"I'm sorry but this is the best room I can arrange for now…"
Alicia's apology lingered in the air longer than it should have. Baston stepped inside the guesthouse chamber and let his gaze wandered around.
The furniture was simple with polished wood, clean curtains, a modest bed, and a writing desk that was near the window. There were no golden carvings, no expensive mana lamps, and no ancestral portraits that was staring down from the gilded frames.
To him, it was more than acceptable. Unfortunately, to a noble household, it was a message. He understood it immediately.
The main residence stood deeper within the estate grounds, guarded by the layers of wind wards and the subtle enchantments.
The guests who stayed there were acknowledged, recognized, and weighed. As for him, he had not been weighed highly enough.
Alicia tried to maintain a calm expression but he could sense her dissatisfaction.
In noble society, the treatment was kind of another language. The placement was hierarchy and a guesthouse room meant neutrality. It was neither insult nor acceptance. He could stay inside but he was not one of them.
He did not mind of such treatment. In fact, he preferred it. The less attention he drew, it would be the better. Yet, Alicia seemed to feel responsible.
She quickly shifted the topic and began explaining her plan about visiting the family library. Her father had not granted the permission yet, but she believed there might be records inside that could help him.
"Help me?" Baston asked.
She nodded seriously, "The cult… The dark potion… You didn't know about it before, right? The noble archives contain several restricted documents. Inside, you can look for ritual studies, forbidden alchemy, and historical cases. If we understand more, you won't face such danger blindly again."
He fell silent because she was correct.
When the old book issued the quest that was involving the dark potion, he had been ignorant. He was completely unprepared toward what would happen to him.
If he had known more, perhaps the outcome might have unfolded differently. Perhaps, he could strive for better ending. The word soon echoed with quiet accusation.
He lowered himself onto the bed after Alicia left.
The mattress was firm and the sheets were crisp. He closed his eyes, replaying her words.
She thought that he needed knowledge to fight the cult. She did not know that he needed knowledge to survive something else entirely because the true judge in his life was not a cult.
It was the old book.
*****
Somewhere else in the estate, another pair of eyes studied him. Alicia's father sat behind a long desk that was carved from the dark wood.
Several documents lay spread before him and the reports were delivered through discreet channels. The nobles did not rely on the rumors since they commissioned the truths.
"The name is Baston," he murmured, "He is a student of Prius Academy. Poor class status, recently awakened with ice element, and exceptional control beyond the junior standards."
He tapped the parchment thoughtfully, "There is also a rumor of his fallen nobility. However, it was still unverified."
The fact and the rumor were interesting. After all, his daughter disliked fat men.
That prejudice had formed several years ago after an unpleasant proposal from an infamous noble house. Since then, Alicia maintained her distance from the boys who fit that image. Yet today, she had personally escorted this one into their estate.
His gaze narrowed toward such bizarre event.
"Did she develop the feelings for him?" he muttered.
It was truly unacceptable. The marriage within the noble society was not a romance. It was an alliance, influence, and calculation. Alicia could choose her husband but it must be within the limits.
A poor-class boy, even a talented one, did not meet those limits. Another page soon mentioned about Baston's altercation with Clark, the auction incident, and the appearance of Joker.
He dismissed it at first but something lingered. There were too many coincidences that surrounded this boy. He gave a quiet order to the butler.
"Observe him... Test him with something..."
If Baston was ordinary one, the matter would end swiftly. If he was not, then he as the family head needed to know why.
*****
Back in the guest room, a faint tremor rippled through the air. Baston's eyes snapped open toward the sign.
The old book truly read his circumstance. Its presence stirred within him like a pulse beneath the skin. The words soon formed on the page.
"Have some people from the noble family you stay to show some respect to you…"
"Respect…" he whispered.
It was a dangerous and hard quest.
The respect from the nobles was not obtained through begging. It was extracted through the demonstration.
More importantly, the quest specified some people and it was not Alicia alone. He needed acknowledgment, a public one from several people in this family. His gaze drifted toward the ceiling.
The timing was suspicious that almost as if the old book pushed him forward into something wicked.
"BOOM!!!"
Suddenly, the door exploded inward under a surge of wind magic.
Baston rolled off the bed instinctively while he quickly alerted himself to throw the magic to any enemy he had seen. Still, several boys stormed inside uninvitingly.
"You! You must be Baston, right?"
"It's him!"
"Why would Alicia bring someone like this here?"
Their hostility was immediate and unfiltered. The leader stepped forward. He was slim with refined features and aristocratic posture.
"My name is Theodore," he declared, "You will sever your relationship with Alicia immediately."
Baston blinked, "Relationship?"
"She possesses pure noble blood and wind magic talent. Meanwhile, you…" Theodore's gaze swept him with disdain, "You are unfit..."
The accusation was sharp and rehearsed, too rehearsed to be the natural one. He wondered if this boy was just like Clark. Although he was in different house but the same pattern still existed.
"There's a misunderstanding," he replied calmly.
Theodore scoffed, "She has never invited any boy home, not even Clark, and you expect us to believe there is nothing between you?"
Eventually, there was the past before. It was no wonder his existence here became quite suspicious.
If they knew Alicia's opinion of Clark, they would choke on their assumptions. Before he could respond further, the footsteps approached.
"What are you doing here?"
Alicia's voice cut through the tension like a blade. The boys stiffened immediately and their arrogance melted under her stare.
"I'm just afraid you might be deceived," Theodore insisted weakly, "We're only protecting you as a family."
"Protecting?" Alicia's tone chilled, "From my own guest?"
Theodore's jaw tightened at her words. Unlike the other boys who had already begun shrinking under her gaze, he did not retreat immediately. His fingers curled subtly at his sides as if he was restraining something heavier than the anger.
He was not just another cousin. He was her younger brother. He was only two years younger, two years behind.
Since the childhood, their names had always been spoken together yet it was never meant equally. It was Alicia and Theodore but the tone always favored her.
She was the firstborn, the heir's pride, and the wind prodigy whose the control manifested earlier than expected.
The tutors praised her instincts, the knights complimented her battlefield composure, and even the visiting nobles mentioned her talent with admiration.
Theodore had talent too but his growth had been compared, measured, and evaluated against hers from the beginning.
When she mastered the wind blades, he was still stabilizing the basic currents. When she attended her first high-society banquet, he was told to observe and learn. When she received the recognition from the academy, he received the reminders to train harder.
He respected her and admired her but he also lived in the shadow that she unknowingly casted.
"You don't understand," Theodore said and his voice was lower now with less explosive and more strained, "Our status carries the weight and every action you take reflects on all of us."
Alicia's eyes sharpened, "And you believe that bringing a guest here threatens that weight?"
"You brought him without formal notice," Theodore shot back, "Without the evaluation and without our discussion."
The accusation lingered heavier than before. That was indeed the true issue. Theodore did not complain about Baston's appearance but he prioritized about the procedure.
The noble families moved through the structure.
The invitations were documented, the visitors were screened, and the suitors were introduced through proper channels. Alicia had bypassed that entire system.
For Theodore, that felt reckless and perhaps personal.
"Theodore just feels it's lacking toward the ethics," one of the other youths muttered nervously as if he was trying to justify Theodore's stance.
Theodore pressed on since he was emboldened by the support, "Even Clark and any other person must follow the rule, but suddenly, a poor-class student stays inside our estate without any discussion? Do you expect me to ignore that?"
Alicia's expression shifted slightly. It was more about her disappointment.
"You assume too much," she said calmly, "He's just my friend…"
"Do I?" Theodore countered, "Father has much expectations on you. The noble society always watches our alliances carefully and with just one wrong association…"
"Association?" Alicia interrupted sharply, "What do you mean?"
"He's a guest whose background is unclear," Theodore insisted, "There was a rumor of fallen nobility, the incidents at the auction hall, and many more..."
He did not realize how much he had exposed himself with that single line. He knew the details beyond any ordinary gossip and that alone suggested someone had already looked into Baston's background.
Alicia caught it immediately. Her gaze, which had only been stern before, gradually turned colder.
"Father spoke to you…?" she said.
It was not a question. Theodore hesitated for a fraction of a second. That brief pause was enough and the air between them shifted almost imperceptibly.
What had begun as protective outrage now carried the weight of authority behind it. This was no longer merely a younger brother who was acting out of concern. It was suspicion that came from above.
"You think I'm naïve," Alicia continued quietly, "That I cannot differentiate between good and bad."
Theodore did not answer at once. His silence was not defiance but the conflict. He understood what she implied, yet he could not simply withdraw his stance.
Because he had grown up witnessing how this household truly operated. The alliances were never built on affection since they were forged through leverage.
He had watched their father rejected the seemingly suitable proposals from weaker families without hesitation.
The compatibility meant little if the influence did not align. He had seen the negotiations that revolved around territory, military backing, and access to magical resources rather than the personal preference.
In this house, the decisions were measured in advantage. And from that perspective, Baston was an unknown variable.
After all, the marriage was a currency and the reputation was an armor. Alicia as the eldest and talented daughter was a strategic capital.
To Theodore, Baston represented the instability. He was the unknown variables who threatened the noble order. But beneath that political reasoning, there was something more human.
It was jealousy and it meant more toward the sibling displacement.
If Alicia chose someone unexpected or someone outside the noble circles, it meant she moved independently of family expectation. That independence widened the gap between them.
He had grown up guarding the family name in his own way through the obedience, structure, and adherence to the noble expectation. Alicia guarded it differently through the excellence and undeniable strength.
Now, she brought an unpredictable element into the estate. To him, that felt like inviting the chaos into a carefully balanced system.
Before the exchange could deepen further, the footsteps echoed down the corridor. It was measured, composed, and intentional.
It was the butler. He stepped forward smoothly, bowing with impeccable courtesy. But this time, Alicia looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"You were listening?" she said.
The butler did not answer with words. He did not need to because his silence was confirmation.
Alicia exhaled slowly. She started to realize the meaning from all of this. The so-called conflict was surely didn't come from Theodore. It was backed from her father as the head of family.
"Young master Baston," he said calmly, "It appears the doubt exists and such doubt breeds the disrespect. Perhaps, a friendly spar would clarify the matters."
Baston's eyes narrowed. The proposal was too precise and too convenient.
The boys caused a scene and the butler offered a solution that tested their strength before it became a public resolution. This was truly a hidden orchestration.
Such blatant event, the head of the family must be watching from somewhere. He surely was measuring and testing him. Slowly, it came toward his mind. The quest, the test, and the timing. Everything was all aligned toward his own situation.
"Very well…" he agreed but he added one condition, "But I prefer the biggest arena where everyone can watch to clear their doubt."
Theodore smirked but the butler did not. He understood the implication. The biggest arena meant the witnesses, confirming the acknowledgment.
The respect would not be private if he earned it. Such thing would echo and all people had to accept it.
The boys left in high spirits and the servants quickly repaired the shattered door, erasing the evidence of aggression since their reputation mattered.
Alicia lingered after everyone left. She studied Baston carefully and her curiosity was flickering in her eyes.
He was indeed ranked as the strongest among the juniors but the rankings were just numbers while the reality was different. She almost apologized for Theodore's behavior but she stopped.
Baston did not seem offended and he seemed confident of himself. After a moment, she quietly excused herself.
The arena would reveal the rest.
And somewhere deeper within the estate, the unseen eyes waited for the performance to begin.