Chapter 153 Ingress

Almost immediately upon exiting the manor, Talia stretched her hands out and groaned at the sun beating down upon them. "It's hooot!"

The sudden noise made Kyrïe jump slightly, her hand placed on her chest. Her brows scrunched before she repeated, almost softly to herself, "H...hot?"

At the elf's words, Talia spun toward her in the middle of her stretch. "Yep, that means the sun's blazing hot and I wanna go back inside already!"

The slew of words that left her mouth only made Kyrïe look more confused.

Talia caught it and looked like she was about to explain further. Then she turned to him and waved in a motion that all but spelled, I leave it up to you, Senior!

When Kyrïe began looking at him expectantly, Lucien let out a faint breath.

He pointed at the sun briefly, then flapped his hand toward his face. "Sun. Hot."

Kyrïe's eyes brightened. "I see. The weather is hot?"

There was a slight accent, mostly in the lilt her voice gave to the words, but he could understand her well enough.

Talia gave the elf a thumbs-up. "Yeah! You got it, Kyrïe! Wow, you're picking up Arcencian pretty quickly! Don't worry about asking questions like that in the future. I am sure Lord Lucien will be happy to teach you."

"...At least pretend that you're helping a bit," Lucien muttered.

His junior grinned at him. "I am! By speaking naturally around her often, she'll pick things up as we go along. I will leave the explanation to you though...or Alicia, but she's almost as busy as you these days."

Despite likely not understanding most of what Talia had just said, Kyrïe seemed to grasp the sentiment as she turned to him and gave a small bow.

"Please. Lord Lucien."

With how sincere the elf was, it was difficult for him to outright refuse. He had always been a little weak to that sort of genuine sincerity, and of course, his junior was all too aware of it.

Lucien shot a dry look at Talia's grinning face before returning the gesture. "If I happen to be available, you may ask me."

A smile sprouted from Kyrïe's lips as she bowed again.

They continued on, exchanging short greetings with the guards posted at the entrance. Kyrïe gave a small nod to herself as she mouthed the words they had spoken.

He noticed the bemused looks the guards gave each other as they walked past and began mentally preparing himself for more of such reactions.

It did not take long for those preparations to prove necessary.

The first villagers they passed seemed to halt mid-step at the sight of them. They hurriedly dipped their heads when he passed by, though their gazes inevitably lingered on Kyrïe.

Some looked away quickly when Lucien's eyes shifted toward them, while others tried and failed to appear as though they had not been staring.

Wondering how Kyrïe was reacting to the stares, Lucien glanced back and noticed she seemed to have fallen silent, her head lowered slightly.

Talia, perhaps sensing the change in Kyrïe as well, began speaking to her while pointing out certain things along the road, from houses to familiar villagers, before slowly spelling out the words.

Of course, once Kyrïe had more questions, it would only be a matter of time before Talia pushed the conversation his way.

Even if she tended to push the tedious portion of the work to him, his junior's antics had helped, not that he would be caught admitting it.

It wouldn't do for Talia's head to grow any larger than it already was.

At least Kyrïe was dressed modestly compared to Sera's recent outfit. He could always count on his loyal maid to understand his troubles, unlike a certain junior.

His gaze returned to the elf. "Aren't you hot wearing that, Kyrïe?"

Alicia had chosen a simple dress for her, one with long sleeves and a hem that reached down to her ankles. It sat loosely on her still-recovering frame, but the cloth was of good quality, marking her clearly as a guest of the manor rather than someone merely being hidden there.

The muted lavender-gray color seemed to suit her better than he had expected, drawing out the pale violet of her eyes.

More importantly, Kyrïe herself didn't seem uncomfortable in it. If anything, the way her fingers occasionally smoothed over the fabric suggested she preferred being properly covered while so many unfamiliar eyes followed her.

When Kyrïe tilted her head at his question, he gestured to her and repeated the word.

The elf perked up before shaking her head slowly. "Ah...no. The sun does not trouble me."

Before Lucien could reply, Talia cut in, her tone almost bewildered. "In this blazing heat? Wearing a dress like that!? Kyrïe, you want me to-"

Her words trailed off when she spotted Lucien's eyes narrowing at her.

"I mean...at least wear something with shorter sleeves," Talia continued, wisely choosing not to finish her previous sentence.

Too bad. He was nearly about to add another flicking session into his schedule.

Lucien wondered if Talia had caught on to his thoughts when he noticed concern forming on her face.

Though her next words made the reason clear immediately.

Talia gestured to the elf's arms. "Ermm...sorry, Kyrïe. I forgot about the little cuts on your arms from your..."

For once, even his junior seemed uncertain how to broach the topic as she scratched the back of her head.

Kyrïe came to a stop with a puzzled expression, causing them to do the same. Talia looked on in concern as the elf slowly pulled back one of her sleeves.

There were no marks or cuts on Kyrïe's fair skin at all. More than that, it looked unblemished, as though the elf had not been captured and held by orcs for at least a year, if not longer.

Talia's eyes widened. "What...? When we were washing you, I saw..."

She moved closer to the elf, eyes fixed on the exposed skin.

Lucien was about to interject when his junior came close enough to enter the elf's personal space, only to stop once Kyrïe showed no sign of minding.

Even as Talia's fingers slowly reached out toward her, the elf merely watched in puzzlement. The moment they touched her, however, she drew back as though she had been shocked.

Lucien's eyes narrowed at the sudden movement. "Is something the matter, Talia?"

She gave him a wide-eyed look as her hand began moving toward Kyrïe's bare arm again. "Se-Lord Lucien...it's..."

When her fingers brushed Kyrïe's skin again, a satisfied look came over her face.

"It's so cooling!"

Lucien stared at her for a brief moment before glancing at Kyrïe's befuddled expression. The elf returned his look with a shrug of her own, slowly speaking. "Not sure either."

His junior ignored their stares as she slowly rubbed her hand across Kyrïe's arm, a low groan leaving her mouth. "Oooh...I could get used to this."

A group of women walking past them halted at her words and stared openly. They weren't the only ones, as he could feel more glances gathering from around them.

Kyrïe pulled her arm back and tugged her sleeve down, a light flush blooming on her face. "Ah. Not here please."

Talia's eyes glinted with something he couldn't quite place. "Not here? You mean if it's in private then we can-"

Without thinking, Lucien's hand shot up to flick this shameless girl's forehead.

Talia yelped before giving him an indignant look. "Hey! Kyrïe doesn't mind, and I was about to secure a very important contract that I need."

Lucien rubbed his temple. "At least wait until she understands our words before you impose on her."

He turned back to Kyrïe, who was watching their exchange intently.

"It's good that your wounds have healed so quickly," he said, gesturing to her arm.

Kyrïe gave a slow nod. "Yes. Thank you for your..."

Her brows scrunched as she tried to find the word, perking up when Talia softly muttered something to her.

"Yes. Thank you for your concern, Lord Lucien."

Lucien inclined his head. "Come then. Harlon must be waiting impatiently for us by now."

As they began walking again, his eyes met Talia's, and she gave him a subtle wink.

It seemed there would be plenty to discuss again soon.

The northwestern housing site was already bustling with activity by the time they arrived.

Families who had been living in the temporary shelters were moving into the newly built courtyard building even as Harlon carefully inspected each of the three blocks.

The carpenter didn't seem satisfied with the slightest imperfection as he walked from one block to the next.

One of Ashridge's two masons, the older man with a pipe whom Lucien had only briefly spoken to when they first arrived in late spring, walked beside the carpenter.

The two men seemed to be arguing about something, even as smoke curled from their pipes.

Lucien had rarely met the older mason during meetings. His younger and finely dressed counterpart seemed to be the one delegated to handle such things.

He was about to walk over to them when Talia spoke from beside him.

"Kyrïe looks like she's curious about this, so I'll show her around, Lord Lucien!"

By the time he turned to her, Talia was already pulling the elf away. Lucien exhaled through his nose when Kyrïe looked back at him and gave a slight nod.

'She doesn't seem to mind...I think. Well, I will have Alicia ask her when we get back to the manor.'

Setting thoughts about nosy juniors aside, Lucien's attention shifted to the new building.

Although the interior walls were made of wood, each of the three blocks forming the U-shaped courtyard had been built from stone and lime mortar.

A waste disposal channel had already been dug along the back of the blocks, leading toward the waste pits beyond the village. To prevent the spread of disease, they had begun covering the waste ditches with stone culverts.

More channels were being dug along the other longhouses that had yet to be converted.

Both Lucien and Harlon had agreed on that much, since it required little more than time and labor.

The carpenter seemed to have spotted him, because after finishing his exchange with the mason, Harlon began walking toward him.

As he neared, the carpenter dipped his head. "Lord. Was expecting Talia to be here."

Lucien gestured to where Talia and Kyrïe were. "Don't worry, Harlon. She's not escaping the heat."

Harlon's brow lifted when he spotted the elf beside her. The older man soon turned back to him, a slight twitch at the corner of his beard.

"Showing your new guest around, I see."

Not long ago, Talia had mentioned that not everyone seemed to believe the rumors about his...household.

Though she had deliberately avoided saying who exactly knew, Lucien had a feeling Harlon was among them.

His eyes narrowed at the neutral look on the carpenter's face. "Yes. Kyrïe is my guest until she decides what she wants to do in the future."

"As you say, Lord," Harlon replied immediately, blowing a puff of smoke from his pipe.

Rather than give the carpenter more reason to be amused, Lucien let out a breath and moved on. "Any concerns to share about the courtyard building, Harlon?"

It was Harlon's turn to look slightly disgruntled. "...Aside from how long it took to build one of them? No, Lord. Lady Talia's idea about it being good to foster a sense of community is sound."

He gestured to the courtyard's central area. "The people who'll be living here dug their own well and waste channels, so those moving in already know each other to an extent."

Lucien glanced at the shared oven space. "And by cooking alongside each other, or perhaps even sharing meals with their neighbors, the enclosed space could help the families grow accustomed to one another."

"Aye. Unless they already bear grudges before moving in here," Harlon muttered, his brow furrowing.

Lucien turned back to the older man. "That's why the layout should allow the guards to patrol the place more easily. Besides, the people moving in today shouldn't have those sorts of problems, right?"

The carpenter shook his head slowly. "Can't say for sure, Lord. Most of them are from the eastern region of the frontier, so I don't really know their history there."

"...I suppose the best we can do is be ready for it," Lucien replied, exhaling faintly.

For a time, both men spoke about the next planned courtyard building even as they watched families move to and fro between the blocks.

The majority of the refugees were still living either in the longhouses or the temporary shelters that had yet to be converted to the courtyard design.

It was while watching a group carry their belongings toward one of the newly finished homes that he realized there was someone missing from the housing site.

"Harlon, I don't see Garrick around. Isn't he usually helping you at this time of day?"

An amused huff escaped the older man. "Tomorrow's the day to decide which of the five proposals will be sponsored by the village. He's busy preparing for that."

At Lucien's surprised look, Harlon gave a light shrug. "He asked me to keep it a secret, Lord. Wanted you to see it on the actual day itself."

He would just have to wait until tomorrow then.