Free Web NovelChapter 251: Guest House
Lucas’ first thought when he heard a banquet had been arranged tonight of all nights was, What the fuck?!
He was so dumbfounded by the very idea of having a lavish celebration in the midst of a massive, enormously expensive, life-threatening crisis that he almost failed to control himself.
Not wanting anything to do with such a ludicrous proposal, and more than a little angered it was happening at all, Lucas’ expression darkened considerably despite his best efforts to maintain his calm.
He was just about to reject the offer outright, but before he could, Lucas felt someone grab his arm and squeeze it tightly.
Turning to his side, Lucas met eyes with his partner, who gently shook her head, silently telling him to be patient.
Since the giant explosion in the Great Western Forest 17 days ago, the person from outside Redwood Town Lucas had worked most closely with was undoubtedly Allina Crest. He had even spent more time with her than he had with his new Master, which was quite shocking seeing how Allina had been absent for over half of those days.
The reason for this was actually quite simple; while Celestina Balfour was overseeing everything in the field and Vanessa Clark was constantly flying around on missions, it was Allina Crest who was in charge of everything related to strategy and logistics.
In other words, Lucas and Allina shared the same speciality, which led to them spending many hours together planning, refining, and executing the various operations in both Redwood Town, Herald City, and beyond.
During this past half-a-month, Lucas and Allina had developed a kind of mutual respect for one another, even referring to each other as Big Sister and Little Brother outside of work, so when Lucas saw Allina ask him to wait, he decided to trust in her judgement, regardless of his current annoyance.
Having stopped Lucas from making what she considered a mistake, Allina Crest turned her attention back to Count Carlson and flashed a polite smile, "We would be honoured to attend the banquet, Lord Carlson. However, it has been a long day and we have traveled quite far, so it may take us some time to make ourselves presentable for such an event."
"Hahaha, of course, of course. The banquet will begin an hour from now, but feel free to arrive whenever you please," Mathias laughed heartily before clapping his hands loudly.
When a pair of maids entered the meeting room, Count Carlson immediately gestured to Allina and Lucas, "Take Lady Crest and Young Master Lucas to their accommodations and see to it that they are provided with whatever they need." freewebnøvel.coɱ
""Yes, My Lord,"" the maids nodded in unison before bowing to their assigned guests, "This way, please."
Left with no options now but to go along, Lucas schooled his expression as best he could and got up from his seat, following after Allina and the maids to leave the hall.
.....
Arriving at the ’quarters’ the Carlsons had arranged for him, Lucas felt his jaw drop slightly.
In Redwood Town, his home was considered quite luxurious, with 6 whole rooms, an open yard, and a private well to get water from. It was nowhere near as big or as well put together as his Big Sister Eris’ home, but comparing a blacksmith’s house to a Baron’s Manor wasn’t reasonable in the first place.
In Herald City, although Lucas had seen and even been inside Count Baker’s Manor, he had spent all of his nights sleeping in the officer’s barracks of the local garrison which was even more cramped than his room back in Redwood Town.
As such, it was a bit overwhelming for the young boy to be standing in front of what could only be described as a luxury mansion with a group of 10 maids and servants lined up outside to welcome him. That didn’t even include the 2 maids who had escorted Lucas and Allina here.
This private villa, which was located away from the centre of the manor complex, was 3 stories tall, had many expensive glass windows, and was adorned by several immaculately manicured gardens, and that was just what Lucas could see from the front.
While this residence was smaller than the Count’s home by far, it was still incredibly large, especially if it was going to be used for just 2 people.
"Welcome, Lady Crest, Young Master Lucas!" The dozen servants all suddenly shouted, waking Lucas from his daze.
Although he was still somewhat annoyed at this whole banquet fiasco, Lucas didn’t want to appear rude to people he knew hadn’t done anything wrong, so he cleared his throat and did his best to sound friendly, "Thank you for your warm greetings. Please show us to our rooms."
"Yes!" The all shouted again, like they had rehearsed it a million times before.
Most of the servants dispersed then, while an older woman, who seemed to be the one in charge of the villa, stepped forward and escorted Lucas and Allina inside.
The interior of this guest house was just as opulent as the exterior, with the entire building illuminated by Spirit Lamps, making it as bright as day despite the setting sun. Lucas also noted that all the furniture, floorings, and other decorations were crafted from high quality Tier 3 or even Tier 4 Mortal Grade materials.
With no relevant references to judge by, Lucas didn’t know how much this mansion cost to build and furnish, but he imagined it was not less than a million Gold Coins.
Allina, for her part, didn’t seem surprised by any of this. Even though she originally came from a small Viscount-rank family, she had spent much of her life around the Balfour Manors and even the Royal Palace, so the guest house of a Count, no matter how wealthy they might be, could not compare to the sights she had seen.
It wasn’t until they reached the second floor, where their assigned rooms were located, that Lucas finally managed to reign in his country bumpkin aura and compose himself again.
This was certainly the most opulent home Lucas had ever set foot into, much less been allowed to stay in, but if he compared it to some of the gargantuan mansions that literally floated through space and had leisure starships docked next to them from his inherited memories, it still seemed quite tame.
After all the shock he had gone through just getting here, Lucas found his room to be relatively plain. Sure, the décor was still expensive, but it was a bit more subtle than the rest of the manor, so it didn’t seem as overwhelming.
"Please feel free to use this room as you please, Young Master Lucas. A few changes of clothes have also been prepared for you in the dresser. Wear whichever you feel more comfortable with," the Head Maid explained with a perfect business smile, "If you require anything at all, please do not hesitate to let me, or any of the other staff know."
"Huh? Ah, yes. I mean, thank you, that will be all for now," Lucas replied somewhat awkwardly, still not used to being shown so much attention.
Bowing politely, the Head Maid withdrew without another word, leaving Lucas alone in his new room, scratching his head, wondering just what he was supposed to do next.
Thankfully, a knock soon came at his door and Allina walked in.
Seeing the cramped expression on Lucas’ face, Allina smiled lightly, "I figured you’d be a little lost."
"En," Lucas nodded, not trying to put up a front. He was indeed out of his depth, so he could only turn to his companion for help, "What should I do now, Big Sister? I’ve never been to a noble banquet before."
"Oh," suddenly remembering why all this was happening, the innocent youthful expression on Lucas’ face disappeared, replaced by a solemn one unbefitting a child his age as he asked, "And can you please explain why you accepted the Count’s invitation? I understand refusing would be rude, but considering the circumstances, I can’t say I agree with this waste of time and resources."
"I also figured you’d be wondering about that," Allina shrugged before motioning for Lucas to sit down at a nearby table.
Once the pair were seated, Allina assumed the role of teacher, looking and behaving surprisingly similar to his Master, and asked Lucas, "Tell me, Little Brother, what do you know about banquets?"
Lucas was tempted to say ’nothing’, but feeling Allina was trying to teach him something important, he paused for a moment to think.
He might not have any experience socializing with nobility, but Lucas wasn’t a complete stranger to big get togethers, like Eris’ birthday, so he soon began musing, "I imagine banquets are events nobles host to feast, dance, celebrate, and mingle amongst each other and other important figures."
"There’s a bit more to it than that, but that’s about right," Allina nodded, unsurprised Lucas could come up with such an answer, "However, it’s that last point which is key here."
Tilting his head, it was as if a question mark appeared above Lucas, wondering what his Big Sister was implying.
It took a moment for Allina to gather her thoughts, but eventually, she explained it this way, "Although I suspect there are politics at play in the background, Count Carlson’s main objective in hosting this banquet is probably just as he said, to foster closer ties between all the involved parties gathered in Iron Rock."
"As for why that’s important, considering the amount of resources and manpower we’ll need to pull off the south-western evacuation, you should be able to understand, yes?" Allina pointed out.
Like a lightbulb went off in his head, Lucas suddenly realized what was going on.
It was true that no single force in the South-West Province had the capabilities to execute the mass-migration plan he had put together, not even the ruling Drax Earl Family. It was going to take everyone working in concert to make it a reality.
Lucas, of course, knew this, especially considering he was the one who drafted this plan, but it seemed he had gotten so caught up in the work on the ground today that he had lost sight of the background picture.
Letting out a sigh, Lucas lowered his head and apologized, "Thanks for stopping me earlier, Big Sis. I almost made a mistake."
