CG Chapter 71: So be it
The courier's reputation wasn't fake, for only within a couple of days, two letters were delivered to the castle of Flameheart. However, things had changed too much in the short time that Tom was in Sollaria.
In a secluded part of the territory of Flameheart, Alfred continued his training, holding his sword while he jumped from tree to tree, chasing a flying squirrel. He didn't care for the meat of the squirrel; instead, he was training his reflexes and movement.
Alfred's once frail body now had muscles that were more defined than ever before. He had transformed from someone who wouldn't hurt a fly into a wild animal, full of bloodthirst and hunger for power.
"More, more, more. I need more power," Alfred's determination grew stronger as he thought about the reason why he was willing to endure so much suffering.
Although Alfred was respected within Flameheart before since he served one of the two young masters and the oldest son of the baron. But, after the death of Timothy and the hellish year of training that he underwent, Alfred wasn't just respected; but feared.
The servants and even more so the soldiers felt that the change in Alfred wasn't just on the surface, he felt to them as if he was a beast who would explode on them at any second.
Once the courier reached the castle, the servants fought amongst themselves over who would bring the letter to Alfred. They feared what might happen if they angered him. After much discussion, they decided to draw lots, and without any cheating, the task fell to an unfortunate new maid.
When the maid reached the ground where she was told Alfred would be training, she was surprised to find no one. In fact, the place was completely silent and empty of any living being.
"Is there anyone here? Mr. Alfred, are you there? I have a letter from young master Edward for you." The maid began to scream while trying to keep the creepiness of the place from getting to her.
At first, she received no response, but once she said the name of Edward, Alfred suddenly appeared behind her.
"Give it to me quickly."
"Ahhhhhh!"
This almost scared her to death, but Alfred didn't seem to care; he was too focused on the message.
The maid swiftly handed the letter to him before excusing herself.
As he opened the letter, Alfred began to read it with care.
Just when he reached the part where Tom mentioned his cooking skills, he stood for a couple of seconds, lost in thought, before a sudden feeling of realization hit him, tears began to pour down his face.
"I, I will make sure to give you the best meal out there, no matter what it takes."
…
Knock, knock.
"Enter," replied Folek to the knocking. He held a book in one hand while enjoying his woody yet sweet drink in the other.
An old servant entered the office, handing a letter to Folek.
"Your lordship, it seems that young master Edward has sent a letter to you."
Hearing those words, Folek's hands shook, spilling some of his drink. "I see, you may leave."
Folek removed the seal of Flameheart, only to be surprised by the sight of ash covering his table and beginning to mix with the spilled drink.
Looking at the table, he stayed silent for a while, muttering to himself, "Six thousand years, is it really time…"
His voice was shaken. Who would have thought that the mighty Folek would be shaken so much at the sight of some ash mixed with whisky?
If any of the enemies he had killed cold-heartedly saw him get shaken by this, they would have been amused. But who could blame him? Only he and the person who sent the letter knew what it meant.
After he regained his calmness, only three words escaped his mouth: "So be it."
These three words began a chain of new and unexpected changes in the territory of Flameheart.
…
Returning to Sollaria, specifically the cathedral of Lumina, Tom continued to strengthen his influence over the church. He walked around, talking to the young and old, telling them about the good word of Lumina.
While roaming around, Tom was surprised to find a young boy who looked around eleven years old playing with three dolls.
Out of curiosity, he walked up to this boy who dared to play in the cathedral. He wondered if the boy's parents had a death wish.
However, when he approached the boy, he noticed that a holy knight had been watching over him the whole time.
When the knight noticed Tom's expression, he quickly spoke.
"Your Holiness, this is the child of one of the bishops. He came here to get the blessing of the pope, but since the pope is busy, he gave him permission to play here."
Having some time to spare, Tom wanted to know more about the boy and his background, so he crouched down to the boy's level while asking, "Hello, young one. What is your name, and what game are you playing?"
"Hi, mister. I am Leylin Farlier, and I am recreating the story I heard from my grandfather."
"Can you tell me more about the story?" Tom asked while playing with the boy's hair.
"My grandfather told me not to tell stories for free since they are the wisdom of our predecessors."
"How about this: if you tell me the story, I will also share a story of my own with you. A story for a story seems like a fair deal to me."
"Fine. A long, long time ago, there was a family made up of three–a mother, a father, and a young son. The father drank every day, and the mother only married the father for money. They didn't care about their child and didn't even feed him every day. However, after the father found his faith in Lumina, things started to change, and their life began to improve. From there, they lived happily ever after."
Tom looked at the child and closed his eyes for a couple of seconds. However, he was interrupted by the boy shaking him, excited to hear Tom's story.
"Your turn now. What story will you tell me?"
"I have a similar story to yours, but it didn't have a good ending. Are you sure you want to hear it?"
The boy didn't hesitate as he shook his head aggressively.
"In a faraway world, there was a family of three. The father beat his child every day, while the mother promised the child her love in exchange for stealing money.
One night, when the sky was dark, the mother, who was rarely at home, slept deeply. That night, the father wanted to do something worse than just beating or starving the boy. However, the child, broken as he was, gathered all his energy and pushed the father against the wall. The father's head struck the wall, and he was left unconscious.
Seeing this, the child, fed up with everything, picked up a torch that the father had used to burn him and set the house on fire, leaving them to die."