The Transmigrated Author

262  Montclair Mansion (3)

After we had arrived at the Montclair mansion, I noticed a maid on the upper floor of the mansion watching over us.

Just from a glance I knew it was Vanessa from above.

I found it undeniable that she, among the many females in the novel, was beautiful, so it was something worth acknowledging.

I couldn't help but worry that my presence would disrupt the familiar course of events. At best, I could support Jan during the teleportation phase, but after that, he was on his own. I hated the thought of getting caught up in those events, especially since I wasn't great at navigating from memory.

"Rel and Valencia, since you two were last to arrive, I'll need you guys to do a little task for me."

My face suddenly stiffened at his words, this couldn't be anything bad right?

-"That son of a bitch…" HSSSSTTTTT!

A low angry voice muttered and my back began to sweat from the intensified heat.

"Louise, your mana is leaking?!" I heard Jae's voice rise in panic, She had caught on to his tantrum quickly, and from the corner of my eye, I saw her grab Louise's arm, trying to restrain him.

-"Calm down!" Jae's expression hardened, she leaned closer to Louise, seemingly making physical contact. boing…

Suddenly, Louise regained his composure and the heat he emitted vanished as quickly as it appeared.

SSST… n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Eh-ah.. I'm calm... w-what are you talking about?" he replied with a flushed face.

Jae stopped his burst with just her body alone, how strange. With the situation solved Valencia stepped forward almost skipping as if she was rejoicing. "What do you want us to do?" she asked Lan, leaning towards him.

"You've been here before, right? Just deliver this letter to Montclair's office. I'm sure one of the family members will be there."

"Okay..." Valencia quickly took the letter and turned to me, giving me a strange look. "Let's go."

She fidgeted around looking at anywhere else but me, so I'll assume that she just wants to see the Montclair's.

*

I walked down the hallway, keeping a comfortable distance from Valencia. I didn't want to disturb her; I had more important things to focus on, like learning the mansion's layout. During my time as an aspiring author, I hadn't put much thought into the interior when I wrote this setting. 19:33

I had primarily focused more on the world inside the Orb of Phantasmal, since inside is basically a pocket dimension in its own way. It'd be hard to think about locations and timing as of now.

And for most of my troubles I'd have to find the artifact room on top of all of that.

Just guessing its location is basically useless in this vast mansion, unless Vanessa or Christian had already located it. I'd have to check the Mercenary Mission Database (MMD) for any intel just to be sure.

Click!

I glanced down at my watch, and as I did, I bumped shoulders with Valencia.

The moment I looked up, I could see Valencia and I were in step once again.

"...?"

I tilted my head towards her, and she gasped, turning away. I quickened my pace, but she matched it with every stride. Even if I didn't know where I was going, I decided to see how far she'd take this. I stopped abruptly and pretended to tie my shoe, crouching down on all fours. "...what are you-"

Then, with the speed of an Olympic sprinter, I took off down the hallway.

DASH!!!!

This back and forth running continued for a few minutes until I'd had enough.

"Did I do something wrong—" I began, but she cut me off.

"Ah, look! We're here!" she exclaimed, her voice raised. I turned to see a double door room with a heavy presence emanating from within.

"Let's quickly head in shall we?" With no other choice and feeling a little tired from running I just sighed while watching Valencia pushing open the door.

Creak…

The room was vast, with a two-story section splitting into two sides, similar to a parliament debate room. In the center was a round table with six seats on each side. As my eyes drifted I saw a small staircase led to an upper level where a figure in a black hoodie sat at a desk.

It was Anouz, seemingly absorbed in a document. He quickly noticed Valencia and I.

"Oh... hello, Valencia," he greeted.

Sliding the document into a drawer, he turned his attention to us and flinched, as if he'd seen a ghost.

"And... friend?" He flicked his gaze between us. Valencia took the initiative and handed him the letter.

"Here," she said. "Lan wanted to give this to the head."

Anouz took the envelope and glanced at me, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Oh, right. You were the guy at the cafe earlier. I didn't know you were with them." His eyes glowed as he stared at me, and I felt a tremor of pressure, a subtle test of my strength.

"Ah, well, now you know," I replied.

"Yeah..." He held my gaze, his intentions unclear.

"Alright, I assume everyone's here for a good time, so you guys can go," he said, waving us away. But just as I turned, he called out to me.

"You," he said, "can I talk to you for a moment?"

Valencia had already exited, but her head popped back in, startling me. "Rel?" she asked, tilting her head so only her left eye was visible.

I didn't think much of her concern, but I needed to know what Anouz wanted. "He just wants to talk to me. I'll catch up," I assured her.

"Oh..." Her eyes dimmed, and I felt a pang of annoyance at her behavior.

I turned back to Anouz, hoping this wouldn't be a serious conversation. He jumped down from his desk and landed right in front of me. His presence and mana capacity were overwhelming. If it wasn't for his ego, his potential could rival Jan's.

"So, I have something to ask of you..." he began. He seemed relaxed, so whatever he wanted probably didn't involve me directly.

"Sure, what is it?" I straightened my posture, trying to appear taller.

"You see, there's this girl—"

"Lyra?" I interrupted.

His face flushed, and he scratched the back of his head. "If that's her name, yeah..."

Oh my God, it's as if I didn't see this coming. But I did. I wasn't interested in hearing him ramble about his first love, so I cut to the chase.

"If you'd like, I'll help you. And for an even better outcome, let's make a deal." I smirked at Anouz, and he returned a sly grin.

"Ehem... what is it you want?"

I'm on a long uni break, so the return for chapters is now on board.

Though I'll be focusing a lot on my second novel, I still won't neglect this novel, regardless.