Chapter 134 - "The Ring That Caused A Ruckus"

"Lucius?"

A female voice called him, and he looked back. It was Ivory.

Not expecting her to come from the hallway, he was confused. He asked her, "Where have you been?"

"Oh, we bought some bread," she gave him a basket of bread consisting of baguettes, bagels, croissants, and breadsticks. 

Lucius carefully took the basket, wondering what the occasion was and why she'd buy that much. He examined his sister's appearance, and she appeared to be better. It seemed like his presence did not bother her anymore, so he decided to give it a shot and ask her, "Would you like to have breakfast with me?" 

He was surprised when Ivory immediately nodded at him. What could have changed her attitude towards him? 

Whatever it was, he was relieved. He thought his sister would not forgive him forever. 

But Lucius was not regretting that decision. He would do everything to shove away all the dangers in his sister's life. Besides, he also promised their mother that he would protect her.

And so, they ate breakfast together. Gerhalt also left the receptionist's desk for a short while to dine with them. Afterwards, Ivory volunteered to wash the dishes. Gerhalt and Lucius went to the lobby to talk amongst themselves.

"It's good that Miss Ivory doesn't look gloomy anymore," Gerhalt said. "She's even humming a tune. She seems to be really happy. What happened?"

Lucius shrugged, "I don't know. She just came back here in a good mood."

"Did her secret lover come back?"

With this question, he narrowed his eyes on the guy. "What do you mean… secret lover?"

"Ah… I thought it's…" Gerhalt started explaining what he had observed. He told Lucius that he thought that there's a love square going on between Ivory, Sigmund, Vernon, and Lucius. He said that he assumed that Lycus was Ivory's real Servant, and that she lied with her records so that she could have the same room as Sigmund, her true lover. 

Because of this, Lucius was alarmed. He knew of the gossip mongers in Qawiun Academy, but did not expect that the inn itself also had one. Who knows what else he was spouting with the locals!

"Listen. You're actually wrong. There's nothing going on between me and Ivory, and most of all, Ivory and her Servant Sigmund. Ivory only has one lover, and that is Vernon, the jeweler," he explained, hoping that he'd believe him. "Can you please stop talking about something so foolish?" 

Although Gerhalt nodded, he knew that there was something else going on. If there was really nothing to be worried about, Ivory wouldn't be depressed too much, would she? 

Lucius then said, "Please tell Ivory that I am going to buy potatoes in the marketplace."

"Yes, Mister Lucius," and then Gerhalt waved his hand.

As soon as Lucius left, the receptionist decided to sweep the floor while there were still no customers and visitors. While he swept through the lobby, his mind was somewhere else; he was still thinking about the gossip.

The truth was, Gerhalt liked Fiora for years already. Unfortunately, she kept on falling for men who didn't like her, plus she never had the guts to confess to them. He consoled her in her heartbroken moments, but he was also one with no guts to confess!

Despite that, he was always beside her and made sure that she was also happy. He kept his desire for her deep in his heart, because he valued their friendship very much. He was afraid that a confession would ruin it.

Gerhalt came across a small item on the floor. He crouched to see what it was.

It was a ring with a black gemstone.

"Wow… I wonder whose ring this is..." he muttered. 

As soon as he picked it up, he felt the urge to wear it on his finger. Because it was smaller in size, he wore it on his pinky instead of the ring finger. 

As if something powerful took over his body, Gerhalt growled momentarily. He then looked at his hands, and tried to check if he was not dreaming at all.

Then, visible streaks of air formed onto his palm. Wind brushed up on his face, making his hair strand flutter in the wind.

Obviously possessed, Gerhalt gave a hysterical laugh. 

"I will… make Fiora my lover," the young man, who was not himself anymore, muttered over and over again as he stepped out of the inn.

Ivory, who heard his loud growl, went out of the kitchen. Lycus walked behind her and asked what it was.

But no one was there as soon as they arrived at the lobby.

"I guess... I misheard something…" she said, flinching as she tucked her hair behind her swollen ear. The back of her ear has not healed yet. She thought it was only because of the winter season, but she was wrong.

Not minding her ears anymore since she couldn't do anything about it, she and Lycus went back to her bedroom. Her eyes felt heavy when she laid down the bed, and eventually, she drifted off to sleep. 

Meanwhile, Gerhalt was walking like a zombie in the streets of Topazeon. Because he was quite the friendly type, he knew almost all the locals, and they greeted him whenever he passed by.

But because he was not himself anymore, he ignored them. The only one in his mind at the time was Fiora. He wanted to see her badly, and because he knew where she lived, he went there directly. 

"Fiora! Fiora!" He knocked at her door like a madman.

The dazed Fiora was awakened by the loud banging of the door. She's alone in the house, since her parents moved to Prisma City because of their jobs as sculptors. It was her choice to live independently on her own.

The door opened, and Fiora was shocked to see Gerhalt that morning.

"What are you doing here? What about work?" she asked in panic.

But Gerhalt only grinned at her.

"Gerhalt? Is there something wrong?" she got creeped out by the way he looked at her and how he smiled. As her heart beat fast out of fear, she slowly moved the door to try to close it, "If there's nothing else, I'd like to sleep for some more, so-"

Gerhalt immediately grabbed the edge of the door while he continued to stare at her.

"Ger...halt?" Fiora trembled as he entered her house. She shrieked when he touched her face with a blank stare.

Just in time, someone grabbed his arm. It was Lucius.

"Excuse me, what are you doing?" Lucius widened his eyes in shock when he recognized the ring that Gerhalt wore. 

But Gerhalt suddenly formed wind with his bare hands and used it to push him away. The blonde young man hit his back to the stone fence.

Not wanting to let go of his beloved, Gerhalt hastily hit Fiora's nape, making her unconscious. He carried her in his arms and broke the low ceiling and roof using Fire magic, and then used Air magic to hop up. He hopped from roof to roof, until he went to the forest near the mines.

The passersby helped Lucius to stand up. There were also town guards nearby, and he excused himself, saying it's an emergency that he had to use magic. He asked them to tell the fill-in town guard chief Sir Draven that he'd handle the situation alone because it would be too dangerous, so he only requested to ensure the safety of the locals.

Upon knowing that Gerhalt went to the direction of the forest, Lucius was relieved. The forest would be a better place for a fight, Lucius thought. Even if he couldn't use his specialty Fire magic because the forest might burn, it would be better there because other people wouldn't be affected. And so, he dashed forward as fast as he could, using Air magic to push him.

In Precious Inn, a town guard was in a panic, knocking at Ivory's door. Lycus patted her shoulder to wake her up and told her that it seemed like an emergency. She told her Werewolf Servant to open the door.

As soon as the door opened, the worried town guard told them, "There's a chase in town… This inn's receptionist was kidnapped, and now, Mister Goldwine is heading to the forest to chase after them!"

Hearing this, Ivory immediately got off her bed, then hastily wore her boots. She did not care any more if she was wearing her white ruffled long sleeve night dress.

The town guard led Ivory and Lycus outside of the inn, then to the entrance of the forest. "We all saw them go there. But Mister Goldwine said that he'd handle the situation alone- Miss Sprucemint!" he yelled when she ran away.

Aside from Lucius' dangerous situation, Ivory was also worried about Sigmund, who's hiding in the forest!

"Don't let anyone near the forest. We will help retrieve the kidnapped receptionist," Lycus told the town guard to assure him, then ran behind Ivory.

Meanwhile, Lucius continued running towards Gerhalt. Using Earth magic, blocks of hardened soil kept on rising from the ground, following his every step. He tried to trap his foot, but for some reason, Gerhalt was able to dodge them all.

But when Gerhalt stepped on weak ground, he fell on a pit, and Fiora slipped off from his hands and came flying in the air. Fortunately, Lucius caught her!

"Nice catch," someone who was up in the tree said.

When Lucius panned his sight, he narrowed his eyes on him. "Sigmund? Why are you still here in town?"