"Why are you naked as well Mira?" Irik asked.
"Ah, that. Well the young lady enlightened me to the fact that this manner of conduct would be more efficient. She was quite adamant that it would be instrumental in ummm what was the statement? Ah yes 'getting you pumped up to start the day' as it were or something."
"Ah, did she now?" He said, trying the best to hide the corner of his twitching upper lip.
"Was my conduct erroneous or inappropriate in any way Master? If that is the case please punish me for my transgressions." She said, bowing and totally giving Irik a deadly view.
The young lord felt his nose heat up. He was not prepared at all for this. Was she doing this on purpose? Because little Irik was getting a little 'pumped up' as it were.
Irik pinched the bridge of his nose once again. This life had just begun but he was already so stressed out. He looked up at the heavens, his eyes a mix of exasperation and gratitude. Sadly he had to waste the opportunity the Heavens had granted him.
"Just… Get dressed will you?" he told her. "And make haste will you? Lest we be scolded by the Matron for being late to breakfast." he corrected. Speaking in the convoluted words of nobles was a little hard for him. They just had to make everything seem more complicated than they actually were.
"But were you pumped up sir? Would it inconvenience you to rate and review my performance so I can report back to the young lady?" Mira asked, hands clasped in front of her face beaming with such an innocent smile it blinded Irik.
Irik winced "I shall hold a discussion with her and discuss this-" He paused, searching for an appropriate word "-performance as you call it. My sister and I are long overdue for a te`te-a-te`te. "
Irik managed to safely reel in his inner beast, and get through getting dressed. Never had it ever felt so perilous to wear a pair of cotton pants, a white shirt and a purple tunic. Every instance of contact with Mira was like an electric shock he was all to conscious of.
But he did get through it. Especially after Mira was once again covered in here usual tight knee-length tight above the waist maid dress. He had a lot of frustration built up, luckily he was about to meet up with the architect of his situation.
He walked, poised, back straight, eyes forward. He could feel it. He was just oozing aura. The soft golden light made his hair burn gold when it reached it and the contrast with his pitch black irises made him seem more intense.
His jawline was chiselled and his muscles bulged faintly from beneath the silk shirt. He had only 3 pieces of jewellery. A very thin but tasteful golden chain, a single golden earring with an amethyst set in it, and one golden ring, which had his insignia designed in tiny amethysts, in the shape of a dragon.
Suffice to say, he looked and felt tasteful. Mira might have been a little ditzy and naive, but goddamn she sure knew how to put a fit together.
'Note to self' He thought to himself ' Capable subordinates only make you shine more.'
And shine he did. As he walked through the fort, he noticed that eyes tended to wander in their direction. He got his fair share of female blushes, but an overwhelming amount of eyes, both male and female, lingered on Mira.
'So beauty like hers isn't common here. Noted. Plus they must be already used to seeing her, but still react like this? I might still be underestimating how beautiful she really is.'
He took a calm note as he looked around the Bright Fort of the Albrecht Family. Though called a fort, possibly due to the fact that it sat at the border, it was a palace in its own right.
The palace was built into 2 Citadels. The Main Citadel and the Southern Citadel. They were both built on two sides of a canyon at the very edge of a cliff face. Between them stood the enchanted great walls, blocking off the entirety of the gorge.
It was an easily defensible position, considering that both Citadels were also surrounded by tall enchanted walls. The Southern Citadel was a military outpost, and was supposed to have been the Military seat of the Albrecht Duchy.
Now that they were a Barony their allowed amount of troops were drastically cut down, So a compromise was made. They were put in charge of the royal guard that had been sent to protect the border. But everyone knew that it was only symbolic. The guard kept the basic decorum, but they made sure to let the Albrechts know exactly where they stood. Below them.
After all, most of the guards were the 3rd and more sons of Earls and Marquis'. They had no chance to inherit, but they were still noble and saw themselves as such. Even after they had been stripped of their attendants they still saw themselves as better.
According to tradition, the heir apparent of the Albrechts stayed in the south, to look after the Military matters of the domain, while the Baron Sat in the City of Albrecht, the Main Citadel, o manage matters of the domain.
This allowed them to have an iron grip on the power of their territory and trained the young Baron in matters of managing men and land. The southern Citadel did, after all, have a small town attached to provide for their soldiers.
The defenses of the Citadels were tall walls, with shimmering glowing in the most difficult to reach places, like under the protruding platforms, in the middle of the walls and on random stones on the inner side of the walls. Some, if not most were decoys.
Of course he knew that because he was the heir, and had had a comprehensive education on the fort. That said, even the Baron himself didn't know much about the fort and its defense. Just that the Kingdom invested heavily and subsidized it upkeep.
It wasn't for the Albrechts that's for sure, but the kingdom needed its barrier functional. Hence the plentiful royal battalions stationed here. The City was the last shield protecting the falling noble family from the harsh winds of the world. No one, not even the king could take it.
And that left an awkward situation where the Albrechts were nominally a barony, but earned as much as the largest of Marquesses, and paid a duke's tax. Their Citadel was not only a lucrative city for trade, it was also a hub for all sorts of ores.
Even the last shield already had cracks.