Quinn puts his cloak back on and follows Louise and Albert to the main house of the estate. Albert opens the front doors, and Louise enters while Quinn hesitates.

  “Hmm, what’s the matter, Quinn?” Albert asks.

  “I uh, don’t want to dirty your clean floors.” Quinn wraps himself in his cloak, attempting to hide just how filthy he has become. It’s been quite some time since he last bathed, and even longer since he was able to do proper laundry.

  “Don’t worry about it.” Louise dismisses Quinn’s concern with a wave of her hand. “There’s magic cast on the floor to keep them from getting dirty.”

  “Is that so?”

  “It’s going to take some time for the food to get ready. Albert, take him to the washroom and get him a change of clothes. I’ll let the chief know to start on dinner.”

  “Understood. Let’s go, Quinn.”

  “Huh? Ah, umm okay.” Quinn steps inside and walks with Albert. He leaves tracks behind him that disappear a second later. “Whoa.”

  “Amazing, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah, it is. What kind of magic is this?”

  “It’s an original magic my Lady came up with when she was only fifteen.”

  “When she was just a kid, a traveling mage was hired to join the expedition. The mage was extremely powerful, and because of them, many people were able to return home. To show his appreciation, the current head of the Verdey family held a banquet in her honor. It was there that she met the mage. Since then, she has been obsessed with magic. She wanted to create magic that would benefit everyone, so she set to work crafting spells that could help everyone. Self-cleaning floors are but one of her inventions. It didn’t stop there, either; she believed that if she became a strong mage as well, future expeditions would be just as successful and deaths would be reduced.”

  “I guess she really is amazing.”

  “Of course she is. Like her father, she works hard for the sake of the people.” Albert puffs out his chest, proudly speaking of his masters.

  “Seems pretty quiet here, though. Where is everyone?”

  “Ah, my Lady is an only child, and the Duke and Duchess are away exterminating a herd of A-rank corrupted beasts with the rest of the Verdey knights. They left before we received reports of a potential monster outbreak in the Primal Forest.”

  “A-rank?” Quinn is surprised. He almost lost an arm to a D-rank corruption a month ago. He couldn’t imagine beating an A-rank anytime soon.

  After making it to the washroom, Albert, as Louise instructed, prepares a change of clothes for Quinn and places Quinn's dirty laundry in a basket for later cleaning. Once he finishes, they arrive in the dining room, where Louise is already seated at the end of a very long table. She had taken off her cloak and now dons a blue shirt and black pants. The cloak hid the length of her long curls as well as her hourglass figure.

  “Wow. Where were you hiding such a face?” Louise’s eyes sparkle as she looks at the blushing Quinn. He wears a white dress shirt with frills down the front and black pants. Thanks to another of Louise’s creations, all the clothing in the estate can resize themselves to fit the wearer perfectly.

  While Quinn was bathing, Albert went to his room and grabbed a set of clothes he hadn’t worn in years. Quinn still had a bit of baby fat on his cheeks, even after his body had undergone a painful transformation. He was still in the ‘cute’ stage, not quite defined enough for the handsome stage he was sure to hit later in life.

  “Don’t tease him too much, my Lady.” Although Albert says this, he, too, was thinking the same thing once he saw Quinn clean and in a fresh set of clothes.

  It’s been less than a day since Quinn arrived in Orbis, during which he has already gotten in two fights and is now in the Verdey family’s dining room. It’s a quarter past ten, and he is about to have a late dinner with Louise, the next head of the Verdey family.

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  Quinn sits to the left of Louise while Albert silently stands to her right. Quinn’s eyes wander around. The dining room is very spacious and has plenty of decor. Quinn is sure that the cheapest item here was worth more than his pay for the expedition. ‘Ten times more than what you could think of,’ that was what Albert said when he described just how filthy rich the Verdeys were.

  Could that have been an understatement? Quinn is too afraid to touch anything carelessly. If he accidentally broke anything, just how many years would it take to pay the damages? Forget his path to redemption; he would live the rest of his days as a slave to the Verdey family.

  “No need to be so stiff, umm, Quinn was it? Lousie tries to ease Quinn, who stiffens up even more.

  “Huh? Ah, yes, Ma’am. My name is uh, Quinn. Umm.”

  “Oh, please, I’m too young for ma’am. Just Louise is fine.” A smile spreads across Louise’s face. The smile was too bright for Quinn to look directly at her. Seeing Quinn struggle to keep eye contact was adorable to Louise. I guess you’re never too young to recognise a natural beauty. Louise thinks to herself, loving Quinn’s reactions.

  In reality, the reason Quinn stuttered and couldn’t maintain proper eye contact isn’t Louise’s beauty. Instead, he always gets nervous around authority figures. The last time he got like this was when he had to give his report to the adventurers' guild back in Amber. Louise had essentially become Quinn’s boss, and he is petrified that he may say or do something to offend her. He can’t risk getting on Louise’s bad side. He needs the money to continue his journey.

  “Right, uh, Miss Verdey-”

  “Just Louise.”

  “... Lady-

  “Just Louise.”

  “...”

  “Lou-i-se.”

  “Louise-”

  “Yes?”

  “Umm, are you sure it’s okay for me to trouble your chief to make me dinner this late?”

  “Of course. Don’t worry about it. I always have a late dinner. I’m usually up late studying magic. In fact, this might be a bit early for me, hehe.”

  “Ah, right. You’re a mage.”

  “Ooh. Do you know of another mage?”

  “Yes, my younger brother, Sam, was the same.” Louise talking about her late nights reminded Quinn of Sam, who also used to stay up reading different spell books. It wasn’t until one of their parents came into their room and forced Sam to put the book away that he finally fell asleep. Are all mages like that?

  “How old is he?”

  “He’s ten, but he’s way more mature than I am. Smarter too.”

  “Haha, most mages are. Where is he staying?”

  “...” Quinn’s eyes grew darker.

  “Umm, my Lady,” Albert whispers into Louise’s ear. Her facial expression changes a few times, eventually turning pale.

  “I see… umm, I’m sorry if I brought up something I shouldn’t have.” This is the first time Albert has heard of Quinn’s brother. Albert had already assumed Quinn was an orphan with no place to call home, and now he seems to be making another assumption, portraying Sam as a beggar on the streets or, worse, a perverted noble’s slave. If Quinn were this cute, how much would a younger version of him look like? Quinn had no intention of dispelling these assumptions. The less people knew about him, the better.

  “No. There’s nothing for you to be sorry about. I’m sure you’ll hear about him one day. He’s going to become a great mage after all.”

  “I’ll look forward to it.”

  After a brief wait, the food finally arrives. The workers quickly plate everything and leave just as fast, presenting a magnificent steak with a side of mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. A separate platter held bread rolls, and beside it was a house salad. To wash it all down, Louise had red wine, while Quinn was offered water.

  The mood lifted as soon as the food arrived. Both Louise and Albert found it amusing to watch Quinn burning holes in the meal set in front of him, drool practically dripping from his mouth.

  “Please go ahead and dig in.”

  Quinn looks at Louise, who just gave the okay to eat such luxurious food. He turns his attention back to his plate and stops again. There are too many utensils set before him. His hands hover over the many different forks and knives.

  He even thought about forsaking the silverware and simply eating with his hands, but that would have been too barbaric. Quinn is no noble, so he isn’t used to the variety of utensils. He freezes; he didn’t want to embarrass himself by choosing the wrong fork and knife.

  “Ahem.” Albert alerts Quinn and points at the set Louise is holding up.

  Quinn turns red and picks up the same utensils Louise has. “Thanks.” Quinn is now armed with the right tools to devour his first, real meal in weeks.

  Both Albert and Louise share a smile before Louise starts her meal. Quinn paces himself to match Louise. He didn’t want to finish too fast; if he did, he would have to wait for Louise to finish before he could excuse himself.

  This entire situation has been nerve-racking since Louise arrived at the training grounds. Fortunately, it seems Louise has no intention of conversing during the meal, saving all her questions for tomorrow.

  Quinn is genuinely grateful. Now he could enjoy a warm meal for the first time in a long while without interruption.