As a horse galloped over, the woman sitting atop it waved her hand at Alaric. Her brown hair swayed behind her like a wave and her smile didn't look any different from the sun in the background. Alaric's honey-colored pupils dilated at the face of a familiar person rushing over, and he raised a hand to greet her back when his actions came to an abrupt halt.
A head popped out from behind the woman, with eyes squinted and his fairly long blue hair fluttering in the wind, the boy was fighting against Eleen's adrift curls slapping against his face.
"...."
The nobleman's hand sank as he disembarked the carriage, taking wavering steps toward the horse which halted in front of his guards. The guards didn't stop the two people who jumped down the horse, as they were both familiar faces.
"Young master, hiii!" Eleen shouted with joy, "Look who I've brought back!"
With a slight push, the young man beside him was yanked forward. Ian stumbled briefly before finding his balance, straightening his back and repeating in his mind all of the excuses he'd long memorized.
"...Ian?"
Upon hearing Alaric's call, Ian opened his mouth in an attempt to spit out his entire made-up story in one go,
"Uh, you see, that night I went out for a walk but I ended up- Huh?"
Before Ian could even finish his first sentence, a sniffling Alaric threw himself over, embracing the servant tightly like a lost child's reunion with their mom. He had started crying at some point without Ian noticing, as if he was ready for it, and was shedding tears while hiccuping, bawling his eyes out for no reason.
"Hic, I-I thought you dieddd Iannn, sniff, your're alright, hic!"
"....."
"Thanks godddd sniiiffffff!"
The servant didn't respond to his master's weeping, for a long time. His face was blank and dazed, just like his mind.
-What? What? What's Alaric doing? Master, what have you done?
The child's astonished shout was what brought Ian back from his stupor.
-I don't know...
Wait, what was he supposed to do now? What would people say in this situation, sorry for accidentally causing you to believe that I was dead? Thanks for being happy that I'm alive? Prior to that, did he have to do anything, like pull Alaric away? Nah, that didn't seem like the right answer. Hug him back? Wasn't that kind of weird? Pat his back, maybe? But Alaric was an adult and not a kid.
Ian's heart began palpitating with anxiety without him noticing, panic rising within his mind. This was the first time someone was glad that he was alive, so he had no experience regarding how he was supposed to react in such a situation. He had to sometimes soothe Lior after frightening him with an injury, but Lior was a child and not a human!!
And on top of everything, why in the world would this Alaric be so worried about him? Ian was just a mere servant!
"Uh, um, hey!" In a snap decision, Ian grabbed Alaric's upper arms without neither pushing nor hugging him. "Master, wait, what's there to cry about? What's wrong?"
The snuffling Alaric gradually pulled his body back and muttered in a husky voice, "They said you must've died..."
Ian sneakily pulled himself away as he spoke under his breath,
"That's not something so big to weep about like this."
"...." Alaric paused in the middle of wiping his face with his sleeve. "I thought you were dead!" He emphasized his sentence firmly.
"Uh, so? It's not something to be so sad about." Ian repeated as he scanned his surroundings, disregarding Alaric's strongly highlighted words. Even though he couldn't understand that situation, he was starting to feel guilty for some reason. He was also still stressed out from the bizarre reaction so he shifted his attention to something else, "Ah, you seem to have purchased a new ca-"
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT IT'S NOT SOMETHING TO BE SO SAD ABOUT???" Alaric's shout cut Ian's words off yet again as well as scaring the hell out of him. "I thought you were dead! Dead and gone! Do you understand how worried I was? I thought I'd get a proper life in here, but I lost a friend as soon as the story began! Do you understand???"
Grabbing his shoulders and shaking his body, Alaric screamed through teary eyes, making everyone in the vicinity to look their way.
'No, I don't understand, especially your last words!'
Ian's palpitation was back at its peak. Failing to form a proper answer, he opened his mouth to just say whatever came to his mind when a child roared in his mind.
-Master please just apologize and shut up. Say nothing else, close your mouth!
'What the hell-'
A child was teaching him what to say?
"I'm sorry it won't happen again."
Despite his confusion and dejection, Ian did as he was told.
"Oh, my, Ian..."
An aged voice resounded from behind and the old man who was frozen till this moment stepped forward. His usually wrinkled skin looked even more crinkled compared to a few days ago and his deep blue eyes had dark circles around them. Ranger seemed to have aged a few months, if not years, in the past week.
"Oh my goodness..." Parched and rough, yet warm palms gently curled around Ian's face. "You are fine, my god, you are alright!"
"...."
Ian's guilt, once again, soared high to the skies.
"Yeah, sorry..."
Despite how he was confused by Alaric's behavior, he could understand this old man. Still, to Alaric, Ian was just a servant whom he never cared much about. Although he's changed drastically, his worry and sorrow are still confusing for Ian.
'Aside from that, what did he mean by getting a proper life but losing a friend at the start of the story?'
Wait, who did he mean by 'friend'? Definitely not Ian, right?
"Uh, oh, everyone must've been so worried about you, Ian." At that moment, Eleen sheepishly interjected the scene with an embarrassed smile attached to her lips.
"I feel so sorry for delaying your arrival."
Her apologizing out of the blue was another blow to Ian's already confused brain.
"Huh, why?"
"You could've arrived here faster if we didn't take a mission on our way. I think I should apologize to the young master as well."
"Huh, no, wait. It wasn't your duty to bring me here, you were just doing a favor so what's there to apologize?"
Everyone's eyes were now fixed on the doctor and her companion standing at a little bit of distance. Upon receiving so many questioning gazes, Eleen gave a brief explanation of the situation, about how they came across this servant and what took them so long to come to this place.
"I'm so thankful to you!" Alaric bowed deeply with a bright face. "I don't know how to repay you for your kindness. What would you like me to do?"
"Eh? No, we don't need anything!"
"But-"
"Thank you a lot, young miss and mister Raven. The two of you are life-savors!"
The old butler interfered with the two, bowing even deeper than Alric.
"Wait, no! Please raise your head!"
Eleen was sweating buckets while facing the two.
On the other side of the route stood Raven and the merchant guild who kept watching the drama unfold with piqued interest. However, not everyone was having a pleasant time while witnessing the unexpected turn of events.
"..."
Standing behind her father's back, Evelyn had her emerald green eyes fixed on Ian, glaring daggers at him with a face void of any tenderness. As if one wasn't enough, now Ian had two pairs of eyes piercing wholes in his back, one belonging to Raven and the other, to his dear student.
Making use of the time when both Alaric and Ranger were busy bowing their heads in gratitude, Ian sneaked away, approached the merchants, and strolled close to the young miss. The woman's lips parted open as soon as Ian was close enough to hear her voice.
"You are a servant."
"..." Ian was busy seriously observing a cloud that had no particular shape or importance. "Well, yeah."
"You lied to me."
"Hmm..."
"You told me you were a mercenary!"
The boy's nightfall-colored eyes didn't shift away from the cloud.
"Oh, so what? What's the difference?"
"What's the- You dirty ass scammer!"
Sensing the girl's burst of anger directed at him, Ian took several steps to the side to avoid any probable danger. The girl let out a suppressed chuckle.
"What? Does your master know about your Aether? What about I treat you the same as you treat others?"
Ian raised an eyebrow.
"What? Do you want to threaten me? You'll tell my master? So what? didn't you just see his reaction? What did he call me? A friend! Didn't you hear? He was so glad after seeing me alive that he was shding tears, heh! You think you can harm me by telling him that I have Aehter?"
Ian was fast at using anything that happened to him, even those he didn't really understand, to his advantage.
"....."
The girl shut her mouth after hearing those words. Thinking about it, this method didn't seem to be effective against this man.
"I should've just gotten rid of you that night!"
"But you didn't"
"You haven't fulfilled your part of the deal. Do you really think I'll let you go like this?"
"I never said anything about wanting to run away."
"Yeah, you aren't running away but going to join your master, wow, how different it is!"
That might look like wanting to run away from her without fulfilling the agreement, Ian thought.
"You promised to help me pass the borders, you also said you'll help me find out what my blessing is! Not to mention your real promise of teaching me how to conceal my Aether!"
"Hmm, yeah, I know."
Ian gazed past the young miss and at the others. Alaric was watching him from afar with a tilted head.
"I never said I won't keep my promises," Ian finally turned his neck to his student. "You also don't want to get rid of me, do you? Even if I promise that I won't reveal your secrets, you still want to learn how to control Aether."
"...."
Evelyn didn't agree nor did she decline the words. She waited for the man's next words while having a slight knit in between her thin brows.
"Then, let's do one thing. This way, both you and I will benefit."
"...What do you want this time?"
The corners of the servant's lips curled up to a grin, his face blooming like a blossom. Dark-blue eyes fell upon the golden-haired nobleman in the distance, giving him a nod. Evelyn had no choice but to look back at Alaric as well, without a smile but an uncomfortable face.
"Befriend that master of mine."
- - - - -
"You must be young master Alaric?"
A dignified girl who seemed to be in her early twenties approached the only son of Count Poqlen, reaching out a hand and presenting him with a polite smile. Grass-green eyes twinkling in anticipation, yet face placid with only a mannerly grin on it, the miss seemed more mature than her age implied.
Alaric stiffened up at the sudden approach and looked around with confusion. Traces of tears were visible on his damp eyes and trails of water were left on his cheeks which looked paler than usual. Overwhelmed by embarrassment after being suddenly greeted by a stranger while being in such a condition, Alaric found it hard to immediately respond to the girl.
However, the young miss didn't seem bothered by that fact at all.
"I'm the daughter of Golton Merchant Guild's head. You must've heard of us as one of Loyatou's biggest merchant guilds."
"...."
Alaric's expression turned even worse.
"Y-yeah, I've heard of your business."
Standing behind Evelyn's back, Ian repressed a smile from emerging.
'He doesn't even know who they are.'
That was written all over the man's face.
"I'm glad to get to meet you in person. I've heard a lot about the son of the count, about his intelligence and skills to how responsible he acts towards his subjects and state. This is such a fateful encounter, young master."
"Uh, uh? Yes!"
In front of Evelyn who had a way with words, Alaric's manner of speech felt like an inexperienced child's. His panicked gaze fell on Ian as he shook hands with the girl, screaming and asking for help through his eyes. Ian stepped forward at the plea, putting her hand over his student's shoulder.
"Miss Eleen and Mister Raven were commissioned to escort this merchant group until they reach the borders. Young Miss and her father have treated me pretty well so far even though I wasn't of any help to them, so I thought I'd introduce them to my master in exchange for their kindness. It's always better to have more friends when you are a business person!"
Ian wasn't lying about anything, he was just not telling the entire truth. There was no need for his master to know how much struggle he went through to persuade this girl to form a friendly relationship with Alaric, right?
Despite acting ignorant and displeased, this was a good opportunity for Evelyn as well. Just as Ian said, a merchant's connections were an important aspect of their course towards success and Golton Merchant Guild was no exception. Alaric was the son of a count so having a pleasant relationship with him would lead to many future opportunities, thus, the girl didn't reject Ian's request and stepped forward to act as they agreed.
Alaric's amber eyes lit up at the mention of 'Friends' and his gaze changed, turning to a look brimming with suspicion. He hadn't forgotten how Ian intended to force a friendship with Barnett on him, and now there was another person.
'But things went alright with Barnett...'
Barnett had a higher position compared to him and was better than Alaric in so many ways that made him feel too inferior to his friend, to the point that Alaric couldn't easily state his mind, nor talk properly with him, not even close to how relaxed he was near his blue-haired attendant. Yet, Barnett Blicra was still a nice person and a good friend. Being with him brought Alaric many benefits. He didn't know why his attendant tasked him with getting close to the son of a duke, but he could tell that it was a nice judgment on Ian's side.
'Well, why not, I guess?'
No harm would come from having a merchant friend. Plus, he didn't have to struggle to get close to someone and stress himself over the impossible task, so he didn't mind it.
"Ah, are you guys from Golton Merchant Guild?"
At that moment another young man in splendid clothes approached them from afar while being surrounded by knighs and guards. The man with a darker brown shade of hair compared to Evelyn greeted the young girl with a grin, reaching out for a handshake.
"It's good to meet you here, such a pleasant turn of events it is, right?"
"That's true young lord," Evelyn didn't hesitate a second to let go of Alaric and jump over to Barnett. "I was just greeting young master Alaric as his attendant helped me introduce myself, I didn't know you were here as well, Lord Blicra. Our guild must've been blessed by good luck today to be able to meet two important faces at the same time!"
"Haha, you flatter me way too much! I too am glad that such a coincidence was accused. It's not every day that you meet the famed Golton Marchant Guild's heir and successor."
"Is our guild that famous now?"
"It's quite well-known in our state. We've been trying to come into contact with you guys, but The Emperor's birthday invitation came up and the plans were put off to a later time."
The young businesswoman's eyes enlarged in a pleasant surprise, yet her face remained calm and collected.
"Is that something that the dukedom desires from our guild?"
"Well, we wanted to secure another route for wheat business for the next year and were looking for possible helpers."
Standing beside the two chattering people, Alaric and his servant watched the conversation unfold with blank expressions.
'Man, what is going on here? Did I just help create a business partnership?'
Barnett requested that he have a conversation with Evelyn in a proper location and invited her to his carriage, saying that it wouldn't be bad to discuss the details of their proposal sooner. Evelyn accepted the offer right away. Ian could see fireworks blooming in her eyes while following the young lord to his carriage.
"Uh..."
Well, this was a good thing, right? So there was no need for him to worry about anything.
'That child must thank me later for creating such a massive opportunity for her guild! Plus, I can also benefit from this... I should have another conversation with that child later.'
For now, however, he was free of any responsibilities.
"Um, I guess we should get going as well."
Following Alaric's words, the two of them thanked and bade farewell to the mercenaries and went back to their own group. Alaric pushed Ian inside his new carriage without even considering the attendant's desire and ordered the coachman to drive. Not long after they began moving, Alaric bent forward and whispered to Ian in a low voice.
"Hey hey look, look what I can do!"
Like an excited child showing his mom his recent drawing and waiting for approval, Alaric waited until Ian made a confused and eager face before reaching out his hand and opening his palm.
"Look look!"
As Ian's gaze moved down, a burst of sparkling energy surged out of the palm and wavered to a faint circle before instantly falling apart and vanishing from sight.
"...."
Ian's confused face wasn't a fake this time. His expression fell and his jaw almost dropped, struck with a sudden, immense shock. He never expected to see such a thing, not even in a dream. It took him a few seconds to find the proper words to speak.
"...Magic?"