In the silence of the room, the first one to speak was the child.
His cheeks puffed out in annoyance, brows furrowed as he asked lot of questions in one breath.
"Marella, what is going on? What happened to those intruders? Why did my mother attack me the moment she saw me? What do you mean I was attacked two days ago? Was I really asleep for two days straight? And why didn't you take care of me? Also, why did Father suddenly send me a physician?"
The flood of questions left the old maid momentarily speechless.
Flustered, she let out a long sigh, then knelt down so her eyes were level with his bright emerald eyes.
With a gentle, reassuring tone she said,
"Everything is fine now, young master. First of all, those intruders were not bad people. They were royal knights, sent by our new king to rescue you and your mother… and to arrest the former Baron for his crimes and embezzlement."
Royal knights?
New king?
Rescue him and his mother?
Father was arrested?
None of it made sense.
Why would royal knights attack the mansion of a baron responsible for guarding the southern border of the Kingdom of Sahradia from the monsters of the forest and wastelands?
What did she mean by new king?
Did King Raedric Thalvion die?
How?
Was the war he started against the elven kingdom of Verdalis finally over?
Verdalis, home of the most fertile lands in the East as well as the kingdom of elves.
What did she mean when she said the knights also rescued him and his mother?
Was his mother imprisoned like him in this mansion?
Why did Marella never speak of this before?
Among all of this, the least surprising part was that Baron Aldric Vaelthorn, his biological father was arrested.
He knew the everyone hated him, but no one dared speak out due to fear.
Even though his father never acted like he cared, the boy still managed to eat twice a day thanks to the baron's authority in the mansion.
But now…
What would happen to him?
And the question that weighed heavier than everything else,
Why had his own biological mother tried to kill him?
Seeing the confusion and desperation swirling in the boy's eyes, Marella smiled softly and said,
"As I said, everything is fine now. You don't have to worry about anything. For now, let's make sure you take a bath and look presentable before meeting our new baron."
The boy blinked and asked,
"The new baron? Who is that?"
Marella lifted him carefully into her arms, settling him on her hip as she answered,
"Our new baron is Vaelen Vaelthorn, the eldest son of the former baron and the legitimate heir to this domain."
Seeing the boy listening attentively, she added gently,
"He is also your half-brother… but you must address him as 'my lord' when you see him, all right?"
The child nodded obediently.
He hesitated for a moment, then asked,
"Marella… is it true that I was attacked and asleep for two days straight?"
The maid nodded solemnly.
"Yes. No matter how many times I tried, you wouldn't wake up… It's thanks to the goddess that you're safe."
"…Then why did my mother attack me? Did I do something wrong?" he asked softly.
Marella shook her head firmly.
"No. You did nothing wrong. Everyone… has their own circumstances and beliefs."
The boy stared blankly, unable to understand how someone could attack him because of "circumstances and beliefs."
But seeing she wouldn't explain further, he reluctantly dropped the topic.
Instead, he asked,
"Why am I not hungry? I was sleeping the whole time…"
Marella smiled proudly.
"I took care of you. I fed you your favorite porridge soup every day while you slept. But… because of everything happening here, I couldn't do much more. Forgive me."
Seeing her genuinely apologetic expression, the boy quickly nodded.
"Mmm. I forgive you."
Marella chuckled lightly, seeing that familiar proud look return to his face.
She carried him to another room—a simple bathing hall used by the servants.
The mansion had no special room for him since his status was worse than that of the servants.
She filled the large wooden tub with warm water, gently washed him, cleaned him with cloths, then dressed him back in his old basement room.
As they finished, a knock sounded at the door.
"I will check who it is," Marella said and went to open it.
A refined female voice echoed through the doorway,
"Lord Vaelen demands the boy's presence."
The child tried to peek, but Marella's figure blocked his view entirely.
The maid responded politely,
"Young master Elandor is ready. We will come at once."
After exchanging polite bows, Marella took the boy's hand and guided him toward the mansion's main hall to the room where new Baron presents.
Elandor swallowed nervously.
He looked around, wide-eyed as they walked, servants hurried about with no time to even glance at him.
The mansion was enormous; even after brief time of walking, they hadn't reached the destination.
He saw gardens he'd never been allowed near, new servants he had never met, and portraits hung along the corridors, most depicting barely clothed women, something he had never understood before he had the dream.
Finally, they stopped in front of a heavily guarded room, soldiers standing like statues on both sides.
Within a few moments, news of their arrival reached inside, and a stern, cold voice was heard from within.
"Let them in…"
The guards stepped aside as both the old maid and the boy entered.
Inside the room were two men.
One was standing, his attire matching what the kid had seen as a butler's outfit in his dream.
He looked as old as the maid, lean, with a face full of wrinkles.
Beside him sat a man who seemed to be around thirty-eight to forty years old, sitting with a strict posture on the chair as he went through the documents on his desk.
The man set down the document he had been reading before shifting his attention to Elandor.