A chilling numbness made Ro freeze in place. Her stomach churned. She couldn't tear her eyes from the body slumped against the stone. Ro took a step back, turning to Geneva.
The older woman had gone rigid.
"La—Geneva?" Ro whispered, growing more alarmed at Geneva's reaction than at what had just happened.
'She said he was a kind man!'
A severe frown crossed her face, and she flinched, as if remembering Ro was beside her.
She swiftly turned to the servants. "Take her through the other entrance. Now."
Ro opened her mouth to ask another question when Geneva walked away from them and towards the broken door.
"My Lady. We have to go," the servant from the shop spoke up, gently holding Ro by the arm and coaxing her towards the door.
She didn't refuse.
They went back out into the cold of the stone courtyard. The carriage was gone.
"What was that?" Ro questioned, her heart hammering in her chest.
The servants looked at each other, and one of them responded, speaking softly, "He rarely is in a bad mood, so something serious must have happened."
Ro eyed them as they walked. Geneva had been caught off guard, but the servants hadn't seemed so surprised.
They were either lying or the rarity of this was rather common.
Ro murmured, clutching her chest, "That person…"
"He's not dead. Please, do not worry."
A light frown formed on Ro's forehead. Were they telling her someone could have possibly survived that? He had hit the wall with such force that it had been stained with blood.
'Come to think of it, how did the wall not crack?'
Ro suppressed a shudder. That should be the least of her worries.
It was clear.
Iver was dangerous.
She had to do her best to avoid that man, and hopefully, leave this place. Blending in would be an issue. She had not seen anyone with her stature since she arrived. She could try visiting the city tomorrow to get a feel of the environment, and maybe pretend to be a teenager upon her escape. Surely their little ones couldn't be so well developed either.
The only issue would be her features. She looked young, but most certainly not like a child.
They had walked a considerable distance when they came across a set of stone doors. This time, they merged well with the walls to the extent that Ro had not noticed it at first.
"This way."
One of the servants pushed open a door, ushering them within.
Ro walked into a dark hallway, and the light disappeared just as the servant closed the door shut.
Ro let out a shaky breath. "It's dark."
"Please, come." The servant's familiar hand took hold of Ro's arm and led the way through the dark. Another set of doors opened to a large stone verandah.
Ro stared at the sprawling garden spread out before her. Cobbled stone pathways intersected through low bushes of varying colours, some with peculiar leaves. There were no flowers, but some of the bushes had been cut and pruned to take on various shapes.
The grey sky cast a flat light over the upper balconies and surrounding stone walls.
"I apologise. The grounds are large. It would take a while to guide you to your quarters," the servant from the ship spoke up.
"It's fine," Ro whispered, her eyes drawing in the surrounding details. The estates back in Erzi were beautiful, but this was just as mesmerising. The architecture here was completely different. Harsher, but still fascinating.
Only the emperor owned buildings with upper floors, and Ro hoped they would not have to climb too many stairs to get to her quarters.
The air within the castle was considerably warmer. Ro was out of breath and yet, to her horror, they had not arrived at their destination.
Ro shed the coat at some point, leaving the seemingly huge burden to one of the servants. And soon enough, they arrived at her intended quarters. Despite being exhausted, she still tried to be conscious of her surroundings.
There was a strange, welcoming parlour, branching hallways and finally, her sleeping chambers.
Ro spotted her boxes within the bed chamber.
"How did it arrive here so fast?"
"Another carriage swiftly brought it ahead of time. I arrived with it," the servant from the ship spoke up as the other parted curtains open, letting light into the dim room.
"I see…" Ro trudged to the bed and sat at the edge.
She resisted the urge to lie on her back.
"I don't know your names," Ro addressed the women.
They paused. The servant from the ship responded, "I am Ester, and this is Laire. I will mostly be attending to you."
"Thank you. It's nice to be acquainted. I noticed there weren't any other servants while coming here." Ro looked between both of them.
"Oh, we are not…" Laire spoke up, shifting her blue-eyed gaze to Ester and back to Ro. "We're not servants."
Ro's eyes widened in alarm. "My apologies for that, I didn't know."
Ester smiled. "It is fine. We're attendants. Servants are of a lower rank, but most of them are working in other parts of the castle. The Houses do not keep a lot of servants."
"I understand," Ro said, slightly embarrassed. She sighed. "Again, forgive my blunder."
Back in Erzi, even smaller estates had tens to hundreds of servants.
"Please, do not worry about it."
Shortly after, Ester led Ro to the bathing chamber, where she discovered strange contraptions and facilities that disturbed her more than fascinated her. Hot and cold water ran from taps in a nation that hardly used magic, and the soothing motions of Ester's hands made Ro doze off.
Ro thanked the attendants as they left her chambers, with Ester promising to return with dinner. Ro refused it, stating she wasn't so hungry and would not like to be disturbed till the following morning.
Besides wanting to sleep, she did not want to meet that man.
Most importantly, she needed to prepare for tonight.