A Vow under the Moonlight

Chapter 5: Tension

It had been days since that encounter in the forest. Cassandra had not met the man again, nor did anything unusual happen for her to take note of. She and her children were living a blissfully uneventful life. Thankfully, other than Victoria's usual harassment, she and her children could do what they wanted in their wing.

Then came an unusual invitation from her cousin the baron.

Keith Williams is a busy man who was often away due to expeditions and missions issued directly by his direct superior, the Duke of Eamon, Ruler of the North and Leader of the Northern Knights Order. He usually does not have any time for social events, and he does not have much patience for them, but this time he uncharacteristically invites her to attend a parade.

"Uncle Keith only invited you?" Denise pouted as she read through the letter the servant sent earlier. "Why only Mother and not us as well?"

"Who knows," Cassandra said as she prepared for the said event. Placing simple jewelry to complement her dark green dress, she made sure her hair was not out of place. She did it herself, as she does not like servants in her room as much as necessary.

"He rarely asked for my presence in social functions. These things are Victoria's specialty." Finding her looks acceptable, she turned to her children.

"Is it really from Uncle Keith?" Damian was doubtful of the letter's origin. "The baroness could have used the seal to fool you, Mother. It's not the first time she's done something like this."

"This is a genuine one," Cassandra said as she took the letter away from her children. "There are some peculiar words that we only use in this letter. Words I'll be teaching you later to identify if a family is genuinely trying to communicate with you."

Damian beamed at the idea of learning something new, while Denise could only frown at the prospect of it. Between the two, Damian prefers to be homely; reading and studying are his choices of activity if he gets to choose. Denise, on the other hand, prefers to move more; swordsmanship and outings are her preference. With the invitation at hand, it was obvious why Denise was frowning, as she really likes to go out.

Cassandra does not mind her children tagging along. She understood the importance of early exposures and building a network. Denise does have the knack for it, and she had been learning well under Madam Cynthia before the woman was dismissed, despite not having much interest in the subtle arts of nobility.

Damian, on the other hand, is more passive in regard to social events and would choose to stay home if he could. He does not really like the crowd, as his senses are easy to get overwhelmed. Especially when he gets surrounded by his peers at the same age who do not really know how to control themselves.

Oftentimes he attends where he is needed out of his desire to exercise his lessons to practice. Though he will try to avoid those of his peers, invitations from Madam Cynthia, who invests in his development after he keeps on meeting her expectations and more, are something he goes out of his way for. Out of the three in their family, he more or less knew more about the senior nobles and was viewed quite favorably by them.

"Can I skip on that mother?" Denise said as she slumped on the sofa in dejection. "I don't like more lessons. The new teacher, the baroness found, gave too much for a day."

This made Cassandra pause a little and made a consideration of her own study plans. The new teacher was indeed a slaver to his students. Qualifications-wise he has an excellent record. A graduate from the imperial academy who earned honors during his term there. However, he embodied the capital's way of thinking and more often uses teaching that contradicts how the north does things.

"Don't worry about it, dear; I'll raise this issue with Keith after all the parade," Cassandra said as she patted her daughter's head. "I'll try my best to get Madam Cynthia to teach you two again. I already had talks with Vivian about it, but we do need your uncle's approval before any arrangements are made to avoid another ire from Victoria."

This cheered the girl's mood a little, and she no longer grumbled. Her boy, on the other hand, was absolutely delighted at the news. He does not like to vocalize his displeasure, but it was clear he really does not like the new teacher as much as his twin does.

Giving a few instructions, she then. Left for the parade. Once she was out of the mansion's western wing, she was greeted by a familiar servant who personally attends to the baron. Making a little nod to acknowledge the man, she was then escorted to a carriage.

Inside she was given a brief context about what the parade was about. Apparently the duke has finished his expedition early and is making a stop at the barony before heading to his estate. The servant said it was an impromptu decision, and the Baron is doing his best to accommodate his lord pending arrival.

Normally it will be the baroness who will handle the welcoming, but she was still preoccupied with the capital nobles who are still in the territory. As much as she has to uphold his duties to her husband's lord coming, she cannot split herself in half to be in two places at once.

Cassandra understood why she was called out for the function after hearing the reasoning. There is no other member of the family to handle the task at the moment. As a cousin, who is technically under the baron's protection and the closest option to work without bringing too much of a sensation to the duke.

She heard the man was still unwed. There are other blood relatives at home who can take on the task, but it may bring scandal to them if they personally meet the knights and the duke themselves. The duke was a well-known liberal who was said to have lovers of all sexes. To protect their reputation and their marriage prospects, her being the mother of 2 children makes her a safer person to go out with.

"How far are the men from the territory?" Cassandra said as she mentally calculated how long she had to make a simple welcome with her available resources for the knights and arrange their dwellings for the night. She does not have much for a feast, as Victoria did use a number of ingredients to host the capital delegations at her ball a few days earlier.

"They should arrive in 5 hours, my lady," the servant faithfully reported. He handed her a list of what resources they can use and how much they could spare to maintain normal household activities before the next harvest and shipment arrive.

"... I will try to make it work." Cassandra's head ached hearing the tight schedule. "The cooks could make something for them in five hours, but I'll probably have to borrow a few of your men to fetch a few ingredients for them. Do you have any spare men you can lend me?"

"I'll try to get as much manpower as we can," the servant could only say.

"I guess Victoria had most of the servants attend the capital nobles," Cassandra stated as she tried to think of what could be done without offending the duke. "We can seek help from the villagers nearby for temporary manpower. It may reflect badly on the baron, but we've done our best. How about the place they could stay?"

"The southern wing could host the duke and a few of his officers. The rest of the knights could stay at the barracks. It was cleaned and polished earlier in preparation for the delegates, so it could be utilized at this time," the servant replied promptly. "The problem with it was the baroness. She might not allow us to get any extra cleaning or finishing touches on them before the knights arrive."

"I'll talk with Keith about that later." Cassandra dutifully noted the residence will have no problem in the meantime. Victoria may make it hard for her, but she will not risk compromising her husband's honor for petty gains.

They discussed a few more details that the servant will immediately execute the moment they arrive at the territory boundary. They addressed what they could think of at the moment and could only hope that nothing unexpected would happen. If it did, they will truly be at a loss. The time is too tight, and they don't have much for a fitting welcome.

Arriving at the boundary, Cassandra looked at the outpost near the river that ended the territory of Williams. It was a modest building, but it gives enough shelter for those assigned here. Taking the servant's hand, who helped her out of the carriage, she then spotted her cousin, who was busy giving instructions to his men to probably hunt a few game to add to the feast.

He must have heard her arrival and turned to look in her direction. His red hair was like fire under the sun; his steel eyes looked striking as they looked at her with precision. Meeting his gaze, she gestured to him that she needed to talk with him. The man nodded as he gave a few more instructions to the men.

Cassandra was guided to the outpost, where simple furniture was placed. There was a table for food and games and a few weapons lying around for easy access should there be an attack. The servant brought her to a side where a small room was found. This should be a captain's office where a few documents are stored and taken care of by the highest officer in the outpost.

Finding a seat for herself, the servant dismissed himself to get her a refresher or a snack while she talked with his lord.

Not long after the servant left, her cousin stepped into the office. He took off his heavy coat carelessly and placed it on the desk as he took his seat. He looked tired and probably too stressed at the sudden visit from his lord.

"Dear cousin, I'm sorry for putting you on the spot," the man said with exhaustion in his voice. "There are too many things that are happening at once, and I'm honestly overwhelmed with everything."

"Considering the timing and all, I understand where you are coming from," Cassandra could only say. "I'm happy to help, but what is wrong with this year that all sorts of people are crowding at your territory? For a baron, you are hosting quite a number of high-ranking people at your home."

"Don't remind me." The man covered his face in his distress. "I don't know which i***t decided the north to be a good place to determine political dominance, but they apparently chose my territory as a common ground for them to settle in. I didn't get a say on it until people were near; my lord did hear a few whispers about it, but we didn't mind it, as the capital and the north work differently in terms of function and way of life."

Cassandra narrowed her eyes at the information. It was really an unusual situation. No nobles will carelessly try to cross another noble unless there is something high at stake. And with how her cousin is usually not in touch in most of the political games, as he is often away, it is clear that he was only a scapegoat used for convenience.