Side by side, Jacob and Jack walked down the long road taking a slow pace. Neither of them was wearing the white clothing provided by the temple, instead, they were wearing normal clothing. Given to them by Leah before they departed. While it may not be the most extravagant thing in the world, it did just fine for now.
Along the road, the homes were starting to become fancier by the second, as they began to enter the wealthier district.
Naturally, people were seen and guards marched patrolling to make sure no one was causing trouble.
"Thanks."
Jacob said as he glanced over at Jack.
During this time, Jack has supported him and even responded to him like an actual subordinate would do their lord. It helped establish a firm belief that he was really the young lord of the Lezhalt family. Without Jack's help, the priests and bishop may have found his identity suspicious.
The meaning of his words was unclear to Jack.
Saving him was only his own way of repaying him, and getting rid of this guilt he felt. There was no real need to say those words to him.
His hazel eyes glanced over at Jacob while he shrugged his shoulders a little.
"Don't worry about it. I just never expected you would become the role you were given."
"I am a boy of many talents. While it was not the experience I wanted to gain, it was definitely fun. I always had this dream when I was younger to become a lord who reigned over many but had the respect of his people."
This… was a first. The first time that Jacob mentioned something about his past to Jack.
Him talking about it made Jack discover that the two of them were closer than he assumed they were. Maybe Jacob was willing to share his past with him, but it was never brought up due to circumstances.
Seeing the glow in Jacob's blue eyes, Jack could tell he was serious about his words.
"This could be your destiny. Everything that occurred until now was just setting you up to replace the old lord."
Jacob's eyes met with Jack's as they continued to walk down the street.
He lightly laughed for a moment while nudging Jack in his arm.
Jack chuckled for a moment.
Neither of them forgot that night at the estate, and although Jack said those words that did not mean he fully believed them. After all, who would want to be held responsible for others' deaths? Especially those close to you.
That is what it would mean for Jacob if he were to agree to Jack's idea that this was destiny.
"Honestly though, no one can question your identity so just take it. You've lived a hard life up until now, consider this a reward."
Jacob only smiled, when he arrived in this world and saw how similar it was to Pathfinder, he wanted to achieve a noble status through merits. Now, he acquired it by just surviving a slaughter.
As much as he did not want Jack's words to be true, this might have been a part of his destiny. Whatever that may be.
"I will, and you will not be forgotten. You saved my life, for that, I'm indebted to you."
Fanning his hand, Jack shook his head.
"The sword is repayment enough."
"Didn't you want to be a knight? Give me some time, and you can enter the academy."
Jack did not take those words to heart, he just thought Jacob was saying things in the heat of the moment. Although it would be nice to become a knight and have a steady income, he was not too worried about it.
That seemed like a far off dream. He came from nothing, so him turning into a knight would be weird. There would be more responsibility along with the vast amount of money. What could he buy? What would he do?
Unlike those who had a plan, Jack was just going along day by day.
As the two young boys came closer to reaching the estate, their hearts started to race. It has been days, and they wondered how they'd react upon entering. The bodies of the fallen would definitely smell, but needed to be cleaned up.
The stone wall came into view and with it the large mansion.
No guards at the gate, no sound of swords clashing against each other. Only the small voices of those on the streets.
"Who is that?"
Jack squinted his eyes as he looked forward.
There was a young woman who stood by the stone wall. She did not seem like a noblewoman by the clothes she was wearing. A dark blue shirt, long tan pants that wrapped around her legs, and small leather boots.
It was hard to see her facial features even as they drew closer to her due to the dark blue scarf that wrapped around her neck, concealing her mouth and a portion of her nose.
"No idea…"
Jacob replied as he kept moving forward.
Ignoring her would be the right thing to do, but that would be hard because she was heading towards the entrance the same as them.
Her bronze skin was beautiful, and the way her auburn colored hair parted over her right eye was attractive. She seemed to care for her appearance, but she could not be the daughter of a noble.
That was easy to tell by the clothing she wore, none of it was expensive and daughters of nobles rarely wore pants. Their parents basically forced them to wear skirts all the time, because skirts were more expensive and came in various designs.
Observing Jack and Jacob with her black eyes, she saw how Jack was ready to move at a moment's notice. Yet, she only crossed her arms pushing up her breasts while she stared at them coldly.
"Who are you, and what are you doing at this estate? This is private property."
Wasting no time, Jacob asked her his questions right away.
"I could say the same for the two of you."
"I own this place, and he is my guard. Now, you?"
Hearing Jacob's words, the woman lowered her eyes. His clothing was different than that of a noble's, but he was so confident in the way he spoke. She really could not tell if he was lying or not.
Everyone knew what it meant to fake the identity of a noble, and if you were caught you would be sentenced to death.
Still, he did not outright attack her so that meant something.
"I am Delphine, a knight trainee. I came here to see my father."
Jacob's heart sped up as his hands became sweaty. Thinking about it, her appearance was similar but he could not be too sure as she was not wearing armor. Now he heard her name and status as a knight trainee, he was certain who she was.
This was the first time he felt so excited since he arrived here.
"Delphine Kingsworn?"
His voice sounded delighted as he was making sure she was who she said she was.
Delphine peered at Jacob in confusion. The muscles in her arm tightened as she slowly lowered her arms.
Realizing his blight, Jacob smiled as he raised both his hands.
"My father kept a journal about you. After his death, I read it and since you had the same status, I assumed you were the same person."
Hopefully, he covered his tracks with this lie, but he did not know if she would believe in his words. After all, she was a cautious character who always put her duty above all else. She was a protector of people and strived for peace.
Just thinking about her character data in his head gave Jacob goosebumps.
Still, he had to remember that she was not someone he knew in this life. This was their first encounter, so he knew little of her. Or he was supposed to know little about her.
"I see…"
She dragged silence on for a moment before she apologized to Jacob for her behavior.
"It is good to see that you survived. Might there have been other survivors?"
Delphine analyzed the facial expression on Jacob's face when she asked her question. She could see it change as he began to look saddened.
"No."
"Then it is as I feared."
Questions popped up in her head as she wondered what happened here, but could see that there was still a wound on Jacob's heart, thus she kept it to herself for now.
"Since you are here, you can come inside and pay your respects."
With that, Jacob walked off as Jack followed right behind him. When they were feet apart from her, Jack came closer.
"Kingsworn? As in Veronica Kingsworn?"
Whispering to Jacob, Jack couldn't help but turn his head to look at Delphine who was behind them.
Nodding his head, that was indeed the same Kingsworn he was talking about.
"That is insane! Since when did she have a daughter? No, who the hell is her father?"
Who did not know Veronica? It was strange if you did not know the famous general who served the Valorian Empire. Her tales and achievements were numerous, impossible to count on one's fingers and toes.
While many knew she was not married, that did not mean she did not have a child. It was not really a secret she was keeping, but Veronica never openly stated it. However, there would come a time when she announced to the world who her daughter was.
That moment was still far off, so it was indeed strange for Jacob to know. But, he was the person who created Veronica so he knew all about her.
The story went as such; Two longtime childhood friends were in love with each other, and before they went their separate ways they confirmed their love for each other. That same day, the two of them spent the night in each other's embrace. Veronica began her studies at the knight's academy, but months later she realized she was pregnant. The dream that she had was close to being achieved, however, she could not toss away the child of her love. So, she wrote to him telling him of her situation and he agreed to take care of the child.
The man in the story was never named, mostly due to Jacob wanting to leave it a mystery. All the players would know about the character was that he was a fearsome warrior who never reached his peak, and whose name never rose to fame.
In-game, Veronica was only in her thirties and an NPC a player could marry if they built up enough affinity. That is when she would tell you the entire history of her first love.
Thinking about it, Delphine did say that she came to see her father.
Turning his head a little to see her face, Jacob smiled. He seemed to understand something, causing him to laugh.
How could he not see this before?
Delphine saw how both Jack and Jacob were whispering while looking back at her. This is why she kept a distance from them, in case they tried anything she would have time to react. Although from the air around them, she did not feel threatened.
The doors to the estate opened up, and what Jack and Jacob were expecting turned into the unexpected.
The main white floors were clean, with no bodies in sight.
Instead were the sweet moans of a beautiful woman wearing a skin-tight black dress. The skirt was lifted up, showing her long creamy slim legs.
Behind her was a fat man sweating heavily as had a wide grin on his face. He slapped her ass causing her to moan louder.
"You like that don't you, you little slut?"
Pulling her hair, the woman felt a spark rush through her body. Slightly turning her head to the side, she froze. It was as if she was a deer who saw the bright lights coming from a car's headlights.
The man saw his partner's strange behavior and stopped thrusting as he saw the three young children.