The Lycan King's Puppet

Chapter 214: Explore Penbrook

The man began to mumble something but caught himself just in time.

"The lady of the house stepped out, but I have reason to believe she will be returning to the manor this eve, Your Grace."

It was already dark. What woman in her right mind would be out of the safety of her home after dark.

It was getting to the time of the night. Rogues were known to prowl through forests at such an hour.

Did she make a habit of doing such a thing? What if she was ambushed on her return? And in such a storm?

She really did not care for her life very much.

He made a resolution to speak to her guard concerning her comings and goings.

"Would you like something to eat, Your Grace?"

Something to eat?

He only had an appetite for one thing. And that one thing wasn’t currently within reach.

"We have lemon cakes - the very best you will ever eat, Your Grace."

Lemon cakes...

Claire and her sister did love eating lemon cakes. Perhaps he could eat a few and discover what it was that drew them to love it as much as they did.

"I suppose I can eat a few."

The man nodded and left.

Yeren almost thought he saw the ghost of a smile on the stiff man’s lips, but he might have as well been mistaken.

The man returned shortly with a maid who bore a tray of cakes and a pot of mint tea.

Tea, tea, tea. Why were they imposing tea on him?

"Do you have any wine, perhaps? Cake tastes much better with wine." The man nodded and gestured for the maid to take the pot of tea away.

He glanced at the portraits of the Straught ancestors.

They were a lineage of men with seductive eyes and lecherous ways.

When he had once asked how Harrick Stenly and Jarren Straught were brothers, his father had told him that they shared a mother. Harrick Stenly’s mother had been raped by the then Lord Straught and had conceived Jarren.

But even then, they grew up as half-brothers.

Until Jarren did whatever he had done to destroy their relationship.

Rape must run in the Straught blood. If it was not rape, it was incest.

A shudder rippled through him. His family was no less complicated - he had just discovered he had a twin who was supposed to have died when he was but a baby.

The maid arrived with the pitcher of wine and an upturned goblet.

He poured himself a generous amount and took a sip. It was nowhere as good as the wine he was used to having at the castle, but it was not bad either.

It just hovered somewhere in between the two extremes.

Or maybe it was because he didn’t have an appetite?

That wasn’t it...

After eating half of the cake that was served, he indicated for it to be cleared away. It was nice - he didn’t have a fancy for cakes, but he had tasted better. Though, he was yet to taste a cake by Lady Stenly herself.

"Shall I show you around the house, or to your room, Your Grace?"

What interest did he have in the house? Except... one room where a particular lady slept.

He just always felt that a room told a lot about people... which was why he never brought anyone to his room.

Except Andon... and her, of course.

Had she manoeuvred her way into his life or had he been the one to let her? Because, if one considered all the facts, he was the one who chose her as his Cupbearer. And to the date, he still had no inkling why he did it.

To have her by his side and ensure her protection - that was the reason he liked to hold to.

But was that really it?

"Your Grace? What say you?"

The man’s words snapped him back to reality.

"By all means, show me around."

The man was a gracious escort. He gave the historical events that had happened in each of the grand rooms downstairs.

He mentioned that Yeren’s grandfather had dined with the Lord Straught of his time in the dining hall. It was an elegant room with a long, polished table that could sit more than twenty people comfortably. But there were only four seats at the table.

Where were the other chairs?

He was whisked to the drawing room where he was told that his mother had sang for the guests in that very room.

He hadn’t known that his mother used to sing.

In fact, he knew very little about her. She was always in one mood or another and rarely ever had time to come to his nursery to see him.

Now that he knew the truth, could it be that she resented him for being the chosen one, or was she constantly reminded of the son she couldn’t keep when she looked at him?

He listened attentively to the knowledge the man happily shared.

Penbrook had been a great house in its day.

But since Jarren Straught took over, no more balls and parties were held at the residence.

Even Yeren had never been to the house before now. All business with the Straughts had been conducted in the court since he had assumed the throne.

After touring the visiting rooms below, the man finally took him up the stairs to show off the master bedrooms. The only place Yeren hadn’t been shown was the kitchen and the powder rooms downstairs.

After being so thoroughly educated, he was sure he could hold a tour of Penbrook on his own.

He showed Yeren the guest rooms, but only indicated which belonged to Claire and Aurora without showing him the interior.

All he needed to know was which door was hers.

The man mentioned who the rest of the numerous rooms along the hallway belonged to, except the one who had belonged to the old master.

The man just stared at the door at the end of the hallway as if he still feared his late master would emerge and curse him. That room and the one across it remained unintroduced.

But for some reason, he knew that Claire had stayed there before. His source had informed him that she was in the room across the master’s room.

Afterwards, he was led to his room at the end of the hall facing the grand stairway.

It was a large room - the largest guest room. And it looked very convenient.

He went inside and unclasped his cloak.

His attendants weren’t there to assist him with the riding contraption he had worn.

So he decided not to bother removing it.

The man nodded and left as if just realising that Yeren needed privacy.

Maurius knocked on the door and peered inside to be certain he was inside.

But he had no intention of staying inside.

He slid out of his room and went down the brightly lit corridor until he reached the door of her room.

Then, he turned the knob and slid in like a thief.

He had no plan in mind, but he would wait for her there until she returned.