The conversation in the Main Hall of Blood Denegis, between the six oldest members of the Blood, stretched for another two hours before concluding.
Many subjects were talked about there.
About when will the Patriarch address the Wardens, when will he announce to the public the death of the High Monarch, the imminent danger that will soon befall them all, and many others.
But during this, Blanc stood silent almost the entire time, as he was left out.
He only asked questions that were of interest to him on various subjects discussed as he tended to his wound, using some of the silk on the table to wrap around it.
But, soon after the meeting concluded, he left the main hall, bidding a good night to his family.
Before he retreated to his room, though, he made a quick stop in Lune’s room to check on her and to retrieve the wooden box he received from the old butcher that he had left in there when they went to dinner. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on novel⸺fire.net
Lune was sleeping peacefully, her breath steady. He took some hair that had fallen over her face and put it behind her ear.
But not wanting to disturb her further, or worse, wake her up, he took the box and left straight for his room.
His room was considered bland if one looked at it with the standard of the Noble Bloods. But it was enough for him.
The room was wide, with a double bed in one of the corners of the room, and a door that led to a large balcony with a small table and three chairs that Blanc loved to use as his meditating spot as he looked over the gardens below, the fields that stretched as far as the eye could see, The lights of the city-fortress of Duldera painted the night sky a beautiful shade of orange, or the mighty Golden Forest that, for his Blood, was more than a forest. It was the foundation upon which his Ancestors built their influence.
When the Senvia Empire was formed, a system was developed by the Noble Bloods and the High Monarch of those times.
A system upon which the seats of power retained their power for generations.
The densely populated environments of Raw Vita, such as lakes and rivers, forests and mountains, jungles and deserts, were to be controlled by Noble Bloods, ensuring the Blood had a consistent amount of Raw Vita to harvest for themselves, ensuring the Noble Bloods a genetic superior advantage over the common folk.
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This system also introduced a law that forbade the commoners from entering such highly desired areas.
The penalty for breaking this law ranges from a hefty fine for entering, all the way up to the death sentence if the person who broke the law was found with Raw Vita harvested or hunting beasts for their Raw Vita.
That was why the Golden Forest was so valuable to Blanc and his Blood. And that was why he also found it very beautiful to look at.
The walls of his room were not decorated with pictures, nor with any achievements or artifacts. They were a simple gray color, decorated with the bow he always used to take on his hunts.
But by no means was this room of his empty.
A shelf sat on the opposite side of his bed. The shelf was full of books of all kinds that Blanc had read during his eighteen years.
Many subjects brought interest to the young man. A history of all the great battles of the world written by witnesses over the millennia.
Botany, as he always loved in his hunts, imagined himself living in the woods as a nobody, surviving on his skills and the bounty of the earth.
And many more such subjects, from customs of nobility, philosophy, and poetry, to basic stories, about Raw Vita and the Creatures of True Vita that walked the world, that are used to put Noble babies to sleep.
As he entered the room, he set the wooden box near the book-filled shelf before taking a seat on the corner of his bed for a moment, not thinking of anything in particular, just watching the floor with empty eyes.
But, this too ended soon, as he never liked to sit in that state for too long, because it made him feel like he had enough time to spend on doing nothing, which he did not.
So, he got up, took down the clothes he wore, letting all his Marks breathe for a few moments as he took fresh, comfortable clothes from a small cabinet near his bed in his hands, and with the day finally catching up with him, he departed to bathe.
The bathroom was nothing too special, a simple recessed bath built into the floor. Each wing of the mansion had one. And they were only used when they were needed.
But all the members of the Noble Bloods had to bathe at least once a day to ensure health and proper hygiene.
Or to show off to the commoners, Blanc thought.
Nonetheless, a maid was waiting. As soon as Blanc entered, his Marks now hidden beneath a silk bathing robe, she set to work using artifacts found in every Imperial household to prepare the bath.
By the time he had finished setting down the clothes he had brought with him, the water was already ready for him to slip into once the maid left the bath.
Ten minutes later, after washing all the dirt and sweat that he had on, after today’s hunt and the death-bringing punch he received from his father, he got up, got dressed, and returned to his room.
Once in, he jumped straight into bed, snuffed out any candles that were lit near his bed, and went to sleep.
Or… at least that was what Blanc hoped. Even an hour later, an hour full of shuffling around, trying every position he ever slept in, he could not manage to drift off.
His thoughts were full of worries, questions, and questions that spiraled into never-ending conversations and debates in his head, which created more worries.
The worries were soon silenced by a knock at the door. “Blanc, are you asleep?”
“Mom?” asked Blanc, recognizing the voice. “No, come on in.”