Player 0.4 [You have died.] [Reset in progress.]

"Ben, why is there a dragon living below the villa?" Luca broke the silence.

He and Ben were long out of the cave and at the end of the hallway with the cages. The prisoners called out to them, and it dawned on Ben that Luca had no reaction to their cries.

That's a normal reaction I'd expect from Micah and even the two youngest Frey children, but not Luca.

Ben paused at the end of the hall by the locked door and turned to face the young master. Luca looked more and more like his birth mother each time he visited the villa. Yelena had the same black hair and delicate frame, and now even her facial expressions had been inherited by Luca.

The Luca from a year ago, compared to the one that arrived two days back, was night and day. Gone was the bright-eyed teenager; the sparkle in his eyes was replaced by burning coals, and a cloud seemed to hang over him like a weight.

It's like he matured overnight.

"Young master Luca, how did you get down here?" Ben asked without responding to Luca's question.

"The library," Luca replied nonchalantly. "I sat in an armchair, picked up some cube, and then got thrust into the wall. So I decided to explore."

He's just like his mother.

When Ben had just started working for Madame Ruth, Ben had also run into Yelena down in the caves. Her explanation regarding how she managed to find herself so far below the villa was equally as perplexingly coincidental.

"Why is there a dragon down there, and what would have happened if I stepped over the protective circle?" Luca asked again, adding to his original inquiry.

Ben pulled out a golden mana stone that matched the indent in the metal door.

Click.

The door propped open, and Ben pulled it toward himself. He let Luca go ahead and closed the door behind them. Silence filled the air once more, with the cries behind them shut away.

"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to discuss the circumstances regarding the dragon and request that you do not share what you have seen with others," Ben replied. "However, I will say that he is very dangerous and that had you gone beyond the protective circle, your safety wouldn't have been guaranteed."

Ben didn't divulge the gruesome ends of those who delved into the dragon's realm.

"Then who can divulge that information? Mother?" Luca asked.

Ben paused on their upward climb and turned to Luca.

I haven't yet informed him…

"Unfortunately, yes," Ben said. "Young master Luca, I solemnly have to inform you that your grandmother has passed away tonight; that was my initial purpose in finding you."

Luca rubbed his temples and had a pained expression cross his face, but he did not look shocked at the news.

I suppose he had caught on during his stay that her days were numbered.

"Now, given that your mother will take over the Arankagul Villa upon Madame Ruth's passing, it will thus be up to her to divulge any information regarding matters of the estate."

Luca nodded his head.

"Has my family been informed already?" He asked.

"They have," Rem confirmed. "They will be arriving at daybreak. We'll have the burial take place sometime after their arrival."

The grim reality was that preparations for this fateful day had unfortunately been long planned ahead.

Luca sighed and leaned against one of the walls, his eyes closed.

"Another funeral…" he muttered to himself. He sounded exhausted, and not just for lack of sleep.

If Ben didn't know better, he might have thought the young master had hundreds of people close to him pass away. But Luca was merely nineteen, and death was still a foreign foe as far as Ben was aware.

"Young master Luca, I realize the gravity of Madame Ruth's passing, but at this time, there's nothing you can do but await your family's arrival. Therefore, I suggest resting as much as possible; you'll need the energy in the morning."

Luca pushed away from the wall.

"I suppose you are right," he said. "Sleep is important."

Luca pushed ahead of Ben and climbed up the stairs. They had to pause frequently, as Luca lost his breath many times, but eventually, they made it back into the library.

The moment they went through the hidden door, the strange little yellow bird that Luca kept with him squeaked and flew directly into the young master's black hair.

"Sorry, you were sleeping so well; I didn't want to wake you," Luca whispered to the bird. "I'll be going to bed now too."

***

The air was cool, and the sun barely made its appearance on the horizon. Far off in the distance, Ben made out two black carriages driving towards the Town of Ascot. A procession of guards on horseback surrounded the two vehicles.

Ben signaled to the rest of the staff to prepare for the Frey family's arrival.

The two carriages rolled up into the courtyard, and the procession of servants stood awaiting the family.

The door of the first carriage opened, and out stepped Madame Elizabeth Frey. Despite the long night travel, she had an elegance and radiated with energy as if she had all the time in the world to spare.

Her bright blonde hair was held up perfectly in embroidered gold and precious stones, and her face showed no trace of tiredness.

She paused and adjusted the white fur shawl while her green eyes took in the villa and its servants.

Behind her, Jarvis and Elda stumbled out of the carriage with none of the elegance of their mother. Their red curly hair and clothing were disheveled. Both let out long yawns.

"You said this potion you made would wear off by the time we arrived," Elda complained to her twin brother.

"I told you to take half the amount," Jarvis chided her. "Why did you drink the whole thing?"

"Because I wanted to fall asleep faster." Elda let out another prolonged yawn. "I can never get any sleep on a carriage, you know that."

"Neither can I, but I might have if you had left half of the sleeping potion for me." Jarvis rubbed his eyes.

The twins bickered, but their arms were around one another, holding each other up.

Ben motioned two of the staff members over to attend to the twins.

There's still time before the burial ceremony. So they might as well get some proper rest before then.

The door of the second carriage opened and out stepped Micah Frey. Just like his mother, he appeared fully refreshed. He had an air of elegance that nothing seemed capable of tarnishing. He swept his golden blonde hair aside and nodded toward Ben and the other servants.

Besides his looks, Micah's nickname, The Golden Rose, had also been inherited from his mother. Those of the general public understandably misunderstood it to be in regard to his and his mother's brilliant appearance. However, the name's true meaning hardly had anything to do with appearances and everything to do with the acquisition and passing of power.

The servants bowed deeply towards Micah as he walked towards the villa's entrance. Another of Ben's colleagues attended to him.

However, while Micah had taken over one aspect of the Arankagul domain from his mother, the stewardship of the Town of Ascot and its villa fell upon Madame Elizabeth.

"Terrell was unable to attend," Madame Elizabeth explained her husband's absence to Ben. "And where is Luca? Has he gotten himself into any trouble here?"

She smiled and likely intended it as a lighthearted joke. Unfortunately, Luca had always found ways to find or cause trouble on every visit to the villa.

"He found his way into the underground cave. I found him with Azgralos," Ben said in a low voice.

Madame Elizabeth's green eyes widened.

"Is he–"

"He's safe and sound. He didn't walk past the protective circle. He's currently asleep in his room."

"How?" She shook her head. "How in the world did he manage to get down there?"

"The library entrance," Ben replied and walked her to the villa's entrance. "It appears he came across it by pure luck."

"I suppose he had already managed to find practically every hidden passage back in the manor; it was about time he found this one," Madame Elizabeth muttered. "He's just like Yelena. She also managed to uncover the most unlikely places."

Ben agreed. However, he didn't dare to prolong the comparison.

Madame Elizabeth deeply loved and cared for Luca's birth mother, having been wonderful friends with her. However, when Yelena disappeared, her name alone could cause a violent eruption from Madame Elizabeth. Ben never learned what happened to Yelena, whether she had died or traveled off to another continent, but knew that she was a taboo topic around Madame Elizabeth half the time. The other taboo topic was that of the Misfortune Sisters, which was ironic given they were long-time drinking buddies of the now-late Madame Ruth.

Not that I'm stupid enough to ever divulge that piece of information.

"Are there any urgent matters? Your letter seemed to indicate there were," Madame Elizabeth said.

"Indeed," Ben said. "A new shipment has arrived that requires your attention."

He handed her a parchment.

Madame Elizabeth unfolded the paper, and her green eyes skimmed through the text. She gazed back up at Ben and raised an eyebrow.

He nodded his head, confirming that she had read the note correctly.

"Let's go down right away then," she said and placed the parchment into her arm's sleeve.

***

Madame Elizabeth and Ben arrived in the empty underground area that Ben had taken Luca through earlier. It had four open doorways and two large metal gates, both secured with black mana stones. The one to the right led to the dragon's cave. The one on the left led to something far more dangerous.

Ben opened the left door and followed Madame Elizabeth inside.

Just like the other door, the initial part of the hallway displayed nothing of note, but at the turning point, it gave way to an array of artifacts, each secured in place with a protective mana circle. Some of the more hazardous artifacts were secured with two or even three mana circles.

A humming noise surrounded the hallway, and a smell of old wood and incense filled the air. The ever-growing hum was the only notable sound apart from Ben's and Madame Elizabeth's footsteps.

The two walked to the end of the extended halfway of glowing and shining artifacts. A handful commanded attention, but most looked unremarkable to the unobservant eye. Yet, they were the ones that posed the greatest amount of danger.

Ben placed a golden unlocking mana stone against the door at the end of the hallway. The metal door clicked open, giving way to a staircase that rounded into seemingly uncharted depths beneath the earth. The air grew colder with every step, and the glowing crystals growing from the walls gained a distorted hue. The hum grew louder the lower they went.

Madame Elizabeth and Ben entered the lowest level of the villa.

"Thirty?" Madame Elizabeth counted the number of protective mana circles surrounding the now loudly humming artifact in the middle.

"Two mages died in its transport, and another three passed when making the protective circles," Ben explained. "Thirty might be overdoing it, but better safe than sorry."

"And everyone else that knows about it—have they been taken care of?" Madame Elizabeth asked.

"Of course," Ben replied. "Currently, you and I are the only ones aware of its possession with the Arankagul family."

Madame Elizabeth nodded in approval and adjusted the white fur shawl around her shoulders. She walked the perimeter of the circular room, taking in the humming artifact in the center.

It was easily the most unimpressive in appearance of all the artifacts in the Arankagul villa's custody.

She paused on the opposite side of the room and smiled at Ben. The glowing crystals from the ceiling distorted the lighting in the room and caused shadows to dance across her face.

"I'm glad this room is properly locked up," she said. "Can you imagine what havoc would have been wrecked if Luca had come across this instead of the dragon?"

Ben pursed his lips. That thought had crossed his mind several times since having discovered Luca wandering below the villa unattended.

"We've only ever had two people in the entire history of the Arankagul villa that have managed to discover the hidden passages below the villa," he said.

Clank. Clank. Clank.

Madame Elizabeth walked back around to Ben.

"And it was Yelena and Luca. Perhaps it's in their blood to uncover trouble. Ben, put golden mana locks on the two metal gates. We ought to have done that after Yelena managed to wander underground."

"Very well, I'll have them set in place right away."

"As for that," Madame Elizabeth pointed at the rusty fork lying in the center of the room. "That is something I'll deal with after my mother's funeral."

 

AlekAundra

Just what kind of fork is this?

( ≖_≖)