「 Vyskur'ya, 13th of Zataghum, 1257 AL 」
< The faint lights of spirituality covering the sky of Austeirgard... >
< ...and the spirituality flowing out of Annie as she led grace prayer for the past two days—really similar to the Eye's [Spirituality Upload] ability... >
< ...and now this Custodian's ring, it bears some kind of— >
"...what may be the young lord's thoughts? Any other insights would Lord Cervan like to add?"
"Brother, what do you think? Would this arrangement be alright?"
Anneliese face popped-up in his vision holding some white paper documents, her forehead had creased a bit as if to show that she had done a lot of thinking.
It reminded him of their childhood days, his last memories of being able to see his cute little sister before he was afflicted with blindness.
The corners of his lips inevitably curved up.
"...I concur to my sister's; Annie is, after all, the head of the House of Haas. It'll be done according to her arrangement."
"Hahaha, then the guild shall prepare the hire contract immediately. Ovi, Ovi!"
A young man who stood on the sides since earlier came to the table and gathered the marked and scribbled papers, before he went to sit at a small table by the windows and began writing, turning the content of the discussed agreement into a proper hire contract.
He had a scholarly air to him; his mannerism and his choice of attire, his dark-green muffin hat accented with a plume of white feather.
< A collegian of the Imperial Academy? Or a graduate student? >
"Hahaha, that's Ovius, an Academy student. Works in the guild as a scribe and a notary in the weekends. Quiet, but the lad's smart and he's quick with his hands too."
Kian pulled back his stare and took a sip of the wisping cup of honey water.
He replied nothing and simply took note of the curiousity written on the face of the girl sitting beside him.
"Aha...he's in the Secundarium, should the Countess may wonder..."
"No, no, I'm ju—"
"Mr. Bast."
Ovius the Notary returned with a compiled contract document and handed it politely to the his superior as well as a copy to his sister. The scholarly young man only paused momentarily when he passed the document to the Anneliese, but even then he did not raised his eyes, more so spoke a single word.
Kian could feel a slight change in his sister's ambience and guessed that it was probably due to her genuine curiosity on meeting a fellow collegian in such an unlikely setting. She was holding herself back from interviewing her academy senior before everyone.
"Milady countess, milord, I invite you to read through the contract and check if there's anything amiss. Then, the Countess shall have her signature be signed and the House Seal be stamped at the bottom-left space for both copies."
Mr. Bast then proceeded to take off the curious ring from his index finger and used it to stamp its insignia onto the prepared molten red wax at the bottom of his copy of the contract.
Then he slid the document over to Anneliese as she passed hers to the man before they signed and stamped each other's copies.
< I see, so the ring works as a stamp. Humm? >
「 detected, etheric signature, solarium 」
"!!!"
Kian observed the stamped seal on the copy in his sister's hands, there was actually an imprint of shimmering spirituality meshing through and around it in a certain riveting pattern.
He could sense that it carried within it a particular kind of meaning, constructed in such a way that it could—
< —restrain? >
He felt he could almost grasp its nature but it was as if his mind was obscured by mists of understanding—
< Divine knowledge?!! No wonder it felt familiar, it's similar to the feeling the thought nodes from the shared mental space... >
"Milord, I heard a rumour from a few years ago that speaks of a secondborn from a fallen noble house being blind and losing his Noble's Right. Ridiculous, isn't it, but people do wonder about this things. What do you think, Lord Cervan?"
"...Mr. Bast, you seem to love gossips a bit too much despite denouncing it earlier. But to relieve us from that itch, I'd say that though rumours may be blind, there'd be no smoke without fire...
...it's always towards the Goddess men turn to in their times of misfortune, and the Goddess, perhaps in Her whims, may respond in kind. And that's what we call a divine miracle, as it was with fire, the first miracle gifted to men. What do you say, Mr. Bast?"
"Indeed, indeed, I see. I heard that milord is an eloquent orator but only today I realise such words are lacking to measure his lordship. A great talent of the empire, I say, a great talent, hahaha!"
Kian crafted a smile as he placed down the cup of honey water back onto the table, pulling back from his uncharacteristic avidness.
The Custodian seemed to have noticed him being intrigued by the ring when he wore it back, rubbing it a few times.
"Then, we'll each keep a copy of these contract. The Merchant Guild shall send a letter to the Yellow Thistle as soon as we gathered the carpenter hires, guaranteed to be masters in their crafts. It's the guild's honour to provide its utmost best to serve the marquessate, milady."
Kian rose from his seat as he shook hands with the Custodian.
His sister too stood up and curtsied while replying,
"The marquessate is also honoured to be in the good hands of the Merchant Guild. May the Goddess shepherd you, Mr Bast."
"The Holy Sun joins your way, milady, milord."
Kian and his sister, as well as her handmaiden, climbed down the wooden stairs from the second floor, escorted by the wordless notary.
They left the building made out of ironwoods and boarded the coach that had been notified to wait in front of the entrance.
"Brother, next we'll go to the Giovan's salon that we passed by earlier. We'll get you measured up and order a few new tunics and trousers, a cloak as well perhaps— "
"Annie, I don't think— *pause* —I like everything you have in mind. Let's go."
Kian simply did not have the heart to turn down his sister who just had her mood turned to the better, not when she had her pitiful face pleading right in front of him.
His sister giggled at her success as she tugged him into the horse-carriage, satisfied at his acquiescence.
The coachman quickly whipped the air by the horses as they pulled the coach into whirring and rumbling through the busy street, making its way to a well-known tailor salon in Coinsward.
.....
The tailor salon was operated by the Viscountcy House of Giovan which had their territory bordering the east of Hassenmarck.
In addition, their whole land was planted with cotton and the majority of their populace were cotton-pickers, weavers and tailors.
They were also known to import wool from the south.
Kian inspected the square metal piece in his hand, his right eye was slightly lighted up in the familiar yellow tinge.
It was a silverplatz, a silver coin denomination used throughout the Empire.
Dense dots and lines of pulsing light covered throughout the entire coin but unlike the ring with by the Custodian, it bore no mystical nor meaningful pattern; the silverplatz was simply a container, a—
< —a spirituality vessel...? >
"...brother?"
"..."
"Brother, what is it?"
Kian turned to look at his sister who sat at his side with a concerned expression hung at her face.
"...I was just wondering about what I want to do in the days to come. The Goddess has gifted us with Her miracle of surprise that I'm at lost of what should I do..."
Apparently, he and his sister were already in the tailor salon and already had his measurements taken.
"Brother..."
"...Sorry that I made you worry, Annie. I'm alright. So, where's the clothes you want me to try on?"
He flashed his gentle everyday smiled, looking at his sister's watery eyes, convincing her that he was indeed fine.
The silverplatz twirled around his fingers, as if he was trying to feel the every grooves etched onto the square coin's surface.
He could see his sister's usual perkiness gradually returning to her face, as she turned around towards Maria behind her to pick up a few clothes in her hands.
Then, she came back to him almost in flight and pushed them onto him.
"Then, brother, you should try these two on, I think it would match you perfectly!"
Kian simply smiled in resignation, his sister was this kind of person. And he would indulged her.
He went to the private fitting room upstairs with two shop attendants behind him, helping him to try on the pairs of tunics and trousers.
Anneliese, on the other hand, waited patiently for him just outside the room.
His bandaged torso came into view when his upper garment was removed, which elicited certain subtle gazes from the two attendants but Kian simply ignored it.
After changing into a velvety, sunset-yellow tunic and a pair of thick, mud-brown trousers, he walked out of the fitting room.
< These colours though... >
"So, how is it?"
Kian turned to his sister sitting with her handmaiden beside her, his hands were raised slightly to his sides.
"Perfect! They fit you perfectly, brother!"
He looked at his sister's enthusiastic eyes and acquiesced silently.