Chapter 43: Gatekeeper

At six-twenty, Richard knocked on his younger sister's door.

The door opened almost immediately. Evelyn had already changed.

She wore the brown sheepskin shoes. Her stride was noticeably more relaxed, no longer dragging with every step.

"Ready?"

"Ready. Let's go."

At the other end of the corridor, their parents' bedroom door also opened.

The family of four met in the hallway and followed a maid downstairs.

The dining room was even more spacious than the living room.

A long table was draped in a snow-white tablecloth, its silver cutlery lined up in neat rows.

The other members of the Ashford House had already arrived.

Including Richard's family, there were about a dozen people seated around the long table.

Gerard still sat at the head of the table.

The old man had changed into a lounge jacket, a silver brooch pinned to his collar.

He sat exactly as he had in the living room, his back perfectly straight.

The third seat on the left of the head was empty. That was likely reserved for his mother.

As his mother stepped behind the chair, a woman in her early forties sitting nearby greeted her.

"Margaret, it's been a long time."

"Sister-in-law," his mother replied.

This was his eldest aunt. Standing behind her was a young man with neatly combed brown hair.

The young man's expression stiffened slightly when he saw Richard, but he quickly recovered.

"Richard, long time no see." He walked over and offered his hand.

"Cousin Vincent." Richard reached out and shook his hand.

The last time they met, the Copper Pendant Vincent had given him had almost cost him his life.

No, it would be more accurate to say it had cost him his life.

"Your complexion looks better than last time," Vincent said.

"I rested for a while and recovered."

"That's good." Vincent lowered his voice. "That little trinket from last time... are you still wearing it?"

"No, I put it away."

"Mm..." Vincent nodded, his eyes flickering.

He seemed to want to say more, but after glancing around, he swallowed his words.

The butler pulled out the chairs beside them, signaling everyone to take their seats.

Richard was seated next to his mother, his father on her other side, and Evelyn right beside Richard.

The members of the Ashford House all wore similar masks; no one was overly enthusiastic, nor was anyone openly cold.

Evelyn sensed this atmosphere of collective exclusion.

She stirred the creamy mushroom soup in her bowl, tracing three circles with her spoon without taking a bite.

Margaret gently touched the back of her daughter's hand.

Evelyn received the signal: endure it, don't speak, eat less.

The girl's mouth turned down in a slight pout, and she shoved a large spoonful of the thick soup into her mouth.

The mushrooms were truffles, the cream was freshly churned, and the broth had been simmered with who-knew-what bones for who-knew-how many hours... In short, it was so delicious that she threw her mother's warning completely out of her mind.

After the soup came a whole pan-fried sea bass. The skin was fried to a crisp golden brown, and the white flesh was tender, garnished with lemon and a small handful of baby spinach on the side.

Evelyn's mouth watered.

She used her knife and fork to cut the fish into small pieces, her movements incredibly deft.

Following the fish were roasted lamb chops, paired with mint and roasted vegetables.

Most of the others only ate half a lamb chop before setting their forks down.

Richard watched his sister finish her entire piece looking like she still wanted more, and casually forked his own chop onto her plate.

Margaret rubbed her forehead and gave up trying to manage her daughter.

On the other side, Vincent sat near the middle of the long table, quite close to Richard.

Throughout the entire dinner, he kept finding excuses to strike up a conversation with Richard:

"How have things been at school recently? I heard you're going to participate in the Cicero Cup."

"Mm."

"Impressive." Vincent's praise sounded genuine. "Placements in the Cicero Cup aren't easy to get. The students here in the Imperial Capital have been practicing for it since they were kids."

"I'm just going to try it out first."

Vincent picked up his wine glass and took a small sip.

"Richard, if you need any help in the Imperial Capital... like taking you to see the competition venue or something, you can come to me anytime."

This level of attentiveness made their eldest aunt, sitting not far away, cast a few extra glances at Vincent.

His grandfather hadn't spoken a word from beginning to end.

Sitting at the head of the table, he would occasionally use his silver fork to turn the food on his plate or take a sip of red wine.

But the weight of the entire table always rested upon him.

No one could forget that the man at the head of the table was listening and watching.

Seeing that everyone was almost finished, the old man folded his napkin and placed it next to his plate. This was the signal that dinner was over.

Everyone dutifully rose from their seats. The butler directed the servants to clear away the silverware, the plates and bowls clinking together.

Gerard settled his napkin, his gaze coming to rest on Richard.

"Richard, there are some interesting things in my study that you might want to see."

The dining table instantly went quiet. Richard felt several gazes fall upon him at the same time.

Their eldest aunt's wine glass hung suspended in mid-air, her lips parting slightly before quickly closing again.

Surprise formed the foundation, with envy layered over top.

The two emotions swirled together before being flattened by their good breeding, leaving only a thin veneer of a smile.

Evelyn's hand had already grabbed Richard's cuff. "What do you have to talk about that requires you to be alone?"

"He might just want to test me on my studies."

The girl's brows twisted into a knot, and she opened her mouth twice but failed to voice any words of objection.

In her grandfather's house, she didn't dare make a scene.

Richard patted his sister's hand on his cuff. "Go back to your room and wait for me. It won't be long."

Evelyn released her fingers and watched as he followed their grandfather out of the dining room.

She turned her head to look at their mother. Margaret's gaze also followed her son's back until the doors closed behind him.

Richard followed behind his grandfather, crossing the corridor and walking up half a flight of stairs.

Gerard pushed open the study door. The gas lamps lit up automatically, though it was unclear whether by a hidden mechanism or by ether.

Three of the room's walls were covered in bookshelves stretching straight from the floor to the ceiling, the walnut shelves packed full of books and tomes of all sizes.

Richard followed him into the study, his peripheral vision already sweeping over the objects on the shelves:

A fist-sized bronze sculpture in the shape of an eagle spreading its wings;

A sealed amber glass bottle holding a dried lizard specimen;

Resting on the mantelpiece were two silver candlesticks, their curved arms cast with winding snake patterns.

In the corner of the writing desk sat a crystal ball resting on a brass base.

Being able to enter his grandfather's private study was an opportunity that couldn't be wasted.

With so many generations of Ashford heritage, even if there were only leftover scraps displayed in the study, it was still worth a try for him.

Gerard walked over to the fireplace, bent down, and used the iron tongs to poke at the charcoal fire.

While the old man's back was turned to him, Richard reached out and touched the wings of the bronze eagle sculpture.

The bronze surface was icy cold and heavy to the touch, but his Panel remained completely unresponsive.

He took another two steps and rested his hand on the mouth of the amber glass bottle. Still no reaction.

The silver candlesticks, the crystal ball, the brass scales on the writing desk, and that quite old-looking Pocket Watch on the mantelpiece...

He approached them one by one, but the Panel remained entirely lifeless.

Clean. They were all completely clean.

These objects were clearly old and excellently crafted, but not a single one of them had even been brushed by ether.

It made sense when he thought about it. Truly valuable items wouldn't be displayed in a study accessible to outside guests.

They were probably locked behind walls or underground, kept together with the true fortune of the Ashford Family.

Feeling somewhat disappointed, Richard pulled his hand back from the copper arm of an old-fashioned sextant.

Gerard straightened up by the fireplace, not stopping him from touching things left and right.

Earlier in the living room and at the dinner party, this child had kept his words and actions far too tightly restrained.

He had responded to Vincent's probing flawlessly and faced the scrutiny of his elders without changing his expression.

For a sixteen-year-old boy to display that level of composure, it meant he either possessed superb acting skills, or he had gone through something that forced him to mature early.

Neither possibility left one feeling particularly comfortable.

Now, seeing him fiddling with the dial of the sextant and holding the Pocket Watch up to his ear to listen—this was more like it.

"That sextant belonged to your great-grandfather."

Gerard sat down in the chair by the fireplace. "He sailed on ships when he was young."

Richard returned the sextant to its place and walked over to sit in the guest chair opposite the desk.

The heat from the fireplace slowly crept over, warming half of his face.

The old man folded his hands on his lap. "Richard, do you know what the Ashford House does?"

"Business."

"That is the version outsiders know."

Gerard pulled out a thin booklet. Printed right in the center of the cover was a famous occult symbol: a snake biting its own tail.

"The Ashford House has operated in the Imperial Capital for some three hundred years."

The old man's palm covered the ouroboros symbol. "Not by doing business, but by acting as a Gatekeeper."