「 Vybekya, 11th of Zataghum, 1257 AL 」
「 spirituality upload protocol interrupted. etheric link not established. status: disconnected. persistent noise. host spirituality count: 60,724,620 ether units. error uploading spirituality. progress: 1.79 percent. proceed protocol?_ 」
The whatever-upload was halted the moment Anneliese leapt hardheadedly unto Kian's chest and began crying her eyes out.
The Eye's prompt had been lingering in the corner of his right eyesight the entire time, waiting for further directive, though he simply dismissed it and sank it back into the shared mental space.
< That would have to wait. >
Kian was left sitting in his bed when his sister finally let go of him and rushed downstairs, apparently bidding the servants to prepare a grand feast to celebrate his 'Goddess-sent' recovery—to put it in his sister's words. He only managed to slip in some words of admonishment to that fussy sister of his to not push the new cook too much, but he guessed it must have fallen on deaf ears.
< Annie's a real hassle indeed. >
He sighed and haled the bellpull by the bedside.
His valet, Joachim came in through the door right after, with traces of dried tears on his face.
Kian looked at him almost amused, pausing for a moment before he told the servant boy that he wished to refresh himself.
He also ordered him to call for Mr. Rolf, the butler.
Joachim simply nodded and excused himself before his master, all the time wearing a restrained emotion on his face.
By the time Joachim returned with a basin of warm water and a piece of wash cloth, Mr. Rolf was already listening to his master narrating a set of instructions, with his back as straight as an arrow.
"I want two messengers ready on their heels tomorrow, I'll be sending a letter to my uncle and another to the Imperial Office. And prepare a list of famous taverns in the capital and brief details of their backgrounds. I would want to have it by the time I returned sightseeing with my sister tomorrow."
"It shall be done, my lord."
"And send a notice to the Norhurst estate that I would be sojourning for the winter. Should all goes well, I would be going after the Imperial Autumn's Banquet."
"Yes, my lord."
"Ah, yes, Rolf, give me a recount on the break-in two days ago. And have those Imperial Knightguards answered to their responsibilities yet?"
"My lord, if I may be prudent, their investigation had failed to bear anything. Other than discovering one of the bodies was deemed a heretic with fraudulent identification tablet, the other three were ruffians from the Ashendachs slums just beyond the South Gate. The bodies of the intruders had been retrieved by the church and were sent for cremation yesterday. Instead, the Captain of Knightburg's Imperial Knightguards, Sir Nathana passed on his entreaty to wait for my lordship to awaken before taking in a witness statement—"
< A heretic, huh? A magic user within the heart of the Empire... >
"So, the church retrieved the bodies two days ago...and cremated them only yesterday?"
"...yes, my lord. Is anything the matter...?"
"What about those guardsmen? Why were there no one attending to Yellow Thistle on that day? Have the Imperial Knightguards gained impudence before nobility, the Haas Marquessate even!? Had Annie—"
< —had Annie been at home that day, I couldn't imagine what would've happened...this, someone shall pay for this! >
"Becalm, my lord. The Goddess' Dawn guards her ladyship from misfortune—"
Mr. Rolf quickly assured when facing Kian's heavy silence, before he proceeded to explain,
"—the Imperial Knightguards are conducting an internal investigation currently, and Sir Nathana would provide the report personally by next Vyastya. As for compensation, the captain had relayed that the Imperial Knightguards would be willing to provide a public apology during a congress session of the Court of Nobles as well as remuneration of 10 silvkreuzes for asset damages..."
"..."
Kian was immersed in some thoughts, seemingly evoked by a certain past recollection, before he heard his butler's voice inquiring him again of something.
Apparently, both his butler and valet were waiting for his further instructions, and they had waited for an awkward amount of time.
"...is there anything else, my lord?"
"Remind Annie that I would be dining in my bedchamber, that's all. You may dismiss."
"We take our leave, my lord. "
Both servants then retreated from the bedchamber and closed the door behind them.
Kian reached out for the basin of water and dipped the cloth in it.
Squeezing its water out, he proceeded to wipe his face damp a few times before wiping his neck and nape.
It felt slightly tepid against his skin, and his movement was unhurried, taking his time relishing in the warmth.
His uncle, Lord Rupert Essig Fontaine der Vilheim, the current Earl of Vilheim was still at the Earldom inspecting the lands and would only return to the capital in one month's time I presume, for the Imperial Autumn's Banquet.
< My letter should reach him in a week's time and by this end of the month, I should expect Uncle Rupert to send us some of his guards ahead of his arrival...
...then with Uncle's support during the banquet, I'd be able to request audience with the Imperial Prince...
...a prior appointment with an Imperial Officer of Medicine to acquire myself a diagnosis letter would be necessary then, it would fully reinstate me my Noble's Right. That would aid my case during the audience... >
Kian continued wiping his right arm, doing so deftly while avoiding the bandaged shoulder.
He did not do the same for his left arm, he did not want to move his injured right shoulder after all.
< ...I shall refrain from involving the Church for the matter of my regained sight lest I be called in for inquisition; I can't risk having the Eye exposed after all... >
A frown formed in his brows as both of his fists gradually clenched up.
< Wait, Annie mentioned that a church's Crusade Knight was brought in that day and performed a healing ritual to save me, they should have noticed...nothing? And the Imperial Knightguards, they weren't by the front gates that day...it doesn't make any sense... >
His gaze sharpened.
A thought surfaced in his mind as his face hardened to a certain scenario. He recalled the details from the Eye's recorded memories.
< They were searching for an artifact or something...but the only artifact we ever had was the Castle Artifact bestowed by His Majesty...unless— >
He slowly unclenched his fist around the wash cloth and looked over to the wooden wash basin for a second longer than it should have been, staring at himself reflected in the rippling surface.
He then stared at the damp cloth in his hand, seemingly thinking of something.
< How did Cerebrata did it again? Hurmm...
...was it 'commence ethereal...'? Right, it was— >
"Commence [Etherize]?"
Kian's right eye slowly lighted up.
The mysterious bronze-golden glow appeared once again, it was that familiar feeling.
Everchanging shapes and unknown symbols tried to build itself into an etheric function in his sight as he focussed it over the wash cloth in his left hand.
He could feel something intangible was flowing out of him, exhausting him rapidly; it was his spirituality draining out of his very soul!
「 etheric signature resonated. minimal resonance. accruing spirituality saturation. calibrating. entering values. 」
Through the ethereal vision overlapping with his normal sight, he saw it gathered over and filling the damp cloth from within, building upon itself and breaking off and dispersing before rebuilding itself, over and over again, in a matter of minutes, until not before long, the etheric function programming was complete.
He was barely holding his mind from the massive expenditure of his spirituality.
「 etheric signature resonated. optimal resonance. maximum spirituality saturation. calibration completed. values verified. run program?_ 」
< Yes. >
Kian set it off.
The cloth flung itself into the air, somersaulted once or twice before it landed inside the wash basin with a wet plop!
The end of his lips curved slightly before he let out a groaning sigh, his shoulders drooped and his thoughts heeved wearily.
< It's a bit too slow compared to when Cerebrata did it. >
After resting for a few moments, Kian looked around his bedchamber for things he could try the Etherizer ability on some more before he fixed his sight onto a silver candlestick by the wall beside the door.
De novo, his right eye glowed in the yellow, metallic hue.
"Commence [Etherize]!"
He felt his spirituality began to drain away from his being, moving across the distance and slowly gathering onto the candlestick.
An etheric function was already morphing in his sight, with the ever-familiar shapes and unknown symbols joining together.
To Kian's surprise however, this time it require much less spirituality and took less than a minute to complete.
The familiar affirmation popped-up in his sight.
「 etheric signature resonated. optimal resonance. maximum spirituality saturation. calibration completed. values verified. run program?_ 」
< Yes. >
The silver candlestick tore itself out of the wall laboriously before it hurled across the room and impaled itself into the stone of the wall—it had pierced a fifth of its length in!
Kian held his breath to the happening before him; the sheer force was simply terrifying.
< I see, so different things require differing amount of spirituality and that results in differing time length and differing degree of force, huh. Is it the weight? Or the material it's made of? Perhaps assaying on more things would allow for confirmation. >
Thus, Kian began spending the hour of the late afternoon experimenting different things in the bedchamber with his newfound [Etherize] ability, playing with it exhaustingly, verifying some of his previous thoughts and repudiating the rest of the concessions, while rejuvenating his mind and resting his soul in between each attempts.
Muffled sounds of object hitting the carpeted floor invited his valet waiting outside the bedchamber to often inquire through the door of the thudding sounds, to which he simply replied he was looking for something.
< ...on another note, however, it works better on silvers than it was on woods, and it only had a small affective range of about two feet around me... >
A few knocks sounded at the door.
"My lord, dinner would soon be served. Her ladyship insists of having to dine together however, so if I may be bold, would my sire be inclined to be joined by her ladyship for dinner?"
The butler's voice pervaded through the wooden door.
Kian let out a chuckle and his umpteenth sigh of the day as he looked around the messy bedchamber around him; books and silverwares were scattered everywhere.
Even the silver candlestick was still stuck by the wall.
"Alright, tell her I would come down for dinner. And Joachim, clean my chamber later. No one else but you may enter while you clean."
"....Yes, it shall be done as such, my lord."
"Yes, milord."
The golden light in his right eye dimmed till it was back to normal.
Apparent exhaustion washed all over him as his feet staggered a bit.
He had actually used up over three-quarters of his spirituality!
「 host spirituality count: 15,173,315 ether units. 」
Kian treaded over the bestrewn mess on the carpeted floor to the cupboard where he took out a silk robe and wore it drape-over.
The robe, though tied at the waist, left his chest bare, albeit the shoulder bandages could be seen peeking at the cleavage. He made his way—slightly limping—to the door, and opened it, where he found his valet waiting on him.
"Milord, would you need your servant's escort to the dining hall?"
"No need for that, I'll be fine on my own. Just clean and arrange the things in my chamber, it was...a bit messy. Don't let anyone else enter and remember, you've seen nothing."
"Understood, milord."