It didn’t take me long to find Hadley again. He had remained in the same spot as before, leaning against a pillar, watching me with amusement. When he saw me looking at him, the amusement disappeared, replaced by a neutral expression. His expression turned cold when I approached him.
“Lord Hadley,” I said when I reached him, giving him a slight bow.
“Lord Gabriel,” Hadley said in an disinterested voice. Despite this, he returned my bow with one of his own. “What an unexpected honor. I’m surprised you remember my name, given how long it has been.”
So he was going to be like that, huh? To be fair, I expected as much, given the way I treated him last year.
“Well, we did spend a year together as roommates,” I said with a smile. “It would be stranger if I didn’t remember your name.”
Hadley just snorted at that.
“What do you want?” he asked. “Make it quick. I was enjoying my drink and I’d like to get back to that.”
Right. This might be harder than I anticipated.
“Shall we go somewhere more private?” I asked. “There is something I wish to say to you.”
Hadley shook his head.
“I’m not interested in going anywhere with you, Lord Gabriel. If you have something to say to me, you can say it here.”
Oh well. It couldn’t be helped. Not that it mattered to me. While I would have preferred apologizing to Hadley in private, I didn’t mind doing so in public. If nothing else, perhaps doing so would highlight my sincerity.
I bowed to Hadley again, a deeper one this time. Not quite servile, but more than our respective statuses required.
“I apologize for my behavior towards you last year,” I said. “You tried to pull me back from the edge, but I ignored your good intentions. Not only that, but I mistreated you in the process. For that, I am sorry. You deserved better.”
When I stood straight up again, Hadley stared at me with a stunned look on his face. He wasn’t the only one who was surprised. I heard the other students whispering to each other about it.
After a few more seconds, Hadley broke free from his stupor.
“What are you up to, Lord Gabriel?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at me. “Is this part of some kind of scheme?”
I shook my head.
“No,” I said. “No schemes, no plots. I apologized to you because you deserved it.” I shrugged. “Think of it as me trying to mend bridges. It is the least I can do.”
Hadley studied me for several long seconds, before he let out a sigh.
“Very well, Lord Gabriel,” he said. “I accept your apology. After that display of yours, it would be churlish of me to refuse.” He gave a hard look for a brief moment. “Don’t think this makes us friends. We are former roommates. That’s it.”
It was my turn to snort.
“I’m happy that we can end things without any hard feelings on either side.” I paused and studied Hadley for a second. “Though, I am curious. Are you related in any way to Grand Priest Darius Ward? I recently made his acquaintance, and I noted that you two share the same family name.”
Hadley pursed his lips and took a moment before replying.
“He’s my grandfather,” he said in a long-suffering tone. “Before you ask, my grandmother and my father both hail from the northern regions of the empire. That’s why I don’t look much like him.”
That was an understatement. Hadley and Grand Priest Darius looked like they originated from opposite ends of the continent. I mean, that wasn’t too far from the truth.
“I see,” I said. “Thank you for indulging my curiosity. I shall leave you to drink in peace.”
I turned to go, but paused when Hadley called out to me.
“Before you go, Lord Gabriel,” he said. “There is something I want to tell you.” He paused before continuing. “It wasn’t a coincidence that the two of us ended up as roommates.”
I turned to face him again and raised an eyebrow. He looked a little nervous.
“It was my grandfather’s doing,” Hadley explained. “He told me that it would be a good idea to befriend you, Lord Gabriel.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. From his expression, it looked like he was telling the truth. So, Grand Priest Darius told Hadley to befriend me. It wasn’t difficult to figure out why. The question was, why was Hadley telling me this now?
“Did your grandfather explain why?” I asked.
After a moment’s hesitation, Hadley nodded.
“At the time I didn’t believe him, but now I’m not so sure. You’re different from before.”
“And this is enough for you to change your mind?”
Hadley gave me a wry smile.
“On its own? No. However, I met with my grandfather last night and he told me to keep an eye on you today. He said that I would understand why.”
I resisted the urge to let out a sigh. This was one of the reasons why I wanted to keep my status as the Chosen of Tempest a secret for as long as possible; to keep the Church of the Sun from meddling in my life. However, it turned out that they had meddled in my life even before I became Master Tempest’s Chosen.
Or before I knew I was Master Tempest’s Chosen, since it sounded like Grand Priest Darius had kept his eyes on me for some time now.
Hadley gave me a nervous look.
“Is it true?” he asked. “Are you?”
I studied Hadley for several long seconds, before nodding.
“Yes, though I wish to keep it private for now.”
Hadley’s eyes widened, and an expression of joy and reverence started to spread across his face. However, he stopped himself in time and put on a neutral mask with great difficulty.
“House Ward has served Lord Tempest ever since the Church of the Sun was founded,” he explained, speaking in a low voice. “We are among his most dedicated servants.”
A meaningful look accompanied his words, as if he were trying to convey a message without actually saying it. Was he telling me that as Master Tempest’s Chosen, House Ward would serve me with the same dedication?
“I’ll keep that in mind for the future,” I said, before deciding to put my theory to the test. “Actually, could you do me a favor, Lord Hadley?”
He nodded, a fervent look in his eyes.
“If it is within my power,” he said, still speaking in a low voice. “I shall obey.”
While I hadn’t expected this when I came over to apologize, I wasn’t going to complain. The more friends I made, the more people I had on my side, the better. Just because I lost my taste for dealing with House society, didn’t mean I would quit it completely.
“It won’t be anything too onerous,” I said. “My sister Kaylee and her friend, Lady Calla, are new students here at the Solarian Imperial Academy. I would appreciate it if you watched over them for me.”
I had already asked Annabelle for help in this regard, but the more the merrier.
“It shall be done,” Hadley said, nodding.
I smiled at him.
“Thank you, Lord Hadley. Now then, I have some business to attend to. Enjoy the rest of the party.”
Hadley raised his wineglass in goodbye as I walked away.
----------------------------------------
After separating from Hadley, I went to go find my family, which had been my original objective before I got distracted by Hadley and then waylaid by Lord Wilbur. It took me a little while to find them, given the banquet hall’s size, but I succeeded in the end. Rather, I found my parents. They were relaxing in one of the little alcoves set in the wall. Kaylee was nowhere in sight.
My parents looked like they were enjoying some quiet time together, so I decided not to bother them. Instead, I headed outside to get some fresh air. The banquet hall had some terraces, accessible through a set of double doors, which provided a great view of the academy’s grounds.
The shining sun made me smile, while a gentle breeze eased the tension in my shoulders. My headache even lessened, which I was grateful for. I wasn’t the only one who had the same idea. There were a few House scions, most of whom were students, enjoying the outdoors, either alone or in pairs.
A stone railing, carved to look like flowering vines, ran along the terrace’s edge. I walked over and leaned against the railing, looking over the academy’s grounds. It really was beautiful. The buildings looked like works of art, connected by stone pathways. Beds of flowers and small copses of trees added splashes of color to the manicured lawns. Statues of famous wizards decorated the area, with bronze plaques explaining who they were and why they were famous. Several constructs patrolled around, keeping a watchful eye out.
Footsteps headed in my direction, interrupting my musings. They sounded like they belonged to someone big and heavy. From the corner of my eye, I watched as Lord Asher leaned against the railing next to me, souring my mood. A quick glance told me that he came alone.
“Lord Asher,” I said, nodding towards him.
“Lord Gabriel,” Lord Asher said, nodding in return.
It was rude of me, since I was supposed to bow to him given our difference in status, but after my encounter with Lord Wilbur, I wasn’t in the mood to deal with House Shelton or anyone associated with them.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
I returned to looking over the academy’s grounds, enjoying the view. If Lord Asher wanted to talk, he could do so without any prompting from me. Yet, he remained quiet. We spent the next several minutes in silence, with neither one of us saying a word.
“I owe you an apology, Lord Gabriel,” Lord Asher said, breaking the silence. He spoke in Spirit Tongue.
I looked over at him with a raised eyebrow.
“Of all the things I expected you to say,” I said, also speaking in Spirit Tongue. “An apology was not one of them.” I looked up. “Strange. The sky isn’t falling.”
Lord Asher gave me an annoyed look.
“Are you always this abrasive?” he asked.
“Only when I’m in a poor mood,” I said.
He continued to give me an annoyed look, before he let out a sigh.
“Is it because of what happened with Wilbur earlier?”
“You heard about that?”
Lord Asher nodded.
“Stories of what happened are making the rounds, yes.” He snorted. “According to some, a war between House Sturm and House Shelton is imminent.”
Ah, so that’s why he was here.
“To answer your question, yes,” I said with a nod. “The encounter with Lord Wilbur contributed to my current mood. I don’t know how much you know about the situation, but there were better ways for him to handle the matter. I’m in the wrong here, I admit that, but accosting me in public was not the way to go about it.” I gestured to Lord Asher. “Your presence doesn’t help either. Our last encounter did not leave me well disposed towards you.”
Lord Asher nodded, as if he expected that.
“I know, which is why I’m here apologizing to you,” he said. “I know that I handled that situation…poorly. Rather than admit that my retainers were in the wrong, I doubled down instead.” He grimaced. “My mother gave me an earful when she heard about what happened. It’s one thing to defend and protect one’s vassals, it’s another to excuse their poor behavior. So, I’m here to right that particular wrong.”
Lord Asher stood up straight and gave me a slight bow.
“I apologize for my behavior the last time we met, Lord Gabriel,” he said. “And I apologize for the way my retainers treated yours. We behaved poorly, and I take full responsibility for what happened.”
Well then. This was a surprise. He gave me a genuine apology. I hadn’t expected that. At best, I thought he would give me some half-assed excuse. Given his status, he could have gotten away with one in society’s eyes. Hell, as a scion from a Great House, he hadn’t needed to apologize to me at all. It was like a lion apologizing to a mouse, or at least a small dog.
Perhaps Lord Asher was a better man than I realized.
“Apology accepted,” I said. “Besides, given what happened, you and yours ended up suffering more than us.”
Lord Asher grimaced.
“Yes,” he said, staring off into the distance. “My mother made her displeasure quite clear. That tea party was an opportunity to earn House Thorne’s favor. Instead, we ended up offending them.” He sighed. “Not only that, but our attempts to make things right resulted in this current situation.”
“What do you mean?”
“The cat magic beast that you stole was meant to be a gift for House Thorne, as an apology for what happened.”
I stared at Lord Asher for several seconds, before I burst out into laughter. It started out as slight giggling, before breaking out into full blown guffaws. I attracted attention from the other House scions out on the terrace, but I didn’t care. The hilarity of what happened was too much for me to hold in. I needed to let it out.
Lord Asher watched me with an exasperated expression on his face.
“Technically,” he said. “The magic beast was a gift for House Thorne as an apology from House Shelton, since their people were responsible for what happened. However, since they’re our people too, it was an apology from us as well.”
For some reason, that just made me laugh harder. It took me a good minute to get myself under control.
“I’m sorry,” I said, still giggling. “I couldn’t help myself.”
“So I saw, Lord Gabriel.”
I took a deep breath in order to compose myself.
“So, would you like me to return the cat magic beast to House Shelton?” I asked.
That was never going to happen, but I wanted to confirm Lord Asher’s intentions.
“As much as I would like to, no,” he said, shaking his head. “My grandfather ordered us to stay out of this particular conflict and let House Shelton and House Sturm sort it out themselves.”
I raised an eyebrow at that.
“Really now?” I asked. “House Shelton is a vassal of House Griffin, and I was the one who instigated things.”
Granted, I had a good reason for doing so, but I couldn’t explain that to Lord Asher. At least, not without revealing some of House Leone’s secrets.
Lord Asher nodded, before leaning against the railing and looking out towards the academy’s grounds again.
“Yes,” he said. “House Shelton has become unruly over the past few generations. Rather, Clan Shelton has. We’ve had to clean up after them several times over the decades. Their current younger generation is more arrogant and prideful than the previous ones. We’ve afforded them great favor for reasons that I won’t get into now, but they’ve abused our good will. A reminder that they serve us, and not the other way around, will do them some good. We are not their keepers or their nursemaids, who will fix things every time they make a mess.”
I blinked at Lord Asher in surprise.
“Is it all right for you to tell me about your Clan’s inner workings like this?” I asked.
Lord Asher waved off my concerns.
“This is an open secret among the Clans here in Sunheart,” he said. “You would have found out about Clan Shelton’s attitude problem sooner or later.”
“Perhaps,” I said. “However, there’s a difference between hearing rumors and gossip, and hearing it directly from Lord Griffin’s grandson.”
Lord Asher gave me a sideways glance.
“Think of this as a friendly overture,” he said. “And part of my apology. Mother said that I should get in your good graces. I’m sure you can figure out why.”
I thought about it for a moment. There was only one reason why Lord Asher would go so far to earn my favor like this.
“This is about Lorelei Sinclair, isn’t it?” I asked.
Lord Asher nodded.
“Mother…” He trailed off for a moment. “I’ll come right out and say it. We want Lorelei Sinclair.”
“You failed to get the mother, so now you want the daughter?” I asked.
“Yes,” Lord Asher said with a nod. “The Clan as a whole wants her because we found that Charity Sinclair’s physique was a perfect match for the body cultivation technique that we practice.” His expression grew dark for a moment. “Thanks to Clan Shelton, we lost our chance with her. We’re hoping to rectify this with her daughter. It could be the start of an entirely new bloodline within our Clan, assuming that Lorelei Sinclair inherited her mother’s physique.”
That would explain why they tried so hard to lure Guildmaster Sinclair into their Clan, to the point of offering the hand of one of their scions in marriage.
“On a more personal level,” Lord Asher continued. “My mother considers Charity Sinclair one of her dearest friends. She would treasure Lorelei Sinclair as if she were her own child.” He snorted. “It doesn’t hurt that she’s always wanted a daughter.”
If I remembered right, Lord Asher had a younger brother, Lord Calvin, who was a little younger than me.
“Compared to the potential gains, losing a bit of face is nothing. Besides, this whole matter is rather inconsequential in the long run, so it isn’t like we’re losing much.”
I mean, fair enough. After all, I just stole a magic beast from House Shelton. A rare magic beast, but that was it. While feuds have been started over less, it was better to resolve things peacefully. Wars cost time, resources, and manpower.
“Lorelei Sinclair is her own person,” I said. “While she is a House Sturm retainer and disciple, she is not a slave. In the end, the decision is hers to make.”
Lorelei could go far, if she ended up joining Clan Griffin. Compared to Clan Sturm, they were more established and had a lot more resources to offer. Besides, it wasn’t as if I would stop being her Master. Loyalty to me didn’t necessarily mean loyalty to Clan Sturm.
That said, I doubted that Clan Griffin’s body cultivation technique was in any way better than the True Earth celestial body cultivation technique that Lorelei practiced. I mean, I was the one who created it for her. It would still do her good to learn it, however, if only to improve upon her own personal knowledge. She couldn’t rely on me forever.
Who knows? Maybe Lorelei would find a way to refine the technique. I wasn’t perfect, and her patron was the Goddess of the Earth.
“However, if you wish to try and convince her, I won’t stand in your way.” I continued, gesturing to Lord Asher. “In fact, I’ll give you a little help. Remember the offer I made during the tea party? I’ll send a formal invitation to you and the others after we settle things with House Shelton. You can speak with Lorelei then.”
Lord Asher looked both grateful and relieved at that. My intuition told me that his mother wouldn’t have been happy with him if he failed to convince me.
“Thank you, Lord Gabriel,” he said. “I much appreciate it.”
“Just to clarify, I’m only giving you an opportunity. After that, you’re on your own.”
Lord Asher nodded.
“I understand,” he said, before his expression turned serious. “And to clarify things on our end, don’t go too far in your conflict with House Shelton. They are still our vassals. We want to teach them a lesson, we don’t want any of them to die. Shed a bit of blood if you must, but go no further than that. Otherwise, we will intervene.”
“Understood,” I said with a nod. “However, if House Shelton pushes too far, we will defend ourselves.”
The two of us nodded in agreement.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, Lord Gabriel,” Lord Asher said. “I need to go rescue Oliver.” His expression turned guilty. “I threw him to the wolves in order to get the chance to talk with you. It’s time I rescued him.”
“Don’t let me keep you,” I said with a smirk. “Annabelle would kill me if I let something happen to one of her friends.”
Lord Asher gave me a nod before heading back inside the banquet hall.
----------------------------------------
After Lord Asher left, I waited a minute, before following him back inside the banquet hall. However, when I did so, I found Lady Thorne waiting for me.
“Lord Gabriel,” she called out.
“Lady Thorne,” I said, bowing to her. “I must be popular today. It seems as if everyone wants to talk to me.”
She gave me a warm smile.
“Annabelle wanted to spend the rest of the party with you, so I volunteered to retrieve you. I thought it would give us an opportunity to talk.” Lady Thorne gestured to the double doors leading to the terrace. “I didn’t want to interrupt your conversation with Lord Asher, so I waited for you to finish.”
“I’m honored,” I said, and meant it.
Having someone of her status show me this much consideration was a big deal in House society. It showed that she held me in great favor.
“Shall we find Annabelle together then?” I asked, holding out my elbow.
Lady Thorne took it, and together the two of us headed out to find my beloved. She directed me to the dance floor, where Annabelle waited with the rest of their family. A few people approached us, looking to ingratiate themselves with Lady Thorne, but a single look from her was enough to stop them in their tracks. After a while, they gave up.
“I look forward to seeing how this situation with Clan Shelton plays out,” Lady Thorne said, speaking in Spirit Tongue.
“So you are a cultivator,” I said. “I suspected as much.” I glanced at her. “Does Annabelle know?”
Lady Thorne shook her head.
“Not yet,” she said. “I’d appreciate it if you kept it to yourself for now. I plan on telling her when the time is right.”
We stopped in place just as the subject of our conversation came into sight. Annabelle stood near the dance floor with her arms crossed, and an irritated expression on her face. She hadn’t caught sight of us yet, but it wouldn’t be long before she did.
“So, what did you wish to discuss with me?” I asked.
“I love my daughter, Lord Gabriel,” Lady Thorne said. “She joined our family only a few years ago, but we have come to love her as one of our own. Her happiness and safety are a top priority for us.” She looked at me with a serious expression on her face. “You have a lot of power over Annabelle. Perhaps more than you realize. So I will say this: take care of my daughter, Lord Gabriel. That’s all I ask. Treat her well and give her a good life, and I will be your most ardent supporter.”
Her tone implied that the opposite was true as well. Treat Annabelle poorly, and Lady Thorne would become my worst enemy.
“I will,” I said in a solemn tone.
Lady Thorne studied me for a moment, before nodding.
“Good,” she said. “Oh, one more thing. I would like to meet with Annabelle’s teacher. I’ve seen signs of their presence in Thorne Manor, but I haven’t caught them yet. I wish to meet with them in order to discuss my daughter’s future. If you could arrange that for me, I would much appreciate it.”
“Of course.”
Back on Spirit Earth, when a cultivator decided to take on a disciple, it wasn’t unusual for them to meet with their prospective disciple’s family in order to discuss said disciple’s future. Now that I knew that Lady Thorne was a cultivator herself, it made sense that she wanted to meet with Grandfather Gabe. As a Thorne and a former scion of House Solaria, she would be able to provide even more knowledge and resources for Annabelle’s training.
I noted that Lady Thorne never said anything about Lord Thorne meeting with Annabelle’s teacher. I assumed that meant that he wasn’t in the know. Something to keep in mind for the future.
“Good. Now then, my daughter looks ready to explode with impatience. Let us be off.”
The two of us continued in Annabelle’s direction. My beloved and I spent the rest of the welcoming party together, which passed by without incident.