"Lord and Lady Vanderbilt, I bid you welcome. Lady De Sadé will receive you in the Garden." A man with a clean shaved face and neat grey hair received Lord Vanderbilt in front of his carriage with a bow.

The young lord came down first then gave a hand to the lady who seemed to be of a rather grumpy nature compared to the easy smile that stretched widely on the face of the lord. Following them from the other side was their butler who pulled a stool from under his seat for the lady to step on.

"The garden is lovely and the moisture in the air suits the choice of trees that are lined across the roadway. The effort is clear and the design is superb." Lord Vanderbilt spoke to the Butler of House De Sadé as the lady was finally standing on stable ground.

To his words, the lady stared at him as if he was saying the most cringe-worthy thing she may have ever heard in a day.

"A splendid remark, your excellency." The man who received them, by his part as a Butler, raised his brows with a cheerful expression, "A few take notice of the effort."

"Those who take beauty for granted are bound to never enjoy the true colors of life." Lord Vanderbilt said as he let out a hearty sigh.

"Magnificent." The Butler standing opposite to him was taken by the words this young lord said.

It almost felt out of character but Lady Vanderbilt and the Butler of the Vanderbilts were taken by the reaction of the De Sadé Butler who seemed mesmerized by their young lord.

"Please, my Lord, my Lady. Lady De Sadé is waiting for you this way." The Butler said as he guided the two to the garden by the walkway right next to where they landed.

The garden indeed looked lovely despite how small it was. Being the manor of minor aristocrats in the middle of the New Valley District, which is rather very residential and quite busy, the place was very taken care of by the best the De Sadé family can offer yet despite the appearances, Lord Vanderbilt was quick to notice the lack of human activity around the place.

Still, as they took a turn in the garden and arrived at a small garden pavilion hugged by the green, violet, and lily; there, a young lady, a few years beyond the age of Lord Vanderbilt, stood up and met the guests with elegance as if she is the centerpiece of the scenery.

"Lady De Sadé, I assume." Lord Vanderbilt stood forward taking off his feathered hat to the front of his chest and politely spoke to the Lady.

"Lord Vanderbilt. It is an honor to finally meet you in person." She said as she extended her hand for a greeting.

Lord Vanderbilt quickly held his hand while barely lowering his head and left a kiss on the back of her hand never breaking eye contact all according to the customs.

"I have heard rumors but Lady De Sadé is beyond what flattery can give justice to which makes this honor to be all mine." Lord Vanderbilt replied with the glibness of a minstrel yet all within manners.

"My name is Alfonse Vanderbilt." He said.

"Karmina De Sadé." She replied.

As the introductions were made, the young lord turned to the lady behind him.

"This is my elder sister Galina Vanderbilt, she is the only next of kin who came with me to the capital."

"Good morning."

As Lord Vanderbilt introduced the lady behind him who was his sister, Karmina and Galina exchanged lady greetings by bowing very shortly from a distance. Unlike how elegant and sophisticated Karmina was, Galina was completely out of both rhyme and balance.

"Please, come in. Have a seat, my Lord, my Lady."

"Thank you, my Lady."

The Vanderbilts joined Karmina De Sadé around the table under the pavilion and sat together exchanging looks of assessment.

"A lovely garden and a lovely house, I can feel the presence of care in every part of this place." Alfonse said.

"Thank you, my Lord." She replied, "Would you like tea?"

"Very much so, please. I haven't had one proper brew on this dreadful journey." Alfonse replied, "Would I be rude and request coffee for my sister, she's quite down under the weather."

"Pretty much, no worries. Dexter, the coffee set, please." She replied, turned to the butler, and requested the coffee.

"Right away." The Butler replied and assigned the task to two of the maids nearby.

It seemed that Alfonse conveyed to Karmina that his sister is a little bit drunk and so she complied immediately. Seeing one of the siblings all talkative and active while the other one is absent-minded and dismissive, Karmina was taken by the two sibling's personalities being polar opposites.

"So, how was your journey to the Capital, my Lord?" She asked the long question which Alfonse was waiting for.

The young lord started describing his journey and how he met the said merchant troupe and struck a rather lucky deal on the way making his lumber trade find itself a new route around the heartland of the kingdom. He then apologized to Karmina for dragging the long boring conversation into business which she denied being bored but is happy to have such an aspiring businessman as a new neighbor.

"… Speaking of which, Lord and Lady Vanderbilt are moving into the manor which belonged to Lord Kingsley. How did you strike such a deal with the old Baron?" Karmina asked.

"Pretty easy actually. My late father was in a good relationship with Baron Kingsley after a successful business encounter which left the two parties quite very rich. It saddens me that the Baron had to move away from the Capital to live with his relatives for being so old without someone looking after him but he was kind enough to offer us his residence for a pretty reasonable price since he has no male heirs." Alfonse said in a broken face almost shedding a tear.

"Indeed." Karmina nodded with an understanding face, "So, we can expect ourselves to be pretty good neighbors. It is exciting, to say the least."

"Ah! About that…" Alfonse hesitated.

"Yes?"

"As you already know, we are fairly new in this city and mostly alien to the place but as the old saying goes; Buy the Neighbor before the House."

"Never heard it before… but wise words!"

"It's from where I came, yes." Alfonse said, "That being said, I plan to know the people around before fully deciding to move in, know the families, and to inspect the area thoroughly of course. If I am to move here, I would like this environment to perfect for myself and Vanderbilts yet to come."

"Indeed. That's a good step to take." Karmina nodded, "I would be glad to tell you all about the History of House De Sadé."

"How exciting!"

The two young people mixed in rather well with all the elaborate ways of speaking they used and how they managed to grab the attention of one another. One may say, there was a good amount of mutual interest between the two.

This and that were said and exchanged until Lady Karmina decided to give the foreign Lord a tour. He was judged to be a moderate hardworking young aristocrat and thus a welcome addition to the Aristocratic society in this neighborhood.

"This way, my Lord."

"Yes, please. Ladies first."

The two walked around the manor and Alfonse didn't miss a chance to comment on the details and be like a cranky old lady which went well with Karmina's personality. Moreover, he let her talk about the people around the neighborhood; the ones she likes, the ones she dislikes, and most certainly the ranting. When she started ranting about those unneighborly people around, he was like a musician helping her to rant more. There is certainly no match for an annoyed woman with a man encouraging her to complain.

Behind them, lady Galina Vanderbilt and the two butlers were in awe of the conversational skills being displayed. Whether it is words or mannerisms, the two were on the bar in everything.

It was like that until they were led inside the manor to see the art collection of House De Sadé. The interior was as well taken care of as the exterior. One corridor, in particular, was lined with armor suits held up together on armor stands to show off the prowess of the family. More to it, the walls were decorated with various kinds of paintings that Karmina De Sadé was very fond of as she never passed one without telling the short tale behind it.

"… With all of that being said, there is only one painting that is Historically recorded as the most fascinating work of art in our collection. It is even safe to say that the Royal Family has requested to buy it once in the past but my grandfather never complied."

"That much! It must be a marvelous piece then." Alfonse replied with great interest.

"Indeed." She said, "Let me present to you, the Pride of Del Mar."

And there was it… the ultimate piece, the magnum opus, the crown jewel of the collection.

"Recorded by Amber's Convention of Art and Culture as a cultural legacy, this painting is the oldest and the most interesting piece we have." Karmina said, "Upon this one painting, our house was established."

Alfonse looked where Karmina pointed, Galina and the Butler followed suit but words never came out as they witnessed something one or two leagues beyond incredible.

The Pride of Del Mar, not by any way a small painting.

"God!" Alfonse couldn't help but exclaim from the shock that almost gripped him.

An Ocean… vast and tyrannical.

A Storm… angry and thundering.

A Serpent… furious and gigantic.

A Ship… majestic and defiant.

A Wizard… alone against the odds in the center of the climax.

The painting came straight out of fairy tales. The five elements mixed up together in a color that gripped the hearts of the onlookers a moment by fear, a moment by majesty, a moment by glory.

One Wizard holding the Lightning coming from heaven and throwing it at the gigantic Sea Serpent that is twirling its fearsome body on the peculiar looking ship. The sea rumbled even more than the sky and the rage of the storm was pushed aside by the might of the Arcane and the roar of the beast.

The Sea Serpent opened its gigantic maw as if to swallow all the world under and the heroic Wizard still held on with the defiant spell.

And it just keeps happening.

"What Majesty!" Alfonse wondered.

"Indeed." Karmina nodded, "It is the first impression that captivates the onlookers but the secret of this painting is an enigma to fathom."

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[ The Pride of Del Mar ]

——————————

Alfonse didn't realize it but the Ring of Horus around his finger almost reacted to the painting by sending out a faint glow that wasn't noticed by anyone.

"Indeed." Alfonse couldn't help but agree heart and soul.

But as if the curse of marvel was to never witness it for more than possible, a few servants and guards headed towards the group.

"My Lady, we are here to move the painting to the Auction Hall." The Leader of the Guards said.

"What?" Karmina's face turned blue from the shock, "On whose orders?"

"On mine."

And a new face entered the scene.

"Brother?" Karmina reacted as if she never expected to see the man.

He seemed older than Karmina, blonder, but with messier features. He carried the same appearance and almost the same tone but his airs were totally different.

"Those are?" The moment he laid eyes on Alfonse and his people, he asked with an air of nonchalant.

Karmina held the urge to shout and turned around.

"Those are Lord and Lady Vanderbilt, our new neighbors." She said, "This is my elder brother…"

"Christophe De Sadé." The man introduced himself offering a handshake to Alfonse.

"Alfonse Vanderbilt. This is my elder sister…" Alfonse replied.

"Galina… Vanderbilt." Galina introduced herself with some haughty mannerisms.

"Wel-met, my Lord, my Lady." Christophe said as he greeted Galina the same way Alfonse greeted Karmina in the garden. The only difference is that Alfonse and Karmina were way more refined despite their juniority to these two lousy performers.

The two Butlers had that same look of disapproval in their eyes.

"Brother, I am sorry but can we discuss something for a minute, please?" Karmina tried to drag Christophe away but he seemed rather resistant.

"Sister, there is nothing to talk about." He said, "The Painting will be the core of the auction, it will be the most successful auction ever."

Christophe seemed rather happy with his idea.

"Are you…" Karmina was about to lash out but it was very difficult to do so in front of guests, "This is not something you can sell." She said while trying to speak only to him.

"Sadly, sister, the painting is part of my inheritance, you made sure of that if I remember right. And I am in need to be in the Auction Hall before the guests arrive." Christophe brushed his sister away and signaled for the people to take the painting.

It was then covered, put in a metal container by a careful group of people, and got shipped away. Karmina and the two Butlers had a tragic and powerless look on their faces as if they wanted to kill Christophe right on the spot.

"Before I leave… Where are my manners, I was almost rude to our guests." Christophe said as he turned to Alfonse, "Allow me to welcome you as neighbors and please, let us meet tonight in the auction. It will be a grand night."

They shook hands and Christophe excused himself as he walked away down the stairs.

Karmina was trembling with anger but she couldn't do a thing. Her image was shattered by her brother and the pride of their house's collection became an item of auctioning. This was no longer a time to see guests and Alfonse seemed to be understanding that.

"It seems that Lady Karmina has her own problems to take care of." Alfonse said, "My sister and I will excuse ourselves for now."

"I am sorry…" Karmina said, "This was… a terrible display."

As Alfonse and his people were walking away, he turned around as he heard Karmina.

"Not at all, my Lady." He said as he walked back up a step, "Sometimes siblings can be a handful."

Dejected and depressed, Karmina nodded and excused herself as Butler Dexter was the only one to see the guests out.

Alfonse still felt that this was all way too sudden.

Back in the carriage, Leon put away the annoying hat and Madam Mikaela kicked off the terrifying high heels as the carriage walked out on the street.

The two looked at each other and they almost wanted to curse.

"I can't believe it. We scouted everything in and out." She said, "It just… slipped away."

"The Mansion was way too secure." Leon replied, "This would have turned into a sure disaster."

The two sighed as the stress they kept piling finally bursted out.

"We need to get to that auction hall." Leon said, "We can't back down now."

"Are you mad?" Mikaela replied, "That's impossible. We only have less than six hours before the auction. Forget about it."

Leon shook his head and turned his head back to the De Sadé manor.

"Six Hours is all I need."