The inside of the house was much more modest than the outside. The silk leaf trees had given an almost royal feeling to the estate but the inside was very welcoming. The walls were painted in soft tones of grey and the furniture was built of dark wood.

The warm yellow lights felt comforting and Syllis basked in calming light. There was scarce any electricity in the outer ring, mostly due to the fact that there was a stigma that outer residents wouldn’t have the quartz to pay for it.

These worries weren’t unfounded, many of the residents wouldn’t have the quartz. Though this did harm the few that could pay for it. Even Jyrid’s rather profitable tavern couldn’t get the government to set up electricity for him. He was lucky to get running water set up but gas lamps had to be the cornerstone of his lighting situation.

“See what I was talking about, it’s pretty humble.” Clyde spoke, leading Syllis into the foyer and pulled over a chair for her.

‘Yeah. Humble… This chair probably cost more quartz than the entire building that Jyrid runs his tavern out of.’

“I do. It’s very welcoming, not overbearing like I’ve heard most estates are.” Syllis sat down and asked. “Can I…” She weakly pointed to a small tray, filled with an assortment of treats.

“By all means.” Clyde said before grabbing one such treat himself.

A maid and a butler both approached them. “What would you like to eat for dinner, Clyde?” The butler inquired professionally.

He simply turned to Syllis in response. She immediately sunk into her chair. She hadn’t given any thought to what she wanted to eat. After having eaten the same meal for so long, she couldn’t fathom the vast amount of options to choose from.

Syllis thought for a minute, looking down towards her lap. She dug into the earliest moments of her childhood, into the time when she was happiest. She looked up at Clyde and uttered a single word. “Peaches.”

Clyde didn’t laugh. He nearly did but held it in. “Alright Thavin… Please tell the chef to make whatever his heart desires with a nice mix of meats, vegetables and fruits. Make sure to include peaches, of course.” He bid the butler farewell and turned back towards Syllis.

“Why peaches?” He asked.

“I’ve always wanted to try them, simple as that.” Syllis responded concisely, albeit with another blatant lie. She wanted to reminisce, to delve back into simpler times.

“That’s a fair reason.” Clyde took another treat and scoffed it down before speaking again. “Sorry it will probably be a while until they are all finished.” His face was wrought with guilt.

He had already spent a couple of hours with Syllis and the thought of her needing to linger for a couple more made him feel terrible.

“It’s alright I’m perfectly fine with just talking.” Syllis spoke in a low tone, calmly.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Clyde could have sworn that a slight warmth pervaded from within the depths of her icy exterior. As though a crack had formed in her outer persona.

“Starting with… Why exactly were you trotting around the outer ring of Asanoch as a noble boy?” Syllis crossed one leg over the other and gleaned the boy’s expression. She got the sense that he wasn’t telling her the whole story earlier. Even if he had suspicions over the state of the outer ring, what had pushed him to see for himself. It wasn’t something for someone like him to worry about.

“I already told you earlier. Don’t you remember?” Clyde looked into her eyes before glancing away and then turning back slowly.

“But that wasn’t the entirety of it.” Syllis was adamant, her eyes unwavering. Their seafoam color swirled like a field of grass bellowing under a soft wind.

“Got me.” He raised his arms above him, as though surrendering a part of his territory. “My parents are meeting with a prominent family. The Lauriers.-

Syllis was stunned. ‘T-the Lauriers.’ Her world stopped all of a sudden. The Lauriers were the monarchs of Asanoch. Together with the government, they ran the entire city. It was a nice gig. The Lauriers could reap the benefits of the top all while being praised by the people, simultaneously they didn’t have to work. That was left to the government.

The only problem with such a family was that they were pure nymphs. Having a family of pure nymphs at the top of the city caused a group of humans to despise them. Humans were fated to try and conquer whatever stood in their path but this wasn’t something they could take.

Asanoch was destined to be ruled by nymphs, it was in their blood. The sea was their domain and this city, theirs to reign over.

-“Anyways… Their daughter, Anahita and I have been friends for a long while. Since we were young really. She did something that really hurt me, so I decided not to go. And I guess I wanted to get as far away from her as possible. So I left for the outskirts.” Clyde’s expression grew sullen.

‘Why does this guy keep momentarily looking depressed… Creepy.’ Syllis ruminated inwardly.

His situation made sense though. Even in high society, some humans and nymphs held disdain for each other, buried deep below the surface. It was reasonable for the heir to Asanoch to have let it slip or have done something similar to upset him.

“I’ve done something similar once. When I was still in school there was a girl who was my best friend. Her name was Joan and she was a pure human. After talking to a few classmates they convinced her that I was no good as a friend because I was a nymph.So, I ran away. I ran far into the outskirts and never returned.”

Syllis sounded somber as she detailed her past trauma. Of course, none of it was true. She wasn’t comfortable sharing the truth. But she needed to relate to the boy in front of her somehow.

“That’s a tragedy. There’s indeed many humans that are envious of nymphs and despise them for it. I’m hopeful that this will change in the future.” Clyde smiled warmly, before moving on to another topic.

“So when did you leave school? I can’t imagine it was anymore than a couple years ago, you’re well mannered.”

“Can I not be well mannered without going to school? Are all the uneducated cavemen?” Syllis stared into the boy’s golden eyes.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean that. It’s just… You have this air to you. It’s one of the reasons I couldn’t look away from you.” Clyde apologized sincerely, his cheeks became flushed and he looked away for a few moments.

“I’m only joking. How is school? I can’t say that I haven’t missed it. Talking with friends and standing at the top of my classes…” Her voice trailed off at the end, as though she momentarily fell back into those old, less strenuous times.

Clyde recounted various events and Syllis listened along intently. He spoke of the various core subjects, math and science, language and history. Eventually he arrived at a couple of subjects he truly cared about.