Once Relia was gone from the grounds of his estate, as far as Marcus could tell, he let out a visible sigh of relief.
"Are you sure that it is smart to do what she wants?" Lilia asked, worry written all over her face. "I am sure that if we went to Boreas and Gwyneira that the two of them could handle things for you. We could fight bac instead of roll over."
Unfortunately for Lilia, Marcus shook his head at her proposal. While it was true that Boreas and Gwyneira were strong, and he did not see them having any problems with Relia and the other vampires behind her. They would not be able to keep watch over Marcus and those he cared about forever.
He was certain that he would incur a grudge that would last for an eternity should he go back on the debt he owed to Relia. Eventually she would find a way to make Marcus regret it if it ca to that. At least that is the feeling he got from her.
"I understand your concern Lilia, but this is sothing I need to do. Relia saved my life twice, as much as it pains to admit. So long as what they want to do does not go past my bottom line, I don't plan on running away or fighting."
Lilia let out an annoyed, childish groan when it beca clear that Marcus was not going to budge on this matter.
"Hey, no need to pout. I get that you want to co with to help, but I still don't know what is in store for . I'd be putting you in unnecessary danger if I brought you along. Plus, even if things turn out to be safe, you would still be put to work for free. They might even say that you're helping out ans that I did not accomplish enough to erase the debt I owe."
With this last bit of convincing, Lilia seed to finally accept that she would not be going with Marcus when he dealt with Relia and whoever the master behind her was.
Nevertheless, she rembered him telling her that there was sothing else he would need her help with and asked for details now that their unwanted and uninvited guest had left.
"Well, as I am sure you know, I have been getting closer to achieving my evolution. After bathing in a Font of Death for a hundred days, I now only need the core of a ghost king. I've got a lead on where one might be and would like your help going to get it. Of course, only if you are up for it?"
Vigorously nodding her head, Lilia agreed to accompany Marcus without hesitation. Just as he expected.
He the told her about the intelligence he received from the lich, Daniel, who was a transmigration from Earth just like him.
"Our best bet is in a kingdom called Houten that lies on the continent west of Borealia." Marcus said, taking out a map he had obtained and pointing to the country. "From what I have heard, its old capital turned into a nest of undead when the king three hundred years ago turned himself and the citizens into undead monsters in order to push back against an invading nation."
Marcus continued to explain what little he knew about Houten to Lilia, and she nodded along all the while.
"Do you mind if I ask Alaric to join us? I am sure he would be more than happy to assist you as well." Lilia said, once Marcus had finished telling her about Houten and their objective.
"Sure, that should be fine. As long as he has the ti and won't get in trouble that is. Unlike us, he has a stable job with his position at the Guldr Spire. I'm not sure if he will be able to take off for such a long ti."
"I doubt that will be a problem. Rember, he only recently attained his position there and is still just a low-ranking mber. With his level and skills, he can undoubtedly get all the work expected of him completed as easily as breathing. I'm sure that a break for just a couple of months will be easy enough for him to get."
Figuring he could leave it to Lilia, Marcus gave her the okay to recruit Alaric. For this mission he would not mind having the additional help.
Once the conversation pertaining to Marcus' debt to Relia, and his plan to obtain a ghost king's core wound down, he began asking Lilia what she had been up to for the last several months since she left to beco Ardea's apprentice.
Thankfully this topic was not particularly heavy, and Lilia was more than happy to talk about what she had bene up to.
"We traveled to a lot of places, mostly mountains of course. At one of the ranges there were so unsavory types that were recklessly blast mining a mountain and polluting the area, so Ardea had go and set them straight. Ah, I also have been practicing earth magic. It was not as easy for to get the hang of as force magic, but with diligent effort I have gotten the skill up to level six."
Lilia animatedly told Marcus about her exciting ti wandering the world with Ardea until it was ti for dinner.
Not long after the sun set, Clara along with several of the other maids entered the guest house Marcus and Lilia were staying in with several trolleys containing food.
Expertly, they set the table and waited on Marcus and Lilia as they ate.
Then once they were finished eating, Clara inford Marcus about the company that Violet and Amy had hired to fix the main building.
"They will be sending a team tomorrow to assess the damages, as well as the ti and cost repairs will take."
"Thanks, I knew I could count on all of you to take care of this. I have other things to attend to, so I'll make sure to give you ample funds and leave it in your capable hands."
"As you wish Lady Irene. We will not let you down." Clara responded.
After that Marcus dismissed the maids and told them that he would be resting for the rest of the night and would not need their assistance again until the morning.
…
Co the next day, Marcus was up bright and early and was looking through the mountain of letters that had piled up for him. Most of them were requests to craft gear for knights or high-level adventurers, but a few were marriage proposals, since as far as most people knew, he was a wealthy and unmarried baronetess with a close connection to the royal family.
'I can simply ignore most of them, but for the higher-ranking nobles I will need to send letters back.' Marcus thought, grumbling internally.
Still, with his high status and untiring body he deftly wrote all the letters he needed to in less than an hour. Having plenty of ti left before he planned to et back up with Mrazivý and Miguel.
After enjoying a leisurely breakfast, Marcus headed out to the spot where he, Mrazivý, and Miguel had agreed to et up. At the sa ti, Lilia took a carriage to the Guldur Spire to see Alaric and invite him to co with them to Houten where they would hopefully fine a ghost king.
'Looks like soone is here early.' Marcus thought, seeing Miguel waiting around in the plaza they had all agreed to et at.
Finding a deserted nook, Marcus landed and returned to his solid form.
He then approached Miguel and gave him a friendly wave.
"Do you need sothing mis- Wait! Marcus, is that you?!" Miguel said in surprise.
As he was still in his guise as Irene, Miguel had failed to recognize him at first, but quickly realized who he really was.
"Yep, it's . I have so errands to run as Irene today, so I figured it would be easier just to stay in this form. Aren't you lucky, you will be escorted by two beauties today." Marcus said, deciding to take this chance to poke so fun at Miguel.
This caused the innocent young hero to look away and his face beca noticeably redder. Though it wasn't long after that he hung his head in sha, rembering his first interaction with Marcus during the tournant when he acted like a hotshot and hit on him.
Not long after Marcus arrived, Mrazivý ca walking down the road. Her hair color disguised so that she did not stand out.
"I see you had no trouble ditching your guardian knight." Marcus said, noting that Mrazivý was alone.
"Naturally. At this point I only need to have guards for show during formal events. Even my father does not worry about sending a protector with anymore. The only one that could honestly keep up with at all would be Knight Commander Darius."
With as strong as she had beco, Mrazivý would really be hindered during an attack if she had guards around her. She would have to end up protecting them if an actual threat ca her way.
"Now, let us go and see the sights of the city. Today we are just three normal people enjoying a day out on the town." Mrazivý said, leading the way to the first destination she wanted to show Miguel.
However, before they left, Marcus stopped Mrazivý and Miguel and told them he had sothing important that had just co up that he needed to discuss with them.
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