"Did he accept the request?"
Sebastian, the butler of the Reinsfield family, had been staying at a town inn. In his room, he sat by the window. He had a nice view of the town and the people roaming in the streets. The moonlight reflected on his crystal blue eyes. He seemed tense as he talked with the master of the family through a small mirror about the discussion he had with the blacksmith at the bar.
"Not yet. He said he needed to think it over."
"I see. Did everything go smoothly with William Jaeger?"
"I'm not certain, sir. Mr. Jaeger seemed interested but at the same time he just..."
"Hm? What is it, Sebastian?"
The butler thought about the look in Williams' eyes. It was almost like looking at himself in the mirror. It was clear the blacksmith didn't know much about his family matters. The only way for the butler to describe it was, "He looked like he wanted nothing to do with his family. He didn't even care much for the family to know such knowledge."
"That's preposterous! It's his family, you know? No matter the circumstances, family always comes together."
-You're just too kind to understand, master.
When the butler explained how the sword and the temple, including the events that happened centuries ago, were related to the Jaeger family, the blacksmith seemed to be uncomfortable. He was almost disconnected from the conversation.
"There was something that he said that caught my attention."
"Hm? Sebastian, what was it?"
The butler's furrowed his eyebrows, "He said something about him not being pure… Maybe he was talking about his bloodline. He was very cryptic about it."
From that little information, his master said no comment other than, "What I was told was true then..."
The butler's eye widened, "Master, do you know anything about it?"
"There have been many rumors relating to that family, Sebastian. It would be of our best interest to not relate to that family at all, but the circumstances are dire."
Sebastian didn't have to ask about the rumors, he knew them all too well. The Jaeger family had a big basket of dirty laundry. Just as big as their fame, so were the conspiracies and rumors of the household. None of them have been proven to be true, but there can only be so much before it gets out of hand. None of the members of the family have come out to clear the rumors. They don't seem bothered in the slightest by them. No one except the higherups interacts with them. Regardless, the Reinsfield family was in a dire situation. They had no other choice but to seek out William Jaeger, since he was the most accessible out of the rest of the family.
Sebastian hesitated to ask, but then he looked at his master in the mirror and said, "How is she doing?"
"She's asking for you, but I told her you would be here in a few weeks."
The butler nodded, "I see... I'll take no further delay. I'll be at the temple in two weeks."
"What do you mean two weeks? The trip will take way more than that!"
The butler shook his head, "Don't worry master, once I'm out of the Lost Forest they'll be a town nearby where one of my contacts reside. He will help me get there in that amount of time. I'm certain of it."
"I see... are you going to him? the great sorcerer?"
Sebastian smiled, "There really is nothing that goes by you, is there, master?"
His boss smirked, "Not at all. I'm just very good at connecting the dots. Very well, I will let you rest. If you think it is for her best, then I'll leave you to it. Goodnight, Sebastian." Then, the image of his master was gone from the mirror.
Once their conversation was over, he rested on the bed and took out a locket. He kept looking at it as it gently swung side to side.
He thinks of the hesitating blacksmith,
-I'll find a way to convince Mr. Jaeger even if I have to use force... I'll do it all for you, my Lady.
***
The blacksmith was back in his grandfather's private studies. He searched endlessly for clues about the sword the butler had mentioned, but within all the documents in the room, there seemed to be no sign of such events.
"There has to be something about it... or was that weird guy lying to me? That can't be."
The blacksmith had a way of knowing when a person lied to him. He didn't know when he developed such an ability, but one day he was able to notice it and since then he has been able to tell. If William didn't suck at negotiations, his merchant career would've worked out quite well for him.
One thing he was clear was that the butler didn't lie to him. Everything he said to William was indeed a fact. The problem was that, despite William's ability, he couldn't believe it until he saw it with his own eyes.
"Seriously, I know the family likes to keep secrets, but I would've expected something documented around here. They do like to throw things in this place when they don't want anyone to know... So, where is it?"
The blacksmith searched the bookshelves, the desk drawer and looked around for any crack in the room that could possibly hide such documentation. All his attempts failed to find anything of the sort.
"It's very strange that my great grandfather didn't document any of it in his journals. The man clearly liked to write about any important event in his time, and yet, this one remained undocumented."
The man sat on the chair and took a deep breath. He needed to calm himself in order to search for things with clarity. He looked at the mess his grandfather left on the desk. The blacksmith forgot to tidy everything up the last time he was there. As he organized the papers and the books, he noticed a familiar tittle.
"The tears of the three princesses. This again, huh? Is it a fantasy story?"
He opened the book and an envelope fell on the desk. He put the book down and inspected the envelope. It was addressed to "My beloved". He was certain that the penmanship was from Ludas Jaeger, he could recognize it anywhere. William wondered if it was meant for his great grandmother.
"Should I open it? It feels like an invasion of privacy... Well, it's been three Jaeger generations already, he's not around to even mind."
He opened the envelope and read the letter. It really was written by Ludas Jaeger, and it was discussing parts the butler had mentioned to the blacksmith in regard to the battle against the witch.
"So, it's true... he wasn't lying."
The blacksmith didn't know how to proceed after finding out about the family's history. He has kept his distance from them ever since he was a kid. Then he was sent to live with his grandfather, who had cut all ties to the family.
He lived a peaceful life with his grandfather. It was a nice escape from his reality. Now the past was back to haunt him. He knows that if he accepts the request, he will need to face them. Was it really worth it for him?
"I would decline but, its just, what is that witch hiding? And that sword…"
The letter didn't detail much about the witch or the sword she was slayed with. He was intrigued to know what kind of sword was used against the dark witch. He also wondered about her hidden library.
"Maybe I can get information from the witch's library as well. There might be something about my… curse. Hm? What's this part here? Huh?!"
The blacksmith was left without words after reading the end of the document. His body tensed. He needed to take a deep breath and control his shaking hands.
Out of all the secrets the Jaeger family held, this one was the darkest of them all. Knowing about such things made the blacksmith feel like he was part of it. He felt sick to his stomach, but it was clear to him what he had to do.
"If I go, I'll finally get some answers. Specifically, in that library."
***
"Master your back!"
William slowly opened the door to not make any sound, but it still caught the attention of Nicolas. William closed the door behind him and said, "Don't call me master."
The young man walked to his master excitedly. He was relieved to see his master was his usual grumpy self again. "When I noticed that master had suddenly left, I began to worry."
-I see... I made him worry.
The blacksmith pats the young man's head with a smile on his face.
It was strange for William. He hadn't heard anyone say that to him in a while. The last time was probably a few years back, before his grandfather passed away. When he tried to go out of the forest at night, big packs of forest creatures appeared and gave no mercy to whoever passed by.
He climbed a tree and stayed there until the next day. Once he was back, his grandfather was bursting with tears of joy seeing William was not harmed. He also gave him a scolding afterwards.
"Just needed a bit of air, Nicolas. That's all. Hm?"
William noticed the young man was trying to hide something in one of the hands behind his back. The young man, startled by the blacksmith's perception, almost dropped what he was hiding. William got a closer look and saw that it was the bell he had assigned him to create.
"Is that..."
Nicolas, now knowing there was no point in hiding it any longer, took out the bell and showed it to William, "Look! I finished the bell! Come 'on, praise me for my magnificent work."
Everything was exactly how William had entrusted him to do so. He took the bell out of Nicolas's hand and tested it by flicking it to hear the sound. It rang just like any other bell would. The sound tinkled in the man's ears.
"Great, it's very well done. So, you really can do a good job!"
"That praise felt more like an insult."
"I'll have you make a few daggers tomorrow for our trip."
The young man cocked his head, "Our trip? Does that mean-?!"
"Yes, we're taking that butler's request. We'll be traveling with him, so be nice to him, okay?"
The young man had a disgusted look on his face, "It doesn't please me interacting with such evil creatures, but alright."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say."
Nicolas's eyebrows furrowed. He looked hesitant to say something, "Listen, about before, I wanted to ask was--"
Just then, someone knocked on the door. The two looked at the door and then back at each other in unison, feeling a bit unease.
"I-I'll go get the door."
William nodded while scratching his head, "Um, sure."
-It must be Sebastian. However, it has not been the time we agreed on.
"U-Uh, Master?"
William looked at the door and saw the troubled Nicolas shaking and pointing weakly at the person by the door. In front of him was a young lady with silver hair and crystal blue eyes.
She looked exhausted as she rested on the door frame. She was breathing heavily and holding her chest tight as the drops of sweat rolled down her pearl-white forehead.
"Lucy!?" The blacksmith said, rushing towards her.
Lucy couldn't hold any longer. She felt weak, to the point of being on the verge of passing out. Just when the girl was about to collapse on the floor, William caught her in his arms just in time.