Ingrid von Silberhafen

  Altevia was a very strange boy, he was hard to understand, he definitely felt older than his age and he was the only boy who could talk so casually towards Ingrid. Ingrid didn't know how to feel about this little boy, normally she would never take someone his age seriously, but this boy was... weird.

  And besides, the other lord and lady were certainly not here just for trade, Ingrid and her mother Ophelia could tell that something was wrong. She had hoped to learn something from Altevia's lips, but either the boy was a very good liar, or Lord Sergius and Lady Mira were really here to pass the time. Perhaps they were secret lovers and had made an excuse to spend some private time together? No, that was ridiculous.

  When Altevia took Ingrid's hand, Ingrid looked at him in surprise for a moment and he said, “You'll burn your hands.”

  Ingrid looked at the hand Altevia was holding ‘Thanks, I was lost in thought’ she said and took her baking gloves and took the pizza out of the oven. After placing the pizza on the table, she left the circular metal pan underneath to cool and enjoyed the smell of the pizza in front of her. The pizza, made with sausage, tomatoes, mushrooms, green peppers and corn, was delicious and crispy. Ingrid had only had pizza once before, but it was so long ago, she couldn't even remember the taste.

  After Altevia sliced the pizza they had prepared together, Ingrid blew the steam out of it and tasted it. It was one of the best things she'd ever eaten in her life, a little greasy and too heavy. She couldn't eat more than 2 slices, but the flavour was tremendous.

  “It’s even better if you make with wood fire.” said Altevia after he had eaten some himself, and by the time they had finished the pizza with servants and the squirrell, it was completely dark.

  Ingrid was actually waiting for Lord Sergius and Lady Mira to return, and when their carriage returned in the middle of the night, she followed them. Altevia and his guard had already gone to their rooms and fallen asleep. And as the Lord and Lady entered the manor, chatting amongst themselves, Ingrid saw in their hands a precious stone, white in colour, resembling a crystal. As far as she knew, there was no mine in Xadora from which such a stone could be mined. Had the stone been brought from another region? Perhaps they had brought a gift to the Silberhafen house? Everything would be clear in the morning.

  Nevertheless, Ingrid followed them stealthily, and when they were in a room she approached to listen in on their conversation, but after a brief silence, when all she could hear were inappropriate noises coming from Lady Mira, Ingrid went to her own room, her face reddening. Perhaps her guess hadn't been so wrong after all?

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  Ingrid went to her room and although she felt bad for a while, she was tired from her day with Altevia and quickly fell asleep. When she woke up she took a quick shower, put on a white robe and black corset with black embroidery on the chest resembling a tree, and black trousers, combed her hair and left her room. And she realised that her feet were leading her towards Altevia's room, why was she going there? But there was nothing to do in the castle today, and chatting to the boy wasn't so bad... She was about to knock on the door when she came to his room, and suddenly she heard them talking.

  “I'll take you with us, but on two conditions.

  1 - You'll always stay behind, stay alert and follow my word.

  2 - You won't say anything to your father.

  Agreed?”

  It was the voice of Lord Sergius, followed by the voice of Altevia and his personal guard.

  “I will say nothing, but Nazir…”

  “My lord, if you promise to be really careful and not to leave my side, I will have no problem protecting you in a dungeon.

  I don't think Lord Eliar will see it as a problem either, as long as nothing happens to you.”

  “My uncle won't mind, but I don't know about my aunt.

  And Nazir, try not to use the word dungeon, the Silberhafen's think we're still here for trade and a few small jobs.

  We can't fight the duke for what we'll find there.”

  They weren't here to trade, they were here to steal! Ingrid took two steps away from the door and jumped as someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned round to see Lady Mira smiling down at her. “Are you looking for someone?” Mira asked as Ingrid's heart skipped a beat and Ingrid panicked, “Do you know what Lord Altevia likes to eat!?”

  Mira looked at her silently for a moment and then smiled, “What does he like to eat...?

  I heard that he has a very strict diet, his mom said that he eats grilled chicken 3 days a week, a random salad plate 1 day, meat from any animal, usually cow 2 days a week, and fish 1 day a week. So whatever you do, as long as it's not too fatty, I think he'll like it.”

  Ingrid looked at Mira in amazement, “You seem to know a lot about him.”

  “Of course.” She folded her arms, “There's a chance he could be my son-in-law at any moment, or... my husband, if he keeps going like this.” She giggled.

  Ingrid's blushed, “Oh, okay, thank you,” she muttered, and walked away.

  What a shameless woman she was! After making out with her cousin, she was targeting that little boy too! Shameless!

  But apart from that, Ingrid had a decision to make, should she tell her brother and mother that their guests had come to steal, or should she take the artifact herself? If she informed her parents, they could take the artifact, but would they give it to Ingrid? The Silberhafen's had 3 artifacts, two belonged to the eldest brother Levi and the other to Isaak. The artifact would probably go to either Isaak or Levi's future child. Maybe if he took the artifact himself, his parents wouldn't be able to tell him anything. It was a dangerous thought, but not a bad one, Ingrid could cast spells, after all, she was quite skilled, having been born with three mana spirits and training almost every day to improve her mana. She could protect herself in case of trouble.

  Ingrid knew that if she waited too long she would give up, so she hurried to her room and looked for her wand.