Servant:
-"Hello, Sage of Fire is waiting for you, Duke Alaris. My name is Gustav, and I'm the house manager."
Valorant:
-"Hello. Did the Duke not come out to greet us himself?"
Gustav:
-"On behalf of the Duke, I apologize. Our master is currently unwell."
Valorant:
-"In that case, please take us to him."
Gustav nodded and led Valorant and Attu inside. As Attu entered the house, he looked around and saw that the interior was beautifully decorated.
Gustav:
-"Please allow me to ask a question on behalf of Sage of Fire," he asked politely.
Valorant:
-"Sure, what do you want to ask?"
Gustav:
-"Who is the boy next to you?"
Valorant:
-"My pupil."
Gustav:
-"Don't be disrespectful. Isn't your pupil blind?"
Valorant:
-"No."
Gustav:
-"Then why is he staring into space?"
Valorant:
-"Sometimes it's better for things to remain as they are."
Gustav:
-"I apologize for my inappropriate question."
Valorant:
-"It's no problem."
Valorant looked at Attu. Attu was lost in thought: "I wonder how much it cost to build such a beautiful house," he pondered, admiring the opulence of the interior.
Valorant:
-"Don't get lost in thought!"
Attu:
-"Okay! Teacher!"
Attu reached his teacher. Gustav took the guests to the designated guest room.
Gustav:
-"Please! You can sit here. I will notify the master," he said, before leaving the room.
Valorant looked at Attu. Attu was still looking in one direction, then another. Gustav returned and said:
Gustav:
-"Mr. Valorant, Duke Alaris is waiting for you."
Valorant:
-"Attu, you wait here! Don't touch anything!" he ordered as he left.
Attu:
-"Okay, teacher."
Valorant left the room together with Gustav.
Gustav:
-"This way, please." He led Valorant to the second floor and showed him the Duke's bedroom. Gustav opened the door to the room. Valorant entered.
When he entered the room, it was dark, and there was a person lying in bed. A weak and faint voice came from the person in bed:
-"My dear Valorant, is that you?"
Valorant:
-"Yes, my dear. It is me."
Alaris:
-"I apologize for not welcoming you at the door. I also regret speaking to you in this state."
Valorant:
-"It's all right. I can see your condition; I understand everything."
Alaris:
-"I understand that you are well."
Valorant:
-"I'm much better than you."
Alaris:
-"Don't say that; my condition does not please anyone, except perhaps my enemies. Was your journey difficult? In this cold winter?"
Valorant:
-"Not at all; this isn't the first time."
Alaris:
-"Gustav told me. You have taken on an apprentice; what is his name?"
Valorant:
-"Yes, his name is Attu."
Alaris:
-"If he managed to persuade you to take him as a student, he must have some unique abilities."
Valorant:
-"Yes, he has many abilities."
Alaris:
-"Yes, such youth will ensure the safety of our state."
Valorant:
-"You're right. Why did you call me?"
Alaris:
-"As you can see, my condition is serious," he said, suddenly coughing hard in the middle of his sentence. Once the coughing subsided, he continued, "I am nearing the end of my life. You must understand this by seeing my condition."
Valorant:
-"Yes, you have at most a month left?"
Alaris:
-"As always, you can tell a lot at a glance. I will die soon. I have made a will about whom this wealth will go to after I'm gone and who my successor will be."
Valorant:
-"You want me to protect him, don't you?"
Alaris:
-"You're almost right; I'm not asking you to protect him for your whole life. You just need to escort him to a certain point."
Valorant:
-"Who do you want me to escort?"
Meanwhile, Attu sat on an expensive sofa, gazing out the window after Valorant had left. Outside, the weather was clear, and the sun was shining brightly. Attu sensed someone looking at him from behind. Suddenly, he turned his head to look back. He saw a beautiful girl with long red hair peeking out from behind the door. When Attu looked at her, she hid behind the door. When Attu was not looking, the girl glanced back at him. When Attu looked at her, she quickly hid again. Attu stood up and went to the door, saying, "Hello." The girl saw Attu approaching and quickly ran down the hallway. Attu stepped into the hallway and looked around, but the girl was nowhere to be seen.
Attu:
-"Mr. Gustav."
Gustav:
-"I'm impressed you managed to find me even though I was standing silently and motionlessly behind the door."
Attu:
-"You've been hiding behind the door since you brought the teacher to the Duke and returned."
Gustav:
-"You are proving you are Mr. Valorant's apprentice. Do you have a question for me?"
Attu:
-"Who is that girl?"
Gustav:
-"That girl is Duke Alaris's granddaughter. Her name is Anna."
Attu:
-"She seems a bit different."
Gustav:
-"Perhaps it's because she's seeing her peer."
Attu:
-"How old is she?"
Gustav:
-"She is 12 years old."
Attu:
-"Yes, we really are the same age."
Gustav:
-"What was I saying to you?"
Attu:
-"Where are Anna's parents?"
Gustav:
-"They passed away several years ago. This girl is the only memory left of Duke Alaris's son. Usually, Anna doesn't talk to anyone. However, today she seems more active than usual."
Attu:
-"Do you think it's because she has someone her own age?"
Gustav:
-"Yes, you're thinking correctly. Perhaps you will have a little conversation with the young lady."
Attu thought for a moment and said:
-"Thank you, but it's not necessary." Then he went back into the room.
Gustav watched Attu as he left. Attu sat and continued to wait in the room. After a while, he heard someone's voice from outside. Attu went outside and looked around. He could hear laughter from the other side of the house. Attu peered over the wall. There, Anna was playing in the snow with a servant girl. The servant girl seemed to be about the same age as Anna. While they were throwing snowballs at each other, the servant girl noticed Attu peering over the wall and stopped. While Anna was laughing, she turned to where the servant girl was looking and saw Attu. The servant girl had blue hair, was slightly older than Attu, and was dressed in a housekeeper's uniform. Anna quickly hid behind the servant girl. Attu noticed that Anna was afraid of him. Without saying anything, he turned and went back to the earlier room.
A little while later, Valorant entered the room. Attu stood up and asked:
-"Teacher, what happened?"
Valorant:
-"Nothing specific. We will be staying here temporarily."
Attu:
-"Why? What task does the Duke want to assign?"
Valorant:
-"I received the task. The first part of the task requires us to stay here."
Attu:
-"What about the second part?"
Valorant:
-"I will tell you when the time comes. Until then, we will stay here for a little while. You will also practice here."
Attu:
-"How long will we be staying here?"
Valorant:
-"It's clear that it won't be for a long time," he said with a downcast expression.
Valorant remembered his conversation with Duke Alaris.
Valorant:
-"Who do I need to escort?"
Alaris:
-"My granddaughter Anna is down below. I will die soon, and I ask you to take her safely to the elven forest, where she will be in safe and trustworthy hands. I know the elves will respect and trust you. Once I am gone, there are many who are ready to do anything to seize my wealth and my place in politics. They will try to capture Anna after I'm gone."
Valorant:
-"Because you left everything to Anna."
Alaris:
-"Yes, she is my heir. That's why…" he began but then was suddenly seized by a violent cough.
Valorant opened the door, saying:
-"Gustav, come here!"
Gustav rushed into the room, bringing a towel and some medicine with him. He helped Alaris sit up while holding the towel as he coughed. Valorant saw blood on the towel. After Gustav gave Alaris the medicine, his coughing subsided.
Alaris:
-"Don't say no to the last request of a dying friend," he pleaded.
Valorant:
-"I understand everything," he said before leaving the room.
Gustav entered the room.
Gustav:
-"They are preparing the rooms for you now. Suna, look this way."
Suna:
-"Yes, Mr. Gustav, did you call?" As she entered, Attu noticed that she was the girl who had been playing with Anna.
Gustav:
-"Take this young gentleman to his room. We need to talk with Mr. Valorant."
Suna:
-"Alright. Come on, young gentleman, I will escort you to your room."
Attu picked up his things and followed Suna out of the room. Once inside, Gustav turned to Valorant and said:
-"Thank you for agreeing to fulfill my master's last request."
Valorant:
-"Even someone who is about to be executed is granted a final word."
Gustav:
-"My master told me that I should not leave you empty-handed. Here, take this." He handed Valorant a small container.
Valorant:
-"Alaris still has a habit of mixing money with everything," he said as he accepted the container.
Gustav:
-"My master asked me to tell you something else."
Valorant:
-"What is it?"
Gustav:
-"He asks that you take Anna away from here on the very day he dies."
Valorant:
-"What will happen to the rest of the things?"
Gustav:
-"I will take care of the remaining things here. I will do everything in my power to ensure there is no trouble, even if it costs me my life."
Suna:
-"Young gentleman, please come this way!"
Attu:
-"You can call me Attu. Calling me 'young gentleman' makes me a bit embarrassed."
Suna:
-"Alright, Attu. This room is yours," she said, opening the door.
Attu stepped inside and looked around at the things in the room.
Suna coughed as if saying, "Look at me." Attu turned to her.
Suna:
-"What other services do you need?"
Attu:
-"I have a question."
Suna:
-"What question?"
Attu:
-"What about food?"
Suna:
-"I will call you for every meal. Do you have any other questions?"
Attu:
-"Yes, the girl you were playing with..."
Suna:
-"She is the Duke's granddaughter—Anna."
Attu:
-"I heard that she hardly talks to anyone."
Suna:
-"Usually, that's true, but she feels more comfortable with me. Do you have any other questions?"
Attu:
-"Yes."
Suna said with a smile on her face:
-"If... you'd like, I can introduce you to Anna more closely."
Attu, feeling a bit shy, replied:
-"Thank you, but that's not necessary. I'll ask if I need it."
Suna smiled:
-"Alright then, please allow me," she said as she left.