February 28, 1976 (Present Day)
The City of Cheshire
(Yamir's POV)
About half an hour had passed since me and Via returned to the park from before.
But before we got impatient, a single yet large carriage finally arrived.
Tugging along large iron and seemingly unbreakable cables, two noble steeds was dragging the carriage along.
And once the knight who drove them along saw us, he immediately pulled the reigns to a sudden stop.
Once it was safe to exit, one man from inside opened the door become coming down the steps.
The guy didn't seem all that important in the grand scheme of things, but his choice of attire and his noble presence made it clear that he worked for this city's government.
"Via? Yamir?" He asked, confirming our identities.
The two of us exchanged glances with each other before eventually nodding to the man.
"My name is Vert and I have been tasked with the job of escorting you. Please, right this way." He replied, gesturing us towards the cart.
And by the time we got ourselves situated inside, it wasn't till long before the carriage took off.
Some time passed shortly after, but it wasn't till long Via broke the silence and begged a question.
"What took you guys so long?" She asked, her fingers tapping her crossed forearms.
Vert bowed his head apologetically.
"Pardon our delay, madam. We were late because you was much further then we originally thought."
I raised my eyebrow curiously.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You are friends with Mr. Naoto correct? The place in which he arranged your transportation was on the other side of the city. Hence the reason as to why we were late." He explained.
"Mr. Naoto", that's the new alias "Riad" took up when he chose to transform into a new person.
According to what Via had told me, he did that as insurance in the off chance that our "Goddess" somehow caught wind of his previous identity.
Which meant I need to start getting used to calling him Naoto rather than Riad.
Atleast for now anyways.
"Where is Naoto anyways?" I later asked Vert.
"The Maxwell Manor, I believe."
"Maxwell?" Via asked.
"Ah, that's right. You are from out of town. Well, since it's going to be a little while before we return home, I suppose I can act as your tour guide."
After speaking, he raised two of his fingers.
"Cheshire is ruled by two noble houses. The Maxwell Clan and the Azurenacht Family." He explained.
"The Maxwells, the ones to which we are about to visit, governs over the more milital aspects of our politics, such as the structure of our security and the deployment of our knights. Think of them as this city's sworn knights in shining armour."
"Like the Azurenacht Family, The Maxwell Clan also controls "family branches" like the Onne Clan. They are underlings to which serve under them."
"And the manor we are about to visit. I'm assuming that belongs to him as well?" Via asked.
"Indeed. That mansion is his personal property."
Now that I think about it, I wonder if Naoto is friends with the lord of this city.
Well, "friends" would probably be a poor choice of words for this line of business, but considering his position as a "holy knight", I wouldn't be surprised to see that he has connections even this far south.
In any case, since there wasn't much that I wanted to ask about, I eventually grew silent and allowed Via to take charge of the conversation herself.
Caring little of where the direction of their talk was heading, I did nothing more but patiently pass the time by listening and looking at whatever that seemed remotely interesting.
Once it began to get dark, the city lights flickered on and eventually the entire atmosphere changed.
The children who were playing around earlier rushed back inside. Stores and shop owners began to close up for the day, and while foot traffic began to lighten up, more and more adults took to the streets to indulge the end of another busy evening.
But before I knew it, by the time it was completely the dead of night, we eventually arrived at our supposed destination.
"Here we are. The Maxwell Manor." Vert announced.
Soon after he said that, a large mansion on our left came into view. Nested a few acres out from where we were, it was guarded by a large metal fence enchanted with some type of magic.
Once the carriage eased itself softly towards the left, we approached two large and imposing gates.
There, the gatekeeper communicated with the outside driver and verified his identification.
Shortly after, the gates slowly slid open and we were permitted to enter.
Now, let's see what we're dealing with today.
Hmm, a well catered lawn, trimmed bushes, even pavement, expensive lamp posts and a beautiful courtyard. Yeah, from the looks of it, this mansion was the average example of "luxury".
If you looked at it from the perspective of a middle class citizen, it might have looked like something special, but to me, it didn't seem all that grand.
About half a minute later, the mansion was but a stone throw away from us. But for us to finally approach it, we had to circle around a large acre of land in front of it. From the way they decorated it, it must have been their main courtyard.
And as we came up on the left curve of the circle, I noticed someone in particular on our right standing in one of the clearings in the garden.
We moved too fast for me to be sure, but from what I noticed, it seemed there was a young boy training outside with a sword, probably doing some basic practicing.
I don't know why, but at that moment I wondered who he was. And the things he was capable of.
"There are still people training at this time of night? How ridiculous…" I mumbled aloud.
By the time I said that, it was too late for Vert to see the boy I saw earlier, but somehow he knew exactly who I was thinking about.
"Oh, that's probably the young master back at it again." He replied, sighing a little afterwards.
"Who?"
"His name is Tyrus, but we call him the young master since he's the son of the lord in charge here."
"Oh, so he's like a prince then?" Via asked.
"I guess." He replied, shrugging his shoulders.
Why did he sound so unsure with his answer? If he was to be the next in line to inherit the throne, then that's what he is, isn't it?
Well, not unless…
"Does this Tyrus guy have any siblings?"
"....That's…well, it's a little complicated…." He replied softly, fidgeting a little in unease.
"If you want the full story, I'm afraid you'll have to ask the lord himself." He explained again, properly adverting the question elsewhere.
Well, now I'm even more curious.
As the front doors came up on our left, the horse carriage slowly came to a stop, perfectly aligning itself with the red carpet outside.
Once it was safe to exit, one maid in particular came to us and slowly opened the door before gesturing us outside towards the mansion.
The first thing I noticed about her was the fact that she looked extremely exhausted and worn out.
Though somewhat covered by makeup foundation, there were definitely bags underneath her eyes. In addition to that, there were also obvious signs of lack of proper sleep in her eyes. Her job as a servant must be tiring, if not, rigorous.
"Welcome back, Sir Vert." The woman mumbled aloud, struggling a little to take an elegant bow.
However, Vert rolled his eyes and ignored her.
Instead, he took her job and extended his hand towards us, hoping to help us down.
While Via was one to accept this gesture, I refused his gesture and went down myself before looking around.
As if they were expecting important VIPs to arrive, a couple more important looking maids and butlers stood at the front doors, all bowing elegantly to us.
For a moment, Via stood in disbelief and appraised the mansion from an up close and personal perspective before finally she whistled in awe.
"Pretty fancy place, huh~ What do you think, Yamir?~" She asked me, feeling a little excited.
"It's alright, I guess."
For some reason, after I said that, my mind glanced back at the servants nearby. And then eventually I looked back at the poor looking maid from before.
Although I know for certain that our situation was drastically different from each other, I couldn't help but relate myself to this woman.
Both of us are mere servants, tools meant to be exploited by our masters, just to make ends meet.
Feeling a little sympathetic for her, I patted her shoulder and whispered to her one thing that usually makes anyone feel better about themselves.
"You're doing great. Keep it up, okay?"