The guard's face turned pale as an understanding brushed him with violent intent. "I-I-I... I'm sorry, I don't have any excuses, please punish me accordingly!!!" The guard's once commanding presence fell into that of a slave's.
Sennan looked over at Sythrik whom was steadily trying to get back up and smiled, "Sythrik, how do you wish to punish this man?"
"Punish... Him?"
"Indeed, a violent man needs punishment. Despite, he broke the rules of the contract-he is to protect members of the Reign family, not hurt them. And as you are the brother of Selena Montague, you are successfully a part of that rule." Sennan said eerily.
"I see, if that is so, then strip him from his job. Those whom break the rules of society is trapped behind bars, alike, those whom break the rules of a job, is stripped from its grace." Sythrik said, clearly carrying resentment towards the guard.
Sennan clapped his hands together and said, "a marvelous decision if I dare say!" "Sir, guard. You are to run off and never show your ugly mutt ever again, is that understood?" he said while gazing into the guard's eyes, smiling. "Y-Yes, its understood..." The guard said as Sennan received the badge the guard wore to confirm his masters, or whom they work for.
"What are you waiting for, walk along now." Sennan said, humiliating the guard for Sythrik's sake.
As the guard had left, grunting and clearly mad, did Sennan finally ask, "What brings you here in the middle of the day, Sythrik?" Sythrik, now back to normal answered with his usual tone, completely disregarding the guard's jobless fate, "I just wanted to know if you knew something about a family named Luciano?"
"The Luciano family, huh?... They are known as both the 'richest' family within Lorath, and the kindest." Sennan stopped for a moment, raising an eyebrow as he asked in suspicion, "but, what made you so curious?"
As Sythrik was about to answer, he was quickly interrupted by Sennan's voice, "wait, lets talk inside. Despite the nice warmth, the wind is surprisingly rough." Sythrik whom was a little irritated by the interruption, quickly set his emotions aside and said with a grateful tone, "sure." Excited to see how an upper-upper-class live, what they have, and how they style their home.
"Then, follow me." Sennan mused as he turned around and walked toward the entrance with a Sythrik in tow. Upon entering the white, almost modern building. Sennan said, welcome to my abode, brother in law."
Sythrik didn't reply, instead he gaped while gazing all around. It was a sight he'd never seen before! He have never been poor, nor have he been rich-just a normal, regular person with an average life. As such, seeing just the mudroom alone being as large as the normal bedroom, frightened him slightly. Not only that, the amount of clothes hung on the rackets were more than thrice of what he had altogether! "
"I-Is this really where you live?" Sythrik asked in a nervous tone, unable to comprehend the fortune put into this place. Sennan looked at him weirdly and asked, "why do you ask? Too small?"
"TOO SMALL!?!?" Sythrik blurted out. Quickly realizing his outburst, he pardoned himself and calmed down. Sennan smiled slyly and said with relaxed tone, "Don't worry, I was just joking around. Despite my riches, I am quite understanding of how people usually live, and how they are forced to slave away only to earn enough to barely meet the criteria."
"Phew, that's a relief..." suddenly, a thought, a realization dawned upon Sythrik, resulting in an outburst that stem from both disappointment and concern, "WAIT! I'm not poor like 'that', just, you know, not as rich as you..." Sennan smiled, almost a little disappointed as he reassured Sythrik, "I-I know, I was just messing with you... Again."
"Oh..." Sythrik turned red as he followed Sennan through the large corridor that was as big as his living room!
As they approached a large white double-door, Sythrik was about to step ahead to show courtesy, opening it for Sennan. However, to his surprise, before he could even step faster, The door seemingly opened itself! He kept following Sennan's shadow as they passed the double door's closing point, and saw two men in black and white, holding the door open on each side. As they passed through, they closed the door and stood in front, guarding it.
Sythrik could not help but question their riches, being able to pay others to do everything, even minor tasks for themselves. "Are they lazy or just THAT rich?" Sythrik thought to himself as he observed the room-It was a large squared room with two sofas lined into an "L" shape in the middle. There was a table in the middle of it, and further to the left was a large stairway. The room was relatively empty, except for some large pictures owned by the renters.
His observation was quickly disturbed as Sennan broke through it with a singular sentence, "make yourself at home." Seeing Sennan sit down, naturally made Sythrik do the same, albeit on the other sofa. "I'll try." Sythrik said as he made himself comfortable in the sofa's seat. Suddenly, Sythrik realized that Sennan smiled at him. He didn't speak, laugh, or whisper something-he simply smiled. Nervous, Sythrik said, "so, about the Luciano family..."
Sennan's smile broke down a little, turning more neutral. He leaned back and organized his thoughts, before he finally spoke, "I know of them both due to my family's relationship with them, which is mostly business. And I know of them, due to my friendship with their eldest son, Leon Luciano. Whatever questions you have, you can ask. I believe I can answer most of them."
Sythrik found himself praising his sister internally, "oh, great sister. I thank you for such a splendid brother in law! I shall sing your name when we meet again!!!"
"Sythrik?"
"Ah, yes, of course." Sythrik returned to his "usual" nature and crossed his fingers between on another as he asked, "the thing is, I was wondering if they were going to attend my sister's wedding. You see, I have a friend that has been a little secretive about her family and origins, so I was just curious about them, that's all." Sennan smiled mischievously and asked, "one might think that the Montague family has this talent in seducing individuals from wealthy backgrounds."
Sythrik calmly replied, "its nothing like that, and I believe she thinks the same."
Sennan gave up and said, "sure, sure... Anyways, judging by how you pronounce them, its a 'she'. And from my knowledge, the only female gender around our age there would be their only daughter, and also youngest child, Lynette Luciano. I have never met her myself but she's said to be quite the beauty." Sythrik's eyes widened in disbelief as he muttered in the form of a whisper, "she really was from their family..."
Sennan gazed at Sythrik for a moment, blurting a question, "are you disappointed that she kept it secret perhaps?" Sythrik paused for a moment as he raised his head and straightened his back before leaning on the sofa. He contemplated a little before finally giving his answer, "I'm not... However, it does hurt a little, knowing that she didn't fully trust me."
Sennan sat there silently, leaning on the sofa as well, waiting for Sythrik to continue.
"I take it back, it doesn't hurt, nor does it matter if she told or didn't tell me." Sythrik said as if he accepted something deeper within. Sennan straightened his posture, a faint disbelief embodied his facial expressions as he asked, "you don't care either way? Why is that?"
Sythrik smiled and said, "don't be mistaken, I would care if it was a secret. However, this was simply something she didn't tell me, something she didn't 'need' to tell me. I am her friend, not her family's. Therefore I do not care if she wanted me to know 'her' and not 'her family'. That is why I don't care, because the true meaning of the word "friend" is accepting someone for who they are, not those around them."
Sennan revealed a slight gape, and slightly shocked eyes as he himself had undergone the same troubles as Lynette... However, he never found a Sythrik. He did become best friends with Leon, however, he was also a son of a wealthy household, as such they could relate and engage without care for what stood behind them or their origins. It was nice, however, it wasn't the same. He wished for a "normal" person to accept him for who he is, not a mirror reflecting a solution. He lowered his head and chuckled, then said, "is that so? What a lucky girl she is."
After a small moment of silence, Sennan suddenly realized something important, "ah, that's right! I've yet to have dinner! Do you wanna go and eat dinner together? It would do us well to learn more about each other before the wedding. You can't just chat with Lynette and your family and call it a day!"
Sythrik, whom had yet to eat at all, thought for a small moment before giving his answer, "sure, I have time."
Sennan smile brightly and asked with an excited voice, "where do you want to eat-here, or outside?" Sythrik thought for a moment, disregarding the prices he became slightly egoistical as he said, "can we try whatever the most expensive restaurant in Lorath is?"
Sennan looked at him surprised, but understanding. He stood up and said, "without a doubt."