Shadows Over Arcadia Chapter 46: 45. Escort Quest

Read chapter 46 of Shadows Over Arcadia by Zacheas on NovelPedia.

I am Viscount Victor Griswald, age 47, and I am the last remaining member of the Griswald Noble line. “Lord Griswald, Master Shadow and Lady Maribel are here to meet with Prince Ren,” announces the busty and stout little dwarf maid from the dining hall doorway. “Send them in, please, Hilda,” I say, looking up from the proposal Diana has been explaining to me. Seeing Hilda’s relaxed smile makes me pause, a small smile forming on my own lips. It’s nice to see how much she has changed in the last arc since I brought her from the Ashford slave market. All three of those poor women eventually came to trust that they truly were free. While the other two chose to accept jobs in Stonebrook, Hilda had asked to stay. Given her excellent attitude, strong work ethic, and the way she gets along with the rest of the staff, Silfy and I agreed to keep her on full-time. She also brings with her valuable experience as a rune smith. And I’d be lying if I said a large part of my decision didn’t come down to her particularly generous curves. She’s a pretty little short stack, but also looks durable enough that I don’t have to worry about breaking her. “Master, you’re making that face again,” Diana says, poking my arm with the back of her quill, snapping me out of an increasingly lewd daydream. “Right,” I mutter, just as the tall and heavily built masked adventurer Shadow and his young partner, Lady Maribel, make their way down the long table toward me. “Thank you for hosting our meeting with the prince, Lord Griswald,” comes Shadow’s deep voice from behind his mask. His footsteps land with a heavy thud against the polished floor as he approaches. "Excuse me!" Hilda calls, rushing after them. Shadow steps aside, letting her pass. She hustles ahead to pull out the seat adjacent to mine. "Please, take a seat," Hilda says with a bow. Instead of immediately sitting, Shadow silently gestures for Maribel to step past him. She offers Hilda a polite, "Thank you," and takes the offered chair. Shadow pulls out the seat next to her—beating Hilda to it—and carefully lowers himself down. Despite his caution, the sturdy wooden chair groans under his weight. “Will you be needing anything else?” Hilda asks, glancing first at our guests, then to me. “That will be all, thank you,” I say with a nod. She bows politely, offers a pleasant smile, and turns to stride confidently toward the parlor. My eyes follow the sway of her hips for perhaps a beat too long—until I glance up and meet Maribel’s eyes with an eyebrow raised. I quickly recover, turning toward her as if I'd meant to address her all along. "So, Lady Maribel, Master Shadow," I begin smoothly, "you’ve completed over a hundred quests in my domain—everything from ingredient gathering to goblin culling, and even rescuing my dear Diana from bandits. The people of Stonebrook, my household, and I owe you both a great debt." "Yes, thank you so much," Diana adds earnestly. "It was no problem," Shadow replies, his voice calm and even. "I'm glad we could help," Maribel adds with a modest shrug. "But we just did the jobs you hired us for." "Don’t sell yourselves short," I chuckle. "Being paid for your work doesn’t change the fact that you’ve risked your lives for the people of this land many times. " “And yet I still know so little about you both,” I say, leaning in with curiosity. That’s a massive understatement. These two adventurers—an unusual pair—appeared rather suddenly about a year ago and somehow became Stonebrook’s heroes almost overnight. And yet, despite all they've accomplished, no one seems to know a thing about who they really are. “For example,” I continue, turning my gaze to Shadow, “why do you wear a mask?” “I’d rather not say,” Shadow replies flatly. “Oh, come now. Is it because you’re horribly disfigured or something?” “And why are you five inches taller and a fair bit bulkier than the last time we spoke?” Diana adds, eyes narrowing slightly, the faintest glimmer of blue light flickering behind them. T