Hethron gestured toward the door. "You may now enter. His Grace awaits."
As Ikaria nodded in response, she said, "Thank you."
Hethron remained composed, placing his hand at his side. He bowed to her before opening the door for them.
Ikaria held Seyric's small hand as they sat in front of the massive trestle table, with Vesper seated at the opposite end. Vesper's gaze was fixed on them as he elegantly cut the steak with a knife in his hand.
"Please take a seat," he gestured to two empty seats next to him, opposite of Persephone, whose cheeks were flushed red, a tankard in front of her.
"Thank you, Your Grace," Ikaria replied.
With a hint of a smile, Vesper gestured for them to sit. Ikaria and Seyric took their seats, with Seyric next to the empty seat on Vesper's side, and Ikaria sitting opposite Persephone.
"Good evening, Your Grace," Ikaria greeted Persephone.
Persephone waved her hand airily and sloppily shut her eyes as a servant poured her tankard of beer. Ikaria watched, then quickly drank her beer, turning her gaze away as she stiffly grabbed her tableware.
She cut her steak in strained movements, biting her lip. Vesper, after thoroughly chewing a piece of steak, glanced at Seyric, whose gaze was fixed on his plate, poking at the food.
"Are you not feeling hungry?" Vesper questioned, placing his fork and knife back on his plate before wiping his lips with a linen napkin.
Seyric huffed a sigh before meeting Vesper's gaze. Despite his vibrant, tired eyes, he wore a stoic smile with raised eyebrows. "Your Grace... Where did my father go?"
Ikaria, about to eat salad, stopped halfway, sighing before looking at Vesper with gloomy eyes and lowering her head. "Forgive my son's ignorance," she mumbled as Vesper waved his hand.
"No, no. The young boy was just curious," Vesper said proudly before leaning back in his chair, staring at Seyric. "I sent him out for an errand. He'll be back tomorrow."
"Okay..."
"Just focus on eating for now and have a good rest, since tomorrow will be a busy day for you," Vesper winked before motioning to his food. Finally, Seyric started to eat his meal despite the constant exchange between Ikaria and the couple, filling up the dining room.
Meanwhile, a cold wind swept through the forest as Euris let his black cloak fall from his head. He glanced at the remains of a thick pool of blood, a fleshy stench making him feel like there was a lump in his throat.
Covering his nose with his hand, he surveyed the area of tents set along the foot of the mountain, finding flesh and human bones scattered nearby. The fire had long died out, emitting only a thin smoke that could be seen from a distance, burning torn bloodied shirts.
As a few men approached, wearing the same cloak, Euris asked, "May I ask what caused this?"
"It's the Guardian of the Woods," a man behind him mumbled.
Euris squinted, the other men agreeing. "The guardian is responsible. These men must have done something to provoke it. He's usually docile."
"May I ask more of this Guardian of the Woods?"
The man older than the rest cleared his throat. "His Grace had learned about the Guardian of the Woods decades ago. He was responsible for overseeing this area, which is why he prohibited killing wild animals in the region. If you encountered this beast, it wouldn't hesitate to harm or kill you.
The circumstances depended on your actions. It was a part of nature, lurking everywhere, with unpredictable appearances. Despite His Grace's attempts to capture and tame it, the beast refused to be tamed. Even someone like His Grace always kept his guard up."
Euris listened intently to the man's words, noded as he absorbed the information.
He glanced down at the ground and found a piece of bloodied fang, about the size of his pinky finger. He picked it up as the men resumed their chatter.
Looking back into the woods, he saw a pair of gleaming eyes staring back at him. A cold feeling swept over his heart as he maintained eye contact for quite some time, blinking only when necessary.
Eventually, the creature turned away and dashed deeper into the woods, its footsteps barely made a sound among the leaves.
Even after an hour had passed, it never returned.
Moment's later, Euris took his cloak off as Ikaria hold it for him. The moonlight pears through the curtains as she noticed the fang he held. The rough texture and fine details was much vivid as Euris held it in his hand, but not as dirty as before he had managed to clean it before he got home.
"Is Seyric already asleep...?" Euris asked as he was taking of his clothes and handed it over Ikaria.
"Yeah, but he seem to miss you lately... You have been busy."
Euris hummed and sighed before he changed to a night clothes and stared at the fang in his hands.
"Tomorrow should be the time for him to enter the school right...?"
"Yeah, I was told by His Grace that he would tour him around."
Euris nodded and smiled at Ikaria staring at her hazel eyes that stared at him warmly.
"Don't strain yourself, hon. I know you wanted to earn as much money as possible but don't forget to spend time with your son too."
She stared at the level of his clothes for a moment with a smile before she walked towards him and fixed his messed up collar.
"Yes, hon. I know..." He mumbles softly as his eyes labeled down at her face as he looked up to him. "But how about you, have you not miss me?"
He asked with a smile from ear to ear as Ikaria smacked his shoulder. "Dummy, of course... I do."
---
Euris sighed as he salt at the edge of Seyric's bed... As he glanced around, as he took in a bunch of opened books in the study table. The room has been much spacious than the one he had back home.
He glanced at his son sleeping peacefully as he gently caressed his hair before he placed the fang now embedded as a necklace at the night stand next to his bed. Before he stood up trying to clean up the books he left open, it was already half way when he shut the book he noticed the book entitled 'Tamer Class'.
He sighed and smiled before he put the bow inside the drawer.