Chapter 188 - Invitation

Eventually, they left the volcano behind, but Zaos couldn't feel relaxed knowing that such a dangerous thing was so close. Although the families there lived a life where they made their names by doing business, they sure liked to live in a dangerous place. Perhaps it was the only way they could find excitement in their lives. Ameria's entourage left the port around nine in the morning, but they kept moving inside the carriage even after sunset. Zaos looked at Erean, and he came to explain a few things.

"Apparently, there are no crimes on the island, the last one happened twenty years ago, so the inhabitants of the island don't mind moving at night," Erean said. "Besides, the party is tomorrow night, so the chief of security of the Ojala family decided that it would be better for the princess to rest at a suitable place."

"I assume we are not going to rest at a suitable place," Zaos asked.

"Well… only the guards who patrol at night can stay inside their mansion," Erean said. "The others will have to stay in the servants building. It is close enough to keep an eye on things."

Three hours later, they finally arrived at the mansion of the Ojala family. While the place wasn't as tall as the castle of the capital, it sure was as more prominent, and that was without considering the building where the servants and guards stayed. Once they arrived at the gates, the carriages stopped.

"My lady, please take only two unarmed guards with you," The leader of the horsemen who guided them said. "You can rest assured that the entire mansion is safe, but we do understand the necessity of staying near the guards that you are familiar with."

Ameria looked at Erean, and then he nodded. Unarmed guards couldn't do much aside from being meat shields, but they knew that Zaos could fight even without a sword. As for the other guard, Erean decided to let Drannor go in order not to let the kid feel left out.

After entering the mansion, they crossed a massive garden… they sure were common among rich families. Regardless, the smell of that one seemed a bit different from the one Zaos practically grew in. The smell of that one wasn't bad, but it was stronger, while the one at home was sweeter and delicate, just like Lyra. 

"Hey, Drannor," Zaos said. "What are you doing here? Can you fight without a spear?"

"I can run," Drannor said without sensing the sarcasm behind Zaos's words. "Well, dad taught me how to fight unarmed, but I am not good aside from breaking the arms with joint locks. That works in a one-on-one fight, but not against a group."

"Really…" Zaos frowned since Drannor said so calmly.

Ameria looked at them and seemed angry, probably because it was rude to enter someone else's house while preparing themselves for a fight. She also didn't know that Zaos was just joking, he could feel the presence of those around him, and none of them was ready for a fight. Even inside the mansion, he could feel the presence of a few people, but none of them were fighters.

When the group approached the entrance of the building, someone opened the door for them, two maids revealed themselves, and a few meters ahead, a group of people smiling nodded at America. It seemed that they were the Ojala family… It was a pretty big family since it had eight members.

"It is an honor to finally meet you my dear," A plump old man who had a fancy brown mustache stepped forward and said. "My name is Orleand Ojala."

"Hello, I am thankful for your invitation lord Orleand," Ameria said and then bowed slightly. "I am Ameria Sairus."

Even though Zaos was showing one heck of a stone face, he had a hard time holding back his sigh. He still disliked the formalities the people had to show in this kind of meeting with all his heart. It sounded so forced… why not just throw a few real smiles instead of trained ones? Why not say real words instead of ones that were used only to show how important you were to each other?

"This is my wife, Eleanor, and this is my daughter, who will be fifteen years old tomorrow," Orleand said. "Her name is Noemi. She heard many stories about the princess of the Sairus kingdom along the years, so she has been yearning to meet you."

"Is that so?" Ameria said, showing a little embarrassed smile.

Eleanor and Noemi seemed pretty alike. They shared the same red hair and amber eyes, but their expression was much different. Eleanor was serious, and even though she was smiling, her smile didn't reach her eyes. In a sense, she looked quite a lot with Ameria's mother, or at least Zaos thought since he assumed the queen didn't like him. As for Noemi, she still looked childish and pretty friendly with her large and excited smile.

"These Aimeric, Joel, and Abel, they are ten, nine, and eight respectively," Orleand said. "And those two are Agathe and Adelaide, aren't they so cute?"

Aimeric, Joel, and Abel were boys who were looking straight to Drannor and Zaos. They were at the age where they would think everyone wearing armor was cool, after all. Not to mention, while they were taller, they didn't look much older. So, it was unavoidable that they show interest in two young soldiers. As for the other two, they were two twin girls that apparently just learned how to walk. Ameria couldn't show but a large smile while looking at them since she also agreed that they looked cute. Regardless, aside from Noemi, who looked like her mother, everyone else looked like Orleand since they all had brown hair and light brown eyes.

"It is a pleasure to meet all of you," Ameria said.

"We were about to have dinner and we imagined that you didn't have time to have dinner as well," Orleand said. "Would you like to join us?"

"Of course," Ameria said.