The Raven Messenger

The beautiful countess claimed she had met Levis as a child, so Annan tried to hide his identity behind shyness.

"Brother Anning, can you tell us about the Reeves family?"

An eight- or nine-year-old girl sitting beside the countess tilted her head adorably.

"No."

Annan didn't know anything about them himself. The girl didn't know that, though. She pouted, her eyes filling with tears.

The countess, radiating maternal warmth, gently stroked the girl's soft hair. "The Twelve Kings of the North are the bedrock that protects the Northern Frontier. Many things about them are secret. It's right that he doesn't tell you."

"Oh."

The girl wiped her eyes, then looked up and said cautiously, "I'm sorry, Brother Anning..."

"Annan."

Annan gently corrected her pronunciation.

"Anning."

The girl, missing a front tooth, said it in her sweet little voice, making the ladies chuckle.

The flush that had begun to fade from Annan's cheeks returned in a faint pink.

The considerate countess saw his embarrassment and came to his rescue. "Girls, go enjoy the banquet. Our King of the North would like some peace and quiet."

Laughing softly, the young women walked away, winking at Annan as they went. They took Della with them. One bold noblewoman even slipped a note into his palm as she passed.

"Please sit here, Levis... Forgive me. I should call you Lord Annan."

The countess gestured to the sofa beside her. Annan had been about to decline, but as she leaned forward, he caught sight of her cleavage.

"All right..."

Once he sat across from the countess, her pale, lustrous legs, extending from her billowing skirts in an elegant pose, became his new point of focus. Annan tried to meet her gaze, but he nearly lost himself in her eyes, round as the Full Moon. The