What is a man supposed to do when another has his mind set on things? What was I supposed to do now with this boy who was forgetting the dangers he was in?

  “Stevin,” I sighed. “What about your family? The… you know, ‘wanting to kill you’ part of the issue?”

  “That is more or less solved if I am engaged to a Princess of the Kingdom,” said Stevin with a shrug, “They cannot touch me without retribution from the Royal Family.”

  “But isn’t all this too coincidental?” I asked, baffled by this boy’s simple mind, “Not even a full damn day after you’ve returned, they are here, ready to have their similar-aged princess engaged with you?”

  “Not quite,” Stevin smiled sadly, “The plan was to have the engagement set up either way, even if I wasn’t here with the promise of aiding in my search and rescue.”

  “But why an engagement?” I threw another question, “It is too fitting.”

  Enna took a step forward to my question, replying in Stevin’s stead, “Because the Crown wants to have the decision of who gets to be the next Lord of one of their greatest Houses, at the same time eliminating the possibility of rebellion by marrying one of the princesses to the one most aligned with their needs. Which in this case…”

  “In this case, it is me,” Stevin concluded Enna’s sentence, “I am both the heir and the one who wants to align the House with their policies instead of going on our own as the rest of my House wants.”

  It was a sublime explanation, with no gaps in logic, even for my sharp mind. This has happened countless times over the course of millennia of history. The court politics of past Monarchies were full of such alliances and betrayals masked as random marriage offers.

  But then why was I feeling off about it all? Why didn’t it sit right with me?

  “I don’t know,” I shook my head, turning and moving back toward the couch.

  Stevin chuckled quietly, taking a step toward me, “Your Grace, I will not have to kill, and if they try something, it won’t be my sentence to give anymore. The Royal Family will be the ones to swing the axe, not me. That was all I wanted. That was all I ran for. I never wanted to leave this place, leave what I was otherwise. I was just afraid to kill my own flesh and blood for such a silly reason. But now… with such a strong position, and such a lovely woman, I feel like I could move mountains.”

  Besides the obvious issue that the boy in front of me had apparently fallen madly in love after only a few hours with that off-putting girl, or perhaps just with the advantage she offered him, and besides the fact that they were minors who had no business speaking of engagement or marriage at such a foolish age, what truly bothered me was the utter lack of panic from everyone else.

  Why has he, himself, forgotten the people who posed dangers to him? Why isn’t he realizing that those people, in a panic, might now find themselves obligated to act before this engagement becomes well-known?

  Also, why was the Duchess, after the panic of yesterday, after she threw herself at my knees, begging me to save him and take him away, forget that it wasn’t safe now either?

  Why weren’t they all thinking that the Royal Family could have posed as much danger as his own family could?

  Or was I overthinking all this bullshit like a madman?

  “Your Grace,” said Silvien, cat ears lowered, “He made his choice.”

  Yes… that he did. Forgot about that final part.

  Forgot that I wasn’t here to solve his issues if he didn’t see them or ask me to help him.

  “So be it,” I sighed, getting to my feet and offering my hand to him. “The Adventurer’s Guild issue should be solved tomorrow. We will leave soon after.”

  With a sad smile and a sharp nod, he clasped my hand and shook it gently.

  “Thank you, Your Grace, for everything really…” he said, voice cracking. “You saved my life more times than I could count and forgave all the issues that I made for you.”

  “You were a bastard, alright,” I agreed with his words, letting go of his hand, allowing him to move to the next person.

  “And you, Bitch Priestess… thank you for not giving up on me,” Stevin muttered, offering her hand to Enna, “You were right. My place is not in the woods; I am the heir of House Barta.”

  “Your cockiness knows no end,” Enna clicked her tongue before pushing his hand away and hugging him gently, “We went through a lot, you and I, that is why I wish you all the best. Be better than others in your position.”

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  “Will do,” he smiled, moving away toward Airina, “Tell your sister I love her and that I will take her as a second wife if she would have me.”

  “I ought to impale you on the spot,” Airina shook her head, chuckling, “But I will tell her your message; keep in mind, however, that it does not mean she will say yes to that.”

  “I know,” Stevin chuckled, moving toward the beastfolk watching from nearby.

  It took the better part of an hour to circle through goodbyes and dredge up memories of recent events. When we were finally done, he gave us a deep bow, told us his home was open to us anytime and for as long as we needed, and then took his leave for the night, leaving us with our own minds.

  “Do you find that Princess trustworthy?” I asked, still uncomfortable with all this.

  “I do not,” Airina shook her head, “But we are not his parents, his siblings, or someone who could change his mind. Not even you, Your Grace. He is almost an adult, a Noble one at that. He ought to learn one day what all that means.”

  But I shook my head, still dissatisfied with all this. However, I knew that whatever happened from tomorrow onward wouldn’t be my issue anymore.

  “That is only if he lives to learn the lessons life has in store for him,” I sighed, leaving the others behind as I moved back toward my room.

  After a comfortable sleep that made me forget the headaches of the prior day, and after losing too much blood to a certain vampire, I woke up with a new headache and a feeling of sickness that threatened to keep me in bed for at least a week.

  ‘What’s wrong with me, Ephe?’ I asked inside my head, ‘I feel feverish.’

  [Subject: Elio Welchia]

  [Status: Alive]

  [Species: Human??]

  [Energy: 1/300 - Exhausted]

  [Age: 28]

  [Health: Unstable]

  [Mental State: Deteriorating Quickly]

  [Elio needs Rest.]

  No shit? Really? You're bending me backwards with that one, Ephe. But I have a question, why is yet another question mark added to my humanity?

  ‘I see,’ I managed to think instead, ‘I cannot rest, though. We need to leave this place if everything gets solved today.’

  [Current Directive: Stop the Plot to Assassinate Stevin.]

  [Current Directive: Detect Fracture 7-B]

  [Current Directive: Detect Fracture 7-C]

  [Current Directive: Observe Fracture 7-D]

  [Current Optional Directive: Take all the Beastfolk to Safety.]

  ‘Thank you for reminding me it is still active, sweetheart. But what should I do if the man says he is fine? He has powers above me that can protect him.’

  [He has not.]

  ‘All the same. I cannot aid him if he does not want it. Now let me rest for five more minutes, then I have to get up.’

  After dragging myself out of bed as if I were half-dead, I got properly dressed, went to the toilet, and moved straight downstairs, where I met with the others, ignoring all their “Are you well, Your Grace?” questions, reminding them that I was pale to begin with.

  Slowly, with the sun biting my ass harder than in the previous days, we were taken back into the main mansion, where we held up for two more hours with the now-returned Duke before it was all finally over.

  Which meant that, whether I wanted it or not, or whether the Directive was still active or not, I couldn’t do anything but leave.

  So after we received our reward and a letter from the Guild, asking us to visit the main office in the nearby city where Chartelia was Master, we returned to our rooms to pack things up and leave this place for good.

  But one thing that struck me as very odd was the fact that I almost didn’t care about leaving the comfy bed behind. No tears for this one, despite being almost as comfortable as the one in my castle.

  However, after blaming all that on my current condition, I took my things and moved downstairs, only to find a person from the Princess’s retinue waiting there, all alone.

  She was a woman with a gray cloak clasped below her neck, covering most of her body with the exception of her chest. I doubt any clothes could truly hide all that.

  “Unexpected,” I muttered, walking down the stairs, “For what do we owe the pleasure of having you here, ma’am?”

  “Sir Elio, correct?” she asked, eyes glued to me, “My Princess wants you to stay a bit longer.”

  “Well, luckily, I am no subject of hers,” I shrugged the moment I climbed down the steps, “And no charming magic of hers… or yours, or whoever tried charming me before would work.”

  “You knew?” Her eyes widened, “Impressive resistance. Not many men are capable of figuring out or realizing they have been hit with charming magic.”

  “Not many men are me,” I replied casually, placing the bag I had near one of the free couches, “I didn’t know it was truly you, though. But it was to be expected that she would send someone with your capabilities.”

  “I am the best at diplomacy, after all,” she shrugged, getting to her feet and walking toward me, “I am Craiena of the Sage Road, Court Magician of the Ashtara Kingdom.”

  “Sage Road… impressive,” I muttered, turning to look at her.

  My heart almost sank at the sight before my eyes. The woman was far too pretty to be real. With brown hair and a hazel pair of eyes that almost made me choke the moment I stared into them. This woman was emanating magic and a sweet smell around her as if she were a walking cinnamon stick. A dangerous one at that. Far too dangerous.

  Still, I managed to feign nonchalance as I looked into her eyes before I offered my hand, putting it through the constant swirl of magic around her, “Elio Welchia.”

  “A pleasure,” she smiled, accepting my hand, “Now, can we talk about what my Princess wants?”

  “Not here,” I nodded, pointing with my head back upstairs, telling her to follow me.

  And with a nod, we were walking back up the stairs, toward my room. Why there? ...I don’t know. Seemed fitting for some reason.

  But what this Princess of hers wanted was… much for my poor heart.

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