An old servant now stood before Etien, a man who'd spent nearly every waking hour wrangling staff so the mansion ran like clockwork.
Mier Alister had lived through quiet years, nothing ever ruffled him too much, and nothing ever dulled his edge. He executed every task with flawless precision, always satisfying the Duke, even when his work passed unnoticed, unpraised.
After the death of Etien's grandfather, the previous Duke, Mier chose to retire. His duties were passed to Bastian, a loyal hand who'd served since the reign of the Duke before Etien, and stayed on to act as the young Duke's butler and personal aide, handling things only someone like him could.
But instead of returning to his homeland, Mier spent his retirement keeping tabs from the shadows, watching over the young Duke's rise, guarding against missteps and reckless decisions that could hurt Winterbraun. He had help, of course, from the Shadow Guard.
