“Quite the lovely home you have here.” said Leon. Feeling incredibly awkward after having stormed into his junior’s courtyard only to find his wife there with her maids.

He would have gone home to come back another day, when the youth was available, but apparently he’d gone missing in search of a sample.

This was followed by Leon asking what kind of samples, and for what reason the young man was collecting them, whether the youth had gotten permission from someone to leave the sect, and whether the young woman knew when her husband would be back.

The answers he received were two polite shrugs, a shy maybe, and yet another shrug. Leading to the old man, feeling weak in the knees, and the dutiful young madame calling her maids, and having them prepare tea.

“Um...thank you….I, uh, it’s all due to the Sect’s beneficence...All I did was decorate a bit.” said Vanessa. Smiling weakly.

Feeling uncomfortable because technically as an elder of the outer-sect, the older gentleman in front of her, was of a greater status than any of her fathers. Which alone would have been manageable, if it weren’t for the fact that as a member of the inner-sect her husband technically outranked the man. Holding a higher status even if he was of a lesser-seniority.

A situation that left Vanessa unsure what the rules of their interactions should be, a feeling that was both unfamiliar and unpleasant to the young woman. Since she generally made it a point to know the proper etiquette of any given situation.

Further driving in the point that in just a few months time, her world had been drastically changed. Leaving her thoroughly out of her wheelhouse.

“Mhm, you’re too humble Madame.” said Leon. Taking a sip of the tea that the maids had brought in.

Taking a second sip, when he found himself startled by the sense of refreshment from the first sip.

“Good tea…” he said.

Vanessa nodded. Smiling politely.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

“You’re too kind, sir. Cultivating tea leaves is just a hobby I picked up since I’ve found myself idle while my husband is doing his duty to the sect.” said Vanessa.

Genuinely pleased, and slightly put at ease, to hear a positive reaction to the work she’d taken up.

The tea-plant breeding project was based on her Edwin’s research for the sect, and the expansive data archives that she’d accessed from his ship, while she was looking for something to do, so she wouldn’t just be sitting alone thinking about how unsure she was of her situation.

As for old Leon Skinner, after draining his cup, just as he was about to shamelessly ask for me, he realized that he was forgetting why he’d come to the woman’s manor, and grabbed hold of the woman’s mention of her husband.

“Speaking, of Disciple Edwin, I don’t suppose you know what his plans are, for his membership in the sect? I know he was quite taken with us, but some of us, were growing concerned since he doesn’t seem to be taking too much advantage of the opportunities in front of him.” said Leon.

Vanessa blinked, and then she frowned, unsure of how to answer.

She’d been just a hair away from blurting out the sad truth, which was that she was pretty certain, her former little brother, and current husband, wasn’t the sort who planned much of anything.

He schemed sometimes, yes, and if the ship was anything to go by, he had myriad little operations that he worked on as part of his hobbies, but actual planning, for the things that normal people with common sense would plan for...didn’t seem to be the kind of thing he did.

After a moment of thinking, she saw her husband’s almost childishly innocent face in her mind’s eye, and realized to her horror that this was probably part what he was talking about when he said, that he’d “leave it to her”.

This was was “it”, their lives in general were apparently entirely up to her. Which didn’t seem quite right to her.

It was fine when she thought he was just leaving the business of the household to her, but now she was starting to suspect the man’s intentions.

She was now wondering exactly how much responsibility he was leaving in her hands, and how much non-responsibility her husband thought he could get away with.

She was hoping she was misunderstanding something, or over-reacting but something told her that this was not the case.

Leon watched the young woman who sat across from him, pretty with a sort of mature grace. He wondered if she was ill, for after he’d spoken, she’d spent several minutes sitting in silence, growing increasingly pale.

A heavy sort of pressure seeming to emanate from within her.

“Are you quite alright, Madame?” said Leon. When he could no longer take the silence and suffocating pressure.

“Huh? Oh, er...yes. Thank you. Sorry. Erm...You said you were wondering what my husband’s plan is...What kind of plan would you expect someone in his position to have?” said Vanessa.

Working very hard to keep her voice even, and free from the muted horror that she’d felt as she’d realized that the man, she’d married might be even more eccentric than her biological-father was said to be.

Leon startled, crossing his arms and thinking. Remembering all the propaganda he’d been sent to spew over the years, while he’d been undergoing his decades' long punishment, serving as a sect recruiter.

“Well, you know….Fighting his way to the top of the sect,...if he can. Standing on the peak of his martial potential, and maybe even becoming a true immortal. Divining the secrets of the cultivator world. Mastering various skills. Journeying through the world, making powerful friends, and defeating even more powerful foes. Wooing beautiful women. Saving the weak. Destroying evil….You know, hero stuff. Cultivator stuff.”