He could already guess—she was probably Sarah's sister. His belief was confirmed when he heard Sarah shout, "SISTER! You said you wouldn't say anything!"
Her sister replied, "Relax, he seems decent enough, but he's mortal and a young one at that. Don't you see that?"
Sarah probably kept quiet. Aria guided him to the front. He could smell another woman's scent beside Lord Rufus, so he took that as Damian's mother. He bowed formally, as befitted a young nobleman addressing a family of higher rank. "Lord Rufus, Lady Rufus, it is an honor."
"The honor is mine, young man," he replied, his voice warm and filled with gratitude. "You have returned my grandson to me. That is a debt I can never fully repay."
Lucian looked in Damian's direction, following his scent, then turned back to Lord Rufus. "No debt exists between friends, Lord Rufus," he replied smoothly. "Your grandson is a brave and resourceful companion. I am glad to see him reunited with his family."
Lord Rufus was silent for a moment, and Lucian could sense him studying him intently. Then he asked, "You are of the Marcellus family? I was not aware Baron Marcellus had a second son."
A test, and one Lucian had anticipated. "My father's business is often his own, Lord Rufus," he replied with a slight smile. "As the youngest son, and the last son of my family."
Then Lord Rufus said, "From what we heard, his youngest son appeared to be a druid, just like his father, but it seems we've got misinformation."
Lucian didn't reply and just stayed quiet. Seeing the young man not saying anything, Lord Rufus wasn't offended. Instead, he continued, "From quick questions with my grandson, I found out that he was led out of the forest by you and others. I don't quite get the whole story, and it seems he won't open his mouth, insisting on me hearing it directly from you."
Lucian turned to Damian, who felt his gaze and turned to look elsewhere, basically not wanting to face him. He had dumped all the explanation on Lucian. He couldn't lie to his grandfather, probably because he didn't want to say anything that might change their current course of action, so he just kept quiet, saying to himself, "If anyone can explain it better, it's the captain. I'm sure he will." That's how things got like this, so Damian couldn't face him.
Before Lucian could respond, a new voice entered the conversation with its sweet sound. "Perhaps we should continue this conversation somewhere more private, don't you think, Lord Rufus?"
Lucian, hearing the voice, didn't react much, though inside his head, the ringing was going up like crazy, meaning that woman had bad intentions toward him, but he just kept quiet.
"Of course, Miss Isle," Lord Rufus replied, his tone immediately deferential. "Please show us the way, if you don't mind."
Then they all started moving. Lucian could hear hoofsteps getting close to him before Sarah bent down a bit while saying, "I'm so sorry. My sister can be quite handful sometimes."
He nodded then replied, "It's fine. I can feel the genuine care she has for you when she talked, so I know she was watching out for you."
Sarah had a smile on her face before saying, "Thank you."
Then he heard a new voice: "Surprising! That smile on your face, Sarah, makes you look more like an evil witch than an innocent maiden, hehehe. To think little Sarah is now in love!"
Turning toward the voice, it came from the earlier scent he smelled, the one beside Lord Rufus, probably Damian's mother. Then he heard Sarah exclaim, "Amelia! You... what are you saying?"
Then they started bickering. Well, he got the name Amelia—that was probably Damian's mother's name. He didn't pay attention to them as they kept walking forward. Then he felt someone holding his hand. Knowing exactly who it was from the scent, he bent down to pick her up.
Aurora, who had just arrived from God knows where, hugged his neck while looking around. She didn't say anything as they got to the room. The others there weren't just Lucian, Aria, and Aurora, but also Amelia (Damian's mother), Damian himself, Lord Rufus, Miss Isle, and Sarah.
They all entered the room. Everyone took their seats while Aria guided Lucian to his. He sat down, putting Aurora on his lap. She was looking around like a curious child. Everyone was taken aback by her appearance because no one knew when she got there. Aria was standing behind him; he didn't know why she didn't sit, not that he cared.
After they were all seated, Lord Rufus asked, "Do you know the forest you came out from?"
Lucian shook his head. Since he didn't know anything besides looking for a way to escape that hellhole, he just kept quiet.
Lord Rufus nodded then said, "That forest is called the Whispering Forest. I am still shocked you all survived without losing someone. According to my grandson, none of you died. The reason I'm saying this is because anyone below Spellweaver stage can't survive there, let alone a bunch of Mana-Mancer stage awakened with a mortal."
Lucian was surprised. Well, this solved the puzzle of why all the bandits were at Spellweaver stage. It was true—no one below Spellweaver, even Arcanist, could survive there. They got through probably due to the ringing he had in his head, making them avoid the stronger beasts when they got too close.
"Fortune favors the prepared, Lord Rufus," Lucian replied without much expression on his face. "And those with capable companions."
He could feel many gazes on him, probably from Sarah to her sister and Damian's mother. Lord Rufus didn't react and just looked at him, then said, "Indeed. And what preparations led you into the forest in the first place?"
Lucian could sense the probing nature of the question. Julia had warned him that the old man could detect lies. Then he thought to himself, "Very well—I'll offer the truth, but carefully selected."
"I was taken there against my will," Lucian said simply. "As were the others. We escaped our captors and found common cause in survival."
"Captors?" Lady Rufus asked sharply. "Damian, you said nothing of captors!"
"I... I didn't want to worry you, Mother," Damian replied, his voice tight. "And I wasn't sure who might be listening."
"A wise precaution," Lord Rufus said thoughtfully before looking in Isle's direction. "The walls of inns often have many ears, but with Miss Isle here, you don't need to worry."
Then, to Lucian, "Who were these captors, young Marcellus? Bandits? Slavers?"
Lucian didn't reply directly, just stared in Isle's direction. Not that he didn't trust her—he didn't trust anyone. He wasn't willing to take any risk, so he asked instead, "Lord Rufus, do you have a binding contract? I'm not willing to take any chances that might affect me later on. I want what is said in this room to stay in this room."
He already knew about binding contracts from his memories. Mostly, nobles used them to finalize agreements. Well, after seeing his father do it a couple of times on a few businesses, he just said it so everything would be kept under wraps.
Lord Rufus looked at the young man before shifting his gaze to Isle. Isle, who heard this, had a frown on her face. She wanted to say something, but her sister stopped her. She nodded, then turned back and said, "Very well."
He brought out the contract scroll. After writing everything in it, he dropped his blood on it and passed it to everyone. When it got to Lucian's turn, he passed it to Aria before saying, "Read it."
Aria read it. Lucian nodded and used the sharp end of the scroll because from what he felt while holding it, it felt like a sheet of paper with a sharp end, like the pointy part of a knife. So he just pricked his thumb with it, letting a drop of blood fall on it, under the surprised gaze of everyone.
Aurora did the same thing without making any noise, more like she was used to this kind of thing. Then Aria followed. After that, the contract scroll broke into particles before disappearing into their bodies. Lucian could feel something entering him, but he didn't know where it was. It felt more like it was already part of his body. Well, after that, he knew he was free to talk.
"Something worse," Lucian replied. "They maintained an underground laboratory within the forest. They were... experimenting on people. Children, mostly. Noble children."