ll both get your name on the wall like most Severins do, I’m sure of it. But for right now, for how things have been going… I can’t stress to you enough how much I want you all to be extremely cautious. War is a terrible thing and it takes so many lives. I don’t want your life to be a casualty of it. For now things are… relatively calm. I can’t say it’s actually calm, given what happened at the capital, but aside from beasts or creatures causing problems there have yet to be any issues wrought by Dusau. My concern is that you will all become targets. Going out on your own… It is a good way to get hurt. A good way to get kidnapped.”

“I take precautions…,” she tried to argue, but he shook his head.

“I know you do. Look. Has your father ever told you about our brother Gerald?” He asked.

Olana shook her head, “I just know he was the second youngest and died when he was fourteen. He never talks about it.”

“None of us do. It was a horrible time,” Blas sighed, “I’ll spare you the whole story, but the crux of it is that he died after being kidnapped. He was nailed to the school’s clock tower… chest torn apart and displayed like a bloody, blooming rose… The assailants were never found. The cult responsible is still hidden and lost to time. We just know their symbol. And that… that happened at the academy. A place of relative safety with guards and professors. In the capital no less. That and the attack that happened at the funeral? It proves that even if you’re cautious you can still be harmed. I never want my brother to lose either of you. He values you so much and he fears for you so much. Please don’t make it harder on him to keep you safe. That’s all I ask.”

“I understand, uncle,” Olana said somberly in reply, voice soft and serious, “I’ll… figure out a way to take a guard with me at least, next time…”

“Hah… I suppose that’s all I can really hope for. You’re such a brat when it comes to not running off,” he shook his head, a sad smile on his face as he looked down at his hands, “Your father is so proud of you and your sister. As much trouble as you give him, he loves to boast about you two in letters. Just… when you do leave again to do some silly antics, I would feel better about it if at the very least you took a guard with. If I can’t just convince you to say the hell home, that is.”

Blas stood again, ruffling her hair with a hand, “Oh. And by the way. You’re doing chores for a month to pay back those purchases.”