Chapter 294 - A Private Affair.
Silver Duchy Capital...
Dane Territory...
The Patroness' Residence...
The architectural designs of the location while clearly dated retained a classic extravagance that was not second best to any other residence in the Dane territory.
And it was inside one of its halls, specifically the dining hall, that Isabella now sat with Melinda by her side and the two ladies Karmen and Arya as guests.
The kind smile on her beautiful face was to put them at ease but that was not exactly easy to do when their fiendish nature react to her golden eyes and they could not help but be paranoid of her immense strength.
A strength that guaranteed that should she wish to, they could be killed in seconds without even being able to defend themselves.
"This is nice. Just us gals." Isabella said in a natural expression and much as Melinda enjoyed her grandmother's company, she knew an interrogation was well on its way, and sure enough...
"So Nadia, how do you know my granddaughter and I am guessing by extension, the young man called Hal?" She asked.
Arya controlled her expressions white well and smiled lightly,
"I met them both in Sapphire city and upon noticing Hal's talents, I made him my apprentice." She said.
Isabella paused as this was turning into the sort of scenario she had not thought of and the reason for that was simple;
"Apprentice? I was under the impression that Hal was a Runemaster" she said with a confused expression and turned a little I'm Melinda's direction.
Melinda sighed,
"He IS a Runemaster, he's also aiming to become an Alchemist" she said.
"Actually, he already passed the test and is now a full-fledged Rank 4 alchemist." Arya put in.
Isabella's eyes widened,
"That's impossible. I pride myself on being knowledgeable and Astral sense and spiritual sense while similar have irreconcilable differences in the form of Astral energy.
Any mix of Astral energy with the process of Alchemy will result in an explosion. This is common knowledge" she said in a tone of disbelief.
Arya resisted the urge to shrug, seeing as it might be a tad bit disrespectful but she answered all the same,
"Well, Hal can do it. The only logical explanation is that he has both senses" she said.
Hal had long come to terms with the fact that he cod not completely hide his ability to both draw runes as well as refine pills. Somehow it was bound to get out and such was very risky.
If it was viewed as him somehow having both Astral sense and spiritual sense then he could be seen as a possible asset but if they ever got wind of it being with the possible use of an Artifact then they would be gunning for his life.
There was no way to guarantee which mindset they would go for and making mention of it would just draw attention to the peculiarity.
So he decided he might as well own it and hope for the best-case scenario while also proving to Runemasters as well as Alchemists that he was a talent worth keeping.
He went for Alchemy first because the proceedings were considerably easier.
Hopefully, should he prove a worthy enough asset, both factions would be aiming to keep him exclusively.
That could open a lot of leeway for negotiations and playing them against each other for his own interests. It could even result in him getting the support of two of the largest organizations on the Haron continent.
Then again, as nice as things would be in the best-case scenario, that was how bad things could also be in the worst-case scenario where everything blows up in his face.
Both literally and figuratively.
Isabella got a faraway look in her eyes,
"Having both senses, hmm, never would have I thought such a things as possible. But then again, the world we live in is one where people strive to make the impossible possible" she said in a tone that made it seem she was letting this topic go.
She was not going to comment on how helpful it would be to integrate Hal into the Dane family because she did not believe having the two senses, while it could possibly lead to honor and prestige, was enough of a criteria to be great.
After all, strength was what truly mattered.
Although to be fair, Alchemy opened up a road to good grade cultivation resources and Runemastering was beneficial in combat at the lower stages which were where Hal still was.
Maybe she needed to reevaluate how useful he could end up being but that would be for later and after much consideration.
She gestured to Karmen just as the meals were served and they began to eat,
"What of her?" She asked.
She was not completely letting go of her suspicions that Hal was a womanizer and if Arya/Nadia was his Alchemy master, then who was the other lady,
"I protect my Master" was all Karmen said and Melinda and Arya nodded slightly as that pretty much summed it all up.
Isabella was skeptical and asked with a smirk,
"You didn't do a good job though since he was abducted with you there" she said.
Karmen gripped her cutlery tightly as she was reminded of how powerless she had been but even then she looked up to the Dane Patroness,
"How did you know I was there?" She asked.
Isabella chuckled lightly as she took a dip of her cultivation resource-rich beverage,
"Is that not obvious? I had someone follow him around." She said.
Karmen turned to Melinda who she saw only sighed and continued eating. While she had not known of the spying, she did not find it the least bit surprising and only hoped Hal would be careful in his endeavors.
Karmen took a deep breath and went back to her meal, after all, this was beneficial to her cultivation and if there was something she wanted urgently now, it was strength.
"You are right, I did not do a good job but I assure you that all that will change. The next time someone tries to take my master from me... Well, let's just say a quick death will be me showing mercy." She said with a wicked grin.
Isabella's smile was kind and motherly, but also a little teasing,
"Strong words. It will be nice to see if you live up to them. Also, you except Hal to be abducted again?"
Karmen shrugged,
"My master is one of a kind. People just can't seem to stay away and be a little hands-off. It's safe to expect there will be another attempt at abduction"
Melinda eyed her grandmother and could tell there was a little herding involved in that conversation.
There was something Isabella was getting at and sure enough...
"Hmm, I see and with them being so hands-on, how many partners does your Master have?" She asked with a glint in her light gold eyes.
Karmen paused and glanced a little in Melinda's direction to see that she was not remotely bothered.
"I am not at a liberty to say" she said.
Isabella frowned lightly and looked intimidating for a few seconds,
"What if I order you to tell me? At which point it would do you no good to protect your master"
Karmen shrugged and never stopped eating, it seemed to be turning into a way to cope with her anger at Hal's 'abduction', a situation Isabella was believing even less now.
For one thing, The ladies, Melinda included, did not look torn up at the news which made no sense as even with the Alchemist Organization searching for him, he could very well be dead.
Which meant they had nothing to worry about and most likely knew already that he was safe.
"You can kill me but I will never disobey him. Also, I am not defending him. He is not scared for it to be known, he just rather prefers to be private about it.
'A gentleman never kisses and tell' is what he says." Karmen told her and Isabella turned to Melinda who shrugged,
"Sorry Grandma, That's true, it's a private affair."