"Huh? What do you mean? Oh, I forgot, you were unconscious when you were brought here. This mansion belongs to the baron of the Blackwater territory. You were brought here by Sister Maria. She had instructed the baron and the healer to take care of you until you woke up. She was going to leave the town, which is why she thought leaving you here would be the best for your recovery." Maria explained.
"I even heard that she gave the healer a lot of money, just for him to treat you. She wanted the healer to keep an eye on you at all times. The healer didn't want to stay in the orphanage, that is why Sister Maria arranged for you and Mister Healer to live here for the time being." Maria whispered as she didn't want anyone else to overhear what she was saying. Rudra understood, if anyone else heard a maid gossiping, they would punish her instantly. For a maid, their ability to keep secrets was a very essential skill. It was more important if the maid happened to be working at a noble household.
Rudra knew very well how the healers are treated in this world. Finding a healer in this world was a very difficult task to begin with. That is why, no matter the level of a healer, they are practically royalty wherever they go.
'Why would sister do that? The orphanage already has a limited amount of funds; I don't even think that she used the orphanage funds to hire the healer. It would have been best if she had used all that money for the orphanage instead.' Rudra mused as he felt conflicted. He didn't understand why Maria would do so much for him. It's not like they had a very special relationship between them.
"Where is sister Maria right now? Did she go back to the orphanage?" Asked Rudra.
"No, she is currently in the great hall, right now, she and the baron are welcoming a guest from afar," the Maid said.
"I have a very important matter to discuss with Sister Maria. Can you tell me where the great hall is exactly?" Rudra asked, his expression turned troubled as he started thinking about a lot of things that had happened.
"Oh, it's just down the stairway, to the right. You will find a huge red door that is the entrance to the great hall. However, I must warn you, they might be in the middle of a meeting of great importance." Maid said she wanted Rudra to be careful as she didn't want him to disturb the meeting.
"Thank you, I will keep that in mind." Rudra thanked the maid as he left the room. As soon as he exited the room, he was greeted with an incredible view. The hallway outside the room he was staying in made him feel like he was in a royal palace. The entirety of the floor was covered in a velvet carpet, the walls painted white, while the entire hallway was filled with rare golden ornaments and rare relics.
'To think that the baron's mansion resembles that of a king, while the entire blackwater town looks like a slum. Nobels in this world really live in a different world.' Rudra mused, he was totally captivated by all of the decorations that surrounded him. While thinking of the disparity between the ordinary citizens and the nobles, he finally reached in front of the red door that the maid mentioned.
The door looked like it was hand-carved; there were many intricate designs etched on the door. Just by looking at the size of the door, Rudra thought, 'There is no chance in hell he would be able to pry this door open even if I used all of my strength.'
Knock Knock... Rudra knocked on the door. He stood waiting for a few seconds, but there was still no response. "Sister Maria, I have something urgent that I need to discuss with you," Rudra said as he grew impatient.
A gust of wind blew in his face as the door slowly opened. As he went inside the hall, Rudra was mesmerized. The entire hall looked like a throne room of a king; he felt as if he had entered a completely different world. He was only used to slums and the somewhat decent orphanage. However, this hall was completely different.
"Rudra, you woke up? Thank god, are you still hurt anywhere? I thought it would take you a few days. May the blessings of Goddess Lumina be upon you." Mara, who was seated on a sofa, suddenly sprang up and arrived right in front of Rudra.
While Maria started to check up on his condition, Rudra was dumbfounded by the reaction that he just witnessed. 'What is going on? Why is Sister Maria acting like this?' Rudra mused that, from his point of view, Maria's personality seemed to have taken a completely 180-degree turn; she never acted this way. Even if she cared about all of the children in the orphanage very much, she remained quite distant from them.
All sorts of questions began to brew in his mind; however, he didn't dare to voice them.
"GRASP! Greetings, Frontier Duke, forgive me for my rude behavior as I failed to recognize you." Rudra grasped as he bowed his head towards the man who was seated on the seat of honor. Slightly bowing one's head was one of the ways of showing respect in the Radiant Empire.
The man looked old, with a white beard filling his face. Countless scars covered his face, clearly indicating he was a warrior who had lived through countless wars. Although in appearance he seemed old, his eyes told a completely different story; his eyes were sharper than most people's. Rudra locked his eyes with the man for a few seconds, even though the man did nothing, Rudra started feeling a great sense of dread just by staring at his eyes. Just his eyes gave off an aura that Rudra was completely unable to withstand.
The man who was silently seated on the seat of honor nodded his head in response. "Just call me Augustus. I do not like harping over those meaningless titles," said Augustus, his expression unchanged.
The instant Rudra saw him, he knew that this man was none other than the man who is referred to as 'The Human Fortress'. Augustus Shade, many bards that visited the town of Blackwater, loved to sing his praises. He was one of the most feared as well as most loved men in the entire empire. He is the main reason that people of the empire slept comfortably. Every child, around every corner of the empire, knew that as long as Duke Augustus was protecting the frontline, no monsters would dare step foot inside the empire.
This man was the sole reason why there have not been any monster invasions in a very long time. Ever since Rudra started reading the newspaper of this world, there has not been a single day that this man hasn't been featured in the news. He had seen photos of this man countless times in the last few years; that was the reason why he was instantly able to recognize him.
"Sir Augustus, this is Rudra, one of the children from the orphanage. He was the one who rang the bell; if it wasn't for his bravery, we might have been a little late in noticing the monster's presence." Maria introduced him very proudly.