The morning light was thin and cold, like it had forgotten how to warm the world, Lucien sipped his cup of tea while the dining table in front of him remained unblemished by touch.
"Esther, tell me, what do you think of the events that transpired yesterday".
A click sound echoed as Lucien dropped his tea cup, Esther was taken aback, unsure how to answer Lucien, but she couldn't stay silent for long, or she might give the evil young lord an excuse to torture her again.
"It's quite tragic, the knights are still searching for the perpetrator". She said quickly.
"What about Elizabeth, I hear she had….". Lucien paused for a moment, as if looking for nicer words to use. "I hear she lost her baby, please send my condolences".
Esther nodded briskly.
Just when Esther thought Lucien was satisfied, he once more inquired.
"Have you seen Lily around lately? didn't see her all morning".
Esther's doggy ears rose sharply. "She asked for a leave from the headmaid, and it was granted, it was quite sudden but she kept on insisting, and lady… arr, Elizabeth wasn't in the mood to look into her reasons".
Lucien nodded indifferently.
"My father, did he send any messages, possibly about the date of his return".
Esther suddenly went pale, as a matter of fact, the Duke did send a letter by pidgin, afterall, he did lose his unborn child, as much as Lucien didn't want his father at the manor, he wanted to make Elizabeth surfer even more.
"I… rr..". Esther stammered before going silent, just as she was about to open her mouth to speak, Lucien interrupted coldly.
"If you lie to me, I'm going to kill you".
He didn't even look directly at her, and yet, Esther still felt a cold chill run down her spine. Her back subconsciously lowered itself as cold sweat soaked her maid gown.
"He sent a letter to Elizabeth, but I didn't hear her mention anything about his return to the duchy, I swear".
Lucien's grey eyes surveyed the surrounding maids, each of them was unawakened, but with enough sheep, even a lion will have to take a step back, Elizabeth needed to be subdued.
And Lucien knew exactly what his next move should be.
He turned towards Esther. "Prepare my coat, I will be taking a lone walk into town".
… …
Lucien walked through the city streets without a word, the hem of his coat brushing against puddles of last night's rain. The air smelled of smoke, rust, and baked bread from half-awake vendors.
The City of roses people of this empire called it, city rosehaven is a renowned sprawling trade hub built along the banks of a slow, winding river.
The upper wards are lined with carefully manicured rose gardens, marble fountains, and mansions owned by old noble families trying too hard to look respectable.
The lower districts tell a different story though, cracked stone roads, crowded markets, and hidden alleyways where debt collectors, street gangs, and smugglers breathe easier than the law does, although a vast majority of the city live well, regardless of status.
Rosehaven is a city where rumour easily takes root, news of yesterday's manor incident had already spread, and funny enough, the people say Lucien did it, he did it. But the fact that they decided that without any evidence was low, even for commoners.
Lucien did not see a need to deceive them, he was no hypocrite.
The streets narrowed, and at the end of the alley. He stopped before a small shop with faded curtains and an empty window display.
Lucien pushed the door and walked in, he removed the hoodie on his head, revealing his perfectly crafted features, his grey irises cut through the dull lights in the shop as his gaze locked onto a woman with long pitch black hair.
The woman wore a long gown with a slit from her left thigh, she leaned on the counter half asleep, as if not expecting customers.
"Selka Moor, the druid caster".
Selka lifted her head.
"And you are?".
Lucien walked up to the counter, his gaze never leaving Selka.
"Lucien Valeir, It's a pleasure to meet you, your elixirs are infamous… is it true you refine life druids to make your potions?".
Selka blinked.
"The evil young…". She paused for a moment. "So the rumours are true, you really did awaken at the age of fourteen, even the current crown prince only awakened at the age of fifteen…". She smiled seductively. "Scarry indeed".
Hmm
She quickly composed herself, she even tried to pull her dress together, but unfortunately, it was built to be revealing.
"Ahem, no I don't refine life druids my lord, but I do extract their life essence to aid in the quality of my elixirs, but you wouldn't be here if you didn't already know that… so why don't we cut to the chase and skip the pretenses?".
Lucien smiled faintly, he has always been satisfied with Selka, not only was she straightward, she was also talented, casters are the most diverse class of awakens.
An awakened caster can either specialise in spell casting or elixir brewing, occasionally, a caster with a unique perspective on the class could appear and shake the world with another unique technique, like Selka's ability to extract life force from druids and refine it into her elixirs.
Lucien retrieved a sheet of paper and dropped it on the counter.
"This contains a specialised method of brewing potions and the recipe for two potions, they have been in my family for over a thousand years, I want you to learn it, and use it to brew two types of elixirs for me".
Selka hesitated, noble families typically hide such treasures, yet here stands the infamous evil young lord, handing it to her with no strings attached, naturally she would be suspicious.
"Why would you want me to see this, ain't you afraid I will make a copy of the recipes and sell it?".
Lucien shrugged.
"You can if you want, but a fair warning, I intend to sell it myself once I leave your shop, so try not to pissoff the major guild in town".