Chapter 13: 12 Knocking

Chapter 13: Chapter 12 Knocking

While Lis conversed with the young lady about the delicacies at the party.

Viscount Kane Mansion

Housekeeper Joyce was resting in a chair by the window of his bedroom, his hand gently swirling the dark red wine in a tall glass, an elegant demeanor not diminished even in his pajamas.

Anyone unacquainted who saw this scene would surely assume he was some noble lord.

“Dong dong~”

“Come in,” Joyce said, bringing the glass to his nose to savor the slow evaporation of the fruity fragrance.

...

“Excuse me, Lord Joyce!”

Guard Commander Welf entered, gently closing the door behind him.

“What is it?”

Joyce didn’t even glance at Welf, as if the fine wine before him was more worthy of his attention than Welf.

Welf recognized at a glance that the wine in Joyce’s hand was Muge Wine from the Thousand Wind Hills in the southern part of Feis Kingdom; its unique fruity fragrance and refined palate were highly sought after, a single bottle costing a hundred Gold Coins.

Of course, Welf himself had never tasted such luxury; he recognized it thanks to the distinctive green bottle on the small table beside him.

However, Welf felt nothing amiss about Joyce enjoying the expensive wine; instead, he respectfully replied,

“It’s about Young Master Lis.”

“Oh?” Joyce finally turned to look at Welf, speaking in a calm and measured tone,

“I remember the young master was training with you in weaponry, what’s happened?”

“Nothing serious, the young master learns quickly and is very diligent, it’s just that…”

Welf lowered his head, carefully saying, “Young Master Lis seems rather impatient, learning quickly but changing to another weapon as soon as he gets familiar with one, and he mostly learns flashy but impractical moves, which leaves everyone rather helpless.”

“And these past few evenings, the young master’s experiments go on very late, affecting everyone’s rest…”

Welf gritted his teeth, anxious, but still voiced his thoughts,

“Lord Joyce, do you think you could speak with the young master? It doesn’t seem useful for a noble Mage to learn Martial Arts.”

Having had to keep up with Lis’s whims for days, Welf felt a hint of resentment. Most importantly, he believed that for Lis, a Mage, it was both laborious and thankless to learn weapon use—a sheer waste of time!

After speaking, Welf kept his head down, not daring to look at Joyce, as if the seemingly frail housekeeper were some ferocious beast.

Silence followed for a moment, and as Welf grew increasingly uneasy, regretting his rash act of “tattling”…

“Is that truly what you think?”

Joyce’s unruffled voice softly rose in Welf’s ears.

Seeing Welf’s silence, he continued,

“It seems I have been too lenient with you all.”

Hum~

Joyce gently set the wine glass on the table, and suddenly, an intense, terror-inducing pressure enveloped Guard Commander Welf’s entire body.

“Ahhhhhh…”

Welf immediately dropped to his knees, his hands firmly pressed against the floor to support his body while the fear of death surged through his heart. Amidst gasps of pain and the struggle for breath, he dared not inhale, as if at any second, the terrible pressure might crush him completely.

What… what is happening?

Merely the killing intent and aura released had rendered him immobile?

Will I…. Will I die here?

He was wrong, so terribly wrong. He had thought that becoming a Golden Warrior would earn him some status before this person, but he could not even withstand this pressure!

This was no Advanced Professional as he had guessed, but clearly a being whose life had transcended, one who had stepped into the Legendary Domain!

That person was someone who even the King would treat as an honored guest with respect, whose heroic legend would spread across the entire continent. Who would have thought that their own old housekeeper was one of them?

I’m going to die, going to die, going to die, going to die, going to die!!!

Facing the helplessness and fear of death, panic crazily tugged at the warrior’s nerves, and Welf’s heart was drowned in endless regret.

Just as Welf felt his consciousness about to fade away…

“Remember your place.”

Housekeeper Joyce’s fingers tapped on the table one by one, yet Welf felt each tap fiercely hammering on his heart.

“Master Lis’s words are commands, even if they send you to your death!”

Housekeeper Joyce stopped tapping his fingers and looked at the Golden Warrior lying prostrate on the ground, drenched in sweat. He said in a cold tone:

“Otherwise, you’ll know that death is the kindest mercy.”

Welf felt as though he was facing Hell itself, as a deep intent to kill pierced from his skin into his vitals, and his whole being seemed to be encased in ice, his blood about to stop flowing and freeze.

“Get lost!”

Not even waiting for a response, Housekeeper Joyce couldn’t be bothered to take another look at Welf. He waved his hand dismissively, Welf let out a muffled groan, and suddenly he was airborne, forcefully thrown out through a nearby window.

After completing the deed, the old butler remained as calm and collected as ever, as if the terrifying act hadn’t been of his doing.

Housekeeper Joyce’s eyes were deep as he watched the dark red liquid flow back and forth in his hand. He continued to savor the intoxicating scent of sunshine and rain in the Muge Wine, lost in thought about something.

“An arcanist…huh?

—————–

116 Feis Street

Unaware that his Guard Commander had just been severely reprimanded by the housekeeper for tattling on him, Lis was in a good mood, exchanging culinary insights with the foodie girl he had met at the party.

This wave was definitely a case of like minds meeting GET!

“So you see, there are actually many ways to make golden threads, with egg, potatoes, or even flour. Of course, my favorite is the one made with potato threads, which complements the shrimp balls’ smooth and tender texture perfectly!” Lis rambled on.

“Oh~~~! That must be delicious!” The girl looked at Lis, seemingly aglow, with eyes full of admiration, sparing no praise.

She glanced at the plate of Boditch’s Sweet Shrimp Salad and suddenly felt it didn’t seem as appetizing anymore!

The girl’s eyes swiveled, and extending her fair, delicate hand to Lis, she said:

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, my name is Ya’er.”

Lis, not minding the clearly fake name, took the girl’s hand with gentlemanly grace, lifted it to his lips, and gave it a light kiss.

“I am Lis Kain. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Ya’er looked at Lis, a bit surprised, then burst into laughter:

“Dear Mr. Lis Kain, I’m not married yet, hasn’t anyone told you it’s rude to kiss a maiden’s hand?”

Well, I just wanted to follow local customs, and I truly hadn’t noticed this.

Lis thought somewhat embarrassedly, but Ya’er didn’t mind and quickly changed the subject, pointing at a figure approaching them.

“My friend has come to find me. It was very nice to meet you. Next time, you must treat me to the golden shrimp balls you mentioned!”

After saying that, the figure reached Ya’er and Lis, swept Lis with a guarded glance, and then turned to Ya’er:

“Miss Ya’er, it’s time, we should go back.”

“Yeah, alrighty.”

She waved goodbye to Lis and then left with the man through the crowd of the dance party.

“Interesting!” Lis watched the retreating figures, smiling to himself.