"So? Where do we go now?" asked Reeve, with a soft sigh.
"Home… Well… My family's home", replied Rizaneth, with a downcast expression.
The two proceeded to walk side by side along the busy streets of Sky City. Reeve would look attentively at the surroundings, as they were unfamiliar. He looked like a country bumpkin who had just visited the city for the first time from the rural areas. Even though people rarely paid attention to others walking in the streets, when Reeve and Rizaneth passed by, they were noticed. First thing that was conspicuous was the wet clothes they were wearing. They had jumped into a river to get away from bandits, and not a lot of time had passed since they had gotten away.
The second thing was that Reeve was … well … very different from the local folks. With his unkempt brown hair, pale face with stitches, red eyes and a black robe, people couldn't help but stop and stare when they saw him. Some even began to murmur and whisper as they stared.
���Where exactly is this home of yours? We have been walking for centuries!" asked Reeve.
"We're almost there. It's only been less than an hour!"
Reeve couldn't help but let out a sigh, again. This city was waay too big. Back when Bernice was still the Southern Earth tribe, he could run around it without getting tired at all. However, right now, just walking in a straight line for some time left his legs aching. He found it quite weird. Back in the other world, when he was still alive, he used to take an Uber whenever he wanted to get from one point to another. Unfortunately, they were no Ubers in this world!
Finally, after what seemed like aeons, but in reality, was only thirty or so minutes, they arrived in front of a large mansion. Reeve's jaw dropped as he saw the sheer size of the mansion. They went through the gate, which was guarded by some soldiers. However, unlike the soldiers at the gate, these ones wore a different set of armour.
"I'm finally home again…" Rizaneth mumbled.
The large doors opened for them and Reeve followed as Rizaneth went inside. What Reeve saw inside caused his jaw to drop some more, prompting Rizaneth to close it for him.
"Greetings Lady Riza, it has been a long time. Have you been well?" asked a middle-aged man, who was wearing the uniform of a butler. Behind the middle-aged man were three maids, and yes, they were wearing maid outfits. That was what caused Reeve's jaw to drop. Their hair was tied neatly into buns, and of course, it was in different colors.
"Hello Gaur. It has been a long time. I am well, can you prepare a bath for this gentleman here?" she said, pointing at Reeve.
"Oh…" was the reply she got. Gaur was taken aback when he saw Reeve. It seemed he had this effect on people. Gaur bowed before continuing to say, "Right away, Lady Rizaneth. Would you please come with me?"
Reeve ended up following, but as he was about to leave, a beautiful figure descended from the stairs. This figure had neat red hair, and it was wearing a beautiful blue dress. The dress was sleeveless, and it covered the chest area going downwards. The figure was also wearing beautiful jewellery.
"Oh my… Look what the wind dropped in", began the figure, as it covered its nose and mouth with its hand which wore sparkling blue gloves.
Reeve stopped in his tracks, and Gaur couldn't help but stop as well.
"Hesreth! Why didn't you tell me that you got betrothed to the Severin heir?" asked Rizaneth, with a puzzled expression.
"Oh my … Is that what you have to say to your younger sister after four years?" asked Hesreth.
"Where's mother and father?"
"Questions, questions and more questions! Don't you think you should go take a bath first? I mean you really stink!"
"Hey! I'm older than you!"
"So? You're the one who ran away to attend the military academy, remember? How did that go by the way?"
Rizaneth snorted coldly, but she didn't reply. It was then, that Hesreth turned to look at Reeve. She was surprised when she saw him.
She continued to ask, "And what is this?"
"He's my guest! Treat him with the respect he deserves!" replied Rizaneth, as she ignored Hesreth, and went upstairs.
"Ha! Respect what?" snorted Hesreth, before proceeding to leave the house.
Reeve and Gaur left the hall where they were standing, watching the drama unfold. Reeve could not help but ask, "It seems like the two siblings are not that close. What happened?"
Gaur seemed to be hesitating, before saying, "Well, Lady Rizaneth was Lady Hesreth's hero. Ever since they were young, Lady Rizaneth used to protect Lady Hesreth from being bullied by the younger boys. However, when Lady Rizaneth was about to be betrothed, she ran away to join the military academy. Lady Hesreth was heartbroken."
"Oh, so that's what happened? No wonder! Who was Rizaneth going to be betrothed to?"
"She was supposed to be betrothed to the young man from the Severin family. It was an arrangement between Master and Lady Wolfe and the Severins."
"Oh, I see", which was basically a lie. Reeve didn't know who the Severins were. As he thought about it, he managed to infer that the Master and Lady Wolfe were Rizaneth's parents, and the Severins might be Cindi's parents. It seemed as if there was a bit of history here. He wondered if he should get involved in such things. "By the way, what about the Skycrawler family? Who are they?"
Gaur stopped walking, before turning to face Reeve with a serious expression. Reeve couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. He realized that he might have asked the wrong question. Just like back then when he asked about the foundation stones. Gaur noticed Reeve's expression, and that's when he realized that the thing … no … person following him didn't know much about Sky City at all!
"Well, the Skycrawler family have always governed Sky City back even before the Three Kingdoms Alliance took over Vyren", began Gaur.