Chalice and Luke were met with a frantic household when they arrived back at the Amaranth estate. Levi, who was already up on his feet surprisingly, met Chalice with a death stare. It seems his injuries were a lot less severe compared to the others. That or he was just a veteran when it comes to fighting, getting injured, and recuperating. He stomped heavily with menace in her direction. Somehow, she felt that the usually womanly Levi looked a bit manlier when he was this angry.
'Hmm. He's still a shortie, though.'
Before Chalice could even utter a syllable Levi has already started his rain of tirades unto her. Chalice could only helplessly shut her mouth and let him blow his top off. After all, aside from being injured to protect her, Levi was as always worried about her safety.
"What were you thinking, my lady? Running off like that? What if there were still bandits lying in wait? Have you thought of what would happen to you? Even if you could fight all of them alone, what if they still had reinforcements? Are you an immortal to be so courageous to not fear death? What happened to your brains? Did they rot along with your sense of fear?"
Chalice shook her head at his antics but was also glad that he was well enough to nag her. She was initially worried that she'll arrive to see a bedridden Levi. Being in that sort of state did not suit him. Chalice preferred this Levi. A lively, albeit naggy and overprotective knight, almost to the point of resembling an overly doting older brother. She grinned at the thought before replying to former.
"Okay, mother! Thank you sooo much for worrying about me. I'm sorry I ran away. So, could you perhaps stop nagging already? My ears are about to bleed. I'm fine now. I'm back. My brain is not faulty. My intelligence is still way up there where you can't reach it 'cause you're forever a midget. My sense of fear is up and functioning. It is ringing all the warning bells and telling me to stay away from you at this moment actually for the possibility of you flicking my head is quite high. Even if your height certainly isn't, your face makes up for it though." Chalice replied lengthily. A sheepish smile was in her fair face while a dainty finger touched her nose in embarrassment.
Levi froze up at her banter. His face darkening even more as he stared at her with anger, disappointment, and... hurt. Chalice saw all of this and realized her mistake.
"Levi, I-..."
"I know I have been very useless by needing my master to save me when I should have been the one protecting her. I know I have failed the Duke's expectations when I have failed to defend you and ended up injured in the process by measly bandits. I apologize for my incompetence. But my worry is not something that my lady needs to make fun of." Levi muttered stiffly.
Chalice palmed her face. Alright, that was insensitive of her. It's just that she didn't know how to handle it. Chalice didn't know how to deal with people worrying about her. She didn't know how to accept such pure concern for her well-being. She had handled Luke's perspective well enough for in a way he made it easy for her to do so. But Levi... Chalice never had experienced brotherly concern for her. Back in the past, some of her comrades might have done so except she was too oblivious to realize it hence, her current predicament.
With her head lowered, a sigh escaped Chalice's lips. Now, how was she going to pacify this innocent midget knight of hers?
"You are not incompetent nor have you failed in being my knight. You have done what you could. I was not making fun of you, Levi. I merely don't know how I am supposed to accept your care and worry. I am thoroughly at a loss."
Chalice held her head in her palm, her head was aching at all this fuss. She didn't like this heavy atmosphere one bit.
'It's not as if you can blame them though. They are merely looking out for you as best as they could.' She chided herself.
"I'm sorry, Levi. For giving you so much trouble."
"A master is not supposed to apologize to her knight."
Chalice met Levi's gaze and beamed a sincere smile. And just like that she was forgiven. These people dote on her too much. Her heart felt full and proud. This life, she would protect it with everything she can.
"You're not just my knight. You're my brother." Chalice winked at Levi as she spoke. Not waiting for him to recover, she gestured to Luke to follow her into the study. There were a lot of things that needed to be dealt with.
"This girl. She's just spinning me around with her tricky and superfluous words again. Not this time, this knight isn't going to fall for it no matter what you say." Levi scoffed as he walked to the direction of the kitchen, thinking of preparing some tea and biscuits for the busy people in the study.
"I'm a just person. Since, I won't be contributing much to their discussion; I might as well bring in some food. Hmm. Yes, that's right." The effeminate knight further justified.
In the study.
"Give me a rundown of everything we need to deal with Luke. My head is currently still in a disarray." Chalice grumbled as she drooped down the soft mattress of her chair.
Luke straightened himself up and assumed his business-as-usual expression. He turned to the lethargic form of the Duke's daughter and shook his head indistinctly. His lady's resilience is quite daunting. He didn't know if it was a good thing or not.
"Let's start off with the pleasant ones, my lady. Maybe that'll make you a little livelier. There's the jade vein you have discovered at the cave in Cloud Forest. Of which, you had struck a deal with the Keyne people. Specifically, you agreed to mine and supply them the jade while they are tasked to refine it into jewellery and ornaments. You will also be paying the wages of the craftsmen and promised to allocate 15% of the profit to the stronghold." Luke paused and gazed pointedly at Chalice.
"My lady, as promising as this concept is, how exactly and concretely do you plan to go about accomplishing it?" He asked further.
Chalice returned Luke's gaze at her with her own.
"The mining, I'll put you in charge of that. Though, the specifics of how to mine the jade, that part I'll be teaching you that. The transport won't be too much of a hassle for the Keyne Stronghold is near the area. They also have strong warriors to guard the miners and the raw stones. As for the commercial aspect of it, I plan to open up an auction house." She answered in detail. Luke's interest was piqued.
Auction houses were mostly found only at the capital. It was popular amongst the nobles. It was unheard of for fiefs to have one. Aside from having their own products on auction, they could also accept other products. This would open up a whole new trade line.
"Putting up an auction house is not as easy as it seems, my lady." Luke reminded Chalice. The latter merely rolled her eyes at him. Obviously Chalice was aware of such fact.
"Of course, I know that. I'm not going to proceed to it blindly. Besides, I don't want the Amaranth name to be associated with the auction house. Hence, I'll be seeking the assistance of the Merchant Guild's infamous Merchant King."
Crash!
The sound of teacups hitting the floor reverberated in the study. Chalice and Luke's surprised faces was directed at a certain stunned knight who just entered the study.