Isaac moved like flowing water as he went through each step of the sword dance Lenna had taught him. He was on his fourth pass through the dance, in its entirety, when Margaret walked out onto the roof to join him and Shamesh. "My Lord, our Lady is worried about you." Margaret told him without preamble. "Martha is drawing a bath for you as we speak. If I may be so bold, my recommendation is that you wash up and meet with your mate. If for no other reason than to apprise her of your current physical, mental, and emotional state." The head maid of the V'Nova Wexler household was as direct and ruthless as she was strong and compassionate. Isaac and Lenna weren't sure how she had been before her husband had died, but raising two children, crossing the ocean, getting forced into slavery, and then drug into the depths of the planet to be sold to the highest bidder most likely tempered the woman's iron will.

Isaac was silent for a moment as he moved through the next few steps. He was breathing hard and he felt like his muscles were made of jelly and his bones were made of freshly boiled noodles. "Thank you." Isaac told Margaret. "I will be down… in a minute." He confirmed.

Margaret bowed deeply. "Then I shall take my leave, my Lord." She replied and left, but not before she handed Shamesh a few letters. Two of them had the Arbencroft seal on them and the last had a much smaller one that was silver to denote that it was from the bank.

Isaac would never say it, but having someone like Margaret or Celeste around really helped him keep his focus on what was important. Situations changed but who his mate was never would, especially not now that they were irrevocably bound for all of time.

"Open them," Isaac began through deep breaths as he finished the sword dance. "and read them… to me."

Shamesh nodded and did as he was told. Izen had offered his condolences with the outstanding offer to give Isaac and Lenna any assistance that he could during their time of mourning. That note was short and to the point without any frivolity or needless noble pandering. Behind that was a detailed list of each of the high nobles who had put in a request for the drider silk clothing. Izen, in his wisdom, had let them bid on who was to get the next sets after Isaac's gifts for the king and queen. The first set had been auctioned off to Aliandra Von Victoria. Her second son, who was the one most likely to succeed her husband, would be coming of age soon and she apparently spared no expense. She won the bid, against Florence Constantine, by bidding an astronomical six million gold. Five of which Isaac and Lenna would see added to their bank account once the undershirt and underpants were finished and treated.

Florence had won the next bid against someone Isaac didn't recognize at nearly three million, two and half of which would end up in Isaac and Lenna's pockets, and that other noble had won the next bid at two million one hundred thousand. Arthur Von Sasston took the next at two million and then the rest went down from there. Jessica only had enough drider silk for a few more outfits which would require Isaac to reanimate his dormant drider bone golem to put her to work once again. At present, they were waiting for the Silverstrands to finish with the clothes for the royals before they could begin to actually make a profit, though, the gift would net them a gift of at least equal value in return from His and Her Majesties.

After Izen's letter, Shamesh opened Sera's. "To my dear friend, Isaac." Shamesh began reading aloud but then handed it to Isaac. Isaac had finished his sword dance and met him at the top of the steps to go back into the manor proper.

Isaac continued reading, mouthing the words as he caught his breath and took the stairs one shaky legged step at a time. His knees felt like they were about to give out from how hard he had pushed them and for how long.

'I did not get to speak with Aria Tr'Bore very much, but I enjoyed every minute of it. It was and is clear to me that her involvement in your introduction to our territory, and mortals in general, shaped your preconceptions into a mostly positive light. I could never thank her enough for that. She seemed like the kind of person who was able to bounce back with more energy and vibrance than before after every hardship. I do truly wish that I had gotten to know her personally.

Claus son of Rock was a man that was easy to read. He stood like a bulwark and broadcasted waves of stability and calm that could change his surroundings into a place of safety and comfort for those friendly with him. He was a man of few words but one who seemed immune to the troubles of the world outside of his immediate surroundings. He must have been a pleasure and a boon to have as a friend. I have known a few such warriors in my time and every single one of them made the world a better place simply by existing. I have no doubt that he was one such man.

As for your invitation, I would be delighted to attend. I will, of course, still be open to host afternoon tea the following day, but I do understand if you have more pressing matters to attend to. Simply keep me informed and I will have warm tea waiting for you whenever you next arrive.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Once again, my condolences, and know that Izen and I are here for you if you ever need anything. Not everything needs to be a transaction. Sometimes a friend can simply help and comfort another out of love for each other. Give Lenna my regards. Serentia Von Arbencroft.'

Isaac was walking into the bathroom by the time he finished the letter and smiled with warmth from receiving Sera's friendship and a sadness at the loss of his friends that even a duchess wished that she could have known better. "Shamesh," Isaac said and folded the letter back up. "give this to Lenna and let her know that I'll be over once I'm done cleaning up."

Shamesh bowed. "Right away, my Lord." She replied and handed Isaac the third letter while he received the one that Isaac had just finished reading.

Isaac gave him an acknowledging nod and then put the letter into his Inventory. None of the girls were anywhere to be seen, which was good because that meant he didn't need to kick any of them out, so he started stripping as soon as the door was closed behind Shamesh. His clothes fell into his shadow one at a time until he was finally able to slowly slip down into the hot water. The first thing that Isaac noticed was that the water did not feel as hot as it looked. It was pleasantly hot but not even hot enough that he had to get used to it first. He leaned back against the wall of the tub and let out a slow and deep breath. Exhaustion washed away into the warm water and he just sat there for a long few minutes before Shamesh returned.

"My Lady has requested to be informed before you invite anyone over for tea in the future." Shamesh told him. "She has also expressed her gratitude for your invitation to Lady Arbencroft."

"Thanks." Isaac said without opening his eyes. He lifted his hand up out of the water and coated it in shadows solid enough to lock the moisture against his skin. He pulled out the final letter and handed it to Shamesh. "Read that one for me."

Shamesh took the letter and opened it immediately. "It appears that your account balance has reached seventeen million, two hundred and fifty four thousand, six hundred and seventy three." Shamesh informed him.

Isaac slowly opened his eyes and turned to look at Shamesh. "What?"

"There is also an attached note that is informing you that there is only five million gold worth of currency available in the bank for withdrawal and it is almost entirely platinum bars." Shamesh continued.

"We didn't take that much from Sapphirestone did we?" Isaac wondered.

Shamesh moved to the third paper sent in the letter. "Recent deposit lists show incoming amounts from the Duchy of Sasston, a lot of them, both small and large. Some are denoted as bounty payouts while others reference services rendered or items sold."

"I wonder how many bounties we did by accident? I know our actions resolved a lot of the lower level bounties, and they add up, but there's no way they add up to even a million gold." Isaac thought aloud. "We did sell off the looted treasure, but that number still seems too high."

"The Crown deposited two hundred and fifty thousand gold, twice. Once for Sapphirestone and once for Port Vespera. There is another page with deposits flagged as suspicious." Shamesh said as he looked over the next page. "They are all from Magus Alexander denoted as reimbursement for acquisition of illegal goods."

Isaac's eyes widened as he realized where a lot of the money had been coming from. "Ask Phantom how many magic items he has scooped up and dropped in Alexander's lap." Isaac told his retainer. The mage's tower in Port Vespera had an unknown number of illegal magic items in it, along with the ones in the CSC possession that were technically loot according to the adventurers contract, and all of the ones that Isaac had scooped up in the Thronsen manor and other such places. If Phantom added to that list, then Isaac could see it quickly getting out of hand. "Anything else?"

"Deposits from 'P' without any denotations were also flagged as suspicious." Shamesh added. "Should I ask Phantom now or wait until we are finished here?"

"Wait a moment." Isaac told Shamesh. "Also ask him why he is paying me. It is supposed to be the other way around."

There was a stirring of mana and then nothing. "He appears to be unavailable at the moment." Shamesh informed him. "He did inform me that he sleeps with a Protection from Divination ring active to ensure that he is not tracked while unconscious."

Isaac nodded. "He probably went to bed around or before dinner time so he could be up all night." He surmised. "That's fine. I can ask him next time I see him. It isn't pressing." He looked back at Shamesh. "Is there anything else?"

"One hundred thousand gold from 'A Passing Cleric' with a note attached." Shamesh read the following page. "The note reads: So you can afford a normal Resurrection next time."

Isaac smirked as he remembered the cleric of El'Gra who looked after him and Lenna after his resurrection. He shook his head. "I hope I meet that old elf again some day. I owe him a favor and I get the feeling that if it is one that he asks of me, then it is bound to be both fun and violent."

"That seems to be it." Shamesh informed him.

Isaac nodded. "Good. You are free to do whatever you like until I call upon you next, as long as it is not standing over me at all times."

Shamesh looked taken aback. "I… see…" Was all the skeletal retainer could reply with.

"I understand that you are worried, Shamesh. But you should know better than anyone that at this point, I'm not going to do anything stupid." Isaac informed him. "Well, not until certain criteria have been met. Chief among them being Lenna's full recovery."

Shamesh bowed. "Then I shall leave you to your bath." He replied. "May I make a request?"

"Yes?" Isaac confirmed.

"Will you agree not to go anywhere without me?" Shamesh asked like a puppy afraid of being left behind.

Isaac smiled. "Of course, buddy, I won't leave the manor without you." Isaac didn't say so, but the real reason why he wouldn't leave the manor was because he was afraid to leave Lenna alone. He had never been more than one or two shadow-steps away from her and he would like to keep it that way for the near future. She was just too vulnerable in her current state. It took him a moment to realize that if she died then so would he, but even before that, he had made up his mind not to lose her. He only realized after that fact that it was entirely redundant.

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