---Evening---
Returning to our world, I swore everyone to secrecy for the time being. Needing to thoroughly review the information I collected, I promised to make an official announcement by the end of the semester. Having completed what I set out to do, we spent the rest of the afternoon building our booth for the festival. Working up till dusk, I offered to take Angelica and Clarice home instead of making them wait for their family carriages.
"What about Olivia? You are not thinking of making her walk to where she is staying, are you?", Angelica asked, with a concerned look.
"Why would I need to take her home? She has been living here with us since the dormitory fire.", I remarked, glancing back at Olivia, "Did you not tell them about that?"
"Hehe…oopsies.", Olivia said, with an apologetic smile.
"So that is why you were not that surprised by Victor's countryside mansion. You have been living here enjoying those same benefits the whole time!", Clarice pouted, as she crossed her arms.
"You could have asked to stay at my home while the dormitory was being rebuilt. I would have been happy to host you.", Angelica remarked.
More upset that Olivia seemingly came to me first, rather than her, Angelica looked genuinely hurt by his misunderstanding. Knowing that Olivia would try to comfort Angelica, instead of resolving the misunderstanding immediately, I stepped in to clarify the situation for them.
"To be honest, none of us were her first choice after the dormitory fire. Being the extremely kind woman that she is, Olivia did not want to burden either of us with her issue. Since her scholarship did not allot her any money for room and board, she immediately went looking for a job. Instead of looking around the reputable stores in the Market District, she decided to look for work as a hostess at a local inn.", I explained, with a crapped expression, "As she is not from around here, she picked at seemingly amazing job that came with three meals a day and bed onsite. Do you want to guess what sort of inn she was about to apply at?"
"Oh god, Olivia, please tell me you were not going to apply at an inn that also had a brothel in it, were you?", Angelica sighed, holding her face in her hands.
"Well…we do not have any of those where I live. I thought I was going to apply for a job working as an extra pair of hands for elderly couple or something.", Olivia said, embarrassed by her blunder, "I promise you, the moment I saw the inn, I would have immediately left!"
"One of my soldiers spotted her heading toward the shady part of town, and immediately notified me. Unsure what she was doing over there, I went and asked her only to discover what she had planned. Instead of leaving her to fend for herself, I brought her here and convinced her to stay as my guest.", I chuckled, "Of course, she refused to enjoy such luxuries without compensation. She initially wanted to help clean the mansion, but quickly realized that I have robots for all of that. After a few days, she has more or less accepted her status as my guest. Now she spends her free time cooking and studying."
Understanding the full situation now, Angelica's mood lightened substantially. Still a bit jealous of the comforts she was enjoying, I reminded them that they were welcome over any time. Accepting that compromise, for the time being, the two noblewomen accepted my offer to fly them home. Saying their goodbyes to Lucoa, Olivia, and Roxanne, I dropped them off at their front doors and before proceeding to the Roseblade Estate for dinner.
---Roseblade Mansion---
Parking my car near the stables, I made my way to the front door where the head butler was patiently waiting for me. Greeting him with a respectful nod, he opened the door and led me to the dining room. Announcing my arrival, before letting me enter the room, the Earl jumped out of his seat and walked over to greet me. Instead of the traditional handshake I was accustomed to, he pulled me into a hug and began to speak.
"It is good to see you, Viscount Stark. I have been meaning to thank you properly for saving my daughter's life during the fire. She told me all about how you heroically saved her from the burning building…while that bastard ex-fiancée of hers stood idly by in the crowd.", he said, letting me go, "It is a shame too, Chris came from good stock and had always seemed like the intelligent one of prince's entourage. If he had been honest with his feelings from the beginning, I would have readily agreed to cancel the engagement. Unfortunately, he decided to spurn my daughter's love and devotion for a damn traitorous whore! I wish nothing but the worst for that boy now!"
"I can tell you love your family quite a lot.", I commented, as the butler showed me to my seat opposite Deirdre.
"My beloved wife and darling daughters are all I have in this life now. My three brothers met their untimely demise fighting the Principality of Fanoss, my two uncles were assassinated by the traitorous households you have been helping root out, and my sister died giving birth to her first child. I have endured a great many trials throughout my life; it is thanks to my family that I am still here today.", he said, looking at his wife and two daughters with a warm smile.
Waiting for his lord to finish speaking, the head butler ordered his subordinates to begin serving dinner. Quickly entering the room with plates, side dishes, and beverages, the servants filled our glasses and plates before excusing themselves. Taking a position a few feet away from his lord, the head butler sat down at a smaller table and began to sip a cup of tea.
Beginning our meal in silence, I feel the Earl's wife and her two daughters sizing me up. While their mother's gaze was hardly noticeable, the two daughters kept looking over at me like we were playing a game of Blackjack together. Looking for any subtle hints about how I felt about this situation, I decided to have a bit of fun at their expense.
"Deirdre, if you do not mind me saying so I think your hair style unique. It suits your beautiful, blonde hair perfectly.", I said, with genuine admiration.
Taken by surprise, Deirdre began coughing loudly as she had accidentally swallowed a bite of food down the wrong pipe. Wiping her mouth and taking a sip of water, she took a moment to calm herself before replying to me.
"Th…thank you for the compliment, Viscount Stark. My grandmother taught me how to curl my hair this way when I was a young girl.", Deirdre replied, attempting to poorly cover up her smile, "Do you really like it?"
"Yes, I do.", I acknowledged, "By the way, as we are fellow classmates, you do not need to use honorifics with me. Please just call me Victor; Angelica, Clarice, and Olivia already do."
"By Angelica and Clarice, you mean Gilbert and Bernard's daughters, right? As for Olivia, I believe she is the infamous scholarship student that managed to secure a spot in the noble class, correct?", the Earl inquired.
"Correct on all accounts, the three of them are my closest friends in the Academy. We recently returned from a vacationing at my countryside manor.", I said, "If Miss Deirdre is interested, I would be more than happy to host her during winter break."
Fidgeting in her seat for a moment, it was clear she was not used to having someone be so forward with her. Looking over at her father for his input, the Earl nodded his head in approval.
"I would be more than happy to accompany you during winter break.", Deirdre accepted, "Also, since you have allowed me to call you Victor…please call me Deirdre. It is only fair after all."
"I will make the necessary arrangements, Deirdre.", I said, with a smile.
Stirring the conversation in a different direction, Deirdre began asking me questions about myself and the life I had lived up till now. Wanting to hear straight from the source, instead of the rumor mill running rampant on campus, I answered most the questions she asked me honestly. Watching their daughter open to me, the Earl and his wife nodded their heads in satisfaction. Content with leaving things to flow naturally between us, it appeared they were already sold on making me her husband.
"Do you mind if I ask you a question, Victor?", Deirdre's older sister Dorothea asked.
"Sure, go ahead.", I replied, surprised to hear her speak for the first time.
"How likely are we to have a war with the Principality of Fanoss?", she inquired, looking at me with concern, "I ask because I am worried about a few close friends of mine who live near the border. If war is likely, I want to advise them to comeback to the capital where it will be safer."
"If I am being honest with you, war is all but inevitable at this point. They have not taken kindly to the heightened security along our shared border. Over the past few weeks, several dozen pirate groups and border nobles have attempted to breach our border. In every encounter, my fleet has sent them all plummeting toward a watery grave.", I informed her, "Since they cannot shake my hold on the border, those noblemen escalated the matter to their King and Queen. In response, they have begun to gather a portion of their royal fleet to face me head on. The Black Knight is the one leading this operation."
Hearing my words, the Earl's family stopped eating and looked at me carefully. Believing I was joking about the situation, they realized I was not joking when I looked back at them with confusion.
"You mean, they intend to attack soon?", the Earl inquired.
"They intend to move on the border during the annual trip the Academy students take. Before you say anything, the Crown and Cabinet Ministers are all aware of the situation. We are taking precautions for this, and I will be heading up the counter operation to deal with them.", I chuckled, with a mischievous grin, "Do not be surprised if you are called to action to safeguard the Academy vessels. The Crown wants this to happen so we can root out the remaining traitors among the nobility. Duke Redgrave will oversee the protection of the Academy vessels, they have yet to name the nobleman in charge of dealing with the traitors. If you are willing, I can recommend King Roland and Queen Mylene name you as the one to do it."
Agreeing to assist with our plan, I gave him a bit more information on what was happening. Giving Dorothea permission to bring her friends back to the capital, I suggested she make up an excuse to get them here as they could not be made aware of the pending the attack. Understanding the situation, she swore to keep everything a secret till the operation was over, Dorothea thanked me for being honest with her. Happy to have been of use to my potential future sister-in-law, via Nicks, we moved back to more pleasant topics for the rest of dinner.