Yaana felt saddened as she watched Ryu slowly follow the servant away, but there was nothing she could do about the matter. She was far too young to understand what love was, but she knew enough to know that she enjoyed being around Ryu. Was that not enough for now?
As for Ryu, he had no such things on his mind. He was too mature to fall for someone like Yaana. At the same time, he felt that her endeavours would only lead to her own heartbreak – something he cared little for.
Of the young mistresses of this generation, Yaana and the Kunal family miss Ryu's second sister mentioned were number one and two. Simply put, they were almost guaranteed to marry into the royal clan as tools for their families. This was almost written in stone considering the Garis and Kunal families' fairly low ranked among the six Clans.
While this sounded like good news for Yaana, it wasn't. The top young maidens of a generation almost always married the King. Whether they became Queen or Concubine was the only matter up for questioning. This was exactly what happened with Ryu's mother and Olivia of the Cedar Clan. And, obviously, as things stood now, Ryu would never become King.
Truth be told, even if Ryu had the power to fight for Kingship, he had no interest in the title, nor did he have interest in collecting beauties. He didn't fully understand why, but every fairy-like lady he interacted with, no matter how beautiful or elegant, seemed plain and uninteresting. None of them were capable of moving his heart. It probably also didn't help that he never actually laid eyes on them, he only listened to others describe how beautiful they were… He found the whole affair meaningless and uninteresting.
Ryu silently followed servant who continuously looked back with an expression of curiosity. The servant boy couldn't help but wonder how it was that Ryu followed him so easily. He suddenly thought of fantastical stories he read about heavenly cultivators capable of 'seeing' an ant crawling along the grass from hundreds of yards away, but he immediately shook his head. Didn't their young master fail to awaken his meridians? How could he be such an expert?
Soon, the two of them had made their way to the Agnes Clan's Main House, a towering structure with ancient aesthetics and a tall set of wide stairs to its front door. It just so happened that as they were making their way in, an escort of five was making their way out.
"Ah, Patriarch Garis." The servant boy bowed hurriedly.
A bold elder gentleman walked ahead, sweeping a cold glance over the servant boy and Ryu who followed behind him. Despite being his grandfather's age, Patriarch Garis only had a few streaks of grey in his reddish-brown beard. Plus, his valiant appearance was only helped by the fact he stood well over six feet tall.
The servant boy looked toward Ryu nervously. He had purposely said this Patriarch's name aloud to help out Ryu so he could only panic when he saw that Ryu didn't react appropriately.
Ryu smiled lightly. "Patriarch Garis, I hope you've enjoyed your stay at our Agnes Clan. Forgive this blind young master for being unable to see you out."
The brows of the four guards who followed the patriarch frowned. They were all middle-aged men of decent cultivation, so they knew ways of the world well. Although this young man's disposition was clearly quite good, he didn't have the power to backup his arrogance. In the case that this was true, the best course of action was to lower one's head. The fact that this young master of the Agnes Clan refused to do so would only ensure his demise. It was the epitome of stupidity.
Patriarch Garis snorted in disdain. "My granddaughter won't be marrying a cripple like you no matter how many airs you put on. Do tell your useless grandfather that."
With a wave of his robes, Patriarch Garis turned to leave. As the retired General that he was, it wasn't much of a surprise that his personality was so abrasive.
"Oh, is that so? Do tell her that I wish her the best then." Ryu said without care. Where did these people get off? Did everyone assume that Yaana falling for him was his own blessing? Did they really never consider the idea of him not wanting her love to begin with?
"What did you just say?" The former General's temper flared. It was one thing for his granddaughter to reject Ryu, but the words this young man just said made it sound as though it was the opposite. Had his ears heard incorrectly?!
Ryu didn't seem to be listening. Instead, he had patted the servant boy's shoulder. "Do remember, brother Parios. Within the Agnes Clan, even pigs and chickens must have their own pride. If I find that you've bowed to another person not of the Agnes Clan, I'll be forced to punish you."
A cold sweat dripped down Parios' forehead and back. On one hand, his heart warmed that their Clan's young master remembered his name and even called him brother. But, on the other, he couldn't help but steal glances toward the five valiant men who had stopped in their tracks at Ryu's words.
He started praying to the gods above. 'Please save me, oh Sky Gods. I've lived a good life. Other than one or two trips to the local brothels, I swear I've committed no other wrongs. I don't deserve to die so young.'
However, Ryu didn't sense his plight. In fact, he had already continued up the stairs, passing by the General as though there wasn't a murderous rage locked onto his body. Before any could even realize what had happened, he had already made it to the top of the stairs without incident and was headed toward the doors.
Before he entered, he paused once more. "I have to say, Commander General Garis, I'm quite disappointed. The fact you allowed me to reach the top of these stairs could only mean that you've dulled in your old age."
Ryu's words were like a resounding slap to the face of the five-man escort team. Weren't the just thinking about how misplaced Ryu's arrogance was? Weren't they just thinking about how he didn't have the power to back it? Yet, he was blatantly disrespectful to their Clan Patriarch and they hadn't dared to retaliate. Wasn't this the clearest form of contradiction?
Parios scurried up the stairs, almost falling to all fours multiple times before he finally dived through the large double doors to duck behind his knees and hands as though an explosion was coming. By the time he came to, not only had Ryu disappeared, but the Garis Clan escort had left in defeat.