The corridors felt cold as we walked. The walkway stretched far and wide.
The servant guided me through the halls in silence revealing no further details of the visitor.
I had no idea what to expect. Darian's memories were still blurry. I didnt know how nobles operated in this world — whether visitors announced themselves, whether they brought gifts, news, or trouble.
Worst of all, I didn't even know who Lord Thaloran of Vallis was. I'm walking into this blindly.
But the servant's stiff posture told me one thing:
This wasn't an ordinary visit.
We stopped before a large door. Two guards flanked it, their backs straight, eyes fixed forward. Their expression unreadable.
They shifted slightly as I approached.
I couldn't tell whether it was out of fear.. or spite.
The servant bowed lightly.
"When you are ready, young lord."
I straightened my back, drew in a steady breath, and nodded.
"…Open the doors."
The guards pushed them aside.
A soft rush of air escaped from the hall — warm, carrying the faint scents of polished wood and incense.
I stepped inside.
The room was spacious, lit by tall windows that let sunlight spill across the polished marble floor.
Standing with his hands clasped was a man I had never seen before. To my best guess, he had to be Lord Thaloran.
He stood near the center of the receiving hall, tall and rigid, his cloak draped over his shoulders like a mantle of authority.
His silver-white hair caught the sunlight, but his eyes—
His eyes were dead cold.
The moment he saw me, his expression tightened… not with politeness, but with open irritation.
He looked me up and down.
"…Where is the Duke?"
The words struck like a blade's edge.
I straightened. "My father is currently handling matters in the eastern—"
"And your brother? Count Edwin?" Thaloran cut in sharply.
"At the academy," I answered firmly.
Thaloran stared at me for a long, tense second.
"So," he said, voice cooling even further, " I came here for an urgent matter and the Duke isn't even present."
The disdain wasn't even subtle.
He wasn't here for courtesy.
He wasn't here for patience.
Barely contained frustration radiated from him like heat.
I held my ground.
"…. It's true the Duke isn't here but I'm here...if the matter is urgent than I'll take his place in receiving it. " I said.
He scoffed softly — not loud, but enough to show exactly what he thought of that.
"Very well," he said, stepping forward. "Let us not waste time."
The air seemed to thicken as he approached. His voice dropped into a hard, controlled tone. The voice of someone who had been forced to travel with worry gnawing at him.
"I came here because my niece, Lady Elyndra Vallis, has gone missing."
He continued
"She was dispatched to one of your villages two days ago. She had heard reports of unusual symptoms — an unknown disease — and, as a healer, took it upon herself to investigate. She traveled with trained escorts."
His jaw clenched. "They never arrived. Its like they just vannished."
His hands tightened behind his back.
"And this disappearance occurred—"
His eyes locked onto mine, unblinking.
"—within Redmond lands."
I felt the weight of the accusation even without knowing the politics behind it.
Before I could speak, he continued sharply:
"So here is what I require from House Redmond. Immediately."
He pointed to the marble floor between us.
"First — a full search party. Trained. Armed. Competent.
Second — an investigation. I do not care if it's your knights, guards, or you who takes the lead— but I want answers."
He stepped closer, towering over me.
"No excuses. No delays."
His voice sharpened.
"Your lands. Your responsibility."
His final whisper was cold enough to freeze bone.
"Find my niece.
Or our alliance ends…
and I will rain hell upon the province of Redmond."
...
For a moment, neither of us moved.
Thaloran's glare burned into me, expecting for me to crumble.
To panic.
To stutter, to make excuses, to embarrass my house the way the old Darian surely did.
But I didn't.
I inhaled slowly, letting my breath settle in my center the way I had countless times before battles in my previous life.
When I finally spoke, my voice was steady.
"…Understood."
Thaloran's brows lifted a fraction, not in approval but in surprise.
He clearly wasn't expecting that.
"I will see to it that a search party is assembled immediately," I continued. "Knights, trackers, and guards. We will begin at the last known route Lady Elyndra should have taken."
Thaloran's eyes narrowed slightly, studying me.
No panic.
No excuses.
Just resolve.
It threw him off balance.
"And the investigation?" he pressed, harsher this time. "Will you act on that as well?"
"Yes," I said. "I will personally oversee it."
That made him pause.
Silence fell between us.
Thaloran's gaze searched my face — looking for cracks, for hesitation, for the slightest wobble that would prove I was still Darian.
But I held firm.
Finally, he turned slightly away, exhaling through his nose.
"Hmph. Very well," he said. "If House Redmond is to act swiftly, that is all I require."
He paused, then added bitterly:
"I care little who brings her home… so long as someone does."
His frustration returned, simmering but no longer explosive.
Then, almost to himself, he muttered:
"She is the pride of our house… and my beloved niece."
He stepped closer once more, but now his tone carried a different weight, less hostility, more weary urgency.
"Count Darian. I simply want my niece found."
I nodded once. "You have my word."
His eyes lingered on me a moment longer, still suspicious… but now clearly uncertain.
Slowly, his expression shifted, as though he were comparing the person in front of him with an image he'd held for years.
"You're different from the rumors," he murmured.
My brows twitched, but I stayed silent.
He studied me a moment longer, gaze moving over me with a strange focus — not on my face, but… deeper, as if he were sensing something I couldn't see.
"…Even without mana, you stand steadier than I expected."
The words were spoken casually. Thoughtlessly.
As if it were a fact so obvious it didn't require explanation.
I held my expression steady, but the sentence hit like a spear haft to the ribs.
Without… mana?
What did he mean?
Thaloran continued speaking, unaware of the shift behind my eyes.
"Rumor said your condition made you erratic, but perhaps that was exaggerated."
What was he talking about?
Condition.
Mana.
Rumors.
Pieces I didn't have.
A world I didn't fully understand — and a flaw in this body everyone seemed to know except me.
Still, I kept my posture straight, my face composed. Whatever he saw lacking in me, I'll eventually figure it out.