Fiorelle's screams alarmed the two servants. They came rushing into the dining room, eyes widening and anticipating the worst. What they saw was their young lady desperately covering herself with her arms while screaming in embarrassment.
"What... What are you doing here?!!" she exclaimed.
The young man sitting across from her looked at the servants with a baffled expression.
The maid immediately ran towards Fiorelle to explain.
"My lady, Lord Theocheirós has arrived at our door this morning, seeking an audience with you. As you were still asleep, I welcomed him in and asked if he wanted to wait for you to wake up."
Fiorelle protested instantly.
"You should have woken me up and told me!"
The maid lowered her head.
"I'm very sorry, Lady Fiorelle!"
Stomping her feet in anger, Fiorelle went to her room to prepare herself. When she got back to the dining room, she immediately turned into her usual self. Calm, silent and demure.
But this facade only lasted for a few seconds. She couldn't even look Dhein in the eye.
The maid, who seemed to be the most bothered by this awkwardness, spoke.
"L—Lord Theocheirós, please have a taste of what I've prepared. I hope they're all to your liking."
Dhein looked at the dishes served in front of him. Juicy slices of perfectly cooked steak, an enticing sunny-side-up and a generous plate of fried potatoes.
With a fork, he took one slice and then ate it. The steak melted in his mouth, exploding in richness and flavors.
He turned to the maid and then said:
"This tastes divine, Mrs. Gepall."
Though this food was nowhere near as extravagant as the ones served to him by the cooks in the manor everyday, a certain quality just made the dish outshine the luxurious meals he always used to have. It reminded Dhein of the times his mother cooked for him.
It gave him a glimpse as to what kind of household the Spirit Clan was.
The maid seemed to be pleased by what she'd heard. She bowed passionately before walking out of the scene, as did the coachman after her.
He then turned to Fiorelle who was fidgeting in her seat.
"Please join me, Lady Wixorn. The food is very delicious," he said casually.
With visible nervousness, Fiorelle grabbed her fork and then faked a smile.
The two shared the meal in silence. Dhein was expecting to finish their food without talking but Fiorelle unexpectedly spoke.
"Please forget what you saw."
Dhein paused for a moment before realizing what she meant. She was still embarrassed about being seen in her carefree morning daze.
He replied with a smile.
"I grew up with a sister, an unusually close one at that, so I'm not really ignorant about such things. There's no need to be shy."
Fiorelle let out a sigh of defeat.
"Next time, please warn me if you're gonna come over."
Dhein chuckled.
"I will. Sorry."
Resting her forearms on the table, Fiorelle played with her food as she asked:
"So what brings you here?"
Dhein lifted his gaze from the food to look at her. He went straight to business.
"I'm heading to the Selense Kingdom."
Suddenly, the mood got serious. Any thoughts that didn't matter were thrown aside.
"Tell me, Lord Dheinyrus. Is that where the princess is hiding?" Fiorelle asked.
Dhein grinned darkly.
"Correct."
Fiorelle exhaled slowly. She could finally ask him the questions bugging her mind.
"Why did you lie about her heading west when the Selense Kingdom is in the east?"
Dhein knew she would pick up the lie he told, but by that time, her perception of him as a calculating mastermind would have been established. He knew she would assume he had lied for a purpose, and that she would keep it a secret.
Right now, she was probably expecting to hear a complicated explanation to his plans, but there was no such thing. He always relied on his charisma to trick people into thinking he actually knew what he was doing.
Not to be boastful, but he had a stunning face. The facial expressions that he had practiced in the mirror played a huge part in making him look like he was using his head. With this advantage, he could appear as someone with a plan.
In reality, he was just riding their delusions. And he played the character in their minds perfectly.
"If you want to find out, come with me."
Fiorelle contemplated for a moment. He decided that he still needed someone to deal with the monsters without Zarria. He'd seen pretty much all of what Fiorelle could do in battles, and he deemed her worthy of becoming his new protector.
It had been years since he stopped feeling shitty about doing this. At this point, he was used to it.
Soon, Fiorelle took a deep breath and then asked:
"Is this connected to the purpose that I need to find?"
'Oh that. I thought we forgot about that already.'
Since he couldn't just lie and say 'yes,' he had to give her a satisfying answer in a roundabout way.
If only Fiorelle didn't have this ability, Dhein's life would have been much easier.
He sighed. Fiorelle wasn't the only person that he needed to trick. Believing his own lie, albeit his specialty, was the hardest part of all.
"Lady Wixorn, all of your questions will be answered in Selense. Whether you will use those answers to find your purpose or not will be up to you."
He planned on telling her the truth about Shina after meeting with her, so he wasn't lying about that. The most important thing for now was to warn Shina about the people threatening to capture her.
After a moment of silence, Fiorelle answered.
"Please, just call me Fiorelle. I think we have become acquainted enough to cut the formalities."
Although a bit shocked, Dhein smiled and then replied.
"In that case, Fiorelle, you can also call me Dhein."
She smiled back and then said:
"I'll go with you, Dhein."
***
They were to leave that same morning. The carriage Dhein had commissioned was already waiting by the city gate.
Dhein's belongings had already been put in the compartment on the sides of the carriage. Fiorelle arrived with a few bags of her own with her.
The two entered the carriage and they began the day-long trip to the Selense Kingdom.
While on their way, Dhein couldn't help but be curious about the extent of Fiorelle's powers. So far, he had seen her use the spirits of life and truth. A Wixorn of her status should be able to use at least three or four great spirits out of the hundreds that roamed the world.
So, out of the blue, he asked, breaking the silence.
"Fiorelle, what are the spirits that you have access to?"
The girl was looking out the window when he asked this. She immediately turned to him and then a proud, arrogant smile crossed her face. She then responded.
"All of them."