With his meeting with Aria completed Marcus got up and left the room he was waiting in and headed back towards the building's entrance.
Once he made it back to the doors that separated this area from the rest of the government office, Marcus pushed the doors open.
Back into the main area of the building Marcus could once again see the crowd of people shuffling around trying to catch up on the work they were unable to do during the ice ant siege.
Marcus thanked the man behind the desk for his service and began making his way to the building's exit.
However, before he could make it out, he heard a familiar voice say, "Looks like the meeting went well, how does it feel to be a baronetess."
Looking towards the voice Marcus could see Wade standing there having appeared out of the shadows.
"Yeah, it was pretty unexpected, I take it you had a hand in that being my reward."
Wade shrugged his shoulders and nodded giving Marcus conformation that he had indeed been apart of the plot to give him a noble title.
"Now you must have a lot to do in these next few days, so I have found a hotel to house you and your sister in. While I do trust you, I am not in the habit of giving out the keys to my house and I do not have the time to let you in and out whenever you want. Do not worry though the hotel is quite reputable and comfortable."
Marcus looked a bit surprised at first not expecting to be kicked out of Wade's manor but soon realized it was for the best.
The two of them then exited the building and headed back to Wade's manor so Marcus could pick up Lilia.
After they had reentered the manor grounds but before they got to the entrance Wade stopped and turned towards Marcus and with a concerned look in his eyes said, "Irene, I heard from my cousin that you plan to get revenge on Viscount Poulsen which is the main reason you are going to the capital. I know I may not be able to convince you to stop but I should warn you that he is a dangerous man. He has been under investigation by the royal investigators before, but every time one of them got close they either quit or disappeared. He is certainly in bed with a dangerous organization though we do not know which one exactly. So, I just wanted to give you a heads up that even if you successfully get your revenge on him you may find yourself and those you care about under fire."
Marcus was quite surprised to hear Wade say this with genuine concern and for a second he almost gave up on getting revenge for Lilia's safety.
However, he soon remembered how the man had hunted him down to murder him and that it was likely he would find out about his survival sooner or later.
'No, I have to tie up this loose end, if he finds out that I survived and that I have a sister he could do something to her. I have to deal with the current threat and worry about future ones when they pop up.'
With his mind made up Marcus looked at Wade with a resolute expression and said, "Thanks for the warning, I am afraid that I have no intention of giving up on my plans, but I will be careful."
Wade then sighed before shrugging his shoulders and walking towards his manor when he stopped remembering something else and said, "Ah, one last warning from me. You have attracted a lot of attention, not all of it good. There are plenty of people that are interested in your talents and looks that would do anything to get you on their side. I can assure you that there are other nobles and organizations that will give you offers and some of them may not be as cordial about rejection as me and Erastalven."
With that one final warning Wade continued to the entrance of his residence after giving Marcus plenty to think about.
Once they went inside Freid appeared almost instantly and Wade directed him to bring Lilia to the entryway since Marcus was here to take her.
After around seven minutes Freid reappeared with Lilia and she quickly ran up towards Marcus and grabbed his hand.
Marcus let a slight smile creep onto his face as he returned Lilia's grasps and held her hand.
"Well then it has been good to see you again Irene and should you ever wish to join the royal investigators the door is always open. I have booked a room for the two of you at the Lush Villa for five days so feel free to enjoy your stay."
Wade then handed Marcus a map of River Landing that detailed all of the major roads and landmarks with the Lavish Villa marked.
Marcus took the map and thanked Wade and with Lilia in hand exited his manor and headed for the front gate.
As the two of them exited Wade's residence Freid turned towards his master and said, "You were unusually accommodating to her even after see turned down your requirement efforts, you normally would not trouble yourself to this degree for no return."
Hearing this Wade turned around towards Freid with his classic confident smirk on his face and said, "Freid you are right, normally I would not go through the trouble, but there is something exceptional about her. She is a monster even without the backing of a noble house of organization, she has already surpassed what would even be considered the realm of a genius. I may not have gotten her to work for me, but she will remember the goodwill I have shown her. I have laid the foundation for her to align with our kingdom, and she may one day be one of the greatest assets we have."
Freid stared skeptically at Wade not seeing the same value he had in Marcus since while someone at level thirty was quite strong around the same level as a veteran knight or a captain in the army, they were not that rare. There were still thousands of people that strong in a large kingdom like Borealia and just because Marcus had managed to get to level thirty quickly did not mean they could keep up that pace.
However, Freid had not seen what Wade had when Marcus leaped out to intercept the ice ant royal guard that was many levels higher and came out on top.
'After checking her status, I know she only has level one darkness magic so that aura of darkness must be a unique skill. I can count all of the people known to have a unique skill in the kingdom on both my hands and feet, she is too promising to let slip through to some other kingdom or power.'
…
Back on the streets of River Landing Marcus and Lilia stood in front of a massive hotel that had a beautiful fountain made completely out of a shimmering blue stone.
'Wow, this place is complete different from the places I have stayed at so far. It looks like a five-star hotel back on earth. This place certainly caters to noble and wealthy merchants, I hate to think how much it costs to stay here even just one night.'
Walking into the building Marcus immediately saw the grand lobby that had waterfall crashing down into a pond that fed a small stream that was flowing through the middle of it the lobby.
Marcus and Lilia stood their astounded by the scene for a minute before one of the staff members of the hotel came up to them.
Luckily both Lilia and Marcus were still wearing the clothes they had obtained at Wade's manor, so they did not seem completely out of place, and the hotel employee treated them respect instead of trying to kick them out.
"Hello is this your first time in the Lush Villa, I am afraid that we are currently all booked up so unless you already have a reservation, I am afraid we do not have any rooms available."
Marcus looked at the young woman who had come up to him and coming out of the daze the interior of the Lavish Villa had put him in and said, "Ah yes this is our first time here, but we do have a reservation made for us by Wade Ophiria."
Marcus then handed a letter that Wade had given him along with the map to the hotel staff member and she quickly looked it over before immediately preforming a deep bow and saying, "Yes we do have a room ready for you Lady Irene and Lady Lilia, we are glad to have you as our esteemed quests. Please allow me to escort you to the reception where you can get your room keys and then I will show you to your suite."
"Yeah, sounds good thank you for your hospitality and lead the way."
The young women let out a quite sigh of relief since her earlier interaction may have offended some other nobles and quickly led Marcus to the reception desk.
When they arrived the young woman employee handed Wade's letter to the receptionist and their eyes lit up for a moment before they began processing the paperwork for Marcus' room.
After just under a minute the receptionist said, "Everything is squared away, here is your room keys and if you get hungry, we do have a restaurant on the second floor that is open from dusk to midnight.. There is also live entertainment by the owner lady Maryam Valorre who is famed throughout the kingdom for her beauty and her voice."