Invitation To A Tea Party

The rattling of the carriage's wheels was heard through the quiet forest. The carriage was guarded by several members of the honorable warriors of the Griffin Knights.

Inside sat two individuals. Rosaline von Montampes, the daughter of the prestigious Duke Montampes of the Hedal Kingdom. And me, Luka, a slave and a butler to Rosaline.

Right now we are traveling to the territory of Count Ronald Hepburn for a tea party Rosaline was invited to. The tea party will be hosted by the Count's daughter, about a year older than Rosaline. Since Rosaline already had her debut, she needed to go around and make connections with various nobles.

Notice how Count Hepburn doesn't have a 'von' in his name? It's because only nobles that are at least at the court rank of Marquis are allowed to have the name of 'von'. It's a way the high nobles can separate themselves from the low nobles. Pretty dumb if you ask me.

A month has passed since my...incident. I tried to learn how to access my ability to control the wind for the past month but, I haven't made much progress.

From what Weiss told me, my power was really powerful. But for some reason, I can't bring out that same power that was unleashed that day. I really wish I remembered how I did it, it would save me a lot of trouble.

So far, the extent of what I can do is make bursts of air. I can adjust the strength from a large gust to a small breeze.

Nevertheless, I will master this power. Soon hopefully.

The carriage had two seats. I sat across Rosaline and Rachel, the former was sleeping loudly. Fortunately, her snores aren't too loud this time. There was even drool dripping over the corners of her mouth.

Rachel however, is completely quiet. She's like a goddamn robot. It creeps me out sometimes.

The carriage stopped abruptly. I peeked out the carriage window to inspect what was going on.

"Bandits. How typical."

Bandits were blocking the carriage's path. The knights could probably take care of them on their own, but I want to stretch my legs. A growing boy like me needs some exercise.

"Hey, Rachel. Protect her will ya?"

Rachel didn't reply, but I think she got the message.

I opened the carriage door and went outside.

Immediately, I could hear the ramblings of the bandits.

"Whatcha got there in that cute little wagon?"

"Probably a pretty noblewoman. Oh, how I would love to violate her. Kehehehehe!!!"

A bandit from the back stepped out and smacked the bandit that said something about ravishing a woman. Creepy bastard...

"You fuckin' idiot!! If there's a noble there, woman or not, it's better to use them for ransom money."

"R-right! Right... Sorry boss..."

One of the knights approached me. It was Rebecca, one of the three vice-commanders of the Griffin Knights. She's also one of the few 3rd stage Aura users in the knight order.

"Luka, protect the Young Lady," Rebecca ordered me with a stern expression.

"Yeah sure. Rachel's already got that covered. I'll stay here and guard the carriage."

Rebecca nodded and joined the other knights confronting the bandits.

Rebecca unsheathed her sword and pointed it at the leader of the bandits.

"You are in the way of Her Lady Rosaline von Montampes! Surrender yourselves and leave the premises, or face the consequences."

The bandits laughed. Seems like they're underestimating their opponents a bit too much.

"Hey, missy! I don't fucking care about you or your fancy knights. How about you just let us get what we want, and no one's gonna get hurt!" The leader of the bandits replied to Rebecca's warning.

"*Sigh*, fine. You leave me no choice. Griffin Knights!!"

The knights unsheathed their weapons and brandished them, ready to attack.

The bandit leader suddenly went wide-eyed.

"W-wait! Griffin Knights?!" Seems like he finally realized his mistake.

"Attack!!"

Rebecca and the knights pounced on the poor bandits.

Blood spilled and stained the soil as metal from swords and other weapons clanged. The knights were doing a great job. None of the bandits stood a chance despite most of the bandits knowing how to use Aura. None of them reached the Chromatic stage though.

The fight bored me so much that I yawned. I thought I would be able to work out but the knights were already taking care of everything.

But I would be proven wrong in the next second.

"Move away kid."

A bandit was able to somehow sneak past the formation of the knights.

"Nice." I chuckled.

The bandit channeled Aura to his entire body as I did the same. The bandit waved his sword at me, aiming to take my life.

I easily dodged the attack and stabbed my dagger in the stomach of the bandit.

With one swift motion, I pulled out the dagger and then slashed at the bandit's leg.

"Arrgh!!" The bandit screamed in pain as he knelt down to hold the gash on his leg.

"Wow, you're a real noob you know that?" I mocked the bandit and then ended the poor bastard's life by slicing his throat.

He fell to the ground and struggled to breathe as blood flooded his airways. His eyes lost focus seconds later. He's dead.

I glanced at the area where the knights were fighting the bandit group.

They were already finished. Every single one was dead, none even got the chance to escape. As expected of knights.

I went back inside the carriage. After I closed the door, Rosaline woke up from the sound of it closing.

I wiped off the drool on her face with a handkerchief I took out of my suit.

"Thanks! What happened?"

"Bandits."

"Aw, man! Why didn't you wake me up! I wanted to try fighting too."

"Oh please! If you even get a single scratch on you, your father's gonna throw a hissy fit. Besides, you're going to a tea party. We don't wanna ruin your dress now, do we?"

"Hmph!"

It took a few days and a few nights camping to finally reach the territory of Count Hepburn.

The first stop after entering the Count's territory is the City of Goryon, one of the two cities under the rule of Count Hepburn. We reached the city after the sun fell down.

Our group stopped at an expensive inn. The money needed to pay the fees was no problem as the Duke gave a hefty sum of money for Rosaline to spend.

There were seven knights with us. So we booked 1 room for Rosaline and Rachel and 4 rooms for the rest of us. With that, each room has 2 occupants.

I entered the room I was assigned to. My roommate was already there, taking off his armor.

There were two beds in the room and didn't have a cabinet or any of the sort. On the plus side, there was a glass window that is able to be opened thanks to hinges.

I sat down on my bed to rest. Sitting in a small carriage hurt my ass. But I guess I should be thankful I didn't get hemorrhoids.

*Thud*

My roommate just finished taking off his armor. The loud thud sound was from the thick chest piece.

"Hello. You're name's Luka, right? Mine's Mason." The knight introduced himself to me, stretching his hand for a handshake.

I shook his hand in response. No reason for me to be rude this time.

"Yeah."

"So...how'd you end up working for Montampes duchy." Mason awkwardly tried to make small-talk.

I appreciated his effort. Way better than sitting here and not even interacting with each other.

I pondered how I should answer his question. Revealing that I'm actually a slave could ruin the reputation of Rosaline. I don't know how tight-lipped this guy is, but it would be better to just hide the truth than reveal it.

"I uh...was picked up by Duke Montampes in the streets after I lost my parents." I gave a lie that is a half-truth. It's not exactly a lie that the Duke picked me up after I lost my parents, but I hid the fact that the Duke actually bought me in an auction.

"Huh, well how about that. I knew the Duke was kind but damn! He even took in an orphan? Wow."

He's real chatterbox huh? Reminds me of William.

"Well, what about you? How'd you join the Griffin Knights?" It was my turn to ask questions. It wouldn't be fair if I was the only one talking about my past now is it?

"Ah. It's because of Rebecca."

"What? You joined the Griffin Knights to be her suitor?"

"Yep! I was a common thug back in the day. Extorted vendors, fought against other gangs, and seduced a lot of women. But boy, the day Rebecca arrested my gang and kicked my ass, it was love at first sight!"

Mason lay on his bed with his hand supporting the back of his head. Then he continued the retelling of his past.

"All the women I've met in my life couldn't compare to her. I begged William to recruit me. I gave promises that I would change my ways. At first, they hesitated but luckily, I'm actually a bit talented! And so the common thug Mason joined the prestigious Griffin Knights. It's been 3 years since then."

"You don't regret being subjected to harsh training?"

"Nope! No training in the world is too hard as long as I can chase after Rebecca." Mason smiled. He's really lovestruck.

"Has she given you an answer?"

"No. Rebecca keeps rejecting me. But I haven't given up!"

"You're relentless aren't you?"

"Hey, man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, especially if it's for love." Mason shrugged.

"So, did you really turn over a new leaf?"

"Of course I did! I haven't done anything that breaks the law ever since I became a knight. Did you really think I'd still be a member if I didn't turn over a new leaf?"

"That makes sense."

Just then, we heard a knocking on the door.