139: Tour

A nudge broke me out of my stunned silence as the King stood just outside the carriage.

Lily bumped her head into me again, forcing me to my feet as I noticed Liane chuckling behind her.

“Alright, alright, but how can this be my place? I can’t take care of all this,” I said, leaving the carriage.

The King laughed. “You won’t need to take care of anything. It’s fully staffed, and if you wish to change any of the staff with your own, that will not be a problem. This is all paid for by us as a way of apology.”

Lily walked out after me, causing two of the six staff to pass out where they stood, lined up to greet us.

The King grimaced. “I suppose you’ll likely need to get staff who have a bit higher resistance to pressure to be able to work here. No worries. Look, I’ll be blunt with you, Trevor—this was to be a gift for you. To be fully open with you, I want to work with you, not against you, and I didn’t want to be enemies with someone who keeps a circle of the most powerful creatures in this world as friends and guardians.”

Liane took her spot next to me as the next carriage came to a halt and the rest of the party stepped out.

“However, I see that rather than starting from neutral as I had hoped, my subjects have made it their mission to make this difficult. So, this mansion is now my gift as an apology for what’s happened to you, and from here, I hope we can build a positive friendship. But we’ll discuss that more at dinner. For now, I will leave you with my daughter, Kathrine, and Liam to give you a tour,” he said.

Kathrine gave a nod while Liam gave a full bow.

“Excellent. I shall see you tonight,” he said, getting back inside the carriage before it swiftly departed.

As the carriage moved away, Kathrine stepped forward. She appeared to be a little older than Liane, but it was difficult to tell, especially with the King looking as young as he did. She had a very striking appearance: fiery red hair that almost looked unnatural with red eyes, wearing a vibrant purple and white robe. The staff were currently nowhere to be seen.

Unexpectedly, when she spoke, it was incredibly soft. “Please let me lead the way. We have made some alterations to the place in anticipation of your arrival.”

Walking past the staff, who were lined up, the two who had passed out were still on the ground.

“Please get them somewhere to rest. Don’t leave them on the ground,” Jen said.

But they didn’t move. Kathrine sighed. “Listen to them. They are the owners of this residence and your employers now.”

All of a sudden, there was a flurry of movement as they carried the two away.

“They’ll relax soon. They were hired this week and are still very new,” Kathrine said.

We walked up a stone staircase to the entrance, which looked incredibly grand, with two giant wooden carved doors, intricate stone pillars on either side, and entering inside it looked every bit the palace I expected.

The entryway opened into a grand hall with a staircase in the middle that branched off in three directions.

“To your right on the ground floor: your library, reading room, along with the study and the baths. On the left, we have the first living room, dining room, and kitchen—which I think we will leave till last. Behind the stairs, we have the gallery and second living room. In addition, we have the exit to your garden. But first, if you’d follow me upstairs,” Kathrine said, Liam still silently following along.

Everyone followed along as we went through. I’m sure they were as shocked as I was, so far.

As we went up the staircase, Kathrine gestured to the hallway to the left.

“Down there we have five bedrooms, along with a sitting room and balcony overlooking your garden. There is another bath located at the end.” She said before turning to the central doorway. “Through the centre is a grand balcony with a mini garden.”

Turning to the right and walking up that set of stairs, we entered a hallway that was lined with artwork along the wall.

“Down here we have the master bedroom with a private bath. We also have a second study along with six more bedrooms. There is also a staircase to your library, in the reading room,” Kathrine said, walking down the hall, pointing out the rooms as she went.

I couldn’t help but notice that despite the very soft-spoken tone, every step she took was graceful, like she was stepping on air and not the ground.

Opening a set of double doors, I saw the most luxurious bedroom I had ever seen in my life. This room alone felt larger than the entire orphanage, and it was all a bit too much to take in.

“This is the master bedroom. We took liberties in implementing a few customisations to it. Such as adding an extra-large hearth in the middle there. We also created several covers that would allow for significant shadows to always be available in this room, and there is a balcony that looks over the rear garden that is reinforced with defence runes that Liam, I’m sure, will run over with you at a later time to properly protect against any intruders.” She said finally, turning towards me.

It only took a moment for Crisplet to dash forward and dive into the hearth, which erupted into flame immediately, and for the briefest moment I saw a smile on Kathrine’s face before it was hidden by the passive look once more.

“Thank you for the tour, Kath… uh, Your Highness? Sorry, I’m not good with all the formality,” I said, forgetting this was someone from the royal family.

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“It’s fine. It’s a pleasure to have you all here, and please, Kathrine is fine,” she said.

Liane stepped forward, looking around the room. “If I could ask, who lived here prior to its being appropriated for Trevor?”

A slight frown appeared. “This was always owned by the royal family. However, we had it reserved for the Falcone family until recent events, but this will be something for my father to discuss later. I must show you the kitchen,” she said, heading back to the hall.

“Crisplet, we’re going to the kitchen. I don’t think you want to miss it!” I called back.

Everyone was currently just looking around in wonder and keeping in a tight group with Liam at the rear. Only Liane was standing up front next to me—well, besides Crisplet.

Lily had vanished in the room, but I could still feel her, so she was still watching.

While we were walking down the hall, a question came to mind. “Sorry, I was just wondering where the staff live?”

“Ah, there is a house in the back where they stay, along with your personal guards for the residence. Liam will introduce you to them shortly. There is also a training yard out there,” Kathrine said.

I couldn’t help but notice Hari’s eyes light up at that, with Darren and George whispering.

While we walked, it all felt too surreal, but importantly, what was the actual cost of all this? What was I agreeing to by accepting this place?

I’d need to wait until I spoke with the team later, in privacy.

Heading back downstairs, we made our way to the left side of the house, opening another set of double doors into an enormous living room with chairs and an intricately carved stone fireplace. Through that we entered the dining hall, which had a table that was as long as the temple one and could fit dozens of people.