Chapter 141 - "Ivory Goldwine And The Familiar Guest-1"

"I want to take the morning shift…" Ivory was thinking that it would be safer to spend time with Sigmund at night and she was already used to sneaking out.

"Very well. Just talk about the tasks that I will assign you. I will be the one to notify Town Leader Dante and Town Guard Chief Draven about your temporary changed assignments. Although you occupy three rooms, there are three more vacant rooms, so there might be guests-"

Hearing this, Lucius corrected, "We're only occupying two rooms, sir." 

"Oh? Did the Vampire become friendly with Lycus?"

Lucius said, "No, sir, he-" 

Not wanting the Principal to know what's really going on, Ivory told him, "I sent Sigmund off for a task. He will be gone for a while, so for now, Lycus is staying with me."

"Oh, I see. What task?"

Ivory replied with a straight face, "About the special black gemstone."

Guessing that Ivory was avoiding telling the truth, Lucius supplemented more details, "He was the one who gave me the ring. He found it in the marketplace in Rubia Town."

"Hmm… A truly disturbing piece of information... I will meet Sir Xenos and tell him about it. Although I think he already knows about that since he's been investigating Dark Mana for a long time."

With this, Principal Arthurdane told them that he'd exchange information to the resigned Royal Knight.

When he left, Ivory cleaned up in the kitchen, while Lucius checked the empty rooms. Thanks to Gerhalt and Fiora's hard work, the pillows and blankets in the beds were still neatly arranged, but he saw thick dust accumulating at the corner of the room.

Lucius took the broom at the back of the receptionist's desk and went back to that room. Unfortunately, he did not know how to use it!

When Ivory was done with her task, she peeked in the vacant bedroom and saw Lucius trying to sweep the floor. She chuckled, which made Lucius turn around, embarrassed.

"How about I teach you how to sweep the floor?" she said, then grabbed the broom from him. 

Lucius observed how Ivory did it. He thought he was already knowledgeable about a lot of things, but he was disappointed in himself when he realized that he's not familiar with household chores. Now he knew that the Principal was not really holding himself back with the punishment!

"Did you get it?" Ivory asked.

"Yes," he said, taking back the broom. He noticed the sleepiness in Ivory's eyes. "By the way… You look tired. I think you need some rest."

"Okay, thanks a lot, Lucius. You know, I think we need to study first how to manage this inn, before we open it."

As soon as night fell, Lucius was standing behind the receptionist's desk, reading some guide scrolls about managing the inn. Lucius first studied budgeting. Since Precious Inn is a property of Qawiun Academy, two thousand silver coins were sent to the place every month.

Lucius started writing on a blank scroll with his quill which was dipped in black ink. As he did, he murmured to himself, "Repair and maintenance of the house structure and frontyard are already included in the two thousand silver coins… I also have to save money for food. I wonder how Fiora and Gerhalt divide the money." 

Managing the inn required not only good decision-making skills, but also patience and good stamina to do the chores. He admired the receptionists even more who also managed all the affairs and logistics inside the inn.

After studying for quite a long while, Lucius walked towards the kitchen as he felt thirsty. When he walked on the hallway, he passed by Ivory's room and saw Lycus standing there.

"What are you doing outside?" he thought it was weird, because Ivory usually wanted him by her side.

"It is under her orders," Lycus responded curtly. He assumed that Ivory might be tired from cleaning as well.

...

Those two days of trying to get used to their life as receptionists and managers of Precious Inn passed by, and they decided to open the inn for good.

In the forest, Sigmund hugged her tightly as she did a beauty sleep under their favorite oak tree spot. Because Ivory took the morning shift, she returned to Precious Inn earlier than usual, two hours before the sunrise. 

Ivory immediately washed her face and changed into a beige ruffled long sleeve blouse and a long brown skirt with a khaki-colored apron. She checked the surroundings if she still needed to do some cleaning and arranging, especially the front yard. And when the sun had risen, she stayed behind the receptionist's desk, patiently waiting for guests. 

She twirled the tip of her long, silver hair, and was startled when the front door suddenly opened!

"Welcome… Uhh welcome to Precious Inn!" Ivory greeted. It's their first customer since they started to run the inn, and she was quite nervous.

But as soon as she saw the customer nearing the desk, she couldn't speak. It was someone she knew. He was a tall young man, with muscular build and handsome features, dressed in a long sleeve stand collar top with black belt and black leather pants. He had a long fringe and a short taper haircut on the sides. 

"Mister Nath-" Ivory closed her mouth and quickly covered it with her hands when she almost called his name. She realized that they met at Gallean Town last year, but she was under the disguise of a man! 

"May I know if you have a vacant room?" Nathan asked her as he ran his finger through his mahogany red hair. 

The more that he gazed into her eyes, the more he felt drawn to her. It was as if he'd already seen those beautiful light-blue irises somewhere. 

"Yes. We have vacant rooms, mister…"

"Call me Nathan. My name is Nathan Sandfall," he offered to shake hands with her. "May I know your name?"

At first, she was hesitating to take his hand, but it would be rude not to, especially that he's their first guest!

She finally took his hand and said, "I'm Ivory. My name is Ivory… Goldwine,"

Ivory realized that she messed up saying her fake surname. Lucius' last name was the first one she thought of, and she forgot how famous it was!

Nathan almost commented how soft her hand was, but he didn't want to be labelled as a pervert just because he voiced out his thoughts. "Goldwine… How are you related to the General of the Land of Olivea?" he asked instead.

"Uhh… I-"

"His daughter," Lucius suddenly responded as he heard the conversation. Although he was puzzled as to why she did not tell him her last name, he knew she did it for a reason. Hoping that the man did not know that Lucius was the only declared heir for now, he greeted Nathan with a warm smile, "Good morning, mister. I am Lucius Goldwine, son of General Darius Goldwine." 

The two shook hands, and Nathan asked, "I hope it isn't rude to ask, I am just very curious. May I ask why are the General's children doing here?"

"We're temporarily managing the inn... It's a long story, and some details cannot be told to anyone. They're private, family matters. I hope you don't mind."

"Oh, no problem!" he scratched the back of his head, irritated at himself why he asked such a question. Seeing Lucius' reaction, he might have been offended! He changed the topic, "Anyway, I am just going to be here 'til summer. I'm going to help in repairing the mining area for a short while," then using the quill he wrote his full name and other personal information on the registration scroll on the receptionist's desk.

Nathan was led to Room 2, which was Lycus' old room on the left side of the hallway. While he was resting inside his room, Ivory and Lucius discreetly talked to each other in the lobby.

"Are you mad at me, Lucius?" she asked him. "I apologize. I didn't think it through because I panicked. I didn't mean to use your surname."

"It's not a big deal, do not worry too much," Lucius chuckled. He was quite pleased; he knew it's going to be her surname anyway, once his father pursued taking her back to their family. Curious as to who the man might be, he asked her, "Why are you hiding from him? Do you know him?"

"Remember last year when Sigmund and I went to Gallean Town?"

"Of course. You borrowed my clothes."

Ivory continued her story with a worried look, "Well… He's in close ties with the academy. He accommodates third year students in his house."

"Alright, then… But why were you hiding from him?" he asked. "You should have just told him that you're a woman... Well nevermind. Vernon might become jealous of him if you got very close-"

"About Vernon… We broke up… a few days ago."

Lucius gave her a suspicious look.

"I… decided to be truthful to him," she patted Lucius' shoulder and stared into his blue eyes. "I know that you want Vernon for me. Believe me, I tried to love him… but in the end I only hurt him. I am regretting that I started our relationship-"

"It's because of Sigmund, isn't it?" he said in a cold tone.. "Ivory… I know he's back in town."