Clive rang the service bell and summoned a maid. Soon after the door opened and a maid that Angelica had never seen before entered the room.
"Bring us tea"
After hearing Clive's orders, the maid bowed politely and left the room.
"So, what have you been up to lately?" Clive asked with a relaxed face, but immediately twisted his face as he added,
"Where is your wolf?"
"He went by the training grounds" Angelica stood up and walked towards the book cabinet.
"It's about time you'll hear about him"
'He went to mess with the apprentice knights'
Angelica did not need to spell out the words for Clive to understand. The senior knights were familiar with Chirpy's playfulness, but the newly recruited apprentice knights were an entirely different story.
She went through her father's collection and pulled out a book. It was the picture book Lorenz used to read the siblings when they were children.
'The Adventures Of The Witty Mr.Knox'
It was a collection of stories based on the various adventures of a man named Mr.Knox. The stories talk about the different places he visited and the obstacles he overcame with his witty actions.
Lorenz had all the squeals of the book even till the latest release. It was to the point that most of his personal collections were overcome by children's books.
A warm smile crept on Angelica's face as she flipped through the pages. There were bookmarks marking her favorite chapters.
"Can't believe he still reads this" Angelica closed the book and turned to her brother.
"So. You're the Count now, huh?"
"It's a trial period. But soon, yes"
Before she could question him further on the topic, the door opened and the maid walked in pushing a trolly. She arranged the tea set on the table and left the room without a word.
"New maid?" Angelica asked plopping on the sofa.
"I've never seen her before"
"You were gone for eight months. There have been a few new personnel additions. Here you go" Clive poured each a cup and passed one to Angelica.
"..."
Angelica took a sip of the tea and averted her eyes. She could not refute his words and felt guilty. It was true that she was away from home all this time without even the minimum contact.
"There is a rumor going around the village near the Finnel mountains about a demon living at the top" Clive stated eyeing her for a reaction.
'!" Angelica flinched at his words.
"Apparently the demon comes out during the full moon and preys on anything it finds"
"Pffft!!"
*cough* *cough*
Angelica began to have a coughing fit in the middle of drinking tea.
Clive offered her his handkerchief. He could not control the laugh that was about to break out on his face. He had missed the little squabbles they had from time to time.
Angelica put down the teacup and tried to control her coughing. She too had heard about the rumors. However, she had not expected Clive to find out about it.
The rumor started when a group of hunters ran into her in the forest.
Angelica and Chirpy had been clearing a pathway that collapsed after a rainfall. It was dark and they only had the moon as a source of light.
After clearing the rubble that blocked the pathway, she was about to leave when a wild boar jumped out of nowhere and attacked the duo. Since the floor was slippery, Angelica had slipped down when she reached for the dagger in her satchel.
At the same time, a group of hunters were passing by the area. They heard the scuffle and ran towards the source of the sound.
There they saw a sight that would forever be embedded in their memories.
A bloodied figure rose from the ground and was looking at them. Beside the figure was a large wolf, who was growling while exposing his sharp set of canines. The figure stopped for a moment and pointed at the hunters with its bony fingers.
The sight of the bloodied figure was enough to send the hunters running, in fear of their lives.
In reality, Angelica had stabbed the wild boar which pounced on top of her from under it. She got drenched in blood when she pulled out her dagger spilling its guts all over her.
"Ughh" Angelica grunted as she stood up. There was blood everywhere on her clothes, hair, and even her mouth.
When she pushed the boar's body and got up on her feet, she noticed a group of men staring at her with pale faces. She waved at them to say she was fine.
"!"
The men flinched when they made eye contact.
She was confused when they ran away without looking back like their lives depended on it.
The next day when she went down the mountain to get supplies, Angelica overheard a few merchants gossip.
'Whoever meets the demon at the night of the full moon will have their heart ripped out and die a miserable death' was the rumor going around the village. Since then the hunters avoided climbing the mountains during full moon nights.
The rumor was far exaggerated from the truth.
"That was a huge misunderstanding" Angelica said, wiping her lips.
"They were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time and had a terrible misconception"
The room went silent.
Then the siblings burst into laughter when their eyes met.
"You should have seen the look on their faces when they saw me... haha"
"I can imagine that... haha... ha"
That was the last thing that Angelica remembered when she opened her eyes.
"Whe... Where... Where am I?"