65 – Knight’s Blood

Apparently, Mia had a similar idea as me. She probably hadn’t skipped dinner – not that I’d paid enough attention earlier to notice either way – but we met in front of the kitchen, anyway.

“Good evening, Lord Steelheart,” she greeted me formally, doing a proper curtsy and everything. I understood why she did it, but that didn’t mean I liked it any more than usual.

“Our dear guests are still upstairs, so there’s no need for this, Mia.” Well, at least I assumed the person who might be my sister was still up there, not like I could detect her in any way but visual. Though smell hasn’t been tested yet…

“I think it’s a good idea to get into the proper habits, my lord,” was the reply. That was a good point, so I had nothing to refute it.

“Leaving that aside, I’m here for some food. I kinda-sorta skipped dinner, which isn’t a great idea with how hungry I’ve been recently.”

Mia nodded in response and we stopped just standing around. On entering the kitchen, I confirmed the cook was indeed busy cooking a rather fancy meal. He, too, greeted me with a “Good evening, Lord Steelheart,” though he thankfully didn’t curtsy. The mental image nearly made me laugh.

“Hello. I’m here for some food, as you might have guessed. How far along is what you’re preparing?” He was roasting meat in a pan with some vegetables, busy making a sauce to go alongside it.

“Nearly done, my lord. A few more minutes, at most. Though I don’t know if the honored guests would like to dine in the dining hall, or have food brought up to their rooms?” He looked between me and Mia, the request obvious.

I turned to Mia myself. “Would you be so good as to go upstairs and ask? In case my sister or Sir Maximilian wish to join me in the dining hall, they are most welcome.” Leaning closer, I whispered into Mia’s ear, “For some reason, they picked the rooms on the east side, just so you know.”

She looked just as surprised at that as I originally was, but quickly adapted her expression and walked off with a nod.

As for my part, I raided the crate still standing in the corner. “Don’t mind me, just keep going as you were.”

Unfortunately, the crate was nearly empty again. Well, nothing I can do about it now. I chowed down.

Watching me in between paying attention to his pans, the cook commented, “You really seem to like those blood sausages, my lord. No offense.”

Licking some grease off my fingers, I replied, “Indeed, they’re quite tasty. However, the main reason I eat them is for my health. Doctor Theodore prescribed them. It’s nothing overly dangerous, just that some foods are important to eat sometimes.”

He nodded in understanding. “Like sailors supposedly eat fruit to not get sick. Not that I’ve ever seen it, just heard about it. I’ll be sure to set any further blood sausages aside for you as well, if you wish, my lord.”

“Yes, very close to that actually. And please do that,” I smiled, pointing in his direction with a sausage. To my dismay, this was the last one. Bah.

“All this doesn’t mean I won’t partake of your cooking though, rest assured. You’re quite good at your job, in my opinion.” The cook didn’t reply, but I saw the renewed energy he put into his work at the compliment.

My heart sense had tracked Mia all the way to our guests’ accommodations. She wasn’t in any sort of hurry to interact with the rather unpleasant people again, so she moved slowly. Charitably, it could be called a dignified pace.

Her conversation – with the maid, Linda, according to her heartbeat – didn’t last very long. The two of them returned together, more quickly than Mia’s way there.

I’d sat down in the dining hall, nursing a glass that was sadly only filled with wine. Not that this body’s taste-buds didn’t enjoy the taste, but it didn’t do much for me in comparison to a nice sip of blood. I almost considered ‘asking’ the cook for another ‘donation’, but would rather not harm his health.

Mia and Linda walked in, the older handmaid almost acting like she was the one in charge between the two of them. Mia read the mild annoyance in my eyes, but shook her head near-imperceptibly. Fine, I’ll only reprimand her ‘a little’, then.

“Lord Steelheart,” Linda began with another shallow bow. “My lady has declined your offer of dinner, though Sir Maximilian sent me to bring his portion to his room. I hope this is acceptable.” I could see how she was almost apologetic for her lady’s uncivil behavior. As sorry as a person like her can feel towards what she perceives me to be, I guess.

“If that is what my sister wishes, then she’s free to decline food. However, do not forget that I did extend the offer. I will permit no misrepresentation of that fact. Also, let your lady and her escort know this – I may have been more lenient so far to follow my father’s wishes and be a gracious host, but my patience has its limits. I will be treated with the proper respect, both as your host and a member of the Steelheart family.” Linda bowed a bit deeper in acknowledgment, a shiver running through her form at my glare. “Mia, bring her to the kitchen.” I waved them away dismissively.

They departed with a less shallow bow from Linda and a proper curtsy from Mia.

I tracked their movements until the handmaid returned upstairs, laden with a platter of food. Based on the smell and increased care she exerted while moving, anyway. Moments later, Mia carried in some plated food for me.

“Thank you, Mia. Anything noteworthy you saw?”

With guests present, she would not be joining me for meals in the near future. Lars was one thing, but outsiders wouldn’t be nearly as reasonable as he was.

“I didn’t see much of the room. Neither the knight nor Lady Lenora were present, or at least not somewhere I could see. Probably in their separate rooms, if I had to guess. That Linda obviously didn’t want to let me inside. She also took some food that I assume is for herself. Bread, cheese and ham, mainly. It would make sense that she wouldn’t ask you for it, since that would be seen as beneath your notice.”

“Thank you again. How unfortunate that there’s an extra portion available in the kitchen, isn’t it?” I winked at her while eating. She rolled her eyes in good humor.

“I’ll see it’s properly taken care of.”

“See that you do. Also, I want a full record kept of everything and anything our guests eat, if that wasn’t already obvious.”

Mia nodded in acknowledgment, then left to ‘take care’ of the food. I frowned a bit as I checked in on the people upstairs. I could still only tell the positions of Linda and Maximilian, the third person remaining obscured from my senses.

The rooms they’d chosen also had that setup of a common room connected to several bedrooms, like the suite in the west. So Mia not seeing two of them wasn’t that unusual, especially if Lenora really wasn’t presentable as claimed – or just tired from a long journey.

But still, the refusal of food made the paranoid part of my brain flare up immediately. I didn’t know much about undead in this world, since Kalin didn’t. Still, they were definitely a thing. It was more than likely that at least some of them didn’t need to eat.

Though refusing food too often would be obviously suspicious, so maybe I was just overthinking it and my sister really wasn’t hungry? Argh, this is going to drive me insane.

Not much I could do about it right now, aside from pay more attention. Maybe set the bats to try and spy into the rooms.

Finishing up my food, I headed over to the infirmary eagerly.

Theodore welcomed me to his domain rather formally, though his demeanor became much warmer once the door was closed behind me. Without much ado, he brought me to the bucket holding the bandages Maximilian bled into.

A tiny amount of water, tinted pink from the blood slowly dissolving off the cloth, kept them from fully drying out.

Seeing a moment to flex my growing control over blood, I stuck a finger into the liquid. It was far less responsive than my blood, as I already knew. Still, when I pulled, the blood followed my will. Well, partially.

I ended up with most of my hand and part of my lower arm covered in clinging crimson. Whoops, that’s not what I wanted.

The bandages and bucket were free of blood entirely, though.

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At least it was easy to drink this blood. I just had to bring a finger to my mouth and suck at the liquid, which made it almost eagerly spill into my mouth.

And wow, was it good.

Like, almost incomparable to other blood. Where animals were pretty bland – with the exception of highly mana-charged versions – and humans yielded delicious ‘juice’, this was a mouth-watering nectar unequaled by any that came before.

It wasn’t much blood in total, to my great disappointment. Maybe a third of a glass or so at most. The previous hand-covering was just spread thinly. Still, I could feel it still my hunger, more than any time before. I was content.

The amazing taste wasn’t just due to the complexity of flavors, no. It was also owed to the sensation of drinking liquid power, similar to mana-rich blood or fruit I’d tried before, just much more concentrated.

Even though I was sated for the foreseeable future, I couldn’t help but lick my lips.

Damn, is this what Anaster meant when he talked about never being satisfied with lesser sources of mana after experiencing the flesh of a powerful beast? I really need to get my hands on a monster, just so I can taste its blood. More than this pitiful amount of it.

A small part of me almost wanted to march upstairs and bite that knight. He was so rude anyway, it whispered to me. He might be a traitor. And it would taste so good.