Adrien looked at the notification, gulping as he struggled to make a decision. A huge part of him wanted to turn the Questing Book down, tell it that he would not take such a suspicious offer.

But a small insistent part of him told him to take it. That he would die if he didn’t take it. That part was why he was hesitating. But he did know what he should do.

Adrien sighed and made his choice. A notification appeared before him as soon as he did.

A choice has be- Error!

Error!

A threat has been detected.

Justice protocol activated.

A choice stands before you.

A Flame was to be granted to you after completing a Hidden Quest.

As a threat stands before you, the reward shall be issued before the Quest is completed.

The Quest shall be automatically accepted if you accept this reward.

Hidden Quest: face the threat and survive.

Reward: a Flame

Adrien stared at the notification open-mouthed, unable to form the words to respond to it. That was a very different offer from the one he had received just a few moments ago. The Questing Book had…changed its mind? What was an error? Why would the Questing Book just randomly change when he had made a choice?

Did it really not want him to tell it no? Why was it so insistent on him having a Flame. Was this a trap. Or…was this the Questing Book trying to help him? The preamble he had largely skipped through had stated rather benevolent aspirations behind the book. And it kept talking about a Justice protocol.

Perhaps it simply thought the threat was big enough. What it really came down to was, did he trust the Questing Book? The answer was no.

But did he trust it enough to actually help him here? That was the big maybe. What did he know about the Questing Book really? Just what it had told him. That it was made by someone called Prince Verlinaus who supposedly belonged to the House Manevorus.

Adrien could believe that. The notifications the Questing Book sent his way were same as System notifications except their color. The Manevorus had built the System, they very well could build something like the Questing Book.

Now could he consider the Manevorus trustworthy? That…yes, he could. The few records they had of the Manevorus showed them to be creatures far more powerful than any of their ancestors. If they wanted, the Manevorus could have flaked on whatever deal the ancestors had made with them.

But they hadn’t, and had instead gifted humanity with Bloodline Power and the System. That still didn’t make it a sure thing, the deal was made two thousand years ago and much could change since then. But it did make him more inclined to take the deal.

Taking a deep breath to steel himself, Adrien made his choice again. This time, a different one.

A choice has been made.

A Flame shall now be granted.

Adrien gulped, not really sure what getting a ‘Flame’ would involve. What were the chances it did not involve pain? Nari would mock him for being afraid of something like pain, but he really was. Pain hurt. And he didn’t like that.

“Well, it would appear I have caught you in the midst of some deep contemplation.” Lord Oak said, shocking Adrien out of his thoughts.

“Didn’t even see me enter your carriage, did you?” the old lord asked, narrowing his eyes as he looked at Adrien suspiciously.

“I was otherwise occupied, Lord Oak.” Adrien replied, trying to give a friendly smile. The suspicious expression on the other lord’s face told him he hadn’t succeeded.

“If I may ask, what about? Perhaps I can be of some aid to you. This is my city after all.”

Now Adrien was trying really hard to keep his smile from thinning out. Why was the old lord being so inquisitive? And his words… Adrien was not the best at reading between the lines, but he had spent most of his life in a ducal palace. Lord Oak had not referred to him as a lord, not even when Adrien had called him one.

Then there was his claim that this was his city. A claim that wasn’t true considering that the city was the duchy’s, Lord Oak was merely its caretaker. A caretaker that had served as city lord for two hundred years. More than long enough to grow possessive over it.

More than long enough to be offended by Adrien activating the shield without Lord Oak’s permission.

“Oh, nothing that important. What is it that you wish?” Adrien replied, and this time his smile was sharper. There was little reason to be polite to someone that was already against him.

A scowl spread across Lord Oak’s face before he masked it, turning it back into a smile that almost seemed genuine. “Oh nothing much, I simply wished to clear a few doubts of mine if you would be so kind as to indulge me.”

“Of course, I am at your service.”

“Tell me then, this Awakened goblin of yours, is it real?”

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Adrien’s eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. What kind of question was that? “Of course, why would I lie about that?”

“Why indeed.” Lord Oak said, smiling widely in a manner that seemed just slightly condescending before continuing. “So, just to confirm, you informed the King of this goblin of yours and gained his permission to activate the city’s defenses?”

Adrien was pretty sure that the old lord was trying to pull some trick, but for the life of him he could not figure out what it was.

“I did -”

“And you are aware that the duchy shall have to invest significant resources in tracking down and hunting this goblin based on your words? Resources that are in a rather low supply right now?” Lord Oak said.

Adrien’s smile grew strained as he pulled out the goblin artifact he had used to deduce the Awakened goblin’s existence.

“A wooden artifact with strange symbols bordering on gibberish. A large amount of mana that seems to have no focus holding it in place. And an observed magical effect not native to goblins. Are these not signs of an Awakened goblin’s magic, Lord Oak?” he replied as a notification appeared in the corner of his vision.

A Flame has been chosen.

The Flame of Duty binds you.

Prepare.

Adrien drew a deep breath as he attempted to form words as mana began to quiver around him. There was something telling him that he should say whatever he wanted to quickly because he might not get a chance later.

“I informed the King of this, and he decide-“ Adrien gasped as a flare of pain emerged from his chest - no, his mana pool, but whatever was happening there was having an effect on his body. “The King recommended that I activate the defense as a warning to the city that an Awakened goblin might be in your vicinity. I hope you do not find that too offensive, Lord Oak.”

There was no response from the old lord as he simply looked at Adrien. And Adrien himself could not find it in himself to continue speaking. There was something else happening in his body that demanded his attention right now.

Emerging from his heart, a fire spread through his veins. In a manner that probably should have burnt him to a crisp. But to Adrien, it did not feel painful but uncomfortable instead.

No, not that. Calling it uncomfortable wasn’t right, it felt too minor. Like the word didn’t justify how horrible it was. Adrien’s body was uncomfortably hot, and his blood felt like it was boiling in his very veins. Colors began to merge in his vision, melding into each other until he couldn’t make a single thing out.

But there was no pain. The lack of pain itself felt discomforting. Like he should have been on the ground, screaming while his body burned to death from the inside. But he wasn’t. The fire didn’t actually burn him. No, it was just hot.

Adrien sat there as his body decided between vomiting and ignoring the sensation. Feeling the pain of his blood boiling would probably be worse, but this still felt pretty bad for something that was supposed to be a gift.

“Lord Adrien?” Lord Oak asked, his voice sounding puzzled. “Are you well? There appears to be a slight discoloration in your cheeks. Were you perhaps injured during your unfortunate encounter? I have healers in my employee that could attempt to heal it if you so wish.”

“Th-tha-” Adrien coughed, feeling the food he had eaten coming back up his throat as his body abruptly decided that he was ill. The strange sensation had faded, but clearly not without some consequences for him to deal with.

“I am fine, Lord Oak.” Adrien squeaked out, his voice sounding off somehow. But he couldn’t point out what was wrong with it. Perhaps he was just imagining things. And this was not the time. The Flame would have to wait for now.

First he had to deal with this relative of his, or who knew what the old lord would spread across the nobility.

“I see” the old lord said, getting up. Adrien blinked, realizing that his vision had cleared without him realizing, and the uncomfortable feeling had just…disappeared?

“Come, we have arrived at my palace and you should get some rest. I expect that you have another difficult day ahead of you.”

Adrien gave the old lord a puzzled smile as he opened the door and stepped out. What? There were no questions? The old lord had so many questions about the Awakened goblin but not about the episode Adrien had just had? Well, he would take the good luck while he had it.

Hesitating for a second to make sure that he wasn’t about to have another episode, Adrien followed the old lord out into a palace’s courtyard.

The palace was filled with people. The servants, the bystanders, and who knew who else wandered around the courtyard. That seemed to be a common thing here, people waiting around to see what was happening like they didn’t have anything better to do. Then again, he supposed they simply wanted to know what the warning bells were about. That had to have alarmed many a person.

Lord Oak ignored the crowd and simply walked through the courtyard and into the palace, Adrien hurrying to keep up with him.

“This is one of the ancestral palaces.” the old duke informed him. “I hear that you should not have any trouble navigating through them.”

Adrien blinked, his brain taking a second to catch up to what the old lord was saying.

“Oh, yes. I can sense the mana’s resonance well enough.” he replied. “But I am not sure what you mean -”

“Then you can find your way into the largest room in the palace. The room is reserved for the duke and his heir.” Lord Oak said, turning back with raised eyebrows. “That would be you wouldn’t it?”

Adrien opened his mouth, but was once again not sure how he should reply. The Ducal Council was one vote away from getting him killed, but the ancestors acknowledged him as heir anyway. Would rejecting the room be rude? Should he reject the room or take it? Why didn’t Aunt Veena warn him about this kind of stuff?

Lord Oak shook his head, turning away as he began walking away. “Don’t worry about it. Just take the room. I know better than to question the ancestors.”

Adrien found himself following the old lord’s advice and walking towards the largest room in the palace. The palace thrummed with power, the sound leading him right where he needed to go.

Of course, there were people here too. The uniform they wore denoted them as servants, but still there were many of them. More than there were in the ducal palace.

A part of him wondered what the people watching him thought. The servants at the ducal palace had made their opinions clear, but what of the general people? Did they know of him? Did they hate him? Did they pity him? Perhaps they wanted him dead too? The gazes of the servants followed him the entire way to the room.

The servants bowed to him, but he could see their pupils rising to look at him even as they bowed. Hushed conversations started every time he turned a corner, soldiers moving from their posts to point at him.

Adrien could barely hold back a gasp of relief as he arrived at the room and closed the door behind him. That had been far more difficult to deal with than he had expected. And the day wasn’t even over yet.

There were still notifications to go through and guards to talk with. Then there was planning for a future that suddenly seemed much more dangerous than it had seemed just hours before.