“I understand that my nephew has caused you great trouble,” Rowland said as he bowed his hand. He held onto his nephew, keeping Joseph’s head low as he continued. “And as a Captain of the [Knight of the Astral Order], I will do whatever is necessary to make ands for his brash actions.”
I stared at the [Knight]— I looked him up and down, taking in the jewels woven into his ornate armor. I glanced back to the rest of the room, seeing all the eyes focused on this little scene. The commotion Rowland and his nephew caused had attracted a lot of attention to us. And certainly, they expected to accept the apology being given. Maybe even rebuke it.
Or whatever it was, they expected sothing from . And while I wanted to give Sir Rowlan Donovan the courtesy of a response, I couldn’t. Because of a very simple problem.
I didn’t recognize his nephew at all.
I narrowed my eyes, studying Joseph's face. He was relatively young compared this uncle, but if I had to guess, he was definitely older than Noele. He had ssy black hair, and his face was cut up, covered in so bandages. But those injuries seed to have mostly healed at this point. He had a few bruise marks too, and those were relatively fresh.
He did look vaguely familiar. However, I was pretty sure I had never heard his na before in my life. I pursed my lips as I looked back to Rowland.
The [Knight] Captain was earnest— very sincere in his apology. I really didn’t want to dismiss him by telling him the truth. So I nodded slowly.
“Uh, right… I forgive you?” I finally said as I scratched my cheek.
Sir Rowland sighed in relief, before raising his head. His nephew tried to follow suit, but he didn’t move his hand. Joseph was forced to remain bowing in place.
“You have my utmost thanks, Ms Alia,” the [Knight] said as he smiled at . His grip on his nephew’s head tightened as he continued threateningly. “I will ensure that this boy right here is properly educated to carry the Donovan na with the honor and respect it deserves.”
Joseph yelped as Rowland took a step back.
“Now apologize!” continued Rowland, practically smashing his nephew’s head against the floorboards.
And Joseph sputtered as he winced in pain. “I-I’m sorry!”
Now I knew how he got those marks on his face. I was sympathetic, but apparently he had wronged in the past, so I wasn’t really sure how to feel anyways. I watched as Rowland dragged his nephew back.
And the third individual who was with them stepped forward. A blond man also dressed in a [Knight]’s armor. Although, he was less well-decorated than Sir Rowland.
He greeted curtly, “Greetings, Ms Alia.”
“Now who are you?” I asked with a raised brow.
“My na is Wyn Stefard,” he said as he placed a fist on his breastplate. “I am Sir Rowland’s lieutenant. His second-in-command, if you will.”
“And what do you want?” I peered at him curiously. “Did one of your nephews happen to dishonor his family na by disrespecting too?”
Wyn’s eyes flickered, before he glanced back at Rowland and Joseph. “So you do not rember. Just as I suspected.”
“Well, you don’t have to out like that,” I said as I crossed my arms. “I get bothered by annoying idiots all the ti. It’s not my fault I can’t rember every single instance where soone shows up and causes trouble for .”
Especially since so of them were far more morable than others. I looked back at Arthur who was waiting by the kitchen. The forr Lich King winced, and I shook my head.
The [Knight]-lieutenant nodded as he returned to parade rest. “I believe it would ease Sir Rowland’s mind to know that you were unbothered by his nephew’s actions. However, I will be sure to inform him about your feelings on the matter at an appropriate ti.”
“Thanks,” I said gratefully.
“But in any case, I tagged along with Sir Rowland for the sole purpose of offering you compensation for what has occurred,” Wyn continued as he produced a small treasure chest. He proffered it to , fractionally raising the lid to reveal a pile of glittering platinum coins within. “For the inconvenience we have caused.”
My eyes went wide as I caught a glimpse of what was inside. I stared at it for a long mont— it was more money than I had made since opening Bucky’s Out of this World Restaurant. And I was being offered it because of… an event which I didn’t even rember.
I raised a hand to accept this gift— and I stopped myself. At one point in ti, when I had first arrived in Vacuos, I would have been elated to receive such a large sum of money from anyone. But many things had happened since then.
I realized now that seeking out riches and wealth wouldn’t offer any sense of fulfillnt. While it temporarily placated the emptiness I felt back then, it wasn’t the solution. It did not help towards my goal— towards living a peaceful life.
Wyn looked at expectantly, but I pushed the small chest back to him.
“I can’t accept this. Whatever Rowland’s nephew did… it can’t be that bad if I don’t even rember it,” I said as I shook my head.
“Well, it was more than a singular event—” the [Knight]-lieutenant started.
And I gestured vaguely around . “If you really want to give your money, you can spend it here at my restaurant. Otherwise, I’m not going to take it.”
Wyn paused. He stared at for a mont, before lowering the small chest. He tried to work his jaw. “You can’t be serious, right? This is ten platinum coins—”
“And I don’t need it,” I said as I shrugged. “I do appreciate the sentint, though.”
It was a casual response. And it completely befuddled the [Knight]-lieutenant. He wanted to protest, but at the sa ti he clearly didn’t want to force the coin onto . So he just stood there, bobbing his mouth like a fish out of water.
And Rowland laughed.
“A lady of valor, I see.” He strode forward as he left his nephew by the restaurant’s doorway. “As expected, from everything I have heard about you.”
“What have you heard about ?” I asked with narrowed eyes.
“I have heard that you are a fantastic chef, even if you are not a [Chef].” He smirked at , before glancing towards a nearby empty table. “Very well. We shall try the best dishes your fine establishnt has to offer!”
“Alright, Harlan, bring them—” I started.
But Rowland interrupted . He spread his arms wide as he turned to the rest of the room.
“And for the rest of you, you can eat all you want! I shall personally cover the costs of every single one of your als for today by the [Knight of the Astral Order]!” the [Knight] Captain declared as the watching custors blinked.
There was a mont of silence where they processed his words. And all at once, they cheered. I watched as the crowd broke out into a ruckus, inundating Harlan, Arthur, and Jax with a deluge of orders.
I pursed my lips, feeling bad for two of them. However, Jax deserved it. Mostly because I was going to have to duel him later on, and I was going to make him work as much as possible to get what he wanted since I really didn’t want to have to fight him again.
I took a step back as Harlan and Arthur rushed around the room. Rowland and Wyn settled into their seats, before Jax began to take their order. I heard the clamoring of voices and nodded to myself.
“Right, I need to get back to work too,” I murmured to myself.
But as I turned around, I spotted a figure standing before , blocking my way. It was Noele— my apprentice. The Noble Spellsword. She was staring at as I raised a brow at her.
“What’s up, Noele?” I asked simply.
And the blonde girl just spoke. “You turned down free money.”
“I did.” I nodded. “I don’t really care about money, if I’m being honest.”
She looked up and down, before biting her lower lip. “Who are you and what have you done to Alia?”
I rolled my eyes, before getting back to work. Sohow, without doing anything, I had sohow brought more attention to my restaurant. And it was going to be a busy day ahead of .
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