Game of Thrones: King of Magic

Chapter 45

Solomon. Braavos.

The conversation with Orys was, for lack of a better word, empty and short. I didn't press him, and he wasn't eager to share his story. Of course, he realized the conversation was Velano-related, so we just had a few words, and then Oris went back to training.

Honestly, I wouldn't even try to question him. It was his own business, and that of his family, which meant there was no point in my interference, even given Velano's request. It was clear to me, however, that Oris was not comfortable with his brother's hyper-parenting, and that was no surprise to me.

Now I was standing in front of Kirana's mansion when the appointed time came. The setting sun illuminated the clean and soft-green-patterned walls of the three-story building, the glass windows, the stone fence, and the metal gate, which bore a gemstone symbol of the same color as the patterns.

The mansion was southeast of the Sea Lord's palace, and the Moon Pond and Iron Bank were within walking distance of here, no more than three hundred meters, I'd say, indicating Kirana's importance and wealth as a person to this city as a whole.

What caught my attention, however, was not the mansion itself or the surrounding area, but the presence of the enclosed field around it. It was extremely subtle and almost imperceptible, yet very skillfully crafted for this world. I guess my assumption that Kirana belonged to a rather ancient family of mages was confirmed.

Two guards stood at the gate, and upon seeing me they bowed respectfully and let me inside without further ado. And right behind them in two rows stood four women, dressed in clean and well-groomed servants' outfits, consisting of an apron, a cloth corset and bonnet, as well as a simple long dress with lacing on the back.

They repeated the actions of the guards, and then one of them stepped forward and approached me. This woman was distinguished by the different color of the bonnet, corresponding to the emblem on the gate, and by her age, for she looked to be somewhere around forty-five years old, than at least a dozen more than the others.

- It is a pleasure to welcome you, Master Solomon," she began in a polite and professional tone, "I am Sele, the head maid and manager of this house. Mistress Kirana is already waiting for you. Please follow me.

I nodded briefly and thought for a moment as Sele led me inside.

Honestly, this reception is very... pompous and showy. It's almost as if this is Kirana's way of trying to show how powerful she is and what she owns. It's like she's trying to impress me. I suppose her method is quite effective if it were someone else and not me.

The interior decoration also matched the exterior. Every detail of the interior had been scrubbed to a shine. The rich furniture, paintings, wall decorations, floor and ceiling directly sparkled with cleanliness and harmoniously complemented each other. There was an air of... perfection inside, to put it in one word, and I found it unusual rather than anything attractive or impressive.

After a short time, Sele led me into a very spacious room, as the ceiling height was two full stories high. Inside, there were supporting wooden columns, a decent amount of comfortable furniture, and large windows that let in a huge amount of natural light. But the most remarkable thing was the number of shelves with various books, which occupied two walls of four to the ceiling.

When I looked away from my surroundings, I found Kirana in one of the chairs, reading a book in a refined pose, with a bottle and two glasses on the table in front of her, one of which was empty. She looked engrossed, but I knew Kirana had noticed me and was just pretending not to notice me. After-all, the mana in the enclosed field matched hers. I guess she paid too much attention to first impressions.