We all had a blast enjoying a hearty meal inside the famous Phoenix Wings. The initial plan was to take an evening dip after we all had a meal, but we stuffed our bellies full to the brim, courtesy of Lord Teo Schwarzer, the Baron who rules over Ymir.
Master Yun took Shizuna and Anelace and retired for the evening, as did the others. Rean parted ways and headed out to his own room down toward the Schwarzer Mansion, guiding Elise along the way. That left Emma, Angelica and I.
After thanking the hosts, Emma and Angelica retreated to one of the guest rooms that were assigned to us back inside the Phoenix Wings. That is where Master Yun's is staying as well. Only the Schwarzer family retreated back to their own home. Nonetheless, I told the two girls that I had some unfinished business.
Not with Lord Teo or his wife. Not even with Rean. And with this unfinished business, everyone was in agreement that they would relax for the remainder of the evening and clock out when they were tired. From there, we would all take a nice dip in the hot springs bright and early the following day. Because of that, some time passed after we enjoyed dinner. A sole figure soon departed the Phoenix Wings. Me.
Presently, I could be seen, donned in a regal purple and white robe, going up the large flight of stairs. Not back at the Phoenix Wings. No, that was for guests like ourselves. I had wandered back toward the Schwarzer Mansion where the Schwarzer Family resided. It was there where my unfinished business remained.
A cold breath of air escaped my lips as I tread through a couple inches of snow before making my way to this large flight of stairs. This building was as everything as I remembered it to be. You get to fully explore the place during Cold Steel II and later games. Rean's Divine Knight, Valimar, takes him all the way to his homeland after being critically wounded by Crow's Azure Knight, Ordine. From there, he would enter a period of recovery, all inside Ymir. The only bad thing was that the entire October war happened during this, making Ymir's position a very vulnerable spot for attack. Thankfully, that will happen in the future. It is in the middle of S1198 right now. There's an entire six years before all of that goes down. Ymir is quite at peace at the moment.
I even saw Ymir's famous footbath, releasing hot steamy air even late into the evening. The sun had long since set beyond the Eisengard Mountain Range. Maybe I'll enjoy a little dip in there before clocking out myself. It was open twenty-four seven, unlike the Phoenix Wings. I don't think my business inside the Schwarzer Mansion will last that long. I am not going in uninvited either.
Elise had sent me an invitation as we enjoyed our dinner earlier. She stayed mostly quiet during it. It seemed something was on her mind. Not in a bad way, but it kept her occupied. If I had to take a guess, it was likely regarding Rean in some way. She was rather observant, so it is very possible she picked up on something that Rean doesn't know.
And it was time to find out what.
Reaching the end of the staircase, I recall Lord Teo's office was off to the right. Rean's and Elise's rooms were located off to the left. Passing by the first room, I was greeted with a sense of nostalgia. Something I haven't felt in half a decade. As much as I wanted to greet Rean again and hold a one-on-one talk with him, I knew it wasn't the time to do so. But his room was befitting that of a noble's. It was very reminiscent of the room he had back at the Osborne Villa. Just on a smaller scale. Still a far cry from the private quarters I shared with Kloe back at Grancel Castle though, heh.
Shaking the thought of dropping by Rean's room aside, I arrived at the one directly left to his room. This was the only door who was presently shut, to which I assumed was Elise's room. Walking up to the door, I gave a firm two knocks. Sure enough, it did not take long for Elise's voice to reach my ears.
"You may enter.", Elise said.
"Pardon the intrusion.", I politely replied. Opening the door, I saw the same black-haired girl with indigo highlights calmly sitting at her desk. She seemed to be around Tio's age. Off to the side was a bed with a few stuffed animals and pink bed covers. A few bookcases and drawers could be seen elsewhere around the room. A high-pitched noise could be heard on a low-raise table nearby. It seems Elise had prepared some tea. A pleasant aroma wafted around the room.
"Thank you for taking some time out of your busy schedule tonight, one who goes by many titles. Pray tell me, how shall I address you this evening? Your Excellency? His Highness? Or Your Lordship?", Elise said, greeting me with a playful smile.
"Haha. It looks like you have done your homework. Honestly, it really doesn't matter what you like to address me as. But if I had a choice in the matter, please just call me Naoto, like Rean did earlier. Titles mean little to me, even though I know how much a formality they are.", I happily replied, answering Elise. Hearing that, Elise giggled.
"Hehe, you even have the same mannerisms Rean has. Brother also hates being addressed by his title. I particularly don't mind it. I've gotten used to it during my early years spent in St. Astraia. While the school primarily accepts high school students, it is open for everyone. It even teaches Sunday School.", Elise replied with a playful smile.
"Is that right?", I asked. "May I address you as Lady Elise then?"
"Mmm.", Elise replied with a gentle nod. "I went ahead and brewed some hand-picked tea leaves Master Kafai picked out ahead of time. Feel free to join me. And if you aren't standing on ceremony, then I will address you as Lord Naoto. Is that alright?"
"Fine by me. I hear Master Kafai is a tea connoisseur. If he picked out these tea leaves, then I for one should not let this opportunity go to waste. Thank you, Lady Elise.", I happily replied. After saying that, I saw Elise step down from her desk, and began pouring out two cups. It was green in color, so it was likely along the lines of some type of green tea. I also heard in Daybreak the game was going to expand the Recipe book by leaps and bounds due to the new game engine it now runs on, allowing it to showcase a variety of foodstuffs. Too bad I didn't get a chance to experience that.
"Well you are right about that, Lord Naoto. Missing out on such an opportunity is a waste, in my opinion. Master Kafai has long since learned the art of tea ceremony, and even Rean is under his tutelage now. It isn't all about the sword.", Elise replied, explaining a bit to me.
After the tea was poured, a soothing scent tickled down my throat the moment I drank it. Elise joined in. The taste was very pleasant and welcoming. My eyes lit up feeling such a nice sensation.
"Compliments to the chef.", I teased. "Still, I'll use your words against you, Lady Elise. I won't stand on ceremony. You brought me here for a reason. That much I can tell."
"I did. I do apologize in advance if I'm overstepping any boundaries you currently have in place, Lord Naoto. Given your current standing, I am happy you accepted it. Let alone being a Duke, you are a Crown Prince. The difference our two positions hold is as clear as night and day. Granted, you don't seem to be using them for tonight's visit, so like I said, thank you.", Elise responded, thanking me once again. She remained polite. As expected of the future Student Council President of St. Astraia. Elise knows how to read the room well at such an age already.
"It is no problem. Thank you for the tea. I don't mind explaining one or two things to you, since you took the time to invite me here."
"It is mostly one matter, really. Rean's been improving his swordsmanship since Master Kafai took him as his supposedly last disciple a few years ago. I...won't go into explicit details, but something happened, and that prompted Rean to want to grow stronger. He's improved by leaps and bounds already, but the way you presented your spar, I feel it was different. You almost acted...as if you were scolding Rean, if I had to explain it?", Elise said, pondering for a moment before finding the words to speak to me.
"A scolding, huh?", I replied, musing at her words. Not expecting my next actions, Elise saw me fold my hands behind my back, and stood up from our seats. I approached her window, keeping my back facing her. "Well, you aren't wrong. The spar was to teach Rean a lesson. I will not dive into the specifics."
"So that explains the hint of affection I could see in your eyes while you taught that lesson to Rean. You behaved in a way an older sibling scolds their younger sibling. An action I seldom perform, considering Rean is the one who is older amongst the two of us.", Elise replied. She revealed another playful smile. Oi. Even you have such a scary intuition, even though it likely isn't on par with Shizuna's. Still, hearing that caused my lips to curve upward into a s mile.
"It would be at this point that I'm inclined to say nothing further.", I spoke back, not wanting to intrude on Lord Teo's sworn oath he had with Father. But at the same time, there are already people who knew the truth of Rean and I. Emma was amongst those people. Apart from wanting to accept Elise's invitation to this visit, that is why I wanted to come.
"Sigh...", Elise responded, and sighed. "Maybe I was hoping for too much."
After Elise sighed, that caused me to turn around and look at her. To her surprise, she saw me reach out my hand, and proceeded to ruffle Elise's hair. Elise was a bit startled at first, but for some reason, she felt a strange sense of familiarity while I gave her a head pat. Elise didn't immediately reject it. Instead, she closed her eyes a bit, which allowed me to ruffle her hair.
'This boy even ruffles my hair just like how Rean does it...', Elise pondered. I then saw her eyelids open up and looked at me. "I know you have accepted my invitation to come here tonight, Lord Naoto, but you have your own intentions, right? Seriously, just who in Aidios's name are you, Lord Naoto?"
"Haha. You even asked the same question as he did, Lady Elise. Then I shall be the one to ask the question this time.", I suddenly said while I retracted my hand.
"A question? Alright?", Elise responded with a nod.
"You are acquainted with a certain Erebonian princess, yes? Erebonia's Treasure, Princess Alfin Reise Arnor.", I asked Elise, which caused her to blink her eyes at me.
"I indeed am. Now that you've brought it up, Her Imperial Highness did take quite a fancy to a certain boy, but the names are different. You aren't implying what I think you are implying, are you, Lord Naoto?", Elise asked, squinting her eyes at me.
Hearing that, I smiled.
"Before that answer that Elise, can you swear on Aidios's name that what we are about to talk about, it is not to leave this room? Your own Father swore the very same oath. Unless you are able to do the same, our conversation ends here and now.", I said, becoming very serious. It wasn't often I showed this much seriousness to someone.
Elise just stared at me, seeing me like this. She saw the resolution in my eyes. She couldn't deter her gaze away, even if she wanted to.
"Very well. I shall swear upon the Goddess herself. If I break this oath, then my very being shall be struck by a bolt of lightning. I am surprised you are willing to go to such lengths, Lord Naoto. But if Father did the same, then I can only follow suit.", Elise said, taking a moment to enjoy another sip of her tea.
"Excellent. Then I have a request. At the same time, I want you to have a look at this.", I said, reaching into a pocket of my Phoenix Robe. It was like that on the outside, but in reality, I activated Inventory.
"A request?", Elise mused, wondering what I wanted to request of her. She saw me reach into my pockets, only to bring out a framed photo.