#stitches!

“I hope you don’t mind that I called you out here like this.” Although by the way he sipped casually at his own cup of tea, it didn’t particularly seem like Elias was too concerned about the matter. Or that the offer of tea in his manor could have been refused by the Second Knight instead. Nevertheless, he nodded a silent thanks to the servants who had just finished serving the tea and the platter of sweets and other food items and turned more towards the younger boy. He took a quick bite from a pastry before daintily wiping away any sort of crumbs. 

“My, this is certainly embarrassing. I’m sure if my family were to see me in such a state, they would be thoroughly disappointed.” It was an unfortunate accident that led him to be in the care of the Second Cleric, the irony of which was not lost on him. It wasn’t a major wound on his arm after he had a run in with a runaway horse and the person he pushed out of the way seemed rather grateful. Normally he would take care of something like this himself but it was a rather deep wound and he would rather not waste effort or magical if it wasn’t for battle wounds. Besides, any opportunity was a good one, wasn’t it?

“Ah I see you haven’t placed any bets yet. Are you simply here to watch?” Elias was subject to many vices or at least enough to make his dead father spin in his grave. There was one however that gave him the least amount of trouble or at the very least, not as many rumors about him spewed from his gambling. Today he took the time to travel down to the horse races to place a little bet on one of his favorite horses and happened across a surprising face. 

“T-This is surely an unexpected turn of events.” Elias had the pleasure of inviting many prestigious guests into his humble estate, but this was far more than he thought he would have to be prepared for. Now he was running around frantically, making sure the manor was presentable enough to receive the Emperor of Elysium. Never mind the fact that he wasn’t exactly sure why Her Highness was even coming to his manor of all places, he didn’t have the time to ponder that. The best flowers and artwork was placed out for prime viewing and there wasn’t a single dust bunny in sight. 

Every once in a while, Elias took a break from the paperwork and various meetings that came from being both Duke of Hartion and one of the more prominent patron of the arts. While he enjoyed what he did, even someone like him needed a break every once in a while. There was something to be had in his little day breaks whether it was interesting gems of gossip or finding new artists to welcome into his patronage. On rare occasions, he also had the opportunity to run into some reputable people.