The Dreamer's POV

[Moments Earlier]

[01 Months: 11 Days: 00 Hours]

I stood at the grand entrance of the Lyma Family estate, flanked by Drius, as the carriages rolled to a stop.

My heart was calm, but I could feel myself rife with anticipation as the Lyma family members began to disembark.

As they emerged from their carriages, Fiona, Margarette, and their children looked around, taking in the immaculate surroundings.

Eleanor and William exchanged hushed comments about the estate's appearance, while Margarette and her three children whispered in awe. It was clear that they were impressed, though they tried to hide it.

'It's a good thing I memorized all of their names and features prior to this moment.'

None of them were strangers in my eyes.

Sarah, the family matriarch, was the last to step down from her carriage. With her grey hair and piercing emerald eyes, she radiated an air of authority.

I couldn't help but smile at her, and it seemed she noticed it.

As much as she tried to hide her scowl, it was obvious how dissatisfied she was with the current state of the estate.

All of their shocked expressions were bare for me to see.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

I even heard her whisper some words to herself, which further amused me.

However, after watching for a few seconds, seeing as the guards around had bowed and everything was settled enough for a proper address, I nodded at Druis and we both left out positions to greet rhem.

"Lady Sarah," I began in my guise as the faithful butler Luke, "welcome back to your family's estate."

She regarded me with a cold, discerning gaze. "And who are you, young man? I don't recall having seen you before."

'Bullshit. You must have done your homework before arriving here.' My thoughts echoed as I heard her response.

Surely they must have been aware of the state of the Lyma Capital, to a good extent, and so they should have known about my involvement with the Lyma Family.

However, for the sake of their narrative, I already knew this would be their default reaction.

I maintained my composure and replied with a steady voice, "I am Luke, the chief butler of this estate."

Sarah's eyebrows furrowed, and her lips formed a thin line of displeasure. "Head butler, you say? What happened to Oswald, the longtime butler here?"

Once again, she was playing dumb.

I didn't know whether to be irritated or impressed by how far this shameless old woman was willing to go in order to conceal her knowledge of what happened here?

'She's acting like she's unaware of Oswald's death… how distasteful .'

Even though this was my first time meeting the lot of these people, I could already tell they were bad news.

It was a good thing I already made the appropriate preparations before their arrival.

Drius, standing beside me, interjected. "Lady Sarah, Oswald has passed on. He died while defending the late Duke from the invaders. However, per his will and the will of my late Lord, Luke has assumed that role now."

I watched as Theo's grandmother tried her best to hide the hostility in her gaze as she smiled sweetly at Drius—the same guy she had ignored till now.

"I'm just concerned about his competence is all."

"Luke is highly capable and has been diligently overseeing the estate. As you can well see for yourself…"

I smiled at Drius' words. I couldn't have said it any better myself.

'I know he partly did it to spite them, but he sure sounds genuine.'

Sarah's disapproval remained evident, but she said nothing more on the matter. Instead, she turned her attention to me once more.

"Explain why my grandson, Theo, has not come out to greet us."

'Haha! About time you asked.' I suppressed a wider grin as I maintained my polite tone and bow to the old woman.

I could already tell that she felt incredibly slighted that Theo hadn't come out to greet her.

… Just as I wanted!

I cleared my throat and finally spoke on the matter.

"Regrettably, Lord Theo will not be seeing you for the time being. However, there is a reasonable explanation for this."

Sarah's expression shifted to one of impatience, but she nodded, granting permission for me to speak.

I gestured toward the entrance of the mansion. "Please, allow me to provide some context. Lord Theo has been working tirelessly to ensure that the estate is prepared to receive you. He has been overseeing the details of the city's construction and the Estate's designs in order to suit your tastes.

He has not had a proper rest all night, and so after pushing himself so hard for you all, he collapsed to rest."

I gazed at her audaciously as I finished speaking, wondering what her response would be.

'You just heard that your dear grandson has gone so far for you. What will you do as a loving grandmother? Will you still be upset that he didn't come to greet you? Or will you be understanding?'

Either way, it was her loss.

Drius chimed in, his voice carrying the weight of his loyalty. "Lord Theo wishes to make your visit as comfortable as possible, Lady Sarah. He also thought it best to greet you after you've had a chance to freshen up and relax."

Sarah's annoyance was evident at this point, so I decided to add a few soothing words to the mix.

"You have had a long journey and must be tired. Why not freshen up first before meeting the Lord of the house?"

The moment I said that, I felt a huge wave of malice from her.

She didn't even hide it this time, but what did I care?

I had already achieved my goal.

'What will you do now? You're stuck between a rock and a hard place.'

Accepting our excuse would reduce her authority, allowing her to swallow an obvious sign of disregard on our part.

However, if she made it such a big issue, she would be seen as highly insensitive and tyrannical.

That would look bad for someone who was meant to help soothe her grandson who had just lost his entire family.

"Very well, we shall follow your suggestion. Lead the way." Old lady Sarah finally spoke after a few seconds of silence.

It seemed she had already made her decision; picking the lesser of the two evils.

With that, the Lyma family reluctantly followed me into the mansion.

It was clear that they were not entirely pleased with the situation, but their noble pride dictated that they adhere to protocol.

As we reached the grand foyer, I turned to address the family. "Please, make yourselves at home. Each of you will have your own quarters to freshen up."

I could sense the glares coming from the two daughters of the old lady, and even the children seemed displeased by my words.

'It seems like even they have been corrupted…'

Upon sending such defiance, I decided to reward them with more gentle words.

"Once Lord Theo is ready, he will receive you for an audience."

They all knew what that meant, and the fact that Drius nodded after I said those words—indicating his approval—showed the family members their place in the hierarchy.

It was better to establish that now than later.

Despite how far I pushed then, though, they all followed my lead—albeit grudgingly—heading to their respective rooms.

Of course, since this was a mansion, each person had their assigned rooms, but I ensured they were all placed beside one another since they were most likely going to have meetings together.

I was a considerate butler, after all.

'They're bound to be more careful about their agenda now that they're here, but that won't stop them from making plans and communicating.'

There was no need to rush. It would all happen in due time.

I couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction that they had acquiesced, their noble lineage compelling them to follow tradition and decorum.

How long would they be able to keep up their pretense and hold in their disgusting greed, though? I could only wait and see.

Everything they saw today was only the start, after all.

More was to come.

'I just have to be a little more patient.'

*******

Sarah lodged into her room silently, looking at the walls around her with her aged eyes as she made her way to the bed.

Her enchanted necklace told her there were no monitoring artifacts near her vicinity, which meant the area was clear.

Still, she wasn't going to take her chances—not after she had just been greatly surprised by all that happened before her eyes.

'So this is how it's going to go, huh?'

Her plan was to be as subtle as possible, but with all she had now witnessed, her strategy had to be revised a little more.

'Still, I intend on winning.' Her wrinkled face formed a wide smile.

'And when I do, you'll regret ever defying me… Theo.'

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[A/N]

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