Wilhelm Yuwen and an entourage of sixty men left that day for Aldmoor. Their Mission? To eradicate the undead threat and finally bring everyone back to the Fort. I was still a bit nervous about Janus Father, the strongest man in the kingdom (as far as I have been told), leaving the Fort. But everyone else wasn’t worried at all, and everyone, even including me, believed that Marquiss Yuwen would return with his sons and men… and oh yeah, the priest as well. Now, before you judge me, I’m not the only one. Almost everyone else was only talking about him bringing his sons back. I’m not the only one who nearly forgot the initial reason for Captain Titus’s Mission.
But if they weren’t talking about Wilhelm, Joel, or Janus Yuwen, they were talking about Sir Rodrick. However, no one was calling him Sir anymore. No one could believe that Rodrick had betrayed them, but they had to, since it was stated clearly in Janus and Joel’s message. Rodrick has never done anything untoward before. He has always held himself amicably and has always upheld his knightly vows. Before we had gotten the message, everyone (mostly the women) was talking about how they wanted him to return safe and sound. You couldn’t even pay someone to say a bad word about the man. At least this was the impression I got. There had to be more to this. But I couldn’t ponder this forever as much as I wanted to; I had work to do.
Right now, I am on my way to fulfill the Marquiss’ request. I had squeezed in a short visit to Olivia Yuwen every day right after classes were done. For anyone wondering, Otto’s lessons are sadly over. Not because he doesn’t want to see me anymore, as I feared, but because he judged I had learned enough. I do miss it a bit, and we don’t see each other as often, but at least he still greets me with a smile.
Now back the Marchioness. Her Living quarters were, weirdly enough, located on the ground floor. Most other nobles lived on the upper floors. I couldn’t really see the appeal since I don’t like high places, but perhaps it was an effort to distance themselves from the common folk?
But no matter where my thoughts went, I would still be stuck in front of the door to her bedroom. In fact, I had been waiting in front of the door for the last thirty minutes and found myself unable to knock. A small part of me feared she would immediately see through what I had done and that I was stealing her grandchildren from her, while the rest reasoned that there was no way she would be able to know. For the first time, I seriously wondered what I would take away from my children if I left. What would I say when they ask me where their father, their uncle, their aunts, their cousins, and their Grandparents are?
Finally, a voice from inside Olivia Yuwen’s Bedroom ripped me out of my cowardice.
“What are you waiting for? Come in, dear.”
Somehow, I knew it was Olivia Yuwen. Her voice was warm, although a bit tired.
I was mortified. She knew I had been waiting there the whole time? But I could hold back anymore, even if I was afraid. If Wilhelm Yuwen later heard that I hadn’t even been able to bring up the courage to see her. His going mad wouldn’t even be enough to describe it.
I shivered, but I still grabbed for the knob and twisted it.
What greeted me was a thin Woman with equally thin black hair and sunken cheeks. But despite all this, I could still tell that she must have been breathtakingly beautiful before she had fallen ill. She greeted me with a light smile and said,
“Am I making you nervous, my dear?”
“Ehm, N-no, of course not, me, lady.” It was a blatant lie, but Olivia Yuwen just chuckled.
“Hehehe, so you are Ruby, I take it.”
“Y-yes, my lady. Your husband has asked me to tend to you during his absence.”
Her face scrunched up when I mentioned her husband, as if she had accidentally eaten a bug.
“Oh, I’m sorry, should I not have mentioned him?”
“It’s alright, but let’s not talk about him; instead, let’s talk about you.”
“Me?”
“Of course you. I have wanted to meet you for so long, but he has always blocked me, saying something about not trusting you yet. And I’m dying to find out what made him change his mind.”