The Baron had no idea why everyone suddenly looked so sad, so he attempted to cheer them up.
“Now that we’re done with the formalities, I hope you’re hungry because I made the cooks…”
“Chefs!” Mirias whined, correcting her husband.
“…prepare us a gruel…”
“A breakfast! Good gods, admit it. You’re doing it on purpose!” The Baroness said, incapable of enduring that torture any longer.
“…worthy of the Royals, but with larger servings. Unlike them, we all have a real job and don’t spend our days sitting on our asses and spewing orders. We need meat on our bones, right dear?”
“I want a divorce!” That was all she managed to say before the Baron took her into his arms and gave her a passionate kiss.
“Gods, my wife is a real Dragon. The angrier she gets, the hotter she becomes. She is still as gorgeous as the day I fell in love with her.” He said, making every one of those present blush.
“Please, follow me.” The Baroness didn’t have the strength to fight anymore and was resigned to bear whatever calamity her idiotic, yet beloved husband would make befall their household. “We’ve prepared stagecoaches that will lead us to our mansion.
“Jambel is no Othre nor Derios, but reaching its uptown from the city gates it’s still quite a trip. Especially for someone with small children.”
“Thanks for your concern, Baroness, but it won’t be necessary. I have fond memories of your house and no one in my family likes moving by horse.” Lith’s two statements seemed unrelated until he performed a short chant that opened a Warp Steps leading directly in front of their destination.
The citizens of Jambel gasped in amazement. Many of them had only heard about the existence of dimensional magic and considered it almost a myth.
“Do you mind if I go first?” Baroness Mirias asked, clenching her husband’s hand so hard due to her fear of the unknown magic that she made him bleed with her long, manicured nails.
The Baron didn’t even flinch, he just caressed her hand with his thumb to reassure her.
“Not at all.” Lith made her way and Mirias stepped through the dimensional door with the same relaxed attitude of a gladiator sent to their death.
Yet one step was all it took her to reach her house safe and sound.
The Baron’s Mansion was a two-story manor, something normally one would expect to be a house fit for a merchant, not a city lord.
Each floor was barely as big as the Ernas’ Ballroom. Only brickwork and a small garden separated the Mansion from the surrounding houses, and there was none more luxurious.
“What the…” Mirias’s fear was replaced by awe.
She had been afraid of experiencing discomfort, of the Steps leaving her stranded in the middle of the Blood Desert, or of some monster coming out of it. Still unable to believe it could be that simple, the Baroness knocked at her own door.
The front door opened and the loyal family butler, Jarnes, welcomed her home. The hallway was about 20 square meters (215 square feet), with walls and floor covered by white painted wood.
There was a cabinet for the clothes and a small fireplace above which was a series of hangers to dry coats drenched by snow. A soft carpet led to the other rooms, covering most of the floor and keeping the house warm.
After making sure it was really her own home and not some kind of complex prank, Mirias stepped through the Warp steps again, returning to their guests.
“This is amazing! How do you do it?” Excitement gave her pale visage a shade of red that made her look cute and youthful.
She touched her husband through the Steps and then walked around it, appreciating the two different sceneries. Even though the dimensional door simply led to another part of her city, to her it was like a window leading to a different world.
“Mana and practice. Everything else is a state secret, I’m sorry.” Lith replied with a smile. Dimensional magic was only taught by the six great academies and usually only half of their graduates managed to learn it.
“Kotu, Iriel, you have to try it.” Looking at her children’s flabbergasted faces, Mirias realized how childish her behavior was and regained her stern countenance.
“I apologize for wasting everyone’s time. You’re probably hungry and I’m making myself a fool out of myself with my antics.” She gave them a deep bow, clenching her dress in embarrassment.
“There’s no reason to apologize. We all did the same thing the first time Lith opened one for us.” Elina patted Mirias’s shoulder to set her mind at ease.
Lith patiently waited for everyone to step through the Gate, even letting some of the bystanders and guards use it a couple of times before closing the dimensional door.
The butler, who was still waiting in front of the open door, took the Baron’s mantle while the noble sat on one of the chairs near the door to take off his snowy boots and replaced them with clean ones, showing to his guests where the clean house shoes were.
Lith and his family just shapeshifted their clothes into a lighter day attire. The process also turned their boots into shoes and cleaned them, leaving all the dirt outside of the door.
Even the Baron flinched in surprise this time, staring at his guests with the same curiosity with which they looked at his house. The furniture of every room was made of high-quality materials, but its design wasn’t ostentatious.
The Baron’s house wasn’t great, but it definitely was a home. It was warm and cozy. Each one of its rooms was lived-in, not just designed for impressing guests with expensive ornaments.
“Do you mind if I take notes?” Lith asked while taking ink and paper out of his pocket dimension. “If I ever build another house just for myself, I want it to look exactly like this.”
Without even thinking about it, Lith looked at Kamila for approval.
“I love it!” She replied a bit too fast and with a bit too much enthusiasm for her own liking.
‘Get a grip, Captain Yehval. We’ve been together for almost two years, you can’t get excited like a schoolgirl on her first date over a trivial question. Just because Lith seems to be including me in his plans for the future, it doesn’t mean he is going to propose…’ At that thought, Kamila’s brain went out of control.
She started rambling nonsense and became so red that Elina had her sit down, afraid that Kamila was feeling unwell.
“It would be my honor.” The Baron and the Baroness put a hand above their hearts, giving both Lith and Kamila a bow.
The dining room was comprised of a long rectangular hardwood table surrounded by several comfortable padded chairs. The table had already been set. The linen tablecloth was pristine white with gold embroideries depicting the Baron’s exploits.
The cutlery and the plates were all made of silver that reflected the light coming from the magical stones in the crystal chandeliers hung to the ceiling. The house staff was lined up against the wall behind the table, ready to serve the moment their masters sat down.
Baron Wyalon had prepared for the Verhens all kinds of food, making the breakfast almost a full course meal for both variety and abundance of the servings.
