Zylith.

"I say my friend," I slung my thin arms around Fredurd's long neck while consequently made him stoop a bit in the process and said with a wide unrestrained smile, "Ashes to Ashes, Dust to dust, when life's in a ditch, booze is a must."

We currently stood in front of a big fancy inn with the name 'Immortal Gnome Brewery' carved beautifully on a posh plank board hung on top of its entrance.

It seemed like a pretty well-to-do inn with lots of customers streaming in and out of the place. I smiled a bit wider as I stared at the lively atmosphere of the street filled with the voices of folk's merrymaking and people who walked as if the ground was the deck of a storm-tossed boat. Each foot came to the sidewalk as if the collision of shoe and concrete wasn't entirely anticipated and the person lurched and stumbled as in turn. The sober ones strode like the only adults in a party of infants, shepherding them to a carriage ride home.

"Ah tonight, I'll be having my favourite drink... it's called 'A lot!'" I muttered mostly to myself rather than to Fredurd beside me.

Fredurd slowly turned his head to gawk at my cheerful expression, "..... Your.... Zeth, the sun is getting real low, I really think it is time for us to return." He mumbled in a small voice.

I in turn, look back at him and said, "My, when did my dearest friend start worrying about the sun and its positionings? I feel that the night is still young."

"No it is not." Fredurd shook his head vehemently, looking as if even if I beat him to death, he was not willing to set one foot into this inn.

"Valued patrons, please step this way. We have all the exotic and scrumptious cuisines and delicacies this nation of Reveldron has to offer. Also recently, we received an export of the best grapesmere wine from the country of Aloria." A not so pleasant gritty jarring voice interrupted our conversation.

Both of us turned to look at the owner of this coarse voice and came face to face with a stunted-height individual who looked enthusiastically at us. "Esteemed customers, please, come this way." He insisted again.

This was a man in his mid-twenties, or so he seemed, though he was not appealing to the eyes, he still treated us, who looked like mere country folks with respect, so I am not going to demean this guy for being ugly.

I smiled kindly at the guy and then looked at Fredurd again, "See? We got great booze just around the corner. What more are you waiting for Fred? Let's head in."

"Si... Zeth, we should not be in a place like this." Stubborn Fredurd shook his head yet again. "I cannot accompany you for drinking."

"And why not? Don't tell me, you've never drank before." I raised a brow.

"Oh, no worries. If honoured gentleman here is not into wine, we accommodate light beverages as well. We can acclimatize to all your needs, gentlemen." The grinning attendant by the door said with a honey-dyed tone, as though he was coaxing children rather than two adult men to do his bidding. No wonder this inn was so popular. When you don't discriminate in this discriminating world, you tend to become diverged from the crowd.

I smiled warmly at the attendant and said to Fredurd, "See? They even have suitable drinks for you. What are you worried about now?" But the stubborn mule still refused to agree.

"How about this? If you come inside and have just one drink with me, I will leave with you right away after that, no qualms, promise. And as a bonus, I will help you win Liana over in no time the moment we are back. Yeah?" I offered in a generous manner.

He seemed to falter at the mention of Liana, and I smirked secretly in turn. Now I knew he was going to indulge me in all my demands. And as expected, he, though reluctantly, finally walked into the Immortal Gnome inn.

The door attendant happily came forward and opened the door of the inn to us, and as the hinges of the door squealed as though they were screeching a warning, their plea was suddenly silenced by a wall of noise. Laughter overpowered the entire atmosphere and the inn was hundreds of conversations told in loud voices. A sharp smell of drink wafted towards me as I walked in, the smell of booze intoxicated the air and it's people around.

We took a seat in a far edge corner of the hall while I watched the lively hustle and bustle around. There were ladies, there were men and there were a lot of alcohol.

"Ah! Isn't this exciting?" I smiled and looked at Fredurd who had an ugly expression plastered to his face.

Alright! Not so exciting.

"Wait here, I will order the drinks." I stealthily escaped Fred's blaming eyes with the excuse of getting the drinks.

The door attendant was not wrong, they really housed all kinds of fancy beverages here. While I went through the menu for my preferred beverage, I was delighted to find some of my favourite liquor available here, Beronet was a drink I often had with the knights of the Ronales manor while I still worked under the Ronales dukedom. It was a drink much similar to that of beer back home, only the name was what differentiated the two. But though popular with the crowd, Beronet was not a common drink found just anywhere in the streets of Reveldron. This was because it was made from the fruits of the Berony plant, and this kind of plant bore fruits only once in three summers. So my eyes gleamed with exhilaration when I saw Beronet available in the house.

"Two Beronets and one glass of grapesmere wine mixed with Lorane wine, and also two plates of tender fried lamb meat please." I smiled at the innkeeper who was supposed to take the orders and chirped in a jolly tone.

The innkeeper snapped his head up to look at me in a bewildered manner, "Ex- Excuse me sir? You want to mix the richest ornate wines in the house together for the serving?" He asked in a confused manner, as though this was the oddest request he had ever catered to.

"Hmm, yeah. Any problem with that?" I raised a you-dare-ask-anymore-questions brow at the bemused innkeeper and he fervidly shook his head from side to side in denial.

"No problem sir, no problem at all. I will prepare your meals and drinks right away. Apologies for my tardiness." He mumbled in a haste and took off to get my order. I frowned at his weird behaviour, I mean I didn't look very imposing nor did I look like a frightening gangster, why the hell did he look so frightened all of a sudden, I wondered.

With my drinks and food in a tray, I made my way towards my fidgety knight who was giving all the passers-by the evil-eye.

"Here we are, this is for you." I passed Fredurd his drink.

"Beronet wine!?" He knitted his brows together as he stared at his goblet of wine as though he was about to poke two big holes into it.

"Yeah, I thought you would like Beronet, you don't like it? Isn't Beronet supposed to be a knight's favourite drink?" I asked.

"I......"

"Okay, now don't tell me you're not permitted to drink during your working hours." I made a face and his stern posture became even sterner.

"Alright, listen here you Sternville, it is alright to relax when your superior says so, okay?" I sighed, but the mule still didn't seem convinced, and I sighed again.

"I will not leave this inn's doorstep today if you don't accompany me for a drink Fredurd." I declared.

And as such, he finally picked up his cup of Beronet.

I offered him a sugary-sweet smile and raised my glass for a cheers, and he half-heartedly so, followed suit.

"Ho! So, how's the drink Fred? Is it to your liking?" I asked as I took a sip of my drink and watched Fredurd take in his entire goblet of liquor in a single big gulp. From his gestures you could tell he was so not the kind of man to sit and chat cheerily while drinking in glee. He always meant business and was stoic as hell. No wonder he sucked so bad at people skills.

He slammed the now empty wooden goblet onto the table with a banging sound and looked at me in displeasure.

"Your Highness!~" He slurred, and I raised a brow. Seems like he was drunk already.

"I believe you are the weirdest omnipotent being alive. So please, I urge you to pacify Lady Liana for me." He started mumbling like he was in a trance.

Okay, I'm going to focus on the 'omnipotent' and ignore the 'weirdest' part right there.

"Oh, of course my friend. Of course I will help you, my word is the law." I spoke in a sanctimonious manner, "But you have heard the saying right, there's no free lunch in this world. So you just have to answer some of my questions and we're good to go." I said with a smiling tenor.

"Whatever My Liege wants. As long as I am redeemed in front of Lady Liana." He bobbed his head, but I could already tell he was intoxicated.

"Of course, of course. Hmmm, now then, I don't know anything about you, tell me something about yourself. How about we start from that?" At that moment, I felt myself to be a swindler trying to cheat an innocent out of his possessions, but I swallowed up my guilt and decided to look at the brighter side of things; No pain no gain Zylith. Fredurd on the other hand, bobbed his head yet again in consent.

"I am the illegitimate son of a baron and a courtesan. When I was seven, the baron picked me up from the slums of the redlight district and I became an apprentice knight in training in the baronet house of the Heatcrifts in the west. From there, I worked hard to rise in the knightly ranks and hence, I now have the privilege to serve you, Sire." He stuttered out.

"Oh! I see. Do you know who I really am?" I asked.

"Yes. I do."

"Oh? Who am I then?" I asked in a grave tone.

"You are an imposter under the guise of the real lady of the Ronales house of dukedom." He answered, as sternly as he always did. His direct words sounded quite rude and prickly even though I knew he didn't mean any harm and was only stating the facts.

"Oh, it seems you really do know me." I smiled, but it was a smile that didn't reach my eyes. "So, knowing who I was, did you still volunteer yourself to be my subordinate? Or were you ordered?"

".... I was ordered to Your Highness."

"I see, then is that where your loyalty lies?" I questioned. I was already confirmed of his situation and who he really served, but I still asked.

"My loyalty lies with my master, Sire." He said.

"Right. And who is your master?"

"It is you, Sire." He bowed his head as he replied.

I was taken aback for a second, I was not expecting that kind of answer. All the people surrounding me including even the horse Reuben provided me were not really mine, I knew that from the very beginning. They were somewhat like a borrowed item. When my lease period was over, I had to give them back to him, and they were only ever truly loyal to Him. Not to me. So I was pleasantly surprised when Fredurd said that I was his master.

"..... Fred, you don't like me, do you?" I asked in a hesitant tone.

He seemed to be struggling with himself for a second, but he still answered, ".....No Sire."

Right. I knew that.

"Then why do you still say I'm your master? Are you truly really loyal to only me?" I enquired with raised brows.

"Yes Your Highness. It doesn't matter if you are an imposter or the real lady of the ducal house of the Ronales. To me, you are my only master because His Majesty Reuben appointed me to be yours only. I had sworn the 'Oath of the Knight's Sword' in the presence of the Goddess Alzyriel herself, you shall be my only master in this lifetime. Though I'm not very thrilled about it." Did he have to ruin the moment by adding that last unpleasant line?

"Can a knight break his vow?" Though displeased with his words, I still asked.

"No Sire, if ever a knight does break his vow, he shall have to either commit suicide or he would be hunted by the knight's league till the end of his times." He said.

Woah! I didn't know that.

"That's some pretty scary vow you've got there." I grimaced.

"I agree Sire."

"So erm... why did Reuben.... I mean His Majesty choose you to be my personal knight?" I asked in a casual tone now that I knew that he would not easily betray me.

But then, I didn't realize that this big stoic man would suddenly start wailing like Liana's ever so favourite banshee.

"WHUUUWAAAAA!!!!" He suddenly buried his head into his arms supported on the table and started howling, almost knocking me off my seat.

All the people around us turned their heads to give us the inquisitive looks, as though asking if I needed any help to ship him off to his home in a carriage. I could only weakly smile at the onlookers to show them that I've got this.

"Now now Fred, what's there to cry about?" I tried to soften my voice as if to quail his cries. "D-Don't cry, don't cry!"

"I-I... made a grave mistake Your Highness. And in lieu of that blunder, I was punished to be your personal knight." His sobs got even wilder as he bawled his eyes out.

While on the other hand, my eyes couldn't help but twitch irrepressibly.

To be Continued.......