The Reaper's New Beginning

17. Proving Asher's Innocence (1)

Clip, clop. Clip, clop.

The sound of the horse's hooves hitting the ground was like a never-ending beating of drums that signaled the arrival of the upcoming main event.

This was the only chance Nikola and Asher had of proving his innocence. Asher wanted to live his life with no regrets and freely while Nikola wanted to protect her son's future, happiness, and reputation within the family. Different drive, but the same objective.

Nikola and Asher perfectly maintained a noble expression despite the nervousness that was slowly growing within them. Archer, on the other hand, had his usual mysterious smile plastered on his expression. He had no real reason as to why feel nervous over the upcoming war. Archer had already seriously guessed what conclusion his master would arrive at. That butler's guesses where never wrong.

Seeing his calm expression, Nikola raised her chin and narrowed her eyes at Archer. "Would it kill you to try and act worried or anxious?"

With a straight back and raised chin, Nikola let out an intimidatingly arrogant aura. Her long, red hair cascaded past her back and perfectly framed her sharp facial features. The image would've been perfect if not for Asher trying to comb through the tough knots in her hair by her side.

"Ow! Asher, dear, please be more gentle. Mommy can't handle such excruciating pain," Nikola grimaced and whined while stomping her foot against the carriage floor, causing Asher to frown.

"It's your fault that you didn't prepare yourself beforehand."

"It isn't my fault! I had to prepare what I need to say to Lord Zacharia to prove that you are not involved with that wicked group!"

"You could've at least called a maid to detangle your hair while you prepared yourself!"

Archer's eyebrow twitched as he struggled to maintain his composure. Thankfully, the years he spent training to become a butler hadn't failed him yet. The pair of mother and son kept on annoyingly bickering non-stop. So this is where Asher got his stubbornness from...

"Young Master Asher, why don't we leave Her Grace's hair as it is? It is a perfect representation of who Her Grace is as a person."

Asher stared seriously at his mother's flaming red hair before staring back at Archer. "Wild and unruly. Got it."

"Who told you I'm wild and unruly?!"

Nikola turned her body to completely face her son. Her eyebrows were furrowed angrily and her lips arched into a frown. However, her emerald green eyes betrayed her disgruntled expression as the gleaming orbs shone in a playful light.

Feeling more at ease with his mother than ever before, Asher mischievously played along. He hmphed before giving Archer a sidelong glance. "It was what Archer implied. I only said it aloud."

The mother and son then giggled to themselves while stealing glances towards the silver-haired butler. If they couldn't erase all anxiousness from their mind, then they might as well joke around to lighten up the atmosphere!

The comb that was used to brush Nikola's hair had been long forgotten by Asher. Detangling his mother's hair was a fool's objective, anyways. Now, he busied his hands by petting Pithos' soft, black fur.

Archer, fed up with their childish attitudes, narrowed his eyes towards Asher while still maintaining his cold and mysterious smile.

"Young Master Asher, instead of admonishing Her Grace, why don't you put your clothes back on?" Snickering, Archer held up a pair of brown dressing shoes and a dark brown coat. In Asher's eyes, both articles of clothing were not only uncomfortable, but they were also unnecessary.