'Let's do this.' With that thought, Grey opened the lord's office door.
"We probably should've knocked," Jason muttered.
Grey, already inside, turned and asked, "Did you say something?"
"...Nothing."
As he turned back, the first thing Grey saw was Marquise's jewel-like blue eyes looking at them patiently.
Grey looked at the marquise, who was sitting behind the desk, looking at them with an expressionless face.
'Wow, are his eyes glowing?'
The Marquise, who was calmly looking at them, gave a feeling of power.
"Was there something you needed, Father?" Jason asked.
"Sit down," Jake responded.
As they sat down, Marquise silently looked at them briefly.
While Jason did not react to this, Grey was slowly getting anxious.
"Grey."
'Here it comes.'
"Yes?"
"I heard the report about the forest incident, so what happened after you got lost?"
"I don't know. For some reason, I can't recall anything."
At the Marquise's question, Grey just answered truthfully.
"You don't remember?"
"Yes, the last thing I remember is Robert finding me, and then I collapsed."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
He really didn't have any idea as to what he was doing in the middle of the forest.
From what he could remember from Grey's memories, he was in the forest to hunt some monsters and got lost from others.
Jake stared at Grey in silence, as though not convinced by his explanation.
"sigh well, just be careful next time."
'Just like that?'
Grey, who was prepared for a full-on interrogation, was quite surprised. He never thought it would just end with one question.
"Yes sir."
'Perks of being a troublemaker, I guess?' Grey speculated.
"Now the reason I called both of you here."
Hearing those words, Jason straightened his back.
On the other hand, Grey just glanced at Jason before returning his attention to the Marquise.
He was also wondering why Jason was also here, and judging by his little brother's expression, it looked like he had some idea.
"In about two months, there is going to be a coming-of-age ceremony for the princess, her Highness, Alisya von Darthfort."
With this declaration, silence fell in the room, and both Jason's and Grey's expressions turned serious.
The coming-of-age ceremony is held when a person turns 17. From that point, one could be considered as an adult.
For a noble, it's a day when they get, their responsibility, property and, in rare cases elected as lord of their household.
So it's an event taken very seriously by nobles and hence celebrated quite grandly.
And this time it isn't just any noble but the only daughter of the current king.
It would be celebrated quite grandly, which means nobles and influential people from all over the kingdom would be coming.
And for a noble, it's a great opportunity to make connections and allies.
But that wasn't the reason for Grey's serious expression; it's not like he wanted to be Marquise.
No, it was because this was the prologue of the 'Chronicles of Heroes.'
'So I just have two months, huh? Not much time to prepare.'
"And I intend to take someone else with me."
The declaration made Jason's face more serious; he was contemplating what to say next. It was obvious why his father made this declaration.
Whoever goes with the marquise will be recognized as the heir of the Skyfall marquisette.
'He is a little too expressive,' Grey thought.
"Will Mother not be going?" Jason inquired.
"Yes, since someone needs to stay and take care of this place."
With this, it was confirmed that the 'someone' he was talking about would be either him or his big brother.
'I need to grab this opportunity!'
"So will it be all right if I go with you?"
The Marquise first glanced toward Grey, expecting a response. But he met with Grey silently looking towards him.
"Sure, it would be a good experience for you."
Hearing that, Jason's eyes lit up; he was visibly happy but tried to maintain his expression.
Grey finds his little brother's behaviour quite amusing.
But his amusement was short-lived, as both the Marquise and Jake were staring towards him.
"Is there something the matter?" Grey asked with a confused look on his face.
"Do you have any thoughts on this matter?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
Marquise was surprised by Grey's response and understandably so.
As usually, Grey would throw a fit or cause a commotion. In fact, he was mentally prepared for it, as he had decided to take Jason before discussing it with them.
"I mean, Mary is still a little young to attend this kind of event."
"What?" Jason asked involuntarily.
Even the marquise was looking at him questioningly.
"Or do you want to take a drunkard to such an important event?" Grey responded with a slight smile.
Marquise and Jason were speechless; they wanted to say something but couldn't because it was true.
Seeing both of their reaction, Grey's smile grew slightly.
Before they could say anything else, Grey tried to finish the matter.
"So is there anything else?"
"...No."
"Then I shall take my leave."
The marquise just nodded at him.
Grey stood up and left the office.
Sigh "Let's hope he doesn't cause any new trouble." Marquise muttered, before looking back at Jason.
"Do you have any questions?"
"No."
"Okay, then you may leave. Since there are still two months, you have plenty of time to prepare."
"Yes," Jason replied, but he didn't leave.
"Is there something else?"
"Um that.... are you sure about letting me go instead of brother?"
"Are you worried about him?"
"uhhhh"
Seeing Jason's reaction, a slight smile appeared on Marquise's face.
"Well, I was going to take you anyways."
"But then why did you—"
"Why did I ask both of you about the ceremony?"
The Marquise cut Jason off, finishing his sentence.
"Yes."
"I just wanted to punish Grey, for his recklessness. I don't want him to live like a hooligan."
"Although it is my fault for neglecting his behaviour for so long but I just couldn't.... " Jake paused for a moment as if reminiscing something "Every time I see him it reminds me of her"
Jason didn't say anything. No, he didn't dare to.
Without the need to mention he knew who her was. How could he, not? There is probably no one in Skyfall who didn't know her.
After all, she was late Marchioness and Marquise's first wife.
She was also Grey's mother. Unfortunately, she was dead.
So Jason just listened silently without interrupting.
"But I didn't expect him to accept so easily."
The Marquise felt that something about Grey was different, but couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.
'Let's hope he is not planning to cause trouble.'
"Anyways, you don't need to think too much about it."
Jason just nodded at Marquise's words and then left the office.