Chapter 88 - Too Many Questions

Chapter 88: 88 - Too Many Questions

Adrien was still standing in Vael’s residence when he remembered something considerably more mundane than Heartroot Crystals, monsters or ancient spirits. "Where’s the bathroom? Since I’m staying here tonight, I’d like to take a shower."

Amelia pointed toward one of the corridors leading away from the main room. "Down there, second door on the left. I’ll bring you a towel and some clean clothes so you can change afterward."

"Thanks." Adrien headed in the direction she indicated and found the bathroom easily enough.

The room was larger than he expected, carefully maintained and finished almost entirely in dark wood. Smooth planks covered the walls and floor, treated well enough that the humidity had barely marked them, while pale stone surrounded the bathing area. A wide bathtub occupied one side of the room, built partially into the floor with a polished wooden rim around it.

There was also a simple shower nearby, but after looking at the bath for a moment, Adrien changed his mind.

’I think this might actually help clear my head.’

It had been a long time since he’d taken a proper bath. Adrien wasn’t someone who enjoyed talking about what was going on inside his head. He had always been quieter than most people, and even when something bothered him, his first instinct was usually to deal with it alone.

Logically, he knew relying on someone every now and then was healthier. He had grown closer to Amelia, and his relationship with the rest of his family was far better than when he first arrived in this world. Knowing that and actually opening up, however, were two different things.

Once the tub filled, Adrien removed his clothes and lowered himself into the hot water. The temperature was perfect. He leaned back until his shoulders rested against the wooden edge and stared quietly at the ceiling.

He had been in this world for quite a while now, yet he had barely stopped since arriving. There was always another problem, another fight, another piece of territory to manage or another question waiting for an answer. Even a simple bath felt unusually peaceful.

His thoughts returned, as they often did, to Alaric Clairmont.

Adrien had entered this world at his own father’s funeral. He had never even gotten the chance to speak to the man, and everything surrounding Alaric’s death had only become stranger the more Adrien learned.

’How does someone like him get branded a traitor without even trying to fight it?’

It was a question Adrien had asked himself countless times. He didn’t believe the official story. Evelyne had made her position clear, and Vael had been equally certain that Alaric would never have sold information to another kingdom as the Crown claimed.

So what had actually happened?

Adrien had several theories. The first was simple enough. Maybe Alaric had surrendered to protect his family. He could have resisted, but perhaps somebody had given him an ultimatum. If he fought the Crown, House Clairmont itself could have been declared an enemy of the kingdom. Evelyne, Ariane and everyone serving the house might have been dragged down with him.

The second possibility was more complicated. Maybe Alaric could have proven that he never sold anything, but doing so would have forced him to reveal what he had actually been doing. Who he had been meeting, what he had been investigating, or what information he possessed.

Something important enough that he preferred dying as a traitor over exposing it.

That possibility also made Vael’s behavior more suspicious. The old elf clearly knew things he wasn’t saying, but Adrien wasn’t exactly in a position to force answers out of him. After seeing the Wind God Spirit, that sounded like an excellent way to die.

Then there was the third possibility.

Alaric might simply have discovered something he wasn’t supposed to know. Something involving the Crown, another Great House, or somebody Adrien hadn’t even encountered yet. Maybe it was a mixture of all three.

Adrien slowly sank beneath the surface of the water.

’Although that’s not something I can know right now.’

He stayed submerged for several seconds before one hand moved instinctively toward the scar across his chest. There was still another question he couldn’t ignore.

The dragon heart.

Could that have been connected to Alaric’s death somehow?

And then there was Tess. She had placed the mark on Adrien specifically to hide the presence of the heart and warned him that discovering what he carried could cause serious problems. If dragons cared that much about it, then Alaric obtaining the heart in the first place couldn’t have been something ordinary.

’Too many things...’

Adrien remained underwater a little longer before finally pushing himself upward. He opened his eyes and immediately found Amelia standing inside the bathroom.

Adrien jolted hard enough to send water splashing against the side of the tub.

He had been so absorbed in his thoughts that Absolute Mana Sense had remained in the background. He was inside Elyndor, beneath Vael’s roof, and his instincts had registered no danger, so he hadn’t been actively paying attention to anyone approaching.

Amelia looked almost as uncomfortable as he was. "Sorry for coming in like this, but you weren’t answering. I’ve been calling you for a while..." She held up the folded clothes and towel in her arms. "I brought these for you. I’ll leave them here."

Adrien recovered quickly. "Thanks."

Amelia placed everything nearby without looking at him for longer than necessary, then turned and left the room. Once she was back in the corridor, she headed toward the kitchen with a slightly awkward expression still on her face.

It wasn’t as though they hadn’t seen each other naked before. That wasn’t what had caught her attention.

It was the scar.

Even during the night they spent together in the capital, her eyes had drifted toward it more than once. The mark across Adrien’s chest was difficult to ignore, and every time she saw it, she was reminded that something serious had happened to him. Something he had still never properly explained to her.

Adrien left the bathroom not long afterward, dressed in the clean clothes Amelia had brought him. The bath had helped more than he expected, even if it had also given him enough quiet time to add several more questions to the ones he already had.

When he reached the dining area, Lucien and Amelia were already there, ready to eat. Lucien looked up as Adrien approached and immediately turned the conversation toward tomorrow’s mission.

"Before we leave tomorrow, I want to know exactly what you have in your arsenal so we can figure out how to work together."