Chapter 74: Galter Droet

Galter Droet...?

The name of the plain man who had just stepped into the ruined amphitheater.

I stared at him with narrowed eyes and raised an eyebrow.

"Hired surveyor?"

The man remained silent for a few moments before nodding, "Indeed, I am."

My lips turned into a thin line as I looked, he up and down.

The man called Galter Droet looked plain and unassuming. He had a scruffy beard and brown disheveled hair – spotting a pair of brown pants and a matching vest over a white sleeved shirt which seemed to be worse for wear.

In short, he looked like a commoner.

Compared to the charming Williem Nightingale, Galter Droet looked somewhat...

Boring.

"What do you mean, hired surveyor? Who hired you?", Williem asked in a sharp almost threatening tone, his bloodlust permeating the air.

Yet, the dull Galter Droet didn't even flinch. His neutral expression not even showing a slight twinge of fear.

I felt an uncertainty reeling in my chest.

Who is this man?

"AHEM.", Galter cleared his throat before continuing, "Allow me to explain."

"Word of your feud have already reached Lord Boetus. He wishes to handle this matter quietly as well as quickly usurp the damage. As a result, I was hired to survey the ruin and report back to him, so that matters of construction can be handled swiftly.", he concluded, his voice dry and devoid of warmth.

Purely objective.

I see...so Boetus already knows...I shouldn't be surprised though...that artifact of his is truly something.

I turned to Williem who seemed to be silently contemplating the matter; his hand on his chin, signifying that he was in deep thought yet, his grip on his halberd hadn't loosened.

Even now he still hadn't let down his guard.

The corners of my lips slowly went upward as I remarked.

As expected of a Nightingale.

He finally let out a sigh and smiled, his gaze fixed on Galter Droet as he approached him.

Has he come to the same conclusion?

I thought as I arched an eyebrow.

Despite the sudden movement, Galter's bored look never left his face. He simply glanced at Williem.

Williem finally came to a halt – a few steps away from Galter. Both stared at each other with scrutinizing gazes, tension began to build between the two of them before Williem broke the silence.

"So, I take it you're merely a building examiner.", Williem spoke in a taciturn tone, staring him down.

Galter didn't waver, meeting his gaze with an equally sharp one, "That's right."

"Good.", Williem said, finally letting his flowery halberd return to a mess of vines.

He didn't look away from Galter yet though, "What about the bodies?"

"They'll be properly disposed of.", Galter replied, unflinching.

"Good, but I'll be taking one of them though. For questi-", he froze as he turned to my side.

"Where is she?!"

What?

Following his gaze, I turned over to where Elise's bleeding body lay or at least was supposed to...

My eyes shrunk.

She had vanished, leaving behind only traces of stray blood and viscera.

But how? I didn't sense anything.

Confusion began to color my face as I turned to meet Williem's gaze, he seemed pissed.

I shuddered slightly before calming myself, "Am sorry. She slipped past me."

"HA...", Williem covered his face with a palm before shaking his head in a comedic manner.

Galter looked at me with his usual neutral expression before saying, "Clumsy woman."

I was baffled.

HA?! H-how dare he?! I am the daughter of the Gray Witch!

I was about to open my mouth and reprimand him before Williem raised a hand and turned to Galter, "Don't make snarky remarks about my woman, go and do your job commoner."

Williem made sure to emphasize the words 'my woman' and 'commoner'.

I expected Williem's insult to finally crack Galter's mask but instead he simply dusted his clothes and spoke in a casual tone,

"Don't spit on me, you crass bastard."

Williem was flabbergasted.

"You dare!"

He wanted to lunge at Galter but I grabbed his hand and said, "Stop his not worth the effort."

Although I was a little pissed at him over his earlier remark, it really wasn't worth picking fights with a commoner and such a discourteous one at that.

I turned away from Galter but not before giving him one last fleeting glance; Galter was already moving on to his work of inspecting the damage, not even giving us a glance.

I stared at his face – it was a mask of utter boredom.

A face of one who seemed bored of life.

Galter Droet...

I hope we never meet again...

...

WHOOSH!

A large hurricane dissipated into a shallow gale that sent a slight tremor through the flora of the beautiful garden, I had landed in.

Ah...home...

I thought with a gentle gaze as I admired the flowers before raising my gaze to the illustrious manor before me.

House of Seraphim.

One of the five cliques that populated the Floating Palisades, a group of floating islands believed to have been the kingdoms of past deities before they transcended.

There were originally six in number...but one seemed to have mysteriously vanished after a terrible cataclysm that occurred millions of years ago.

Well...that's what we were taught in the academy...

"Ah what a beautiful garden."

My thoughts were interrupted by a gentle voice.

With a smile, I turned to the source,

"I never knew the House of Seraphim were such cultured botanists, Marta.", Williem Nightingale said with a smile as he admired the garden with a serene expression.

His black mantle billowed in the wind, accentuating his presence and making him appear like a black enigma in the colorful garden.

In his hands, an elegant band of flowers rested; it looked handwoven but I knew he definitely made it with his magic.

But still...there was a strange allure in believing he crafted it with his hands.

TMP. TMP.

He walked up to me, raising the band over my head and asking, "May I?"

I returned his question with an affirming smile. He went ahead and placed the band, tweaking it slightly with his hand before taking a step back.

He stared at me for a few moments before smiling softly, "How lovely."

At his words, my heart throbbed and my ears reddened.

Why was he so charming?

It was like he hadn't just killed two people a few hours ago.

I felt like jumping on him right now and peppering him with kisses, to make him mine but I restrained myself.

Don't lose your head, you're the child of the Gray Witch!

I calmed myself down before opting to return his smile but suddenly, Williem appeared before me.

Flower petals fluttering in the air as he closed the gap between us.

His hand grasped my arm and he stared me deep in the eye.

"Williem...", I spoke in hesitation, even though I wouldn't mind him eating me now.

"Marta I-"

Before Williem could complete his sentence, a voice spoke.

"Eew...don't kiss in front of me!"

We froze turning to the source but instead met a blur and...

BAM!

Williem was sent flying.

"Tss..."

He landed a couple of meters away, in a heroic pose as he glanced at his hand where a bundle of crushed flowers was sprouting from.

Ugh...this boy...

I facepalmed internally when I turned to look at the 6-year-old seraphim who had his small wings outstretched and a menacing look in his eyes.

He screamed in a juvenile voice, "No one kisses my sister!"