As the House Sturm carriage drove towards Thorne Manor, I took a deep breath to compose myself.
“Nervous, Master?” Lorelei asked me.
I shook my head.
“No,” I said. “I just know that House Thorne intends to make this as difficult as possible for me.” I shrugged. “I’m just surprised that they invited me here at all.”
Despite Annabelle’s reassurances, a part of me feared that House Thorne would do everything in their power to get in the way of our courtship. If they hadn’t responded to my message, I would have resorted to more drastic measures, up to and including elopement.
However, I considered that a last resort. After all, House Thorne was Annabelle’s family. She loved them, and from what I observed, they loved her just as much. They had been there for her when she first arrived in Lumina, and even adopted her. Granted, this netted them a talented Otherworlder, but they could have just made her a retainer if they wanted to use Annabelle like that.
It had occurred to me that perhaps Lord and Lady Thorne wanted Annabelle to marry Lord Miles, which would make her a true member of the family rather than just an adopted one. A bit fucked up, since they already adopted her, but there were cases where it happened before.
From House Thorne’s point of view, Annabelle wasn’t a bad match. She didn’t bring any property, resources, or social connections to the table, but they already had plenty of those already. Annabelle had high magical aptitude and talent. Not only that, but House Thorne already considered her one of them. They had nothing to lose if Annabelle married their heir.
If that was the case, then I would make sure to disappoint them. Annabelle was mine. I would not let anyone take her from me. Not her family, not anyone. I would even fight the Sun Emperor himself to be with her.
“How about you?” I asked Lorelei. “Nervous, that is? This is your first official outing as a House Sturm retainer.”
While I considered Lorelei and Corie my disciples, and members of Clan Sturm, they weren’t official House Sturm retainers. Leroy brought it up to me a few days ago. He mentioned that it could cause problems in the future, so I set out to rectify that.
Becoming a retainer for a House was a simple process. In short, the House and the prospective retainer negotiated a contract that outlined the duties and responsibilities of both parties. It was a form of patronage. The retainer promised to serve and support the House, while the House promised to look after the retainer’s interests and compensate them for their services. Compensation took the form of money, magical resources, and access to spells.
I was already doing that for Lorelei and Corie, so writing up the contract took no time at all. I also used that opportunity to modify Leroy’s contract, to better reflect his status as my personal disciple.
Lorelei looked good while wearing the uniform of a House Sturm retainer. I half feared that she would look like a child playing dress when she first put it on, but my fears were unfounded. While Lorelei was short and cute, she looked like the young woman she was.
“I am a little nervous, yes,” Lorelei admitted. “I’ve never been in a place like this before.” She smiled. “Still, I have faith in you, Master.” She gestured to the ground below us. “Besides, I’m never alone. As long as I touch the earth, Lady Terra is always with me. I know that neither of you would let me down.”
It warmed my heart, and somewhat alarmed me, that she put me on the same level as the Goddess of the Earth. Yes, I was a reincarnated Immortal, but I hadn’t reached that level of power yet. Still, that just meant that I needed to work harder in the future.
It was a beautiful day for a tea party, when Lorelei and I set out earlier this morning. The sky was clear of any clouds, revealing an open sky. The weather was just right, neither too hot nor too cold. The winds were gentle and mild.
At first, I planned to bring Leroy with me. Of my disciples, he was the most powerful and the most experienced. Taking him along as my bodyguard made the most sense. However, I chose Lorelei for two reasons. The first was that she and Corie needed more experience with the world beyond the Icefall Region. Accompanying me to the House Thorne tea party was a good opportunity for that.
The second reason was that Corie and Leroy pissed me off. When I first came out of seclusion, I thought that the two of them would finally admit their feelings for each other and start courting. That didn’t happen. Instead, the two continued to circle each other like shy lovebirds, frustrating me to no end. Even Lorelei grew sick of their waffling, so the two of us forced them to go on a date together.
Pushy of us, yes, but I didn’t care. Sometimes one needed to be an asshole to get things done.
Both of them gave us token protests at first, but gave up after a few minutes. It was cute to see them discussing where to go and what to do, since both were blushing at the time.
When Lorelei and I left Sturm Manor, Corie and Leroy had made plans to visit a restaurant that Leroy knew about in Sunheart’s Sky District.
The journey to Thorne Manor passed by without incident, and we arrived at the gate to the Sun District in good time. I gazed out the carriage window, since it was my first time here and I wanted to get a better look.
Like the Bronze Wall and the Silver Wall, the Gold Wall was a towering edifice of white stone reinforced with magic circles, ones cast from gold in this case. The gate, also cast from gold, was shaped like a Light Hound opening its maw. It looked quite menacing.
It didn’t take as long as I expected to get through the gate. Despite the strict security, there weren’t that many people entering. Not only that, but House Thorne made arrangements for my entry. I thought that they would make trouble for me here, but to my surprise, they hadn’t. Either they were saving their tricks for later, or they were being sincere. I figured it was more of the former than the latter, but maybe I was wrong.
It wasn’t like House Thorne were villains. They were simply a family looking after their daughter, and in their eyes, I was the no-good asshole making moves on her.
The Sun District was the smallest of Sunheart’s districts, but it was still the size of a small city. Unlike the Sky District, which looked like a magical metropolis, the Sun District looked like an enchanted forest. There were trees everywhere, each one the size of a redwood. Despite this, they were arranged in such a way as to let as much sunlight through as possible. Tamed magic beasts of all kinds made the forest their home, either as decoration, security, or both. Stone paths weaved their way through the forest, leading to the estates and buildings located in the Sun District. Not many people lived here, so the buildings were larger and much more opulent.
A forest in the heart of a city. I found that funny, though I couldn’t articulate why.
On the way to Thorne Manor, the House Sturm carriage passed by one of the government buildings for the Solarian Imperial Administration. It looked like a palace fit for a prince, or the king of a lesser nation. Seeing it made me realize the huge gap in wealth and status between myself and the people who lived here. I was a visitor here, nothing more.
It hadn’t always been that way. Not too long ago, House Sturm once stood proud as a Great House. While we had never been the wealthiest or the most powerful, we were one of the Solarian Empire’s founding Houses. Few could make that claim. We had fallen on hard times, but that would change soon enough. We would pick ourselves back up and reclaim what was rightfully ours. It would take some time, but it would happen.
Soon, we arrived at the entrance to Thorne Manor. We later learned that the name was a misnomer, since it looked more like an entire estate rather than just a mere manor. Perhaps it started as such, but grew into something more afterwards.
Thorne Manor occupied a plot of land on par with the grounds of Sturm Manor, which was impressive considering the limited amount of space within a city. A wall of thorny vines surrounded the entire estate, blocking sight of Thorne Manor itself. This wall even incorporated the forest bordering the estate, with the vines wrapping around the trees to form an impregnable barrier.
A single gate, also made from thorny vines, allowed entry through the wall. A pair of House Throne retainers guarded the gate, though I doubted they were necessary. Not because House Thorne lacked enemies, but because I saw movement within the wall of thorny vines. Either something lived inside the wall, or the wall itself could move. Whatever it was, if House Thorne chose it to guard their home, then it was a formidable foe.
The carriage stopped in front the gate as the House Thorne retainers spent the next several minutes inspecting us. From the puffed up way they acted, and the obvious disdain in their eyes, it was clear that they looked down on me and Lorelei. I assumed these retainers came from vassal Houses that served House Thorne. That was the case with the more powerful Houses, who employed scions from lesser Houses as servants and retainers.
An example of this would be Lord Oliver Holmwood, one of Annabelle’s friends from the Solarian Imperial Academy. Several of House Holmwood’s scions served as bodyguards for scions from House Griffin. I knew this because Lord Oliver had bragged about it all the time, back when we attended the academy together. Lord Oliver himself wasn’t a retainer, or he hadn’t been. That might have changed in the months since I last saw him.
Despite their attitude, the House Thorne retainers remained polite and professional the entire time. They examined the House Sturm carriage as well as the gift I brought along for Lord and Lady Thorne, and gave Sky’s Dream a wary look, but otherwise kept their hands to themselves. This surprised me. I expected them to give us trouble, or at least a bit of lip. Instead, they conducted their inspection before waving us through.
Beyond the wall of thorny vines lay veritable paradise. It was a massive garden that seemed to contain every flower imaginable. They came in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. The garden wasn’t rigid and ornamented, but neither was it a chaotic mess. It should have been, but instead everything came together to form a harmonious whole. While I didn’t know much about gardening, I knew that it took a lot of skill and talent to pull something like this off.
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It reminded me a little of the gardens that surrounded Dawnrose Hall, the home of House Rosewood. I supposed that made sense, since House Rosewood originated from House Thorne.
In the center of the garden stood an opulent palace. To my surprise, it looked rather mundane. I expected Thorne Manor to be made of plants and vines and thorns. Instead, it was a three story building with a red, white, and gold color scheme. The building had two wings, forming a giant “H”. Several auxiliary buildings and annexes occupied the land near the main building. A tiered fountain stood in front of the main entrance to the palace.
A stone road led from the gate to the front entrance of Thorne Manor. When the House Sturm carriage stopped in front of the palace, Lorelei and I hopped out. Lorelei carried both the case which contained the gift I painted for House Thorne, as well as Sky’s Dream. As my escort and bodyguard, she could be armed. I couldn’t be, since I was an invited guest. This was a symbolic gesture at most, since wizards didn’t need weapons to inflict damage.
As soon as we left the carriage, the entrance to Thorne Manor opened and several servants exited. A few went to the carriage to guide it away, while the rest formed a line and bowed to me. This was a better greeting than I expected. Maybe I had been wrong about House Thorne’s intentions after all.
In front of the other servants, stood an older woman wearing a butler’s uniform. While it wasn’t unheard of, it was unusual to see a female butler. She looked to be in her late fifties, mid sixties, with stern features and short silver hair. The expression she wore would have put Elizabeth’s polite mask to shame: courteous and respectful, but distant. Trying to get a read on her was like trying to study a closed book that was locked in a safe located at the bottom of the ocean.
“Greetings Lord Gabriel,” the woman said as she bowed. “My name is Madilyn Chandler. I am the butler for Thorne Manor.” She stood up and gestured to the front entrance. “If you would follow me, I will take you to the back garden, where the tea party is taking place. You are the last of the guests to arrive.”
I raised an eyebrow at that.
“Am I late?” I asked. “The invitation said the party was at noon.”
It was a little before that, according to the sun’s position. I left Sturm Manor so that I would be a little early.
“No, you are on time,” Madilyn said, shaking her head. “The other guests had prior business at Thorne Manor, so they were already here.” She gestured towards Lorelei. “One of the maids will guide your bodyguard to where the other retainers are waiting.”
I held out my hand for the case.
“You can do this,” I told Lorelei as she handed it to me, before facing Madilyn once again.
“Lead the way.”
***
Walking through the halls of Thorne Manor further illustrated to me the difference in status between House Thorne and House Sturm. I wore my best clothes, a blue and white outfit with silver trimmings, yet I looked like a pauper compared to the wealth on display in Thorne Manor. Had I been any other House scion, I would have felt guilty for dirtying these hallowed halls with my filthy presence.
However, I had several advantages that other House scions lacked. The biggest was that I was a reincarnated Immortal. I had lived in literal heavenly palaces, and destroyed several more. While I appreciated mortal artwork and architecture, it didn’t faze me much.
Another advantage was that I belonged to one of the Solarian Empire’s founding Houses. No matter how far we had fallen, that distinction set us apart from most other Houses. Even House Thorne couldn’t match our pedigree.
Father also had given me advice for situations like this, back when I first debuted into society. He told me that the quality of a House scion’s character wasn’t determined by their wealth or their magic or their status. It was determined by their bearing and the way they conducted themselves.
This advice allowed me to hold my head high back then, even when dealing with obnoxious assholes from other Houses. Unfortunately, I had forgotten that same advice during my time in the Solarian Imperial Academy.
I remembered it now. As Madilyn led me through Thorne Manor, I walked with a confidence I very much felt, as if I had every right to be here. I remained cool, calm, and collected. It helped that imagined the palace of the Golden Dragon, back on Spirit Earth, and how Thorne Manor seemed like a mud hut in comparison.
Madilyn glanced back at me a few times, perhaps to gauge my reaction. If my demeanor surprised her at all, she didn’t let it show.
The back garden, in a place that seemed to be filled with nothing but gardens, turned out to be a peaceful little area located at the rear of the main building. The walls of the “H” shaped main building flanked the garden on three sides. The fourth side remained open, and had a view of the rest of the estate.
There were flowers here, of course, but unlike with the rest of the estate, they occupied flower beds organized into a pattern reminiscent of a rose. Their light floral scent filled the air. In the center of the “rose” was a grassy lawn, which was where the tea party took place. Furniture had been set up, with canopies overhead to provide shade from the sun. Not that it was necessary, since it was still early spring and the weather was fantastic.
My steps slowed when I caught sight of the people already there. While I recognized some of them, there was one in particular that caught my eye. Time slowed down for me, and the world fell away, as I stared at her. The sight of her fulfilled me in a way I couldn’t quite articulate. It was as if my soul had been thirsty, and her visage slaked that thirst. She sat facing away from me at first, so I only saw the back of her blonde hair, but she turned as if sensing my presence.
Annabelle’s brilliant blue eyes met mine, and my heart found its missing piece.
The moment she saw me, Annabelle shot out of her seat and sprinted towards me at full speed; mortal speed that was. She wore a red dress with black trimmings that flared out as she ran, revealing her legs. The part of me that was a horny teenager appreciated the view.
“Gabe!” she yelled out.
Before I even knew it, my legs moved of their own accord and I ran towards her.
“Lady Annabelle!” Madilyn exclaimed in a scandalized tone. “What are you doing?”
Neither of us paid much attention to her as we collided with each other. From my peripheral vision, I noticed a cocoon of thorny vines encasing us. That was all I had time to notice before Annabelle’s lips met mine. She kissed me as if she intended to devour me whole, and we both moaned at the contact. Her lips felt soft and warm, and they tasted divine. She tasted divine. I lost myself in the sensation. Her vanilla scent filled my nose. Soon, she occupied all of my senses and filled my entire world. I could only see, hear, touch, smell, and taste Annabelle.
Her tongue pressed against my lips, demanding entry, and I let her in. The feeling of her trying to devour me whole intensified, and I returned the favor. She jumped up and wrapped her legs around my waist. I caught her with one hand, while keeping hold of the case with the other. It wasn’t difficult, due to my physical strength. She gripped my hair, holding me tight, as if afraid that I might disappear if she let go.
After what felt like an eternity, we pulled away from each other though she kept her legs wrapped around my waist. A string of saliva connected our lips for a brief moment, before breaking. Both of our faces were flushed, and we panted as if we had just run a marathon.
Before I could even say anything, Annabelle started kissing me all over my face and neck.
“I missed you,” she said, over and over again.
I started to chuckle, and opened my mouth to tease her, but then she nibbled my neck and my legs buckled. Somehow, I remained standing. Not only that, but I kept hold of the case.
“Fuck,” I gasped out. “Keep that up, and I might just drag you away and have my way with you like some kind of caveman.”
Annabelle pulled back and gave me a mischievous grin.
“Not if I drag you away and have my way with you first,” she said. “Do you know how much I’m aching for you right now? I’m like a fucking waterfall down there.”
Her words set my blood ablaze, but I managed to rein myself back. Annabelle had always been bold with her speech when it came to sex, but she must be really frustrated if she was being this brazen about it.
“How about we elope?” I said, in a half joking tone. “That way we can skip the tea party and go to bed together.”
“We might not even make it to bed,” Annabelle said in the same tone, before sighing in disappointment. “Unfortunately, it took a lot of effort on my part to get Mom and Dad to agree to this tea party. If we skip it, then all that hard work will go to waste.”
I sighed as well. Despite the urge to go at it with Annabelle like there was no tomorrow, I held myself back.
“Why a tea party?” I asked. “That goes against custom.”
“It was Mom’s idea, and Dad agreed to it,” Annabelle explained with a frustrated expression on her face. “They wanted to see how the two of us would act when in polite company together. It’s a test.” Her expression darkened. “They even hired someone to tutor me, saying that I needed to work on my manners and etiquette.”
The look on her face told me that she hated that last part in particular.
“At least they let me choose my tutor, thank goodness for small blessings.”
“If this party was a test on our behavior and conduct, then I think we already failed,” I said. “Given that we started necking like horny teenagers the moment we saw each other.”
“Well, maybe if you hadn’t groped my ass,” Annabelle said. “I wouldn’t have been so fired up.”
I rolled my eyes at that. She was the one who jumped onto me, and there were only so many places I could put my hand. Still, I wasn’t going to complain. It was a nice and firm ass.
“I think they wanted to see if our feelings for each other were genuine,” Annabelle continued in a sober tone. “Though they didn’t say that part out loud. In that regard, I think we did well. If we pass the rest of their test, they will see you after the tea party to discuss our courtship.”
Well, if nothing else, we proved that we wanted to jump each other’s bones.
“I’m sure we scandalized your other guests,” I said. “Unless these vines block spirit sense.”
“They do,” Annabelle said with a proud smile on her face. “There is a concealing spell woven into the vines. Master taught it to me. Anyone below the Fourth Circle, or the Essence Collection stage, can’t see what’s going on in here.”
I raised an eyebrow at that. Impressive, especially for someone who just started cultivating. If I had a spell like this, then I wouldn’t have needed to get my hands on expensive inks in order to create seals to hide my cultivation. Maybe I could get Grandfather Gabe to teach it to me.
“Your parents are both in the Fifth Circle, correct?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“So, if they’re paying attention, and I have no doubt that they are, then they can see and hear everything going on in here.”
“Also yes.”
I sighed.
“You know that we’re going through all of this effort in order to earn their blessing, right? You haven’t forgotten that, have you?”
Annabelle patted my cheek.
“Of course not,” she said, before her expression hardened. “However, I wanted to make my feelings on the matter clear.”
My intuition told me that her words weren’t meant for me.
“Well then,” I said. “Shall we get going? I’m sure your other guests are feeling antsy right now, and maybe a little offended.”
Annabelle sighed in resignation, before unwrapping her legs from around my waist. With infinite care, I set her down. Just because Annabelle was a cultivator now, didn’t mean that I wanted to treat her like a sack of potatoes.
The two of us tided each other up, erasing all traces of our amorous attentions, before I held out my arm and Annabelle took it. That’s when I noticed that she wore a green bracelet which resembled a thorny vine.
“Before we head out,” she said. “I want to apologize in advance. I had no control over the guest list, or the seating arrangement.”
I grimaced, as I realized who she meant. I noticed both of them earlier, though most of my attention had been on Annabelle.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I can handle it.”
“I know.” She kissed me on the cheek. “I promise to make it up to you later.”
With that, Annabelle lowered the barrier of vines and the two of us headed towards the tea party.