Chapter 59 - Lady Calina Serle

[280 Days Remaining]

It was beneath an almost perfectly cloudless sky that I met the esteemed Third Minister of War. The light drizzle had stopped early in the morning, and now, in the bright afternoon, the air was crisp and clear.

We were seated outside the grand Third Manor House, right in the heart of the lush third garden. Surrounding us, in one of the beautifully domed-shaped buildings where we sat, were intricate statues of wolves, their sharp features expertly carved to appear both noble and fierce. A variety of vibrant plants and well-manicured hedges encircled the scene, adding an air of serenity to our meeting.

“Do you know something, Commander Verath?” the Third Minister of War said, his voice carrying a weight of authority. He paused for a brief, thoughtful moment before continuing, “or rather, Sir Verath... which do you prefer?”

“It does not matter, Third Minister,” I replied smoothly.

“Commander Verath it is, then. I believe that title suits you far better.” The Third Minister of War smiled faintly, stroking his long, flowing beard with a slow, deliberate hand.

It was the kind of gesture one could tell he had done countless times—an almost ritualistic movement, no doubt reflecting on his years of experience.

“Do you know, Commander Verath, that I’m quite fond of this adage: ‘When it’s your turn to roll the dice of fate, do so with the belief that you might die tomorrow.’”

I nodded, barely missing a beat, though the phrase was entirely unfamiliar to me. Still, it was not my place to question him. A wise man—or dragon, in my case—knew when to listen quietly and simply agree with those in positions of power.

“That being said,” he continued, “I wish for you to act as Lady Calina Serle’s bodyguard starting tomorrow. She has personally requested it. You will wait for her outside the Fifth Manor House. Ask for directions if you are unaware of its location.”

“Very well,” I responded, my voice calm, betraying no emotion.

“Excellent. Have a good day, Commander Verath. I shall call upon you again when I have another task for you.” The Third Minister of War stood up, his tone filled with satisfaction. “I also commend you for accepting this task without hesitation or even questioning what might lie ahead.”

As he gracefully rose from the stone bench, the elderly minister unfurled his intricate fan from beneath his rich robe, its design detailed and refined. He exited the garden, muttering softly to himself as he walked.

With my keen human ears, I caught snippets of his words—fragments like “annoyance,” “weird,” and “luck.”

It did not matter much in the grand scheme of things.

I had delivered my report on the subjugation, which had been my primary task. Now, I only needed to perform this side job while continuing my investigation into the suspects I believed were tied to my father’s murder—and my own.

The next two names on my list were the Guardian of the East and the merchant known as Kafer.

Having dealt with the day’s more pressing matters, I spent the rest of the afternoon subtly probing for any news of the two suspects before finally retiring to my room at the Silver Beauty Inn. Naturally, Alice Silver struck up a conversation upon my return, but it was of little importance and not particularly interesting, so I’ll refrain from recounting it.

I did not sleep in the barracks like most of the other soldiers. Instead, I preferred the comfort and privacy of the inn. The reasons were obvious—I had more freedom and time this way. Besides, I wasn’t lacking for funds, especially after winning the thousand gold coins from the tournament.

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[279 Days Remaining]

Underneath the clear skies the next morning, just outside the gates of the Fifth Manor House, I met Lady Calina Serle. It had been a long wait and I was a little relieved that she finally showed up.

Dark, gloomy, and mysterious. Those were the words which would perfectly suit the fifteen year old lady. I knew the ages of all the people in the Serle family, and Lady Calina Serle was no exception to this. It was because the eldest sister, Iona Serle, had taken the time to introduce her siblings and their ages during our initial meeting.

And if I have not mentioned this before, but I have an exceptional memory.

Wearing a simple black dress that showed off her bare and slim, white arms, Calina greeted me.

“Good morning, slave,” she simply said.

I gave her a bow in return, not the least bit offended by the term she had named me. I also did not ask her the reason for why she had reduced me into that role, not particularly caring about it. She would either explain the reason, or she wouldn't. It was that simple.

Well, not exactly. I did not call out to her on that because I somehow received the feeling that she was joking with me.

Also, an interesting trivia for you.

The black dress with the few black frills Calina was wearing was known as a Gothic style type of garment. This style of clothing is somewhat popular with some of the more esoteric and stranger nobles in Shail Kingdom.

“Follow me, slave. I have a few places I would like to visit today.”

I decided to humor the short-haired noble lady. “As you wish, mistress,” I said in a complacent tone.

At least, I tried to make it complacent as I could. No doubt, I failed miserably.

We walked for a while, Calina in front and I closely following behind, before she finally broke the silence between us. She turned her head a little to meet my eyes with her twin, grey orbs.

“Answer me, slave. Do you ever feel like dying sometimes?” Calina said in a voice devoid of any emotions.

“No,” I replied back honestly.

“I see...” Calina took four more steps before speaking again. “Do you believe in love?”

“No,” I replied back honestly again.

“I see...”

Coincidentally,while Calina had been asking about belief in love, we had passed by a couple who were arguing boisterously on the city streets. Perhaps this had been why Calina had brought that topic up.

“Do you find me lacking, slave?”

I did not know where the fifteen year old girl was going with by asking that question, but somehow I had a feeling that she was referring to her small breasts.

“No,” I said without hesitation.

“I see...”

Calina halted suddenly and turned around, her grey eyes fully met mine in a full attentive look, unlike the half-attentive look she had been casually giving me previously.

“Tell me, slave. Do you have a family?”

Even with my dampened emotional capacity, I could somewhat tell what the short-haired girl was thinking and perhaps what she was even feeling. My years of experience in my past life from observing human interactions helped in this regard.

She was most likely referring to her mother's recent death upon asking me this question. Baroness Serle, the wife of Baron Serle, had passed away due to an illness a year ago. I had heard among the tales, stories, and gossips that not even a healing mage could prevent the illness.

I started my answer to her question with the one word, which was quickly becoming my main vocabulary. “No,” I said, “I do not have a family.”

“Oh.”

Calina remained silent after that, a sharp contrast to the noisy streets where bartering, haggling, and conversations were taking place among the stalls.

The silence between us stretched on for a longer moment, before she finally stopped at a place and turned toward me. “We have arrived, slave.”

The place Calina had stopped in front of was a plain-looking building, about medium-sized. There were no descriptions or any outward signs on it that would suggest as to what the building was. The only apt description I could think of was that the strucutre was plain and brown looking. It even had a brown wooden door with no special marks or patterns on it.

Unvarnished and austere...just plain-looking.

“Well, what are you waiting for, slave. Come in,” Calina said from through the opened door.

Inside the store, I found myself in a bare room devoid of any furniture. The walls were grey and sombre looking; there were no patterns or any lively marks on them. Disregarding the uninteresting appearance of the room, what I found intriguing was the old man standing still in the center of the room.

In his right hand, the old man was holding a long, black cane with intricate patterns , which he used to support his weight. The old man's face was clean shaven, and I could see a pair of black-tinted glasses nestled comfortably on the bridge of his nose. His hair, which had turned white from old age, fell down to his wide shoulders.

Sporting a grey and red tunic with a brown coverall, the wizened man looked at Calina with a large smile on his weathered face. There was a long scar that cut a swathe on the left side of his face, starting from the forehead and going through the eye before finally ending at his cheek. It was most likely an age-long wound that had been made from a sword, or perhaps a dagger.

“Ah, Calina, you have kept me waiting,” he said, pronouncing the first two syllables of her name with a distinctive accent. It made the syllables seem like one continuous slurring.

“My apologies, Zor Alzeroth.”

“And who is this beside you, Calina?”

“My slave, Zor. I wish to bring him with me to the Mage Academy as my slave bodyguard.”

“Hmmm... yes. I do sense some magic in this slave of yours and I see that he seems competent with that weapon of his. So how old is this 'slave' of yours?”

“Wait, what! He has magic in him?” Calina shouted in a surprised voice. It was the first time I heard her speak that way other than in her usual, monotone, and emotionless voice.

Calina looked toward me with a questioning look, waiting for me to answer Zor Alzeroth's question. She, after all, did not know my age.

I was unsure on how to proceed, having heard such a startling revelation from Calina and the old man. At the same time, however, I felt that going to the Mage Academy of Shail Kingdom would coincide perfectly with my investigation. The reason being that the location was close to the merchant Kafer and the Guardian of the East.

I was also surprised that the old man had been able to sense my magic. I was, after all, trying my best to hide it. I guess I still lacked finesse in that area of magic.

If I judged from my current transformed human appearance, I looked perhaps 18 or more. On the contrary though, the eldest had told me that a two and a half years old dragon was around 13-14 years old in his human form. Still, it was better to say I was older. And I looked older than my supposed age anyway, disregarding my true age.

“I am 18 years old,” I replied.

“Hmm...I guess that is alright. The Mage Academy consists of students from all classes from age 13-22, after all.”

“That is nice to hear, Zor Alzeroth,” Calina said, her voice already back to its usual monotone.

“Oh yes, by the way, Calina. I am afraid I shall have to cut short your summer lessons until you return to the academy. I have some pressing matters to attend to.”

“Yes, Zor Alzeroth. I shall see you in a week. I was growing tired of this summer break anyway.”

Giving Calina a slight nod of his head, Zor Alzeroth turned toward me. “You must forgive my student's antics. I know for a fact that you aren't a slave. That said, I shall leave you two now.”

With a hint of a smile on his face, the old man tapped his black cane onto the ground and disappeared. Silence.

Nothing. There were no signs that Zor Alzeroth had ever been in this room. He had disappeared almost instantaneously. I did not even see his magic, which made me believe that he was either adept at hiding his magic, or had a much more stronger magic capacity than me. Personally, I believed it was the former reason, but I was not entirely sure.

“Well slave, I had taken you for a simple swordsman, but now I am not sure whether I should be positive or negative about this turn of event.”

I could see a hint of a blush on Lady Calina Serle's face. Or was it just my imagination?

“Sorry, mistress,” I said in a whimsical voice with a hint of dryness.

“...”

“Yes?”

“Nothing, slave. Let us leave this place now.”