CHAPTER 2

House Ludenia

“If you have any questions, you may ask right now.” he says with a grin

I do have a lot of questions, starting with…

“Who are you?”

“I am Elvin Ludenia. The only existing Ludenia, and the only Elemental Master in this country.”

“Why did you save me?”

“For one, I was finding somebody with courage. I am going to help you become part of the house Ludenia and one day manage the territories.”

“Mmm… about that? Isn't a house full of people, how can a house be composed of a single person?”

“Oh, that’s the difference between traditional adventurer/rogue houses and the house of the nobility. Traditional houses have leaders, deputies and members from diverse origins, however the nobility house is sort of like a family. It’s basically only the bloodlines, that’s the case usually.”

“I am an exception then?”

“There is a newly made law that allows nobility to take orphans into their house and raise them to become a nobility.”

“Is it sort of like adopting?”

“Not really, since the orphans won’t become their children, it’s just they will become part of the house.”

“That sounds like a fantastic law, I must actually thank the emperor.”

“It’s not as fantastic as it sounds, because usually, it’s not used as it’s intended to be, or maybe that was the actual hidden intention.”

“Hmm…?”

“Forget about it, anyways, the final decision is yours. If you choose to become part of the house Ludenia, you will automatically become a nobility. However, there will be a lot of challenges and duties to do. If you choose to go to another orphanage, I can promise it will be much better than the one you were living in. However, it’ll still be an orphanage.”

“I can face any challenges, any duties. It’ll be better than an orphanage.”

“Alright then… Welcome to house Ludenia.”

We soon enter a castle-like mansion. I don’t know how to describe it. It’s the most wonderful thing I have ever seen in my life. The main hall itself is bigger than the entire orphanage that I used to live in. It has fountains and statues at the sides. There are famous paintings that even I have heard about, not just one of two, but dozens in an organized arrangement. There are a few fancy chairs, and a fancy looking table in the middle. Underneath the table are glass panels. Beneath it, there is a stream, or a pond? I don’t know. All I know is that fishes that swim there look damn pretty. I suddenly think ‘what if this is a dream and if I suddenly wake up’, however that doesn’t happen. Instead, I hear a sweet sound of Elvin whispering at me.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Come, I’ll show you your room.”

As I follow him, I soon become suspicious. ‘Why would he choose me to come live here and become a nobility? There probably are many more eligible people willing to become house Ludenia.’ I try not to show my suspicions as I walk behind him. If he thinks that I suspect him of something, he might send me back to the orphanage. Then again, there probably is something about him that would have forced him to bring me here, instead of all kinds of better teens. I don’t know how serious it would be until I gotta choose to flee. Would he be really strict? That’s okay by me. Would he be harsh and abusive? He can’t be worse than the orphanage owner who would hit me everyday. Would he be pedopile? Mmm… yeah that could be a problem, I gotta think about this case.

We soon arrive at a decent sized room that looks very cozy. Just like the room I might have had if I was born noble. However, one thing was different. On one corner, there was a sandbag. As soon as my eyes caught the sandbag, Elvin opened his mouth.

“I saw that you are a monk. It would be good if you can keep training and progressing even after becoming a nobility.”

“Thanks Elvin, that is much appreciated.” I reply in gratitude.

“Your welcome, Dohana.” He smiles.

I smile back at him. Until something feels wrong.

Wait.

Wait.

Wait.

I am pretty sure I never told him my name. How does he even know that my name is Dohana? My name was the only thing I had in my memory when I ended up in the orphanage memoryless. It felt like a wrong name to have so I acted like I had 0my name too, and told nobody about it. I was called ‘bastard’ or ‘little bitch’ in the orphanage, so I didn’t need a name anyway. However, this person knows my name that I had never told anybody about. A thought sparks up, maybe he was looking for me specifically, but why? And how does he know me?

I must have thinking far too long because Elvin shakes his hand in front of my eyes and asks,

“Are you okay Dohana?”

“Wait, how do you know my name? I never told you my name.”

“I know it from the orphan list of the orphanage you stayed at.”

I hear him hesitate ever so slightly. Even if he didn’t, I know this is a lie. My real name is not on the orphan list of the orphanage. Because I never told anybody.

However, I don’t tell him that. I don’t want him to suspect that I suspect him of something. I don’t know why I am hiding this, maybe because I don’t want him to send me back to an orphanage. Maybe I can’t trust him but that doesn’t mean I would rather choose an orphanage over this nice place.

“Are you okay Dohana?”

I must have been thinking for far too long.

“I am okay, just a habit of thinking to myself.”

“By the way, this isn’t an orphanage. When you have a hard time or need my help, you can just tell me whenever you want.”

“Thanks Elvin.”

“Well then, I gotta introduce somebody to you soon.”

“I thought you said that you are the only one in house Ludenia?”

“I am, the one I’ll introduce you isn’t part of the house Ludenia, but she lives here because she used to be my deputy back in the war, and wished to stay here after it. She is a nice and cool person. You’ll like her.”

I hope what he says is true, any new person I met either didn’t care about me or just wanted to use me in a way that would benefit them. Then again, Elvin didn’t, so maybe I can trust this person he is going to introduce me to.

10 minutes passed, and this new person didn’t show up.

“Mmm… Elvin, where is this person you are going to introduce me to?”

“She is out downtown, I sent a wind to send my message to her, but maybe she has a reason she can’t come today. It’s too late today, you should sleep now, I will introduce her tomorrow.”

“Before I sleep, I want to know her name. What is it?”

“Her name is Kelina.”