Chapter 61: Andrew and the Viscount
At the dinner table, everyone was seated, Raze’s family and the guests, including Gavin and Fey, while he and Elaine, who had worked on it, stood and watched. He also noticed that his brother, Andrew, wasn’t there; he stared at the empty seat for a few seconds.
The moment everyone started eating and the food touched their tongues and melted into their throats, they were all blown away by the immaculate taste; their reactions were exactly what Raze wanted to see.
He watched as everyone literally inhaled the food before them, with a smile on his face, a smile that wasn’t because he was happy to see them eat; it was simply because he was happy that he could use all these small things against them when he really needed to.
It was always nice to have people you could call on for favours whenever you needed; that was the mentality Raze was running on.
[...]
Andrew stood before a massive manor, twice the size of theirs. He looked up at it as the sun’s bright rays showered the cream-white marble walls it was made of.
He walked to the gate; a guard stood there, draped in a thick, gown-like material and a chest piece with the emblem of the viscount proudly plastered on it, and in his hands a six-foot-tall spear sharpened to cut through the wings of a fly.
"Stand back. This is the private property of the viscount. If you don’t have an invite, walk away," the guard bellowed.
"Um, the viscount wants to see me. I don’t have a letter or anything, but if you tell him that the first son of the Grimhold family wants to speak to him, he’ll know," Andrew explained.
The guard scanned him from head to toe. He could tell the material used for the clothes Andrew wore was of quite high quality, so he was definitely from a family with a high-status background.
"Are you from a noble family?" the guard asked.
"Yes, Grimhold, like I said, the family in charge of the future of Ribest," Andrew confirmed.
"Ribest, huh? I see. Give me a few minutes," he said before heading into the main house. He was gone for a few minutes, then he finally walked back and headed to the gates. "The viscount is inviting you in. Head for the house and a butler will lead you to him," the guard said.
Andrew nodded. The gates were opened and he walked in. After stepping in, he took a deep, heavy breath and then kept walking. He got to the door where a middle-aged butler was standing; the butler gave a slight bow and then opened the door, allowing Andrew to walk in. Andrew followed him in, and the butler led the way.
The interior of that building was something else: the walls were made of beautiful marble, crystal lights in their lamp holders and fixed to the wall.
A carpet of materials he could only dream of seeing; even when his family tried to look rich, they couldn’t do it as effortlessly as this. The smell of flowers and some burnt wood filled the air.
The butler led him to a lounge and opened the door, allowing him in. Andrew walked into the room. It was a stunning room, minimalist and yet extremely beautiful, with a large round couch that went all the way around in a semicircle and a small coffee table at the center, and a view through the large windows straight into the knights’ training ground.
"Being able to see the combat of men is really intriguing," Viscount Luke’s voice came from behind. Andrew turned around and saw the viscount walking in through another door, carrying a beautiful bottle of wine and two glasses.
Glasses were an extremely expensive commodity that took alchemists months or years to make; only those with money could have them. He filled the two glasses with blood-red wine that shone inside and then handed one to Andrew.
"When I see my men fight, it reminds me what the Vermilion Kingdom was built on," he said, and then walked to the couch. After Andrew took the drink, he sat down and reclined back, a grin on his face as he sipped his wine and looked at the men training.
"Come and sit," he said while still looking outside. Andrew did as he was told and went around, sitting on the chair, the glass in his hands; he didn’t take a sip yet.
"I take it that you put my offer into proper consideration?" Viscount Luke said. He took a sip. "Your young brother has to go, or else you’ll suffer. You can imagine, suddenly hidden in the shadows of a young one."
Andrew stared at the ground for a few seconds, his mind racing; he thought about it over and over again before looking up. "What do you have in mind?" he asked, his eyes heavy with conviction.
"Atta boy, that’s the best choice you could have made. Don’t worry about it. All I need from you will be information and then your loyalty. Be loyal to me and I’ll make you into a man that others respect.
You’ll be the baron that your father could not. I have a certain group of people that can make your brother go away; all they’ll need is information from you," Viscount Luke said. He dropped his wine on the table, got on his feet, walked close to the window, and looked out.
"Now that you have decided to do it, please give me all the information you have about him," he asked.
Andrew finally took a sip of his wine and then set it down on the table. He got up. "Whatever you do, I don’t want to be tied to it, do you understand?" he asked.
"Oh yes, I definitely do. I’ll make sure that you will be part of it, and no one will ever know that you were involved in it. You have my word on that."
"Fine, there you should know that Raze is...."