Walking into the foyer, I saw Luis standing there, wearing his normal clothes, so nothing overly formal about that, but he looked nervous. He was fidgeting, and nothing like you’d expect from the prince of the kingdom, so I was more curious than ever.
“Shall we go to the study?” I asked, smiling to put him at ease.
“Please,” Luis nodded.
Walking into the room, Lily showed herself, appearing behind the desk as I took my seat, looking the prince over again, surprised that soone who was usually so confident and relaxed could look so worried.
“Well, what’s wrong?” I asked.
“I don’t know how to ask, so I’m just going to spit it out. You’re leaving next week, right?” Luis said in a rush.
This was fairly common knowledge, especially to those who visited the house. “Yeah?”
“I’d like to join your group as you travel up north,” Luis blurted out.
I couldn’t help myself and let out a laugh, stopping myself instantly as I saw the look of horror on Luis’s face.
“I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have asked…” Luis added, bowing his head.
“No, no, it’s fine, but why are you asking ? I don’t lead the party. I’m just the cook and support,” I waved it off.
The look on Luis’s face was sothing. It was a mixture of shock, disbelief, and confusion.
“The one you need to speak to would be Milo or Hari. Technically, Hari is the party leader, but Milo is often the brains behind all the decisions. I just go along for the ride.”
“How’s that possible? With all the events that have happened around you, it’s not like Hari would have been directing you to them, right?” Luis asked.
I blushed a little at that. “That’s true, I suppose, but it’s not deciding where to go. Sa with us heading north. It was just the job that Hari decided on. I have nothing to do with that.”
Luis looked a little crestfallen. “I’ll try to organise a eting with Hari and ask him then.”
“Just co ask Milo now? He’s in the living room. I’m sure he won’t have an issue with it.” I didn’t wait for a response; instead, just made my way directly to the living room.
As far as I knew, everyone got along with Luis, and the only people disappointed with him going with us would have been Darren and George, since I knew both of them enjoyed training with the prince every other day. So I felt like Milo would be able to decide without Hari being here.
Walking into the room with Luis and Lily trailing behind, I caught both Milo’s and Liane’s attention.
“What did he wa—” Liane’s question was interrupted as Luis entered the room.
“He wants to know if he can join us as we head north,” I said, taking my seat back on the chair, Lily making her way back to the unlit fireplace.
“Sure,” Milo said simply.
Luis stood there, stunned for a mont, just looking at us.
“I told you they’d be okay with it,” I smiled.
Liane seed less convinced. “Why?”
“My father has sent on a job up north, and I felt it would be far more enjoyable travelling with your group than going with so guards,” Luis explained, still standing in the doorway.
“This job, it’s not to do with keeping track of Trevor or his companions, is it?” Liane questioned, gesturing at Lily.
“No. I can’t say the exact reason, but it’s nothing to do with your group,” Luis answered.
Liane shrugged. “Fine by , then. You’re alright for a noble.”
“You’re a noble now too, right?” Luis retorted with confusion, sending both myself and Milo into laughter.
Sothing that caught my eye, though, was Lily seed to huff at that, but it was hard to tell, as she was facing the opposite way. Maybe I’d ask about that later.
“Won’t it cause a lot of attention if you’re joining us as we leave?” I asked, looking at Milo, who just nodded.
“We’re already going to have lots of eyes on us anyway,” Liane said.
“I’ll have ways to hide my identity and be going under a different na,” Luis explained.
Milo looked slightly concerned. “You may want to leave the city early and et us in Farnox or on the road ahead.”
Luis waved it off. “It’s fine. If I can co to the house the day before you leave, I have obscuring relics, so no one should be able to see it’s , and anyone powerful enough to see it will be able to spot a town out anyway.”
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“Sounds expensive,” Milo said.
It was Luis’s turn to laugh. “You just had a large fight break out in the middle of the day, in the upper noble district, after a trade that just occurred at this house. Sothing tells I will not have the most wealth on .”
Liane let out a snort, with Milo nodding, saying, “You make a reasonable point.”
“We won’t be heading directly north. We’ll be making so slight detours,” Milo said.
“Perfect. The more towns and villages I see, the better,” Luis smiled.
“Well, we leave in five days,” Milo added finally.
Luis nodded, bowing slightly. “Then I’d better get going. I will be here the day before. Thank you.”
With that, he left, leaving us alone in the room.
I looked over at Lily, who was still asleep close to , so I reached out, nudging her with my foot.
“Hey, if you want the surna also, you can. That’s the second ti I’ve heard you huff at it.”
Lily turned to look at , her giant erald eyes staring into my own.
“Is that a yes?” I asked.
There was no response, so I made a choice. “Alright then. I’m deciding for you. You’re now Lily Ashmoon. Welco to the family.”
Lily stared at for a long ti before she abruptly vanished.
“Do you think she’ll accept it?” I asked, turning to Liane and Milo.
Liane had a giant smirk. “I bet she just went to tell Crisplet as we speak.”
“So, the prince, then. That’s going to be interesting,” Milo laughed.
“What sort of job would Marcus be sending him on?” I asked curiously, looking between them.
“He probably has to check on so nobles and make sure they either don’t piss you off, or they are doing their jobs correctly,” Milo said with a smile.
The conversation ended for a couple of hours as we sat around, with myself and Milo reading. Liane was taking a nap. I noted that Lily didn’t return.
I was reading the cookbook, looking for inspiration, as I wanted to do a big dinner for everyone, including the house staff and all the friends I’d made in the city, as a farewell.
It didn’t matter that we’d be returning in a few months. It felt like we were moving on, moving back to adventuring, and I was really looking forward to it, and while I was sitting there thinking about it, it really helped make up my mind on the skill I actually wanted.
There were a lot of good options to choose from, and I really hoped Essence Skimming would appear again, but there wasn’t a single al that I had prepared that I’d not shared with soone else. Even the jerky and candy, although I doubt it would count, had been shared as well.
“Milo, I’m thinking about choosing Shared Table,” I said, catching him off guard.
I explained all the reasons I had just thought of why it would be a good idea. He didn’t imdiately jump on it, though.
“A couple of things to consider. Ho Cooking could count the cooking wagon you have as your ho base, but it’s a little too vague to take the risk. Essence Skimming, I agree, is very powerful, and I think it only gets more powerful as it rises in level. That said, you’ve really not utilised your stock reduction skill at all, so there is no point skimming off stats and ingredients if you’re not going to actually use it, and I can’t help but feel that skill could also evolve similarly if you used it.” Milo said.
I nodded. That made sense, and I had really neglected that skill. It just felt so wasteful to turn a full creature into an essence, even if it stacked the buffs.
“So you think Shared Table is a good choice?” I double-checked.
“I think it’s a safe pick that you will get a lot of use out of, and although it might not be powerful initially, or the most powerful pick at all, I think it will upgrade quickly, and since we’re about to go on the road again and will almost certainly run into more creatures, I for one am in support of more buffs!” Milo added happily.
I didn’t wait, pulling up my status. I selected Shared Table. I know I said I would sleep on it, but planning that dinner had made my mind up on that selection choice. It was a natural fit. It was also a passive skill, so I didn’t need to rember to use it.
“Done. I selected it.”
“What you should do is cook a al whose stats you already know, then you’ll see exactly how much it changes it,” Milo suggested.
The conversation was interrupted by Sylverith entering the room, followed by Lily and Crisplet.
Crisplet rushed past the others, standing in front of before throwing a piece of coal at my head, then dashing into the fireplace.
“Hey! What was that for?” I called after him.
Sylverith just let out a soft chuckle. “It sounds to like you’ve given my daughter a surna, sothing that young Crisplet there has been taking great joy in holding over her.”
“What? She could have had it at any ti if I knew she wanted it,” I tried to defend myself.
“I know, dear, but asking for it is not the sa as being offered it, or in this case, given it,” Sylverith smiled, before a voice ca directly to my head. “She’s a very prideful cat, after all.”
“I’m sorry, Lily. If I had known, I would have done it the sa day I chose it,” I said to her, as another piece of coal hit in the side of the cheek.
“I’m planning a big dinner before we leave. I hope you’ll all be there. I know you’ve been very busy lately,” I said to the three of them.
“About that, I’d like for you to join Lily and tomorrow. We have sowhere to take you, and Crisplet would also like to show you the statue he has been working on. It’s really a breathtaking piece, and I’ll be sure to invite Alira to see it,” Sylverith said.
Lily let out another huff.
“No, they won’t have a statue of you there, plus Crisplet already added sothing he shouldn’t have. I’ll say no more,” Sylverith said to her.
Lily gave her a glare. “When you influence a bloodline with shadow-based classes that are inspired by you, you’ll be revered the sa, I’m sure,” Sylverith added.
I couldn’t help but notice that Lily’s glare went straight to Liane.
The look was not lost on her, either. “I don’t know when you’re expecting to start a bloodline in your honour, but it won’t be anyti soon,” she laughed.
Another exaggerated huff.
“But yes, young Trevor, we’ll all be there for your dinner. Thank you kindly for the invitation. Would you mind if I brought a guest?” Sylverith smiled.
“No, not at all. I plan to invite Luis and Kathrine, along with all the house staff, and anyone who’s helped us while we’ve been in the city,” I said happily.
“That will actually be the perfect opportunity to hide the prince joining us. If he cos over for dinner with everyone else, it wouldn’t look out of place, and no one will probably notice that he didn’t return ho with Kathrine,” Milo said, rubbing his chin.
“Sounds great. Now, what’s for dinner tonight? I think we could try out that new skill, right?” Liane said happily.
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