Gawain did not let the party get there too quickly because he could tell that the reception team had to rush their preparations so that the house at 4 Crown Street would be ready for its owner's return. He did not want to trouble the workers who were only there following instructions. Though he had led the party for a detour around the streets, when he arrived at 4 Crown Street, there were still some people in attendants' uniforms with sweat over their foreheads as they ran in and out of the house.
But fortunately, they were almost done with the preparations.
A tall, thin middle-aged man wearing a white wig and a black bow tie, looking like a butler, came out from the mansion to greet him. He stood before Gawain's horse and bowed, "My Lord, your mansion is ready. I am the one responsible for managing these estates. My name is James Blaine. It is my honor to serve you during your stay in the capital."
"Blaine… I remember this name," Gawain thought for a moment (searching the memory), and he chuckled, "Ah, oh yes. Hawley Blaine, Charlie's chamberlain back in the day. 'Blaine' was the name that Charlie gave him."
James Blaine, the middle-aged man, was a little surprised. Everyone who was fortunate enough to meet this ancient (who even knew his own ancestor) would probably feel the same way. "Yes… Yes, Hawley Blaine is my ancestor. Our family has served as the royal family's chamberlains for generations. The royal family's estates in the capital are all managed by the Blaines… "
Gawain chuckled. "Yeah, my house is also now part of the royal estates."
James Blaine immediately broke out in a cold sweat. This topic was definitely ranked highest in the awkwardness index in the capital today. To illustrate, it was as good as tying you to a chair and reciting your sob stories you wrote in your blog when you were fourteen…
But Gawain was only joking with him, and he quickly changed the subject. "Don't stress yourselves over this. I won't be staying long."
James Blaine stood up straight. "As ordered, I will do my best to serve you. It is my responsibility to prepare the mansion."
"You mean like clearing out the ticket booth at the entrance and the tour guides inside?"
"… Huh?"
How troublesome it was communicating with people of a different world. The same jokes would not work here.
Interest waning, Gawain waved it off, dismounted from the horse, and handed the reins to the chamberlain, who was already waiting beside him. Then he led his (n+1)th great-granddaughter and a group of people into this 700-year-old ancient mansion.
Indeed, as the previous inner court official mentioned, these historic and significant houses on Crown Street had not only been preserved, but they had also maintained their original look over the years with constant repairs. Even if unscientific things like magic existed, many things should have decayed in the span of 700 years. Thus Gawain was almost certain that at least half of the things here were no longer the original ones but only replicas. But he was not concerned about these things anyways since he was not even the real Gawain Cecil.
After passing through a small garden, vestibule, and a short corridor, it was the main hall. Being the mansion of the founding duke, 4 Crown Street was indeed a little too shabby. Basically any clan that could afford to buy an estate in the capital would be able to build a house twice the size of this. Thus, Amber muttered as soon as she entered the door, "That's it? It's far worse than I thought…"
"This was built seven hundred years ago," Gawain looked at the half-elf. "At that time, the Silver Castle was only slightly bigger than this."
"I think it's pretty good…" Rebecca said softly. "Apart from being spacious, the castle I lived in doesn't seem to be better than this in every other aspect…"
Amber rolled her eyes at her and said, "That's because you guys have almost squandered all your inherited properties."
"No throwing fireballs here." Gawain held down Rebecca and Amber's heads. "And you, dial it back a little. Stop asking for trouble. One day when you really meet a shadow master, you might just die on the spot."
After telling Sir Byron and the soldiers to follow the chamberlain to find somewhere to rest, he told Betty to go to the kitchen to prepare dinner (the young lady's pan finally came in handy), and then Gawain started walking around the main hall.
"They really preserved these things…"
After walking two rounds, Gawain sighed lightly. The memories in his head kept surging forth and matching with the items in his sight. Though many of the items were no longer the original ones, the familiarity of these things gave him a strong sense of nostalgia.
Following behind Gawain as he walked around, Rebecca looked through the objects in the main hall with curiosity and mixed feelings. Some of the descendants of the early pioneers were living right here in Crown Street, but as the descendant of the greatest of the pioneers, the lord of the Cecil Clan, Rebecca only just learned of how the house in which her Lord Ancestor lived looked like.
There were many things here that she had only read about in the clan's books, such as the ancient battleaxe that was hanging on the wall of the main hall.
"I won this when I fenced with Charlie back in the day. Actually it's not some powerful weapon. It's just a dwarf's battleaxe." Gawain pointed at the axe on the wall, saying casually as he collected the memories, "I wonder how those dwarves who only grow up to my waist can be so strong. Such a large axe is really heavy for human soldiers, but they can swing it around like it's nothing. "
Rebecca picked up on the name that Gawain mentioned, "Charlie… Do you mean the founding King Charlie?"
"Charlie Moen, the one called Charlie I today. Who else could it be?" Gawain chuckled. "He is the only Charlie that I've ever mentioned."
—Insert 'Although He Was Only Wearing Gawain Cecil's Shell, Being Able To brag As Though He Had Experienced It First Hand Was Really Awesome.jpg'
However, Gawain was not simply using this to boast about his first hand experience, but he would indeed need to be familiar with his current identity in many occasions as the identity of Gawain Cecil would apparently be very useful within the foreseeable distant future.
However, Amber was not interested in things such as a clan's history or the kingdom's insider stories. After going around the hall and pondering over how Gawain would beat her up if she stole something here, this job-oriented half-elf who cared for her life even more, sat down on the sofa, shook her feet as she looked around. "Speaking of which, did you insist on coming here so that you can take away these items? After all, your descendants are already about to squander away all the family property. There aren't many chances like this where we can come up with an excuse to move these things away… "
Gawain was dumbstruck. "Where did you get this idea?"
Amber said delightedly, "It's nothing. It's just a normal line of thought. If you are concerned that there are too many things here to carry, you can leave it to me. I'll take them out for you. No one will find out. With my ability, it'll just take me three trips, and I'll be able to pretty much clear things up here… "
It was truly a rare breed of bandit to so casually discuss with the original owner about how she could steal their items. Now, Amber was no longer merely just a disgrace to elves, but she had also become a disgrace to bandits…
It seemed like an incredible achievement for one to go from being a disgrace of one's own race to a disgrace of one's own class.
"Save the effort. If I really wanted to take something away, I wouldn't even need your help," Gawain waved her off and interrupted Amber's unrealistic idea. "Even if Francis II was silly, he wouldn't even be bothered about something as trivial as this. "
Amber batted her eyes. "Okay then, you're right. Most of these things around the house don't seem like they are worth much anyways. They're mostly replicas. Only the axe and the vase at the door are originals… Oh, the vase is a replica too. "
Damned. This girl had already appraised all the items here in such a short time?!
If you were so good, why could you not spend a little energy to watch that mouth of yours and build up your nerves?
Seeing that no one was responding to her, Amber started to look for a new topic to talk about after shaking her legs for a while. "Speaking of which, why do you have to drag me here? I'm not a knight of your clan, nor am I a soldier. I'm just a thief who passed by. How can I be of any help?"
"First, you dug my grave. Although you said you went there to take refuge, according to the kingdom's laws, the punishment for this crime is hanging. As the one who pardoned your crime, don't you think that you have a duty to do something in return for me?" Gawain looked at Amber. "Second, I want your ability. Of course, I'm not talking about your ability to steal things but your talent as a rogue. We are in the capital. Who knows how many people are watching us, everyone of us, for various motives. Byron is a knight who is only good at frontal assault. Rebecca can only use fireballs. I have not fully recovered my strength yet, so I really need you, a highly skilled master of shadows. Does that answer your question, Miss Amber?"
Gawain became serious in his tone in the latter half, and Amber was also affected by this serious tone, her expression was stunned for a while.
She did not expect Gawain to speak to herself so solemnly. As a thief, who had a negative reputation among aristocrats, she did not think that a noble would appeal to her so solemnly.
What more, he was the legendary Duke Cecil.
This would allow her to brag about it for at least half a year!
"You… Since you say it like this, I'll help you then." The half-elf girl said as she turned her face away unnaturally. "But you need to praise me more. The part where you said I'm a highly skilled master of shadows. I won't ask you for money if you can say it again twice… "
Gawain turned his head to look at Rebecca. "Can you control a fireball such that it just sticks to someone's face but not kill them?"
Amber: "?!"
However, Amber did not get to experience the fireball sticking to her face because the butler from the Blaine clan appeared.
"Your Excellency, you have guests," James said politely as he bowed slightly, "Prince Edmund is here to visit."