Chapter 81: Lady Colleen van Felis

“Look at this, Silvester,” Tibbar purred, running his furry fingers through the metal coins. “Forty-two gold pieces in just four days! My five percent commission is already over two full gold pieces! I am going to buy the finest carrots in the central market tonight! The ones imported from the southern valleys!”

“Good work, Master Assistant,” I chuckled, setting my silver file down on the workbench. “You are much better at talking to people than I am.”

“That is because you speak in numbers and metal thickness, little master,” Tibbar grinned, wiggling his long ears. “People do not want to hear about tensile strength. They want to hear that their gold is safe from crazy flying monsters.”

He leaned against the mahogany counter, looking out the clear glass window at the busy street.

“You know,” Tibbar said softly, his voice becoming surprisingly warm. “I have lived in Phoya for sixty years. I spent the last ten years sitting on a dirty crate begging for coppers just to keep my old neighbors from being dragged into the mines. This is the first time in a decade that I feel like a real person again.”

I looked at the old rabbit man, seeing the genuine gratitude in his sharp purple eyes.

“We are just getting started, Tibbar,” I said, putting my tools back into my leather pouch. “Once we build a reputation with the lower nobles, we can start taking contracts for high-security bank vaults in the upper city.”

“To the upper city!” Tibbar toasted, grabbing his cup of cold tea and taking a big gulp.

Just as he swallowed his tea, the brass bell hanging above our front entrance chimed softly.

Tink.

The heavy mahogany door swung open, and a cool breeze drifted into the showroom, carrying the sharp scent of expensive perfume, wild mountain flowers, and fresh vanilla.

A young girl stepped through the doorway.

She was around nine or ten years old, with soft, spotless white fur, delicate pink cat ears poking out from her head, and a fluffy white tail that swayed side to side with absolute confidence.

She wore a grand, ruffled blue silk dress with golden lace along the hem, and two long diamond earrings sparkled against her fur.

Standing right behind her were two massive, seven-foot-tall wolf guards wearing dark steel plate armor, their hand broadswords resting on their belts.

The white cat girl crossed her arms over her chest, tilted her small chin up high, and scanned our showroom with an arrogant, critical look in her vibrant blue eyes.

Tibbar instantly put on his best salesman smile, stepping forward to bow politely. “Welcome to The Earthen Vault, young lady! Are your noble parents looking for a fine home security system today?”

The cat girl completely ignored Tibbar. She did not even glance at the old rabbit man.

She closed her eyes, raised her delicate pink nose into the air, and took a slow, deep breath.

Her white ears twitched.

She snapped her eyes open, turned her head with complete precision, and locked her bright green gaze directly onto me sitting at the workbench.

A sharp, triumphant smile spread across her bratty face.

“Found you,” she announced loudly in a high, bossy voice.

The quiet hum of our showroom vanished instantly, replaced by a cold, suffocating silence.

Tibbar stood frozen beside the mahogany counter, his long grey ears pointing straight up into the air as if they had been struck by lightning.

His purple eyes moved nervously from the elegant young white cat girl to the two seven-foot-tall wolf guards towering behind her like twin mountain peaks.

The wolf guards wore dark steel plate armor, their gauntleted hands resting heavily on the pommels of massive broadswords.

“F-Found him?” Tibbar stammered, pulling at his collar as a bead of cold sweat rolled down his snout. “My lady… noble young mistress… if this is about the daily tax, we paid Kino! If this is about the dragon soot on the sidewalk, my little master was just about to sweep it!”

The cat girl did not even grant Tibbar a glance. She kept her bright green eyes locked entirely on me as she stepped deeper into the showroom, her fine leather shoes clicking softly against our polished mahogany floorboards.

I did not flinch. I slowly set my fine silver file down on the velvet working pad, wiped my fingers with a clean linen cloth, and stood up from my stool.

“May I help you, young lady?” I asked in a calm, flat voice. “Unless you are here to commission a high-grade security safe, I must inform you that private browsing hours begin after noon.”

“Browsing?” The cat girl let out a delicate, sharp laugh that sounded like silver bells chiming. “Do you honestly think a member of the House of Felis browses through dusty commoner shops?”

“House of Felis?” Tibbar squeaked, his knees buckling so violently that he had to grab the edge of the mahogany counter to stay upright. “The… the Marquis? You are the daughter of Marquis Aaron van Felis? The Lord Governor of Phoya?”

The girl tilted her chin up even higher, a proud smirk stretching across her white-furred cheeks. “Lady Colleen van Felis,” she declared smoothly. “And yes, my father governs this entire trading province. Which means everything built on this stone, including this cute little lock shop, belongs to my family’s jurisdiction.”

She walked right up to my workbench, leaning her small hands against the dark wood. She leaned in close, her pink nose twitching softly as she took another gentle breath of the air around me.

“Brass polish,” Colleen whispered, her green eyes narrowing with sharp, mischievous intelligence. “Fresh oak oil. And that very faint, warm smell of pure golden mana.”

She snapped her fingers and looked up into my face. “It is you. The boy who snatched me out of the street right before the dragon fire hit.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about, Lady Colleen,” I replied without breaking eye contact.

“During the dragon attack, my assistant and I were down in the cellar hiding beneath heavy blankets. Ask anyone on this street. We are peaceful, law-abiding craftsmen.”

“Liar,” Colleen scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “My cat lineage gives me the sharpest sense of smell in the entire upper city. I never forget a scent. You grabbed my waist, dragged me behind a granite pillar, and then…”

She paused, her eyes widening slightly as she dropped her voice to a low, conspiratorial whisper. “And then you pointed your finger at that thirty-ton monster, and it dropped dead out of the sky. Dead. In one single second.”

Behind her, the two wolf guards shifted their weight slightly, the dark steel plates of their armor clanking together with a heavy metallic thud.

Their yellow eyes narrowed as they stared down at my ten-year-old frame with sudden, sharp suspicion.

Tibbar looked like he was about to faint. He grabbed his chest, gasping for air as he stared at me in total horror. “S-Silvester… tell me she is lying… tell me you didn’t kill a dragon with your pinky finger…”

“I didn’t,” I said, remaining completely relaxed. “As I told the imperial guards earlier, the beast suffered a tragic structural failure in its internal organs. Flying lizards have very fragile hearts.”

“Do you really expect me to believe that ridiculous lie?” Colleen snorted, rolling her green eyes. “I saw the golden light flash from your fingertips! I am not an idiot, human boy. You killed a black dragon, robbed its corpse before the smoke even cleared, and then strolled right back into your shop as if you had just bought a loaf of bread!”

I stared at her for a long moment. She was spoiled, bossy, and arrogant, but she was clearly far smarter than the average nine-year-old noble child. Denying it any further would only make me look defensive.

“Suppose, hypothetically, that your memory is accurate,” I said, leaning back against my workbench and crossing my arms. “What do you want, Lady Colleen? If you came here to turn me over to the Imperial Guard, you wouldn’t have brought only two bodyguards. You would have brought a battalion of crocodile knights.”

Colleen’s sharp smirk widened, her white cat tail flicking side to side with pure satisfaction. “Smart boy. You are correct. I didn’t tell my father, and I didn’t tell the guard captain. Nobody knows I came here today.”

“Why?”

“Because,” Colleen said, her tone suddenly turning serious as she stepped back and signaled to one of her wolf guards. “I need an artisan who can do the impossible.”

The taller wolf guard stepped forward. He reached into a leather saddlebag slung over his shoulder and pulled out a heavy, square object wrapped in thick black velvet. He laid it gently onto my mahogany counter.

Colleen reached out her slender, white-furred hand and pulled the velvet cloth away.

Sitting on the counter was a dark, cubic box roughly eight inches on each side. It was made of a strange, dull black metal that seemed to absorb the ambient light in the room.

There were no keyholes, no visible hinges, and no seams along its flat edges. The entire surface was covered in complex, glowing silver runes that pulsed with a faint, rhythmic blue light.

Enjoying the journey? Don’t let the adventure stop here!