Chapter 33

“Uwaaahh…”

“So big!”

After half a day’s ride in the carriage, we finally arrived at the capital city of Britain, London.

The city was surrounded by tall and imposing walls, and I could see guards walking along the top. By the time we reached the gate, the sky was already turning red. After a brief check by the gate guards, I hurried the coachman to take us to Sir Cedric’s residence.

Of course, the carriage couldn’t move very quickly inside the city with all the other carriages and pedestrians on the road.

The city was lively even as the sun was about to set. People were walking around, looking like they had just finished work and were on their way home. Some shopkeepers were closing up their stores, while some pubs had just opened, probably because their main clientele were workers looking to grab a drink after a long day.

As we made our way through the city towards Sir Cedric’s residence, I noticed how well-maintained the roads were. They weren’t even dirt roads. Instead, they were paved with stones, and sewers had been built to prevent water from pooling on the streets.

One of the books I had read in the library was a history book about Britain. Apparently, London had undergone a massive reconstruction about a hundred years ago. Many of the city’s buildings were demolished and rebuilt, the roads were repaved with stones, sewers and public toilets were constructed, and many other improvements were made.

One of the biggest projects during that time was the construction of the Royal Palace.

Before the reconstruction, it seemed that the King had no permanent Royal Palace anywhere in the kingdom. Instead, he moved between royal estates and temporary residences.

However, that all changed when the King at the time met a certain mage.

The King, who was only twenty years old back then, was saved by the mage, and the two quickly became close friends. The mage then proposed that the King establish a permanent residence for the Royal Family so that the country could be governed more efficiently through a centralized government.

The King agreed, and the two decided to build the Royal Palace in London.

That decision led to the massive reconstruction of the city. London was essentially rebuilt from the ground up, and the entire project was only completed around fifty years ago.

Normally, a project of that scale would require an enormous amount of money and manpower. However, thanks to the mage’s efforts, it required far less of both than it normally would have.

The mage knew a lot of people and had many disciples. With the help of numerous mages, the city’s reconstruction proceeded much more smoothly than it otherwise would have. Well, there were apparently some problems along the way, but nevertheless, the project was a success.

I had been skeptical when I first read the book, but now that I was actually in London, I could see that it was telling the truth.

In fact, the reality was even crazier than I had imagined.

As our carriage passed through the gate, I got a good look at the city walls. They were incredibly thick. And I mean THICK.

But that wasn’t the only thing that caught my attention. I also noticed patterns carved into their surface. I knew that runes was among the things carved there, so maybe it’s some kind of magic circles?

Curious, I stuck my head out of the carriage window and asked the coachman about them.

“Those are magic circles and runes, young master. The entire city wall is covered in them. If the city ever comes under attack, they can be activated to form a protective dome.”

“A protective dome?” I stared at the walls in amazement.

It was so over the top that I was starting to understand why the reconstruction had taken so long. The mages hadn’t just helped build the buildings and roads. They had also installed layers upon layers of magical protection throughout the entire city.

“Look, big bro! The Palace is so big!”

Hearing Luna exclaim in amazement, I turned my head towards the Royal Palace. It was enormous, so enormous that it should have been visible from anywhere in the city.

“It sure is big,” I replied to her excited exclamation.

Luna was still captivated by the Royal Palace, letting out sounds like “Wooow!” and “Waaaah!” every now and then.

“What do you think the inside is like?”

“Who knows? You should ask Master about that. She often visits the palace, after all.”

“Right! I wonder if she would take us to the Palace if we asked?”

“Maybe if you’re the one asking her, Luna. I don’t think she would ever take me there if I asked her.”

“True. With how you’ve been acting lately, I’d be worried you might punch the King or something, big bro.”

Damn, I wanted to retort, but I couldn’t exactly say she was wrong.

…

“Here we are.”

The carriage slowed down, and once it came to a full stop, the horse neighed quite loudly. I didn’t speak horse, but I guessed that the horse was probably tired. Understandable. I would be tired too if I had to pull a heavy load for half a day.

We had stopped right in front of the gate to Sir Cedric’s residence, and the coachman was currently talking to the guard. The guard seemed to know and already expect our arrival, so he just gave us a quick check before opening the gate and leading us inside.

The carriage stopped right in front of the main building, and the coachman told us to get off and take our belongings, including the gifts from Master Elara to Sir Cedric. He then made his way to the stables to park the carriage and let the horse rest.

Apparently, just because we had arrived, it didn’t mean the coachman’s job was finished. He still needed to care for the horse by giving it food and water and checking the condition of both the horse and the carriage. Being a coachman wasn’t as simple as I had thought.

A butler who looked like an elderly man came out of the main building and greeted us shortly after we got off the carriage.

“Young Master Hwi and Luna, I presume?” the elderly man asked.

Both Luna and I nodded, and he began to introduce himself.

“My name is Hans, and I’m the head butler of this residence. Please follow me. Master Cedric has been expecting you,” said Hans.

Carrying our belongings, including a change of clothes and Master Elara’s gifts, Luna and I followed the elderly man inside.

The head butler took us to our rooms on the second floor of the building first. Normally, guests staying overnight would be accommodated in the annex, but from what I had seen on our way to the main building, it seemed that the annex was undergoing renovations. Part of its walls had collapsed, so it couldn’t be used to accommodate guests.

We climbed the stairs and passed several rooms before Mr. Hans stopped in the corridor between two rooms.

“Here we are. Please use these rooms during your stay. We were just about to have dinner, and Sir Cedric has invited both of you to dine with him, if you don’t mind.”

“Yes, of course. We’d be happy to accept Sir Cedric’s invitation,” I replied.

We were guests here, after all. If the master of the house invited us to dinner, of course we had to accept.

“Understood. Then I’ll inform the master and make the necessary preparations. Do you have any other questions?”

“Hmm…”

Luna raised her hand as if she were in a classroom about to ask her teacher a question.

Cute.

“Yes?”

“Is my brother, I mean Aaron, here?”

“Oh, Young Master Aaron is probably about to head to the bath right now. Master Cedric pushed him quite hard during today’s training session, so he’ll most likely take his time relaxing in the bath.”

“I see. Okay, thank you, Mr. Hans.”

“Hmm. If you need anything else, please just ask.”

This time, it was my turn to raise my hand.

“Mr. Hans, can we use the bath too? The journey was long, and we’re both sweaty. Since we’re about to have dinner with the master of the house, I think it would be proper to clean ourselves up first. If we can’t use the bath, could we ask for some warm water to wipe ourselves down?”

“Hmm. The bath in the servants’ quarters should be empty at this time. If you don’t mind, I can lead you both there.”

“Thank you. Then please lead the way.”

After Luna and I chose our rooms and put our belongings inside, we took out a change of clothes and our towels before following Mr. Hans to the servants’ bath.

The bath was divided into separate sections for men and women, so Luna went to the women’s bath by herself. The bath was spacious, and there was a changing room where I could take off my dirty clothes and store them before putting on my clean ones after I finished bathing.

It didn’t take long for us to clean up. Luna and I finished bathing around the same time and came out feeling refreshed. We returned to our rooms to put away our dirty clothes, and shortly afterward, Mr. Hans came to inform us that dinner was ready. We promptly made our way to the dining room.

As we walked, I didn’t forget my promise to Master Elara.

I had promised her that I would ask Sir Cedric to take her out on a date, and I intended to do exactly that. She might not want me to do this, but I was a filial disciple. Master Elara had saved my life not once but twice, and she had also taught me magic and many other things. I needed to repay her.

With fire in my eyes, I decided to start by gathering some information. Asking the head butler a few questions about Sir Cedric seemed like a good first step.

“Mr. Hans, may I ask you a few questions?”

“Of course,” he replied with a smile.

“Ahem. This place is quite big and has a lot of rooms, but I’ve only seen servants living here. Is Sir Cedric’s family away at the moment? Master Elara only asked us to bring gifts for Sir Cedric, so I don’t know if there’s anything suitable for the lady of the house or his children.”

I felt a prickly sensation coming from beside me. When I turned my head, I saw Luna eyeing me suspiciously, her gaze sharp.

She was probably telling me not to do anything stupid, but this was important! Our master’s love life was on the line!

“Haha, there’s no need to worry. Master Cedric is still unmarried, so other than him and Young Master Aaron, only the servants live here.”

“I see. That’s a relief.”

Yes! Now that I had confirmed Sir Cedric was single, I could proceed with my plan.

The “Elara x Cedric Matchmaking Plan” was officially underway!

Hehe. Just you wait, Master. I’ll make sure you get together with Sir Cedric. I’m a filial disciple, after all!