CHAPTER 24: THE GARDEN

(A/N Big thanks to

Talvin_Shiji

Talvin

For the power stones, they mean a lot. As usual, please don’t hesitate to comment or drop a review. ENJOY)

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After breakfast, Erevan and Zurvan stepped out. Orion had no idea where they were headed, but at this point, he couldn’t be bothered.

He planned on using the time he still had before the tour to grind some of his proficiencies.

’I can’t use temporal distortion indoors, so I’ll just work on ’The Seer’ until I run out of mana, then focus on absorbing mana into my Nexus, ’ He thought, outlining his next steps.

A few hours passed in continuous repetition before Isolde came to inform him that Alice was ready.

He got up and headed outside the room to find Alice waiting for him. She wore a white frilly gown with blue flower patterns, complementing her pure white hair.

Orion looked at her outfit before turning to her face, which held a shy expression. He could tell she was excited, but that excitement was being hampered by nervousness.

"You look wonderful, Lady Alice," Orion complimented her, knowing full well the effect it would have on her.

"Thank you, you also look wonderful, young lord," She stammered out, while trying to avoid eye contact and hide the blush on her face.

’Wow, isn’t she like seven?’ Orion thought, amused by the teenage-like expression on her face.

"Oh, please, my outfit isn’t that special, I almost feel bad for not dressing properly for the occasion. And please, you can refer to me as Orion, young lord is a bit over the top," Orion said with a wry grin. He was currently wearing a pure white tunic and black pants.

"Not at all, I think the outfit looks great on you, and I can’t possibly refer to you by your name, that would be disrespectful," Alice said, her expression bordering on seriousness.

"How about this, I’ll refer to you by your first name and you do the same," Orion said with a grin.

"I really don’t think that would be proper," Alice said, hesitating.

Orion’s expression suddenly became downcast. " I never thought I would be refused by the first person I tried to befriend," he said with a sigh.

"No, no no... that’s not what I meant, I would never refuse to be your friend, I just meant.." Alice said with a panicked expression, trying to explain herself.

"Young master, I don’t think it’s proper to tease Lady Alice like that," Isolde said from behind them, sympathizing with the young girl.

Orion just chuckled.

"So would you like to be my friend, Alice?" He said, extending his hand toward her.

Alice looked at his outstretched hand, then his face, which had a grin on it. She hesitated for a while before stretching her own hand and taking his.

"I would love to.... Orion," She said with a nervous smile.

"Great, I’m looking forward to this tour. Where are we heading first?" Orion asked.

Now that he thought about it, maybe he was too quick to refuse her request. Exploring a new place and making a new friend didn’t sound so bad after all he had been through, though his father’s actions remained at the back of his mind, he would try his best to enjoy his time here.

"I would love to show you my favorite place in the estate, the library, but we’ll save the best for last. For now, we’re heading to the garden," She said, dragging him along with an excited expression, her earlier nervousness nowhere to be seen.

’A library? perfect!’ Orion thought, excited.

His days searching for information about this world had increased the allure of libraries in his eyes; the thought of entering a new one with entirely new information excited him more than he’d care to admit.

Isolde followed them from behind, happy to see Orion relating. She had to hand it to the girl; she had found the perfect thing to hook Orion’s interest.

They walked through different corridors, Alice leading them towards their destination while pointing out places and explaining their functions like a proper guide.

Occasionally, they encountered maids who always greeted Alice with smiles on their faces; the sight of the Duke’s son still unnerved them, but Orion was considerate enough not to speak much and scare them.

Soon enough, they arrived at the entrance of a sprawling garden.

The sight was enough to enchant anybody. Orion looked at it and was dumbstruck. It gave off that fairy tale vibe and seemed so unrealistic.

The flowers were blooming in a myriad of different colours; he was sure he could find every colour of the rainbow in this garden.

His spatial senses were working overtime; he could feel the abundance of life here, insects, birds, and many other creatures. It was really thriving, and the most fascinating was the mana coursing through them; he could feel it resonating with him.

Magic truly was outstanding; no garden or orchard on Earth could come close to the standard he found here.

"Beautiful, right?" Alice asked; she could tell Orion was entranced, and that made her prouder than anything.

"It’s more than beautiful," Orion replied, not holding back his compliment.

Alice just grinned, "Come on, this is just the entrance," She said while dragging Orion inside.

The deeper they went, the greater the allure until they encountered another entrance, with two huge trees flanking it, giving it an imposing presence.

They walked in to find a wide and open circular field surrounded by a wall of flowers and a huge towering tree at the center. Orion was sure it was wide enough to host thousands; that’s when it occurred to him.

"This is where the wedding is taking place?" Orion asked, almost certain.

"Oh, how’d you guess?" She asked, surprised.

"It’s not that hard to figure out. Anyone would love to have such an event here," Orion replied.

’Though that elicits another question,’ Orion thought.

"Was this whole thing built for the wedding?" Orion asked, though it sounded incredulous.

Alice looked at him and laughed, "No, it wasn’t, it’s always been here," She replied.

"It was my mom’s favorite place; she always imagined having her wedding here. My brother is incredibly lucky," She said with a smile.

Orion had guessed that her mother had most likely passed away; he could sense the sad undertone in her voice.

"That he is, anybody would be lucky to have their wedding in such a place," Orion replied with a smile.

They walked around the field for an hour, where Alice proudly displayed her knowledge of flowers and insects, after which they walked to another destination with their ever-excited guide.

Three hours later, they finally got to their final destination, the library.

Somewhere along the line, Isolde had gone off to attend to his father, leaving the duo alone.

They both walked into the library, where they were greeted with the stern gaze of an elderly man. He had grey-white hair framing an aging face with frameless glasses on.

"Orion, meet Grandpa Jude, he’s the one in charge of the library and my partner in crime," Alice said with a grin.

"Bringing someone from a different family into our library, Duke’s son or not, you are overstepping, young lady," The old man said with a scowl.

"Oh, come on, grandpa, Orion is a friend of mine," Alice said, trying to reassure him.

The man turned towards Orion, who stared back at him unflinching.

"Oh, and what does this friend have to say for himself?" The man replied

"I would love to go through your library, if you would allow me," Orion said to him.

He scrutinized Orion for a while.

"Very well, any damage and you’ll compensate, Duke’s son or not," He replied.

’Does he have something against me being the duke’s son?’ Orion thought, exasperated.

"Great! Thanks, thanks, grandpa," Alice said excitedly, before dragging Orion along.

He entered and was shocked yet again.

It was huge; the library at home couldn’t compare. There were towering shelves containing an astonishing number of books.

’That’s it, I’m filing a complaint when I get back home.’

Alice turned to face him with a wide smile.

"Welcome to my Abyss"