Reborn: Demon Core (6 page)

“What are you doing in my bed?” Ash asked,
his voice barely a whisper now.

“Huh, you don’t remember?” Lillanis asked
trying to give a smile. “Last night we simply enjoyed each other’s
company.”

“Emelia will kill me,” Ash said as the
meaning of her words sunk in.

“She won’t kill you just for a little fun,”
Lillanis said indifferently. “If you are that worried about it, she
doesn’t have to know. In fact it would be better if this didn’t
spread very far.”

“Worried about what Halon might think?” Ash
asked tactlessly.

“Not really,” Lillanis said slightly annoyed.
“I just think it would cause undue trouble.”

“Sorry,” Ash said, not wanting to ague first
thing in the morning while his head was thrumming. “I know this
isn’t your fault. I…I.”

“I understand,” Lillanis said lightly kissing
Ash on the cheek. “You are a good man…Just a little too emotionally
immature…It’s attractive.”

Ash didn’t have the energy to pull away so he
could only watch As Lillanis slowly dressed and left the room.
After she was gone, Ash laid back in the bed and covered his eyes
and moaned. “What in the world did I do?” Ash asked himself but
there was no answer.

Once the pounding in his head calmed enough,
Ash stumbled from the bed and dressed. He wasn’t in the mood to go
to the labyrinth but he knew he had to do something to clear his
mind and he wasn’t going to do that while staying inside the
manor.

When Ash descended the stairs more than an
hour later, he found Lillanis as well as the other two sitting at
the table. All three of them, like him, seemed to be suffering from
a bad hangover. Gilda, always thinking ahead, brought out a light
meal that was easy to digest along with juice that was full of
nutrients and good for hydration.

After the meal, Ash was feeling much better,
but each time he looked at Lillanis he felt a twinge of remorse in
his heart. He hadn’t even been married that long and yet he had
already been untrue. The more he thought about it, the worse he
felt.

“We going to the labyrinth today?” Halon
asked in a mildly pained voice.

“No,” Ash replied shaking his head. “I have
some business with Emelia today that I need to take care of.”

“Thank the gods,” Halon said with a groan and
Jacob seconded it with a groan of his own.

After finishing his meal, Ash excused himself
from the table. As he started to leave the manor, Allice appeared,
ready to go with him. Ash excused her and asked her to stay back
for the day. She didn’t complain but her eyes looked slightly sad
as she left him standing in the doorway.

“Wait,” Lillanis said, grabbing his arm as he
started to leave through the garden gate. “Are you going to tell
Emelia what happened?”

“Yes,” Ash replied weakly, nodding his head.
“If I hide it from her, I don’t think I could forgive myself.”

“Then let me go with you,” Lillanis said with
a determined face. “I don’t think she will get mad, but if she does
then it is just as much my fault as yours.”

“That is your choice,” Ash said his face
slightly tightening. “I don’t know why you don’t think she will get
mad. I just hope that she doesn’t have either of us killed.”

Lillanis looked at Ash with doubting glance
before following him out of the garden. On the way to the manor,
not a word passed between Ash and Lillanis. Lillanis didn’t have a
worried look, but anyone seeing Ash could tell that he was
concerned.

Seeing the look on Ash’s face, the gate guard
of the estate didn’t welcome him but instead quickly opened the
gate for him. Word of Ash’s arrival spread fast as before he could
take more than three steps into the manner, Emelia ran out to greet
him. “Ash back again already?” Emelia said laughing, until she saw
the sour look on Ash’s face. “Is something wrong?”

“Can we talk for a bit?” Ash asked, his face
pinched tight. “In private.”

“Sure…We can talk in the study,” Emelia said,
her voice laced with concern.

Ash didn’t take a seat next to Emelia on the
couch like he normally would and instead sat in the chair across
from her. Seeing this, Emelia’s face took on a concerned air and
even more so when she noticed that Lillanis took up a position
behind Ash’s right side. Ash didn’t know it, but Lillanis’s choice
of position held a great deal of significance. It was the same
reason that Emelia had put Ash on her right whenever people
visited. It signified a lover.

“What is this about?” Emelia asked her eyes
slightly watering.

“I don’t know how to say this,” Ash said and
Emelia gripped the hem of her dress tightly. “Last night after
drinking I laid with Lillanis. It was not my intention to betray
your trust or feelings. I only hope that you can forgive us.”

“Are you leaving me?” Emelia asked then bit
the edge of her lip.

“N-no…that is, if you can forgive me,” Ash
said slightly surprised.

Emelia slumped down in her seat and let out a
deep sigh. “Ash, I am guessing you still haven’t learned much about
nobles,” Emelia said, her voice holding a tinge of anger. “I am
sure I told you it was common for male nobles to have two or three
wives as well as a number of lovers. Even among commoner families,
it is not uncommon. I can’t say that I am happy about the fact, but
I understood when we got married that I would have to share you.
Just remember what I told you…I will always be first.”

Ash was astounded. He had expected Emelia to
start cursing his name and throwing things at him but instead she
had taken it calmly. Seeing the look on his face, Emelia let out
another sigh though this one was much lighter then she crossed the
room and sat on Ash’s lap and wrapped around his neck. “I didn’t
think it would be that much of a surprise for you,” Emelia said
with a light chuckle. “The thought of keeping you all to myself
does sound fun, though I don’t think it would be fair. Do you know
the reason that most men have more than one wife?”

“Because men only think with their bodies,”
Ash replied, only half joking.

At his jest both Lillanis and Emelia let out
a slight laugh. “There is that, but that is not the only reason.
For some reason, six females are born for every male. For the
nobles that means that there are a lot of unwed noble ladies and
also the more wives they have the better chance they have of
conceiving a son. For the normal populace, it means that there are
a lot more women seeking husbands than there are single men. It
wasn’t always like this, but when the population started to decline
rapidly the laws were changed and over time so did the feelings
about it.”

Emelia shifted her seat and grabbed
Lillanis’s hand and pulled her forward. “Lillanis since the idiot
is woefully ignorant, I hope that you will help watch out for him
when he is not within my sight,” Emelia said, holding tightly to
Lillanis’s hands.

“Milady, it was only one night,” Lillanis
said shaking her head. “We have talked about this. I have another
that I have given my heart.”

“If that is true, then how did you find your
way into his bed?” Emelia asked pointedly. “I don’t think Ash would
force you against your will.”

“That is not it,” Lillanis replied quickly.
“I just needed a little comfort and Ash has a calming
presence.”

“Then let him continue to comfort you,”
Emelia said with a warm smile, seeming to understand the situation.
“It is better for me if there are no deep feelings involved.”

“What about what I think?” Ash said slightly
taken aback.

“You already spent one night with her,”
Emelia countered, pushing his concerns aside. “Be a man and take
responsibility for it. Now if there is nothing else, I have a court
today,” Emelia added pushing the two out of the room.

Leaving the manor, Ash walked aimlessly
toward the market district. “Told you she wouldn’t be angry,”
Lillanis said lightly. While she spoke, Lillanis took Ash’s arm and
pulled it tightly to her chest.

“I thought that you didn’t want to continue?”
Ash asked surprised.

“I don’t know,” Lillanis said after a long
moment of silence. “But I don’t think there is anything wrong with
a little tenderness. A woman wants to feel wanted every now and
then.”

“Even if you say so, I don’t really feel
comfortable,” Ash said, though he didn’t try to remove his arm from
her grasp.

“It’s not like we have to jump right into
bed,” Lillanis said, laying her head on his shoulder. “Just a
little warmth is all I need. Your wife even agreed to it, so there
is no reason to hold back. If it really bothers you just think of
it as doing a favor for a friend.”

“A favor…How is this a favor?” Ash asked,
completely confused at her meaning.

“Do you have any idea how hard it is to see
Halon flirting with that young slave of yours day after day. For
years I have watched him court girl after girl and never look my
way and not even caring how bad it hurts to watch. Even if it’s a
lie, I want to feel loved from time to time.”

Seeing the sad look on Lillanis’s face, Ash
felt a pain in his chest. Seeing the look on his face, Lillanis
gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. “That soft side of you is really
charming.”

Ash didn’t say anything else and kept his
pace as he walked in the direction of the guild halls, looking for
the Stonemason’s Guild. Though it was called the Stonemason’s
Guild, it dealt with everything that had to do with building.

The guild building was well made, but not as
elaborate as Ash had imagined. As he entered the building he was
warmly greeted and asked to wait while the guild master was
notified. Sir Gillan, along with a slightly older gentleman
appeared after a few moments.

“Master Ash, this is guild master Walt.”
Gillan said bowing. “Since the project is so big, he wanted to
speak with you, though I will still be in charge on site.”

“This way please,” Walt said.

Ash and Lillanis were lead to a fairly large
room in the back of the guild. In the center of the room was a long
table which was covered by small trees. At first Ash thought that
the trees were made out of wood, but upon closer inspection he
noticed that the image wavered slightly. “This is magic,” Ash said
looking closer.

“Yes, it is one of the skills that
stonemasons have. It allows us to show everything happening at a
project site. Most the time it isn’t used, but since this is a
project suggested by the duchess we have to make sure everything is
done correctly. We have already hired two hundred laborers to clear
the land. They will cost ten silvers a day each. Once enough of the
land is cleared we will bring in the earth mages to remove stumps
and prepare the foundation so that it can hold the weight of
construction. For the prep work, we can use novice earth mages but
for the stones themselves we will need intermediate or higher and
that will be where most the expense will go. Right now we have five
mages hired who are currently making stones using iron thick soil.
This way they will be ready when the ground is prepared. They are
costing fifty gold a piece a day. We also have to employ one person
for every ten workers, but for the common laborers we are using
novice stonemasons at twenty silver a day. To oversee each ten
novices we have one intermediate stonemason costing five gold a
day. And right now there is only Gillan working as the overseer but
since it would be wrong to pay him less than the highest paid
worker, he is receiving a platinum coin a day. Once the ground is
prepared and work starts, we will need two more master stonemasons,
and I myself will start as overseer. We understand that most
projects of this size often take years to complete, so we would
like you to deposit funds available with us so that we can ration
out the work over time.”

Ash listened to the guild master without
saying a word. When he was finished, Ash pulled out a piece of
parchment and wrote out a note for them to draw two thousand
platinum coins from the royal back. “Right now this is all that we
have prepared for the work,” Ash said handing over the paper.

“Is this amount just for this year’s budget?”
Walt asked.

“Is it not enough?” Ash asked hesitantly.

“It is a little more than I figured. Normally
a project this size would be rationed out over forty to fifty
years. Even the king would spread it out over ten years. I was
expecting more along the lines of fifteen hundred platinum
coins.”

“How much will the project cost all
together?” Ash asked. He had tried to figure it up himself and
thought a hundred thousand platinum coins would be cheap.

Between sixty and seventy five thousand
platinum coins. The most expensive part is the earth mages and
transporting the stones once they are made. The best quarry for
high level stones is more than eight days away so it is quite the
hassle, but we won’t have to worry about that for a while.”

“Then use this as this year’s budget and
increase the speed if you can even if only by a little,” Ash said
looking down at the table.

“Then we can hire another earth mage and
three hundred more workers. That will speed up progress greatly,”
Gillan said scratching his beard.

“I will try to come up with some more to add
to the funds. I don’t know how much I will be able to gather, but
every bit will help,” Ash said nodding his head.

“If you bring more funds, we will start
transporting the stones closer so that they can be used more easily
once the time arrives,” the guild master said nodding his head.

With his business finished, Ash left the
guild with Lillanis following close behind him. He thought of going
to the labyrinth, but since he had already given the other two the
day off, he decided instead to head back to the manor to enjoy a
relaxing day himself.

When Ash arrived at the manor Lillanis took
hold of his arm again pressing it tightly between the small mounds
on her chest just as Halon came into view. Halon was currently
chatting with the young slave that had caught his attention while
she hung laundry but upon seeing Lillanis and Ash his smiling face
darkened.