Chapter 10

The Wilton Manor was basically ego laid out in brick; it was overly large and ostentatious to the point of intimidation, just like the other manors the carriage in which Dante was in had passed. The Manor was not nearly as old as visitors assumed and every stone was set even and square as if those who built it were set on perfection, as if they really loved what they made.

Its nascent stone walls were a pale grey and were barren of the moss and ivy that clung to the walls of some of the older manors. The windows were oversized and more than a casual glance could count. It had large oak double doors and there was a wide circle in front of the dwelling with an ornate fountain in the centre.

The Manor was extremely fancy and everything about it said expensively built, inside and out.

Mival Wilton had thought himself worthy of being gentry even if he didn't have the title. Most of the older male nobles that had generational wealth looked down on him as classless 'new money' who was trying desperately to fit in. So Mival had felt the need to show them his importance by building his own Manor.

They still turned their noses at him in secret but the female nobles and the younger male nobles had been quite taken with him. Partly because of the businesses he ran.

He owned shops in the Adler Helton and other buildings across the capital that sold jewelry, silk clothes, antiques, figurines and paintings. He also owned shops that sold weapons in a building that was a couple of buildings away from the Adler Helton. The man had sources of income from almost everything.

Dante was impressed because Malcer had told him that having money makes one to be regarded as a person in the capital. Mival obviously had a lot of money so he was definitely a person, maybe even more than a person.

After Mival had taken Dante to the back room of the dress shop, he had asked him more questions. He finally believed that Dante knew Malcer when Dante got all the questions right and the both of them went back into the dress shop where the sellers and ladies gushed over the young man. Mival asked the sellers to get clothes for Dante because the box he had brought with him to the Adler Helton was the only property he had and there were no clothes in it. The sellers happily complied and Mival stood next to them as they took Dante's measurements rather enthusiastically. Both the sellers and the ladies in the shop asked Dante questions such as: Are you married? Do you plan on getting married soon? Do you have someone you want to marry?

Mival constantly told them to stop but that only spurred them on and the man eventually gave up, letting them ask Dante anything they wanted to. Dante answered all their questions politely and the atmosphere in the shop was quite lovely, with more ladies coming in but none leaving, till one of the ladies tried on a necklace which Dante made the mistake of complementing.

"That looks really pretty," Dante stated offhandedly as a seller wore a necklace around Lady Luna's neck and all conversations between the ladies in the shop abruptly stopped.

Lady Luna's head snapped towards Dante so fast that she could have broken her neck."M- Me? I'm pretty?"

"Don't answer that. It's a trap," Mival had muttered in a low voice and Dante heard him but he didn't want to ignore the lady's question. Mival laughed and clapped his hands together when none of the ladies spoke because they were waiting for Dante's answer. "Now, how about -"

"Yes. The necklace really brings out your eyes," Dante replied her and Mival briefly shut his eyes as he prepared himself for what would happen next while a man that Mival had sent for earlier walked into the shop.

"What about me Dante?" the lady sitting next to Lady Luna asked as she got up from the couch. "Am I pretty?"

"Yes," Dante said before another lady asked the same question. And another. And another. And another.

"Stop!" Mival announced when they all began to ask the same question at once and they became quiet. "All the ladies here are pre-"

"Dante, you think the necklace is pretty?" a lady asked, cutting Mival off, and Dante nodded. "Will it make me look even prettier?"

"I smell ulterior motives," Lady Luna said as she narrowed her eyes and clutched the necklace she was wearing.

"Yes, it will," Dante stated and his eyes widened while his mouth fell open when all the ladies lunged at Lady Luna.

There was screaming, breaking of objects and ripping of dresses as the ladies fought to get to the necklace and Mival shoved Dante and the man that had walked in before the madness started out of the shop.

"Take him to the Manor," Mival told the man and pushed Dante's box out of the room just as a couch was knocked over before shutting the door to the shop.

Dante slightly frowned at the memory as he wondered if everything was alright in the shop now before the carriage came to a stop and he looked out the open window at the large Manor. There were two men who were wearing clothes made of linen and shoes made of leather standing outside the carriage.

One of the men went to the back of it before opening the door to the box keeper and removed Dante's box from it while the other man opened the door next to Dante when the young man was about to open it. The man that had grabbed the box began to head towards the building with it and Dante stepped out of the carriage.

"Welcome to the Wilton Manor," the man who had opened the door said with a smile on his face.