Summoner Of Death

Chapter 9

After the unfortunate incident with Guiche Montmorency had become rather melancholy, part of her felt foolish for not predicting her paramours' actions. The whole thing had left her angry at Guiche, disappointed in herself for failing to predict this, and spiteful of the first year that had garnered his attention.

Thus when one of her professors was injured Montmorency took it as an opportunity to return to her family estate. She planned to spend the day in her childhood home, have dinner with her family and return to the academy by carriage after breakfast the following morning.

Her familiar robin had been quite irate at having to travel with her in the carriage and had bounced around for the first hour of their journey. Luckily he had run out of energy and now simply relaxed atop her head, half asleep.

She peered out the carriage window a frown pulling on her lips as she spotted the water-damaged village houses as they passed through a small hamlet. Clearly the issues with the water spirit hadn't improved since last she visited. She couldn't resist the urge to worry her lip between her teeth, logically it wasn't a problem she could help with but it still gnawed at the back of her mind. The peasants relocating was annoying enough but if the other nobles found out. It would make the Montmorency family appear weak,

Eventually, she caught sight of a large manor rising in the distance calmed her worries. It was constructed primarily of basalt and granite giving the building a rather dark appearance. While far from the most expensive or famous building it was noted as one of the oldest in Tristain. It had originally been built during the first age after the fall of Brimir and had remained the home of the Montmorency family since its construction.

To some the old architecture would no doubt be intimidating, the walls surrounding the central building made it more reminiscent of a fortress than the usual noble manor. It also lacked some of the grander opulence modern manors held yet the Montmorency family maintained the stance its history spoke for itself.

Passing through the gate a few groundskeepers bowed to her carriage's passing, a grand yew door greeted her as she dismounted the carriage. A Butler stood to greet her, an older man by the name Benoit. He had been hired onto their staff before Montmorency had even been born and his presence had been a constant throughout her life. While he was a simple commoner he was full of warmth and kindly wisdom that had always been a source of comfort for her.

"My lady, your mother is prepared to meet you in the dining hall, would you like me to accompany you?" Benoit explained with a small bow, Montemocracy nodded her assent. He gave a small smile, rising to push the large oak doors open to reveal the entrance hall, familiar high walls decorated with fine tapestry greeted her.

Seeing the dark blue carpet filled her with the urge to remove her shoes to properly feel the soft texture as she had as a child. Alas, she was beyond the age where such behavior would be acceptable, thus with an internal sigh, she began the long walk to the dining hall. Only stopping to hand off Robin to one of the cleaning staff, ordering them to take her precious familiar to the back garden.

The long winding halls may have been intimidating to one unfamiliar with the house but the imposing halls only further calmed Montmorency. She had spent ages in this ancient manor as a child exploring all sorts of nooks and crannies that had been forgotten over the ages; she had once used the servants' passages to hide from her calligraphy lessons. It had taken the servants hours to find her and it had gotten her tutor fired, despite what some would consider an unfair punishment placed upon the tutor it was still a very fond memory for her.