Chapter 43: House Chamberlin
The party continued. Nobles drank and ate their fill while making idle talk with whoever came into their proximity.
Luke and Valeria had split apart after the maid from the wedding escorted her to her family’s table. Luke was stuck in conversation with group after group of nobles. He couldn’t help but notice that most seemed disinterested after asking their first question.
"I heard you survived an awakened rift as your first rift. How did you manage that?"
He had probably heard the question fifty times before the nobles finished swarming him.
Every time, he gave an answer mixed with truth and lies. He was more than happy to mention the details of the monsters and his observations of their patterns, but not once did he mention a peep about Frost Spike.
And there was a good reason for it.
Luke had told Valeria that he had gotten the spell from her family, who coincidentally were in attendance. If the Chamberlins caught wind of the story and questioned his use of the spell, it could cause a chain reaction, so to speak.
The last thing he needed was Valeria probing him about his spell acquisition again.
Basically, his story went as follows:
He killed all the spiders with the spear alone, only using Defense Increase to protect himself.
Sure, he got follow-up questions like, Did you learn the spear before entering the rift? or Why were all of your clothes destroyed when you exited?
Okay, the second one was made up, but there were plenty of other questions he got asked.
He fibbed his way through all of them, considering he and the teachers watching him were the only ones who would know about his clear.
When the crowd finally spread back out among the garden, Luke snuck behind a few hedges to finally take a breather. The breather wasn’t the only reason for his stealth.
Luke peeked his head over the row of thick hedges, searching through the crowd for a certain target. His eyes stopped when he spotted them.
The Chamberlins.
Six people sat at a table, one maid stood nearby, and Valeria sat in her wheelchair beside the maid. Almost all of them had Valeria’s signature platinum hair, but theirs didn’t shine quite like hers did.
From afar, Luke read the signs being translated by the maid. They were answers to simple questions that he could infer even without the context.
Finding nothing interesting in the conversation, Luke scanned the appearances of those at the table.
There was the Lord of the House, Aegon Chamberlin. Lucius had been briefed about his history. For example, he knew about his entire explorer career, which had taken him all the way to SS-Rank. He also knew that he was the man who had disowned his wife.
Next was the Lady of the House, Serafina Chamberlin. She was Aegon’s wife and had originally come from a low noble house. Their marriage had very much been a political move for both families, as Serafina was a dominant explorer in her own right, climbing her way to S-Rank without the backing of any high nobles.
There were stories about Aegon and Serafina’s shared adventures while they were explorers, but Lucius had purposefully ignored them while studying the family’s history.
Then there were the children of the family. All were high-rank explorers, but none matched the strength of their parents or sister, even though Valeria was the second youngest.
Luke met the eyes of one of them, Varus Chamberlin, the youngest.
Instantly, he disappeared.
Luke looked around the garden in an attempt to find him, only to feel a tap on his shoulder. When he turned around, the man was directly in his face. Even though he was only two years older, he had already achieved the rank of B.
"Brother-in-law, what are you doing behind these shrubs? Did you happen to lose a family heirloom? Just tell your older brother. I’m sure we can find it."
Varus leaned in closer, almost pressing his nose against Luke’s temple.
"It’s not proper to spy on people. Father let it go, but I won’t."
Luke’s back straightened at the words, sending him to his feet in a moment of shock.
"Sorry, Varus. I could have sworn I saw a glass roll under the shrubs, but I must just be seeing things."
Varus placed a hand on Luke’s shoulder before speaking.
"Don’t worry about it, Brother. That’s the job of the cleaners anyway. Come, come. The family is excited to meet you."
Luke couldn’t help but feel like a mouse trapped in the claws of a cat.
Inwardly, he smiled.
His plan had been set into motion.
The two made their way through the bustling party, crossing the dance floor where couples waltzed to the music.
When they reached the table, Luke stood behind Valeria’s wheelchair, tapping the wheel twice with his foot. It was a signal they had made so that she would know who was behind her.
Luke bowed to the table before greeting the family.
"It is a pleasure to meet all of you. Valeria had such nice things to say about all of you, especially Lord Chamberlin."
Luke met the eyes of the platinum-haired man. His dark brown eyes didn’t move.
The Lord was not the first one to speak. Instead, it was his wife.
"Luke, it’s so good to finally meet you. We would have visited, but with the increase in rift activity, there has been so much work to do."
She was cheerful.
Serafina didn’t look like a mother who would willingly let go of her daughter just because of a freak accident.
"It’s great to meet you, Brother. Valeria was just talking about you. Is it true that you have comprehended more than one spell?"
Luke could feel his stomach drop. All it would take was one mention of Frost Spike, and the already tense greeting would turn into a horror movie.
"Yes, Brother Vitoly. I have comprehended Grease, Cleanse, and Defense Increase. Although they couldn’t come close to the spells you have in your repertoire."
Vitoly was the eldest of the children, but also the most dangerous. He was, simply put, a battle junkie.
Even so, he had never made it past S-Rank.
Why?
Because he was unable to comprehend any spells past A-Rank, causing him to loathe his own sister, who had breezed past him even though she was ten years younger.
The man grinned, a devilish grin that caused Luke to shiver at the sight.
It wasn’t Vitoly who spoke next, but Lord Chamberlin.
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