Shackled Exalted

Emil

Morning came in a flash, and Emil was forced awake after a restless sleep. Last night's events were still on his mind as he reluctantly pried himself off his bed. The appearance of a monster like the Gutter Slime was a harrowing signal of troubles within the Canticle.

Let Graf and his men handle it.

He pushed the thought aside. There was no doubt that he would be eventually called to assist Steiger later, but for now, he had more pressing things to worry about—like his invitation to visit House Belle.

Emil wiped himself clean of the sweat that had accumulated from the short sleep and then put on the best outfit that he brought for this occasion. His clothes consisted of a velvet tunic accompanied by a navy cloak. A pair of tanned linen trousers and a practical pair of boots completed the fit. He thought it was formal enough to pass as a guest of the most prestigious noble house in the Rosales province, yet not so gaudy to appear arrogant.

Kai would have definitely given him grief for choosing a more modest look instead of something more visually striking. Anna would have agreed with his premise, but the two of them would inevitably get into a fight over what colors would best appeal to a noble's tastes. Emil could already imagine the two bickering while the two actual nobles, Charlotte and Aoife, watched them from afar like they were attending a theater show.

The dynamics of their group had grown weird after Aoife and Kai joined them. But Emil didn't hate it. The liveliness had its charm and the colorful personalities in the group made every interaction interesting. There was never a dull moment.

But for today, he needed peace as he prepared to step into the lion's den that was House Belle.

And so, he snuck out of the tavern where they stayed at the early crack of dawn.

***

Rain from last night had finally stopped. Light shimmered from the puddles and wet surfaces—the patterned bricks and marble stones of the Arts District radiated a vibrant glow under the gentle sun at dawn. When wetted, the vivid colors of the buildings began to blend together like a watercolor painting. At the same time, a light mist permeated the city and a kaleidoscope of rainbow colors crossed the unclouded skies. Emil took in the stunning views while he trekked north towards the Noble's Quarters.

Isarelle was already a beautiful city thanks to its local culture of arts and aesthetics. But it was only after a rainy day that the full scope of its allure could be fully unveiled.

For that reason, Isarelle was often called the City of Rain.

Emil soon arrived at the gated entrance of the Noble's Quarter. A set of guards wearing uniforms of House Belle were posted. As the governor of this city, it was House Belle's soldiers that often took up the duties of maintaining public order. Emil walked up and gave his name. A few minutes later, a middle-aged butler from House Belle arrived to permit his entrance.

"Greetings, Sir Emil. On behalf of milady Liesel and the head of the family, House Belle welcomes you to the Noble's Quarter."

The butler was polite and treated him with a reverent air. It was strange. Outside of the Academy, Emil never had a pleasant experience when dealing with nobles. Their servants, in particular, were always openly dismissively of his commoner blood. It made sense—servants were often an extension of their master's will after all. While the nobles themselves might hide their thoughts behind a carefully crafted veneer, their subordinates were usually less cunning.

Either House Belle has a favorable impression of me thanks to Liesel, or their servants are particularly competent, Emil thought as he followed the butler. He was glad for his presence. Like Upper Dannan, the Noble's Quarter was like a colorful labyrinth. Roads and paths meandered and turned abruptly without warning—bending to the whims of the nobles that made these lands their home without any concern for practicality.

In many ways, the Noble's Quarter was an exaggeration of the Arts District. Emil would have never been able to find his way without assistance.

"And here, is the noble estate of House Belle," the butler exclaimed with notable pride in his voice.

Emil looked ahead as they found themselves before a small moat. The island at the center of the small body of water was an elevated ridge of land. From Emil's estimations, it looked to be half of the size of the Academy campus. The verdant canopies of various trees peeked out above of the walls that surrounded the estate, which glimmered with an ivory sheen.

Several stone bridges connected the rest of the Noble's Quarters with the isolated estate of House Belle. It was a powerful and majestic display as if to extort House Belle's status above all other nobles within Isarelle.

Emil felt the butler's gaze linger on him as they walked side-by-side across the closest bridge.

"It's beautiful," he offered out of courtesy. The exterior of the House Belle truly was beautiful, but he feigned indifference as he kept most of his awe inward.

The butler nodded as if satisfied with his response.

The estate's interior soon came into view. Emil caught glimpses of hanging gardens. Vines and flowers in full bloom were scattered across the airspace, dangling from various ivory-colored structures—not overly intrusive, but present enough to adorn the estate with an otherworldly feel. Aqueducts carrying channels of water gushed. A hummingbird buzzed nearby, indulging in the nectars of the flowers.

It was a more subdued type of splendor compared to the overbearing extravagance pursued by most of Ardair's elites.

As Emil stepped through the front gates, he was greeted by a small procession. The unexpected treatment took him by surprise as he suddenly found himself flanked by two columns of servants. He caught himself about to make a face before quickly reining himself in. He had his suspicions observing the butler, but now he was all but certain.

They're testing me. Trying to see what makes me tick.

The procession itself was already excessive, but the fact that the servants were entirely composed of beautiful ladies dressed in maidenly clothes made it obvious what was happening.

Emil put on a friendly smile as he made eye contact with some of ladies, trying to appear nonchalant. The butler eventually stopped once they arrived at the end of the procession.

"Before we continue, I must first apologize, Sir Emil. Lady Liesel and the head of the family are currently occupied with an external affair. I humbly request that you wait patiently until their time is freed up."

Making a guest wait. A classic tactic for a noble to test someone's character or make a show of power. Emil almost rolled his eyes at the blatant act.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Of course, no worries," he replied, feigning ignorance.

Then as if following a script, one of the ladies from the procession suddenly stepped forward.

"This is Delilah," the butler introduced, "She will show you around and explain the various facilities on the Belle estate that will be available to you, should you choose to join the house."

***

The Belle estate was truly impressive. The entire island was operated like a small town in the midst of a giant garden. The mansion where the main family resided towered at the center of the estate, surrounded by stone terraces, fountains, and statues depicting the founding members of the house. Behind the mansion and in its adjacent wings were residences and facilities for servants and associates.

What Emil found more impressive, however, was Delilah.

The young lady gave him an extensive tour of the estate, providing him with concise and meaningful descriptions of the various buildings. Her voice radiated confidence and chimed with a sweet and alluring tone. She moved with a slight sway in her steps, which accentuated her bewitching figure. Occasionally, she would pretend to brush against Emil's arms accidentally before feigning a bashful smile.

Her coy act was very convincing, and Emil might have felt himself charmed by her coquettishness if it weren't for the fact that he had already seen through House Belle's tactics.

Instead, he responded politely in each of these interactions—not stonewalling her completely, but reacting in a noncommittal manner.

As the tour went on, Delilah seemed to grow bolder in her flirtatious attempts. A hand on the shoulder. A tap on the cheek. A pull on his wrist. Pretending to trip on a stone while falling into Emil's chest.

Tired of being on the defensive, Emil decided to take the initiative. He had a burning question on the top of his mind.

"Delilah, have we met before?" he asked.

The young lady spun around—her eyes sparkled and a faint triumphant smile was raised on her face as if she had finally got something more substantial out of Emil.

"What makes you say that?" she replied back, her tone playful.

Emil took the chance to take a hard look at her face. With a pair of dark brunette eyes and perfectly symmetrical features, Delilah possessed a beauty that would make any man swoon. But what caught Emil's attention wasn't her looks.

I knew it. I recognized her face.

He felt a strange, uncanny sense of familiarity from the beginning. And now it was clear why.

"You're an actress," he declared.

Delilah's eyes widened for the briefest of instance. As if realizing her blunder, she immediately fixed her expression. Before she could try to deny it—

"You were on stage yesterday. You played the Goddess Endora."

Surprisingly, she held her coy smile. But her eyes were no longer gleaming with triumph. She stared hard at him, her pupils darting around as if she was debating how to navigate this unexpected situation. Finally, after a few seconds of silence, the smile on her face dropped.

"…How did you know? Aside from the people on the estate, no one's ever recognized me off stage before," she asked, her voice no longer chiming, but harsh with suspicion.

Emil decided to lighten the mood a bit. He sent her a wink and said the most frivolous line he could think of, "I would never forget a pretty face."

Delilah blinked. The young lady was visibly taken aback until she suddenly burst into laughter. It was a full-on, unrestrained guffaw. Unlike her coquettish act earlier or her performance as the Goddess Endora, it was neither alluring nor brimmed with elegance. Still, her genuine joy brought a smile to Emil's face.

"It was a great performance by the way. I thoroughly enjoyed the show," he added, authentic with his praise.

Delilah wiped the tears away from her eyes as her laughter faded. "Thank you," she managed to reply before letting out a tired sigh, "I guess you figured out that this is all an act."

Emil nodded. Delilah watched him for another second and then dropped her shoulders. The mask of a flirtatious servant disappeared. She leaned back on her heels and folded her arms instead, suddenly casual with her posture. It was amusing how quickly she reverted out of her role. "What tipped you off? Did I mess up somewhere?"

"No, you were very charming," he teased, "But I had already realized that House Belle would evaluating me beforehand."

"Lady Liesel brought someone handful this time, hasn't she?" Delilah said, "Well, I still have one more place to bring you, so how about we just finish the tour?"

Emil had no objections to that and allowed her to lead him to the remaining facility that they haven't yet visited.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you end up as an actress?"

Delilah had a pensive smile on her face as if she was recollecting old memories. "I had always been a servant of House Belle. One day, Lady Liesel decided to take all the servants to watch a play in the Arts District. It was my first time seeing a performance up close. I instantly fell in love. In my normal life, I was just a servant. But on that stage, I could be anyone. Even the Goddess herself. For a moment, I could be revered and admired by people who would have otherwise never given me the time of the day. It was an enthralling idea."

She gave him a sidelong glance as she beckoned towards the entrance of their last stop.

"Lady Liesel noticed my interest. On a whim, she offered to teach me parts of a random script. I acted it out with everything that I had. She loved my performance. And then the next thing I knew I was given opportunities to perform with the Isarelle Opera Company."

The reverence in her voice was palatable. It seems that the Belle family is quite magnanimous. And they're very loved by their servants, Emil noted as he stepped foot into the last facility.

***

The ambiance instantly changed.

Walking through the Belle estate accompanied by Delilah was like experiencing a gentle reverie. Here, the air was thick with tension. Sounds of stones being crushed, the clank of iron and steel colliding, and labored grunts echoed across the room. Emil recognized the faint glow of Azurite flickering nearby as well. A subtle hostility permeated the space—not one borne from malice, but from the flames of multiple competitive spirits.

"Welcome to the Training Grounds," Delilah said, "This is where all Exalted of House Belle come to improve their bodies and skills."

The Training Grounds was compromised of two floors. The ground level was occupied by men and women surrounded by weights and other equipment for body building. At the center was a square field filled with sand, roughly fifty meters in both length and width. Judging by the imprints and the faint traces of mana around it, Emil guessed that it was used for sparring.

"The ground level is for body building. The second level contains rooms for more mediative and private trainings, such as experimentation with Gifts, imagining new phenomenon, even practicing Mana Arts. There's also an underground level for competition between the Exalted. In terms of amenities, there's a kitchen in the adjacent wings with an on-premise chef if you get hungry. We also have medical staffs on standby should you experience injuries or Overclock symptoms. And there are rooms for baths and showers."

Looks like they took a lot of inspiration from the mansion used to house the Clash of Dawn contestants.

Emil was impressed as he observed the Exalted in the room. Each one of them were immersed in their training and deep in concentration. None of them seemed to have even noticed Delilah and his intrusion into the space. These are some of the strongest Exalted in the kingdom. House Belle, with its abundance of wealth and prestige, had the capacity to attract the top crop of talents.

"What's this?" he asked, suddenly noticing a paper stamped to the side of a board nearby. It had a list of names followed by a numerical order.

"That's the ranking sheet," Delilah explained with a twinkle in her eyes, "Each Exalted associated with House Belle is assigned a ranking to denote their hierarchy amongst each other. The top ranked Exalted are afforded higher pay, better privileges, and access to special amenities. It's a way of keeping everyone motivated."

"And how are the hierarchies determined?" Emil asked, narrowing his eyes. He noticed that the atmosphere of the Training Ground was subtly shifting.

"Why, with a spar, of course!" Delilah said enthusiastically with a clap. The noise was unusually loud. As if on command, Emil suddenly felt a presence behind him.

"Hello Delilah."

Delilah lowered her head out of respect. "Good morning, Sven."

Emil turned around, finding himself face-to-face with a bare-chested man. Sweat glistened from his well-toned muscles. With dirty blond hair and a rugged face, the man named Sven looked like a warrior of the north.

"You must be Emil Milligan. I'm Sven." The man extended a hand. "Lady Liesel spoke very highly of you."

I think I see where this is going.

Emil sighed, accepting Sven's handshake. As expected, the man clamped down on his hand. Not intimidated by the show of strength, Emil squeezed back with indifference. Appearance-wise, he looked feeble compared to the domineering physique of these men. But functionally, his strength was on-par. There's no way the witch and Rohan made me suffer just so I can get embarrassed by a brute.

Sven smirked at his resistance. Finally, he let Emil's hands go.

"Not bad," he said, his wolf-like eyes glinting with interest, "I'm not one for theatrics, so I'll cut straight to the point. I'm curious about the strength of the man who caught our lady's attention. Emil, would you care to spar with me?"

The sounds of training ceased abruptly. Emil suddenly felt the entirety of the Training Ground's attention on them as if Sven's question had caused them to stop. In his periphery, he noticed servants on premise shutting the doors where they had entered from.

Doesn't look like you're going to give me a choice.

Now he was really in the lion's den.