Guided by maids and the familiar old butler Thetford, they entered the mansion.
Relia decided to separate from them during this. The whole purpose of her trip to the capital was for her coming-of-age ceremony, and with only 2 weeks to prepare, she had a large amount of work to do in a very short amount of time.
"Let's meet in the afternoon."
Relia smiled before turning to Thetford,
"Have someone guide them to their rooms."
The old butler nodded with a bow,
"Of course, your highness."
As they walked through the hallways, they looked around in awe.
Everything just looked so expensive, whether it be the carpet they were walking on, the various paintings on the wall, or even the intricately decorated windows that gave a beautiful view of the garden in the backyard.
Too many expensive things could sometimes look out of place, yet there was a harmony to it all; the quality of everything was high, and they were similar enough that they seemed to fit together.
But those details weren't what Aria and Ren noted; instead, it was the person guiding them.
Interestingly, Thetford didn't have a maid or another butler to guide them, but decided to do it himself.
Was it because he was still suspicious of the pair?
Far from it, he just felt that it was the right thing to do. He then glanced back and chuckled at their reaction.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?"
Aria nodded briskly while Ren smiled brightly.
"Yes, it truly is."
"It really is beautiful! Whether it's the garden or how well the halls are maintained."
"Huu, although I don't manage the mansion directly, I'll be sure to convey your words to the head maid that does."
As they continued to walk, Thetford was thinking about what to say.
It was quite an odd problem for the butler.
He had served the family for years and had talked to many people, whether they be workers from the lower class or the duke himself; he also once met the emperor.
But for some reason, he didn't know what to say to the two; could it have been because they were his grandchildren's age? What words could he say that would interest the two?
'Gosh, I don't even know what this generation of kids like…'
Another reason that he couldn't find the words to say was that he felt bad for how he treated them when he met them. He had given Aria a potion to make amends, but the old man felt that wasn't enough.
Before any more thinking could be done, Ren asked the butler a question.
"Excuse me, sir,"
"You can call me Thetford."
"Then Thetford, how long have you worked as a butler?"
Thetford couldn't help but raise a brow at the question.
'He didn't ask about the mansion, but me? Why?'
Looking at Ren's gaze, he found it on…
'Ah, he must be curious about my past.'
Ren was looking at Thetford's frame, his eyes held curiosity about why such a well-built man was a butler instead of a knight.
"Do you know about the Golden Dragon Order?"
Ren nodded,
"Yes, I don't know the specifics, but Sir Hale mentioned that he was a captain of the squad."
"Haha, that Brat really told you nothing."
At Thetford's laugh, Ren tilted his head in confusion,
'Brat? Mr. Hale is a brat?'
Before Ren could ask more, Thetford spoke, explaining the order briefly
"It is an order comprised of 5 squads made up of rank 3s and above, with a captain for each squad at rank 4 or 5. Hale is the captain of the 1st squad and is subsequently the strongest in the order."
Thetford's eyes held a glint of nostalgia.
"I was the former captain of the 1st squad. I got injured protecting someone while on a mission and retired. Now I am just a regular old butler."
It was pretty easy to put the pieces together; the two could tell that Thetford was rank 3, since a captain is rank 4 or 5, his rank must have dropped when he got injured, and he became a butler afterwards.
Thetford laughed as they stared at him.
"It's a pretty boring story, isn't it?"
Ren smiled, shaking his head,
"No, Thetford, it isn't boring. I think you're really admirable."
"Admirable?"
"I mean, don't you wield the sword to protect something? Since you did that, doesn't that make you admirable?"
Ren's words were spoken matter-of-factly, which caused Thetford to pause.
'To protect something…'
Thetford smiled at the words.
"Thank you, Sir Ren."
"Sir? You can just call me Ren."
"Haha, how can I treat our benefactors so carelessly?"
…
"Here is your room. If you two need anything, just ask a passing maid or butler. Someone will visit during dinner time."
"Thanks, Thetford."
"Thank you, Sir."
Thetford bowed professionally before walking away.
Despite how large the mansion was, with an seemingly uncountable amount of rooms, the two decided to stay in the same room.
'A mage will have a harder time defending themselves in a cramped room.'
'If I want to discuss things with Ren, being in the same room will make it easier.'
In their excuses, they entered the room.
"Whoa!"
"..."
The interior was luxurious; looking straight ahead, there were two chairs and a table next to a window overlooking the garden behind the mansion.
Looking to the left, there was a white marble bathroom with warm sunlight seeping through an opaque window.
Looking around, the floor had an expensive-looking carpet, and there were multiple lamps that emitted traces of mana neatly placed around the room.
Finally, looking to the right, they found the bed.
A bed.
A singular bed.
One bed.
It was obvious that this would happen when they asked for the same room, but seeing it was a different story.
Staring at the bed, the two slowly turned to each other in silence before turning away and walking to the window.
Ren grinned, looking out the window and into the garden.
"Nice room, huh?"
Aria nodded,
"Yes, the interior is… nice."
"..."
"..."
They stared out in silence.
…
"Aria?"
After a while, Ren called out to Aria. They didn't have much time after all, a break was good, but work was important.
Strangely, Aria didn't reply, causing him to turn and find her staring out the window with a dazed expression.
'Is she okay?'
Ren grew concerned and called her name while shaking her shoulder.
"Ariaaaaa, are you ther-"
Aria quickly pushed him away with a blush.
"It's too early for that!"
"W-what's too early?"
"Ah! I mean, yeah, I'm here. Is something wrong?"
Tilting his head in confusion, Ren smiled, shaking the thoughts away.
"Yeah, we don't have time; we need to create more veins to rank up. We have about 3 hours before dinner time, so we might as well use them."
With a cough, Aria's expression stabilised as she nodded in agreement.
"That's right, and since we're in a safe location, we can both start making veins at the same time."
"Now that we have a rank 3 Mana Gem, our speed will increase."
Although they could stay calm and collected in most situations, having a safe room to be in would help maintain the stable mind required for ranking up.
Instead of having one keep watch while the other builds their veins, they could both start increasing their speed tremendously.
The rank 3 mana gem didn't need an explanation,
With it, they didn't need to think about mana consumption.
Although higher-ranking mana was hard to control, with their experience, that problem was irrelevant.
And so for the next 3 hours, the two started building their Mana Veins.