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Their horses and wagon were waiting for them right at the bottom of the smoothened stone steps in front of the Guild’s building. They were all surprised as none of them had called for the wagon to be brought around. The Guild official that had taken care of their wagon was there and beside him stood a man in an attire that exuded authority and nobility.

Erin and her companions turned extremely vigilant against that man but when Erin saw the sigil on the man’s shoulder, she gestured for the girls to be at ease.

The Guild official scuttled back to the building after giving Erin a cursory bow. The lavish man stepped forward with a hand on his chest as he bowed deeply.

“Greetings, Lady Erynthea. I am Sir Clause of House Ritus. I have come to assist you in your search for lodging at the behest of Her Excellency, High Lady Melissa Valdrun.”

“How do you know we are still in search of lodging?” Nivia asked with her arms crossed and her gaze narrowed.

“I don’t, Lady Nivia. But if my service is not required, I will take my leave, if it pleases you.”

They all exchanged stares briefly before unanimously dumping the decision-making to Erin. Somehow and somewhere along their journey, Erin had become the leader of the group in actuality.

Erin held back a sigh. Though she still had yet to trust Melissa fully, she was willing to give it a chance. The Spirits were indifferent to her when Erin had snuck an appraising peak at her. “Your assistance is welcomed, Sir Clause. Do you have an inn in mind?”

Sir Clause nodded with an impassive expression. “The Golden Inn. It is the most acclaimed inn in the entirety of the city. Lady Erynthea, you and your companions will receive accommodation there for an indefinite period. It goes without saying, the cost will be paid by Her Excellency.”

Erin glanced at Siv.

“The security and services are indeed the best in the city,” she said, recounting what she was told by her former employer, Lord Hegan. “However, it is partially owned by the viceroy.”

Sir Clause came to an immediate understanding from that sentence alone but dictated by his sagacity, he did not press for the reason. “I’m afraid that all of the high establishments in the city are partially owned by the viceroy.”

“Fancy inns are out of the question then,” Lilian muttered.

“Any inns you would recommend that are not owned by the viceroy?” Erin asked.

“There are many, m’lady, but…”

“But?”

“They would not accommodate you.”

Erin stared. “Why?”

“Including you, m’lady, there are three Fae in your party and not to mention the number of your tails. Keepers of the common inns will be too anxious and disquieted to accommodate you, m’lady, let alone three Fae. They are afraid they would risk your ire and displeasure with the quality of their service.”

“Damn it,” Erin uttered under her breath.

“We split up then?” Nivia proposed. “Get our own inns?“

“No,” Erin turned the idea down immediately. “That just makes us easy marks.”

Sir Clause nearly raised an eyebrow but he kept his expression still. Whatever their problems were, it was not his business. His orders were to only assist Erin and her companions in finding lodging and report back to Her Excellency afterwards.

“Well, then, we are in a bind.” Lilian shrugged. “I don’t suppose Aedan had given you any advice, Erin?”

“Aedan…” Erin mused. Then, her eyes lit up like a lamp. Digging her hand into a satchel pouch by her waist, she fished out a medallion, which she presented to Sir Clause. “What do you know about this medallion, good sir?”

Sir Clause’s eyes widened at the medallion, filling his vacant expression with incredulity. “Where did you get this?” he asked with a dubious gaze as he leaned closer.

“A beloved of mine,” Erin answered. She felt Lyra’s hands clasping her vacant hand the second after she said those words. She snickered in her heart at Lyra’s adorable jealousy.

“This beloved person of yours didn’t explain anything?”

“Unfortunately, he had urgent matters to attend to and left before he could explain. Well, I doubt he would explain it even if he had the time. He does have a flair for the dramatics.”

“I see…” he said. “This medallion serves as a title deed.”

Lyra plopped her head onto Erin’s shoulder. “A title deed?”

“Proof of ownership of a property,” Erin answered and gave Lyra a peck on the cheek.

That brief and abrupt display of affection in front of some noble they barely knew shocked not only Lyra but also the others. As usual, Lilian was tittering with an amused expression.

Shrugging with a grin, Erin turned her attention back to Sir Clause. “So, how does this work?” she said, shaking the medallion.

Sir Clause held out his hand. “If I may, Lady Erynthea.”

Erin stared for a while before handing the medallion over.

Once it was in his hand, Sir Clause poured his Mana into the medallion and the engravings shimmered. Letters and numbers written with light flew from the medallion, forming a list of words and numbers in columns and rows.

Aera gasped in awe. She was the only one in the group who showed any wonderment.

“So that’s what it is,” Siv muttered.

“You know what it is, Siv?” Erin asked.

“I was referring to the magic used, mistress. It’s similar to the spell imbued in an adventurer’s tag but this one is simply more… archaic. The receptacle is bigger and the engravings are more intricate as opposed to the compact adventurer’s tag.”

The spectacle also attracted a few curious gazes from the passers-by but when they realised it was highborn business, they turned the other way. Only fools would poke their noses into the affairs of nobles.

“Is that an address for a house?” Erin asked, sweeping the display of words in light with her eyes.

“For a mansion, to be exact, M’lady,” Sir Clause answered as he handed the medallion back to Erin after the shimmering died down. “I know the address. I can lead you to that mansion, if it pleases you, m’lady.”

Briefly glancing at her companions, Erin gave her decision after getting their wordless answers. “Very well, Sir Clause. Lead the way.”

Sir Clause bowed slightly and waved his hand. A magic circle appeared on the ground and a raptor-like beast with a saddle emerged from it, which he hopped onto.

“I got to learn how to do that,” Erin muttered in her heart.

****

They travelled deep into the city but they then took a turn that led them away from the roads that were taking them to the residential district. They were going off on a tangent. They were no longer heading towards the residential district at all but Sir Clause assured them this was the right way.

They passed by various districts, including the red light district. Though the red light district only came to life when night came, that didn’t mean the brothels didn’t take advantage of the day. The women of the brothels dressed in sensual but thick attires as they stood outside the buildings, waving and blowing kisses at any potential customers.

Erin took notice of a brothel that catered to lilies exclusively. There was a sign that read; No men allowed unless it’s for official business. She caught sight of the courtesans on the balconies. Unlike the women of the other brothels, these ones were wearing shirts and pants and they all at least had some brawns to their shapely figures. When those women met Erin’s genial smile and brazen gaze of desire, they shirked. Their preconceived notion of Fae was of the usual, which was why they were caught off-guard by Erin’s amicability. Confused and bewildered, they hesitantly returned her smile and wave.

“Are we not enough?” Lyra asked, who was sitting right beside her on the driver’s bench while the others were in the back.

Erin’s smile turned wry. “Will you be mad if I indulge myself in casual pleasures?”

“I won’t,” she answered and threw her arms around Erin. “I don’t care who you take into bed. As long as you return to me by the end of the day, I don’t care who you fucked, Erin. Just… just promise me you won’t bring any men to bed.”

Erin raised an eyebrow with a smirk. “Aedan?”

Lyra sighed. “Aedan’s fine. I’ll make an exception for him and I… I…”

“You want to have a taste of him too?”

Lyra nodded sheepishly. “You don’t approve?”

Erin chuckled softly. “If it’s him, I certainly don’t mind. Unless of course, he steals you away from me or you let yourself be stolen, Lyra.”

“That will never happen, Erin. He may have my body but my heart is yours.”

Erin laughed with a hand covering her lips. “You’re starting to sound like a noble, Lyra. Lilian taught you that, didn’t she?”

The answer was apparent as Lilian was tittering in the back of the wagon.

“Y-you don’t like it?”

Erin kissed her lightly on the lips. “I don’t hate it but I prefer the usual you, Lyra.”

And before they could kiss again, Nivia shouted, “By the Spirits, please have some decency you two.” She rolled her eyes.

“Prude,” Lyra muttered, separating herself from Erin.

“Better than being a nymph,” Nivia huffed.

And they all shared a laugh, save for Nivia, of course. Even Aera was giggling softly in the corner.

As the city was incredibly large, it had the privilege and luxury to accommodate a few patches of woods, which was where they were heading towards. There was one particular area that was incredibly dense with trees, looking almost like a forest had sprouted amidst all the man-made buildings.

“Where is this place?” Lyra mused, veering her gaze around. It wasn’t a complete garden of trees. There were many houses and mansions strewn about in the forest but long abandoned, judging by the vines and mosses that decorated the homes.

“It used to be the accommodation district for the Fae dignitaries,” Sir Clause explained, who was riding on his raptor-like mount, leading the way in front of them.

“Used to be?”

“Back when humans’ relations with the Fae aren’t as strained as they are now. There was even a Fae embassy but everything fell through.”

“What happened?”

Nivia snorted. “What do you think happened?” But she was immediately batted in the head by Lilian.

“Be nice,” Lilian chided. “Forgive her, Lyra, dear. It fell through because humans wanted the Faerie-kin’s knowledge without any… limitation, shall we say. It’s very ironic and hypocritical. The humans reproached the Fae for being greedy and power-hungry. The humans were actually the ones who cut off any formal relations with the Fae. That’s how it is in the Yorun Kingdom at least.”

“That’s worse than I thought,” Erin said.

Siv nodded. “Terrible.”

“For the humans,” Lilian responded. “They shut us out because they are afraid of the possibility of the Fae taking over. Truly ironic, considering the humans were the ones who had it planned.”

“Wait, humans were the ones who cut off relations?” Nivia asked.

Lilian blinked and stared at Nivia with a tilted gaze. “You don’t know? It’s in the texts, Nivia. Did you not read?”

“Which one?”

“Dear Spirits… You did not finish your syllabuses, did you?”

Nivia turned her gaze away. “I read more than half of them.”

Erin could see Nivia’s shoulders were mildly trembling

Lilian’s usual gentle and unassuming gaze turned dour. “Young lady, after we have found our lodging, I will be teaching you the remaining texts and you will be reciting all of them.”

“What?” Nivia blurted out. “That’s outrageous, Lilian. We have more pressing matters than—”

“This is not a discussion, Nivia of Willowglade.” Lilian’s voice reverberated and she wasn’t shouting. Even the horses and raptor beast went wild from her voice alone but she quickly calmed them down with her magic. “Do I have your understanding, Nivia?”

Nivia nodded briskly.

Lilian’s amicable gentle smile returned. “Splendid, Nivia. I’m sure with your talents, you will be able to grasp everything before long. Well, even if that’s the case, you will still need at least two days to finish the syllabuses.” Then, she noticed the eyes on her. “Oh, don’t mind me, darlings. This is nothing serious. Just carry on with what you’re doing. Unless of course, the lot of you wish to join?”

And everyone pried their eyes away from her without a word.