Chapter 12 - Finding Foster

After speaking with Kyren, Arthur continued to scan the map and familiarize himself with the names and locations of Bernish cities. While he didn't know what route the Revan levies would take, it didn't hurt to have a general understanding of the area.

Soon a knock came from the study door.

"Come in!" Arthur shouted.

Senna entered, pushing a cart of food.

"I thought we agreed you wouldn't be serving me anymore?" Arthur asked, despite knowing how she would respond.

While he hadn't seen her earlier this morning, he did find the wash basin full of fresh water and assumed she had placed it there while he slept.

"If I'm not serving you, what would I do with my day? Laze around until the sun sets?" Senna replied as she placed the plates of food on his desk.

Arthur nodded. "Sure, lazing around is nice."

"No, thank you. I've served as a maid since I was younger than you are now. I'm good at it, and I like it."

"You know, a housewife also cleans and takes care of children. So I'm sure you'd be good at that too, and Mr. Levin seemed rather interested." Arthur paused to gauge her reaction. "What do you think of him?"

"He is... A very nice young man." Senna replied curtly.

'Looks like Levin needs to step up his game.' Arthur thought as he scooped up some eggs with his fork.

"Hey, have you seen Foster by any chance? He was supposed to meet me here this morning." Arthur suddenly asked as Senna made her way to leave.

Senna looked up and thought for a moment. "I don't think I've seen him since last night."

"Hm, ok. Could you tell the guard outside to come in on your way out? I'd like to ask him a question."

Senna nodded, and after she left, the new study guard entered the room.

"Young master." The guard announced with a slight bow.

"Have you seen Foster Welt today by any chance? He's the one who normally guards the study." Arthur asked innocently as he carefully watched the guard's expression.

"I haven't, young master." The guard replied.

He didn't appear to be lying as far as Arthur could tell.

"How strange..." Arthur rubbed his chin and stared off into the distance. "Who should I speak to if I wanted to find him?"

"Captain Onarr handles assignments. You can find him at the guard barracks..." The guard nervously scratched his head. "I'd take you there myself, but I'm not allowed to leave my post."

"No need. Thank you very much for your help!" Arthur replied enthusiastically, leaving the guard unsure how to reciprocate such courtesy.

"I-is that all, young master?"

Arthur nodded. "Yes, sorry for taking up your time."

The guard bowed and exited the room, leaving Arthur alone once more.

"It creeps me out when you speak like that, kid." Kyren said as he pretended to have a chill run up his nonexistent spine.

"The more people that believe I am an innocent and kind child, the better. It'll make them underestimate me whether they intend to or not."

"I know why you do it, but that doesn't make it any less creepy."

Arthur shook his head and laughed. "Anyway, it's time you start earning your keep. Go check the dungeon and see if Foster is there. Elyria has never targeted anyone other than me before, but that was because she lacked targets since I rarely speak to anyone."

"You really think she captured the pretty boy just to mess with you?"

"I don't know. That's why I'm asking you to go check. She may just be acting out, considering I'm leaving the estate in a week."

"I'll go check with this Captain Onarr guy. Come find me after you searched the dungeon." Arthur added as he hid his research journal behind some books on one of the shelves.

He didn't like leaving his journal alone anymore, but it would be odd if he was seen walking around with a book that had a blank cover. Still, he hid it in a different spot than he usually used just to be safe.

Kyren grumbled 'pretty boy this' and 'pretty boy that' as he phased through the wall, but Arthur ignored him. Once his journal was discretely tucked away, he exited the study, nodding to the new guard before he made his way through the Revan manor halls.

The barracks weren't too far from the study despite the size of Revan manor. However, Arthur spotted a couple men walking his way and opted to approach them.

"Ah! Baron Iken, it's been such a long time!" Arthur shouted as he excitedly ran over toward the men.

"Arthur, it's good to see you well." Baron Iken replied as his eyes scanned the area awkwardly.

Arthur smiled innocently and shifted his gaze toward the two men beside Baron Iken that he didn't recognize.

"This is the mercenary group leader Fenric of Fenric's chosen." Baron Iken announced as he realized he hadn't introduced his companions yet.

Fenric looked like a sleazy used car salesman in a cheap suit with a pointed mustache and slicked-back black hair. The aesthetic of Ollerin rarely pleased Arthur, but he couldn't help but silently chuckle at how a man could look so suited to a career that he didn't even know existed.

Arthur nodded to Fenric. "It's nice to meet you, sir. Since you're a mercenary leader, have you been in very many battles?"

Fenric chuckled. "It's nice to meet you too, lord. And to answer your question, I have been fighting battles since I was about your age."

Arthur was taken aback. He expected the man to have a weasely voice that matched his appearance, yet the man's voice was deep and made him sound like some barbarian war hero.

"Wow, so cool!" Arthur gushed with youthful innocence.

"And this is your uncle and heir to the Perick earldom, Garren Perick." Baron Iken announced.

Arthur quickly turned his head in confusion. Why was his uncle here? The Perick's and Revan's weren't exactly on great terms after Arthur's mother's death, and he couldn't imagine his uncle coming here of his own volition.

Garren had curly blonde hair with an athletic build and gave off the exact opposite impression that Fenric had given him. Off his appearance alone, he felt the man was as innocent as Arthur pretended to be. Despite that, when he met Arthur's eyes, Garren quickly looked away rather coldly.

Arthur was taken aback for the second time in less than a minute. He didn't remember ever meeting Garren, so it wasn't like he could've done something to offend the man. If anything, Arthur should be the one upset for the Perick family leaving him in a place where his life was in danger.

He felt insulted by it, but after calming his teenage hormones and looking at the situation rationally, Arthur realized that perhaps the man blamed him for his sister's death. The rest of the world believed she died in childbirth and the Perick family likely thought the same.

"Ah! I've never met anyone from my mother's family! I've always wanted to learn more about my mother. Uncle, you must tell me about her, ok?" Arthur asked excitedly as he quickly moved closer toward Garren.

However, Garren only responded with a nod as he took a step back from the advancing Arthur.

"Ah!" Arthur lightly tapped his forehead as he suddenly stopped. "I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself yet. I am Arthur Revan. It's nice to meet you, uncle."

It was clear that Garren wasn't fond of the attention, so Arthur attempted to salvage the situation. If he truly did blame Arthur for his mother's death, Arthur would kill him with kindness until he stopped blaming him.

Arthur's immediate family was awful, so he'd like to be able to have some family that he was fond of in this world.

Arthur turned his attention back to Baron Iken. "Will uncle and Mr. Fenric be joining us to war?"

"That's correct. We'll also meet up with a few more forces on the road before we reach Bern."

"Father didn't tell me who was in charge of acquiring the supplies for our levies. I hope I'm not expected to oversee it as I wouldn't even know where to begin!"

Baron Iken chuckled. "You don't have to worry about that, Arthur. I'll be handling all of the necessities. All you have to do is follow us."

"Great! I was really worried about it." Arthur pretended to wipe away sweat from his forehead. "When will we go over the plans? I'd like to be there so I can learn as much as possible when we decide our route."

Baron Iken scratched his head awkwardly. "You don't want to sit in for our boring talks, do you?"

"Of course! I'm very interested in how wars are waged and the planning that goes into them. I must be there!" Arthur replied.

Arthur really was interested, he was a bit of a history buff in his first life, and while he had a decent understanding of medieval military tactics, it wouldn't hurt to learn more.

However, the more important reason for him joining the war planning was so that he could plot out a route to escape should he need to. Even with the benefit of an invisible ghost aiding him, he wouldn't feel comfortable until he knew the exact route the army planned to take.

Baron Iken sighed. "I can't be the one to keep a boy from learning about war. We arrived late last night, so we're going to rest today, but tomorrow I'll send someone to come and bring you to the camp."

"Great! Thanks so much!" Arthur shouted before sending the trio off.

Now alone, he headed over to the barracks.

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