The first thing I did after leaving Father's study was visit Harvey. While the situation involving House Montgomery was urgent, checking in on my friend took priority. I found him in one of the House Sturm townhouse's guest rooms.

Harvey was lying in bed, wearing thin white robes that reminded me of a hospital gown on Earth. The smell of medicinal herbs lingered in the air. He looked pale and thin, but uninjured. Joanna, Mother's friend and House Sturm's healer, must've looked after him. Good. Seeing him alive and whole quieted the anxiety in my heart.

When I arrived, Harvey was awake. A part of me wished he was still unconscious, just so I could check on him and be on my way. The two of us needed to have a conversation, one that I wanted to put off for as long as possible. Selfish of me, I know. However, since he was awake, there was no point in delaying things.

I knocked before entering the room. Harvey looked in my direction and broke out into a bright smile.

"Big Bro!" he said in a cheerful voice.

I gave him a strained smile in return.

"May I come in?" I asked.

"Of course!"

I walked in and sat in a chair that stood next to the bed.

"How are you feeling, Harvey?" I asked, sitting down.

Harvey shrugged.

"Tired and achey," he said. "But otherwise I'm fine."

I nodded, before making a point to look around.

"Where is your family?" I asked. "I thought they were with you."

That was what Mother told me in Father's study.

"They were," Harvey said with a grimace. "However, I asked them to leave. They kept saying-" He paused, before shaking his head. "It doesn't matter. I told them that I wanted to get some rest." He made a panicked expression. "But that doesn't mean you have to leave! I'm not too tired to talk with you, Big Bro."

A part of me wondered if I should leave and let Harvey rest some more. After all, we didn't need to talk right this moment. However, that was cowardice talking.

"Harvey," I said in a solemn tone.

His smile started to fade, replaced by an anxious expression.

"I'm so sorry about what happened to you," I said. "You should've never gone through that. House Sturm failed you. More importantly, I failed you. If you wish to cut ties, I wouldn't blame you. After what happened, no one would."

Harvey wore a stricken expression.

"Is it because I let myself get kidnapped?" he asked.

Wait, what?

"It won't happen again, I promise," Harvey continued, the words pouring out of him. "I'll find a way to get stronger. Please give me another chance!"

I stared at him, shocked.

"Harvey," I started to say, but he grabbed my hand with both of his. His grip felt tight despite his weakened state. Desperation must've given him strength.

"Don't leave me!" he said. "I'll do better!"

This was not how I expected this conversation to go. For now, I decided to focus on calming Harvey down. I patted his hand.

"It's okay," I said in a soothing tone. "Everything's going to be alright. I'm not going to leave you."

Harvey gave me a fearful look.

"You promise?" he asked.

I nodded.

"I promise," I said.

Harvey sagged with relief, but kept hold of my hand.

"Thank you, Big Bro," he said. "I know that I'm a liability, but I promise to make up for it."

"Harvey," I said. "I never once thought you were a liability. While we haven't known each other for long, I consider you my friend." I gave him a puzzled look. "Why would you think that?"

Harvey looked away before responding.

"The people who took me last night told me I was," he whispered. "They said that I was a weakling that they would use me to take you and House Sturm down." His voice started to crack. "They said that if you were smart, you would throw me away."

I clenched my fists. Those fucking assholes. If they weren't all dead, I would've killed them for this. How dare they say those things to Harvey?

"Harvey," I said. "Look at me."

He hesitated before looking at me. I saw fear in his eyes.

"I'm not going to throw you away," I said. "You are not a weakling nor a liability." I snorted. "Even if you were, I wouldn't throw you away. You're my friend. Friends don't abandon each other. At least, not those worth the title."

As I spoke, Harvey started to tremble and I saw tears in his eyes. Without a word, he threw himself at me. I caught him and held him tight. Harvey started crying, soaking my clothes with tears.

"I w-was so sc-scared, Big Bro!" Harvey wailed.

I patted his back.

"I've got you," I said. "You're safe now."

Harvey cried even harder. He let out deep, heaving sobs. I continued to pat his back and mutter soothing words. After a while, Harvey's sobs started to die down. Even then, I continued to embrace and soothe him.

"It's fine," Harvey said, his voice rough. "You can stop now. I'm fine."

He pulled away and I held back a laugh when I saw his red face and swollen eyes. Harvey looked rather adorable like this. So, this was what it was like to have a younger brother.

"Again, I'm sorry," I said. "What happened to you was my fault."

Harvey shook his head, using the sleeves of his robes to wipe his eyes.

"No, it's not," he said. "You rescued me. I heard it from the lady who healed me. Who knows what would've happened to me if it weren't for you?" He gave me another bright smile. "Thank you, Big Bro."

I sighed and gave him a wry smile.

"Yes, but you were kidnapped because of your connection to me," I said. "That much is true."

Harvey scowled.

"That's what my family said. They wanted me to cut ties with you and House Sturm. Commoners like us shouldn't get involved with House affairs. Isaac even said that you don't care about me and just want to look good by sponsoring me."

I raised an eyebrow.

"He could be telling the truth, you know," I said. "What if I am using you to raise my reputation and look good?"

"So what if you are?" Harvey asked. "I don't care. You were there for me when I needed you the most. That's all I care about. If you want to use me, go right ahead."

I gave him a helpless look.

"Harvey," I said. "As much as I appreciate this, you should prioritize your wellbeing. If you keep walking down this path, bad things may happen to you again."

Harvey snorted.

"Bad things could happen to me, even if I cut ties with you," he said. "Staying quiet and keeping my head down doesn't mean I'll live a peaceful life. I know that more than anyone." He wore a determined expression on his face. "In that case, I might as well live the life I want. That means being your friend and helping you achieve your dream."

I stared at Harvey in amazement. He always seemed so meek and mild to me. I never expected this from him. He had more of a spine than I gave him credit for.

"Alright," I said, throwing my hands up. "I give up. If you insist on walking the more difficult road, I won't try to stop you."

Harvey nodded.

"Good, because it won't work. The only way you're getting rid of me is if you toss me aside." He gave me a smug smile. "And you already promised that you wouldn't. That means you're stuck with me, Big Bro."

I reached over and flicked his forehead.

"Brat," I said with a smile.

Harvey rubbed his forehead and pouted at me.

"In that case, we'll have to convince your parents to accept the sponsorship," I said. "After what happened last night, that won't be easy."

Harvey puffed his chest out. Given his thin build, this wasn't saying much.

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"Don't worry," he said. "Leave it to me."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. What happened last night scared them, but I know they'll accept the sponsorship if I let them know how important it is to me."

I debated with myself for a moment, before nodding. Given the current circumstances, I doubted Harvey's family wanted to see me or any other member of House Sturm. Letting Harvey deal with them seemed like the best idea.

"I'll leave it to you then," I said.

Harvey nodded, before a peaceful silence fell over us. Inside, I felt relieved and glad. While I was willing to let Harvey go for his safety, that didn't mean I wanted to. As selfish as this sounded, I wanted to keep him in my life even if it endangered him.

"Um, Big Bro," Harvey said, breaking the silence. "I have a question."

I gestured to him.

"Go right ahead," I said. "Ask away."

Harvey fiddled with his blanket for a moment.

"What's Murim?" he asked. "The people who kidnapped me talked about it. I overheard them. They called you a House brat pretending to be a part of Murim." He waved his hands in the air. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to! I was just curious."

Looking at Harvey, I got the impression of a puppy that wanted something but was too shy to ask for it.

"It's fine," I said, waving off his concern. "I was going to tell you about Murim anyway. We're just doing it ahead of schedule." I gave him a serious look. "However, you have to keep what I'm about to tell you a secret. You can't share it with anyone, unless you know for certain that they know about Murim. Understand?"

Harvey nodded.

"Good," I said. "Let me start by explaining about martial arts."

After giving Harvey an abbreviated explanation of martial arts and Murim, I left so he could rest and think over what I told him. He was, of course, stunned by the idea that a secret society existed alongside mainstream Luminian society.

That said, I didn't think secret was the right word for Murim. Plenty of people knew about it. Underground was more accurate, in both the figurative and literal sense.

I also told Harvey that even if he didn't have any talent for magic, he might have a talent for martial arts. In Lumina, anyone could get tested for magic. It was a rather simple process. Any wizard could do it. As such, almost every Luminian got themselves tested for magic.

While the number of wizards was low, and often depended on lineage, there were recorded instances of commoners being born with a talent for magic. Many even went on to become some of the most powerful and famous wizards in Luminian history, often founding their own Houses.

However, as far as I knew, getting tested for martial arts was far less common. This was because most Luminians didn't even know about martial arts, thanks to the damned Accords. There were an untold number of potential martial artists out there who couldn't fulfill their true potential because they didn't even know it existed. That was one of the reasons why I wanted to get rid of the Accords. They should've never existed in the first place.

After leaving Harvey, I decided to focus on the task at hand: meeting with Lady Emmaline Montgomery without alerting our enemies that we were on to them. My plan was simple. I would go to a social event that she was attending, start an argument with her, and sneak a message to her. That message would be an invitation for a private meeting later on.

There were flaws in this plan, not the least of which was Lady Emmaline herself. Just because I invited her to a private meeting didn't mean she would show up. In fact, she might ignore it altogether. Our Houses were at odds with one another. Still, that was a risk I needed to take.

If it came down to it, I could just openly visit House Montgomery. That would alert our enemies that we knew about them, but it was better than worsening the already strained relationship between House Sturm and House Montgomery.

To that end, I sorted through my invitations. As a scion from a great House, I received dozens of them every day. Not because I was popular in high society or because people liked me. No, they sent those invitations out of politeness, to avoid offending House Sturm. That, or because they wanted to use me to get closer to the rest of my family.

Most of the time, I just ignored the invitations. When the pile grew too big, I made the servants burn them. Thankfully, I hadn't burned this particular pile yet, so I had a lot to look through.

I searched for the invitations from Lady Emmaline. As an active participant in high society, she attended a lot of social events. She also hosted many of her own. The best way to meet with Lady Emmaline was to attend one of her events.

I was in luck. It turned out that later today she would host a tea party at a tea shop that her family owned, the Enchanted Leaf. The invitation said it was an opportunity for like-minded young scions to meet and mingle with one another.

I snorted when I read that. Either Lady Emmaline was playing matchmaker, giving young House scions a chance to meet and form connections, or she was building her power base. Perhaps both. Regardless, I doubted she regarded me as "like-minded".

Like everyone else, Lady Emmaline invited me out of politeness. She didn't expect me to show up, nor did she want me to. Otherwise, I would've doubted the information on the invitation.

The only reason why Lady Emmaline would genuinely invite me to one of her events was if she planned on embarrassing and humiliating me. In that case, I wouldn't put it past her to give me the wrong time and/or wrong address.

With the invitation in hand, I went to find Leroy. Since this was a formal outing, I needed to bring my bodyguard with me. Also, I wanted to check up on him. He fought with the cloaked woman last night, who I assumed was Lord Loren's bodyguard, and suffered some injuries. I wanted to make sure he was alright.

I needn't have worried. Leroy was fine. Joanna healed his wounds already. In fact, Leroy was in such good condition, that he lectured me for ten minutes straight about my inability to ask for help when faced with powerful opponents. I put up with it because I knew it was his way of expressing worry for me.

While we got ready for the tea party, Leroy briefed me on what happened after I fell unconscious. It was as I expected. Dagger left to report back to Crawford, while everyone else brought me and Harvey back to the House Sturm townhouse. They also retrieved the bodies of Lord Loren and the cloaked woman, just in case they proved useful later on.

This gave me a terrible idea. I was going to a tea party. Why not bring a gift? It was only polite.

The Enchanted Leaf was a charming two-story wood and stone building located in the Sky District. It was light green and sky blue with gold accents. Thanks to the early afternoon sun, the teahouse looked like something out of a fairy tale.

It stood next to an expansive park filled with flower gardens and stone walkways. In the center of the park was a man-made lake, which people liked to go boating on. There were a few people wandering about in the park. Parents out with their children, couples walking hand in hand, and so on.

When I stepped out of the House Sturm carriage, I took a deep breath. The scent from a myriad of different flowers wafted over from the park. Somehow, they all merged together in harmony rather than clashed. I had to admit, while I disliked House Montgomery for many reasons, they knew what they were doing. This was a great location for a teahouse. I could imagine myself spending hours here, just enjoying the scenery.

Perhaps later. Right now, I had some business to attend to.

As I headed towards the teahouse, Leroy followed me. I wore a black and blue outfit, suitable for a House scion. In one hand I carried a small decorative box, which contained my gift for Lady Emmaline. In my pocket was a written message I had prepared for Lady Emmaline.

Leroy wore the uniform of a House Sturm retainer. This was rare for Leroy. I could count on one hand the number of times I had seen him wear it. He looked better in his adventurer outfit or his enchanted armor. From the discomfort on his face, I think he felt the same.

The interior of the Enchanted Leaf was as charming as the exterior. The main room was decorated in warm, earthy tones and was filled with comfy wooden furniture. A stairway led to the second floor, which contained private rooms I presumed. Several windows looked out towards the nearby park, though I couldn't see the lake from this angle.

The smell of tea permeated the air. There were all kinds of scents, each different and unique. I recognized a few, but the rest were a mystery to me. This seemed like the kind of place I'd like to visit on occasion and spend hours here. Too bad it was owned by House Montgomery. Shame.

There were several customers sitting at the tables, all House scions, enjoying tea and conversation. I recognized most of them, though I didn't know their names. I had seen them before, but never talked with them.

When I entered, all conversation stopped. Everyone, including the teahouse's staff, all stared at me in shock. They recognized me on sight, thanks to my distinctive appearance. If not me in particular, then my House. Given who owned the Enchanted Leaf, I bet none of them expected to see a Sturm in this place.

I ignored all the stares and headed towards the stairway. If Lady Emmaline was hosting a tea party here, it would be on the second floor. I doubted she wanted random people to keep her and her guests from enjoying themselves.

However, just as I reached the stairway, one of the teahouse staff intercepted me. She was a woman in her thirties, who wore a light green and sky blue outfit. A uniform, I assumed. I pegged her as the teahouse manager.

"Excuse me," she said, giving me a polite smile. "The upstairs rooms are a restricted area. Only invited guests are allowed up there."

I smiled at the manager, which seemed to daze her.

"It's a good thing I'm invited then, isn't it?" I asked, pulling my invitation out and showing it to her.

Without waiting for a response, I brushed past the manager and headed up the stairs. By the time she recovered, it was too late to try and stop me.

When I reached the second floor, I found myself in a wide hallway with doors leading to the private rooms. A group of people lingered in the hallway, standing at attention. They were all Awakened, either at Second Rank or Third Rank. Each wore a uniform. Bodyguards.

The moment I came into sight, all of the bodyguards focused their attention on me. One in particular, a woman wearing the uniform of a House Montgomery retainer, started. The rest eyed me with suspicion. It appeared that they hadn't recognized me, and only saw me as an intruder.

"This area is forbidden," one of the bodyguards said. From his uniform, I saw that he was a retainer from House Stroud, another great House with strong ties to House Montgomery. "Leave."

I pretended to think it over, before shaking my head.

"No," I said. "I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be." I held up my invitation. "I was even invited. See?"

The House Stroud bodyguard opened his mouth to respond, but the House Montgomery bodyguard spoke up first.

"He's right," she said, watching me through narrowed eyes. "Greetings, Lord Gabriel."

The moment she said my name, the other bodyguards grew more alert. Instead of seeing me as a mere intruder, they regarded me as an enemy. All of them moved to block my path. The hostility in the air grew palpable.

"I see that House Montgomery's idea of hospitality is rather… Interesting," I said. "I feel so welcome."

The House Montgomery bodyguard crossed her arms.

"You shouldn't be here," she said.

"Why not?" I asked, giving her a faux questioning look. "Your lady invited me here." My voice grew colder. "Regardless, where I should and shouldn't be is not for the likes of you to say." I bared my teeth at her in a smile. "Now then, will you let me pass? Or will you keep standing in my way?"

The House Montgomery's nostrils flared.

"You arrogant-" she started to say, but I interrupted her.

"You don't want to finish that sentence," I said. "Unless you want to shame your lady by starting a fight with House Sturm."

The House Montgomery bodyguard clenched her jaw. Several tense seconds went by. I felt Leroy ready himself for a fight.

"Fine," the House Montgomery bodyguard spat out. "Follow me."

She turned around and walked towards one of the doors. The other bodyguards looked like they wanted to object, but kept their mouths shut. That didn't stop them from glaring at Leroy and I as we walked past them.

When we reached the door, the House Montgomery bodyguard knocked before opening it. I heard the faint sound of conversation coming from the other side.

"Yes?" I heard a woman ask. Lady Emmaline. "What is it?"

"My lady," the House Montgomery bodyguard said in a contrite tone. "Lord Gabriel is here."

The sound of conversation stopped.

"What does he want?" Lady Emmaline asked in a sharp voice.

"To bring a gift and deliver a message," I whispered.

"He's here to bring a gift and deliver a message," the House Montgomery bodyguard repeated.

A moment of silence passed.

"Let him in," Lady Emmaline said, sounding cross.

The House Montgomery bodyguard stepped back and gestured for me to enter.

"Your bodyguard will have to remain out here," she said.

I nodded and glanced at Leroy.

"If anyone provokes you, don't hold back," I said. "Teach them a lesson."

Leroy nodded, before looking over the other bodyguards. Many of them flinched. Leroy made for an intimidating sight, thanks to his size. In a confined space like this, he held the advantage, even against Third Circle wizards.

With that, I walked into the room where Lady Emmaline held her tea party. As I stepped past her, the House Montgomery bodyguard whispered to me.

"If you harm my lady, I will kill you."

I snorted in response, before entering the room and closing the door behind me.

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