Waking up to the sun gracing the horizon for the first time in recent memory, Henry found himself with an abundance of extra time and no clue how to spend it. Being up this early, he figured he might as well have himself a proper breakfast.
"Mia! Mia, you there?"
Henry shouted in his raspy morning voice, a pitch lower than normal as he sat up in bed waiting for a response. He didn't have to wait long; not more than five seconds later, he could hear his ever-diligent maid rush towards the door.
"Yes, young master, do you need anything?"
She exclaimed in clear shock that her young master was awake this early in the morning. It was a complete coincidence that she had even been within earshot of the room at the time.
"Yes, Mia, come in, and didn't I tell you to call me Henry? I'm not the master of anything around here."
Hearing Henry's words, Mia rushed into the room, her head down, her shoulders slumped with guilt at forgetting Henry's dislike of being called young master.
"I apologize, young uh, I mean Henry, I still don't feel quite comfortable calling you by your first name. What is it that you need from me?"
As Henry looked at his maid's shoulder-length honey brown hair, her expressive dark brown eyes, and her full, rosy, red lips, he couldn't find it in himself to stay upset.
"Don't worry about it as long as you work on it. I called you in here to let you know I'd like to have breakfast today."
"Oh, ok, I'll let the kitchen know then, no problem. It'll probably be 15 minutes," she said while spinning around and heading towards the kitchen with an eagerness to follow his request, not bothering to wait for his reply.
While waiting for his food to be finished, Henry made a quick stop at the buttery to reup on his drink, then promptly made his way to the kitchen to have his breakfast. The smell of bacon on his plate, overloading his senses, he couldn't help but scarf the food down at record pace. As he washed down the food with a large gulp of his spiced ale, he couldn't help but overhear voices outside, along with the sound of wood clashing with wood right inside of his earshot.
It was still the crack of dawn, so hearing all of the ruckus outside that he usually missed had him rather curious. Feeling the urge to satisfy his curiosity, Henry headed in the direction of the noise coming from the front courtyard. When he arrived, he was greeted by a pastel orange backdrop with 20 or so knight apprentices sparring with each other, being supervised by 5 of his father's knights and his older brother. All the apprentices looked exhausted, drenched in a mix of their sparring partner's sweat and their own.
It looks like they've been at it for at least an hour already, he thought while watching the musclebound bodies' impressive feat of athletic ability and endurance. Henry had no appreciation for the sword techniques being used, as he had never even attempted to learn his family's sword art or any rigorous exercise for that matter, unless his brothel performances are included, and even those deserve an asterisk, as his physical conditioning didn't allow for any overly impressive performances.
As he watched one of the larger apprentices spin into a descending blow with his large wooden great sword, completely overwhelming his opponent, he noticed his brother had spotted him from 25 feet away and was heading his way. Howard, like Henry, stood at an even six feet tall, but that was where the similarities between the brothers ended. Howard had his mother's blonde hair with his father's brown eyes and a full, well-built frame, not quite stocky like their father, but not quite lean either, unlike Henry, who had a lanky physique despite his heavy drinking.
"Hey, bro, it's weird seeing you up so early. You came to watch on a great day, though. I'll be sparring later after the apprentices' training is over in preparation for my C rank, rank-up test," Howard exclaimed in his usual simple-minded manner.
"Good for you, Howard, you should probably go back to help those apprentices, though, don't you think?"
"Thanks, and you're probably right. Talk to you later, bro," Howard happily said, not even realizing his younger brother had basically shooed him away.
Not only was Henry too lazy to hold a conversation at the moment, but he also had no idea what a rank-up test even was. He never paid attention to his lessons on the world's power system because he had no intention of ever using it. He did dream of being powerful as a kid, just like any other, but he couldn't even imagine putting himself through the training he was currently witnessing. At this point, most of the trainees were reaching their breaking points with barely any force behind the strikes they forced out through sheer willpower. As Henry worked on reaching the bottom of his jug while instructing a passing maid to keep refilling his jug periodically, the entire morning passed him by. All the drinking finally caught up with him as the sun reached its zenith, causing him to pass out in a dark corner of the courtyard, a good distance from any foot traffic.
"Young master, wake up! The lord is looking for you urgently," Mia blurted as she aggressively shook Henry, who was out cold, making unintelligible groans on the cold, hard stone that had been doubling as his bed for the last few hours.
It took several shakes before Mia roused Henry to full consciousness. He looked at her state of sheer panic and was confused as to why she seemed like his awakening was a life-or-death battle for her. He couldn't tell whether it was a deep respect for his father's orders or a fear of the man himself.
"Alright, Alright, I get it, I'm awake now, calm down. Did he tell you why he's searching for me?"
"How could you forget your family's dinner. Your fiancée and her parents are here to introduce you guys to each other officially," Mia exclaimed, clearly dismayed by the extent of Henry's unmindfulness to the point that not even her professional bearing could conceal it.
After digesting Mia's words, he suddenly recalled his father had indeed mentioned it. However, it had barely registered after he had been compared to his brother, which poked at his poorly hidden inferiority complex. Realizing his father was definitely going to have words for him after the dinner, he had a brief moment of anxiety, but quickly internalized it as useless. His father had never punished him beyond a scolding before, and though he was an intimidating man, years of a lack of discipline had chipped away at Henry's fear of his father.
As Henry wrapped up his thoughts, he started walking toward dinner at a relaxed pace, refusing to let his tardiness affect his mood. As he approached the door, he heard several familiar voices mixed with a few unfamiliar ones. When he opened the door, the lively chatter suddenly stopped, and all six pairs of eyes turned to him, scrutinizing his appearance like a jury.
One pair of eyes, in particular, caught his attention: a young woman with bright auburn hair that shimmered in the light, contrasting beautifully with her glacial ice-blue eyes, which reflected her cold stare. Her full lips were enticing, and her balanced, toned physique suggested extensive training. The look of contempt on her face snapped him out of his reverie as he made his way to his chair. Still, no one spoke as they observed Henry, who reeked of alcohol, his hair disheveled and his clothes unkempt, finally taking a seat.
"Welcome to the Sinclair Barony, Winslow family, I trust you've been having a good time so far," Henry said, trying to lift the awkward atmosphere that seems to appear any time he participates in dinner.
At first, no one responded as they continued to stare, but a few seconds later, he was finally rescued from the uneasy ambiance of the room by his soon-to-be father-in-law, Devin Winslow.
"Yes, your family has been more than hospitable since we've arrived. It's, uh, good to see you after so long. You've certainly changed... Since the last time I saw you," Devin said, trying not to let his disappointment in his future son-in-law shine through his expression and tone.
"Well, as you said, it's been a long time, people change, I guess." Henry kept his reply short and sweet, noticing Devin wasn't exactly impressed with him.
Hearing Henry's conversation-terminating statement, Devin's wife, Kelsey, decided to steer the conversation toward the true purpose of the meal.
"Yes, you're right, we've all changed since our last meeting. My daughter, Ashley, has probably changed the most, though. What do you think about her?"
Hearing her mother's words, Ashley glared at her mother with a look of pure fury. It was obvious she wanted nothing to do with this marriage.
"She looks absolutely beautiful, that's for sure. I'm sure she'll definitely make a good wife," Henry said, trying his best to flatter his fiancée, trying to soften the hostile fire currently blazing in her eyes.
Unfortunately for Henry, his words had the inverse effect of their intended purpose. The words had just left his mouth when Ashley abruptly slammed her palms onto the dining table while simultaneously standing up.
"I've had enough of this! I can't marry a man like him. He reeks of alcohol and incompetence. Just by looking at him, it's obvious that he's untrained, not even foundation establishment level one. How can I possibly consider someone like him my husband? I refuse to accept it, no matter what anyone says."
Ashley shouted, preparing to continue her rant after taking a long breath, but her mother pulled her back down into her chair and shot her an icy glare that silenced any intention she had to keep going. Henry's face flushed a deep red; he had never felt so disrespected in his life. His anger simmered just below the surface, and the worst part was that he had no rebuttal; everything that had been said was true, which only infuriated him more.
Devin could feel that if the situation didn't end immediately, the relationship between the neighboring baronies could be fractured irrevocably.
"Arnold, I hold you in high regard as a baron, as well as a man and a friend. However, you must understand that Ashley is my only child, and given Kelsey's condition, she will always remain our only child. I apologize for her outburst; she shouldn't have lashed out so harshly. I believe she and Henry are simply not a good match. I hope this doesn't affect our relationship."
Devin calmly explained as he got up, signaling for his wife and daughter to do the same.
"Don't worry, old friend, I get your position and won't hold it against you. Come, let me walk you out."
Although Arnold said this, he was actually very embarrassed and used walking them out as an excuse to cool off. After they had walked out of the dining room, Henry, who was still one moment away from exploding, quickly rushed out of the dining room, heading towards his room, leaving his concerned mother and brother, who didn't even know what to say to comfort or calm him down behind.