Eloise

Chapter 21: Sapphire

Kneeling on one knee, Reaver swept the dried leaves covering the letters inscribed in the headstone using his bare hands.

"Here lieth the body of Seth Ambrose."

He smiled bitterly at the epitaph, placing the freshly picked zinnia flowers.

"You're here."

He recognized the voice but never bothered to spare a glance. The man approached, looking at the gravestone with curious eyes.

"Is he a family perhaps?" He inquired.

"I have no such thing," Reaver answered in a flat tone, his eyes had no visible emotion as he continued his next words, "He's one of those I failed."

The man was left with much confusion after hearing his answer but after working as his right-hand for years, Raymond never bothered to ask again. Reaver was always vague on giving answers regarding his past.

"I heard that you're going back to the North." He asked, remembering his real motive for approaching him.

At his last inquiry, he finally succeeded in getting his interest. Reaver's eyes faltered for a moment, recalling the events at the festival. Those pair of sapphire eyes left a strong impression on him and the last emotion he saw from them left him with curiosity. At those fleeting moments, her pair of blue eyes displayed fear as if she recognized him. But he was adamant he saw her for the first time.

"Raymond, do you perhaps know a noble lady with wavy lilac hair?"

"Lilac? That's an unusual color." Raymond's brows creased but he tried to rack his memory anyway. "Oh! Do you mean.. Count Credieu's daughter? I forgot his name though. She's the only woman in the kingdom with that hair color and she's a remarkable beauty."

"Credieu? I thought he only have spineless offsprings." Reaver scoffed, comparing the courageous woman who shot him with an arrow to his past encounters with her cowardly and spoiled siblings. The eldest son in particular was a shameless bastard who only knew how to run his mouth and use his family's wealth to escape trouble.

"Yeah. Eloise, the Wallflower. The social circle gave her that title as she never talk nor try to befriend anyone. She was very elusive and private eversince she debuted."

"We had an errand with their family before but I've never heard of her."

"I heard that the Count treasures her so much to the point of keeping her from the public's eye."

Reaver's brows creased in confusion. He can't be wrong, those eyes displayed recognition and fear. It was the exact same gaze he receives from people who know about his job. "Perhaps, is she a former client?"

"I don't think so. Why would he seek help from mercenaries if she has the powerful Fleiss Duchy on her back? The Lucianus Order won't let her be in danger's way."

He was taken aback by the latter part of his answer. His expression clearly speaks of what he felt at that moment, "She's the Duchess of Fleiss?"

"Yes, she's Duke Fleiss' wife, the war hero. So do not be interested too much, you won't want to be tangled in trouble with a very powerful man."

As he expected, she was a high ranking noble based on her huge entourage. Because of the chaos, he failed to recognize the insignia of the Lucianus Order marking their respective armor.

"But why do you ask?"

'Because she nearly killed me at our first meeting', he kept the thoughts in his mind and instead flashed a smile, getting a clear picture on his mind.