“Mistress, you’ve returned.” A young man in a loose ruffled undershirt held together by a few belts, in his neck was a scarf, and his hands was a serving of fine wine, “how did the transaction go?” Daniel, the brown haired bartender and consultant for the White Cat Information Guild, grinned at his boss.

  “Well,” The blonde elf replied dismissively, “she still pns to conquer the North’s trade supply. There's nothing I can do to stop her.”

  Daniel pursed his lips, gazing at the beautiful woman sitting before him with a worried and anxious expression, one he knows a man like him can never quell. Yet, he still tries.

  His hand reaches over and gently cupping her cheek, his thumb wiping away the tears that she had yet to shed. “My Madam, Why do you so insist on stopping her? When she clearly does not desire for you to do so?”

  “You don't understand, Daniel.” Jamie’s lips shook, “she's—she doesn't need to do this—she shouldn’t need to.”

  “In my eyes, the Kingdom being destroyed is only for the better.” He shrugged and drew circles on her cheek.

  “Yes, I agree,” The elf took his wrist, “but why does she have to be the one to do so?” She pushed his hand away and stood up from the stool and began to pace around the counter.

  “It’s not fair,” Jamie’s hands squeezed, “She doesn't deserve to be hurt this much—”

  Jamie knew that she was the one who left Maddison alone.

  Jamie knew she wasn't there when Hendrickson was killed.

  Jamie knew she ran away from her when Maddison needed her.

  Jamie knew that she messed up.

  Jamie knew that she couldn't return her love.

  Jamie knew that she was one the first to make her heart bleed.

  And she regrets everything.

  “Madam, maybe a drink would suffice?” He slid her over a sweet smelling alcohol, possibly made from a mixture of cane sugar and citrus and some other things Jamie did not bother to care for.

  She took her whole hand and grabbed the gss before downing it all in one go.

  “Thanks,” She wiped her lips dry, her gaze turned weary, distant, and scared, an expression the bartender was all too familiar to, “Daniel, I once again ask you—”

  “Anything.” He responded before she could even finish, “I would do anything as long as you tell me to, even killing myself,” He took her hand and kissed it, “I am your tool to use, whenever and wherever.”

  Jamie’s eyes went wide, “Why would I ever ask that?!” She smmed the table with her palm, snapping it away from his grasp, “Daniel, I had always ordered you to prioritize your own safety over the completion of any objective. You're my most prized possession, I can't risk losing you.” Her eyes were teary again.

  Daniel sighed and wiped away the elven cries before they could fall once more, “Yes. I apologize.” She leaned her cheek into his hand, “I will try to do everything you say to a tee.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Now, I must report of His Highness's arrival on the Northern Outnds and outside the border of the Empire,” His voice went to work mode so smoothly that it feels strangely robotic, “I assume he should be arriving at the first seal by now.”

  “Do you think they can do it?” Jamie fell back to her stool spinning it around and around, maybe it helped hide her nervousness if she looked a little silly, she thought.

  Daniel thought back to the conversation the Prince and his allies had at this exact bar mere days ago, “I think they'll manage.”

  Speaking of, over at the frigid outnds, where no green grows and a horrific permanent snow, there lie in walking, a group of six individuals trekking the mountains as the youngest of them leads the group to the pce they needed to go.

  Autumn warned the group to be careful when stepping at the rocks, they could be slippery and a single misstep can cause you tumbling down the cliff face never to be seen again.

  They were taking the more perilous option to reach the vilge since the other path had been blocked by the avanche a day ago. They returned to check if there was any way to go around it but as the monstrous amount of snow was piled way too high to scale safely. Another reason was that there was no sign of the gigantic Stonehide whose skin is so thick swords struggle to penetrate in.

  “Are you sure this is the correct way?” Thomas, a mildly plump fellow, id his back on the cold stone as they tiptoed beside an edge, “any moment and you’d hear my voice fading as I ended up falling down the side of this mountain.”

  “Don't speak such negative thoughts!” Scolded the older snow blue haired one, Vander, had his face breaking into a smile, “and keep your chin up! lest you fall and even my chains won't be enough to pull you up.”

  “IF he survives the fall.” His twin, Scarlet interjected, “he’ll most likely have his body shattered into red paste when he reaches the bottom.”

  The man gagged, “Don't be so grim,” Thomas shuddered.

  “Almost there.” Autumn gestured ahead, she had spoken scarcely since they left the cave. Julian noticed she wasn't being as annoying as she used to and sure enough, being her constant bickering bestie, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about her recently.

  Every time he opened the conversation all he would get was a shake of her head and an avoidant gaze to anywhere else but his face. She was clearly hiding something.

  “Your Highness, Ben,” Julian approached Ben who followed closely behind the barbarian, “did something happen to that wild woman? She's oddly quiet.”

  The prince bit his lip and sighed, “I have no idea, Jule, I wish she was more open to us but—”

  “Through here.” Autumn pointed towards what seemed to be a thin crevice barely passable as the sharp jagged rocks lined its edges.

  “This is it,” Thomas pointed to himself then towards the small tunnel, “the girl’s telling me to go die.”

  Vander chuckled lightly and walked ahead of the group, squeezing between Ben and Julian, and towards Autumn, “Excuse me, Miss Autumn, is this perhaps the only way through, we have some issues regarding the size of the tunnel and—”

  The girl stared at him puzzled, seemingly not understanding what he was trying to say. Vander frowned upon realizing her inability to hear his qualms.

  “Autumn,” Ben stepped forward, giving the Duke's son a side eye before pulling him back, “one of us can't fit through here—well the rest of us barely do but—is there any other way for us to go?”

  Autumn once again started confused at his face before she simply smiled and, on her tiptoes, gave the prince a head pat. Ben, surprised, looked at her embarrassed.

  She then reached her hand over and grasped his, pcing her fingers in between his, and her nails gently squeezing his knuckles. She then led his palm to touch the stone beside the small tunnel.

  Suddenly the rocky face shifted, small piles of snow fell around them, as the rocks split apart further, forming a walkable path in between, wide enough for you to stretch your arms end to end and still fit without issue. Somehow, the shape of the crevice turned into an actual roadway for them to walk through.

  “This is—” Scarlet inspected the rocks, “Advanced Earth Magic?”

  Thomas rubbed his chin and judged from his observation, “they must have quite the skilled Earth Mage to enchant a rock face with this type of magic I assume permanently.”

  The girl didn't answer and with a smile she walked inside the tunnel, dragging the Prince behind her.

  Vander grinned and looked back at his two friends behind before nudging the Knight who had his mouth hanging upon next to him, “Can't have us gging behind now, can't we?”

  “Right.” Julian pushed his jaw up with his hand and they followed the two inside.

  It was a small dimly lit cave tunnel, you could see the end of it with the light peeking through the other side, barely illuminating the edges of the exit. There was barely any snow inside and there were also old signs of activity within with a campfire and a temporary sleeping mat being set up around within.

  It wasn't long before they reached the other side. It was a soft and beautiful snowy hillside where you can precariously make your way down the steep sides.

  “Welcome!” The barbarian girl smiled ear to ear, “my home—Pilopaika!” she waved her hand in a theatrical motion as she introduced her homend but what greeted them wasn't the pce she wanted to see.

  Autumn’s eyes widened in horror as she witnessed her hometown, her vilge, burning down from the ground up.

  In the rgest building in the center, a rge tower-like structure made of ice and dark stone brick, hung the fg of the Delha Kingdom.

  “No.” Ben’s grip on the girl's hand tightened.

  “We’re too te—” Vander’s expression shifted into anger, “they've already arrived.”

  “NOOOOO!” Autumn snapped her hands away from the noble as she dashed down the snowy hill and ran as fast as she could.

  “AUTUMN WAIT!” Ben yelled and reached for her but the girl was unimaginably fast. “Crap!” He cursed and ran after her.

  “Let's go.” Julian suggested to the others and they nodded back, following after the other two once again.

  The group ran as fast as possible as the Kingdom id siege upon the first Barbarian Vilge, and Autumn's—the poor girl’s—home.

  As the expedition team in the outnds geared up for a fight against the Kingdom, Alejandra finds herself in a simir predicament. Surrounded by a bunch of elite Kingdom soldiers and their leader in front of her.

  The purple haired man, a man who's name she did not know, lifted his bow to the sky, notched an arrow, then shot it up into the sky. That makes his remaining ammo down to five.

  The arrow pierced through the wind and right as it hit the edge of the sky it exploded in spectacur fashion, simir to a firework.

  Wait—

  “Was that a—”

  “Fre.” He shrugged, “It's over, Miss Alejandra, why don't you just come with us so we don't end up hurting your body.”

  “Are you stupid?” Alejandra scoffed and levitated gently off the ground as the snow and ice around her began to gather, “You merely signalled our location to my friends.”

  He smiled back and drew his bow one more time, this time aiming his next shot towards her, “that's why we sent the beasts back towards them.”

  The Lady’s eyes widened and her face contorted to a vengeful mess. “It was you?”

  “Everything was me.” He smiled maniacally, “Everything was done just for this moment!”

  Just like that all the Kingdom soldiers rushed at her at once, some of them are clearly more powerful than others. A vine grew from the ground and wrapped at one of her arms keeping her in pce.

  “What?” She turned her eyes and saw one of the soldiers was a beastwoman, and an adjudicator at that. Alejandra doesn't understand why of all people, would they be the ones working under the Kingdom when their kind is being horrifically experimented on.

  “Piety.” Alejandra casted, her blood running thin like ice. Frost icicles surrounded her and shot towards the soldiers. Some of them avoided the attacks, some broke the icicles entirely.

  The frost maiden clicked her tongue, she raised her hand, “Patience.” Razor thin ice bdes cut her free from the vines as she flew up away from the soldiers as they culminated below her.

  “Master, I suggest thou showeth such weak peasants no mercy.” Hoarfloe spoke in her head, seemingly amused by what was happening.

  The soldiers didn't grunt or speak, they were covered head to toe in dark blue clothing, so dark it was almost bck, their mouths were covered with cloth and their eyes had no color in them as well.

  She's noticed this since the ambush, but the Kingdom grunts had always felt—odd.

  “Repose.” A massive chunk of ice coaguted beside her and plummeted down towards the group of assaints. The block of ice crashed down exploding into pieces as the people below struggled avoiding it. The Lady had to finish this as quickly as possible, her time was ticking.

  Suddenly next to her in the sky was a man with leather wings, his face shifted into a horrific mix of a human and a bat. The way his form shifted was less like that of beastmen and more like it was deformed with magic.

  “Peace!” She yelled as quickly as she could to form an ice walk between her and the bat creature as it crashed into her ice construct with its hind legs with a sharp screech.

  It managed to crush the first yer of ice and break through, knocking Alejandra back. “What!?”

  Hoarfloe giggled, “Thou might be able to use mine spells, but thou hath yet to master them, especially with such unstable Spirit,” the fairy expined, “lendeth me thy body and I’ll—”

  “Shush.” Alejandra stopped them before they could even suggest something like that. She knew the fairy was right, even now as the ice in her blood started to fill every part of her veins, she could feel her Spirit being consumed. Is this why no one has been able to use Hoarfloe?

  Does the bde continuously consume its user’s spirit?

  Vines from below erupted and started rocketing their way up the sky and towards her. Then fire balls started shooting up trying to knock her out the sky, below her awaited a bunch of masked and armored fighters with various weapons.

  There were a total of ten of them attacking her at once, not including the purple haired man. Who was still watching from the sidelines with his bow drawn.

  The dy swiveled around the fireballs and ripped apart the vines that stretched out to her with Patience. She then erected another wall with Peace as the flying man bat lunged towards her again, this time focusing the magic in the bde so that the wall formed stronger.

  She then breathed in, “Reticence,” and a powerful gust of blizzard wind blew through the sky knocking the man bat far away from her. She then raised her hand for another Repose but suddenly an arrow flew from nowhere again this time and pierced right through her hand.

  “AHH!” The dy yelled in pain at the sudden strike, she failed to notice the bat return and strike her from the top of her head and get her crashing down with one swift kick.

  Thud!

  The Lady nded on the snow painfully, vines crept around her legs then her arms and finally at her neck, lifting her up and straddling her until she was forced to kneel, with her chin towards the sky.

  Alejandra felt the pain of the arrow moving around while still being lodged in her hand. She felt her body turning colder and colder, the ice in her blood getting worse and she even felt like she was about to vomit ice cubes. It was like her stomach was being grinded like rocks and her whole body was being stuck with needles. Hoarfloe fell to the side and was buried into the snow.

  “Well, all it took was one decisive blow to send the little bird down.” The purple man walked over, his quiver now left with four arrows, “I told you, I’d rather shy from harming your body,” His fingers reached over and examined her skin.

  The Lady resisted but the vines that tightened around her neck prevented her from doing so. If it was up to her she would unleash a burst of her Azaroln spirit right now and negate all the vines and magic that they have set up but her body couldn't muster up a cent of it. She had already wasted so much of it whilst chasing this man, it's not like she had an unlimited supply, only a rge amount, one that she was spending quite inefficiently.

  She would have to take a long rest to regain all the Spirit she had used, and primarily why she was left to use the magic of the Fairy Bde Sword.

  The purple haired man traced down her chin then her colr, he took it upon himself to also get a feel of the muscles in her arm. “Absolute perfection,” He grinned, “as expected of one of the most esteemed young women in the Empire, your body is fwless!”

  Instead of spirit, Alejandra gathered her spit in her mouth instead before shooting right at his eye.

  The man merely wiped it away, his expression remaining unchanged, and that pissed the Lady off even more.

  “I’ll kill you.” Alejandra tried to pull her arms out of the vines but it only tightened even more, ripping into her flesh, “ugh!”,

  “After looking into your background, I concurred the best way to lead you to my trap is to make use of your attached emotions,” He pced his thumb on her lip, “oh my, your exquisite brown skin, and your lovely abyssal like eyes, I’m sure the devil will be pleased.”

  “Tell that fucking devil of yours he can shove it up his—mffhh–grrr!” Vines crawled over her mouth causing all her cursing to turn into muffled anger.

  The man stared at his captured prey with delight, her resistive expression, her veins as if they were about to pop from rage, and her eyes filled with nothing but vengeance. He couldn't wait to see her mind destroyed from the Devil’s essence.

  It would be only the most fantastic scene to see a once delicate and distinguished being fall from her grace and become nothing but a brainless useless ragdoll.

  He grabbed her hair, still silver white and cold to the touch, like her body. Her Spirit was wavering, he could sense it as the fluctuation in his magic was dissipating slowly. It was the right call to stall her before engaging in battle. All that's left to do now, is the st order from Freya—find the missing vials of demon essence that vanished from the st seal’s location.

  “It should be good to travel to the Outnds now,” He said as he prepared a scroll, “Her Majesty would be waiting for us.”

  Alejandra grit angrily at her teeth, she began frustratingly trying to break free from the vine magic that kept her locked still. If only she could use her Spirit as well as her uncle or aunt—she’d be able to break free easily but her unstable source of strength cks training.

  The fact they aimed for her directly on her first mission means they knew exactly what they were doing.

  Their eyes had been on her for a while now.

  “Are you ready, Lady Alejandra, to see the future ruler of this entire continent?” He grinned as he unfurled the scroll.

  “Hhmph!” She tried to break free but as, it simply pulled her back even more.

  “I can't wait to see if you can conceive a devil, Lady Alejandra—wait—” The man moved the scroll around looking at it top to bottom and even flipping it around, “why does this have nothing on it?”

  “Looking for this, Leilo?” A voice called and in a swift motion a beast woman's head sank itself on the snow.

  The grip on the heiress loosened and she snapped the vines quite easily. The mage who casted the magic had suddenly gotten themself decapitated.

  “A voice?” The assassin, Leilo apparently, gnced around looking for the source of the voice, “Wait—I thought I killed you!?”

  “A change of pns—” An arm suddenly yanked Alejandra’s colr and snatched her. She found herself behind a familiar shape, a man she recognized, a man she remembered clearly, “this girl is coming with me.”

  “Hughie—” Leilo’s face of pleasure had all but vanished and all that was left was arrogant hatred, “you will pay for this betrayal!”

  “You betrayed me first!” He dropped the Lady behind him to set free to his lone arm, “This time—I’ll make sure your twisted brain does not make another thought.”

  “You—” Alejandra barely could speak, her body felt heavy, it was time—her clock had run out.

  “Goodnight Master,” Hoarfloe spoke with a smile one st time in her head.

  The Lady fell asleep right then and there, passed out in the snow.

  “I need that woman to appease the Devil of Famine, Hughie!” Leilo reasoned, “You can be welcomed back if you hand her over!”

  The old captain’s face was a mix of scorn and disgust, “To work with such beings… Delha has truly fallen from grace.”

  The remaining living soldiers surrounded him as he stood over the Lady's body, protecting it from any one of them.

  “You're all alone, Hughie!” Leilo ughed, “what makes you think you stand a chance here?”

  “In the week or so I’ve lived out of your reign—” He smiled, “I realized something—”

  “Huh?”

  “I’m never alone.”

  Hundreds—No—Thousands of clones more than he's ever produced in his life poured out from the trees. In a single instance—the tables have turned.

  Back further at the trail—

  “RAGH!” Millo swung one of his bdes and sliced one of the wolf beasts in half. “NONE OF YOU WILL APPROACH HER!” He roared.

  Teresa had recently drank the potion that Bou’s Father had concocted. Right now, the two elves were focused on casting magic to dey the degradation effect of the curse.

  Cavael and Millo were defending them from the sudden reappearance of the corrupted beastmen.

  “TAKE THIS!” The old man took one of the snapped pnks from the carriage and smacked it over the head of one of the monsters. “HA! HA!”

  “Careful ya old man!” Cavael stepped in front of him and swung his mallet with enough strength to permanently disfigure the beast, caving its skull in.

  “Any signs?” Millo felt his blood begin to rush, he couldn't use the Azaroln Spirit right now, he would go feral and not distinguish friend or foe—He could only defend with his normal abilities.

  “Still nothing—” Bou pursed her lips, “her complexion is better but there's no sign of her waking up.”

  “Teresa…” Millo's eyes wavered in worry.

  “D’not mope around, ya daft man!” Cavael frustratingly spoke as he smmed his shield onto a beastman that tried to pounce on Millo, “eyes on the game, won’t’ya?”

  “Right.”

  As they began to hold back the creatures, Teresa's finger twitched, it was the one carrying the ring she had used to locate the Lady back during the attack in the Capital.

  It turned bright red. Redder than anything Bou’s ever seen as she saw it happen right in front of her.

  “Teresa?” A female voice called out to her, “This ring symbolizes our friendship! As long as we both wear it, we’ll always be able to help each other!”

  In a single moment, Teresa's eyes snapped open.

  “MISS TERESA!” Bou covered her mouth in excitement, tears welled up in her eyes and she then hugged the maid who had now finally woken up.

  “Uhh, Hello, Miss Bou–” Teri was a bit confused, they've known each other for only a day or two so this was a bit of a shock to be embraced like this.

  “I’ve poured everything to save you—” Bou’s eyes began to roll back, and she seemed a bit feverish, “I’m so happy you're—” She passed out in Teri’s arms, exhausted and fatigued.

  “She over exhausted her mana,” The older elf expined, “We need to let her rest—she worked so hard after all.”

  “I see.” Teri reached over and stroked the Elf’s hair. She leaned close to the girl's cheek and whispered, “thank you. For saving my life.”

  She then handed the girl over to her Father as she stood up and drew her bow.

  “TERESA!?” Millo finally noticed her, she smiled softly and then looked towards the forest, a red trail leading her directly to where Alejandra is stationed.

  “Sir Millo,” She gave him the sweetest smile he's ever seen from her, “I have to save My Lady now.”

  Millo's heart couldn't stop her—there was no way it could. He nodded and just like that, the maid, ever so loyal to the Ramirez seat—no that doesn't describe the retionship between them.

  It wasn't a master and servant bond.

  Something much deeper.

  “My Lady, I hope you’re alright.” Teresa said dashing through the forest, her ring lighting up the path.

  …

  “I wonder what My Lady and Miss Teresa are up to.” Soyeon picked up some of the washed fabric from the line and walked towards the basket where the white sheets were all collected. She wiped the sweat of her forehead as she smiled at her finished work, “anyways! I know they're together so…they'll be just alright!” She wiped her wet hands to make them dry as fast as possible, trying to hide the scales that began to appear on them.

  “SOYEON!” A voice called from inside the castle.

  “Coming, Miss head maid!” She brushed off the dust in her clothes and rushed inside.

  “Did you hear, The Cafés are personally coming here to visit.” One of the maids whispered to another.

  “So Lady Camil is coming home too?

  Soyeon, who passed by, was suddenly intrigued. She stopped for a moment to eavesdrop at the current rumors that were frolicking around the castle.

  “Apparently so, I’m worried about her husband though—”

  “Shhhh, don't talk of the Marquis Café that way!”

  “I haven't even said anything!”

  “Doesn't he look handsome though?” Another girl came from the sidelines and interjected.

  The other girls shuddered. “Yeah, but he's scary. He's not mean but he's got this face of a man who always has an ulterior motive.”

  “Why did Lady Camil marry him then?”

  “I heard it was a political marriage,” The older one in the group added, “if you ask me, 4 kids don't come out of just an arranged marriage.”

  “Maybe Lady Camil just really liked his performance.”

  The girls started giggling and squealing like a bunch of noisy chipmunks.

  Soyeon sighed as she had realized how obtuse these girls can be sometimes, always gossiping about the nobles. It's not like she doesn't understand though, it was her favorite pastime with Miss Teresa and Lady Alejandra.

  “SOYEON!” The head maid’s voice called out again.

  “Almost there, sorry!” The young girl picked up her pace and ran towards the direction of the voice.

  The atmosphere in the Azaroln castle has become a lot more tense tely. Even the Duchess has not left her office this whole time.

  It wasn't any information or anything, an apprentice maid like her would be privy to but—she can't exactly stop her curiosity.

  “Anyways—All I have to do is wait here,” She thought to herself, “when they come home I’ll be waiting for them as the best maid ever!”

  “SOYEON, WHY ARE YOU TAKING SO LONG!” The Head Maid seemed annoyed now.

  “AAAHH I'M SO SORRRYYYY!!” The girl shrieked and booked it and ran faster than she had ever done so in her life.