BXBX NOVEL Chapter 684 - Keira (2)
Chapter 684 - Keira (2)
Marquess Samed would have applauded the ladies had he known that they were already well-acquainted with his gossipy nature by now.
He had an innate fixation to explain things in detail which was an advantageous habit to have for someone in the line of teaching.
However, right now was not the time for this deep-rooted obsession to make an appearance.
"Master used my powers." The eloquent etcher was the one who came to her Master's aid before the Earl could get infuriated once again.
This soft voice coming from the window made everyone turn in its direction.
The raven perched there scanned the room and everyone who saw her pink eyes were impressed by how they sparkled when light fell on them.
"That's right!" Marquess Samed chirped in, gushing at his brilliant etcher whom he had been waiting for all his life.
Taylor and Topher once again rolled their eyes when they saw the pride oozing from his very being.
With everyone waiting, the pair of etcher and etched coordinated perfectly to explain the situation to the rest.
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It was on a dull afternoon when the monsoons had struck the Tanner fief during the lockdown period that Marquess Sullivan Samed had met his etcher.
The library in the huge estate of the Tanners was one of the best spots for the tutor who loved to read and spend time alone.
Usually, Taylor would accompany his uncle who was being imprisoned in their estate by the Duchess after she had been requested by the daughter of the St. Claire family.
Ever since the plague had begun, the Marquess stopped trying to escape from the estate as that might be dangerous for him as well on account of the rampaging plague.
However, this did not mean that he would stop trying to trick the guards who had been stationed to keep an eye on him.
These guards would stand outside the Marquess's room while he was inside and stay close to him every time he headed out of his room.
Though they were supposed to be his guards, he knew that they were nothing more than the Duchess's spies who would report his every movement to her at the end of the day.
'She exploited this opportunity to get back at me!' Marquess Samed grumbled while sneering at his sister and the tactics she had used in the past.
Only during times when he was with the other members of the Tanner family would they stay away as there would be no reason for them to stick around.
For this reason, being a diligent and considerate nephew, Taylor would often accompany his pitiful uncle after sending the guards away.
'I did that to skip my mandatory training lessons.' Taylor coughed while hearing the magnanimous words his uncle was uttering for him right now.
However, thinking of what had taken place today, the younger son of the Duke wondered if he had made the right decision when he loitered around rather than training with his father and the other knights.
'But I did not know this would happen back then…' He sulked as he had never thought of things from the perspective he had gained today.
Only after hearing Howard's boastful yet excited narrations of his sparring sessions with Vonny and his elder brother's mocking reminders did he realize that there was something special that he had been missing out on all along.
If he were to start training from now then he could still keep up with his peers and might even get a chance to spar with Vonny and protect her better in the future.
While these zealous desires stemming from his jealousy were taking root in his mind, he was oblivious to the gaze aimed at him right at that moment.
Topher had been keeping an eye on his brother who was seated next to their uncle.
Therefore, when he heard the youngster's name being mentioned, he had caught the myriad of emotions flashing across his eyes.
'Today turned out to be better than I had expected.' He smirked but soon regained his composed expression as he pretended to pay attention to what his uncle was narrating.
Marquess Samed had no idea that his nephews were lost in their thoughts as he went on for the rest of the ignorant ones in the group.
Usually, it was Taylor who accompanied him but on that rainy afternoon, he had complained about the dreary weather and chose to stay inside his room.
This left the uncle who wished to step outside with no one by his side.
However, Marquess Samed was bored out of his mind after staying indoors all day long.
Since it was raining too heavily, he decided that if he could not head outside, he wished to at least go somewhere out of his room.
Therefore, he informed the guards that he would head to the library which was inside the Tanner mansion.
A short walk and they had reached their destination.
The man in charge of the books there was dozing off when he heard someone entering the library.
'Should I teach them the word 'librarian' or would that be too much for this world?' Yvonne wondered if she could change this fact.
People here still used 'person who looked after the books' or some other lengthy version for such a short word.
Librarian would be a much better alternative used to describe the occupation rather than using that long statement while referring to someone who worked in a library.
Yvonne snapped out of her thoughts when she realized that Marquess's story had moved ahead.
Marquess Samed had been looking for a book to alleviate his boredom and roamed around to find one which caught his eye.
"That was when I met her." He blushed while gazing at the bird still seated in the same place.
As he continued his recollection, Yvonne raised her brow upon hearing that the next book he read was recommended by none other than the etcher present in this room with them.
"I had seen Master reading books of the same genre before as well," Keira revealed which surprised them once again.
This time it was the bird's turn to speak up and she did it without any hesitation or trouble.
"You see, I have a unique trait." She muttered before explaining further.
Keira was born from a rare breed of etchers whose powers were different from most etchers.
"I can see through the eyes of any bird I've met before." She disclosed the trait unique to her.
Every etcher that has met another etcher in person could form a mental link no matter how far away they are from the other and use it to converse, share messages, and so on.
In the same way, Keira could look through the eyes of every bird she has met ever since she was born to this very moment.
"My eyes are the core of my powers." She mentioned and at that same moment, her diamond-like pink eyes sparkled for them.
To every bird that had made eye contact with her, she would have left an imprint on them.
At times when she needs it, she could use that imprint made with her aura and look at the world through their eyes.
"That was how I had seen Master reading books of the similar genre in that library." She continued after a brief description of her abilities.
"You can read as well?" Knox questioned with admiration brimming in his eyes for the talented etcher.
In response, Keira and Marquess Samed nodded their heads as the etcher indeed knew how to read.
"But I cannot write." She muttered in a gloomy tone which sounded even more tragic thanks to her usually lovely voice.
Yvonne too felt aggrieved for the etcher but Marquess Samed thought differently.
"Don't worry, Keira. I will teach you how to write!" He proclaimed with absolute determination apparent from his demeanor.
The little girl and the adults looked at him with an incredulous expression while the boys were hopeful and filled with optimism after hearing his declaration.
'Don't give them false hope!' Yvonne scowled but her tutor was too far gone with his wishful thinking to even notice her glares.
"Getting distracted again, Marquess." She was kind enough to remind him in an attempt to stop him from building sandcastles in the air.
Thankfully he did not continue making any more unrealistic promises and got back to what he had been doing until now.
"Keira had seen me and Taylor visiting the library a few times and also seen us through her skills." He moved forward with his story which now had everyone's undivided attention.
Therefore, when he was alone on that rainy afternoon, Keira finally built up her courage to appear before the man she had been watching for so many weeks now.
"The moment we made eye contact, her eyes flashed so bright that I thought that I would go blind." He chuckled at his silly fears from back then.
Keira sulked when she heard his words but did not deny them as she too had been frightened by that incident.
She had felt an affinity with him which was why she would often watch him from afar, never letting him know of her presence.
Due to this reason, their eyes had never met before which kept her from realizing that they were fated to each other.
Thus the moment their eyes met, that bright light that blazed from her diamond-like eyes, formed the bond between them which would last their entire life.