Chapter 81 - Calina's Departure

[126 Days Remaining]

It was a little past dawn when I took Efari to see Calina; I had told Efari to act politely in front of Calina, so as to not have any misgivings. Calina had already, during my conversation with her yesterday, looked a little surprised at seeing my hair cut to a shorter length. She did not pointed it out to me, but I had seen her expression and eyes change a little upon seeing my appearance.

“Good morning, baroness,” I said, half-bowing toward Calina. Efari, in turn, followed my lead.

“Who is that beside you, Verath?” asked Calina.

I did not panic from Calina's question. Before coming to meet her, I had already decided upon a background story.

“This is Efari, a woman who lost her family to the Devourers. She wishes to train as a soldier under me, her new-found aspiration to become a Knight Commander.”

“I see...” Calina said, looking thoughtful. “Was there a need to bring her to see me though?” There was a sharp look in her eyes as she said that.

I was about to answer when Efari cut in.

“Yes,” she said in a smooth voice. “Knight Commander Verath brought me to see you because I shall be living personally with him and training personally under him.”

“What! That's...” Calina sputtered.

Eyebrows raised, Efari looked amusingly at Calina, as if daring her to go on, daring her to find fault with that statement.

“...not healthy,” Calina finished weakly.

“Oh, don't worry. We will be vigorously healthy during our night trainings. Lots of exercises. You need not worry, Baroness Calina,” Efari said, flourishing a bow.

Her cheeks reddening slightly, Calina stared daggers at Efari. Then she looked accusingly at me, her grey eyes and face expressed in a way that made it seem as if she was saying, “Why did you not tell me this yesterday!”

Although Calina was the baroness, there was really no law in the military or rules that would prevent a Knight Commander from having a “lady” inside the rooms of the Manor Houses. There was just a silent courtesy.

Bringing Efari along, even under the shaky guise of her getting personally trained by me, warranted suspicion from Calina. Still, she could not really tell her soldiers, especially the commanders and generals not to bring “guests.” Though she was in fact the supreme commander, Calina could not tell us who not to bed, so long as there was a fine distinction between duty and personal life.

Judging from her slightly embarrassed state, it was also highly unlikely that Calina would outright or even indirectly ask if I was bedding Efari. She would not confront me about who was living with me, even though the Manor Houses were, in fact, her property. As a baroness, she could only courteously accept that I was training Efari (though she could, in reality, forcefully command me).

After some more circling conversation between the three of us—actually, mostly between the two women who were glaring at each other—Efari and I left, leaving Calina almost prowling and pacing around like a small tiger in her room. I felt a little unease at the hidden hurt in Calina's eyes, but I figured I would leave it alone until she came back from the king's court meeting.

“You know,” Efari said, walking side-to-side with me, her voice thoughtful, “that girl likes you. It's a shame that I do not share.”

I shook my head a little, giving the matriarch Devourer a small sigh. “And you only made my job all the more harder,” I said, with just the slightest inflection, almost indifferent.

Efari only shrugged at me, before showing off the points of her teeth, which were slightly longer than that of a human, I noticed. “What can I say? I am a very lively female. You could say it is almost draining to be around me.” A slight pause, before Efari continued. “Ah, humor. How I love human expressions.”

“That reminds me. Do you not need to take life essence? You have only been eating human food, while you were with me the past few days.”

“I do not require it yet. When a devourer, especially the female, becomes older and more powerful, they need less and less life essence to sustain themselves. For now, human food will be sufficient, even though I am sharing a small bit of my life essence with you.”

“Interesting,” I simply said.

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At the northern quadrant of Asolance city, I arrived at the Tiger's Bowels, a medium-priced inn, though the name made it sound more of a trash inn than that of a medium-priced inn. This was the place where the three assassins were staying. I had paid a not insubstantial amount of gold for a few months of lodging, cutting a deal with the male inn owner too. It was only fair, and I had been a merchant in my past life, though I did not act like one.

Say what you like, but I had no need to act like one. It was also, in a way, my father's profession, not mine by choice. I had been, you could say, almost born to it. On a positive aspect, being a merchant involved traveling and seeing many new things, so you could say it was fitting for my personality. I had no need for complaints.

Inside the double bed inn room where Gwen and Ilana stayed at, I met up with the three assassins. I handed the small, tightly sealed vials of blood I had prepared beforehand. It would last them about two months or so, unless the blood dried out. But that was unlikely, since their lives depended on it. Thus, I was sure they would not be reckless with the blood vials.

“Now then, I have a few tasks for you three,” I said, waiting for their acceptance.

Gwen and Ilana raised their eyebrows at me, showing perplexed expressions. Kal only sat quietly on the edge of the bed.

“Really,” Ilana said, “I do not get why you bother waiting for us to reply to your statements. You know that we will have to accept it anyway. It isn't as if we have a choice.”

I formed a small smile to let her know that I had graciously taken her rebuke into consideration. Then I continued speaking, as if I had not heard her rebuke at all. Contradictory, you suppose? Hah, I suppose too, but I was just trying to not let indifference get the better of me. Being indifferent was not good for my health—especially since it gave my other self a small foothold.

Thus, these days, I was trying to show a better degree of emotions, feigned and real. It was a somewhat useless attempt, but hey, it was worth a try.

“I want you three to follow Calina and make sure she is unharmed. She will depart from this city tomorrow from the southern gates a little after dawn.”

“How surprising,” Gwen said. “To think that my dear master actually care for the life of a human, especially that girl.” As she said this, the light blue eyes of the female assassin had a soft glow to it.

Perhaps it was just the lighting of the candles in that dark curtained covered room, or perhaps it was just my imagination, but I could sense some hidden motivation behind her off-handed comment.

“It matters little. I just do not want the trouble of a replacement baron or baroness.” My eyes turned a more unnatural green and they flashed a little as they became eyes of a dragon. “This ruler here, after all, trusts me, Gwen,” I whispered in a soft and deliberately slow voice.

Gwen gave a small bow toward me. “I see. You are wise in doing that then, Master Verath. Wise in binding us as slaves. We shall prove trustworthy to you.”

I left the room of the three assassins then, thinking a little on her words and expressions.

Looking back, I should have perhaps trusted the unnaturalness of her words. But I had believed in the effectiveness of cold logic and survival. In a way, my dampened emotional capacity and my mind which was ruled by pragmatism, indifference, and survival, had backfired on me.

Never would I have suspected in that moment of time, the consequences of assigning the three assassins to accompany Calina and protect her on her journey to the central region of Shail Kingdom, where King Balan would hold court.