He fortunately didn’t say it loudly. However, it still seemed to capture her attention and she turned. After a long time, he met those mesmerizing red eyes again.
That said, seeing her here, all his curses about his bad luck were all blown by the wind.
He wasn’t so unlucky, after all.
The smile faltered, however, when he remembered that he was still in disguise! She probably couldn’t recognize him!
She was with a group of about a dozen people. Mostly elves, but there were also half-elves and humans among the servants.
The Lord looked at him and saw him pale. With narrowed eyes, he looked at the servant next to him and gestured with his head.
"Ah, dear guests," he said. "Welcome to our humble palace. Thankfully, you sent someone to inform us, so we were able to prepare for your needs faster."
Finn was forced to step forward. His lips twitched.
"I... I am part of the advanced party you sent. I come straight from the Inn where we met," he said, looking straight at Syl after greeting her as a superior, praying for her to please get his message. "I asked them to set the room as you liked it."
The others flinched at this. "What are you—"
Before the entourage could react any more, Syl lifted her hand. "I see..." she said. "It seems that I have."
Finn heaved out a breath of relief, and the Lord and his people had finally let go of their remaining cynicism towards him.
Syl then turned to look at the Lord and his staff, and they greeted each other.
Finn carefully observed Syl’s party. To be honest... he didn’t really feel good with most of them. Perhaps it was their haughty attitude towards everyone else? This was especially true for the elves other than Syl.
Rather, he could even sense some dislike from some elves, directed towards Syl. It was odd because she was obviously the one with the highest standing in that group.
It was then that he remembered something she told him a while back.
People found me disgusting because of my appearance.
She must’ve grown up with these types of derisive looks. Imagining Syl, especially from a young age, suffering under those contemptuous gazes made his eyes redden. He unconsciously glared at the elves.
They sensed it and looked back, but fortunately, he managed to pull back before it was too late.
The Lord was unaware of this exchange. He just greeted the leader of the party, a man named Fleo, and then Syl.
"We have been instructed by our King to make you comfortable as you rest," he said. "I hope you enjoy your stay."
...
The meeting adjourned, with the group refusing the dinner invite, saying they had already eaten for the day (elves apparently didn’t have to eat as much, and they were particular with what they ate) and were guided to their rooms to rest.
Some of the elven party looked at him, as if studying him, but his eyes were focused on Syl, who subtly shook her head as she went with the servants who guided her to her room.
Finn was once again left alone on his own, but he somehow convinced the rest to let him back into the kitchen. "They’re tired, but I’d like to prepare some midnight snacks."
Since he had already ’proven’ that he knew the leader of the party, he was finally allowed free rein. He hoped to be able to approach Syl naturally, and the best way was to do his job.
He not only needed her to get out of this place unscathed but...he missed her.
After taking his sister to his room, he went straight to the kitchen in the guise of making snacks. Unexpectedly, many of the chefs stayed to watch him.
His eyes twitched. He knew showmanship was too much!
Anyway, as he made some simple snacks like herbed skewers and well-seasoned vegetable wraps, his mind started to wander.
He wondered what Sylwen was doing here?
...
He carried the snacks to the guest rooms, looking confident as if he was really asked to do so. He soon found the door to Syl’s room, and he knocked, though after a while no one answered.
Soon, the door across the hall opened up, revealing one of the elves who was staring him down.
They even released aura, and he almost fell at the mere level discrepancy.
"Lady Syl asked for some snacks, but I suppose she had taken a rest now," he said. "Would his Grace want some?"
The elf narrowed his eyes at him, but he took the food anyway, probably to check if there was some secret in it. Whether they ate it or not was not his problem. He had a feeling they’d find it disdainful, however. A pity for good food.
In the end, Finn headed back to his room, which was located on the ground floor next to the servants’ quarters. It was not quite the level of the servants’ rooms, but not too high in priority in the stratum of important guests.
He had to say he was disappointed he wasn’t able to see her. He wanted to talk to her, but there were guards, and he was afraid to bring her more trouble than he already had.
He entered his room in low spirits, sitting down the side of the bed and sighed.
"It seems you are having a problem," a familiar voice echoed at the side. He flinched and whipped his head in the direction of the voice. He was greeted with her beautiful silhouette illuminated by the moon outside.
His heart beat a bit faster, and he forced himself to compose himself so he could greet her properly.
"Syl!" he gasped, his feet taking him to her. "What are you doing in my room?"
She looked at him, frank as always. "I wanted to see you," she said, those red eyes brimming with honesty.
"..."
Oh, his heart .