Chapter 58 - Mansion

"Master, Alexjin and his mother have safely arrived in Zuron and currently lounging on the hotel that the staff gave to them," The green-colored butterflies relay their word to Geraldine and after that, it flew away and vanished in the air.

Geraldine pushed her hood down on her face as she looked at the front gate of their house, she has been hiding behind the bushes for a while as she's waiting for the guards to shift their schedules. 

She still wasn't able to get back from her original features and looks like she has been starved for weeks.

Geraldine knows that the oldest brother and her father haven't been at home and preferably at Zuron but she's more concerned about her second brother.

The second son Gavriel Gauthier used to be close to Geraldine when they were a child, they played together and used to hang out all the time but one day it changed. He became cold and distant from her just like the first son.

Geraldine doesn't know the reason for his sudden change and before, she tried to get close to Gavriel and bring back their own relationship but it's useless, he just pushes her around every time she tried to get near his side.

After multiple failed attempts by Geraldine, she finally gives up and lives on her own without someone to lean on.

Shaking her head, Geraldine brush off the memories from her mind and focus on her task. After waiting for a couple of minutes, the guards started to shift rotation and she only has ten minutes before the next guard arrives.

It's 2:00 in the morning, fewer people are walking by and the guards are tired and taking a nap. It's the best time for her to secretly enter their house.

Walking at the side of their walls, she uses her hand to feel something rough as the darkness keeps her from seeing it.

"Found it," She whispers when she touched the huge stone on her palm. She pushed the stone to the side and reveal a small hole. It was used by the knights before to get out of the mansion and skip training time but her father finds out about it and puts a rock from outside as a temporary barrier before he put cement on it.

Since her body is small, she slides in easily without any trouble. As soon as she entered, she felt like her heart tightened as memories started to flood her mind. Standing up, she went to the bushes and hide as two knights walk by.

Her room is at the far end of the mansion and as she walked there, she noticed that the lights on her room are on.

"What the --" She whispered while hiding behind the tree as she looked at her room and that's when she saw a figure inside then after a while the lights went off. 

She waited for a few minutes before going into the balcony and slowly opened the door and took a very light step as she goes inside.

The place is still the same, even the towel she left on the chair is still there. She went to the mirror and saw herself which scared her a bit but what irks her the most is the dust forming on the cabinet. 

She slides her index finger on the wood and the dust immediately formed on her skin making her grimace and wipes in on her skirt. 

"They really forget that this place exists."

Then she went ahead and goes to the door of her room to see that the door is open. Opening the door using her body, Geraldine went ahead and grabbed some of her stuff such as pieces of jewelry and some money she left behind. Then she grabbed some clothes and shoes and was about to go out when she heard footsteps coming her way.

Thinking that it's just a servant, she took out her handkerchief and put some poison liquid on it and was ready to grab the servant when she smelled a familiar scent and before she could react and hide. 

A sword plunges on the door and nearly hits her side.

"Who are you!?" 

A strong firm voice echoed in the room as series of daggers flew on her way. Geraldine was able to avoid it but since she doesn't have any weapons with her, she finds it hard to attack back. She wanted to use the butterflies to attack her opponent but it's too dangerous to reveal it knowing that she's in the residents of the Gauthier's.

"Stop right there, thief!" 

"Sh*t!" She cursed out and run straight ahead from the window, breaking the glass but then she saw that knights are waiting below.

In the end, Geraldine was caught, disappointments overflow on her body with the thought that she cannot even escape from her own house.

The knights are holding her from both arms, she tried to break free but the other knights took out their swords and aimed at her. 

After a while, Gavriel came into view while cleaning one of his daggers with a handkerchief, "Well well well, what do we have here. A dog got lost? Hmm, I admire your strength to steal in the Gauthier's residence huh," He smirks and the fellow knights started chuckling while copying his smirk.

Geraldine didn't say anything as she tried to look for a way to break free from them but then felt a swift of air at the side of her face and notice something run down from her cheek.

Looking at the side, she saw the dagger sticking at the tree.

Geraldine was still in shock when Gavriel went towards her and pull her hood backward to see the face of the thief.

"Ge - Geraldine!?" He exclaimed in shock while realizing that it was his younger sister who looked like she became a beggar.

The knights immediately release Geraldine and took a step away.

"Am I now banned from going to my own room… brother?" She asked with a smile while wiping the blood from her cheeks using her hand.

"What the f-- you can use the front gate Geraldine, why do you have to use that ---" Gavriel didn't continue his words as he notices the looks of the knights, "Well, you can now go and do your individual jobs." 

Gavriel gestured his hands for them to go and the knights immediately followed his orders but glance back at Geraldine with a disgusted look.

Geraldine didn't mind the disgust on their faces as she knows that she looks disgusting at that moment.

"And as for you, follow me," Gavriel glared at her and started to walk away, "Don't you dare escape on that hole or else, something bad will gonna happened to you." 

Geraldine looked away from the hole and pursed her lips to stop herself from laughing.

'I already experience much more worst than this, brother.' She thought while tailing behind her brother and pulling her hood back.

They went to the main living room and the servants immediately approach them but Gavriel gestured for them to go away.

He pointed at the seat and Geraldine followed and sit there while grinding her teeth. She didn't like that she needs to follow her brother around. 

"What are you thinking!? You could have entered at the main gate! This is your own house so why do you act like a thief?" Gavriel voice out his frustration making Geraldine looked at him with the thought that maybe he cared for her but then it change when he said the next word.

"You could have ruined the family name if news came out that the youngest daughter of Duke Gauthier is crawling to the dog hole just to enter the mansion. Have you lost your mind!?" Gavriel yelled while pacing back and forth.

Geraldine bites her lips to stop herself from yelling at Gavriel, after taking a few breaths to relax herself, she looked at him in the eye and smiles, "Brother, I don't want to cause trouble since I come back unannounced, I just need a few things and I'll be gone."

These words even make Gavriel mad, "ARE YOU CRAZY!? That's one thing that I can't understand. Why did you go to a faraway place just to cultivate your useless magic? Many popular teachers around here can help you with that. Tsk, you already have useless magic but you can't even use it correctly. You're really useless! It makes me think about how can you be a Guthier if you're that useless," Gavriel looked at her with a disgusted look and sits in front of her. 

"Clean yourself, you stink! Father and brother are currently in Zuron for the competition. We will be going there too, tomorrow," Gavriel stated while looking at her from top to toe.

After Geraldine heard what he said, she immediately crunched down and acted sick, "Brother, did you not see my condition? I'm sick!"