°• Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. —Ephesians 4:31— •°

Lore change: Spirit form duration

The Immortal Blades can maintain their spirit form only when certain conditions are met: During the day, they can activate this skill only on horseback. After the sunset, this skill requires the moonlight. Once they use their signature weapon (to attack or to defend), they temporarily exit their spirit form and revert back to their original appearance. Horse-drawn carriages do not have this ability.

The red flare dissipated in the sky where dozens of vultures were circling while waiting for a tragedy to feast. Honkai beasts of all sizes obstructed the passage ahead, oblivious of the Immortal Blades who were in their spirit form as they approached the seemingly lone carriage that was transporting the Abyss Flower. Ragna unsheathed her greatsword and everyone else brandished their scythes. They bathed the ground with thick Honkai liquid from the slain beasts before they crossed the village border. They continued the rest of the day galloping on bare arid lands.

Hours later, a single orange flare appeared, almost blending with the crepuscular rays of the receding daylight. It was Ragna's way of informing her troops that their adventure for today was over. The riders got off their horses and prepared themselves to spend the night on the edge of a forest. Staying on a flat region would give them the advantage of spotting any incoming enemy, but it would also make them more noticeable to their foes with the campfire. Staying in the depths of the dense forest would complicate things, especially since they needed a strong moonlight at night to keep their spirit form without their horses. Ragna knew by experience where they would be safer.

The sound of chirping birds brought an air of tranquility to her. This place was almost as if untouched by the Honkai, free from the claws of death. They were now far from the burnt forsaken villages telling the tales of their former inhabitants' last agony. She stood in a corner and watched her comrades unpack their belongings from the horses. Aside from the emergency rations, the Immortal Blades mostly depended on what nature would provide them along the way, which allowed them to travel faster without having much to carry. Their leader puffed up with pride on seeing how much her girls had grown up. Both S-rankers and A-rankers worked in perfect coordination to arrange their sleeping tents and build a campfire. The bravest ones like Bianka Ataegina were sent to scout the forest and hunt for dinner, while those who were more fearful of Honkai beasts like Ana Schariac stayed behind to watch over the camping ground.

When Ragna turned to the B-rankers' side, she deeply exhaled.

One B-rank junior hammered her own fingers while trying to fix a nail, and the elastic rope tied to it bounced back and slapped her in the face. She stumbled backwards with a hand on her cheek and her derrière collided with the hind leg of a horse. The confused animal strode forwards and its head got tangled in the cord the Valkyries were using to hang their clothes on. Now blindfolded by somebody's pink underwear, the horse panicked and tried to kick its way out. It roamed around and unconsciously dragged the clothes on the cord into the campfire. Sensing the heat approaching its hoofs and the smoke burning its nostrils, the horse neighed and galloped in all directions, spreading the fire behind it. It took three B-rankers running around with water buckets to stop the fire and another three of them to calm down the agitated animal.

Ragna facepalmed.

Once the B-rankers noticed that Ragna was staring at them in disbelief, they hurriedly aligned themselves and bowed to her. "L-l-leader Ragna!" The one with the swollen fingers dropped the hammer and bowed lower than the rest. "I'm really sorry! It was an accident!" They kept their heads down as her footsteps approached them and they waited to take an earful.

"No." Ragna shook her head in disapproval. "You should either address me as 'leader' or 'miss Lodbrok'."

"Y-ye-yes! Leader Rag– err... Lodbrok! Leader Lodbrok!"

"I'll give that a pass," Ragna dryly commented before looking at the junior's bleeding hand. "Go get your hand treated. Now scram!" The Valkyrie bowed to her again and clumsily walked back into one of the tents. Ragna scanned around and raised an eyebrow. "Can someone please explain to me what is this... thing?" She pointed at an awfully arranged wooden bench.

"A hitching post!" one confidently blurted out.

"And you are?"

"Alvitr! B-rank Valkyrie! Thirteen years old!" she answered out loud with a salute.

Ragna sighed. "Well... Alvitr, your hitching post should keep a horse from straying, and not the other way around." She pushed the post with one finger and it collapsed. "We are surrounded by trees. If any of you are worried for your four-legged companions, tie them to the sturdiest trees. Don't kill the gifts of nature to build such unnecessary things. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Good. Now back to work."

"So much smoke," a familiar voice said in between coughs. "Apologies for disturbing, miss Lodbrok. Have you seen my mistress by any chance?"

"Bianka went on a hunting trip with the others. Ana, my personal assistant, is busy right now. For now I guess you will have to keep me company. I hope you do not mind."

"Of course not. In fact, it is a pleasure and honor to spend time with you," Rita replied and returned the smile.

They quietly wandered off into the forest. Aside from solitude, silence was like a salve to their troubling thoughts and memories. But the forest full of life disagreed and was filled with the croakings of various creatures from the tiniest frogs to the shy mammals and reptiles that scurried away at the sight of the two-legged intruders. As the daytime colors drained, the shadows that were part of the natural clock grew thrice their sizes, contorting into all sorts of shapes.

"You seem to have a particular attachment to her," Ragna said, finally breaking the silence.

"I do," Rita shyly admitted. They sat down on a fallen tree and watched the last glimpse of sunlight fade. "I spent four years caring for miss Ataegina. Of course, we'll grow closer. I know everything about her — from all her minuscule quirks to her biggest secrets to the things that she's not yet aware of."

"So... basically you're her walking and talking personal diary."

Rita chuckled. "Maybe."

Ragna looked thoughtful for a moment. "Would you sacrifice your life for her?"

It was Rita's turn to look thoughtful now. "I would, though it would not be for a common mistress-maid affection."

"There's something else linking her to you, not emotional attachment but more like a formality?" Ragna sat with her fist supporting her chin, her usual philosophical position to ponder on things. She took out a silver pendant from her pocket blouse and briefly played with it. "It's the opposite here, Rita. I know a lot about you — from the things you think I'm unaware of to the things you are unaware of."

Rita remained silent.

"This pendant belonged to Cecilia Schariac," Ragna said as she stared at the object in her hand, "I got it as a gift before she left the country with her husband. She was the elder sister I never had, my emotional pillar and the only person who genuinely cared for me. Now I think it is time to give this pendant to someone who will value it more..." She gave Rita a knowing smile and the latter widened her eyes. "Someone very close to the former owner of this pendant..."

It did not take Rita a shrewd guess to understand. Ragna knew from the beginning that Bianka was Cecilia's firstborn and only child. "You knew..." the maid said under her breath.

Ragna studied Rita's initial reaction before her smile grew bigger as if she was about to expose something malignant. "In reality, who's the foolish one? I'm good at pretending to be one, but you're not pretending and yet you're one. And guess what…" Rita slowly became two shades lighter. "I also know that you work for Otto Apocalypse." Rita flinched but her superior gently patted her back. "Relax. I have more secrets to reveal."

Rita suddenly remembered the day Himeko Murata had confronted her and how things had gone bitter between them afterwards. She was certain that it was the redhead who had exposed her secrets. Rita had relayed some words to Otto Apocalypse before, but he had paid little attention to it and had dismissed Himeko's case as an outlier to his beliefs. Thus, the red hair was spared for unknown reasons, even if Rita wanted to "silence" her.

"It's not Himeko," Ragna interrupted Rita's thoughts as if she could read them, "She was drunk when she blabbered about it, but it was nothing new to me. Truth is, I studied your behaviour and connected similar traits to my previous backstabbing assistants. But then, you hit me with the most obvious hint."

Rita blinked in confusion. "I did?"

"Otto loves the sweetened taste of stevia in his drinks. Just like how his granddaughter Theresa is fond of bitter melon juice, he too is fond of bitter foods. He's reluctant to share his stash of bitter stevia powder, but you somehow got your hands on it to prepare my tea every morning. I did it on purpose when I asked you to add more flavors to my morning tea, and you unsuspectingly fell for my trick."

The tea? The tea was a trap? Rita would have felt better if the tattletale Himeko Murata had ratted her out on a radio broadcast instead. She had single-handedly been humilated by a drink. She was not sure if she now hated tea or stevia powder more.

"But how, pray tell, do you know so much about the Apocalypses? Miss Lodbrok, were you by any chance serving the Overseer himself before?" When Ragna did not answer she began scrapping the wood chips off the rough texture of the trunk with her nails. "Do you... dislike me for who I really am? I am basically a traitor, your enemy disguised as a loyal servant."

"Don't do this. You have a tendency of hurting yourself when you're in thoughts." Ragna placed her hand over Rita's and held it tightly. "No, I don't have anything against you. I dislike the employer, not the employee. Even so, loathing someone is not in my nature nor do I seek to harm anyone who has or will hurt me. Back then, I wasn't wiser and even resorted to lies and slander to trap my treacherous attendants. I will not bring myself to such low standards again, and I will face you without fear. But I would like to know why you work for Otto. Is it for wealth? Fame? Status? I never asked my previous attendants about it."

"Something like that," Rita replied, now feeling something light and cold in her palm when Ragna's hand moved away. It was Cecilia's pendant. "Once my fifteen-year contract with the Overseer ends, I will be granted my full citizenship outside the walls and outside England. I only wish for a cosy and quiet place far away from here and with everything I need for a lifetime."

"I say it is a humble wish," Ragna mused, her eyes roving around the forest, "But, Rita, earlier when I asked you if you would sacrifice your life for your mistress, you said you would. You wish to live a cosy life when your contract ends and yet, you would give up on your life for Bianka if needed. The contract certainly is between you and the Overseer, not between you and her. Are you sure it is not about a 'common mistress-maid affection'?"

No. The contract condition extended beyond of just serving Otto. Rita wanted to correct her but she did not.

It was at that moment that they heard the loud voices of amateur singers. The hunting team was back. They announced their arrival to the entire forest, and accidentally scared all the birds away. Bianka Ataegina looked as jovial as the rest and she happily sang along. She was covered with a mixture of mud and fluorescent pink Honkai fluid from head to toe, and her chin dripped a thick crimson blood. Though Bianka seemed unharmed, Rita felt her anxiety level shoot up.

"I'm really going to have grey hair before my mid-twenties."

Ragna smiled at Rita's statement. "Go. I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to talk." She remained seated but she urged Rita to stand up. The latter obeyed and hastily joined her mistress. Ragna watched the two girls meet at a distance before she walked back to the camp alone.