Annalise stared at the empty space in front of her with a look of surprise and confusion on her face. Just a moment ago, she was wrapped up in Lord Valerius' arms and the next moment, he disappeared without any warning.
No! He didn't leave the library. He actually disappeared in thin air, leaving her behind all alone and confused about what he meant to say by calling her a threat. When did she become a threat? And how?
Annalise wasn't sure what he meant to say or what meaning she should make out of his words. Besides, she was too shocked after seeing him using one of the most powerful spells that had ever existed - teleportation.
Exactly who were these Dark Lords? And just how powerful they were?
The questions were there but no one answered them. For a moment, she wondered if she did the right thing by marrying three complete strangers. She didn't even know their names before she met Kenric upon her arrival at the castle.
And while she now, at least, knew their names, that was all that she was aware of about her mysterious husbands. Just what she had gotten herself into!
Letting out a small sigh, Annalise too decided to leave the library for the time being. The little adventure of hers with Lord Valerius had left her too shaken. Besides, it seemed like her stomach finally needed some food.
Walking out of the library, she headed downstairs. There was still another floor left for her to check but she decided to do that later sometime.
She still wasn't sure where the kitchen was but she recalled Sera saying that it was somewhere on the ground floor. So she set out to search for the kitchen.
On her way downstairs, she noticed that the inside of the castle was now filled with soft light as the servants had opened some of the windows on each floor. She wondered if one of the Lords permitted them to open the windows because as far as she knew, the servants of the Grand Duke's mansion were trained to not exceed the limits drawn for them.
"My Lady, are you looking for something?" A maid noticed her standing at the foot of the stairs and approached her.
"Right. I'm looking for the kitchen. Do you know where is it?" Annalise asked, feeling pleased to find someone who could help her.
"Sure, my lady. This way." The woman took her toward the north side of the ground floor. They passed through a huge wooden door and Annalise got to know that it was the dining hall. The next room was kitchen storage and then finally, there was the kitchen.
Annalise looked around the spacious kitchen and her gaze landed on Aunt Claire who was working on cleaning the counters that had been covered with years of dust.
She dismissed the maid before making her way to where Aunt Claire was working. "How about some help?" she asked while picking up the duster that was sitting on one of the counters.
Aunt Claire turned to look at her and a smile bloomed on her face, making her appear warm and welcoming, the reason why Annalise always felt comfortable around the older woman who had looked after her for the past two decades.
"You won't listen even if I say no. How about you let me do the dusting while you use this wet cloth to clean what I have already dusted? This way you won't get dirt on your clothes too." Aunt Claire suggested as she took the duster from Annalise's hands and gave her a clean wet cloth.
Annalise didn't complain and just accepted the easy task that she was given. "Where should I start from?" she asked while looking around the kitchen.
"How about those cabinets? I have already dusted them a while ago. So, you just have to clean them with a wet cloth." Aunt Claire directed as she started dusting the huge wooden shelves that were fixed against the walls of the kitchen to store food, cooking equipment, silverware, and dishes.
Annalise moved towards the opened cabinets and started cleaning them with the wet cloth she was holding. "Why this kitchen looks so empty? There's nothing here except the stone counters and these shelves and cabinets. What about the utensils and silverware? Is there nothing?" She asked Aunt Claire as she continued to work.
"Oh! There's a full set of everything but as you can see everything here is covered in dust. So, I asked Lela to take them outside to wash them. We will be needing them in a couple of hours for the lunch. Everyone's working hard in cleaning this place, they will need food to keep their energy level high." Aunt Claire told her as she moved on to dust the two long stone islands that were built in the center of the kitchen.
The two continued to work in silence after that. They cleaned the cabinets, the shelves, counters, stone islands, and then finally the fireplaces and the stone oven. Aunt Claire lastly cleaned the kitchen floor and by the time they finished, the place was shining brand new.
"What now?" Annalise asked as they stood in the kitchen with nothing left to do. Her eyes moved toward the small spiral staircase built on the other side of the kitchen leading to a door that was fixed high in the wall. There was another door built right next to the foot of the stairs, meaning there were two different rooms.
"Is that a pantry? And a Larder?" she asked Aunt Claire while pointing toward those rooms.
"You are right, my lady. The one below is the larder and the above one is the pantry. I have already cleaned them this morning. The servants have also cleaned the storage next door." Aunt Claire answered as she moved towards the big door located in the farthest corner of the kitchen which was a backdoor.
"Ah! Perfect timing. The guards are back from the market and Lela is also done with her job. Time to cook!" Aunt Claire announced in a happy and excited voice as he walked out of the kitchen.
Feeling curious, Annalise followed the old woman, and as she reached the back door, her eyes landed on the carts that were standing outside filled with all sorts of fresh vegetables, meat, fish, herbs, and every other thing that was needed for cooking meals.
Only one thing was on her mind - delicious food!