Aiden and his new companions made the trip back to the capital with a few hours to spare before nightfall. They did not run into any monsters on their journey back, Kevin the party's scout did keep a lookout but it was truly unneeded since Aiden knew Fleur would tell him if any got too close to them. They made some small talk to pass the time and they learned Aiden was the youngest of the group around 1 year younger than the other 3. They were surprised since they all thought he was older because of how strong he was. It did take a lot of convincing on Aiden's part but they did finally accept the fact that he was only 15 years old. He knew he looked older because of the changes the baptism gave him but his face still showed his youth. Aiden was thankful they did not question him on his past and where he came from since it would be hard to convince them an orphan would be in the position he was in now, in the company of probably three nobles or somewhat important families.
Aiden got his question answered about them being nobles when they made it to the city gate and the guards manning the gate referred to Will as Lord William. The guards gave Aiden questioning gazes but Will solved the matter by simply stating he was with their group. Aiden was trying to think of a way to separate from the group of young nobles when Will said he could stay the night at his family estate and that his father might give him a reward for saving their lives. Aiden did not mind getting some coins since he had none to his name.
Aiden did not want to sound rude by asking who they truly were but he would like to know how high up his new friends were. “ So you three are all nobles?”
Kevin who was on his side snickered “ Claire and I are nobles but only come from a Baron family and we are also not the Heir to our own respectful baronies. William on the other hand is quite higher up on the social ladder than us lowly lesser nobles.” Kevin said with a somber visage.
Kevin's statement caused Will to groan “ Just because I am the son of a Count does not mean I am any better than you two. Also, I am the 3rd Son so I will not inherit land or title. They will go to my eldest brother”
Aiden recalled some of the lessons the nuns at the orphanage taught them, and if he remembered correctly the ranking of nobles was Duke, Marques, Count, Viscount, and Baron. So that placed Will’s family in the middle of the political ladder, while Clarie and Kevin were only children of a baron which was the lowest and they were also not the heirs to their house, which made them have even less political power.
Aiden pointed out an obvious question: “ Is it not odd for a Count’s son to hang out and party with children from a baron?”
Claire was kind enough to answer Aiden since Will was still fuming from Kevin’s words. “ Both my father and Kevins' are vassals under Count Gilling. We were the only kids close to age with William so we became close friends and decided to form an adventuring party and join the adventure guild to make a name for ourselves since the three of us won’t inherit anything from our families.”
She looked at Aiden who just nodded so she continued “ We are staying at his family estate in the capital where we are receiving training and there is a dungeon nearby where we can earn levels and train our skills.”
Aiden nodded in understanding but the new information made him question why they did not just go to the dungeon instead of hunting monsters. So he asked them since they seemed to be in a sharing mood.
Will who was now done grumbling answered him “ My father will not let us go into the dungeon until we reach level 25 which is the first class evolution or until we find a fourth party member”
When Will said the last part he stared at Aiden with a smile. “Maybe you could be our 4th we do need another close-quarter fighter”
Before Aiden could protest the idea Will continued rambling “I would have to ask my father and he would need to allow you to join us since he will not let anyone be in our party but when us three tell him of your prowess and how you saved us he should be more than will to allow you to join.”
Just as Will finished his rambling they arrived at the Count’s estate. Aiden was surprised at the sheer size of it all. It could take up a quarter of the whole town Aiden grew up in. They were let in by the house guards and walked to the house.
William spent a few minutes talking to the butler who greeted them and the next thing Aiden knew he was being led to a room to take a bath, they even provided some nicer clothing which he was told to wear since they would be eating dinner later with Will’s father. The bath was quite large, to say the least Aiden could probably swim in it if he wanted to. When the maid left his new clothes on a bench and said she would wait outside until he finished, he was finally alone. After stripping and storing everything into his mark he walked into the steaming water. After a few minutes of enjoying the bath, Fleur decided she wanted to join as well. She let out a sigh and looked at Aiden. “ You should make these people your friends if we can bathe like this every night” Fluer then proceeded to float around in the bath. Aiden let out a chuckle “ I do not think getting involved with nobles just for a giant bath is a good enough reason since they will probably bring trouble as well… at least that is what all the people at the orphanage said.”
Fleur swam over to Aiden and laid her head on his shoulder and said “ We do not bow to anyone it will make us look weak remember that when you meet the Count”
Aiden’s eyes went wide at the statement he could be hanged for such an offense but the no-budging tone Fleur used made him accept her words. He did not know why but he had a feral grin after accepting what Fleur wanted of him.
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While Aiden was bathing William was reporting to his father about their hunt and what happened to them and about the random stranger who saved them.
Will’s father gave him a full 5 minute talking too about how stupid he was and that he had to be saved by a random stranger who just happened to be there and if he wasn’t he would be dead and so would his party member and how he would have to tell their families who he promised he would watch over their children that they are dead because his dimwit of a son took them too far outside of the city without a proper escort. After Lord Gilling finished he sat back into his chair and sighed “ So tell me about this man who saved you he seems quite strong if your telling of the battle was accurate”
William nodded “ His name is Aiden he did not give a family name so at first, I thought he was just a commoner who had none but when we cleaned ourselves of the goblin blood at a nearby stream he used a storage item for his dirty clothes and pulled out a new shirt. So I do not think he is just another random commoner adventure, and he also had no token to define his rank in the guild”
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Lord Gilling rubbed his chin in thought after a moment he asked, “ Were there any other things about him, which might tell us who he is and if he belongs to an organization?”
William gasped, How could he forget about the man’s tattoo “ Father he had a tattoo on his right arm. It was of some kind of monster. It was very well done, nothing a commoner could afford, so I asked if it depicted sea serpents. He said no but it was a close guess. I also asked if it was a house marking or guild marking and he told me it could be called a guild marking of sorts”
Will watched as emotion after emotion crossed his father's face who normally kept a stern gaze. It started with confusion then surprise then ended with a grin. “You said you wanted him to join your party?”
Will answered with clear confusion in his voice “ Yes he would fit our party quite well but father I am to believe you would allow a commoner to join us that easily?”
The man who he called his father just laughed at his question, his father laughing was something Will did not see very often or at all to be honest “ Son I do believe I know what he is, but I can not be certain until I meet him later at dinner, but if I am correct with my assumptions it more on him if he wants to join you three then me allowing it.”
Will was stunned there was someone who was not a part of the higher noble houses or even the nobility who would be in the position of deciding if they wanted to join a party with the son of a Count and not the Count deciding if that man has the right to join.
His father stood and started to walk towards the door. “ William wash up and met me in the dining room to greet our new guest. I have to speak to the kitchen. There needs to be a few changes to the meal.
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After Will took a bath to rid himself of all the grime of battle he met his father in the dining room. The thing which caught his eye first was the table and the amounts of plates set out for guests. “Father, are we expecting someone else besides Aiden for dinner?’
His father looked at him and shook his head “ If I am correct with my assumptions that spot will be used and if I am wrong we will just say we were expecting someone but they are running late.
Will just nodded, he had no idea what his father was thinking but he would go along with it.
After a few minutes, his two party members and Aiden were led into the dining room. Both Clarie and Kevin bowed to the Count and took their seats beside Will. Aiden would be sitting on the opposite side of the table where the extra plating was, while Lord Gilling would sit at the head.
After Clarie took her seat she was confused why Aiden had not greeted the Count yet, was he of such low birth he did not know how to greet a noble properly? She looked up at Aiden who was just standing there staring at the count and then she watched in horror as the man simply nodded his head in respect and said: “ Thank you, for having me for dinner Lord Gilling.”
Claire looked to her friends for answers but both Will and Kevin showed shocked expressions at the blatant disrespect their new friend showed to the Count. To the three young nobles' surprise, the Count just gave a small chuckle and pointed to the seat meant for Aiden “ I must thank you for saving my son and his friends. The parents of those friends entrusted me with their children’s protection and training.” Aiden just simply nodded and took his seat. He smiled at the shocked expression of the other three young nobles. The Count finally took his seat as well and continued “ They are quite lucky to have a Wanderer happen upon them when they were in such trouble.”
Aiden was surprised the Count knew what he was, but it made sense since he was a high nobility after all. “ So you have figured out who I am. To be honest, I was quite hesitant to show such disrespect earlier but my bond would not allow me to bow to you. I hope you understand Lord Gilling”
The Count simply nodded like it was completely normal for a random stranger to show such disrespect. “ I have met with people from your Order before, and as you can see I have prepared another seat if your bond would like to join us for the meal.”
“You are quite the gracious host, Lord Gilling. I am quite glad my bond saved the life of a man whose father is such a respectful and knowledgeable man,” Fleur said and she took the seat beside Aiden. She was wearing one of the fancy dresses Alyce gave her. She looked like a noble lady if that noble lady also had slitted eyes, fangs, and pointed ears.
The dinner was a simple affair for a noble house but you could not say it was lacking in flavor. The three young nobles ate in shocked silence while Aiden and the Count made some small talk about his journey to the Capital and about the fight against the goblin hoard, Will also joined the conversation at points to keep it alive. Kevin and Clarie felt very out of place; they both made quick glances at the woman who Aiden introduced as Fleur.
Fleur on the other hand was quite enjoying all the new types of food she was given and also meeting the glances of the two humans who seemed scared of her. She could tell it made them uncomfortable when they stared into her eyes, which she found joy in.
After the meal was finished the Count stood from his seat “ Aiden I must thank you again for saving my son and his party I have prepared a carriage for you that will take you to the Orders headquarters, Also I plan to give you 50 gold as a reward”
Aiden stood and gave the man a slight bow “ Thank you, Lord Gilling, you have been a great host not just towards me but my bond Fleur as well. We will take our leave”
With those pleasantries exchanged Aiden and Fleur left the Count's estate in a carriage headed toward the Order headquarters.
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After Claire and Kevin returned to their rooms for the night Will joined his father in his study. After pouring wine for himself and his father he took a seat across from his father. “I see that you have many questions and I will answer some of them,” Lord Gilling said after sipping from his goblet.
“Father just who is that man, he treated you with such blatant disrespect you could have easily had him hung for how he treated you”
Before Will could continue his father raised his hand “ You are correct I could have had him hanged only if he was just another random commoner, but he is a member of the Order and I will tell you this as a warning. If I had him killed our family would not survive to see the coming week” That made Will’s anger dissipate quickly and turn to fear.
“The reason I treated him with such respect is that I would like him to join your party and even if he does not I would like you to try to foster a friendship with him.”
Will just nodded sipping his wine “Father is he that powerful?”
The Count shook his head “ No he is still young and weak but that will not be the case forever. There are still things to which you are still too young to know but the Order of Wanderers, while few in number their members' personal power when combined rivals any kingdom or empire that is present today.” Lord Gilling could see he was making his son rethink trying to get the man to join his party. He would need to change that. If William got into the good gracious of a member of the Order he would have no reason not to name him his heir
“ Now I can see how my words make it seems like you should steer clear of the man but that is not what I am trying to do”
Will had to refill his wine glass a few times before he found his words “ So you want me to convince Aiden to join my party and If he rejects that I should become friends with him because he will likely be extremely powerful in the future?”
His father just simply nodded then excused himself for bed and told him to think about it. All Will could do was open another bottle of wine and ponder the meaning of his father's words.