Chương 66: Chapter 67: “Faux Paws”

Arthur was gone with Serena Flamesy. The invitation had come during the last week of the semester, a trip to the Flamesy territory, the usual gestures about training and the benefits of connection. Arthur had accepted, mostly because he had grown rather close with Serena, and felt like he owed her. And though Liana had heard about the arrangement secondhand from Arthur, she had not asked to come along.

A semester ago, she would have found a way to worm herself between them, or at minimum expressed interest so pointed that an invitation would have followed. The fact that she had not even considered it right away made her notice that her affection with Arthur was not as overpowering as before. Liana wasn't exactly sure when it happened, but she gradually noticed small things about Arthur that she found a bit distasteful these days. In short, that growing spark had faded, she no longer felt what she had felt before.

And that was why she had decided, instead, to visit her parents. The village was a six-day ride from Summit in a modest carriage. Her parents had been surprised to see her so suddenly, not expecting a visit from their beloved daughter this soon. They had both aged in the months since Liana had last been home. Liana had stayed for a week. The first day were spent simply being there.

Meals at the table, her father's quiet commentary on the neighbors, her mother asking questions about the academy and then asking about Arthur; the latter of which she was a bit hesitant to talk about. In the next few days, she had begun using her magic to help her family first and foremost, her mother's back had been giving her trouble for years, and Liana knew enough now to ease the inflammation.

Her father's knee had a decades-old injury that flared up in the cold, and Liana worked on it in slow sessions during the day and evenings. Her parents were quite happy hearing about how their daughter had become a healer, and had boasted about it to the rest of the neighbors, upon which caused a slurry of people to visit her daily. While it was tiring, she was happy to see everyone so happy and healthy.

By the time she left to return to Summit, the thought of the amount of studying ahead of her felt manageable now. Archmage Elena's dormitory-brought lessons that semester had been mostly directed reading with just a bit of hands-on knowledge. The ride back took another five full days. And when she arrived, there were many changes in Summit. Liana noticed it throughout the city as the carriage approached the academy.

A section of the road leading had been partitioned off, a long strip set apart from the main streets, running parallel to it, with something metallic gleaming along the ground. She had known, vaguely, that there had been construction during the semester. After all, it had been a topic of complaint among students whose routes had been disrupted whenever they went to the city. Liana had not paid attention at the time. She had been busy.

There were, she felt, only so many things a student could reasonably be expected to focus on, and city infrastructure had not made the list. Her dormitory room was exactly as she had left it. She unpacked slowly. Her books went back onto the shelf in the order she had left them. The basket of fruit from her mother, apples and some of the hardier pears that kept well on a long ride, she kept in the bag. She changed, washed her face, and walked to Archmage Elena's tower. Elena had been reading when Liana arrived.

She set down the book and gestured toward the chair. Liana offered the fruit with a small bow, and Elena accepted it and asked, without preamble, what Liana had read during the break. The conversation had lasted an hour. * It was the early afternoon when Liana left Elena's tower and made her way back down into the city. The new transit had a name, tram, printed on a notice board beside a small ticketing booth at the foot of the academy's mountain.

The board was a simple bulletin, fresh paint, with a printed map of the city showing the stops along the route. An instruction panel underneath explained how to board, how to pay, and where to sit or stand when inside the tram. A uniformed attendant was at the booth, and Liana paid the fare; but the amount she handed over was so small that she checked the posted price twice to make sure she had not misread.

Before the funds from Celestia, she would not have been able to afford a carriage to the farthest stop on the map. And yet, the tram fare was a fraction of that. This meant that a commoner at the end of a working day would be able to easily pay it from pocket change without stressing out about travel expenses. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Quite obvious enough, she was not the only person riding.

The benches inside were most of the way full. A woman with a basket of vegetables sat near the window. A boy of perhaps ten was pressed against the glass, watching the streets pass. An older man in a laborer's coat was explaining to a companion about work. When Liana's stop came, she stepped off with the rest.

'Whoever thought of this,' she thought,'deserves a great deal of credit.' She walked a while longer, taking her time. There would not be many more afternoons like it once the semester began. The market district was louder than the commercial strip near the academy. The stalls here were closer together and the crowds were thicker. Blacksmiths had set up displays outside their shops: weapons, armor pieces, and many other tools.

Between the blacksmiths, restaurants did steady business from climbers who had just exited the Tower and had no interest in cooking anything themselves, especially after living off of dry rations for who knows how many days. The academy uniform attracted a certain kind of attention, she had forgotten to change, mainly because she had worn it when entering Summit, the guards at the city gate and the academy checkpoint were a bit more lenient, and it had made the travel much smoother.

She stopped by a stall selling dried fruits, and was about to ask the vendor about them when something caught her eye across the street. A woman in a maid's uniform. Liana recognized her immediately. The uniform had a distinctive cut and trim, and the face was one Liana had seen up close. The woman had come to the academy some time ago to deliver a small wooden box to Arthur and Liana, a box that had contained enough gemstones to change several things about Liana's circumstances. Martha.

Celestia Von Reingarde's personal maid. Martha crossed the street at an unhurried pace and stopped in front of a pastry shop Liana had noticed earlier, a narrow frontage with a window display of confectionaries in half a dozen colors. She went inside. And through the window, Liana watched her point at a tray and wait while the attendant filled a box. It took a few minutes, and eventually, Martha left the shop carrying the box. Liana did not follow immediately.

She waited until Martha had gained some distance, then followed a short way behind her, keeping a few other pedestrians between them. It was strange. Personal maids of ducal houses did not, in Liana's understanding, make trips from the noble district for pastries. The noble district was a considerable distance from here. There were easier ways; any number of options that did not require a senior maid to spend half an afternoon on the errand.

Martha walked several minutes, turning several times at corners, and eventually, they had crossed into the business district. She stopped in front of a building. It was four floors, set at the edge of the market where the business district began, with a clean front yard and a pair of tall doors. There was no visible signage, and a crest was carved above the entry that Liana did not recognize. Martha went inside, and Liana stopped on the opposite side of the street. She stood there for a moment.

Her feet were tired, and while looking at the doors Martha had just gone through, she asked herself what, exactly, she thought she was doing. Then, before her better judgment could catch up to her, she crossed the street and went in. The lobby was spacious. The floor was sleek polished stone. A high ceiling, a handful of tasteful furnishings along the walls, and a reception desk set in the center of the far wall.

The woman behind the desk was in her early twenties, sharp-featured, wearing a blazer cut in the style of a clerk. She looked up as Liana neared her.

"Good afternoon," she said, "How may I help you?" Liana opened her mouth, but she only stuttered.

"Um… I— that is, I was— I was wondering—" The receptionist patiently waited. Liana stopped for a moment before trying again.

"I-I saw… someone I recognized came in here, and I thought—" The receptionist's eyes went briefly to Liana's uniform.

"Excuse me," the receptionist interrupted her.

"Are you a student at Summit Academy?"

"Y-yes."

"And are you, perhaps, our mistress's friend?" Liana did not know how to answer that. The word friend was not, strictly speaking, accurate. She was not sure what the accurate word was. Acquaintance was technically accurate, and classmate was true. So, she simply nodded. The receptionist was already smiling.

"Oh, how wonderful. You're just like our sweet Anna." The receptionist turned and raised her hand, and a maid who had been standing near one of the side doors stepped forward.

"Please take our guest to the waiting room. I'll send word to Lady Celestia."

"Of course." The maid bowed to Liana.

"This way, please." Liana hesitantly followed her to the waiting room on the second floor. It was comfortable. Upholstered chairs around a low table, a tall window with heavy curtains drawn halfway, and a tea service already laid out on the table. The maid gestured for Liana to sit and then began pouring without asking. The tea came with a small plate of confectionaries. The maid set the plate in front of her with a small bow, informed her that Lady Celestia would see her shortly, and left.

Liana stared at the tea and recalled the several mistakes she made in the last twenty minutes: stalking a maid out of curiosity, entering an unmarked building without knowing whose it was, and failing to correct the receptionist's misunderstanding. She could leave right now, nothing was physically stopping her from standing up, walking back down to the lobby, and explaining that there had been a mistake. But… it was too embarrassing to do so. Liana picked up the teacup. It was too late to turn back.

She took a sip and found that the tea was excellent.