Eliana didn't know what exactly happened in that span of a second that passed.
One second, Eliana's silk shoes stepped on the front of her dress and before she could stop it, she felt her body moving forward. Eliana panicked and closed er eyes in embarrassment, already imagining that on her way home, she would sport out a swollen forehead and Fabios would laugh at her and call her silly again.
But in that split of second, instead of feeling the hard surface of something that belonged to either the floor or chair, a hand enclosed around her elbow, holding her up, and the warmth from our skin touching took her with surprise and she couldn't help but feel a blush coming up to her cheeks.
The hand that was holding her elbow belonged to the man who was supposedly standing behind the overly large desk.
Blushing at the closeness of their bodies, Eliana stammered as she expressed her gratitude to him.
"Thank you…"
The master of the guild coolly nodded his head and stared at her without taking his hand off her elbow.
At the same time, from somewhere behind Eliana, Daisy made a squeaky voice, calling for her attention. "Milady…" the maid said.
Eliana raised an eyebrow and turned her head aside to look at her. Eliana knew what those eyes were saying and she stepped away from the man and avoided the closeness of their bodies earlier.
They sat back down and faced each other. With Daisy standing behind her back, Eliana found confidence and started to speak. "I came here after I received your reply. I hope my letter didn't surprise you."
The man nodded, "It was indeed a surprise to see the emblem of the Lord of Ashbourne Castle in one if my letters. May I ask what your purpose in wishing to meet me is?"
Eliana wet my lips as she explained. "Uh… well, you must have already heard of the rumors spreading around the castle, right?" Eliana paused and waited for him to nod his head. When he did, she continued to say, "Those rumors are true. And I came here to ask for your help."
The man did not say anything but his eyebrows moved a little bit. Eliana could see herself reflected in those amber eyes and knew that he was looking at her. He was probably looking for something that would tell him that she was not being serious.
When he found nothing that could tell him otherwise and saw how dead serious sge was, he cleared his throat and pacifyingly said, "Milady, I think I cannot help you with your troubles," he raised a hand to stop me from interrupting him and continued, "The war that the Duke has announced with the Lord of Ashbourne Castle is between the two of them. I am merely a merchant staying at the farthest border of your castle and have no right to join your battle-"
"Then, I will give you the right to do so." Eliana hurriedly said.
Eliana watched him shake his head once again.
"Even if you give me the right to do that and even if you give me a position in the castle, I must refuse, milady." He said.
Eliana stared incredulously at him, "But why? Are you just going to watch these innocent people to die and be enslaved by that lunatic man from the Empire? You're also living in the castle alongside these people and you have the manpower to somehow stop the Duke's forces! You can save hundreds of lives and you're choosing to not do anything."
She couldn't understand why someone who had all the resources to protect someone would not even try to save the people living in Ashbourne Castle. Was she wrong about him? Was she wrong about her assumption that any man would have the compassion to save someone who was in need?
Eliana knew that men liked wars and loved to join them if any broke out. She'd read novels of warriors and heroes who would rather fight in a battlefield and spill blood in honor of their people and land. And the people of Ashbourne Castle was like that as far as she could tell from how the soldiers under her father's banner was acting. However, Eliana forgot something very important.
She forgot that this man sitting in front of her was not a soldier under her father's banner.
He was a merchant staying and paying his stay in their land. He was not bound by their rule and had no need to obey their orders. He was freeman and could do what he wanted. And that was why he stayed near the border rather than the central part of Ashbourne.
How foolish was she to believe that this man would help her in her cause. That he would help her save her people. Feeling lightheaded and aggrieved of her foolishness, Eliana sat on the chair with her mouth open.
She looked up at his face, aware that he was watching her this whole time as she felt her hope leaving her. A little bit irritated about this and all the horrible things that happened more than just a day ago, Eliana found herself not giving up. Giving up was the worst she could do to her people.
On the other hand, the man watched as her eyes stared at him. She looked aggrieved and wronged, but he did nothing to warrant her ire. He merely said the truth and what he wanted.
He wanted nothing from the war that was between the lord of the castle and the duke from the empire. When he first heard of it, the first thing he thought was to make his men pack everything up and leave the castle. But surprisingly, there was something inside him that made him stop.
Was it because of her?
Was the Gods scheming something again?
He did not get to wonder further as his attention was stolen by the young lady who came up to his desk with her palms against the surface of his desk.