Chapter 14 - Monstrous Guardian of Evenhart Mansion

  Nathan Evenhart:

  It was still early m, and I couldn't tell how long I had been awake, staring at the ceiling. It took some time for Athena to disappear, even though I had firmed she was somehow an illusion... I'd never sleep hat woman.

  What the fuck is that thing?

  I pushed aside my thoughts about the Psychopathic Goddess of Strategy and tried to focus on sleeping. I y there with my eyes closed for a long time, but sleep wouldn't e. There was a strange feeling in the air, as if my presence was being sensed or observed.

  As a warrior, I know well how it feels to sleep near danger, and that sensation was something being close to me. I got up and walked around the room, finding nothing.

  Could there be something in this mansion?

  I still didn't know my way around this castle, fortress, or mansion. There were so many hat I didn't uand what the pce truly was. It seemed that the "Evenhart Mansion" was a gigantic fortress funing as a castle, but this castle had an inner part that almost no one had access to, and that's where I was. Only a few staff members had access to the inner part known as the "Evenhart Mansion." The castle had locked areas preventing other people from accessing this pce, and its entrances were stantly guarded by soldiers outside. Ihe mansion part, there wasn't a single guard.

  This pce would now be my home and where I would live. Unfortunately, due to the situation, I was temporarily "imprisoned." I wasn't allowed to leave the mansion area, nor could I go into the castle. I was fio this ptil things settled down. Lucky for me, this pce was huge.

  The worst part was that there weren't even windows to the outside here.

  The Evenhart fortress is aremely secure location, but the problem was that after losing the people they cared about in that war, they didn't trust outsiders much. My cousin and I were the heirs of this pce, so for our safety, we couldn't leave this mansion until the situation was resolved.

  My mother assured me that this fortress was safe, but even she agreed with my aunt's argument at dinner...

  I looked around and studied my room, where I would be sleeping every night from now on. The room was luxurious and pletely different from the small house where I had lived my five years of life. Even though I had been a Sn in another life, I never indulged in luxuries, not even when I acted as Emperor. For me, a small room was more than enough. I had lived oreets in my past childhood and then had to bee a soldier, living in small rooms that barely fit my bed. I definitely wasn't used to such luxury.

  At least my aunt pns to resolve this situation soon...

  With my appearance, she hopes to calm the other nobles. Having only one Evenhart heir, and that being a girl, was not seen favorably. With me emerging, she hoped to buy time until she could lift herself out of the crisis and regain enough power so that her authority wouldn't be questioned. Our duchy entered a signifit crisis after the war, losing important people.

  This political business is a bit strao me...

  The mansion is enormous, and here live those called "Legacies." Eae stays with their family in some part of this vast pce. The Legacies are the heads of their groups, and most of them are always busy taking care of their tasks and training their people. At dinner, what I saw were just the leaders of these vassal families to the Evenhart, and acc to my mother, it was very rare for all of us to be together as we did. I could generally find them around our castle handling their tasks, or they might be out in the duchy solving problems. That small group of people is our family's trusted elite, all of whom grew up together, and their entire families have lived with the Evenharts feions. If one of them has problems, everyone will step in to help, or so my mother said. We could say that they are all my uncles and aunts sihat's the level of trust we have in them.

  This small group is the Legacy of Evenhart, and I still don't uand what they are. My mother said that I would uand what this anization is as I get taught and initiated by Master Sifu.

  What is this feeling I'm getting here?

  Since I live in the inner part of this pce, I know it's safe to walk around.

  But still... why do I feel a presence around me?

  I open the door to my room and head into the dark corridors.

  Why did they extinguish all the torches?

  A part of me goes o. The pce was much darker than usual. There wasn't a single light source except for the faint moonlight entering through small holes in the ceiling.

  Unfortunately, my room was dark, and my mp was out.

  I had no choice but to walk in the darkness and try to make my way to my mother's room.

  I o make sure she's alright... this strange presence won't let me rex.

  In that dark corridor, I start walking, trying to make my way to her room while leaning on the walls.

  As soon as I take aep, the presence bees more intense and suffog. I stop as soon as I realize what might be lurking in that darkness. I've faced something like this before, but I was a bit older and not trapped in a 5-year-old's body.

  A predator!

  In the darkness of that corridor, even without seeing it, I feel a beast staring at me further down the way.

  Aura! If I had Aura, this thing would have run away from me!

  "Who's there?" I ask. "Don't think I'll be intimidated by your trick; you'll need much more than that to scare me."

  I speak to the darkness, and only silenswers.

  I'm sure there's something ahead of me.

  As I was about to tinue walking, I saw something approag me. All I could see was the outline illuminated by the faint moonlight. One paced forward, followed by another, and as I realized, the whole body emerged from the darkness. In front of me stood a nearly bck, dark gray panther.

  'Grrrr!' growled the pa me.

  Fuck!

  The panther was enormous, with a white circle on its forehead.

  I start sweating and trying to trol this body. If it were in my previous life, a single gnce would make this creature piss itself with fear, but in this body, I no longer had my power.

  I won't give up! Not yet! I've faced a tiger before and made it back off with my stare!

  I try to trol every part of my body and position myself, staring at the panther. It keeps its gaze fixed on me, aand there, locked in a stare-down.

  The panther approached me and blew hot air into my face.

  "ellian!" shouted a voice from behind me.

  The panther let out a small chuckle and vanished into the darkness.

  The pressure I felt disappeared, and it seemed like nothing had ever been in front of me.

  When I turned around, I saw my aunt Margaery with a small dle walking through the darkness.

  "Are you alright, Nathan?" she asks, croug down to my level.

  “I'm fine, Aunt Margaery, but what was that thing?”

  She gnced bato the darkness.

  “To you, I'm ‘Aunt Margie’. And that ‘thing’ is uardian. That's ellian, a Moon Panther.”

  A panther? And a guardian?

  “Does it roam the corridors?” I asked, a bit surprised.

  “Yes. ellian is a pahat has guarded the castle’s inner parts for turies. His ir is this mansion. I don’t even have trol over him; the only thing we do is put out meat every night in the garden ainguish the torches. He made a pact with an a Evenhart leader and has lived here ever since.”

  “Lives here?”

  My au out a small ugh.

  “ellian knows paths no one else does, secret entrances in the walls. He hide and move around unseen. Did you think we would leave this pguarded? He's uardian. Just ignore him if you see him in the corridors; he usually doesn't i much. But it seems he approached you to fulfill the pact...”

  She took my hand and led me bay room.

  “act?”

  My aunt paused to think.

  “Intelligent magical creatures like ellian ot be domesticated uhey choose to be. It's simir to what you did with that little bird. He simply made a deal with an old Duke that he could live here and be protected from being hunted, as his species is not numerous. The agreement was that he would protect the Evenharts in exge for our prote... and until now, he’s only protected one person, even though he roams these corridors.”

  I pondered her words.

  “Who?” I asked.

  “My daughter. He breathed on her face when she was a baby and reized her as a true Evenhart. He did the same to you just now, so you really are an Evenhart... not that I had any doubts. Quite the opposite, I t on you being an Evenhart.”

  They have a pet panther? What a crazy family.

  “From the way you said it... not just anyone tame a Moon Panther.”

  My aunt ughed.

  “No one tame a Moon Pahey are natural-born killers. What your aor did was merely strike a deal. ellian is intelligent and didn't like living in the wild. Let's say he prefers the easy life he has here and hopes for human intruders to kill. When there are no intruders... we release some prisoners from death row for him. So, we have just an agreement of cooperation. We don't even need guards inside; he hates them. So, we just let him roam free.”

  We tinued walking until we reached my bedroom door.

  “And what kind of prote would we offer to such a creature? I could see that he is quite capable of proteg himself...” I said.

  “Moon Panthers are rarely seen, but they gh a period where they bee vulnerable. They possess an ability called ‘Iance’,” my aunt expined.

  I grew even more fused.

  “Iance?”

  “Yes. Let's say a Moon Panther doesn't need another pao reproduce. When its body is near death, it enters a state where it gees a cub. Gradually, all its power and memory are transferred to this Moon Panther cub. The inal panther grows weak until it has passed everything to the cub, and then it dies. The cub is also weak, even though it has the mind of an adult... the body is still that of a child.”

  So this thing... is kind of like a reinate, like me?

  “I imagihat’s when they are most vulnerable...” I said.

  “Yes. Humans have learo hunt a Moon Panther and reize the tracks of cubs. If they see traces of a Moon Panther cub... they won't rest until they capture it.

  Generally, the cub won't accept being tamed because it's an adult in a child's body. But still, humans capture them to sell to nobles who try to domesticate them or kill them to dispy their carcasses as trophies.”

  “That’s kind of sad…” I said.

  “Very sad, Nathan. If humans are so eager to try and capture one, why don’t they challehem when they're at their full power? But that’s the nature of cowards, Nathan. They prefer to go after us when we’re just cubs…”

  My aunt looked at me, and I uood her words.

  “Is that how the agreement with ellian came about?” I asked.

  “Your aor pced some Moon Panthers in ardens, which is that forest you passed through when you came here. We don’t allow ao hunt them or some other animals that o here. ellian liked what your aor did and made a pact with him. Sihen, he has lived within these walls.”

  My aunt ruffled my hair.

  “Time for bed, child. I was just getting some water when I saw you. It’s not good for you to be up at this hour. Tomorrow… you’ll suffer a bit under Sifu’s hands…” she said while closing my bedroom door and leaving.

  “Man… what a slightly crazy family I have,” I said as I threw myself onto the bed.

  But they're kind of cool…