Chapter 485: I like it here
A waiter approached Caius and the others with trays on top of which wine glasses were balanced. The waiter held it out to them and Alexia immediately reached out to grab one and down its contents in a second, returning the empty glass to the tray and picking another that she only took a sip out of.
"Pretty good," she said.
"You needed a glass and a sip to tell?" Caius laughed.
"It’s really not strong," Alexia said, "You should have one yourself."
Caius was going to decline. While he could appreciate the taste of a normal beverage, he would gain nothing from drinking it. All of its possible effects on focus and Enlightenment would be lost on him because of what he was.
Still, it would certainly help to appear normal to at least have a drink in hand. So he grabbed one and took a sip. It tasted good. It must have been rich to a normal palette.
"Nice," he commented.
"You all should have some too," Caius said to the Hellsingers.
Gareth opened his mouth but before he could say anything, he was interrupted by a female Hellsinger whose membership in the Mid-tiers caused Gareth to instinctively defer to her.
"We’re on duty, my Lord," she said, her voice, despite being serious, was nice sounding,
"We cannot dull our senses."
"Hmm," Caius said as he took another sip while eyeing the Hellsinger,
"What’s your name?"
The Hellsinger blinked like she was taken by surprise even though an introduction was the most mundane thing. After all, shouldn’t one know the name of the person they are entrusting their safety to?
"Olivia, Young Lord," she said with a little bow.
"Olivia," Caius repeated as the Hellsinger stood straight, "Pretty name."
As he complimented her, Caius was already turning away. Not in disinterest but just to continue to survey the terrain. Because he was looking away, he didn’t quite catch the little redness that sprouted on Olivia’s cheeks. Alexia noticed though.
She also noticed that eyes were darting over in their direction now. This was especially significant because their group had barely stepped into the Hall and should not have drawn any attention yet.
Alexia managed a smile and waved at a few. And then she frowned when none of them waved back or even acknowledged her. At first, she found this rude but then noticed the trend;
Most of the eyes trained in the direction belonged to women. Their faces ranged from early twenties looking to mid-thirties but all had clear signs of having lived longer than they looked with perfect skin courtesy of being well taken care of and also having advanced in Magic Circles.
As always, age i.e.how old someone looks, can be deceptive. Alexia herself had lived for many decades and looked to be in her mid twenties.
Of everyone in the Hall currently, there was probably only one person who looked his age and that was Caius, the almost nineteen-year-old.
But the ladies, who definitely surpassed his age by decades, didn’t care as they cast their eyes on him. For many, there was surprise and amazement. This was their first time seeing Caius. After all, he wasn’t a very public person.
He had spent five years ’locked’ up at home and then spent his time going to and from Lochxen. If they didn’t have kids at Lochxen that would prompt them to check in on the streaming of the Mid-Senester Test and see Caius in action, then this was the first time the vast majority of those in the Hall were seeing him.
Caius hadn’t quite noticed he was being eyed because he was still distracted by the terrain. That changed when he exchanged a glance with a beautiful woman and raised his hand for a wave, only for her to flush and begin to fidget.
"Huh," he let out and looked at other faces only to then realize they had been looking at him before he even looked at them.
"Oh please," Alexia said with a scoff and rolled her eyes.
She was well aware that her cousin was handsome. She was blanking on a memory of anyone who compared because there really was none. But a woman of supposed high class getting so flustered by a wave was ridiculous.
Olivia, however, seemed to understand the looks her young Lord was getting as well as the reaction he got. She even admired those ladies for being able to show that they liked what they saw. She didn’t have that luxury herself just so she could maintain a professional visage.
She could still remember the day Caius left his room for the first time in five years. It was his first day at Lochxen and by then, rumors had spread about what he could look like. None of the rumors—be it good or bad—compares to the real thing.
Many Male guests shared Alexia’s exasperation. Conversations had been interrupted for the Caius Von Helsing gawk fest.
"Well, isn’t this something?" Caius said in a low voice as he took a sip of wine, unsure exactly what to do about any of this.
"My Lord... I mean, Caius?" A familiar voice called then and Caius looked over to see Lyanna Leopold walking toward him.
"Lyanna," Caius said and he sounded very happy to see her.
The many eyes on him were getting a tad intense and he welcomed a change of pace from someone familiar. He noticed she had reflexively called him Lord before hurrying to correct herself but doubted anyone else had caught it.
Lyanna was dressed in a shimmering silver gown that clung quite nicely to her full-figured body, catching the light in the Hall to gleam in luminous ways. Her hair was done up with adornments that added to her elegant visage. Her light gold eyes seemed to sparkle along with her smile.
When she arrived in front of Caius, he held his hand out for a courtesy greeting to make it less obvious that they had any prior contact or relationship. Lyanna either didn’t notice what Caius was trying to do or didn’t care for it because she dropped into a small bow, grabbing Caius’s hand to kiss his rings. Specifically his Moonstone ring.
The ring was enchanted not to look like a Moonstone ring but the way her pretty lips targeted it so accurately, Caius had a feeling Lyanna had known exactly what she was kissing.
He could tell they had become a curiosity in the Hall. Attention was already on him and such a show of subservience to him made it all the more prevalent.
Caius didn’t feel awkward. He actually felt... normal for the first time since he had gotten here.
"Silly you," he laughed when Lyanna stood straight.
"Oh," Lyanna chuckled with a hand to her lips like she was shocked by herself but Caius knew she had known exactly what she was doing.
"Get over here," he said with his arms spread slightly.
Flushing a lot, Lyanna wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. In the two weeks since she and Caius had known each other, this was actually the closest their bodies had been together. They had had many conversations—usually about Lyanna’s gift—but it had always happened with distance between them as befitting their differing stations since Caius was her Lord.
As she smelled his scent closer and harder than ever, Lyanna sniffed him hard and tightened her arms around him. She even allowed herself a little moan as her heart skipped a beat in her chest.
Behind Lyanna were guards of the Leopold Estate, all looking hardened and ever ready to defend their lady from any threats. Since Lyanna had been here, the Guards had made many uncomfortable to approach her. That was nowhere to be found when she approached Caius and even now as she hugged him. They seemed to be making a point to look as meek as they possibly could.
That drew a few more glares from the watching crowd.
"Calm yourself," Caius whispered into Lyanna’s ear. Low enough and so close that he was sure only she would hear.
"Hmm," Lyanna moaned, melting into his presence as she said,
"Not a chance, My Lord.
I like it here."
