The three cousins grinned at Kaine.
Kaine stared at them in silence.
He understood the situation, he could tell what was happening here. Renn was assigned to him but he was still a servant of the Valcrest Family. Before, someone wouldn’t order him around like this, especially when he had already assigned him a task but now, things were different.
After what happened yesterday, Kaine knew he had lost a significant amount of power in the family, so much that even the three who once never dared to look into his eyes when they were on the training ground were now grinning at him.
That made him sigh.
"Go."
He glanced at Renn.
There was no reason to make things difficult for him.
Renn paused at that, then he bowed.
"Yes, Young Master."
And then he started cleaning the already clean table.
The cousins smiled, the one who ordered the servant, Marlon Valcrest, chuckled out loud.
"That was easier than expected."
The second cousin, Teren Valcrest, crossed his arms.
"I thought you would at least argue."
Kaine looked at them.
Then suddenly, the youngest of the three, Kess Valcrest, turned towards Renn.
"Actually, clean the corridor too."
"The corridor?"
Renn’s hand stopped.
"Yes."
Kess looked around.
"All of it."
Renn glanced towards the long passage.
"That may take some time, Young Master."
"We have time."
Kess smiled as he looked back at Kaine with the same victorious grin.
"Yes."
Renn lowered his head.
The three cousins laughed.
"Look at that."
Marlon spoke up.
"Yesterday, one word from you and half the estate would start running. Now even your own servant has better things to do."
The three laughed again. Renn’s expression tightened slightly, but he kept working, he had a family back home he needed to feed.
Kaine looked at the three men in silence for a few seconds, then, he turned around.
"Where are you going?"
Marlon asked with a frown.
"The medical stores."
Kaine answered without stopping.
That made the three laugh again.
"You’re going yourself?"
Kaine ignored them.
Behind him, Kess raised his voice.
"You should get used to it!"
Kaine kept walking.
"People didn’t listen to you because they liked you, Cousin! They listened because everyone thought you were going to become someone important! Now they know you won’t!"
Kaine disappeared around the corner and the moment he did, the smile on Kess’s face faded.
"He didn’t even react."
"Why would he? He’s always been like that."
Teren shrugged.
"Don’t worry."
Marlon looked towards the corridor where Kaine disappeared.
"That’ll change soon."
The three laughed again.
Renn heard them and continued cleaning in silence.
...
The Valcrest medical stores were located in the eastern section of the estate. Kaine had actually come here a few times before, so he didn’t have any problems finding it.
He looked around at the large, familiar room. Tall cabinets lined the walls, filled with bottles, dried herbs, powders and preserved monster materials. Several workers moved between shelves, recording quantities and preparing packages.
"Young Master Kaine?"
An elderly man sitting at the front desk called out when he saw Kaine enter.
"I need several ingredients."
Kaine spoke as he walked towards him. That made the elderly man hesitate.
"Young Master... your advancement account was suspended this morning."
"That is fine, I intend to pay for it myself."
"Pardon...?"
The old man blinked.
"I’ll pay for them, give me the ingredients."
"What do you require?"
The old man asked.
Kaine passed him the list, he read it out loud.
"Bloodleaf Extract. Marrowroot Powder. Silverleaf Powder. Moondew Extract. Spirit Grain. Blackroot Extract. Purified Water and Void Moss."
He raised an eyebrow.
"That’s... quite a variety."
"I need enough for several doses."
That made the old man stare at him, which made Kaine sigh.
"How much?"
The old man looked at him for another second before turning towards the shelves.
"I’ll calculate it."
Kaine waited.
The number that came out wasn’t small, but it still wasn’t enough to concern him yet.
Unlike other children in the family who constantly used their allowance on something they wanted, be it a specific item they desired, alcohol, or women, Kaine never spent his money.
The family covered the cost of his training and training was all Kaine did all his life.
Because of that, he had quite a bit saved up.
So, to the old man’s surprise, Kaine paid.
The old man called two assistants, within several minutes, everything was placed inside a wooden case. Kaine checked the contents one by one, then he closed the case and walked away.
The old man didn’t seem surprised by the lack of any formal greeting or farewell.
Young Master Kaine rarely talked. What he found stranger was how... indifferent he seemed even when the family took away all his support.
To pay for what he once could have gotten with just a command, the transition wasn’t supposed to be easy.
Kaine, oblivious and uncaring of what the old man was thinking, walked back to his room. He placed the case on the table, then he focused on the Recovery Sanctuary one more time.
[Recovery Sanctuary.]
[Occupancy: 3/3.]
[Serathiel: Stable.]
[Lysara: Stable.]
[Nerys: Stable.]
Stable.
That was good.
Kaine nodded to himself, then he opened the case and crouched beside the cabinet near his desk. There were several pieces of equipment inside, small measuring cups, a mortar and pestle, glass containers, a heating stone, a narrow metal pot, a small scale.
He had used all these things before, it wasn’t for anything complicated, mostly the medicinal mixtures used after training.
Master Darran often prescribed baths or recovery tonics after particularly harsh sessions, and even though Kaine had alchemists offering to create the tonics for him, calling and waiting for them every time he returned seemed like a waste of time.
So he learned to make the tonics on his own.
The System’s recipes were more precise than what he made, but the process itself wasn’t completely unfamiliar.
So Kaine placed everything on the table and started with Serathiel’s medicine.
[Restoration Recipe: Draconic Foundation Elixir.]
[Bloodleaf Extract: 20 ml.]
[Marrowroot Powder: 3 g.]
[Purified Water: 100 ml.]
[Draconic Foundation Catalyst: 1 drop.]
[Preparation:]
[Warm the purified water over low heat. Add the Marrowroot Powder gradually and stir until fully dissolved. Add the Bloodleaf Extract. Maintain low heat for ten minutes. Do not allow the mixture to boil. Remove from heat. Once the mixture is lukewarm, add the Draconic Foundation Catalyst and stir until the liquid turns uniformly amber.]