MoYLStV

by demonicgallade

listen (up to 166)

Memoirs of Your Local Small-time Villainess

by Flameruner

Original ONGOING Portal Fantasy / Isekai Progression Female Lead Action Adventure Fantasy High Fantasy Magic

An editor at the prime of her life—and with maybe just a little too much free time—finds herself waking up in one of her favorite RPGs with no clue as to what's going on or how to get back home.

This might be the part where others rejoice over getting whisked away to a world of wizards and magic, but she certainly doesn't think it's anything to celebrate about.

After all, she woke up in the body of a small-time villain with some severe personality issues.

Updates Thursdays and Sundays.

Chapter 1 - New Game+

[Name: Scarlett Hartford]

[Skills:

[Minor Mana Control]

[Pyromancy]

[Minor Pyrokinesis]

[Minor Hydromancy]

[Lesser Hydrokinesis]]

[Traits:

[Dignified August]

[Supercilious]

[Cavalier]

[Callous]

[Overbearing]

[Conceited]

[Third-rate Mana Veins]]

[Mana: 967/967]

[Skill points: 0]

Scarlett felt as if in a daze, staring at the floating window of text before her.

Just a minute ago she had been…

Well, she wasn't sure what she had been doing. But she could vaguely recall being home in her apartment.

Now, she was sitting in front of a very chic wooden desk, at the end of an office that she'd never laid eyes on before, where the walls were adorned with bookcases and gaudy paintings. The lines of text hovering in mid-air right in front of her were one thing, but where was she?

"Scarlett Hartford..." she mumbled.

It couldn't be.

She glanced down at the desk, noting the oval mirror ladened with golden filigree that stood at its left corner. The reflection shown was far from what she was expecting.

Distinct dark-red hair, straight and well-groomed, draped over a pair of lean shoulders to reveal a long, elegant face. Piercing amber eyes meeting her own, forming into a frown. She brought her hand up, caressing the smooth skin.

"Impossible..."

That was her. She was staring right at herself. But that wasn't her face. That was the kind of face you would see on tv, post-makeup and all.

More importantly, it was a face she recognized. It was more detailed and lifelike than then, but she had seen it before.

She looked at the wall of text in front of her once more.

The woman in the mirror was Scarlett Hartford. The name was a bit on the nose, but that was about what one would expect. After all, Scarlett was a fictional character. A low-level villain. From a game.

But she wasn't Scarlett. Her real name was Amy Bernal. She was just a small-time editor who enjoyed reading and playing games in her free time.

One particular game that she'd played a lot of recently was 'Chronicle of Realms'. An open-world fantasy role-playing game whose primary draw was its promise of player freedom, along with its living, breathing, calendar-based world. She had dedicated a decent amount of time to this game, having already completed two playthroughs of the game and currently being in the middle of her third. During her last session, she had just left the city of Freybrook after finishing a questline to stop a corrupt noble from performing various misdeeds. Ultimately, she ended up having to kill them.

That noble had been Baroness Scarlett Hartford.

Taking a deep breath, she turned away from the mirror. In her current situation, it felt like it'd be natural to scream; to cry out at her general confusion. But there was something inside her that told her she couldn't. That it wasn't dignified.

She froze.

Dignified?

Since when had she cared about that? Her most used piece of clothing this last year—no matter if she was at home or outside—was a piece of worn sweatpants. But now, every fiber of her body was screaming at her as if her dignity was the most important thing in existence.

This felt wrong. As if there was a voice telling her how to feel, but the voice was hers.

Normally, she would—quite justifiably, if you asked her—freak out over such an implication. But there was a strange calm to her thoughts.

She looked back at the floating text.

[Traits:

[Dignified August]

[Supercilious]

[Cavalier]

[Callous]

[Overbearing]

[Conceited]

[Third-rate Mana Veins]]

Did it have something to do with these 'traits'?

Most fit with what she knew of Scarlett Hartford's character. She was a ruthless woman who looked down on all around her, always upholding her image as a distinguished noble. She was, however, a relatively low-level boss in the game, so having a trait called [Third-rate Mana Veins] aligned with that setting.

The current situation made no sense whatsoever, though.

Had she somehow transmigrated—was that the word?—into the body of Scarlett Hartford? And the personality traits attributed to Scarlett in the game… Were they also somehow affecting her right now? This situation was, quite literally, 'unreal'.

"Amy Bernal. That's my name," she muttered to herself. It didn't matter what some lines of text said. She waved her hand at the window. "Go away."

It didn't budge.

She glared at it. "Away."

With her full attention bearing down on it, the window disappeared. She nodded her head and shifted her focus to the office that she was in.

It was rather spacious. The bookshelves were—as one might expect—filled with books, both new and old, many having backs emblazoned with silver and gold trimmings. The paintings spread around the room appeared similarly extravagant, no doubt far more expensive than they had any right to be. At the other end of the room, next to the entrance, stood a short table with glasses, alcohol, and other refreshments on it. All in all, it was exactly the kind of room one might expect from a noble's home in a late-medieval-esque game setting.

She thought through her options. How she got here was a mystery. As was getting back, or if that was even possible. Was she inside the game? Or was this just a world like the game? Was this like that movie with Robin Williams in it, where one got sucked into a game and had to beat it in order to return everything to normal again?

In the end, her information regarding her current situation was extremely limited. In addition, she was in the body of a minor boss. For all she knew, a player could come barging in any minute now, ready to put her down.

And what about her actual body? Was she just… Unconscious? Dead? She didn't go out much, so it would take a while before someone noticed if she'd disappeared. Her parents died years ago, so if someone was going to notice, it'd either be her sister or some of her old college friends. But her contact with all of them was pretty irregular, so might take over a week before anyone even started thinking something was wrong.

She massaged the bridge of her nose as several worst-case scenarios ran through her mind. She really didn't know where to go from here. Would just waiting resolve matters? Maybe she would wake up in her bed after a session of late-night binging.

A handbell made of gold next to the mirror caught her attention. She hesitatingly picked it up. Perhaps the first thing she could try to do was gather some basic information.

She rang the bell. It didn't take long before she heard movement outside the office. A moment later, a brief knock echoed out from the door at the opposite end of the room.

"Come in," she said. The coldness in her voice surprised her.

A woman with short black hair walked in, stopping near the entrance and lowering herself into a curtsy. "My Lady called," the woman said, raising her head. She wore a dark outfit with a long, wide skirt that reached down to her feet.

"Wha—" Scarlett almost gagged as the words began leaving her mouth. She had tried removing the edge from her voice, but that turned out to be harder than she expected.

"What day is it?" she asked with a frown. She'd thought she could ignore these traits or whatever by charging through it. Like getting rid of a band-aid, or a particularly disgusting bug. But to think even the mere thought of sounding nice to the servant almost made her feel like puking. She could only grind her teeth at the fact.

The woman before her seemed to mistake the anger as being directed at her. Scarlett saw how she visibly flinched under her gaze. "I-It is the third of August, my Lady."

She hadn't meant to scare her so, but she couldn't get herself to apologize either, so she ignored it for now. Instead, she focused on what the woman had said. "What year?"

"W-What year, my Lady?" The servant gave her a confused look.

"Yes. What year is it?"

The poor woman looked like she'd start sweating like a pig any second now. "I-It is the year of 1143 in the calendar of Rhastad."

Scarlett tapped her finger against the wooden desk. The third of August in 1143.

She was lucky that the developers didn't bother with creating their own calendar system for the game, simply basing it on the Gregorian calendar. She was pretty sure the game itself started on the first of August in 1143, which meant she was close to the proper start. If there were any players in this world, it would still take a while for them to reach her. The game took place over a period of years, after all.

She eyed the woman for a moment. "What was the last order I gave you?"

Arousing needless suspicion wasn't something she wanted to do in her current circumstances, but right now she prioritized getting a hang of the situation over confusing the servant.

"M-My Lady... You asked me to bring you the revised domain ledgers for last month's finances."

"And then what did I do?"

"My Lady... You've been inside your office since then."

She clicked her tongue.

The woman immediately bent her head. "I'm terribly sorry if I've offended you, my Lady. This lowly servant begs for forgiveness."

Scarlett frowned. This body's habits were incredibly hard to ignore. "Stop begging. While that was not the answer I was searching for, it does not matter."

The servant slowly raised her head. "I-Is there something else you need?"

Scarlett considered it. There were many questions she wanted to ask. But this servant probably couldn't answer most of them. Not without Scarlett sounding even more suspicious, at least. It was enough that she knew where she was chronologically, relative to the game's timeline.

She waved the servant away. "No, that is all. You may leave."

A relieved expression passed over the woman's face before she seemed to recall something. "My Lady…"

"Yes?"

The servant lowered her head again. "…Madame Evelyne arrived earlier today along with Seneschal Kinsey when he brought the ledger. She has asked to meet with you."

Scarlett raised an eyebrow. While she had no idea who Kinsey was, she did recognize the name Evelyne. After all, that was one of the quest givers in the game, as well as Scarlett's younger sister. Her questline was the one in which the player confronted Scarlett about her crimes.

"Lead her here," she said after a moment's thought. She would have to meet the woman eventually anyhow. And she was curious about meeting a character she'd interacted with inside the game.

"Yes, my Lady," the servant said with another curtsy, before fleeing the office.

Evelyne Hartford sat in the mansion foyer along with Kinsey, clenching her fists in anger as they waited. It had been hours since they arrived to deliver the revised domain accounts. She had explicitly asked to meet her sister, but instead, she'd been asked to wait here, with nothing but some tea to pass the time while her sister 'read over' the accounts.

Scarlett had no doubt told the servants to treat her this way the next time she visited. Her sister abused her power as the head far too often. Evelyne knew the things Scarlett was up to. But she wouldn't back down this easily.

Finally, as she was nearing her limit of both patience and time she had to spare, a servant with short black hair arrived in the foyer. Molly was her name, if Evelyne remembered correctly.

The woman approached them and curtsied. "Madame Evelyne. Master Kinsey," she greeted them both, then turned to Evelyne with an uncertain expression. "Madame Evelyne. Her Ladyship wishes to see you."

Evelyne's eyes widened. Scarlett wanted to see her? That was doubtful. Still, she gestured towards the servant as she stood up.

"Lead the way," she said, before looking back at Kinsey. "I'll be back soon. Ready the carriage."

The man lowered his balding head. "As you wish, my Lady."

Evelyne followed Molly up the stairs to the second floor and out of the foyer, through the mansion's hallways all the way to the mansion's east wing, where Scarlett's office was located. She paused for a moment, looking at the old ornate wooden door leading into the room. It brought back memories of when she was young, and this was still her father's office.

Shaking those thoughts away, she signaled for Molly to open the door as she entered. Inside sat Baroness Scarlett Hartford, the current head of the Hartford family and Evelyne's older sister. Her dark-red hair, inherited from their father, stuck out before anything else. A stark contrast to her own, dull, brown-red hair. If only Scarlett had been worthy of the rest of their father's legacy.

The desk in front of her sister was mostly bare. A lavish mirror took up a good amount of space in the corner—it wouldn't do for Scarlett to not be able to see herself for more than a minute, after all—with the ledger Evelyne had brought next to it, seemingly untouched.

Evelyne stepped further into the room and Scarlett's gaze turned from the mirror to her. The woman's expression formed into a glower.

In high society, Evelyne had frequently heard how Scarlett was known for her grace and her composure. The grace part, Evelyne could understand. For as long as she could remember, Scarlett had been the embodiment of what most considered a true noble. She always wore the finest garments and had a stature that befitted even royalty, never breaking decorum.

But "composure" was a stretch. Evelyne couldn't recall a single time when her sister hadn't looked at her as if her mere existence disgusted her. When she was younger, that had hurt her more than anything. Now she couldn't care less.

"Did you have fun leaving me waiting for hours?" she asked, not even trying to hide the irritation in her voice.

Scarlett stared at her for several seconds, her glower easing into a frown.

"…Not particularly, no," she eventually answered.

Evelyne scoffed. She pointed at the ledger on the desk. "Did you read through the accounts?"

Her sister glanced down at it, then slowly nodded her head.

"Anything you want to complain about? Or can I take it back?"

As expected, Scarlett shook her head. Now she was going to object to the budget allocated for the—

"You may take it."

Evelyne paused. "...What?"

"You may take it," Scarlett repeated, gesturing towards the ledger.

Evelyne stared at her sister for a moment, then moved over to pick up the book. She wouldn't complain if Scarlett wasn't causing any extra issues over the matter.

"Is that all?" Scarlett asked, voice cold as ice.

Evelyne glared at her. "No, it isn't. I heard you repealed the stipend for new mages given to the Brook Tower."

Scarlett cocked her head to the side. "Is that so?"

Evelyne's eyes grew wide. "Is that so?! Father himself arranged for that stipend! He gave his word we would continue issuing it as long as we had the means. What you're doing goes directly against his wishes. You're sullying both his name and our family's!"

Scarlett met her eyes, those amber eyes piercing into her. "Then return it."

This time, Evelyne froze completely. "...What?"

"Return it."

"…Are you serious?"

Scarlett nodded her head ever-so-slightly. "Of course. You have my approval to do so. Now, was that all?"

Evelyne stared at her sister. Scarlett looked at her as if she couldn't wait for her to leave, but Evelyne couldn't understand why she would just give up like that.

"Was that all?" Scarlett's voice caused shivers to go down her spine.

"...Yes. That's all," she muttered.

"Good. You may leave."

Evelyne turned around and left the office. When the door closed behind her, she let out a tired breath. This was probably the best result she'd ever gotten after a meeting with her sister. Yet it didn't feel right.

What is she planning?

Chapter 2 - Good ol' magic

Scarlett sighed deeply after Evelyne left the office. That did not go as well as she had wanted. The original Scarlett's personality was more twisted than she'd thought.

The moment Evelyne had entered the room it had felt like Scarlett was overwhelmed by a wave of loathing. This wasn't Scarlett merely disliking her sister. This was complete repulsion. She was sickened by Evelyne's mere existence. And all of that hatred from the original Scarlett came rushing at her all at the same time. As disturbing as it was to have such feelings forced onto you against your will, it was more disturbing that Scarlett felt like that to begin with. It had taken all her willpower just to speak with Evelyne relatively normally just now. Although she had also ended up agreeing with everything the original Scarlett's younger sister wanted just to get her to leave.

Not that she minded that part too much. In the game Evelyne had been a decent enough character and the one who actually took care of most of the Hartford family's management. She was bound to know more about any matters than her.

But this did make it clear to what extent Scarlett was affected by the original's personality.

Drumming her fingers against the desk, she looked out across the office. She had to figure out what to do next. If this world truly was like the game, then there were a lot of dangers just waiting to happen. Especially for her character. And though she was slightly curious, she didn't want to find out what would happen if she were to die as Scarlett. Naturally, that meant figuring out how to survive.

Scarlett was a low-level villain so even amongst NPCs in 'Chronicle of Realms', she was on the weaker side. [Third-rate Mana Veins] and [Minor Mana Control] both showcased that. [Minor Mana Control] was one of the starting traits for the player if they chose a mage route and lowered mana costs in general. In her first playthrough, she'd already managed to level that to [Mana Control] by the time she faced Scarlett and her goons. The problem was that she didn't know how to upgrade this version of it. In the game the player earned experience with skills and slowly leveled them up like that. But her status window didn't indicate any such feature. In fact, it lacked a lot of the features that the player's status window had in the game. To add to that, she had no idea of how to use her apparent magic, nor did she have much mana to begin with.

[Mana: 967/967]

This was even less than the player had at the start of the game. Two or three low-level spells would probably run her dry.

This did explain why Scarlett did so little in the game when you fought her. Instead she relied on her underlings' strength in that fight. But she didn't know who those underlings were. Nor did she really want to know, considering most of them were ruthless criminals.

But then what was her priority? Growing stronger? Finding strong people to work for her? Going into hiding?

Scarlett rose from her seat and crossed the room before opening the door to the office. Walking down the hallway, she spotted the servant from earlier sitting inside a small room next to a small table. The woman was knitting a pair of small mittens. When she looked up a shocked expression came across her face. "M-My Lady?!" The servant hastily put away her knitting needles on the table next to her and stood up to curtsy.

"Take me to the training facility," Scarlett said, not bothering with covering the ice in her voice for the moment.

"...Training facility, my Lady?" The woman looked at her oddly.

Scarlett clicked her tongue. She'd hoped there was something like that. "The courtyard. Bring me to the courtyard."

The servant bent her head. "Of course, my Lady." She then began leading the way further down the hallway. Scarlett did her best to memorize the corridors as they moved through the mansion. They soon reached what looked to be a large entrance hall at the mansion's main entrance. The servant opened a pair of wide doors that led outside. A pair of curving stone stairs reached up to the doors. Beneath them was the courtyard, situated between two extensions that protruded out from the main building. These two wings were linked by a high archway, past which Scarlett could see a beautiful garden and a gravel road that led to an iron gate and a stone wall that seemed to encompass the whole compound. Outside the walls, she spotted a few other equally fanciful buildings in the distance.

"You may return to your activities," Scarlett informed the servant before passing through the two open doors and starting to descend the stairs. She would have imagined walking down them would have felt somewhat precarious, considering she wore a very tightfitting dark-red dress that didn't leave much room for her legs to move as well as high heels—something she could count on her fingers the number of times she'd worn in her world—but it was surprisingly effortless. She could tell that Scarlett's body was used to this.

The courtyard itself wasn't anything particularly special. There was a nice fountain in the middle with four grass mounds surrounding it and stone pathways separating them. Around the fountain were a couple of curved benches that encircled a quarter of it each. She walked over and sat down on one of them. For a while she just sat there and observed the cascading water at the center of the fountain.

Then she held out her right hand.

"Move."

Nothing happened. She'd been hoping it would be that easy. But perhaps that was naive.

In the game, magic was mainly split into six different schools. Pyromancy, hydromancy, terramancy, aeromancy, lumomancy, and umbramancy. The classic old fantasy elements, just rebranded. Before you could use any of that magic, however, you had to at least have one of the prerequisite skills. For fire magic that meant one of the [Pyromancy] skills. Then there was a separate list that kept count of all the spells that you knew. Much like a certain tabletop game, you could only have a certain number of spells memorized at any given time and you learned new spells by reading specific spellbooks.

Scarlett had access to the [Pyromancy] and [Hydromancy] skill trees. Not the best mix—as far as she knew there were no composite spells between the schools—but better than nothing nonetheless. If you knew any spells, at least.

In addition to that she had [Minor Pyrokinesis] and [Lesser Hydrokinesis]. In the game those skills did nothing more than lower the mana cost of the respective school's spells a bit more than [Minor Mana Control] did, but she was hoping they were more than that.

She locked her eyes on a part of the fountain that was relatively tranquil. She focused her complete attention on that part, willing it to move. At first, nothing happened. Then she felt something inside herself. Like a small ripple of...movement. A flow.

A tendril of water rose into the air above the fountain, forming a ball that floated above the water's surface.

"Incredible..." Scarlett mumbled. She was doing magic. A dream come true for anyone who had once been a fanciful kid. She tried moving the ball of water. The water undulated across its surface as it wobbled to the left and then to the right at her command. She then brought it over to her hand, letting the water lose its shape and drench her skin.

Feeling a slight smile tug at the side of her mouth she looked around the courtyard. The sun was high up in the sky and there were no fires around that she could try her pyrokinesis skill with. She considered it for a moment. Perhaps a living fire wasn't needed?

She focused on her hand, imagining a lit flame above it. Something moved inside her again. But it was different from before. This time it felt warm. Eager. A moment later a small flame appeared above her palm and burned her skin. She immediately pulled her hand away as she clenched her teeth. The fire died out a moment after.

Perhaps not the smartest action.

She tried commanding the water from the fountain again and another ball of water floated over to her. She brought the singed part of her hand up to it and let the chill water cool her skin. She would have to test the limits of these abilities later. And see if she can't get ahold of any good spellbooks. But this was definitely a beginning.

Later that day Scarlett sat in the office she'd woken up in once again. Piles of books lay on the desk in front of her. Her experimenting with magic had been fun, but she'd ended up having to quit after half an hour when she realized she had used up over half her mana. She didn't know how it was here, but in the game, it took a while for one's mana to recover and she wanted to preserve some for later.

Since then she had been scanning through the books in the office to see if any of them were spellbooks. Most of them weren't. Most of them covered subjects she had absolutely no knowledge in. Estate management, the history of the Graenal Empire, Transcendental Elementalism, Voneian linguistics...and the list went on. She had only found two spellbooks as of yet. One of them was about umbramancy so she'd ignored it for now. The other was 'A Compendium of Beginner Pyromancy Magic' by one R. Hallewell. Scarlett had opened that one hoping to learn some basic spells. She'd tried casting some in the courtyard without success so she assumed it wasn't something she could just do. So she'd thought reading a spellbook might help.

But she couldn't understand any of it.

It wasn't a problem with the language. She was pretty sure it was all written in English, as were most things in the game. But it was all complete gibberish to her. The pages were filled with diagrams and magic circles that made absolutely no sense to her. And the descriptions and terms used in the book left her even more confused. It felt like trying to understand discrete mathematics with only an elementary understanding of math.

A disturbing thought had crossed her mind. She took the golden bell on the table and rang it. When the same servant from earlier knocked on the door Scarlett told her to enter and leveled her gaze on the woman.

"My Lady called?" the servant asked with her head slightly bent downwards.

"What magic do you know?" Scarlett asked.

The servant looked up at her with a hesitant expression. The poor woman seemed to get so confused today. "I only know some essential pyromancy, my Lady."

"Be more specific."

The servant jolted back at her tone. "K-Kindle and Heat."

Scarlett tapped her finger against a book with black cover. "And how long did it take you to learn those spells."

"I originally began learning when I was young, my Lady. B-But magic has never been something I have put much focus into."

Scarlett frowned. "I want a number."

"Perhaps a few years," the servant said, shifting on the spot.

Scarlett grabbed the book that was opened in front of her and turned it towards the woman, pushing it to the other end of the desk and pointing at one of the pages. "How long do you believe it would take for you to learn the Scorching Whip spell?"

The servant took a couple of steps forward and leaned over to study the page. "I'm afraid this is beyond me, my Lady. I don't recognize most of these circuits. I'm not sure I could ever learn to cast this spell," she said and took a step back, seemingly afraid Scarlett would attack her or some such.

Scarlett merely shook her head. "Very well. You may leave."

"Yes, my Lady." The servant performed a short curtsy before hurrying out of the room. Scarlett pulled back the book to her part of the desk and looked over its pages again.

Maybe it wasn't so surprising. Mages and wizards were often presented as scholars. As such, it would only make sense that magic was something that took a lot of time to learn.

But even though the game took place over a period of a few years, she didn't have that time to learn magic. She'd hoped that, as the player would in the games, she too would be able to learn spells by just reading a book. Maybe by giving her another skill or something like that. But if it would take years to learn even some of the more basic spells, then perhaps it wasn't worth wasting time trying.

She closed the book and leaned back in her chair. She would have to do some more research regarding the subject, but this hampered her plans somewhat. If she wanted to grow strong to survive in this world, but couldn't do it through magic, then she'd either have to do it more physically—which she had no idea how to do without being a player—or she would have to rely more on other people who were strong.

Another option was to get a hold of several strong items. But many of those were hard to obtain to begin with.

Though...she did have some ideas as to where she could start.

Chapter 3 - Business time

Later that evening, as Scarlett sat in what was ostensibly 'her office' now, she heard knocking on the door.

"Enter," she uttered almost out of habit.

The door opened and an aging man in a neat black suit walked inside. He had dark grey hair that was combed back and almost reached his shoulders as well as a finely trimmed mustache above his mouth. His whole appearance practically screamed 'butler'.

"My Lady," the man said, bowing with his left arm bent behind his back. "Mister Wyther is here to see you."

Scarlett raised an eyebrow. "Mister Wyther?"

"It seems he has important business with you."

She considered it for a moment, then inclined her head in a small nod. "Bring him here."

"I will do so at once," the butler said before leaving the room. The door quietly closed behind him.

Scarlett looked down at the half-empty book on her desk. She had spent the last few hours writing down what she could remember from the game, as well as what options she had in the future in case she didn't find a way back home. She didn't want to risk forgetting anything important. She took the book with a red cover and put it in one of the desk's drawers before locking it with a key she'd found in the drawer.

A few minutes later there was another knock on the door, followed by the entrance of a tall man in a grey topcoat. He had a slightly bent nose and unruly dirt-blond hair. His eyes immediately locked onto Scarlett to take her in. She found herself annoyed at his uncombed presentation but she hid it as best she could. The butler soon closed the door behind the man, leaving them alone in the office.

"Lady Hartford," the man said, not even bowing as he made his way over to the chair opposite hers at the desk. "It's been some time, hasn't it?" he asked as he sat down.

"...That it has." She didn't even bother with trying to hide the frigidness that naturally entered her voice. "What brings you here?"

He smiled. "Business, of course. It's regarding our little venture over in Voneia."

She inspected the man's appearance. She usually wasn't one to judge a book by its cover but this man had the word "slimy" written all over his face. Considering Scarlett's background though, it wasn't exactly surprising. She already knew the original did business with shady people.

"Does this business require you personally visiting me in my home?" she asked him. That didn't feel like something the original Scarlett would have appreciated.

Wyther smiled as he scratched the back of his neck. "Ah, usually not. But you see, the haul this time is especially large and arriving soon, so I had to go and check everything was clear on this end."

Scarlett tapped her finger against the wood. "Is that so."

She had a decent idea of what this was about.

He nodded his head. "That's right. And they're very high quality this time. We're bound to make quite the profit."

"I see. And when does the merchandise arrive?"

"We're expecting the kids to arrive at port in about two days."

Her finger paused. "...Two days. That's rather soon."

Wyther shrugged. "It is what it is. They'll probably dock sometime in the evening and move everything into warehouse thirty-seven. They've got enchanted crates so there shouldn't be any problems with noise and all that. All we have to do is pass the warehouse inspection and we're good as gold. I'm assuming you can handle it as usual?"

She pondered it for a moment and leaned back into her chair. "Warehouse thirty-seven, you said?"

"That's right."

"...Very well," she said after a while. "I will deal with it. The inspection will not cause you any inconvenience."

He smiled. "I'm glad we've got that figured out then."

Scarlett looked at him with a firm face. "Was that all?"

"Yeah," he began. "But I was think—"

"Then you may leave," she interrupted him before he could say anything more.

His smile disappeared. It looked like he wanted to say something else, but a look from Scarlett's end silenced him. Eventually he stood up from his chair. "Right, I'll take my leave and all that then. Pleasure to do business as always." With that he left, the butler from before looking into the room for a moment before closing the door after Wyther.

Scarlett kept staring at the door for a while even after he'd left. That had been slightly unexpected. She knew Scarlett did all kinds of nasty things in the game—human trafficking one of them—but she didn't know it involved kids. Nor had she expected to run into those things so soon. Honestly, if possible she would just have liked to ignore everything the original Scarlett had done and pretend it never happened. She was unaware of the details regarding most of it, so it wasn't as if she could do much even if she wanted to. But this...

Scarlett was at least partly responsible, so—as the new Scarlett—maybe she should at least take responsibility for those kids. She couldn't do anything about whatever inspection Wyther was talking about anyway so the situation was bound to escalate no matter what. Perhaps it'd be better if she involved herself now as to avoid getting caught up in whatever happens when Wyther and his people get caught. She did have a few ideas as to what she could do.

Lost in her mind, it took a moment for Scarlett to notice there was knocking on the door again.

"Enter," she commanded.

The butler stepped inside the office once more and bowed. "I have led Mister Wyther out, my Lady."

"Good." She nodded her head. "Don't bother letting him inside if he returns."

"As you wish," the butler said. Then he stayed quiet as he stood at the entrance of the room.

Scarlett looked at him. "Is there something else?"

"...Has my Lady eaten supper today?"

She paused. Had she eaten? No, she hadn't. She had been so busy thinking about her situation ever since she arrived that she'd completely forgotten about it. She didn't even realize she was hungry until he mentioned it.

"I have been...occupied."

He lowered his head. "I feared as such. I have taken the liberty of preparing a meal for the Lady in the dining hall."

She rose from her chair. "I appreciate it. You may lead the way."

He gave her a surprised look, but ultimately nodded his head. "Of course, my Lady. Follow me."

Scarlett followed the butler to a large hall with a painted ceiling and bright chandeliers hanging from it. The lights in the chandeliers didn't seem to be living flames, but rather some kind of magical candles that emanated a bright shine. In the middle of the hall stood a long table with a chestnut rug beneath it and an assortment of different plates with silver lids near the head of the table. She wordlessly sat down in the seat in front of the plates as the butler removed the lids to reveal the food. It was a mixture of soups, meat, and bread to the side. It looked extremely appetizing to Scarlett who hadn't eaten for the whole day and she wanted nothing more than to just dig in. But the remnants of the original Scarlett's personality forced her to pick up the silverware and calmly start cutting into the food and take small bites. But god was it good. For once during this day she was thankful for Scarlett's traits as they allowed her to delight in the taste for much longer.

The elderly butler stood at the edge of the room the whole time; his back straight and his eyes forward. For a moment she considered offering him some food, but quickly shook that idea off. It probably wasn't a good idea in her position. Instead she continued eating by herself.

About halfway through her meal another servant entered the dining hall. It was a woman with similar clothing to the dark-haired servant Scarlett had met earlier. But this girl had bright blond hair and was clearly a few years younger. Probably not even past eighteen yet.

The servant walked up to the butler and spoke to him. Scarlett couldn't make out exactly what she said, but she did hear the servant refer to the butler as "Master Garside."

The two spoke for a minute before the young woman curtsied towards Scarlett and left the room. After that, Garside directed his attention back to Scarlett. "My Lady. We just received word that Lady Lesly Hayden is planning on holding a banquet in the coming week. She has asked that you attend as well."

Scarlett turned away from the food in front of her and looked at him. "Hayden. In Kilsfell?" She remembered there being a quest giver by that name in that city. Although he'd been a count, not a lady.

"Yes, my Lady."

"Did they mention the reason for the banquet?" she asked.

Garside seemed to pause for a moment. "...No, my Lady. They simply informed us that they were organizing one."

"Then you may inform them that I will not attend," she said, turning her attention back to the table. She cut a part of a roasted steak and dipped it in the gravy that was on the side.

"Shall I give them a reason?" Garside asked.

Scarlett used an embroidered handkerchief to wipe her mouth. The action felt like it was practically ingrained in her hands. "Tell them that I have important business to attend to and do not have time to travel."

"Very well. I shall do so forthwith," he said.

"Good." She put the handkerchief down. "And Garside?"

"Yes, my Lady?"

"Did I have anything scheduled for tomorrow?"

"No, my Lady."

"Excellent. Ensure that I have a carriage ready in the morning then. The driver should know the local area well."

"As you wish."

She took another bite of the steak. She could think of at least a dozen downsides to her current situation from the top of her head — but the food she could definitely get used to.

Chapter 4 - Swords & Shields

Scarlett looked out through the carriage's window at the wooden and stone buildings as they passed by outside. In the game Freybrook had been the fourth largest city in the Graenal Empire, where the majority of the story took place. The game world had been massive—even for an RPG's standards—so there had been a lot of different towns and villages spread around the map. The vast open-world had been one of the game's main drawing points, and the large cities had been part of that. But the Freybrook in the game didn't really do it justice.

The city was vibrant with life. The sides of the cobbled road the carriage was driving on brimmed with people that were moving about with their lives. She had passed by stalls selling all kinds of fruits and wares, open storefronts with detailed signs, groups of children playing in alleyways, and many more sights that made it feel so different from the city in the game. Granted, this seemed to be in a more well-off part of the town, but it was an impressive sight nonetheless for her who was used to the cities of the modern world.

After about fifteen minutes of travel, the carriage eventually arrived at its destination as it stopped in front of a large stone building with an overhanging roof that looked to be made out of white birch. It was situated at the edge of a large public square that had a tall statue of a knight at its center and was surrounded by several similarly-sized stone buildings. This was a busy part of the city. She saw several other carriages and wagons moving around the square as well as many people that were on foot.

Scarlett heard the carriage driver murmur something to the horse outside. A moment later she heard him move to the carriage door and open it. He wordlessly folded out a short stair from under the vehicle and stepped aside for her. She stepped out of the carriage and took in the building in front of her. There was a large sign hanging above the door of the building. It depicted an upturned extended triangle with a wide blue shield inside it; the handle of a sword showed right above the shield. This was the Shields Guild's headquarters in Freybrook.

In the game the Shields Guild was an organization that worked to support the common people. They were a lot like a mercenary guild but they were both more liberal with the kind of requests they took on as well as pickier. They would take on everything, from working as a protective escort to finding a lost cat, as long as it fit within their principles. They also had limited support from the law and could perform some basic arrests and such. If one wanted to play a 'good' playthrough and get some easy quests becoming a Shielder was a decent way to start. The player always started out as a junior Shielder but they also had the oft-used alphabetical ranking system that one could advance through to get better quests.

And it just happened to be that they were the perfect fit for her current goals.

Scarlett walked up a set of stairs to the door, the carriage driver hurrying up the stairs to open it for her, and entered the building. Inside was a wide lobby. At one end stood a large board filled with pamphlets. That's where you'd find many of the quests in the game. Close to the board were a few sofas and tables where an old couple was currently sitting and having a conversation. On the other end of the lobby was a reception desk with a woman behind it. She had long dark hair and a flowing purple dress. A smile appeared on her face when Scarlett approached.

"Hello miss. What can we do for you?"

Scarlett felt a tinge of annoyance at the way she was addressed but quickly pressed the feeling down as she spoke. "I have come to employ your services."

"Of course, miss. May I ask your name?" The woman pulled out a piece of paper from beneath the desk.

"Scarlett Hartford."

The woman's eyes widened as she looked up. "Baroness Scarlett Hartford?"

Scarlett crossed her arms and looked around the lobby. "The very same." It seemed the driver hadn't entered the building with her. Perhaps his job was just to open the door for her and take care of the carriage.

"Let me lead you to our reception room, Baroness," the receptionist said and gestured for her to follow.

Scarlett didn't say anything as she followed the woman through a door to the side and up a flight of stairs. They then walked down a hallway before stopping in front of a door at the end of the hall.

"If you wait in here our manager will be with you shortly," the receptionist said as she opened the door to reveal a comfy-looking waiting room with a table at its center and several armchairs surrounding it. Scarlett entered the room and sat down in one of them as the receptionist closed the door behind her. She felt at the fabric of the chair. It was surprisingly comfortable. In fact, all pieces of furniture she'd used up to this point in this world had been more comfortable than she would have expected from a medieval-like setting. Much better than the old office chair she had in her condo. Even the carriage had been nice if you discounted the occasional bumping.

But perhaps that was just a consequence of being a part of this world's equivalent to the 1%.

She only had to wait for a few minutes before the door to the room opened again and a man with light brown hair and glasses walked in. He wore a light blue overshirt and carried a couple of books beneath his arm. She tried to remember if she had seen him in the game or not, but she wasn't sure.

"Greetings Baroness. I'm Jean Fisc, the head of the Shields Guild's Freybrook branch," the man greeted her and sat down in the seat opposite her. "I've been told you have a request for us?"

"Yes," Scarlett said, leaning back in the chair. "I need to hire an escort who is experienced in combat. Preferably someone skilled in pyromancy."

Jean nodded his head slowly. "We should be able to arrange that. But why pyromancy?"

"Because it is effective against undead," she answered. "A lumomancer would work as well, if necessary."

"Undead?" Jean knitted his brows. "What exactly is it that you're going to do?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "I am visiting a location where there is a high likelihood for them to appear. That is all."

He seemed to hesitate.

"I cannot tell you where it is," Scarlett continued. "I am certain your agent will report it to you later nonetheless. Be assured that there is no impropriety involved in my request. I swear that upon my name. I simply need someone to protect me."

The branch head seemed to consider it for a moment. Then he put down his books on the table and pulled out a small ledger from a pocket. "Okay, if you say so." He opened the ledger. "Approximately how dangerous do you estimate this request to be? Are you familiar with the Shields Guild's terminology?"

"I am." Scarlett cocked her head slightly to the side. "It should preferably be a C-ranked senior Shielder."

Jean drew his mouth together. "C-ranked?"

She stared at him. "Is that not possible?"

He shook his head. "I'm afraid there are no C-ranked senior Shielders at our branch right now. Perhaps if you wait a few days..."

"I would prefer not to."

He looked down at his ledger. "There is a B-ranked Shielder that is well experienced with pyromancy. I could bring the request to her." He looked up at Scarlett. "That might even be safer if we are dealing with undead. We don't like needlessly risking our members."

She frowned. "I am certain even a D-rank would be enough. I simply wanted to make things more effortless. A B-rank would not have any issue, but I do not want to pay more than necessary."

"The cost wouldn't change. It would still be classified as a C-ranked request."

"Is that so?" Scarlett said. "Very well. Then we will go with that."

He fidgeted with the ledger in his hands. "I'll speak with the Shielder in question then. Exactly when is it that you will need an escort?"

"Immediately."

"Immediately?" The branch head sounded slightly surprised.

"Yes." Scarlett nodded her head. "Or as soon as possible. I am planning on being finished today."

He righted his glasses. "I'll speak with her immediately then. But we usually require part of the fee to be paid in advance along with the request."

"You can send a note of payment to the Hartford estate." She'd ensured this morning that that was a thing. "Anything else you require beforehand?"

Jean shook his head. "No, that's all. Although I do need to tell you that I can only offer the request to our Shielder. It's up to her if she accepts it or not. But knowing her, I don't believe that will be a problem."

"Good."

He stood up from his seat. "Then I'll go get your request processed. Feel free to stay here for now and we'll be back as soon as possible." With that, the Freybrook branch head exited the room and left Scarlett by herself.

Kat felt uncomfortable as she sat at the back of the bedecked carriage of the Hartford family. It was by far the most luxurious means of transportation she'd ever been in. Even the blasted windows had golden inlays. When she'd accepted this request she hadn't expected it to mean that she would actually be allowed inside the carriage of a noble. If anything, she thought she'd just sit at the front with the driver.

She glanced at the other side of the carriage where her employer sat. Baroness Scarlett Hartford was an intimidating woman in her own right. The baroness currently wore clothes suitable for traveling—though they still looked fittingly expensive for someone of her status—and stared out at the landscape as they moved outside Freybrook's limits. She hadn't spoken a word to Kat since ordering her to get inside the carriage back outside the Guild's branch office. Kat had considered asking where they were going but decided against it. Scarlett Hartford didn't seem the type to appreciate questions. The woman's presence had an almost oppressing nature to it. It was in how she kept herself.

Kat had heard rumors about the baroness. She'd honestly been hesitant to accept this request. Though she didn't have much experience with nobles herself, she knew that the Guild ran into trouble with them on occasion. The only reason she'd decided to agree to the request was because she heard it wasn't expected to take more than a day. It wasn't often she got jobs that were both short and gave decent pay. Although it wasn't a B-ranked request, one C-ranked request was better than five D-ranked at least. And while she didn't mind helping people out she was a bit tired of going out into the mountains to pick herbs for the local alchemists.

"Stop here." Scarlett's voice jolted Kat out of her thoughts as the carriage came to a halt.

"We're there already?" Kat asked despite herself, looking outside the window to where Scarlett was looking. There was nothing but trees. They hadn't been traveling for too long but the area around Freybrook was heavily forested.

"No," Scarlett said. "But we are close." She pointed towards the tip of an old stone tower that just barely peeked out above the treetops. "That is our next destination."

The driver, a young man with a short brown cap on his head, soon opened the carriage door and Scarlett stepped outside with far more grace than Kat herself could muster before turning to the young man. "We will be gone for a while. Wait here until we return."

The driver nodded his head at his mistress's order. "Alright my Lady. Me an' the horses here'll be waiting for as long as you need."

The baroness barely gave the man another glance before heading off towards the woods with decisive steps. She stopped in front of a large bush, however, and turned towards Kat. "Perhaps you should go first."

"Sure." Kat simply shrugged her shoulders. She was surprised the woman was willing to do even this much. Taking the lead Kat led them through the forest towards the spot where she'd seen the tower, clearing a path through the underbrush as she moved. It took them about ten minutes before they reached a small overgrown clearing with the tower at its center. Scarlett raised her hand and Kat's eyes followed her outstretched finger to spot a dilapidated old doorway at the tower's base.

"We will have to climb inside," Scarlett said and moved past Kat towards the structure.

Kat followed close behind. "Is this what you were looking for?" she asked as she watched Scarlett take a step over a piece of fallen stone debris. It was crazy how they were out in the wilderness and the woman still moved as if she was at a ball without a care for her surroundings.

"No," Scarlett said and pushed the door open with a creak. They both walked in.

There wasn't much left of the tower's insides. There was rubble everywhere and when Kat looked up she could see all the way to the top of the tower as well as part of the blue sky. Built into the sides of the tower was a stairway that looked as if it had seen better days.

But that didn't seem to deter Scarlett as she began climbing the stairs without hesitation.

Kat raised an eyebrow at the sight but quickly followed up the stairs in case the other woman were to trip. "Then what are we doing here?"

"Reconnaissance," Scarlett said with her back to Kat. Kat shook her head and gave up on the matter as she kept climbing the half-wrecked stone stairs. The state of the stairs caused it to take a while but they eventually reached the top of the old tower where about half the ceiling was still left. Traces of stone railing and what might have once been placings for wooden pillars and a wooden covering could be seen here and there. Kat looked out across the land. She could see for miles. From Freybrook where it lay right next to the Innisling Sea, all the way to the Whitdown Mountains that stretched out on the horizon. She stood there for a moment taking it all in when Scarlett suddenly spoke.

"There," the woman said, pointing towards a gathering of rock formations in a clearing some distance away from where they were now. "That is our destination."

Kat squinted her eyes. "What's so special there?"

"You will see," Scarlett said as she began descending the tower. Kat didn't have much choice but to follow once more. When they'd reached the bottom and exited the tower Scarlett gestured in the direction where the rock formations had been. Kat understood what she meant and started leading the way through the forest again. It took them at least another twenty minutes before they finally reached the clearing they'd seen from the tower. The rocks were at the top of a small hill. Scarlett quickly climbed it and walked up to the middle of the formation.

"What now?" Kat asked, examining the stones. They just looked like ordinary stones to her — albeit arranged in a strange way. It wasn't a complete circle, but reminiscent of one.

"Wait here," Scarlett commanded and walked over to one of the stones. She began walking around it, her hand touching its surface. Then without warning, she moved on to the next stone in the circle. Kat leaned back against the nearest rock as she observed the baroness' odd actions.

Eventually Scarlett reached the last stone in the ring. After interacting with it in the same way as the others she took several steps back and stopped in the middle of the formation.

Suddenly a shift shook the ground. Kat immediately got to her feet and moved closer to Scarlett, eyeing her surroundings. A loud sound rang out from ahead of them and a large stone in the middle of the formation started moving. Mounds of dirt and dust spread into the air as the large piece of rock slowly slid to the side, revealing a pair of dirty stone stairs going deeper into the ground. Further down was a single metal door with two statues next to it. Both statues wore armor and held up large swords in front of them. A closer look revealed that they had smooth heads with protruding brows and elongated pointy ears.

"No way..." Kat mouthed. "Are those Zuver?" She turned to stare at Scarlett. "Is this a Zuverian ruin!?"

Scarlett looked back at her, those cold amber eyes meeting hers. "That is correct. Astute observation."

Kat's eyes widened. What kind of request was this?

Chapter 5 - Spooky scary skeletons

Scarlett looked down the ancient stone stairway that had been hidden beneath the center of the gathering of old rocks. A streak of excitement passed through her. She had been afraid this little excursion wouldn't lead anywhere or that she would have forgotten how to find this place. But it seemed like she could consider herself lucky this time.

There had been lots of small dungeons spread around in 'Chronicle of Realms'. The area around Freybrook had at least six that she knew of. But of those she had only been relatively certain in how to find two of them. Finding one's way in the game world was very different from navigating in real life. She couldn't just press M to have a map of the area appear with location markers and all. Instead she had to rely on what landmarks she knew from the game to navigate. Thankfully this particular dungeon turned out to be rather simple to find.

In the game's lore, the Zuver was an old race that had reigned over most of Tanrelia—the continent that the game took place on—several centuries ago, but they had essentially died out after a devastating cataclysm. Zuverian artifacts were heavily sought after though, and occasionally old Zuverian ruins were still found. In the game those often had some kind of puzzle you had to figure out first before entering, usually by finding relevant passages in books and NPCs' dialogues, but they were a good source of experience and equipment throughout the game. The puzzle for this particular crypt wasn't especially hard—it was relatively low-level, after all—and only required you to find and press a few runes etched into the stones in this Stonehenge-like formation. Nothing that required any special preparation.

Scarlett turned to Kat — the Shielder that she had hired to help clear this dungeon. The woman probably wasn't too far off from Scarlett's age—somewhere in her mid-twenties—and had light blue eyes as well as sun-bleached gold hair that hung in a rough braid above her shoulder. She wore what looked to be a thin sort of gambeson beneath a light set of metal armor and part of her forehead was covered by a red-white headband. Scarlett was actually relatively tall, but Kat was taller than her and it was clear that the woman was in good shape. And although Scarlett wasn't really an authority on the subject the Shielder looked like she had experience with danger. Which made the woman's current shocked expression a little amusing to watch.

"Are you ready?" Scarlett asked, gesturing towards the stairs in front of them.

Kat gawked at her for a moment longer before turning towards the ruin's entrance. She let out a short sigh and shook her head. "Alright. Fine. Just make sure to stay a fair distance behind me at all times. If it's too dangerous we're going back."

The Shielder started to slowly make her way down the stairs. When she reached the door situated between the two metal statues of ancient zuver she turned around and looked at Scarlett. "On second thought, it might be better if you stay here. I've heard there are lots of traps in these places and I'm not sure I can protect you the whole time."

"There is no need to worry. I will be fine," Scarlett said. While she didn't actually have a way of protecting herself just yet she was moderately certain there wouldn't be any problem with this dungeon. She'd cleared it recently in her last playthrough and still remembered its layout. Up till now it had seemed like the game's world translated relatively well to this world. The largest difference she'd noticed was some changes to distances. However if there truly turned out to be major discrepancies in the layout of this dungeon compared to what she knew she would retreat.

Kat appeared unsure whether to trust her word or not but eventually she acquiesced and turned around to try and open the dungeon's door. It shifted with a loud creak to reveal a wide and dark stone hallway. After a moment small sconces with dark green crystals in them slowly lit up revealing more of the corridor. It was lined on both sides by zuver faces carved into the stone and led to a large room that looked like a kind of mausoleum. As Kat cautiously moved through the hallway Scarlett stopped her before the woman could enter the room ahead of them.

"Wait," she said. She pointed towards five sets of stone tombs at the center of the room. "Throw something at those."

Kat gave her an odd look but started looking around for something to throw. She found a loose piece of the stone wall in a part that was crumbling apart and tore it off, gripping it in her hand. Scarlett watched as she then hurled it at the tombs. The stone clinked against the top of one of the tombs before bouncing off and rolling onto the floor. The sound echoed throughout the room before everything went completely silent once more.

Kat looked back at Scarlett. "What was tha—"

A loud shrill rang out. A cold wind passed through the room and Scarlett took several steps back as the lids of the tombs shifted to the side and bony hands reached up to grab the edges. Five skeletons in crumbling clothing and with glowing blue sockets instead of eyes pulled themselves out of the graves, their eyes locking onto the two.

"I believe you have work to carry out," Scarlett said as Kat stared at the skeletons.

"Gods, I didn't think there'd be actual undead," she heard the Shielder mutter as the woman stepped in front of Scarlett and raised her hands. The skeletons had already started moving. Three of them were running towards Scarlett and Kat as the other two moved their bones around about and blue circles formed in the air. Kat took another step forward as she moved her hands. A trunk-sized boulder formed in front of her left hand and shot out at two of the skeletons, landing right on their legs and crushing them as it spread a dark mud on the ground. In front of her other hand five daggers made of fire appeared and immediately darted off towards the other skeletons. The two at the back got hit in the head which interrupted their magic while the two whose legs were crushed lay on the floor and were caught on fire when two of the fire daggers struck the mud around them. The last skeleton took a dagger in the chest but continued onward and had almost reached Kat when a whip of fire snapped out from the woman and knocked the skeleton back several meters. Its rib piece was almost charred to a crisp from the attack.

The battle itself was a real sight for Scarlett. She had never seen any of its like outside of movies and games. She'd never even been in a fight for her entire life. But despite that she felt almost completely calm as she observed the events — an ongoing trend ever since she'd taken on part of Scarlett's personality traits. The woman seemed to only get heated up over the strangest things.

Scarlett watched as Kat used a couple more spells to finish the skeletons off, before then proceeding to search the room for any other threats. Scarlett had recognized most of the spells that Kat had used in the fight. The large boulder, for example, had been the terramancy spell [Boulder Shot], which also left a temporary substance on the ground that was flammable. It synergized well with pyromancy spells such as [Scorching Daggers] which was the second spell the woman had used. And the whip had been [Scorching Whip]. All of them were low-level spells that Scarlett had used a lot with her first character which had been a mage. And like most fire-related spells in the game they were especially useful against many undead monsters.

Seemingly satisfied with her check, Kat walked to the center of the large mauseloum to inspect the tombs themselves. "These weren't as bad as I feared," she said, turning to look at Scarlett. "But how did you know there'd be undead here?"

Scarlett walked closer, stepping around the scorched bones of one of the skeletons. "How I knew is irrelevant. It simply matters that I did."

Kat raised an eyebrow at her. "...Alright. If you say so," she said and spun around. She pointed towards the other end of the room where three hallways went off in different directions. "Which way are we going next then? Oh all-knowing one."

Scarlett scrunched up her nose. The woman sure got casual with her real quick, and she couldn't help but get a little angry at that. And that made her even angrier. It took quite a bit of effort to press the feelings down and not let it affect her.

"The one in the middle," she said. She might have failed in keeping all of the annoyance out of her voice.

Kat glanced at her, then nodded her head and took the lead towards the middle hallway. In the game the other two paths eventually led to dead ends. They might have some things of worth in them, but the two of them could always return to those later. For now the middle one was their priority.

Scarlett wordlessly followed Kat as they moved deeper into the Zuverian ruin. She didn't spot any noticeable difference to the dungeon in the game and so, with her guidance, they managed to avoid all the minor traps that were present in low-level ruins like this one. Kat also didn't have any problems dealing with the undead that popped up so they moved forward at a decent pace. They didn't stop for long in any of the rooms that they passed by. Scarlett knew there probably were some things worth money in them but she wanted to reach the end and clear the dungeon before she started collecting any of the loot. Her main goal here wasn't money, after all.

After about an hour of ruin-trekking they finally reached the last room of the dungeon. It was a large crypt with an altar that stood on a raised platform in the middle of the crypt. On top of the platform next to the altar stood a tall skeleton with a vibrant gold crown atop its skull and adorned with a white robe that somehow hadn't been affected by the passage of time as the rest of the dungeon had. The skeleton's glowing eyesockets turned to glare at them the moment they got close and it began casting a spell.

Scarlett hurried to move back as a hail of ice crystals slammed into Kat. She could have sworn she saw the crystals shatter into pieces the moment before they struck the Shielder's armor.

Kat met the hailstorm with her own assortment of fire daggers, ten of them forming in front of both her hands before shooting off towards the undead. Its robe was burned from the attack and it created some holes, but it didn't seem to get heavily damaged.

"This one is a bit more durable. Looks like I'll actually have to try," Kat grumbled. Then a large ball of fire appeared above her hand before the skeleton could even fire another spell. A second later the fireball slammed into the skeleton's chest and knocked it off the platform. Kat performed some more movements and spikes grew up from the ground where the skeleton landed and tore through its robes and bones. The skeleton let out a hollow scream as it tried to climb off the spikes but its cries were soon drowned out when another ball of fire, this one much larger than the last, flew across the room. A small explosion rocked the crypt as the earth spikes were destroyed along with the skeleton. A burning smell filled the air as the smoke slowly dissipated into nothing to reveal that the body of the skeleton had been almost completely disintegrated.

"There we go," Kat said and wiped her hands off. "Honestly I didn't think a Zuverian ruin would be this easy to clear. After everything I'd heard I was sort of expecting more."

Scarlett walked past the woman and towards the platform at the center of the room. "It varies significantly from ruin to ruin. This one would be described as being on the easier side of the scale. If it had been one of the more deadly ones neither of us might have made it past the first room."

"You sure seem to be an expert on this."

"I suppose you could say that, yes." Scarlett paused in front of the platform. It almost reached her chest. She took a few steps to the side and placed her foot on a square piece of stone on the ground that might have been debris fallen from the roof. Using it as a starting point she carefully climbed on top of the platform, ignoring the indignant feeling she got from displaying such an undignified pose.

"Maybe you should wait to see if there are any more traps before you check that out," Kat said as she pulled herself up on the platform without any issues.

Scarlett frowned at the sight. "There aren't any," she said. This whole dungeon had been exactly as she remembered it.

Scarlett then took a step closer to the altar and looked at the items that lay on it. This was what she was here for.

Chapter 6 - Who runs dungeons for the experience?

Scarlett examined the items on the altar. The largest of them was a head-sized dark metal casket with an interesting coiled design on its side. If she remembered it correctly, that was filled with old Zuverian gold coins. Worth a modest amount, but nothing unique. More of them were usually spread around in small amounts through the dungeon and she was planning on gathering them before they left.

Scarlett's attention was focused on the other two objects on the altar, however. At the center of the ancient stone that the altar was made of lay a small black wand. It had a glossy, rounded-off tip at its bottom and a garnished wood handle that covered half its length. Closer to the head of the wand it looked to be made of some dark metal that arced around itself, forming a kind of curved latticework. At the top of this frame sat a vaguely jade-colored crystal with a swirling pattern in it. It looked almost like a cat eye bead.

This was the [Wand of Fireball]. An item—or rather an 'artifact', as any old magical items were referred to in the game—that allowed one to cast a free [Fireball] spell a few times every day.

Artifacts in the game were separated into seven different categories: common, uncommon, rare, epic, legendary, divine, as well as unique. Divine artifacts were some of the best items in the game, while unique artifacts varied highly depending on what level they were for. The special thing about the unique artifacts was, firstly, that they were unique — as the name implied. Although this also applied to many of the Divine artifacts in the game, there were a few examples where you could get more than one instance of the same divine artifact. Secondly, most unique artifacts had some kind of special property to them that was either rare or non-existent in other items in the game. And thirdly, unlike divine artifacts which was a late-game thing, unique artifacts could be found throughout the whole game. Scarlett's main goal with clearing this dungeon was getting hold of the [Wand of Fireball], which—despite not being a unique artifact but rather a rare one—would give her at least some way of defending herself in this world.

But the wand wasn't the only artifact on the altar. Resting on both sides of the wand was a pair of tiny earrings. Made out of silver, they were shaped like a half-circle with an oval amber gem affixed to the center that gave off a light glow. These were the [Charms of Apperception]. A unique artifact from the game that gave the player a 15% critical chance against all enemies under level 50 — which covered almost all low-to-mid-level enemies. Although they didn't give any stat increase, because they had such a good effect that scaled with your level and had been in the relatively hard-to-find earring-slot, Scarlett had originally used the artifact all the way up till late mid-game in her first playthrough. So even though the wand had been the main reason she chose to start with this dungeon, she was curious about how the unique artifact worked now that this wasn't just a game anymore. It didn't feel like a game concept like critical chance had a clear translation in real life.

Scarlett first picked up the wand. A window suddenly appeared above it.

[Wand of Fireball (Rare)]

{Casts [Fireball]. 4/4}

She raised an eyebrow. That was a convenient feature. Putting the wand into a hole in the belt she'd worn specifically for this outing, she picked up the earrings.

[Charms of Apperception (Unique)]

{Perceives the strands of mana around a being, recognizing points of instability}

Was that the flavor text from the game? She couldn't remember if it was. The wand didn't have the same kind of ambiguous description, but perhaps that was because it had a more defined function. As Scarlett read through the text in the window once more she felt some kind of reaction from the earrings in her palm. They felt warm for a moment and then suddenly she felt a connection to them, without really understanding how.

"You alright?" she heard Kat's voice to her side. Turning towards the woman, Scarlett's attention shifted from the artifact in her hand to the Shielder's body. It was vague, barely noticeable to the point where she almost thought she was imagining it, but when she focused she saw a slight shimmer surrounding Kat's whole body. It seemed to flow around her in complicated ever-shifting patterns, forming a kind of barrier that was hard to follow with just the eyes. But there were points where the shimmer was weaker. Points where the patterns momentarily met to form small whirlwinds of movement, or points where the currents were just slightly too erratic. All these points stood out to her eyes more clearly than even the barrier itself.

"So that is how it works..." Scarlett mused to herself.

"What?" Kat looked puzzled.

"Do you know Mana Barrier?" Scarlett asked.

"Of course I do," Kat said. "I doubt there's a mage who doesn't."

Scarlett nodded her head at the information. It fit with what she knew from Chronicle of Realms. There, [Mana Barrier] was a spell without a particular school of magic that was a must-have unless one was running a challenge of some kind. While there were stats such as HP and Armor, they weren't as important in this game as they often were in other RPGs. Instead, spells like [Mana Barrier] and its equivalents provided the players with their main layer of protection. And that seemed to stay true in this world too.

Kat met her eyes for a moment before shaking her head. She jumped down from the platform and started moving around it to the burned remains of the skeleton that had been guarding this room. "How much are we bringing back with us?" she asked, picking up the golden crown the skeleton had worn. She dusted it off with her hand before looking it over. "Technically, everything here belongs to you, doesn't it? At least for now."

Scarlett brought her attention from the faint magical barrier surrounding Kat to the woman herself. She wasn't aware there was such a practice, but perhaps that was how Zuverian ruins were handled in this world. Nobody had complained when the player raided dungeon after dungeon in the games at least.

She didn't know how much wealth the original Scarlett actually had, but more money never hurt. She cautiously climbed down from the platform and put her hand out when she reached Kat. The Shielder placed the crown in her hand and Scarlett began to examine it.

[Golden Crown (Uncommon)]

{Increases majesty}

It didn't look particularly good, though judging from this the descriptive text for these items wasn't the flavor text from the games. At least not always. This particular description was almost as vague as the earrings, but the crown seemed to bear some kind of enchantment at least. Perhaps one that increased charisma. Not something she needed.

"You may keep it." Scarlett said and handed it back to Kat.

The woman gave her an odd look. "You don't want it?"

"It has no use for me," Scarlett answered. "It is a weak enchantment. But it is still gold, so it should have some worth. You are owed a commission, so I feel it is only right that you have it. However, if you prefer for your reward to be in another shape we can give it in zuver coins instead." Giving out money directly would have to wait until she actually had some.

Kat stared at her with wide eyes. "The guild request was only to protect you for the day. What I've done could technically count under that so you don't actually have to pay an extra reward."

"That may be so, but it wouldn't leave a good taste if I were to abuse the contract with the Shields Guild in such a manner," Scarlett responded calmly. "I am planning on continuing doing business with you in the future, so it is only right that I do this much." With that, she turned around and started leaving the room. "Now come. There is still much left to gather in these ruins. And make sure to bring that metal casket with you."

Scarlett couldn't see Kat's expression so she didn't know how the woman reacted, but it didn't take long for Kat to catch up to her with the small casket wedged under one arm and the crown hanging from the side of her belt. After that, they spent a couple of hours combing through and clearing the rest of the dungeon's pathways and rooms for all the remaining loot. Most of it was in the form of zuver coins. Neither of them had brought any backpacks with them but Scarlett had made sure to bring a small Pouch of Holding to store it all in.

Bags of Holding had been present in the game too, but even the smaller ones had been relatively rare and expensive so it wasn't until the mid-game that the player could get a hold of one. Before that one usually had to make do with a very limited amount of inventory slots or a cumbersome backpack. Fortunately for Scarlett, she was now a noble. Which came with some perks. She'd asked Garside to get her a Bag of Holding in the morning and he'd retrieved this from somewhere in the mansion. It wasn't a bag per se, but it was still large enough to hold a decent amount of gold coins.

When they finally left the ruin after spending over three hours in it Scarlett was met by a new window.

[Quest completed: Cleared Zuverian Ruins]

{Skill points awarded: 1}

She paused on the stairs leading up to the surface as she read through the window. This hadn't been in the game. She had wondered if the quests from the game existed in this world too, but this one certainly wasn't related to any of them. This was a completely new quest that she hadn't seen before. Though it didn't give her any experience like the quests from the game did. Just a skill point.

Did this mean there were other quests she didn't know about in this world? Hidden, just waiting to be completed?

"What's up?" Kat asked, stretching in the sunlight at the top of the stairs. "You realize something?"

Scarlett put the matters of the quests behind her for now. Looking at Kat, the woman who had just cleared a Zuverian ruin for her without even seeming to consider betraying her, a thought appeared in her mind. While the Shielder's uncouth behavior irked the Scarlett part of her, the woman was very capable. Truthfully, a B-ranked Shielder was far too powerful for this low-level dungeon.

"Miss Breedan," she asked. "Would you be interested in accepting another request?"

Chapter 7 - Arcane thermodynamics

"Fireball."

A large ball of fire shot out and struck the ground followed by a small explosion. Scarlett observed the scene with her lips slightly upturned. It didn't matter what her current circumstances were. Seeing real magic would always be exciting. Well, as exciting as anything could be in her current circumstances.

She looked down at the black wand in her hand, the gem at its top gleaming a dull red. The [Wand of Fireball] worked exactly as it had in the game. Without any cost to her, she could now cast [Fireball] four times per day.

She lifted her gaze to look at the area where the spell had hit. The stone might have become slightly charred, but it was hard to tell. The whole area surrounding the point she'd aimed at was completely defaced from years of abuse. It was clear she wasn't the first to practice magic here.

She was currently behind the Hartford mansion, between a hedge garden far too large for just one family and the outer wall that enclosed the whole estate. As it turned out the Hartfords did have a training ground. As did probably many of the noble families who used magic in this world. Where else would they train, after all? The servant she had asked about the matter the day before had likely been too surprised—and probably nervous—by her request to reply. Scarlett couldn't blame the woman. Knowing how the original Scarlett had been she wasn't sure if she would have fared much better in the servant's shoes.

A little over an hour had passed since Scarlett returned from her little excursion in the old Zuverian ruins. Since then she had spent some time organizing the loot—mostly old Zuverian coins—she'd found, and after that she'd had another meal prepared by the mansion's chef. She didn't know who it was but they deserved all the praise. She imagined this was how it was like eating at a Michelin-ranked restaurant every day.

But now her focus was on magic. The training ground set up by the Hartford family was essentially just a long stone courtyard with several wood and stone targets set up at one end. She hadn't tried attacking those yet but she assumed they were enchanted in some way. Otherwise they wouldn't really put up much of a challenge against most spells. Apart from those targets, there was also a shed at the edge of the training grounds right next to the wall. She hadn't bothered seeing what was inside just yet, however.

Bringing her attention to the targets Scarlett crossed part of the training ground and stopped a couple dozen or so meters away from them. Pausing for a moment, she focused her eyes. It was faint, but she took a few steps closer and made out a slight shimmer that surrounded the target. It was similar to what she'd seen around Kat when she had looked at the woman with the effect from the [Charms of Apperception]. She brought her left hand up to her ear where one of the earrings hung. It seemed their effect wasn't limited to just people, but every kind of magical defense.

A thought struck her. She lowered the wand and placed it in her belt for now and instead raised her hand towards the target. The shifting movement of the magical barrier that surrounded the target was much slower than Kat's had been. There were also a lot more of those instabilities in this one. Creating a ball of fire above her palm through pyrokinesis, Scarlett then moved it towards the target. She hadn't had much time to practice this yet so it was a bit wobbly, but she managed to bring it all the way to the target. She then brought it right against the wood itself for almost thirty seconds before letting the fire dissipate. She walked over to the target to get a closer look. It didn't seem like the fire left any mark.

She repeated the process once again, but this time she aimed the fire towards one of the weak points in the target's enchantment. After waiting for another half a minute she let the fire disappear and took another look. She had to lean over closely, but she did see a black burn mark on the wood.

Could she make the fire stronger? She only had [Minor Pyrokinesis], but it gave her a decent amount of control. She was pretty sure a single ball of fire wasn't her limit.

She created a new flame, this time immediately next to one of the target's weak points, and with all her focus she imagined it growing hotter and hotter. She could see the fire slowly glowing a brighter red as she focused on it. After a while it had turned a clear red, almost a little orange, and she felt as if she was starting to lose control. She let the fire dissipate once again and leaned forward to see the results. There was a large burn mark next to where she'd aimed the fire now. Part of the wood had even started crumbling into black charcoal.

So her pyrokinesis did have its uses. She glanced at her remaining mana.

[Mana: 913/979]

It hadn't even been especially costly to use it like that. The problem was that it wasn't very practical to use it like that in a fight. It wasn't explosive enough. She highly doubted anyone who attacked her—which she honestly doubted there wouldn't be in the future—would be kind enough to stand still while she hovered a fire to their faces.

Scarlett stood in front of the target, arms crossed as she observed the ever-shifting and barely visible shimmering that was the enchantment protecting it. Would it make more of a difference if her pyrokinesis skill was higher? In the game the skill hadn't had much more meaning than lowering your mana costs so she wasn't certain how effective the higher ranks were. It didn't help that currently, her only other usable skill was [Lesser Hydrokinesis]. She'd tried figuring out how to use [Minor Mana Control] but hadn't had much success there. Maybe it was just a prerequisite for the other skills or something like that? Unfortunately there weren't any descriptions for skills as there were for items. Or at least she hadn't figured out how to find them yet.

She paused. An idea had just sprung up into her mind.

She pointed her finger towards the head of the target and created a small ball of water—no larger than a tennis ball, really—above it, the liquid swirling around as it was held in its shape by some invisible force. She had realized yesterday that, like her pyrokinesis, she didn't need a preexisting source of water to use hydrokinesis. It was more taxing doing it like this, however. She was unsure whether the skill literally created water or if it pulled it from the humidity in the surrounding air, but it didn't really matter to her right now. She manipulated the water as to leave a hollow space inside the sphere, letting the excess water fall down on the target. Then she carefully used her pyrokinesis to create a small flame in the empty space inside the sphere of water. She seemed to be successful. The light from the fire reflected and distorted through the moving water that surrounded it as it heated the sphere from the inside. However, after about forty seconds she saw that the water had started boiling and she could see some wet steam forming as the heated water condensed around it. She immediately snuffed out the fire and let the water rain onto the target's head.

Her aim was to cause the water to go through superheating. It had been a while since her high school days, but she remembered researching quite a bit about the subject back then. The phenomenon known as 'superheated water' was essentially just water that had reached a temperature above its normal boiling point of 100 degrees celsius but still remained in a liquid state due to being under a higher pressure that increased the amount of energy required to transition to gas form. Similar to that, but not exactly the same, was the process of 'superheating' a liquid to delay its boiling by...well, she couldn't really remember the physics behind it. But she did remember that a liquid in such a state was quite volatile. And she'd hoped to reproduce that effect. But obviously she was doing it wrong.

She was pretty sure the fire wasn't touching the water, so there shouldn't be an issue there. It was just functioning as an odd kind of heater, hopefully. Then was it because the water was moving?

She created another ball of water, repeating the same process as last time. This time, however, she focused her attention on forcing the water to be completely still. It looked almost like a soap bubble as it hovered in the air. Just without the rainbow colors.

Making sure not to let her attention slip, she created a flame inside the sphere. Then she waited. After waiting for about the same length of time as last time there still wasn't any sign of the water boiling. She waited for a little while longer and squinted her eyes. It looked like the sphere had gotten a little smaller. Had the water already started turning into steam?

Making sure not to lose her concentration, Scarlett took several careful steps back. She then used her hydrokinesis to cause a small ripple in the side of the water that was facing the target. She unconsciously took another step back as the sphere of water immediately exploded into a tiny shower of burning hot liquid. A couple of drops even hit her arm, but fortunately she was still wearing the full-covering clothes she'd gone out to the dungeon in.

She glanced at the target itself. It didn't look to have been affected much. But the blast also hadn't been aimed at any particular weak points. She looked at her mana.

[Mana: 878/979]

She had been slow with that one, but it was still surprisingly affordable. Judging from how the sphere had started losing its size she had probably waited for too long too. She looked back at the target, locating one of the weak points in its enchantment that barely moved. Once more she created a still sphere of water next to it and created a flame inside. This time she waited for a little over thirty seconds. Just like last time, a small ripple was enough to cause the water to explode. The majority of the liquid shot out towards the target where she'd created the ripple, but there was some splattering in all other directions too.

Scarlett walked over to the target again to observe the damage up close. She was surprised to find that a small part of the target looked to actually have become dented. A clear indentation and cracks showed in the brown wood that made up its body.

She stepped back and moved to a safe distance to try again. She repeated the procedure again, but this time she tried making the fire a lot hotter. She ended up miscalculating its size and losing control the first two times, but on her third try she managed to replicate the superheating of the water and the explosion in only ten seconds. And for all she knew she might still be overshooting the time needed. The only way for her to be sure was by testing it.

[Mana: 696/979]

It was incredibly mana efficient if you compared it to the spells she knew of. Granted, it probably wasn't close to being as powerful as those were, but she didn't have much to work with.

She briefly considered whether it was possible to make this technique even more powerful if she could actually superheat the water, rather than merely superheating it. There was a distinct difference between the two even though they achieved a similar result. She didn't remember too much from her physics classes, but if she could perhaps somehow increase the pressure the water was under with her hydrokinesis, then she might be able to increase the liquid's boiling point. An increased boiling point meant hotter water and just more energy in general, right? Hopefully making this even more powerful. And if she recalled correctly enough of an increase in pressure and heat would cause the liquid to go supercritical...though she couldn't for the life of her remember how large of an increase that meant. Or even what effects that would have. Her knowledge of supercritical fluids was limited to knowing they were certifiably 'wacky'—to borrow how one of her friends had once described them—in how they acted.

Not that she was ever likely to reach the point where she could test that hypothesis if she stayed at her current level. [Lesser Hydrokinesis] probably couldn't do it even if the skill let her change the pressure of the water.

Scarlett tapped her foot against the stone ground as she looked into the air in front of her.

[Name: Scarlett Hartford]

[Skills:

[Minor Mana Control]

[Pyromancy]

[Minor Pyrokinesis]

[Minor Hydromancy]

[Lesser Hydrokinesis]]

[Traits:

[Dignified August]

[Supercilious]

[Cavalier]

[Callous]

[Overbearing]

[Conceited]

[Third-rate Mana Veins]]

[Mana: 696/979]

[Skill points: 1]

She had learned how to summon the status window without speaking now, but there weren't any large changes compared to the first time she'd seen it. There was a slight rise in her mana, as well the skill point she'd earned earlier during the day. She hadn't put much thought to the skills points yet, though. She tried focusing on that part of the window.

[Skills Menu:

Upgrades

[Greater Pyromancy] (10 points)

[Pyrokinesis] (5 points)

[Hydromancy] (5 points)

[Minor Hydrokinesis] (2 points)

[Mana Control] (5 points)

New skills

[LOCKED]]

She raised an eyebrow. This was definitely different from how it worked in Chronicle of Realms. In fact, there hadn't been a skill menu at all in the game. Skills had been rewards that you gained from achievements and important questlines. Upgrading the skills was mostly done by gaining experience with the skills.

This menu did arouse her interest, however. Especially the 'new skills' section. Knowing that she could upgrade her skills was good news. But the potential for buying new ones was definitely what excited her the most. There were some very powerful skills that she wouldn't mind getting her hands on. But the feature was locked right now. She tried prompting a description for it, but nothing appeared. No clues as to how to unlock it.

She frowned as she closed the window down. She would have to save upgrading and figuring out how to buy new skills for the future it seemed. Bringing her attention back to the place at hand, she raised her arm towards the target once more. For now, she would resume her experimenting. She still had mana to lose, after all.

Chapter 8 - The wrong kind of raid

"Is this really necessary?" Kat asked from the side, the woman pulling at the mask that covered the lower part of her face. Scarlett glanced at the B-ranked member of the Shields Guild. In addition to the mask, the woman was also wearing a black hood that covered the rest of her head so that only most of her eyes were visible.

"No, it is not," Scarlett said before she turned her attention back to the building they were observing across the pier. They hadn't arrived yet. "But I believe it will make parts of this easier. Both for you and for me," she continued after a moment.

"If you say so." Kat moved up next to Scarlett. She seemed to have stopped fidgeting with her mask. "When were these guys supposed to appear?"

"Uncertain. Sometime in the evening." It was already beginning to grow dark and much of the activity in Freybrook's harbor area had started dying down. Scarlett had honestly expected them to arrive much earlier. She didn't like waiting around in open places like this for extended periods of time. Neither she nor the Scarlett part of her.

"While I'm a bit late in pointing it out, wouldn't it have been easier to just alert the guards? Or work together with the Guild. Though I'm technically allowed to perform arrests, I'm not really supposed to accept jobs like this by myself."

Scarlett wanted to shake her head and sigh but her impulses stopped her from blatantly showcasing her frustration outwardly like that.

She would have loved it if all she had to do to solve this situation was to sic the guards on these people. But that would most likely mean implicating herself in the process. Instead she could only hope to solve this swiftly and by herself. Well, and with Kat's help. She was lucky the Shielder appeared to be rather lax when it came to rules.

"That would not lead to good results for either party," she eventually said. "We want the people responsible, not merely their subordinates. And unfortunately the news of this came too suddenly to organize a larger response."

The Shielder seemed to accept that excuse for now as she leaned back against the wall of the nearby building. They were currently staying out of sight between two warehouses not too far away from their target and that appeared to be vacated for now.

Scarlett kept quiet as they waited. Half an hour passed, where they watched the people that were still around the harbor perform their last activities for the day before leaving the area. Then a new group of people finally arrived. There were over a dozen and ahead of them they were pushing wagons stacked with large wooden crates. The group crossed the bay area close to Scarlett and Kat before eventually stopping in front of a large building with a stone base and wooden walls. One of the men from the group opened a pair of large doors at the side of the building before the rest of them pushed the wagons inside. Scarlett had already confirmed that this was the aforementioned 'Warehouse 37'. Many of the buildings in this area of Freybrook's harbor were designated warehouses owned by the count who was the local authority around here. The warehouses were then rented out to different organizations. Supposedly there were inspections performed on these warehouses to detect any illegal activities every night, but Scarlett knew such things weren't always airtight.

"That them?" Kat asked as they watched a pair of burly men close the warehouse gates and stand guard outside the building.

"It is," Scarlett replied. Her voice came out colder than usual.

"You sure there were people inside those boxes?"

"I am."

Kat let out a sigh. "I'm honestly not sure why I'm trusting you on this," she said but started walking anyway. "Let's go and save them. You'll be able to get me off if these turn out to be a bunch of innocent merchants, right?"

Scarlett didn't bother replying that she had no idea how she would do that as she followed a few steps behind the woman.

The men guarding the warehouse caught sight of them early and kept their eyes squared on the pair as they neared. One of the men reached for a cudgel at his side.

"What the Blazes do you want?!" one of them yelled. His eyes locked onto Kat and her covered appearance when she got close enough. "You better back off right now or—"

"Oh just shut up will you?" Kat waved her hand and two small boulders sprang into existence before her and struck both men in the chest. They flew back into the wall behind them and immediately slumped onto the ground.

Scarlett looked around. There were a few people on the other side of the waterway, but it was dark and they didn't seem to pay any attention to what was happening over here. She brought her attention back to the two men. They weren't moving a limb. Bringing a B-ranked Shielder here truly was overkill. In game terms, Kat probably wasn't too far off from level 50 while this whole questline had been in the 20-range.

The Shielder moved over and bent down next to the men. She brought out her hand and touched the both of them, a low bronze-colored light originating out from her fingers and moving into the men. Small pulses of the light seemed to shoot through both of the men's skin and clothes as Kat took a step back.

Scarlett observed the phenomena. Was that [Earth Pulse]? It looked curious to see the spell faintly light the men up as it passed through their bodies. It did make her wonder how the weak healing spell worked, but she honestly wasn't going to question magic. She was neither a doctor nor a wizard.

"What?"

Scarlett heard Kat speak and turned to look at the covered woman. She was staring at her. "You're not expecting me to just let them lie there, are you? I'm decent with my control but that still likely cracked a few ribs," Kat said. "I'm not risking them dying if that's what you want. I don't really do killing at first sight. But you don't have to worry. They'll still be out for a while."

Scarlett frowned. "I do not recall saying that I wanted them dead."

She couldn't see Kat's face because of the hood and mask but it looked like the woman was a little surprised by her response.

"...You sure looked at them as if you did," Kat mumbled before pointing towards the doors the men were guarding. "Well, whatever. We going in?"

Scarlett looked back at the drooping bodies of the two men. She really didn't want them dead. Despite knowing what kind of business they were in. But she was surprised to find that she didn't care about what happened to them. Was that the Scarlett part of her personality? Or just something she'd never had the chance to encounter in herself before due to the situation? While she could definitely think rationally about it and didn't like the thought of killing these men, she really couldn't feel anything special about it right now.

"...You're sure you don't want them dead?" Kat's voice brought Scarlett out of her ruminating.

"I am certain," Scarlett said, pushing any thoughts of morality out of her mind for now. "Let's continue."

She gestured for Kat to open the doors. The Shielder gave her an odd look before turning towards the doors and grabbing onto the rusted metal handle of the one to the right and pulling it open. Scarlett watched Kat enter the building and heard a couple of confused cries from inside, followed by the sound of bodies slamming into things. A short while later Kat's head appeared at the entrance.

"I took care of the ones in here. We're still missing some people though. It might be better for you to wait here while I search the building."

Scarlett ignored Kat's words and walked past her into the building. "I will be fine," she said. She was certain of Kat's ability to protect her against these thugs. And there were things she had to do herself.

The inside of the warehouse's main storage hall was dimly lit by a few lanterns spread about the room, fastened onto several wooden pillars that reached the roof. The bodies of four men lay slumped against the walls and two of those pillars, with the crates they'd seen outside standing in the middle of the room offloaded from the wagons. There was a gathering of empty barrels lining one of the walls and a crate of tools standing in one corner, but other than that there was nothing else here. The rest of the people had probably moved into other parts of the warehouse.

Scarlett walked over to the nearest man and tapped him on the side of the head. There was no reaction. There was the same light pulsating through his body occasionally as with the men outside, though. Kat had already used [Earth Pulse] on all these men.

Scarlett turned to Kat who had started moving towards the wooden crates at the center of the room. "Leave those be for now."

Kat stopped and turned to stare at Scarlett. "You're saying we should let the people stay stuck inside those things?" Her tone was a lot more aggressive than Scarlett had heard from the woman before.

"Do you plan on asking a group of frightened people to remain here while we search the rest of the building?" Scarlett gestured to the room around them. "Waiting for ten more minutes will not harm them, and it will be safer for both parties."

"You could wait here—"

"I cannot," Scarlett interrupted. "Focus on completing the mission at hand before dealing with other matters." She began walking towards a door at the side of the room that seemed to be the only way to go. Kat looked uneasy about leaving the crates behind but eventually followed. With a few long steps, the taller woman had caught up with Scarlett and put her hand on the door's handle. Her blue eyes met Scarlett's amber ones.

"I'm choosing to trust you here. Noble or not, you better not make me regret it."

Scarlett slowly nodded her head. "I had no such plans. I wish to put an end to these activities as much as you."

The woman stared at her for a while, then also nodded her head. "Good. I should probably go first, though."

With that, the masked Shielder swung the door open and entered the hallway that was on the other side. Scarlett followed a short distance behind. As they moved through the building they encountered one or two thugs at a time in different rooms but Kat quickly—and surprisingly quietly—took care of them with her magic. Eventually they reached a door at the end of a corridor on the third floor where one of the men had said their leader was before Kat knocked him out.

Scarlett stepped in front of Kat. "We need information from this man so I will have to exchange words with him. It will require feigning an act on my part. I ask that you ignore what you hear and do not act until I tell you to." She met the woman's eyes. "Understood?"

"...Alright."

"Good." Scarlett opened the door and entered the room. It wasn't particularly large, with only a few shelves to the side and a small desk facing the wall in one corner. A brown-haired man with a large nose sat in front of the desk with a mug and a large ledger in front of him.

"Did I say you could ent—" the man looked up and spotted Scarlett with the masked Kat entering close behind her. "...Who are you?" he growled, reaching for a knife in a sheath on his belt.

"I would like to ask you the same," Scarlett retorted, her voice ice cold. She moved towards a chair on the opposite side of the room as the man and sat down with her left leg leaning on her right. "Who do you believe yourself to be to attempt to deceive me?"

The man furrowed his brows as he tightened his grip on his knife. "Lady, I don't know who you are and I don't damn care." His eyes glanced towards the door where Kat was standing.

"Your men are dead," Scarlett said, watching the man's expression change into that of shock. "And so will you be if you do not tell me what I want to know."

He stared at her, his teeth clenched. "Who the Blazes are you."

"I am Baroness Scarlett Hartford. Although I do not expect rabble such as you to know how to address a noble."

"Hartford?" His eyes widened.

"So you do know of me." She clicked her tongue. "Then you can inform me of why your boss thought he could betray me and get away with it."

"Betray? I don't know what you're talking about lady." He shot another glance towards Kat and the door behind her.

Scarlett snapped her fingers. A very small ball of water appeared beside the man's head, a burning hot flame reflecting its light from the inside. An Aqua Mine she'd gotten to calling them.

...It was a name that was still under revision.

The man's gaze shifted towards it momentarily before returning to her. "What's that? Are you tr—AARGHH"

The Aqua Mine exploded. She didn't place it right against his head, but it was still close enough to knock his head to the side slightly as he cradled the edge of his face that had been splattered with a small wave of boiling water.

Five seconds was about the time she needed to cause a sphere the size of a tennis ball to begin superheating it turned out. Slightly less if she lessened its size, although that of course also affected its concussive and explosive effect. But this man didn't look to have any kind of magical defense so it didn't matter much.

"I believe I told you to tell me what I wish to know." Scarlett gestured to Kat, who had jumped forward at the blast, to stand back before turning her attention back to the injured man. "Want me to ask the question again?"

He bared his teeth at her and made to lunge at her. She snapped her fingers again and two more Aqua Mines appeared before him. He froze. Then slowly let go of his knife and leaned back in his chair, visibly in pain. It wasn't a nice sight. His left ear was completely burnt.

"I told you, my Lady. I don't know anything about any betrayal. Weren't you the one supposed to help us?"

"That was the agreement, yes." At the corner of her eye, Scarlett saw Kat flinch at the statement. But the Shielder made no other effort to move so she let it go for now. Leaning forward in her chair, Scarlett stared into the man's eyes. "But then your leader appears to have thought he could deceive me without there being any consequences to his actions. I do not like people trying to cross me."

He flinched back from her. "I-I'm telling you, I don't know anything about that I swear."

She stared at him for a while. Then she let the two spheres of water and fire disappear as they were hard for her to maintain while keeping her concentration. She leaned back in the chair. "Very well. I believe you."

"Thank you—"

"But I cannot simply let the matter slide." Her eyes locked onto the man. "I know your leader hides in Stoolie's Nest. Tell me what the current entrance and passcode is."

The man's expression changed into that of slight surprise, before taking on a more defiant look. "I don't—"

"Do not make me repeat myself," she snapped. "If you attempt to withhold information from me because of some misplaced sense of loyalty then know that it makes no difference to me. My business is with your leader only, and it would not cost me much time to find his location even without your help. Although it would mean your life."

The man went quiet. She could see sweat running down the side of his face that hadn't been scarred by her attack and he was clenching his fists. "...It's in the Snow-show fishery. The passcode is King Fisher."

"Good." Scarlett turned towards Kat. "Deal with him," she said as she stood up from the chair.

"What? Hey wait a minu—" The man barely managed to speak before a stone slammed into him and knocked him to the floor.

"Is it true?" Kat asked immediately after. Scarlett met the woman's stare. There was an anger in those eyes. "You were helping these people?"

"...In a manner," Scarlett answered after a while. "If one is to dispose of a weed, then one has to eradicate it at the root. Sometimes the best way of doing that is from the inside."

"Then what was all that about?" Kat waved towards the man who lay on the floor. "About them double-crossing you?"

"It is called acting. I believe I informed you of it beforehand," Scarlett said. "Men like him do not give information to authorities lightly. But they are much more likely to do so if they believe it to be only a conflict between fellow deplorables. And fear for their well being."

Of course, the original Scarlet had actually been supporting these people, but that wasn't something she wanted people to know. This particular group of men had served as a good excuse for her to deal with that. Besides, she truly did need the information regarding Stoolie's Nest if she wanted to handle the traffickers as she'd done in the game. Stoolie's Nest had been their main den of criminal activities there, and because its entrance and passcode changed from time to time it could take a while for the player to find it. It had been in a different place in her first playthrough than in her last, so she'd been lucky that these men knew its current location.

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at Kat. "Any other questions? Otherwise I believe it is time we let those people out."

The woman stared at her for a few more seconds but eventually shrugged her shoulders. "Fine. You have an explanation for basically anything it seems. But I won't complain for now."

"Then you can go ahead and free the people in the storage hall. I will look for further information."

Kat uttered a 'sure' in acceptance and walked over to the motionless body of the scarred man to cast her healing magic on him before leaving the room and Scarlett alone.

Scarlett then walked over to the table where the man had been sitting and picked up the large ledger. She started looking through its pages. It seemed to be an account of trades and wares—wares, in this case, no doubt being people—and was quite lengthy. A quick scan didn't reveal any mentions of Scarlett, but she put it aside in her pouch of holding to check through it later. She then searched through the room and the man's body for any other written accounts before leaving towards the warehouse's main storage where Kat would be waiting.

When she arrived she found Kat surrounded by a pile of terrified children. The woman had already lowered her mask and hood and stood on her knees with a kind expression on her face as she uttered comforting phrases. She was currently holding a small girl of maybe about ten years with long brown hair hanging behind in a tussle.

"It'll be okay. You're all safe now. We'll get you out of here soon," Kat said. Her eyes turned to Scarlett when she approached. "Children. They were keeping children captive." The rage in her voice was only barely hidden.

Scarlett looked over the children. Some of them appeared to shy away at her gaze. "I see. Then it is good that soon they will no longer be able to continue their activites." She didn't get too close to the kids. Her presence seemed to scare them, but she didn't mind it too much. She wasn't good with children and she never had been. Her own younger sister was the only child she had ever really dealt with, and it was arguable how well she did with that. Although these children were younger than her sister had been when she was at her most problematic. None of these kids looked to be older than twelve. And a lot of them looked around eight or nine. Thankfully they didn't look starved. Just with some worn clothes.

"I have readied several carriages," Scarlett said. "We'll bring the children to my estate for now. We still have business that requires handling tonight."

Kat met Scarlett's eyes and gave a determined nod. "Let's go," she said and stood up while carrying the small girl in her arms and gathering the other kids in front of her. "But what about them?" she asked and nodded her head towards the limp body of one of the men.

"There are regular inspections performed by the count's men. An inspector should come by before morning. There is enough evidence for them to take these men into custody for now. The rest will be dealt with later."

"Alright," Kat said and turned back to the children who were all leaning on each other. "Come on, kids. We'll bring you somewhere safe now."

Chapter 9 - Aviaries and sewers

After leaving the warehouse behind Scarlett and Kat brought the kids to the carriages that Scarlett had prepared with Garside's help beforehand. It was a bit tight—fitting approximately thirty scared children into four carriages was a challenge—but none of the kids caused any problems. It turned out barely any of them even spoke English—or 'Modern Imperial' as it was called in this world—but instead spoke Voneian. It made sense, considering they were supposedly taken from the kingdom of Voneia that lay to the empire's west. Despite this, all of them seemed to already trust Kat and look at her as if she was some kind of savior. Which, technically, she was.

The servants back at the mansions all looked to be in a state of panic when Scarlett returned along with a cluster of kids that she told them to take care of for the moment. Luckily Garside took charge of the situation and looked to have a decent handle on things.

"I will ensure the children are safe and fed until you return, my Lady," he said with a bow as she and Kat moved into another carriage and were about to leave. Some of the children didn't seem to take to being left at a strange place particularly well but the servants managed to calm them down. It turned out that the black-haired servant woman that Scarlett had first met—Scarlett finally overheard her being called Molly by another servant—knew Voneian. She also seemed used to caring for children which made things easier for Scarlett. She would have to figure out exactly how to deal with that particular problem later on. It wasn't her current priority.

"I entrust the matter to you for now," Scarlett said to Garside right before telling the coach to get the carriage moving. The Hartfords' mansion was situated at the northern edge of Freybrook, close to the city's outermost walls. The whole area was mainly occupied by different large mansions — each with large grounds surrounding them. In that Freybrook was much more of a 'traditional' city in this world. Scarlett remembered that many of the 'younger' cities in the game were much more compact in their design compared to Freybrook. The only cities that were larger area-wise were probably Elystead—the Imperial Capital—and Windgrove, though that was just a rough estimate from her experience in the game.

It was still dark as they left the more affluent districts of the city behind and moved into its less prosperous regions. 'Slums' might be too strong of a word, but the conditions of the houses around them dwindled considerably. The streets around here weren't cobbled stone, but rather dirt, and it was clear they hadn't been designed for carriages to pass through them. At several points their driver had to stop the carriage in order to maneuver it through particularly tight spaces where the houses had been built too close to each other. Many of the buildings were also two or more floors high and blocked much of the sky from sight, which made Scarlett feel almost closed in. It didn't help that some of the buildings were leaning slightly towards the road in a way she was deeply uncomfortable with. It was abundantly clear safety regulations weren't common practice around here.

Eventually their carriage stopped in front of a small building crammed in between two others with a sign that read 'Snow-shod' and had the image of a dead fish on it.

"You may want to cover yourself once more," Scarlett said to Kat as the woman was about to leave the carriage. The Shielder looked back at her for a moment, before sighing and pulling up her hood as well as the black mask from her pocket. She then stepped out of the carriage and Scarlett followed right after. The mask and hood were really only there to make Kat seem more threatening. Scarlett had thought that would make it easier for her to sell her act. Although that wasn't really as important anymore.

After giving a command to the coach driver to wait nearby she stepped up to the building's old wooden door.

"Shouldn't you let me go first?" Kat asked.

"No. Stay behind me for now," Scarlett said before she opened the door and walked in. The place was cramped, the only light inside coming from a small lantern standing on a counter where a large man with greying hair leaned against a chair with a beaten book in his hands. He looked up at them, his eyes staying on Kat's hooded appearance for several seconds.

"What ya want?" His voice came out as a hoarse grumble.

Scarlett locked her sight on the man and walked up to the counter. "We are seeking a King Fisher."

The man's gaze shifted from Kat to Scarlett. "...Who sent ya?"

"No one. We are here by my accord."

He examined her for a while. "...Fine," he eventually grumbled and stood up. "Not that it matters to me what you fancy ladies get up to."

He walked over to an old bookshelf standing next to the wall and put his weight against it. Wood scraping against wood creaked across the room as he pushed the shelf aside to reveal a closed door. He took out a key and unlocked it. On the other side was a stairway that led down. The man gestured for them to enter and immediately closed the door behind them after they did. Not long after Scarlett heard the sound of the bookshelf being pushed back to its original position.

"I hope you know what you're doing," she heard Kat mumble from the side. Scarlett ignored it for now and descended the stairs. There was another door at the bottom. As she opened it, her nose was assaulted by a strong dank smell. These were the underground waterways and sewers that passed beneath parts of Freybrook and carried its sewage out towards the sea. It didn't smell as bad as one might expect sewers to do, but it still wasn't a smell she preferred. Especially not with the original Scarlett's added propensities.

In front of them was an arched stone tunnel that led both to their right and left, with two walkways on either side of the tunnels and water running in the middle. It was very much like the classical sewers one saw in games. Although not always what one might expect from a medieval-esque world. But in many ways this world was only medieval in appearance, sharing many more features with later time periods as far as Scarlett was aware.

She looked to the right and the left. There were lights further down to the right. In the game, Stoolie's Nest had never been far from the entrance. Despite often changing locations, they obviously still followed some patterns.

They began moving towards the light further down the walkway. Their steps echoed throughout the tunnel, only accompanied by the constant sound of running water. Eventually, they reached an intersection where the tunnel split in three directions. The light they'd seen came from a small lantern hanging from a hook on the wall next to them, but Scarlett spotted another faint light further down one of the tunnels. She created a small flame in the air before her and used it to light their way as they continued down that tunnel. Before long they reached another lantern hanging from a hook on the wall next to a worn door. It seemed they had arrived.

Scarlett turned to look at Kat. "Are you prepared?" She gestured towards the door. "There will be a large number of opponents on the other side. I do not think any will prove to be a problem for you, but I do not want you to make a mistake due to carelessness." After all, any mistakes on Kat's part would affect her too. Taking care of these people quickly was integral to her being able to live in this world without being branded a criminal.

Kat simply nodded her head. "I'm ready all right. If anything I'm gonna have a hard time holding back against these bastards."

Well, Scarlett couldn't fault her for that. Though she didn't feel too much just from watching the state the children had been in, it was still a pretty terrible situation by any standards. She wagered her old self would have been even more mortified.

"Very well. Then let's continue," she said.

Chapter 10 - Gang fights

Scarlett watched Kat open the door to go in and followed behind her soon after. It led to a short hallway that opened up into a wide room lit up by several lanterns. Lines of barrels stood against the walls with tables and other wooden furniture being haphazardly spread around the room. Groups of people, most of them men but there were some women, lounged around the tables in the midst of playing cards and other activities. The place was reminiscent of how it had looked in the game when Scarlett found the Nest in her playthrough.

Everybody's attention moved towards Kat as she entered the room first.

"Who's that?" Scarlett heard one man ask the person next to them. The person merely shrugged their shoulders in response.

"What's with the hood?" a tall man with ruffled brown hair and a scar on his cheek asked. His eyes then seemed to spot Scarlett at the back. "Who are you?"

She didn't bother replying, her head turning as she took in the people here. She paused for a moment when she spotted someone she recognized. A man with a bent nose and dirt-blond hair.

Wythers.

He seemed to recognize her too because he mumbled something to the people around him.

"What?! The baroness?!" one of them exclaimed. The tall man with the scar looked at his compatriot before turning back to Scarlett. "You a noble?"

Scarlett looked over the rest of the people in the room before returning her gaze to the man. It seemed as if their leader wasn't here.

"None of these have relevant information. You may do as you wish," she told Kat. The scarred man got a confused look on his face but he didn't have the chance to say anything before a lump of stone slammed into him.

The others instantly got up and reached for weapons but Kat didn't show any mercy. She began casting spells at a prolific rate, knocking grunts into walls left and right. There were a couple of men that tried bypassing the Shielder to get to Scarlett but a few well-placed Aqua Mines delayed them enough for Kat to take care of them. Most of these people didn't have magical protection of any kind so they were defenseless even by Scarlett's standards.

It only took a few minutes for Kat to deal with all of them, at which a door on the other end of the room slammed open and two large men walked out, followed by a short man with slicked-back black hair and one missing eye. These two men Scarlett could see did have some kind of magical protection around them, and she recognized the other man as the boss of this little organization. He took in the havoc in the room before pointing at Scarlett and Kat. "Get those bitches! I want their damn heads!"

While the leader's two goons would probably constitute mini-bosses in the game for players around level 20 they weren't much compared to a B-ranked Shielder. Kat tossed two smaller fireballs into their chests which burned their clothes and knocked them back a few steps. Then spikes of stone erupted around them from the floor. Some pierced partway into a leg or an arm, but most missed the men themselves and instead formed a sort of cage around them. The eyes of their boss went wide. He pulled out a large axe from his belt and started yelling as he ran towards Kat. A whip of fire swung out from her hands and coiled around his right arm. He screamed out in pain as he dropped the axe and was pulled to his knees. Immediately after, thin pillars of stone rose up to lock him in place too.

Scarlett watched Kat's shoulders move up and down as the woman took several tired breaths. Clearly pumping out enough spells to take out a dozen people in a few minutes was taxing even for her. But except for a few angry cries from the boss and his two bodyguards, no one was moving in the room. Kat had done a good job.

Ignoring the scarred leader for now, Scarlett walked up towards the door he'd come from. Behind it was a hallway that led to another room.

"What now?" Kat asked as she stepped up beside her.

Scarlett turned to the woman. "The evidence we are looking for is likely to be in there. I intend to gather it so that all those involved in these ventures can be identified and arrested." That had been the way she handled the quest in the game in her first and latest playthrough, and she was planning on doing the same now. After making sure she could extract herself from the situation, of course.

Kat nodded at her statement and together they walked into what was ostensibly the leader of Stoolie's Nest's—if Scarlett recalled correctly the organization called itself the Grave Dogs or something like that—room. There was a desk filled with stuff on it at one end as well as a short shelf with books standings against one of the walls. Scarlett walked over to the shelf and began looking through the books as Kat moved to the table and started sifting through its contents. The first book Scarlett opened wasn't anything special. It just looked to be a collection of old fairy tales, some of which she recognized from the game's flavor books. She put it inside her Pouch of Holding for now and grabbed another book.

"What's this?" she heard Kat murmur and looked up to see the woman holding a reflective piece of grey metal in an even rectangular shape. It looked almost like a mirror. It took a moment for Scarlett to recognize it.

"Release that!" she cried and rushed across the room to grab the Shielder's arm. Kat jolted back and let the mirror go. It clattered onto the table.

Scarlett's eyes widened as she saw the reflective surface of the metal take on a darker hue as a fog seemed to cover its surface. It was too late. Soon, the vague visage of a face appeared in the fog.

"...Who called?" a hoarse voice rang out. It wasn't coming from the mirror itself, but instead coming from inside her mind. The sensation sent shivers down her spine.

"...A Shielder and...what is this?"

A chill ran through Scarlett as she forced herself to ignore the voice and grab the object. It was cold to the touch as she turned it around, looking for some way to turn it off.

"What is that?" she heard Kat mumble next to her.

"Who are you?" the voice continued inside Scarlett's head. "Your mind...it is concealed...protected. What...are you hiding?"

Finding nothing but a smooth surface on its back she swallowed back a curse and clenched her teeth. It felt as if something was pressing onto the insides of her head. It was never made clear in the game how you turned these things off!

"...Interesting...Who did this? Was...it you?" the voice continued, unabated.

Letting out a small cry she threw the piece of metal to the ground with all the force she could muster. She pointed both her hands towards it and created the strongest fire she could imagine. Light filled the room as a flame the size of a campfire appeared and engulfed the foggy mirror. The flames shone a deep orange, their color slowly growing more and more bright. The heat was close to unbearable for Scarlett as sweat started running down her face, but she pressed on.

"Why do...you panic? What...is it you fear?" The pressure inside her head was almost overwhelming. It was as if a thousand hammers were pounding to get out of her skull.

"I will...see...You can...not hid—"

Everything turned white as a burning ball of fire flew out from beside her and an explosion rocked the small room. It felt like it almost shattered Scarlett's eardrums, but the pressure against her mind immediately disappeared, along with that haunting voice. She released her fire and fell to her knees gasping for breath. It felt as if there was almost no air to breathe.

[Mana: 78/988]

And her mana was almost depleted. Taking a moment longer to gather herself, Scarlett then looked up at Kat. The Shielder was also gasping for her breath, though she didn't look to be in as severe a state as Scarlett was.

"Was that your spell?" Scarlett asked.

"Yeah..." Kat nodded her head slowly, staring at the spot where the mirror object had been. Now it was just a shattered piece of metal, the reflective qualities it had originally had gone. "What the blazes was that?!"

"That," Scarlett said, gathering her breath for another moment before standing, "should not have been here." She supported herself on the desk as she took a couple of steps, then let go and left the room with measured steps. Walking through the short hallway into the larger room she moved up to the boss as he panted and groaned while trying to escape the stone pillars that were pinning him down. Using some of her last mana, she created a fire above her hand and moved it close to his face as she leaned down over him. "Where did you get that mirror?"

She shifted it in front of his face just as he spit out a glob of saliva towards her. She heard a low sizzling from the fire for a moment and then moved it close to his ears instead. "You did not obtain that item yourself. Tell me who gave it to you," she demanded.

The man met her stare with a defiant gaze in his eye.

"Here. Let me take care of it." Kat lightly shoved Scarlett aside just as she was about to make good on her threat. She took a step back and watched as the Shielder grabbed the man's chin with her right hand.

"You're going to tell us what that thing was," she said as a fire whip formed in her other hand. With one wave of her hand parts of the stone disappeared to reveal his burned arm and the whip coiled around it causing him to grimace in pain. "Or else your eye isn't going to be the only thing you have one of." The man screamed in pain as Kat tightened the whip for a moment, before loosening it again immediately after. "Understood?" She bent down to his eye level.

"Damn bitch..." he muttered.

"What was that?" The fire tightened around his arm again.

"It was an artifact. A gods damned artifact!" he cried. The fire loosened once more.

Kat leaned in towards him. "What did it do?"

"It let us get in contact with our main buyer, alright!?"

"Who was your buyer?"

The man clenched his teeth. "I don't know."

He cried out in pain again as the flames on Kat's whip burned deeper into his skin. "I'm telling you I don't know!" he yelled. "They only contacted us through that damn artifact and never showed us their face, ok?!"

"Who gave you the artifact?" Scarlett asked.

"Some random schmuck that approached us out of nowhere. I didn't see their face but their money was good so I didn't bother asking." The man's face scrunched up in pain.

Kat glared at him. "Then how did you transport the children?"

"The children?" A look of understanding grew on his face. "That's what all this is about?"

"Answer the damn question," Kat growled and pulled at her whip.

"AAGGH! Damn it, we took them outside the city where a group of masked people always picked them up. That's all I know, I swear!"

Scarlett observed the man for a moment, then she gestured towards Kat. "It is likely that he's speaking the truth. He will not have any more information we need. You may take care of him as you wish." She honestly wouldn't care if Kat cut his arm off. Or killed him right here and now. Worrying? Perhaps. But at least it suited her situation in this world well.

The ruffled Shielder turned to Scarlett. "What? That's all?"

She nodded her head. "He knows nothing else of the artifact. In that, I believe. And there is nothing else we need from him at the moment."

Kat raised her eyebrows at the words, but shrugged her shoulders and turned back to the boss.

He looked between them. "Hey, wai—"

One blow to the head from the Shielder was enough to knock him out. Kat then looked back at Scarlett. "What now?"

Scarlett looked around the room. "I will find the necessary evidence. I believe it is best if you stay here and ensure no one wakes up and causes trouble," she said. Her eyes drifted towards the injured leader. "And perhaps treat those who you do not want dead."

Kat nodded her head and walked to the center of the room, pushing away tables and chairs that had fallen over some people. Scarlett took one last glance at the woman before walking back into the boss' room. Her eyes paused at what remained of the mirror artifact on the floor.

...She really hadn't been expecting to run into that this early.

She could still remember that pressure against her mind. Trying to pry into her very thoughts.

The Angler Man had been much more terrifying than she'd imagined. But the presence of that artifact, a [Mirror of Communion], begged the question of why it was here to begin with. She was certain it hadn't been present during this questline in the game. The first appearance of one of those wasn't until several levels later. So why was it here? Had things changed from the game? Or was it because she completed this part of the quest much earlier in this world than she did in any of her playthroughs? Maybe The Angler Man had always been behind these people, even in the game. It was possible that it was something the player might have been able to find if they just reached this place earlier.

Scarlett pulled her attention from the mirror. There was no way for her to know right now. The Angler Man had noticed her, which was bad. But it wasn't what her current focus should be on.

She walked up to the shelf with books in it again. As before, she picked up a book and began sifting through it. When she didn't find anything noteworthy she put the book aside in her Pouch of Holding and went onward to the next book. She repeated the process until she picked and opened up a certain book.

[Quest Completed: Find evidence of the Grey Dog Gang's criminal activites]

{Skill points awarded: 2}

She stopped to look up at the window of text that had appeared before her. Then she looked down at the book in her hands and turned a few pages. It appeared to describe several transactions between different individuals and organizations, with terms such as 'merchandise', 'assets', and 'expenses' used quite generously. At first glance, there didn't seem to be anything off about the records in the book. But after taking a closer look she noticed some suspicious things. One of those was several inspections permits, dated at different times, affirming that the inspections had been performed without issue. Scarlett knew those were fabricated, probably with the original Scarlett's help too. She doubted it would take much investigating to prove that. It wouldn't surprise her if there already were warrants of arrest out for some of this gang's members. But if one were to dig into these records one would undoubtedly find more dirt on both the gang and its associates. Presumably.

Satisfied for now, Scarlett put it and the remaining books in her pouch. She then left the room and went back to Kat, who was in the middle of tying up the last of the thugs she'd taken care of with some rope she had found. The masked woman looked up at Scarlett as she approached.

"You finished?"

Scarlett gave a slight nod of her head in response. "I am."

"Then what now?"

"We leave."

Kat's eyes widened. "Just like that?"

Scarlett stepped over the arm of one of the "Grey Dog Gang" goons and towards the door they'd entered through. "We have enough evidence to ensure that those responsible take some responsibility. The rest can be taken care of by the count's men. I am certain the Shields Guild can contact them expeditiously enough." It didn't really matter much to Scarlett whether these particular people were taken in or not. She had gotten what she needed and resolved the immediate situation. All she needed to do now was deal with some of the aftermath.

"What about that artifact?"

Scarlett paused and turned to Kat. "What about it?"

Kat's blue eyes met hers through the hood. "What was that? That...thing. You recognized it, didn't you?"

Scarlett looked at the woman for a while. "...It was dangerous," she eventually said. "Not something you should occupy yourself with in the future."

The Shielder stared at her for a moment, then shook her head. "Fine. Let's go. I want to check up on those kids again to make sure they're well anyways."

Kat let go of the man she had just finished tying up and stood. She then followed Scarlett out of the room as they left Stoolie's Nest behind.

It had been a long night.

Chapter 11 - Negotiation? Extortion? What's the difference?

Guifford Knottley sat behind his desk in his office and looked out the large window behind it. It afforded a good view of the city. While Freybrook was originally built in a heavily forested area, with the Whitdown Mountains not far off, the city itself had been built around a deep inlet with mostly flat land around it. The estate of the first city lords generations ago had been built on what was essentially the only elevated point in the city, a choice he had always appreciated. It was calming, being able to look out over part of his domain and see it breathe with life.

And calming was what he needed right now.

He couldn't help scowling as he thought about the recent events — his bushy brows furrowing deeply. Guifford had always been a large man. Though he was now bald, he more than made up for it with his large beard. He had a large nose and had never been referred to as handsome, but people had always said he held an imposing presence.

Unfortunately, that hadn't had any particular effect on the woman he would be seeing now for a long while.

A knock sounded from the door.

"Enter," he said, turning around to the entrance. His head butler, Johan, walked in. The middle-aged man bowed before speaking.

"My Lord. Baroness Hartford has arrived."

"Lead her here," Guifford said and waved Johan away. The man immediately left, leaving Guifford alone in his office again. He looked down at the reports on his desk. Scarlett Hartford sure had caused a disturbance this time.

He remembered the days when she was still a child. Such a resolute and confident young girl. Her parents had been good friends of his so it hadn't been unusual for her and her sister to visit his estate. His son had even hoped to wed her once upon a time. He was glad that did not go anywhere. He pitied her current fiancé.

He wasn't sure when she changed, but the young girl he knew was no more. She had certainly grown into a beautiful woman; the talk of many cliques among high society, despite only being a baroness. But she had also grown cold. Ruthless. And he had heard rumors of her...activities. Rumors he'd hoped to be false. But the last days' events shattered those hopes.

He sat there and read through the papers spread across his desk—this was far from the first time he'd done this today—until eventually another knock came from the door.

"My Lord. Baroness Hartford is here to see you," Johan's voice rang out from the other side.

"Let her in," Guifford rumbled.

The door swung open and Scarlett Hartford entered. She wore a light white dress with a white lace choker, her deep red hair hanging behind her shoulder. She bent her head slightly towards him. "Greetings to Count Knottley."

He raised an eyebrow. That wasn't how she usually greeted him. Was she trying to placate him? He gestured to a chair opposite of him on the other side of the desk. "Take a seat."

She lifted her head and walked towards the chair, gently lowering herself into it. Guifford looked towards Johan and gave him a nod. The butler exited the room and closed the door behind him. Guifford then turned his attention back to Scarlett. "I assume you know why I called for you."

"Of course." She held her back straight as she leaned both hands on her legs. "I have been anticipating the Count's summons since yesterday."

He looked at her. He wasn't sure whether her demeanor was arrogance or if she was just that sure of herself.

He currently had over a dozen people in his stockades on suspicions of illegal racketeering, human trafficking, smuggling, and a number of other things. And it was all because of her. Some of those people were known criminals, while others were merely suspect. But with the circumstantial evidence found at the sites in addition to the Shields Guild's preliminary report, as well as the fact that there were supposedly over thirty children who could serve as witness accounts, he wouldn't have any problem prosecuting those already captured.

But that was all.

A trafficking ring had been operational in Freybrook under his nose for Ittar knows how long, and all he had to show as a response was those who had been involved directly on the site. No accomplices, collaborators, or even backers. The Grey Dog Gang was a known criminal organization, but their capture wasn't even due to his involvement. He had very little to show for what would no doubt become a large issue. And the prisoners themselves hadn't given much of use yet. People were already starting to hound at his heels because of this matter.

And in front of him sat the woman responsible for this mess — calm as ever. It took a lot out of him just to repress letting out a tired sigh. "Do you have an explanation for yourself?" he eventually asked her.

"An explanation for what, precisely?"

He folded his hands and leaned forward in his chair. "I have men in my cells accusing you of actively supporting criminal activities in Freybrook. The trafficking of children kidnapped from Voneia is just one example."

Only two of the prisoners were actually claiming the baroness was one of their backers, but considering the circumstances, that was enough to cause trouble for her.

"And reports from both the Guild and those prisoners indicate that you tried removing any evidence of your involvement."

"I find it surprising that you trust the words of men whose criminal pursuits I personally hindered," Scarlett said in a cold voice. "One would expect that to cast doubt on the credence of their accusations. And what claim did the Guild make for you to reach such a conclusion?"

Guifford went silent for a moment. This was most certainly the Scarlett he was used to. She would find herself jumping headfirst into the water down at the bay before she ever tried appeasing someone else. "...The details of their report aren't something you need to know. However, I will say that they didn't outright accuse you of anything. In fact, they were surprisingly positive of you. But it did mention that you were the one to gather evidence from the sites. Evidence which we have seen nothing of." He stared at her. "Scarlett. I don't know why you did what you did...But do you truly think you can get away with it at this point? I will have my men search through the Hartford residence and even all of your lands if that is what it takes."

She met his eyes, the side of her lips curving upwards into what looked almost like a slight smile. "It seems you are under a misconception, Count."

"...What?"

"My intention has never been to hide any evidence from you. In fact, I was planning on conveying what I had found to you right at this moment." She moved her hands towards a black satchel—or rather, a pouch— that was fastened to her waist with a white belt. He had found it odd that she, of all people, wore such a garment that clashed with her apparel, but it hadn't been his main focus. He watched as she reached into the pouch and, as its opening magically widened to almost double its size, pulled out a large book. She held it up in front of him for a moment before putting it back into the pouch of holding. "There was information I required in these records which is why I did not immediately demonstrate them after the raids, but you can rest assured that there have been no alterations to the texts. I assume your men will be capable of confirming their veracity."

Guifford gave the baroness a doubting look. "You expect me to simply trust you?"

"I hope you will. After all, in these books, you will find signs of my collaboration with the Grey Dog Gang's activities for the last eight months."

His eyes widened. "Are you being serious?"

Scarlett nodded. "Yes. I would have liked for it to be sooner, but eight months was what it took for me to gain enough trust and learn where they operated from."

Guifford examined her closely, looking for any signs of a lie. But her expression was as still as a rock. "You're implying you associated with them only to eventually stop them?"

"Of course."

"Why?"

"You expect a member of the nobility to ignore such a blatant danger and mistreatment of innocent people?"

He crossed his arms and frowned at her. "I expect you to report the matter. Not to fund their activities."

The baroness went quiet for a moment, her eyes looking at him as if they were examining him. "Perhaps I would have," she finally said. "If they had merely been another petty criminal organization."

"...What do you mean?"

She went quiet again. Almost as if she was hesitating to say what she was about to.

"Have you heard of...the Hallowed Cabal?"

He froze.

In his close to fifty years of serving the empire as part of its reigning class, it had been involved in many struggles, both within and outside its borders. Amongst those, there had been two well-known groups that had caused much more trouble for the empire than any others. The Undead Council and the Tribe of Sin. He had fought in several conflicts with them personally. Unfortunately neither had been successfully eradicated, but they had been a lot quieter for the past decades.

However, in addition to those two, there was another group. One he knew not many were aware of. All he himself knew was their name and that they worked from the shadows. He never expected Scarlett to have heard of them. Or to bring them up now. "Where did you hear that name?"

"Where I heard it is irrelevant," she said. "What's important is that their involvement was not something I could ignore. Therefore I had to take action myself."

Guifford stared at her for a moment, then brought his hand to his chin as he scratched the side of his beard. "People will find that hard to believe. I do."

"I expect as much." Scarlett merely acknowledged his words with a slight nod of her head. "That is why I want you to compose a writ declaring that I operated under your orders in pursuit of apprehending criminal factions in Freybrook."

His fingers stopped. "...You're asking a lot for a person who's at risk of execution for breaching imperial law." Human trafficking was a severe crime, no matter who performed it.

"Is that so?" she replied. She looked genuinely perplexed by his statement. "I believed it was quite a reasonable demand, considering it shares all acknowledgment with the Count. And do not forget that I am in possession of any evidence."

He scowled at her. So that was her game. She was trying to strike a deal, and she knew what he needed. It wasn't much different from blackmail. Was her story even the truth? Or did she just think associating with the Grey Dog Gang was too risky and decided to jump ship?

"I could simply seize the evidence from you," he rumbled.

She raised a brow at him. "You could try, yes. You would not succeed."

He glanced down to the pouch at her side. Her gaze also moved to it.

"Ah, this book was merely something I found in my office. 'Voneian Linguistics', by Jelena Wheatleigh. I thought I could have use for it. It is all I have on me at present, however. You will not find much more in my residence."

He grunted. Blasted woman. It would be easier if he just imprisoned her here and now. It would definitely cause him a lot of trouble, and he probably wouldn't be able to have her executed or revoked of her title, but it might save him from falling into whatever scheme she was plotting.

He stared at her, seriously considering the matter for a few seconds, before finally letting out a tired sigh.

Maybe he was growing weak. Watching her face that reminded him of the late baron and baroness made him more sentimental than usual. And in the end, this was the better deal for him.

"Fine. You have my word that I'll announce that you were acting under my orders. However, I expect you to uphold your part of the bargain as soon as possible." He shook his head. If only the younger sister had been the baroness instead. He knew Evelyne was much more fit for the position—despite Scarlett's attempts to convince people otherwise—both when it came to her managerial skills and her magic.

"Satisfied?" He raised an eye at Scarlett.

"Yes. Although I would prefer if I could have it in writing first," she said.

Guifford's eye twitched.

Chapter 12 - Introspections

[Quest Completed: End the Grey Dog Gang's criminal activities]

{Skill points awarded: 2}

Scarlett glanced at the window of text before her as the buildings of Freybrook passed by outside the carriage window. She wasn't quite sure what the criteria were for a quest to be considered complete. The two previous quests had announced their completion at clear and relevant occasions, but this one didn't appear until a while after she'd met with the count. It was odd that it worked differently, but perhaps it was just because something she was unaware of had not happened until now. Some delayed response to her actions or something like that.

She pushed the matter out of her mind and turned back to observing the passing buildings and crowds. The streets of downtown Freybrook were as lively as they came, it appeared. She lifted her gaze towards the count's mansion situated on the hill overlooking this part of the city. The structure was visible even outside Freybrook. It had a central tower whose red tiles created a stark contrast with the clear blue sky. If she was correct, that was where the count's office was.

She was still finding it hard to believe that she was now a person who would visit important places like that. That she was important. Despite how easy—how natural—it was for her to act the part due to the original Scarlett's remaining influence, the part of her that was still Amy Bernal couldn't completely shake off the strangeness of the whole situation. And annoyingly enough she found herself at odds with that part of herself.

Up till now, all her actions had been working from the assumption that she had to act fast. She had to establish control and a base for herself to safely operate from because that is what she had told herself was the best method of staying safe in this new world. But in the process of doing that she had probably leaned further into the Scarlett part of her than she originally wished. Honestly, at times she wasn't even certain what part of her a certain thought came from. She knew she was Amy Bernal, but adhering too much to such a mindset was also likely to set her back. She couldn't gawk at every other sight, hesitate in every other interaction, hold back against thieves and murderers. Those were all things the original part of her wanted to do, but that she had denied herself.

But she had also promised not to lose herself. The first thing she'd done in this world, after she realized that her thoughts and mind weren't completely her own, was to promise she wouldn't forget who Amy Bernal was. And yet she felt she'd already gone far too close to doing so on more than one occasion.

But then what was she supposed to do? She wasn't the original Amy Bernal. Amy would never have been able to subject a man to second-degree burns just because she wanted information. Amy would never have been able to watch a man be tortured in cold blood. So hadn't she already lost herself, in a manner? She'd considered it necessary actions at the time, but now that she had time to reflect on it she wasn't sure what to think. Was her wish even realistic? Was it even possible to hold on to your past self after having such a large part of your core personality forcefully changed? Was it too late to try and change the way she approached this world?

"What are you frowning about?" a voice asked from the other side of the carriage. Scarlett spun her head to look at the blonde-haired woman that sat in the seat opposite her. Kat had her hair loose today, with some of it covering part of her blue eyes. "I thought you said it went well."

Scarlett wordlessly looked at the Shielder for a moment before turning back to the window. "It did," she answered curtly. She didn't feel like elaborating on her complicated thoughts at the moment.

"...If you say so," Kat muttered and went silent.

Scarlett ignored the slight tinge of annoyance that always came when she heard the woman talk casually with her. It was a small victory, but she felt a tiny amount of satisfaction from fighting back against those traits of hers at least this much.

She glanced back at Kat to make sure the woman didn't take too much offense from her reply, but it didn't seem to have affected the woman much. Kat was just looking out the other window while humming some tune that Scarlett wasn't familiar with.

She was honestly glad that the Shielder had chosen to stay with her. A B-ranked senior member of the Shields Guild wasn't something one could look down on. Frankly, Kat was probably one of the stronger people in this city. When Scarlett had visited the Shields Guild once again the day before to look into extending the escort request she'd made to them for an indefinite amount of time she hadn't been expecting either Kat or the Guild to agree to it. But she was lucky that they did, despite what it might cost. She was gonna need it.

It hadn't been part of her plan, but she had aroused the interest of The Angler Man. It was only a question of time before the Hallowed Cabal sent people out to investigate her. Or worse — kidnap her. Encountering that [Mirror of Communion] was probably one of the worst things that could have happened to her this early. Dealing with the Hallowed Cabal wasn't something that the player started doing until late mid-game or late-game so handling them now was far out of her capabilities. That was why she needed someone of Kat's caliber as her guard for the time being.

She had been hesitant to reveal the Hallowed Cabal's involvement with the Grey Dog Gang—god that name was a mouthful—to the count. She was well aware that several powerful figures worked for them in the game, and if Count Knottley was one of them she would have been putting herself in even more danger. But in the end, it looked to be her best excuse for the original Scarlett's actions. And while it didn't guarantee anything, she couldn't remember the count being mentioned as a member of the Cabal in the game.

And it seemed to have worked out. The count had accepted her proposal—though it probably wasn't much different from extortion—and it looked like she was safe for now. She even got the quest completion as a confirmation of that. She had feared that the count wouldn't have cared for the evidence she'd gathered or perhaps already had enough evidence by himself and just thrown her into a cell, so there had been a degree of risk to her plan. But it genuinely was the best she could come up with as a solution for her situation.

She tapped her finger against the carriage's windowsill in rhythm to Kat's tune as she thought about what she should do next. There were still some dungeons in the area surrounding Freybrook that she could probably locate and loot. None of them were Zuverian ruins or held especially strong items if she recalled correctly, but they should still be worth exploring. She still didn't know how much money she actually had, so gathering more valuable items wouldn't hurt. And if there were quests for clearing the dungeons as there had been with the Zuver ruins then she would get some more skill points. While her Aqua Mines had turned out to be surprisingly efficient and effective, they were still relatively weak. As was her mana supply. Upgrading her current skills was one of her top priorities.

Perhaps she should set aside more time for practicing magic. She had essentially given up on learning how to cast real spells for now. She'd been too busy with handling the mess that was her situation the first three days she'd been in this world, and yesterday she'd spent almost all her time reading through the ledgers and books she'd taken from the traffickers. Understanding what meant what and which mentions referred to who in those texts had been difficult when she had no real experience with antiquated trading systems and log keeping. It had taken her over seven hours just to ascertain that the earliest signs of Scarlett starting to back the Grey Dog Gang were about eight months ago. And that was about the limit of what she'd learned. There were a bunch of other names and organizations mentioned, but none she recognized.

Scarlett was taken out of her thoughts when the carriage finally drove up and stopped in front of the gates to the Hartford estate. She heard the coach driver exchange words with the guards and soon after the carriage began moving again.

"I don't think I can ever get used to how large this place is," Kat mumbled from the side. Scarlett turned to the woman who was looking out the window at the hedge garden that surrounded the gravel road that led up to the mansion and its courtyard.

"I do not believe it is especially large, compared to others," Scarlett said. The garden at the back was larger—and more beautiful—than the one in the front of the mansion, but the estate as a whole wasn't as large as some of the ones she'd visited or seen before. It was smaller than a football field, at least. Still way more space than she'd ever want—or need—but probably closer to the low or middle end when it came to these types of properties. Although maybe she shouldn't compare with the castles and royal palaces of her world that were more like very large museum pieces than places where people actually lived. But the count's estate had definitely been larger than this, and that was visible from most parts of the city, so it was an odd thing to remark upon nonetheless.

"Not to be rude, but I don't think you're the right person to say something like that." Kat laughed and looked out as the carriage stopped on a large graveled area right in front of the arch that led to the main courtyard. Scarlett chose to not respond and waited for the driver to open the carriage door before she stepped out of the vehicle. Kat followed close behind.

A couple of women in servants' clothing stood before them as the reception and bowed towards Scarlett. She looked them over. She recognized both but didn't know their names.

One of the servants, a middle-aged woman with dark brown hair in a bun at the back of her head, turned up her eyes at Scarlett. "My Lady, welcome back. Has your outing gone well?"

"It has," Scarlett said as she gestured to the carriage driver that it was okay for him to leave. "Is there any news?" she asked the servant.

The woman inclined her head with a still face. "Yes, my Lady. Master Garside wishes to inform you that he has been in contact with several orphanages in the city regarding the kidnapped children, as well as having sent a message to the Voneian delegation here in Freybrook. He personally went out to meet with them this afternoon."

Scarlett nodded at the report. It would be good if they could simply send all the children back to their homes. Freybrook was situated in the southwestern part of the Graenal Empire not far away from the western border to the Voneia Kingdom which was why they had a delegation in the city. She had been hoping they could lend some aid in the matter. She couldn't have over thirty kids in the mansion forever. However, it was also likely that not all of the children had homes to return to, which is why she had asked Garside to contact some of the orphanages in the city to look into that. She hadn't really had to do too much herself yet in the matter. Being the one in charge had its perks.

"Also, my Lady..." The servant looked hesitant to say what would come next.

Scarlett found herself slightly annoyed at the woman's delay but did her best to contain it to a small frown. "Speak," she said and gestured to the woman.

"My Lady...Madame Evelyne has also paid a visit and wishes to speak with you."

Scarlett's eyebrow rose. Evelyne had come to see her? No, perhaps that shouldn't be a surprise. She had caused quite a ruckus after all. And it was these matters that Evelyne's questline in the game had been about too, so it was obvious that the original Scarlett's younger sister would have some reaction to the events.

Meeting Evelyne wasn't a pleasant experience, however. Last time she had barely been able to control the original's disgust for the woman.

"Lead her to the parlor and serve mint tea," she told the servant. Mint tea had always been relaxing for her nerves. Maybe she should consider this a good thing. She had been concerned about losing herself, so this could serve as practice. She also had a couple of matters she wanted to discuss with Evelyne. "Tell her I will be there shortly."

Chapter 13 - Disputes

Scarlett followed one of her servants, the black-haired one called Molly, through the mansion's decorated hallways. Kat had said that she would check up on the children — for whom they had created an impromptu gathering room in the mansion's reception hall at the moment. Scarlett had noticed it already when they originally saved those kids, but the Shielder seemed particularly protective of children. And they adored her in return. Despite the difficulty in communication they seemed to interact just fine. That young girl that Kat had carried during the rescue seemed especially attached to the woman. She had essentially been joined to Kat's hip over the last couple of days that the kids had stayed in the mansion.

Compared to Kat, all the children still seemed slightly afraid of Scarlett. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. She had expected their fear to have dissipated by now but they still avoided her whenever she visited the reception hall to check up on Kat and them. It wasn't as if it bothered her per se, but it also wasn't the most comfortable feeling having literal children shy away from you.

She pushed those thoughts aside when Molly stopped beside a dark wooden door with two tall and beautifully garnished vases on either side of it.

"Madame Evelyne is waiting inside, my Lady," Molly said and performed a small curtsy.

"Then let's not keep her waiting," Scarlett said and gestured toward the door. Much of the decorum in this world came naturally to her with Scarlett's instincts, such as how to move and speak, but there were still many things she remained ignorant about. For example, she had no idea how people addressed those ranked higher than themselves here. During her meeting with the count, she'd largely had to guess what to say for an introduction. As such, one of her priorities right now was finding a book or something on the subject without arousing too much suspicion.

Most of the time she did fine anyway, but there were still times like this where she wasn't even sure if she was expected to open the door herself or if that would be considered odd. Up until now, the servants had opened most doors for her. But that was also mostly because they were the ones leading her around.

Thankfully Molly seemed to understand what she wanted and moved to open the door for her. Scarlett quietly thanked the woman inside her heart and walked into the room. It wasn't as large as the mansion's dining hall, but it was a decent size nonetheless. Several large windows showed a nice view of the back garden and let in the afternoon sun, the light reflecting off the white marble floor in an almost blinding manner. The walls were covered with several large paintings of different landscapes. In the middle of the room was a fancy wooden table with a wide tablecloth and silver tea set on it. Next to the table sat Evelyne Hartford on a long sofa.

She had smooth light brown hair—with just a shade of red to it—that reached the nape of her neck and split at one side in the front, part of her hair almost covering her right eye. She still shared the same amber eyes as Scarlett however, though Evelyne also had light freckles and a small beauty mark under her right lip. Unlike Scarlett, Evelyne was currently wearing a white blouse with a dark green tunic over it which had a loose, patterned collar, and a pair of black trousers that were partly covered by a short, black-striped skirt. If their dialogue in the game didn't make the difference between the two sisters clear, then their attire did.

Evelyne immediately turned to look at Scarlett as she entered the room. She did not look happy.

Scarlett did her best to press down the feelings of disgust and revulsion that coiled up at seeing the original's sister and crossed the room to sit down in an armchair opposite Evelyne. She glanced at the teapot that had some vapor coming out of it and looked towards Molly. The dark-haired servant appeared to understand the message as she hurried across the room to fill up a cup for her. She didn't pour one for Evelyne as there already was one in front of her, though it didn't look like she had touched it yet.

With another small curtsy, Molly returned the teapot to the table and backed away. Scarlett took the cup of tea in front of her and blew on it softly before taking a sip. It was marvelous. Easily the best mint tea she'd ever had. She wasn't sure if it was in the preparation or in the leaves—she'd never bothered much thinking about either when making her own—but there was a lot more flavor to this than she was used to. Letting the warm feeling of the tea flow through her, she sat the teacup down on its plate and turned to Evelyne.

"Well," she said, raising an eyebrow. "What is it that you wanted?"

"Oh, now you deign to talk to me?" Evelyne spat out. "Here I was sure you didn't have a care in the world whether I existed or not."

Scarlett took a deep breath to weather the intense wave of anger that she felt at being talked to in such a way. She managed to calm down slightly. "...I can assure you, that is not at all how I feel."

"Really?" Evelyne scoffed and leaned back on the sofa with arms crossed. "Because that's what it looks like to me."

"...I take it you have heard of the last days' events."

"Yes. Finally. Did you know I had to hear about your visit to the Count through one of the servants just now? And the only reason I know of all that trafficking business is that I have a friend at the Guild. Because people don't bother informing someone who's not the head of what's happening."

Evelyne glared at Scarlett, causing Scarlett's skin to prick slightly. She shifted in her seat and leaned forward to grab the teacup again. After taking a sip, she eventually spoke. "I have been exceedingly occupied these last few days. As such, it slipped my mind to inform you of the events."

"Busy with what? Getting rid of your little friends? Letting a bunch of homeless kids into the mansion? What are you planning to do with them? Dress them up before you sell them off?"

Scarlett's eyes pierced into Evelyne.

"What?" Evelyne stared back at her. "Don't think I don't know what you do. No one is going to buy that you did this out of the kindness of your heart. You'll be lucky if even—"

"Quiet," Scarlett snapped. Evelyne actually flinched and stopped talking.

Closing her eyes, Scarlett massaged the bridge of her nose with her left hand. After a few breaths, she opened her eyes again to look at Evelyne. "I would ask that you do not make such impetuous accusations. The children are being taken care of here temporarily as we find safe housing for them. I did not save them merely 'out of the kindness of my heart', but that does not mean that I do not wish to help them. As for my purported 'friends', they were and always have been a blight upon this city that I intended to remove. It was with the endorsement of the Count that I temporarily associated with them in order to gather information about their organization. Now that that business has been dealt with there will be no more activities of that manner."

She placed the teacup down. Evelyne was still staring at her as if she had just said the moon was made out of gold and tried to sell it off to her.

Letting out a small sigh, Scarlett continued. "I understand this matter may have caused you undue trouble. You are responsible for the majority of the family's management and that requires being aware of what is going on." She clenched her teeth and frowned at what she was about to say. "The fault lies entirely with me. I...apologize that I did not inform you of what was happening."

Evelyne's eyes widened. Now she was looking at Scarlett as if she was the boogeyman. For several seconds she just sat there, seemingly incapable of speech. Eventually she shook her head before renewing her gaze on Scarlett. "You're apologizing? I don't believe it. What are you planning?"

"I'm not planning anything."

"There's no way you're not planning anything. You're as callous as—"

"Evelyne," Scarlett interrupted her again. "Watch your words." The woman quieted down and Scarlett looked her in the eyes. "I do not blame you for being skeptical, but I ask that you do not press my patience."

Silence filled the room. Scarlett was unsure of what else to say, so she turned away from Evelyne and took another drink from her tea. After a while, Evelyne finally spoke.

"Are there any other incredibly important things that you have forgotten to tell me about? Or is that all?"

Scarlett paused to consider. "...There are. But nothing you have to know."

"What?"

"Knowing of them at this point would be of no help to you. I will ensure you are informed when the time comes," she said as she drank the tea. "Although I can tell you that I am planning on going on a few excursions in the coming weeks. It is nothing much, but I will no doubt come by a few artifacts that I will have no need for. If you can contact an auction house for the selling of those items, it would be appreciated. I am also in the possession of a modest amount of Zuverian coins that I believe hold some worth."

Evelyne frowned at her. "What in Ittar's name are you on about?"

Scarlett cocked her head to the side. "I thought I was perfectly clear?"

"What does 'excursions' mean? Since when have you been interested in things like that?"

"Since I learned the whereabouts of several valuable locations not too long ago."

"Is it dangerous?" Evelyne asked.

"Somewhat."

Evelyne's eyes inspected her. "...Then why do you have to go? Just send someone else. You're no good at fighting."

Scarlett found herself scowling at Evelyne by reflex. She took a moment to calm her expression somewhat, before speaking. "I do not believe you have the authority to say what I can and cannot do," she said. "And as for the matter of protection, I have already hired a Shielder who will assist me with the undertaking. Though I do not believe you would care much were I to die during the process," She added on the last part without much thought. She knew the sisters had a bad relationship. And Evelyne was the one to ask the player to take Scarlett down in the game, after all.

However, when she looked at Evelyne she was surprised to see a complicated expression on the woman's face. She wasn't quite sure what it meant, but it left an uncomfortable feeling inside her.

"I'll take my leave now," Evelyne suddenly said and began rising from the sofa.

"Before that," Scarlett said. "I meant to ask if you could assist in the handling of the children."

Evelyne stopped and stared at her. "You want me to deal with that? It's your mess."

"Would you prefer if I kicked them out on the streets?"

Evelyne grimaced. "...I'll look into what alternatives there are."

Scarlett gave a nod. "I have already begun making some inquiries on the matter but your help would be appreciated."

Evelyne gave her an odd look for a moment. "Then if that's all I'm leaving. And I'm hoping it wasn't a lie when you said you'll keep me informed of the family's affairs."

"Of course not," Scarlett said, then watched as Evelyne walked to the door before opening it and leaving the room. Seemed like she didn't bother with letting a servant open it for her.

"You may also leave." Scarlett waved towards Molly who had stood at the edge of the room all along. The woman quickly left the room after performing one last curtsy, leaving Scarlett all alone. She let out a deep sigh and leaned back in her chair as she tapped her index finger against the armrest.

Keeping her calm during a meeting with Evelyne was a difficult endeavor. She'd lost her cool more than once. And she had literally felt like puking when she forced herself to apologize too. She shook her head slowly. She still felt slightly angry. This was even worse than when she had to deal with her own sister back when her sister was in her rebellious teenage years. She'd often been annoyed and angry back then too, but she'd almost always been able to stop herself from lashing out as she had now.

Though it had probably helped that her younger sister's every word hadn't felt like an insult towards herself as it did with Evelyne.

Should she just give up on getting close to the woman? To start with, they weren't even real sisters. The original Scarlett was gone. Or at least something of the sort. While she had no plans of revealing the truth to Evelyne, interacting with her while pretending to be her older sister felt inherently insidious in a way. Despite her intentions before this meeting, she honestly doubted if she could ever interact normally with Evelyne even if she practiced so maybe it would just be better for both of them if she avoided her. Although she probably had to meet with her at least sometimes.

Scarlett took the teacup and drank the last of the tea. Then she stood up. She felt like she needed to do some work to get this out of her system. Her first stop was the reception hall. Then the training grounds.

Chapter 14 - Maybe violence is the answer

Scarlett moved through the mansion's carpeted hallways towards the reception hall. This specific part of the mansion was starting to become familiar for her so she'd told Molly to return to whatever business it was that the servant usually performed and gone on her own. She descended a flight of stairs to the mansion's foyer and opened one of the side doors—she was starting to feel a little bit ridiculous over having worried about that earlier—that led directly to the reception hall. It was a large room lit up by several chandeliers—using magical candles instead of normal candles, just like the rest of the mansion—with beautiful white tapestries and dark red flooring. When she'd first seen the room there had been several round tables in it as well as a slightly elevated platform at one end but those things had been removed by the servants to make room for the children and their temporary living arrangements. Now there were just two long rectangular wooden tables in the middle of the room and some beds lining the walls. There weren't enough of the beds for all the children, even though most of them were small enough to share beds, so some of the older kids had to make do with sleeping on a layer of blankets for now.

Some of the children appeared to be sleeping on the beds right now, but the majority of them were gathered close to Kat who sat on a chair at the side of the room. The kids sat in a half-circle on the floor in front of the Shielder, their eyes captivated by the woman as she performed tricks with her magic. Scarlett's eyes narrowed as she saw Kat conjure a ball of fire above herself that immediately morphed into the shape of a roaring dragon that started flying around in the air, leaving a trailing blaze of fire behind. That had to be [Pyrokinesis], although probably at a higher level than Scarlett's.

She began walking over to Kat, passing by a young servant woman that rested in a chair by the reception hall's main entrance. It seemed to take a moment for the girl to notice her, but when she did she rushed to stand up and greet her. Scarlett merely waved for the servant to go back to what she was doing. Poor girl looked as if she had barely slept.

That made Scarlett think. Did these servants get paid something like overtime? All of the mansion's servants had been working like mad since yesterday morning to follow Scarlett's order to take care of the children. It was honestly impressive how much they had accomplished. Most of the children even looked to have been given new clothes already. But this wasn't a daycare. The mansion wasn't ready to house over thirty kids, and the servants were the ones who had to work extra to make up for that. That was a lot of work to do in addition to their original duties. If Scarlett's guess was right there were only about ten different servants in the entire mansion, if you discounted the hired guards she'd seen guarding the estates' gates. Though there were probably a few more hires that didn't live around here. She hadn't seen whoever it was that took care of the gardens yet, for example.

She put a reminder to discreetly ask Garside about the matter at the back of her mind as she neared the group of children that were marveling over Kat's little pyrotechnics act. Kat paused her performance and looked at Scarlett.

"How'd the meeting with your sister go?" the blonde-haired woman asked. Most of the kids glanced at Scarlett.

"I...updated her on the current situation," Scarlett answered as she looked at the watchful faces of the children. "I am sorry to disturb your display. However, I wanted to inform you that I am going to the training ground and was curious if you had any interest in accompanying me. I would not mind some advice on pyromancy."

Kat smiled and scratched the side of her head. "Ah, I wouldn't mind giving you some pointers." She gestured towards the children. "But I already promised them I'd show them some more magic."

Scarlett raised an eyebrow. "I did not think you spoke Voneian."

"I don't. But that dark-haired woman translated some for me."

Scarlett nodded her head. "I see," she mumbled as she studied the kids. They'd all been cleaned up and, with the new clothes, they looked completely different from when she and Kat had first found them. However, although none of them looked starved, it was clear they did not usually get to eat too much. If that was from before or after their abduction she didn't know.

They did not seem dangerously traumatized by the current situation, at least, so that was something. When they had been watching Kat's performance they had all made sounds and chattered away with each other. Though now that they were looking at her it was completely quiet. Was it because of how she acted? Or did Scarlett just have an inherent quality that made these kids watchful?

"...The children may come too, if they wish." she eventually declared.

Kat's eyes widened slightly. "Really?"

"There is enough space. I do not believe there will be a problem." As long as the kids stayed out of the way she didn't really care what they did. She doubted they would be here for too long anyway.

"Hear that kids?" Kat said to them. They all turned to her. "That nice lady says all of you can come with us to see some more magic."

Some of the kids nodded their heads a little at her words, although most seemed confused about what she said. Kat stood up, however, and looked at Scarlett. "Let's go then."

It took a little while extra because some of the children came with, but soon they were all standing on the large training ground situated behind the mansion. The children were standing off to the side and watched Kat with attentive expressions. Kat herself seemed to be looking at the wooden and stone targets that were set up at the end of the grounds with a hesitant face.

"What if we accidentally break those?"

"I do not believe they are destroyed that effortlessly. They have enchantments that protect them," Scarlett said. "Although I suppose it isn't entirely inconceivable for you to overcome those. But there are several more targets in that." She gestured towards the small shed that stood at the edge of the training ground next to the stone wall that surrounded the whole property. She had checked to make sure last time that, amongst other things, there were a lot of those targets inside.

"They're all enchanted?" Kat asked in disbelief.

"From what I have seen, yes."

"Gods..." Scarlett heard the woman mutter. She looked over the dozen or so training targets that were lined up. In the game, enchantments hadn't been anything special. A lot of the gear obtained even in the early game had enchantments on it. But it was true that the player couldn't start enchanting gear themselves until much later in the game, so perhaps it wasn't something common. She knew that the skills related to [Enchanting] belonged to the unaligned school of magic, instead of any of the elemental schools, and were relatively hard to obtain.

"Maybe I'll take it a bit careful today then," Kat said with a wary look.

"If you wish." Scarlett let out a short agreement before walking to a distance of around twenty or so meters from the targets. She'd been dying to hit something for a while now. Raising her right hand—now more out of habit than any sort of need, she'd noticed—she held it towards one of the wooden targets. Conjuring a ball of water a little larger than usual, she spent a moment extra in making sure the surface of the liquid was completely still. Then she lit the proverbial fuse and created a searing fire inside the sphere. Usually, the flames were closer to a deep or slightly clear orange, but now she was pushing it to a much brighter, white shine. When she felt as if she couldn't force it to be any hotter she finally relaxed slightly and wiped away the traces of sweat that had formed on her brow. Now her Aqua Mine, perhaps a little smaller than two tennis balls together, was hovering like a miniature sun next to the target's head.

Despite there being no actual physical exertion, pushing her [Hydrokinesis] and [Pyrokinesis] skills to the limit was taxing. Her [Lesser Hydrokinesis] probably couldn't create two Mines of this size, even though she was relatively sure her [Pyrokinesis] could support it if she just lessened the heat a little bit.

[Skills Menu:

Upgrades

[Greater Pyromancy] (10 points)

[Greater Pyrokinesis] (10 points)

[Hydromancy] (5 points)

[Minor Hydrokinesis] (2 points)

[Mana Control] (5 points)

New skills

[LOCKED]]

This was her first chance to test the difference, but she'd already used the five skill points she'd gained to upgrade her [Minor Pyrokinesis] to [Pyrokinesis] as it had seemed the most logical for her at the moment. She was planning on earning some more points to upgrade her [Lesser Hydrokinesis] before she decided exactly what to do next, but she was leaning towards just keeping to upgrading those skills for the foreseeable future. She still wasn't sure if [Minor Mana Control] did anything more than what it did in Chronicle of Realms though, so she would have to look into it a bit more.

After having kept the Mine going for a while she was starting to lose concentration on it so, with a small mental nudge, she created a ripple on the surface facing the target and watched as the sphere of water immediately exploded in a burst towards the weak point in the target's enchantment that she had been targeting. She watched with slight satisfaction as the target wobbled a little from the blow.

"What spell is that?" Kat asked and walked up next to her. "I saw you do it earlier but I've never seen it before."

"It is not an existing spell as far as I am aware." Scarlett turned her head towards Kat. "But rather something of my own design. However it is still lacking in power, regrettably."

Kat looked confused. "You developed that yourself? Are you a wizard?"

Unlike a mage, which was basically anybody who used magic in this world, a wizard was someone who specifically researched magic at any of the magic towers. Scarlett remembered doing a questline in the Imperial Mage Tower in her first playthrough to get it as a title. It had a few decent benefits such as increased mana regeneration and a discount for buying scrolls.

"I am not a wizard. The number of spells I know is scarce."

Kat furrowed her brows. "Then how did you do that?"

"It was merely an application of basic pyrokinesis and hydrokinesis."

The Shielder gave her an odd look. "You're bad at using magic, but know how to use both hydrokinesis and pyrokinesis?"

Scarlett tilted her head to the side. "Is that odd?"

Kat shrugged her shoulders. "It took me a while after learning my first pyromancy spell to get the hang of even basic pyrokinesis. And I'm terrible at terrakinesis unless I'm right next to stone."

"I see," Scarlett mumbled. She had been wondering if the people of this world had skills like in the game, but from the way Kat spoke now, that didn't seem to be the case. So she was different in that aspect. But it was also the reason she could do this the other way round from Kat. "Do you believe you could teach me any spells?" she asked.

Kat let out a short laugh. "I could certainly try, but I don't know if it'll help much. I've been told the way I perform magic is a bit...unique."

"In what way?"

"Well..." She turned towards the onlooking children who had walked closer to them. "All of you should move back some," she said, then looked at Scarlett. "You too."

Scarlett obliged and stepped back a few steps behind Kat.

"I think it's most clear what I mean with this spell," the woman said and she began moving her hands in front of her. Several rocks began forming from thin air and clustering into a sphere with cracks in it. Then those cracks started glowing a bright red as liquid lava sprang from the depths of the sphere and began enveloping the rocky surface. "As you see I'm not really controlling the mana by using any inner circuits to let it merge into the spell as one usually would, but rather I'm forcing it to take on the particular elements I want and then using that to replicate the effect of a normal Pyroclastic Fragment."

Scarlett examined the smoldering boulder conjured by the Shielder intently. While it looked sufficiently deadly and terrifying with the way the molten stone rose and billowed, she couldn't see anything more than that. She didn't even know one was supposed to be able to see any mana. Her [Charms of Apperception] were obviously not meant to aid with this.

"I couldn't exactly tell you how I do it," Kat continued. "When I've shown it to others they usually just end up getting confused by it." She pressed her hand forward and the flaming boulder that was about the size of a grown man flew forward. It landed between two of the stone targets and erupted into an explosion of molten rock and lava that disintegrated everything around it, leaving a crater behind in the ground. The children let out several shocked and excited sounds as Kat turned towards them with a small smile. Then her eyes widened and she spun to look at the result with a dark expression. "Shit...I said I was going to hold back." She gave Scarlett an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"It is quite all right," Scarlett said. She wasn't sure if it actually was—that was a large hole in the ground—but she wasn't mad at least. This was the purpose of the training ground, after all. "More importantly, can you explain what you meant earlier once again."

Kat paused in whatever it was that she was about to say and looked at her. "What, the part about how I use the mana?"

Scarlett gave a slight nod of her head. "Yes. I am unable to see mana in such a manner so I could not observe any of what you spoke of."

Kat stared at her. "Wait. You don't know any mana perceiving spell? Like Ethereal Eye or Mana Vision? Then how do you—" She stopped and looked between her and the wooden target that she had attacked with her Aqua Mine earlier. "It can't be that that's all you can do?"

"It is," Scarlett admitted. "That is why I have need of you. Although I would appreciate if you kept quiet about it."

"I'm not sure if I should be surprised or impressed." Kat shook her head. "How'd you learn pyrokinesis like that?"

"One could say it came naturally to me. Casting spells, however, does not. I was harboring some hope you would be able to help me with that."

"I honestly don't think I'll be much help if you're starting from scratch like that. I can give you some advice I used myself, but I've never really been a good teacher."

"Your advice would be more than good enough," Scarlett said and turned back towards the row of targets. There were still some glowing rocks lying around from Kat's spell, though most of them seemed to have disappeared into nothingness. "Truthfully, I was not expecting much in that regard. I have already devised other solutions to rectify that particular predicament. But I would also greatly appreciate any extra input you have regarding the means I currently have at my disposal."

"That I can do," Kat said. There was a hint of enthusiasm to the Shielder's voice that hadn't been there before. "Whatever it was that you did earlier was interesting enough."

Scarlett looked back and saw the woman grin.

"Up for some light sparring?"

Chapter 15 - Management issues

Scarlett looked over some documents that were placed on the desk in front of her in her office in the Hartford family's mansion. These particular ones related to the appraised value of some of the artifacts and relics she'd gathered. Although Evelyne didn't like her much, the younger Hartford sister seemed to still uphold her promises and had helped Scarlett with getting in contact with a couple of appraisers as well as one of the local auction houses.

It had been almost a whole week since Scarlett finished dealing with the local criminal organization here in Freybrook and Count Knottley had announced his and her 'cooperative' involvement in the matter. Since then she had been busy with just trying to get a handle on the everyday matters of things, as well as going out on frequent excursions with Kat to look for and clear the dungeons she knew of in the area. So far they had actually found four of them—including the first one—which had surprised her some. She'd only been relatively certain of the location of two of them, after all. But that had been a welcome surprise, even though none of the other dungeons had been Zuverian ruins.

As this was a low-level area in the game none of the dungeons had any loot that was better than what she'd found in the Zuverian ruins, and even most of what they'd found wasn't especially good for her anyway, but she had still hoped it was worth something. As the player, you would just sell low-level equipment like that to some random trader and only get maybe a hundred or so solars—which was the empire's currency—for it, but the game's economy hadn't been particularly advanced or realistic. You could for example sell the bones of the enemies you killed to that same merchant for a dozen solars, or the plants you picked from the side of the road for maybe twice that. It had been a great game, but in the end, she wasn't planning on trusting the appraisals of a system where the only balancing done was probably in regards to ensuring the player didn't grow overly powerful too fast. As such, she had wanted to do some research of her own on the value of some of the game's equipment.

And it was good that she'd decided to double-check these things. Despite being comparatively low-level gear in 'Chronicle of Realms', many of the items she'd gathered were still moderately useful equipment, and some of them were even artifacts. For example, the [Plate of Torn Resilience] was a decent artifact she and Kat had found in an old abandoned troll cave a fair distance away from the city. It was a rare piece of equipment that she was pretty sure gave a decent boost to your stamina in exchange for your HP. Or whatever the equivalent was in this world. Guessing from the description she'd read it just cut into you and made you bleed slightly or something along those lines, although she hadn't bothered to test it.

As nice as it was finding these items, she only wished they'd been more useful to her specifically. The only item she'd actually chosen to keep for herself was a rare [Ring of Umbral Defiance] that heightened her resistance to all dark-type damage. Resistances were another thing she was unsure of how they worked in this world, and it was definitely a matter she should try looking into later on, but right now it was the closest thing she had to any real defense. She should probably do something about that. She had plans, but those were still a while away. At least she had the protection of Kat for the moment.

She moved aside a piece of parchment as she kept browsing through the papers in front of her. She had nine items she wanted to sell all in all, excluding the old Zuverian coins, and even the cheapest of those items had been appraised at a value of 1000 solars. If they were put up to an auction, she'd at a minimum earn 15000 solars just from the equipment even if she counted the cut an auction house was likely to take. And the Zuverian coins she'd gathered—which numbered probably somewhere in the hundreds—were probably somewhere close to that value too. She wasn't certain if they were considered a collector's item or if the material they were made of was just worth that much, but she was looking at earning somewhere above 30000 from just these four excursions she'd gone on since she got here. She still had to do some more research regarding the purchasing power of the local currency in this world, but considering that you could buy a house for 10000 solars in the game she could at least assume that it was a decent amount despite the game's inaccuracies in the subject.

Now, if she were to guess, 30000 solars probably wasn't that much compared to what she had access to as the head of the Hartford family. But these were all loot from just a few low-level dungeons. There had been hundreds of dungeons spread about the world in 'Chronicle of Realms', and the worth of the higher-level items was bound to increase by a lot. Of course, she had to find all the dungeons first, but that was something she had decent expectations about for at least some of them.

All things considered, she was relatively confident in earning money in this world. The real question was what to do with it all. She still barely had any idea of how she ended up here to begin with. Some extra cash probably wouldn't solve that problem. But knowing the kinds of problems that would start popping up in the future, she felt like being prepared in as many ways as she could be was the right choice for now.

That included training. She'd spent at least one or two hours every day the past week training the use of her current magic with Kat. The Shielder had taken to sparring with her—acting with a large handicap—and instructing Scarlett of how to best make use of her Aqua Mines in a fight. The woman had almost seemed borderline masochistic with how she encouraged Scarlett to use them against her. Of course, Scarlett's attacks couldn't really injure the woman as long as Kat had whatever magical defense she used up, and Scarlett had intentionally avoided aiming at any of Kat's barrier's weak points—though she doubted she could hit any of them yet even if she tried—but the excitement that seemed to fill the woman when she fought was weird to see. It wasn't really something Scarlett had noticed before.

But the training definitely had an effect. For one thing, her mana was increasing at a steady pace as long as she kept using it as she did. It seemed to improve by a little under ten or so per day at the rate she was going. Other than that her control of her Aqua Mines was also improving slowly. In the raid on the Grey Dog Gang she had used a few of them basically as bricks to keep people away from her, but that wasn't an efficient way of using them. Considering how she only truly could make full use of them when she used them against an unshielded opponent or against their weak points she still had to get faster at making them and better at aiming. As it was now she doubted she could use them in a real fight just yet. As for the matter of learning spells...There hadn't been much progress. Or any, actually. The lessons Kat had given her hadn't done much to shed light on the matter, unfortunately. She barely knew where to begin with that right now. She had read through a couple of the books she'd found, though that hadn't helped much. But she wasn't about to give up just yet. She was planning on giving those books a more thorough look in the near future.

With that in mind, she turned away from the appraisal documents and looked at another pile of papers that lay to her right. Unfortunately the contents of these documents weren't as welcome. She let out a short sigh and moved these documents closer to look them over again. Despite almost a week having passed they hadn't made much progress in finding a place to send the children. The servants were working themselves tired taking care of the mansion as well as the kids. The original idea of potentially sending them to orphanages in the city had essentially been put to a halt. It turned out that none of the orphanages in Freybrook had many empty slots, at most two or three per orphanage, and barely any of them had caretakers that spoke Voneian.

For a brief moment Scarlett had considered just splitting the children into smaller groups and dividing them between the orphanages but in the end, she couldn't bring herself to do that. She was far from a saint. Frankly, she didn't want to spend a bunch of her time taking care of the affairs of a group of children. There was too much on her plate as it was. She had nothing but a vague and superficial idea of how the noble society and the laws worked around here. She was sure that there was a bunch of things about the whole Count Knottley situation that she was completely missing. And then there was the issue of the Angler Man and the Hallowed Cabal possibly coming after her, as well as the question of whether she would ever be able to find a way back home. There was just too much for her to do and learn to waste time dealing with these children with whom she had barely even interacted with.

But there were still limits to what she could bring herself to do. When her own parents had died, one of her worst fears had been that she would be separated from her younger sister. She had fought and gone through several hardships to stay with her sister and she didn't feel comfortable subjecting other kids to a situation like that, no matter their circumstances. These children might not be related, but they were all refugees who had been kidnapped and gone through terrifying things together. Now they were stuck in a foreign land where barely anyone spoke their language with nothing but each other. Although they all adored Kat and seemed to have opened up slightly to some of the servants there was still a bond between the kids that she didn't want to break. She might be in the role of a villainess, but that didn't mean she always had to fill that role.

She drummed her finger rhythmically against the wooden desk as she looked at one of the large oil paintings that hung on the walls of the office. Evelyne had sent her a message that she was looking into finding a way of dealing with the children but there was nothing conclusive from that end quite yet. At this point it would almost be easier to just establish an orphanage herself just to solve this whole mess. Things would have been much easier if the Voneian delegates she'd contacted had been willing to help. As it was, they'd largely just ignored her letters and turned away the people she'd sent, saying that it was "not part of their purview". She wasn't certain whether they simply didn't care because it only concerned a group of orphans or if they actually couldn't help. Though the thought did occur to her that she might have accidentally caused an international incident by contacting them. Nonetheless, it didn't look like her plate would get much less full anytime in the immediate future.

Perhaps she could organize some kind of crowdfunding or charity for the matter? Or was that even something people in this world did? She knew there existed charities even during the middle ages back in her world, but this place was different enough so that it was hard to know. Though in any case, setting up something like that sounded like more trouble than it was worth. Especially with the kind of reputation she was bound to have. She probably wasn't known to be kind-hearted enough for something like that. It was at times like these that she actually understood the allure of being a real villainess.

As she sat there and debated with herself whether it might be worth trying to subtly inquire into how large of a wealth she actually had access to, a knock rang out from the office's door. She straightened her back and looked up. "Enter."

The door opened and Garside stepped into the room. His greying hair and black suit were as slick as always as he bowed to her with one arm bent behind his back and one in front. "My Lady, a meal has been prepared for you in the dining hall."

Scarlett raised an eyebrow. "Has it already been that long?" she asked in slight surprise. She glanced towards a beautiful silver clock piece that sat on the left side of the desk next to the gilded mirror that belonged to the original Scarlett. It was already two in the afternoon it seemed. She had asked the clock to be placed there a couple days ago after she kept losing track of time. She didn't know why the original never bothered setting a clock in the office, but considering how she herself kept forgetting it was there she might not be the best person to speak on the matter.

"I took the liberty of ordering it ready myself," Garside said. Then he went quiet for a moment. "...My Lady has been quite busy lately. This is not the first time this has happened in recent times."

Scarlett narrowed her eyes. That sounded dangerously close to an admonishment. It surprised her that he dared to talk like that to her. Most of the other servants would be down on the floor begging if they thought they had said anything that would anger her. One young girl had actually done just that just a few days ago. But what surprised her even more right now was that she barely felt any true annoyance at Garside's words. "...You are right. I have been very inattentive this past week."

He nodded his head at her words. "That is why I have not brought it up yet, but I would like to remind you that you had scheduled an appointment in your calendar for tomorrow the fifteenth."

"An appointment?"

"Indeed. Dame Trista Denholm of the Imperial Solar Knights' wedding."

Scarlett frowned. The original Scarlett was supposed to go to a wedding tomorrow? And that of an Imperial Knight?

"I had forgotten," she said as she tapped the desk. "Exactly when was this?"

"We have already booked a passage through the Kilnstone to Ambercrest at eleven in the morning, my Lady," Garside said in a steady tone. "The ceremony is scheduled to begin at one, although you will likely miss most of the pre-ceremonial gathering. We have also booked a return passage through the Kilnstone at seven in the evening."

So the wedding was in Ambercrest. That was a city closer to the center of the empire, slightly east of the capital. It was quite a distance away. In the game, it would take well over an hour if you walked the whole way and it would take far longer in real life. That's where Kilnstone came into play. They were the 'Chronicle of Realms' equivalence to fast-travel. In-lore they were supposed to be another kind of artifact left by the Zuverians. Most major cities had one and there were a few out in the wilds too. After discovering one the player could use another Kilnstone in the world to travel to it in the future. She knew there was supposed to be one in Freybrook but she hadn't had time to go and check it out yet. Honestly, she would prefer to cancel this 'appointment' and inform this 'Dame Trista' that she was too busy to come. But she couldn't very well do that after she had already accepted the invite. If any of the stereotypes about nobles were true, then that was a one-way ticket to causing a grudge, and she didn't want to create any more enemies than she might already have.

"Very well," Scarlett said as she rose from her chair. "Thank you for reminding me of this matter."

"Of course my Lady," Garside responded and moved to open the door for her as she exited the office.

"Inform Kat of tomorrow's plans as well," she said as she began walking through the mansion's halls with Garside only a few steps behind her. "I do not know if she has any clothing suitable for a wedding."

"The invite was only for one, my Lady. I am afraid Miss Breeden will have to forgo accompanying you on this venture."

Scarlett went quiet to think about it for a moment. "Very well. Inform her that she will still be joining me on the ride to Ambercrest, however." While she wasn't fond of the idea of walking around unprotected, it wasn't likely to become a problem if she were around other people at a wedding. The bride was also an Imperial Solar Knight so there were bound to be many strong people present.

And hopefully the wedding wouldn't go on for too long. It was a bit earlier than what she had planned, but she could probably make some quick preparations. There was a place around the Ambercrest area that she wanted to visit.

Chapter 16 - Roadtrips are fun, right?

Scarlett and Kat both sat in the carriage as it moved through the bustling streets of Freybrook. Kat wore the outfit she usually wore when they weren't going out on any of their dungeon runs—a piece of black and brown clothing that was easy to move around in—but had her hands on her legs and looked uncharacteristically orderly, Scarlett noted.

Scarlett herself wore a dark red dress that reached her shoulders and flowed down into a fancy neckline. The dress only covered half of her arms and had far too loose sleeves for her tastes, as well as a waistline that was just a little bit too tight. It wasn't something she would usually choose to wear but since she was going to a wedding, and she didn't know much of the local practices, she'd asked the servants to pick something for her. She was starting to regret that choice now that they'd left the mansion, however. The only pieces of apparel that she'd chosen herself were the half-circular [Charms of Apperception] that hung from her earlobes and the [Ring of Umbral Defiance]. She doubted anything bad would happen at the wedding, but that didn't mean she would leave all her means of self-defense behind. And it just so happened that the amber gem affixed to both the earrings paired well with her dress for the day.

"Ehm...Where exactly was this wedding?" Kat asked as the carriage passed by a large square with several market stalls set up in rows across its center. The woman seemed to startle a little as Scarlett turned to look at her. "...My Lady," she added on quietly.

Scarlett examined Kat's face. Not once during the past week and a half that she'd known her had Kat bothered to use any kind of special address when speaking to her.

"Did no one inform you?"

Kat shrugged her shoulders, but quickly paused and lightly shook her head instead. "I just heard we were taking the carriage and that you'd be..." She seemed to think about what word to use for a moment. "...attending by yourself."

Scarlett gave the Shielder another look, before turning away to the window. "I see," she said and observed the buildings outside. She was starting to recognize the surroundings from the game now. They had moved into central Freybrook where many businesses and shops made their residence. In stark contrast to many of the other districts in the city, the buildings around here were old, and most only had one floor. It made for a much more pleasant atmosphere than the claustrophobic feel in the district where the Snow-show Fishery had been located. The roads were also wider so there was a decent amount of carriages and wagons that traveled back and forth.

Scarlett's eyes locked onto a large structure further down the road. "I appreciate that you still chose to join me, however," she said offhandedly to Kat. "As for where we are going — the reception is held in Ambercrest."

"Ambercrest?! I thought it was in the city?"

"You thought wrong."

"Wait, are we taking the Kilnstone there?"

"We are," Scarlett answered Kat's question as she watched the carriage drive down the cobbled road towards a wide circular square where it met up with several other roads. At the center of the square was a large platform with an open marble structure supported by several pillars in a ring. There were two queues on either side of the platform. One of them was noticeably longer than the other and was mostly filled with people and wagons that looked like they might belong to different kinds of merchants. A few of the insignias on the sides of the wagons were ones she recognized from storefronts in the city. The other line, although being much shorter, clearly housed the more 'important' people. There were no people in it per se, but rather several expensive-looking carriages and their horses. She could only assume the emblems on the sides of those carriages were the coats of arms of different noble families. Their coachman soon began steering the vehicle around the outskirts of the square before turning towards that second line.

Scarlett turned her attention to the structure itself. Through the curled pillars she could see a tall obelisk floating at its center, its surface a clear reflective grey reminiscent of the [Mirror of Communion]. This was the Kilnstone, another of the ancient artifacts left behind by the Zuverian civilization and the player's main way of traveling around later in the game. This particular Kilnstone had several guards in green gambesons and polished cuirasses standing guard around it, with a couple of men in stately black uniforms with ledgers in their hands seemingly being the ones in charge. She saw as one of them peered down at his ledger for a moment before waving a group of three wagons from the longer queue forward.

Scarlett turned back to Kat to see the woman looking at the Kilnstone too. "Have you not traveled via the Kilnstone before?" she asked.

"Well, I have," Kat said, looking back at Scarlett. "But I haven't traveled through it that much. The few times I've done it is when the Guild has had urgent requests for senior Shielders. It just feels weird to use it for a wedding." She grimaced as if she forgot herself. "...My Lady."

Scarlett gestured to the long lines leading up to the platform. "There seem to be many others that make use of it regularly."

Kat looked out the window. "Yes, but I bet most of those are rich traders or nobles like you."

"I do not see why there could not be common people among them as well." After all, in the game, she'd used the Kilnstones to travel around long before her characters had gotten any real wealth or made a name for themselves. It wasn't that expensive.

"Maybe. But don't you usually have to book months ahead?"

Scarlett frowned. "Why would that be necessary?"

There had never been such a feature in the game. There, it had been enough to just walk up to the Kilnstone and pay the fee if you were in one of the cities. It probably wouldn't have made for good game design if the game forced you to plan your fast traveling several months in advance.

But this wasn't the first detail in this world that was different from the game. The dungeons, quests, and items all appeared to stay the same—albeit expanded upon—but details such as this seemed inclined to have gone through slight changes.

"Aren't there only a limited amount of uses every day?" Kat's voice brought Scarlett out of her musing. "That's what I heard at least. Although I guess that doesn't matter as much to you because you're a noble."

Scarlett stared at Kat. It seemed she had to read up on how these Kilnstones actually worked. It was becoming clear her assumptions about it were far from correct. Turning away from the Shielder, Scarlett watched as their carriages situated itself at the back of the queue behind the other nobles' carriages. Another person in a black uniform and ledger in hand slowly walked up to the front of their carriage and appeared to check something with the coachman.

Kat went quiet as well and they sat in silence for a while as they waited for the line to move.

"I had been meaning to ask," Scarlett eventually spoke. "Is there a reason for your unusual behaviour today?"

"Unusual...my Lady?"

Scarlett turned her head towards Kat. The Shielder still had her hands on her legs with her back straight, as if she was at a formal dinner of some sort. It didn't fit the woman at all. "You have been addressing me as 'my Lady.'"

An embarrassed look appeared on Kat's face. "Ah, well. That's..." Scarlett waited for her to continue. "That butler guy told me I was acting improperly."

Scarlett raised a brow. "Garside?"

Kat nodded. "Yeah—I mean, yes. He chewed me out yesterday evening, telling me I had to show more respect. I didn't think it was that big of a problem, but he told me it reflected poorly on you and all that."

Scarlett listened to Kat's words and thought about it for a moment. Then she waved her hand in the air and turned her attention back to outside the window. "You do not have to bother with formality. I believe my actions thus far have demonstrated that it does not matter much to me."

That was a little bit of a white lie. Informal behaviour did annoy her, but she actually preferred it in Kat's case. It was one of the few of the original Scarlett's quirks that she could handle well enough to even attempt to get used to it.

"You sure?" Kat asked.

"I would not have said it if I was not."

"Thank the gods." The relief was clear in her voice. "I was going crazy having to think about each and every word like that. Being all prim and proper really isn't worth it."

"I would not say your behaviour could be described as 'prim and proper'. That would likely require more than exchanging 'going' with 'attending' and occasionally adjusting how you address me."

Kat let out a sigh. "Believe me, I don't need you telling me I'm bad at it." She paused for a moment, before speaking again. "But won't that be a problem for you? Aren't nobles all about appearance and things like that?"

"You are not one of my subordinates. I hired you for a job. I do not see how it is my business how you act while performing it as long as you exhibit a modicum of respect. If others believe that should somehow reflect on me, then let them. I do not plan on wasting time preoccupying myself with what others think of me."

"Oh...I see," Kat mumbled.

Scarlett glanced at her. "I will admit, it does surprise me that you would care about these matters. I did not take you for such a person."

Kat looked at her with a slightly peeved face. "What, you think I would just ignore his warning?"

"I did not think you cared. You showed no such signs when we first met."

"Ah, well." She hesitated for a second. "I didn't, actually. Care, that is. And you never said anything so I didn't think it mattered."

"You thought correctly." Scarlett looked back out the window and towards the Kilnstone just in time to see its reflective grey surface turn completely black as if it absorbed all the light from its surroundings. A moment later a small group of people along with three wagons appeared in a show of light at the center of a large marked area next to the obelisk. One of the men in charge walked up to the group and exchanged words with them before jotting something down in his ledger.

"Well, I couldn't exactly ignore your butler's words," Kat continued. "I think acting as your escort should also include not causing you any extra trouble, so I had to at least try."

"A laudable sentiment. Despite its superfluousness," Scarlett said as she watched the newly arrived group leave through a wide opening between the surrounding structure's white marble pillars.

"Super...what?"

Scarlett turned to Kat. "Superfluousness. Something that is either more than needed or wanted."

"Ah, I see." Kat had a look of understanding on her face. "Sorry. Sometimes the words you use throw me off."

Scarlett looked at her. She was unsure what to say in response. As a content editor in her world she was used to working with a wide—and sometimes unusual—vocabulary, even though she rarely used much of it when she spoke. But now that she had become Scarlett, speaking this way had become part of her nature. She had tried talking more like she used to, but it hadn't gone well. So far it was the only thing she knew of that was even worse than trying to deal with her innate contempt for Scarlett's younger sister. Of course, she didn't want to arouse too much suspicion by suddenly changing how she spoke either. There were enough sudden and surprising actions she had performed as it were. "...I will try to simplify my language." To the point where she could, at least.

"That's not really necessary." Kat shook her head as if she didn't consider it to be that important. "I don't think I'm one to tell you how to speak. Just do what you do."

"...Very well." Scarlett looked out the window again as the both of them went quiet. There were four carriages ahead of them in the queue and it took about thirty minutes before they reached the front. In that time three different groups of people and wagons had teleported here through the Kilnstone and left through the same gap between the pillars as the first group she'd seen. Eventually one of the men in charge waved their carriage forward and she heard the coachman urge the horse onward a moment later. He steered them around the tall obelisk and towards a marked area on the opposite side of the area where people teleporting to Freybrook ended up. The same man that waved them forward ensured they were within the marked space before waving forward another carriage that had been behind theirs in the line and repeating the process. He then pulled out a watch from his breast pocked and looked at it. "One minute until transport. Make sure you don't leave the marked zone," he announced.

Scarlett stole a glance at the other carriage next to them as they waited. It was completely black and larger than theirs, with two horses harnessed to its front instead of just one. She felt that the insignia on the side of the carriage looked familiar, a dark green stag with golden eyes, but she couldn't quite pinpoint where she'd seen it before.

She didn't have much time to think about it as the Kilnstone ahead of them suddenly sucked in all light around them and everything grew completely dark for a millisecond. Then the artifact suddenly spat out all the color again and the world filled with light as a new view appeared before them. The wide square surrounding the Kilnstone was now situated on a large hill that overlooked a city to the left and a large body of water to the right.

They had arrived in Ambercrest.

Chapter 17 - Banquets and appetizers

The game world of 'Chronicle of Realms' had been large, even for an open-world RPG. It covered the entirety of the Graenal Empire, and many of its cities—such as Freybrook and Kilsfell—were almost wholly traversable, each impressive in its own way. Trekking across the whole map on foot in the game took hours in real life. That's why all means of expediting that movement—such as mounts and fast-travel using the Kilnstones—had been an important part of the game. While those two were the most common methods, there were others. One Scarlett herself had used on several occasions were boats.

The entire southern border of the Empire touched what was known as the Innisling Sea, a rather tempestuous ocean with lots of interesting locations such as the Rising Isle or the Forgotten Tower in it. In the Empire's southwestern region, not far east of Freybrook, began an estuary—that is, where a river meets the ocean—known as the Mouth of Graenal. It branched out into the river of Three Streams; both the largest and longest river in the whole empire. It continued all the way to the center of the Empire's lands and split into Rellaria Lake, where the Imperial Capital Elystead was, and a delta of three smaller rivers. And to the east of Elystead, at the end on one of those forks of rivers, was the city of Ambercrest.

The whole width of the river could be seen from the hill they found themselves at and its length spread out far into the distance. In the game one could just barely see Rellaria Lake from here, but even as she gazed out the carriage window in that direction Scarlett couldn't see anything but water and land. She'd already felt it with Freybrook, but this really made it all the more clear how large this world actually was compared to the game. She looked away from the distant horizon and towards their new location.

The city of Ambercrest was a walled city built at a point where the end of the river met a high and rocky cliffside. There was a fair distance down from most of the city to the water underneath. Jutting out from the cliffside were two outcroppings—cliff hills, really—that towered over the rest of the city. The hill they were currently on was one of those, while the other outcropping housed a large fort-like castle of almost tan stone. Not far from that was another piece of land that jutted out into the water but down towards sea-level rather than up. From their current vantage point, Scarlett could see a large number of ships anchored in the water around that little island. Ambercrest's harbor wasn't quite the size of Freybrook's, but Ambercrest also wasn't as much of a maritime city as Freybrook was.

After a man in a black uniform similar to that of those men in charge of the Kilnstone back in Freybrook walked up and performed a quick inspection of their carriage and the black carriage that had arrived with them they were given permission to leave. Much like in Freybrook the Kilnstone here in Ambercrest had a large open circular structure around it that was supported by marble pillars. As their driver steered their carriage behind the other carriage and through a large gap in those pillars they passed by a group of guards in red and started leaving the large square where the Kilnstone was behind. Soon they were descending down a broad stone road towards the city itself, passing through an open gate and inside Ambercrest's walls. The coachman seemed to know exactly where they were going as their carriage soon deftly moved through the packed streets of the city. Unlike Freybrook, where many of the buildings were built out of wood and cut stone, the buildings here in Ambercrest were made of light brown and red bricks with colored roofs. All in all the city was much more colorful than Freybrook was, that was certain.

It took around ten minutes before the carriage entered a part of the city that was plainly more well-off than the rest. Mansions began surrounding them left and right, as well as there being a clear difference in the quality of the road they traveled on and the clothing of the people she sometimes spotted. Although unlike Freybrook, where there was enough space in the richer district for almost all the mansions to have large estates attached to them, here all the buildings were built tightly next to each other. There weren't many gardens or other empty areas that she could see from the buildings' facades.

Soon enough the carriage drove up and stopped before the gates of a particularly large mansion which actually had a short walkway up to its entrance. Scarlett only had to wait for a moment before the coachman had moved back to open the carriage door for her.

"We have arrived, my Lady," the man said. It wasn't the same youth who she'd grown used to when she went out on excursions around Freybrook with Kat. This man was much older and more used to these kinds of events. She did wonder whether the Hartford family employed its carriage drivers full-time or if that was done some other way.

Turning her head towards Kat, she spoke. "I will take my leave. The coachman will take you wherever you wish in the city. I trust that you will be fine on your own." It would be a shame if she brought the woman just for her to get lost in the city.

Kat grinned. "I'll manage. I've been to Ambercrest before and know some of the local Guild members. It'll be fun to meet up with them."

"Good." Scarlett gave Kat a short nod before rising from her seat and stepping out of the carriage.

"I will bring Miss Breedan to her desired location and return immediately, my Lady," the driver told her. "There is a spot for the carriages nearby. I will wait there for when you wish to leave."

With that, the man gave a short bow and closed the carriage's door before climbing up at its front and getting the horse into motion with a click of his tongue and a light whisk of the reins. Scarlett observed them leave for a moment, pondering how she was supposed to inform the man when she wanted to leave. She turned to the gate of the mansion. Well, a servant was bound to be able to help with that. Hopefully.

She walked towards the gate where two guards with truncheons at their side looked at her. A brown-haired man in a suit—he looked to be a servant of some kind—had exited from a small sentry box and greeted her as she closed in.

"Welcome, my Lady. Are you here for the reception?" he asked with the same kind of smile you'd see on a salesman trying to convince you of the perks of getting a new vacuum cleaner.

"I am," she answered curtly.

The man took out a small book from his inner pocket and opened it. "May I ask for your name?"

"Baroness Scarlett Hartford."

The man looked down at the book, flipping through its pages as a small frown appeared on his brow.

"Is there a problem?" She meant it as a question, but the way it came out it sounded more like a demand.

The man looked at her with an awkward expression, trying to avoid her gaze. "N-Not at all my Lady. It's just that..." She saw drops of sweat begin to form on his forehead. After a moment he turned around and gestured to the guards to open the gate before turning back to her. "It seems like there might have been a slight mistake with bookkeeping on our end. Nothing your Ladyship has to worry about. You may enter the estate immediately." He performed a bow. "The pre-ceremonial banquet has already begun in the inner garden. If you ask a servant they will lead you there. The ceremony itself will begin at one o'clock." He cautiously looked up at her. "Does the Baroness have any companion that will arrive later?"

She scowled at him. Were one not supposed to go to these kinds of events by themselves? As far as she was aware she had only received an invitation for one person. Although maybe she was expected to arrive with other attendees or something like that. She had seen that kind of thing in books and shows.

"I am by myself," she told him in a cold voice. "Any further questions?"

A half-panicked expression appeared on his face. "N-No, of course not your Ladyship. How would I dare to question one such as you? Please, the bride and groom bid you welcome." He gestured towards the mansion.

Deciding not to frighten the man more than necessary Scarlett let him be and began walking towards the building. When she reached the double-doored entrance it was opened from the inside by a short blonde woman in servant's clothing who stood to the side of the entrance. Scarlett gave the woman a short look before entering the foyer of the mansion. It was lit up by a large chandelier hanging from the roof and had two flights of carpeted stairs that led to a second floor as well as several doors that seemed to lead to other parts of the building.

"The reception is held in the gardens, my Lady," the woman who'd opened the doors told her. "Shall I lead you there?"

Scarlett examined the room for a moment longer before turning to the woman. "Yes. Lead the way."

The servant threw one last glance out the doors before closing them and curtsying to Scarlett. "Then — follow me, my Lady." She leaned her head down as she spoke and didn't meet Scarlett's eyes as she spun around and started leading Scarlett through the mansion. They passed through a door at the far end of the foyer into a hallway that led past what looked like a reception hall and music room before coming out to an open pathway between two different parts of the mansion. The left side of the pathway opened up into a large garden that was completely enclosed on all sides by other sections of the mansion, with the garden itself being packed full of tables and people socializing. At the center of the garden stood a tall statue of some man Scarlett didn't recognize, and at the other end of the area—she could barely make out through the throngs of people—a raised white platform with a roof that had what resembled suns hanging from it. Probably made out of paper or something like it.

"The bride and groom have yet to make their entrance but you are free to take part in the festivities," the servant said and Scarlett turned her attention back to the woman, only for the woman to give her another curtsy and immediately take her leave. Scarlett raised a brow at the action before looking back out over the mass of people. She spotted a table that appeared to hold some manner of hors d'oeuvres not too far away from her and decided to go there for now. Some of those who were nearby seemed to take notice of her, but she didn't pay them any mind. It'd been a while since she ate, and while she didn't want to go against whatever norms there might be around here, she also doubted the original Scarlett would have cared much about small things like this. Stopping at the table, she eyed the different side dishes for a moment. Picking up something that looked a lot like some kind of crostini with cheese cream on it, she tried a bite. It was decent. Not as good as some of the other stuff she had tried in this world.

Maybe the Hartfords' chef was just that good? She reminded herself that she should meet the person sometime. Picking up another small dish, she turned her head and examined her surroundings.

To be honest, she was at a complete loss as to what she should do next. This whole wedding business had been sprung on her quite suddenly. She was still hoping she'd find some book on noble etiquette in the mansion, but even if she did it would be unlikely to cover subjects like these. It would have been useful if she had someone to ask about these things, but doing that would undoubtedly arouse suspicion she didn't want.

As her gaze moved across the attendees of the wedding she suddenly heard a voice approach her from the side.

"If it isn't Baroness Hartford. I'm surprised to see you here at this wedding."

Scarlett turned around to see a middle-aged man in what she could only describe as a black half-open fantasy suit with gold inlays and buttons moving towards her. He had deep golden hair and walked arm-in-arm with a raven-haired woman in a wide dark-blue dress that looked at her with a small smile.

"It has been a while, Baroness," the man said as a greeting.

"You look great in that dress dear," the woman gestured her hand towards Scarlett.

Scarlett examined them both closely for a second before ever-so-slightly nodding her head towards the man. "It has," she said, before turning to the woman. "And your dress is quite fitting as well."

The man smiled and brought his hands forward. "Let me introduce you two. Baroness, this is my wife, Viscountess Irena Clapham. Irena, I'm sure you were already aware, but this is Baroness Scarlett Hartford."

Scarlett glanced at him. That had to make this man Viscount Clapham.

"Why of course I knew!" The viscountess motioned with her hand in her husband's direction. "I'm sure her name has been on the lips of everyone who has read this week's issue of the Empyreal Chronicle."

Scarlett lifted an eyebrow. That wasn't a name she was expecting to hear here. The Empyreal Chronicle was the national newspaper in the Graenal Empire. In the game it was released on a weekly basis and was mostly a way for the player to learn of potential events and quests across the world during the course of the game.

"I am afraid I am unaware as to exactly what it is that you are referring to. I have not been informed of any article or the like regarding me," she said.

"Goodness!" The viscountess covered her mouth. "You didn't even know? I read it just yesterday. To think that such vile criminals were present in Freybrook of all places! I'm glad that you dealt with them."

What did they write about her? And why had she missed this? She would have to ask Garside about it when she returned this evening.

"It appears as if my contribution in the matter has been exaggerated." Getting too much attention on herself at this time might introduce unexpected factors. It sounded like more trouble than it was worth at the moment. "Much of the recognition goes to Count Knottley and the members of the Shields Guild who participated in the subjugation of the criminals."

"Oh my, how humble."

"How unexpected. For you to give the credit to others, Baroness," Viscount Clapham said.

Scarlett met his eyes. "I do not make it a custom to take what isn't mine. I am not 'giving' any credit; merely ensuring that it is acknowledged where it should be."

The viscount smiled. "Of course. Pardon my gaffe. I'm simply glad those kinds of unsavory elements were dealt with appropriately."

"As am I."

"Speaking of, how are things over in Freybrook? It has been a while since I last visited. How's your sister?"

Scarlett kept a neutral expression. "She is well, although we are both quite busy due to the current circumstances."

"As I thought you would be. I'm sure there's much to deal with after—"

The viscount went quiet as his eyes moved to behind Scarlett. A moment later she felt a hand grab hold of her left shoulder and forcibly turn her around. She was met face to face with a handsome man with dark black hair in a black military dolman that had a gold trimming and collar. His sleeves were white with wide gold bracelets and on his chest hung dozens of small medals as well as a large golden medallion in the shape of the sun. He looked at her with a large scowl.

"What are you doing here?"

Chapter 18 - I pronounce you...and all that

Scarlett stared at the man's face. She was pretty certain she recognized him. What was it? Leon Desmon? Delmon? She'd written it down somewhere. Anyhow, he was a rather prominent figure in certain parts of the game and was the vice-captain of the Imperial Solar Knights, which said a lot considering they were the strongest knight order in the empire. She hadn't interacted with him as much as she could've because she never reached the capital in her third playthrough, which was supposed to be her knight playthrough. As such, most of her knowledge of him was from late-game events. But he was still memorable enough of a character, despite her not expecting to meet him here like this.

She looked at the hand that was on her shoulder. "What was that?" she found herself asking sharply.

He kept scowling at her as he removed his hand. "What are you doing here, Scarlett?"

She eyed him. While the hostility wasn't odd considering Scarlett's background, she had no idea what exactly it was for. And honestly, she didn't appreciate it. She wasn't sure if it was the Scarlett part or the Amy part of her, but she found herself growing more annoyed by the second. "Is there a reason I cannot be here?"

"We'll leave you young people alone for now," she heard from behind her and turned to see Viscount Clapham lock arms with his wife. "We can speak more at a later time."

His wife smiled at her. "It was a pleasure finally meeting you Baroness Hartford. I hope we can have a conversation over tea some time."

"Yes. Excuse me," Scarlett said as to the couple as they walked away. Then she spun around to look at Leon again.

"What do you want to accomplish by coming here?" he questioned.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "I am not quite sure what it is you are asking. I believe I received an invitation to attend this wedding."

He scoffed. "You're saying you're just here to attend as a normal guest?"

"I do not see what else I could be here for."

"We both know that's a lie."

Scarlett glanced around their surroundings. There were quite a number of eyes aimed at them. "You seem to be rather certain of it, yes. That does not constitute us 'both'." She gestured around them. "Now, is that all you had to say? Or did you choose to cause a disturbance for another reason?"

He looked around the garden at the people close to them for a second before letting out a sigh. "Fine. But don't expect me to escort you. And if you try anything to disrupt Tilda's marriage, know that I won't stand still."

"I neither had such expectations nor thoughts to begin with," she said.

He stared quietly at her for a moment. She met his eyes with her own annoyed gaze. Eventually he shook his head and left towards a group of people some distance away that wore similar uniforms as he. She watched him walk away. That had been a short, but rather intensive exchange. She wondered what kind of relationship he and the original Scarlett had had. It clearly wasn't a normal one, at least. And she certainly hadn't helped that any now. But what was she supposed to do when he approached her in such a rude manner? Apologize for whatever she had done and try to appease him? Just the thought made her feel like retching. No matter what the original had done, she wasn't quite willing to go to those lengths for a stranger. She'd been pushing it even with Evelyne.

Scarlett didn't get much more time to analyze the matter in her head before something else forced her to pay attention to her surroundings. A young blonde woman in a wide yellow dress approached her with hesitant steps, shying away slightly when Scarlett shifted her gaze towards her. She looked to be a few years younger than Scarlett. Maybe somewhere in her early twenties.

"Yes?" Scarlett asked, not bothering to hide all of the annoyance that was still present in her voice.

The woman spun her head towards a group of ladies next to a nearby table, then back to Scarlett. "Ehm, are you the Baroness Hartford?" she asked.

"I am."

The woman almost looked startled by the brusque answer, taking a second to regain her reason and grab the edges of her dress in some kind of curtsy greeting. "I am Salvina Stansfield. I've heard much about the baroness."

"I'm sure you have." Scarlett looked the woman over. "Was there something you needed?"

Salvina's eyes widened. "Ah, um... I wanted to ask if you wished to join us in our discussions. We noticed you were alone."

Scarlett had barely been left by herself for more than ten seconds, but apparently that constituted 'alone' to them. She observed the group of women that were glancing at the two of them for a moment. Of course, none of them were someone she recognized. And from the way Salvina greeted her it didn't seem as if any of them knew her personally. She considered it for a second, then nodded her head. "As you expended the effort to extend the offer, I will accept." She didn't know what else to do here anyway, and it would be easier to interact with people who didn't have any relations with the original Scarlett.

Salvina looked somewhat surprised by the answer, but the younger woman quickly changed into a smile and led Scarlett towards her companions. The group of women introduced themselves as they approached and Scarlett nodded along with their words. She doubted she would remember any of them later on.

"So," one of the women, a tall brunette in a red dress not too dissimilar to Scarlett's, said. "We were just discussing the soon-to-be newlyweds."

"Is that so." Scarlett turned her attention to the woman.

"Yes. Master Corbyn opened a business in the capital just last year and has been frequenting it often. A line of boutiques. It has been going rather well. My husband even invested in it recently."

"Supposedly it was through this business that he met Dame Trista," another woman cut in. "Love at first sight, I heard."

"Oh how nice that must be," a woman that looked slightly older than the rest said and waved her hand in front of her. "My own husband can't tell a boutique from a saloon. It would all have been so much easier if I could just have fallen madly in love when I first saw him."

The women laughed at her words and Scarlett watched on with the closest she could to a fake smile, though it might honestly have been more like a sneer. She wasn't sure she could laugh, even if she wanted to.

"Ah, but I heard Dame Trista doesn't enjoy visiting boutiques often, so how did she and Master Corbyn end up meeting?" Salvina asked.

"I have never met the bride myself, so I wouldn't know."

"Neither have I."

"What about you, Baroness Hartford?" The brunette looked at Scarlett with an expression that Scarlett found distinctly irritating. "You have had quite the number of run-ins with the bride, have you not?"

Scarlett had no idea what kind of run-ins that was, but from the woman's tone, she could guess they weren't especially cordial. Which would also explain Leon's earlier behavior.

"I have also had many 'run-ins' with the guards at my estate. That does not mean that I know what they enjoy as their pastime," she said. It was essentially a wager what to answer here, anyway. "I ask that you do not confuse acquaintance with familiarity."

The woman flinched momentarily but quickly regained her composure. "You misunderstand. I just meant that you might have heard something. Isn't Dame Trista a colleague of your fiancé? He might have mentioned something."

Scarlett had a fiancé? And they were also an Imperial Knight? This was the first she heard of it. It couldn't be...

"Although judging from the display earlier, perhaps Sir Leon doesn't have the kind of relationship where he would share such matters with the Baroness."

Scarlett shifted her gaze towards where Leon was conversing with the group of uniformed people. That man was her fiancé? She wouldn't have thought so from their earlier interaction. Now she almost felt a little bit bad for the way she acted.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. But she thought it would be logical to feel bad about it, at least.

She held back a sigh as she turned back to the woman. How bothersome. "I do not believe my relationship with Sir Leon is any of your concern, Lady Ayla. You may blather of whatever you wish when by yourself, but do not try to interpose yourself into my matters."

The brunette froze at her words as the other ladies awkwardly looked around. Scarlett didn't bother saying anything more. She'd obviously botched this interaction.

"Ahem," Salvina eventually spoke. "A-Anyway. Baroness, I recently read that you fought an organization of criminals."

"Oh! I also heard about that."

"How impressive."

"I don't think I would have the courage to do something dangerous like that."

Scarlett held back a scowl as several of the women chimed in with their thoughts. At the rate this news was spreading the whole empire would know about it soon enough. She could just hope it didn't get out of hand and instead got forgotten in another week or so, as most news tended to do.

"To think you did something like that," Salvina continued in an astonished voice. "I had heard the Hartfords were a family of skillful magicians, but that you could take on a large gang of criminals like that."

It was neither particularly impressive, nor did Scarlett personally do that much. They were a relatively low-level gang, and the original Scarlett was even half-responsible for those crimes. She really had to read this article as soon as she returned.

"It makes one wonder how skilled you are," the brunette uttered. "Maybe you're even a match for your fiancé?"

"Oh my, could that be true?"

"As strong as the vice-captain of the Solar Knights?!"

She wanted to scoff as all the women's attention gathered on her. Leon Delmon was level 75 towards the end of the game. That was only five levels lower than the player at max level. Meanwhile, she would be lucky if she was even considered level 20 right now. Comparing the two of them was ridiculous. Of course, none of these women would know anything about levels and all that, but surely they should at least know the difference between one of the strongest knights in the empire and some small-time villainess?

Well, that wasn't her problem. Not like telling them otherwise would do much. She let them think what they wanted and said no more on the matter. Soon enough the discussion changed to another subject the women had an interest in. Scarlett didn't particularly enjoy or participate in the conversations much, but she was unsure what else to do until the ceremony started so she stayed put, much to the dismay of at least a couple of the women it seemed, although they didn't show it too much more. Eventually, people started moving about in the garden and it looked as if things were starting to happen. She found herself wishing she had a watch to check the time as she joined the throng of people that were starting to gather close to the statue at the central part of the garden.

Soon enough, a man and a woman walked out from one of the surrounding buildings. The woman had long copper-blonde hair that was tied behind her shoulders and wore a bright white dress with golden tracery down its sides. While she could certainly be described as beautiful, the woman had a very hard appearance, Scarlett mused. She didn't look like the kind of person who smiled much. Compared to her, the man was pure joviality. He had a short ginger-brown beard, as well as neatly cut hair, and wore a set of plush blue clothing. A huge smile was plastered on his face as he walked beside his fiancée and took in everyone's greetings.

Scarlett didn't recognize either of their faces from the game. As she had thought, none of them were major characters. It did surprise her slightly though that she felt a tinge of annoyance when she looked at the bride. It appeared the original Scarlett had strong feelings about Trista Denholm. Relatively strong, at least. Stronger than for her fiancé it seemed. And to some degree Garside, she suspected. It was far from being as bad as with Evelyne, however, so she managed to keep a neutral expression on her face as the couple passed through the mass of people with a short train of men and women walking arm-in-arm behind them. Maybe those were some variety of bride's maids and best men.

The bride herself seemed to have noticed her, Trista's eyes widening as she glared at Scarlett. Scarlett didn't show any reaction and watched as both the bride and groom kept moving towards the raised platform that stood at the end of the garden. Eventually Trista was forced to move her attention away from Scarlett.

It didn't seem as if she had been aware Scarlett was coming either. Scarlett was starting to grow suspicious about the whole matter.

As the soon-to-be-wed couple climbed up a small set of stairs onto the platform music began ringing out across the garden. Scarlett spun her head to see a small musical quartet that she hadn't noticed before gathered to the side of the area in front of the platform where dozens of rows of chairs were lined up. All the guests started moving towards those chairs and Scarlett looked around to find where she could sit. The rows were separated so it created a small aisle in the middle, much like what you often saw at weddings in her world, so she wondered if those related to the groom or bride should maybe sit on different sides. Unfortunately she had no idea which category she was supposed to fit into, so when she spotted Viscount Clapham and his wife sitting themselves down at the center of one of the rows she merely sat herself down further out on that same row. Then she began watching the proceedings with a calm expression. Up till this point it hadn't looked much different from a classical wedding in her world.

The bride and groom now stood at opposite ends of the platform. Soon another figure came walking down the impromptu aisle between the chairs and moved towards the platform. They wore a heavy and complicated set of gold-emblazoned red robes as well as a golden mask that was shaped like two squares interposed over each other at the front, with one square angled 45 degrees to it looked similar to an octagon. The middle of the mask's face was completely white and had two pieces of cloth hanging down with odd symbols on them. It was one of the priests of Ittar, the god of the sun and patron deity of the Graenal Empire. The Followers of Ittar had been an oft-present faction in the game that Scarlett was very familiar with.

The priest walked up the platform and moved to its center with slow steps. They then turned around to the mass of guests and threw their hands—which were hidden by a pair of white gloves—into the air. The music stopped. "Revered men and women." A man's voice rang out. "Today is a day of celebration. For you, as well as the resplendent Ittar, are all here to attest to and bear witness to one of the oldest and most beautiful rites there is."

Scarlett felt like rolling her eyes. Most priests in the game were like this. There wasn't necessarily anything wrong with it, but it felt horribly clichéd for a clergyman in a fantasy game. She knew that wasn't all they were about, but it was still a prevalent part of their characters.

As one might have expected, the priest soon went into a long speech about Ittar and the origins of the wedding rites. Scarlett wasn't particularly interested and only half-paid attention, wondering if they did this for all weddings. Felt like most attendants would get tired of it after visiting a wedding or two.

The groom and bride stood to the side during the whole ordeal. If Scarlett was to guess this went on for at least an hour before the priest stopped talking about the importance of this act and that. When he finally finished, the music gradually began playing again as he took several steps back on the platform and gestured towards the bride and groom who both walked to the center of the platform from opposite ends.

"As the sun rises and the sky turns, let Ittar's light shine upon those that shall share an unbreakable bond," the priest proclaimed. "None but the glorious Ittar shall break this bond and none shall desecrate it; lest risk condemning themselves to eternity at the hands of the Viles in the Blazes." He turned towards the bride and groom both. "Are the two of you ready, in body and in mind, to pledge to these vows?"

"Yes," both of them said at once.

"Then I declare you both united under the watch of Ittar, as husband and as wife."

The two took a step forward and embraced each other with a deep kiss to the cheering of the audience. Scarlett lightly clapped her hands and inwardly let out a relieved sigh that things were starting to move forward. Hopefully there would be some banquet or the like afterward that she could attend for just a short while before leaving. There was still something she wanted to do here in Ambercrest, and she didn't have too much time before she had to return to Freybrook.

When Trista and her new husband eventually let go of each other with smiles on their faces and took a step back Scarlett thought it was almost done, but instead the man turned towards one of the people that had stood close to him on the platform and received a parchment of paper. Then he spun towards the crowd, beaming. "If you all don't mind, I have something to say."

Scarlett froze.

They were holding speeches.

Chapter 19 - The dine and dash

Trista thanked the group of people before her for all their well-wishings and turned her head around to look for her husband. That term still felt odd to use. She'd never seen herself marrying during her years as a squire. Spotting his bronze-colored mane amongst a cluster of people near the large statue of Rasiel the Resilient at the center of the garden she briefly announced her leave to those she had been conversing with and made off towards her Corbyn. She grabbed the hem of her dress to adjust it as she moved through the crowds of guests that all congratulated her as she passed by. She couldn't get used to wearing clothes like this.

This day had been more intense than even some of the worst back when she had been a squire. There was just so much that they had had to do. Both she and Corbyn woke up at three to begin with all the preparations and get ready for when the guests started arriving at nine. After greeting the first of them it had all just been a flurry of things that had to be completed before the actual service, both ceremonial and other. Since the actual ceremony, she and Corbyn had barely had a minute of free time to trade words with each other — which was especially irritating as she had something she needed to ask him.

As Trista approached the center of the garden with determined steps she scanned the people around her. She couldn't believe Scarlett was here. She'd kept worrying that blasted woman would do something the whole ceremony. Instead, Scarlett had just sat there in the audience, completely still. And when the speeches were over and the reception started Trista had quickly lost sight of her in the crowd. But knowing the woman, she was probably planning some kind of deceptive scheme.

Trista couldn't understand what she was doing here. Did she sneak in? Or did Corbyn invite her for some reason? She loved the man, but sometimes he did the most stupid things. Locking onto his back with her eyes she walked past a group of her fellow knights and gave them a short greeting before walking up to Corbyn and tapping him on his shoulder. He stopped his conversation with those in front of him and turned around. "Trista!" he exclaimed with a large smile and leaned in to kiss her. She returned the kiss before gesturing to the side.

"Can we talk for a moment?"

She saw him scrunch that nose of his in confusion as he sometimes did before he nodded his head. "Of course." He took her hand as they moved a short distance away. "What was it that you wanted?" he asked as they stopped next to a small concrete plinth. He was tall, even for a man, so he ended up looking down at her.

She stared up at him. "Did you invite Scarlett to the wedding?"

"Scarlett?" He gave her an inquiring look.

"Scarlett Hartford."

A look of understanding spread across his face. "Ah, Baroness Hartford! Yes, I did send her an invitation."

Trista sighed. "Why did you do that?"

He looked confused again. "Shouldn't I have? The Hartfords have some involvement in my business so I felt it was only right."

"You should have told me if that was the case."

"But she didn't accept it?"

Trista paused. "...I saw her earlier."

Corbyn's eyebrows rose. "Are you sure? I'm certain I remember her sending a letter declining the invitation."

Trista clenched her fists. Of course that woman would do something like that. Declining the invitation just to attend anyway. Whatever she could to cause a mess and insult her as much as possible. She didn't know what Scarlett was planning, but she wouldn't let it pass on the day of her wedding.

"Tell me if you see her. I'm going to make sure nothing disastrous happens," she told her husband. He gave her an uncertain 'okay' as she walked off. She then walked around the garden for a short while, looking for Scarlett's burning red hair amongst the mass of people. In the process, she spotted Leon talking with Corbyn's parents. The viscount and his wife were starting to get on in years, but they were still as energetic as ever. They'd spent a lot of money organizing this whole wedding and inviting all the guests to their home.

Walking up next to Leon she looked at the viscount and his wife. "Father, mother, do you mind if I borrow the vice-captain for a moment?"

The viscount gave her the largest smile. Corbyn had taken a lot after his father. "Of course not, dear. Just make sure to give my son some attention later too, or he'll soon start crying, I'm sure."

She smiled. "Of course, father."

With that, the viscount and viscountess Stratford soon walked off and Trista turned to Leon. "Vice-captain, have you seen Scarlett?" she asked him straight out.

Leon shook his head, a scowl on his face. "I spoke with her when she first arrived about an hour before the ceremony, but that's all. I haven't seen her for a while now. Did she do something?"

Trista shook her head with a sigh. "Not yet, as far as I know — except for attending uninvited. But I also haven't seen her since the ceremony. I'm afraid of what she might do."

Leon crossed his arms as he looked around the area. "When I spoke with her she told me she wasn't planning anything."

"You believe her?"

"No," he answered. "But it also isn't like her to disappear like this."

Trista frowned. This was the last thing she needed now. The wedding itself was stressful enough.

"Your husband is coming here," Leon said and nodded towards one of the side buildings. Corbyn was waving to her as he walked towards them. When he got close enough he gave a short greeting to Leon before turning to Trista.

"I checked with the servants regarding the Baroness. Apparently, she arrived twenty minutes to twelve despite declining the invitation."

"Yes, I already heard that," Trista said.

Corbyn held up a hand. "But then she left forty minutes ago."

Both Trista's and Leon's eyes widened.

"What?!"

"That was much shorter than I thought it'd be," Kat said from the opposite end of the carriage as Scarlett. "I thought weddings always took ages."

"I did not attend all of it," Scarlett said. Their carriage was currently passing through the gates of Ambercrest and out of the walled city.

The speeches after the wedding ceremony had continued for even longer than the ceremony itself and had almost driven Scarlett crazy with their dullness. She knew none of the people there but still had to listen to them awkwardly praise each other. It seemed some things never changed no matter the world you were in. After the speeches there had at least been a small feast with some decent food. Better than the appetizers she'd had earlier, at the very least. When that was finished and people had begun mingling with each other again, Scarlett had realized that the clock was closing in on five. She had already been there for the most important part, was pressed for time — and frankly, she couldn't really be bothered with pretending to enjoy the wedding much more than she already was, so she had taken the chance to leave. It had already turned out that she didn't have a particularly good relationship with the bride anyways. From there she'd managed to get a servant to fetch her carriage and went over to pick up Kat.

She looked out the window as they drove down a well-traveled gravel road outside the city's walls. Rocky cliffs overlooking the water were to their right and large fields of green grass to their left. Scarlett made sure to keep an eye on the scenery as they moved on. She was a bit uncertain if she was going to recognize all of the landmarks she was looking for. She'd made some basic drawings of them early on in the journal she kept to remember things from the game but she was far from the best artist. It had also been a while since she was last in this area in the games. It was during her second playthrough — which she'd completed over two weeks before she arrived in this world. As such, her memory was a bit hazy.

The two of them stayed mostly quiet during their ride. There was lots of activity on the road, however. Wagons, carriages, and groups of people moving both from and to Ambercrest. The city might be smaller than Freybrook when it came to its size, but it was very lively.

Eventually, after around twenty minutes of travel, Scarlett spotted a resting spot to the side of the road with a large marble statue overlooking it. The statue was surrounded by several half-broken pillars and depicted a woman surrounded by flames with her hands reaching up towards the sky. It was situated right at the edge of a small overhang jutting out over the steep cliffside.

"Stop here," Scarlett called out loud enough so that the coach driver could hear it from outside. Soon the carriage steered off of the road and stopped a short distance away from the statue. There was a small group of other people resting here too, but this place was close enough to the city for most travelers to just pass it by.

"We are going on foot from here," Scarlett told Kat and quickly stepped out of the carriage, telling the older coachman to rest here for now. The senior Shielder soon followed her out of the vehicle and threw a quick glance at the statue before looking at Scarlett.

"Don't tell me we're exploring another Zuverian ruin or something like that?" she asked with a quizzical tone. "It's beginning to feel like you're pulling these places out from behind your ear."

"No. This is something different," Scarlett said as she studied the area around them. It was relatively close in the game, but distances were different in this world so she couldn't completely rely on that. She walked up to the circular platform the statue was on and carefully leaned out behind it to get a look at the cliffside.

"Whoa, what are you doing?!" Kat's somewhat worried voice sounded out behind her and the woman soon stepped up beside her with her hands held out. "Don't do something stupid and fall off now."

Scarlett took a step back. "I am fine. I merely required a good vantage point." Though she hadn't seen much but cliffs and rocks. She stroked her chin.

In 'Chronicle of Realms' you always had a handy minimap of the surrounding area with a compass next to it so finding what locations you could walk to was relatively simple. Here, she had none of that. She couldn't really think of any special way to deal with that so after a moment of pondering she decided to simply walk in the general direction of what she was searching for. Stepping off the statue's platform, she started following the cliffside in the direction facing away from Ambercrest. A slightly confused Kat followed not long after. Keeping her eyes on the cliff's edge, Scarlett kept on walking for five minutes without spotting anything that stuck out to her.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Kat asked her from the side.

Scarlett stopped and took a few careful steps closer to the edge to look down the cliffside. Kat grabbed hold of her arm to stop her from falling. "We are looking for a path to climb down on," she said. She didn't find anything but water and rock. "Somewhere along these cliffs, there is a small cenote. Or a cavern, if you will. It has something I need in it."

"...Right. So we're just looking for a hole in the cliffside?"

"In essence, yes." Scarlett nodded her head.

"Ok," Kat said and gently pulled Scarlett further away from the edge. "Then let the person who's not wearing a fancy dress do the dangerous hanging-over-a-cliff part, alright?" She then started moving along the cliff's edge, intermittently stopping to lean out over it as far she could to look down before moving on.

Scarlett glanced down at her dark red dress. It wasn't the most flexible of clothing, true, but she hadn't brought anything to change into. Nor did she have anywhere to change. She was pretty certain that there was no way she could bring the Scarlett part of herself to change in the carriage or in any kind of public setting. But would it have been that hard for her to bring a change of clothes and stop by at an inn or something for just a moment? God, sometimes she was stupid. She'd thought she'd planned this out. She gave a short shake of her head before taking a few hurried steps to catch up with the Shielder.

They probably moved on for another ten minutes before Kat finally stopped. "I think I see something," the woman said and got down on her stomach to lean further out and get a better view.

Scarlett looked around them. They were a fair distance away from both the resting spot and the road now. She could only barely see the tip of the statue from further up the cliffside. This was certainly much further away than it had been in the game. And she really couldn't recognize anything special from the ground around here.

"I think I can see a decent path we can climb down on," Kat said and stood up. She then looked Scarlett up and down. "Although I think it's best if you wait here and I go on my own."

"I am afraid that is not an option," Scarlett said firmly. "It will be dangerous if I am not present there myself."

Kat had a doubtful expression on her face as she was quiet for a moment. Then she let out a sigh. "Fine. But I'm going first. And you seriously have to be careful. Otherwise we'll both end up falling to our deaths."

"Of course," Scarlett agreed. The both of them then moved over to the part of the cliffside where Kat said she had found the path to climb down on. Although it looked better than other parts of the cliffside which were basically unclimbable, this part still had an almost 90-degree decline and looked sufficiently dangerous. As Scarlett watched Kat begin to slowly climb down, she found herself wondering if she would actually be able to make this climb. Maybe she should rip the skirt of the dress to make this easier? It did look expensive, but it wasn't as if she cared about it that much. She bent over and started tearing it at knee-level. It was harder to rip apart than she thought, but eventually it tore with a loud ripping sound. She threw the extra bit on the ground and looked down at the cliff. It still looked a bit dangerous...

Thankfully Kat seemed to have thought of this as when she'd climbed far enough down for her head to be under the cliff's edge she looked up at Scarlett and moved one of her hands over the side of the cliff. A moment later the rock itself started jutting out as a small foothold appeared. "There we go. Use this when you climb," she said before using her other hand to create another foothold. Soon she began climbing down again, creating footholds at an equal distance along the way.

"Thank you," Scarlett said as she awkwardly went down on her knees and tried getting her foot on the first foothold to start climbing down. The dress was still partly in the way, even after tearing much of it off. As such it was tedious, but she did manage to slowly make her way down. Kat had essentially created a ladder out of the cliffside for her.

Kat coughed from under her and Scarlett leaned her head downwards. The woman was trying not to look straight up as she created another pair of footholds in the rock for Scarlett. Scarlett felt a surge of anger rise through her when she realized the position she was in. Damn it. It shouldn't bother her, but it did.

"Just keep climbing," she muttered to the woman beneath her and locked her eyes onto the stone in front of her. It took her a few more minutes, as well as a pair of tired arms, to finally reach a small outcropping in the cliffside where Kat was waiting for her. Next to them was a hole with a diameter of about one meter that went down into the cliffside. The light from the sun shone down into the hole to reveal a large cave with a shallow lake of water at its bottom. A long gathering of sediment and stalactites hung down from the side of the hole.

"This it?" Kat asked as she glanced down at the opening.

Scarlett leaned closer to look inside. At the center of the small lake of water was a tiny island of rocks, and the water seemed to become much deeper at one end of the cave. "Yes. This is the correct place."

"Are we just jumping down then?"

Scarlett shook her head. The opening was situated at the lower end of the roof of the cave, but the fall still looked to be about three meters. She couldn't handle a fall like that. Maybe if she were one of her characters from the game.

Gesturing towards Kat's side where Scarlett's [Pouch of Holding] that she'd given the woman hung, she said. "There is a rope in there. We will be using that."

Kat looked down at her hip and reached into the pouch, soon taking out a long piece of thick rope. Her brows rose. "That also works." Then she looked around and found a piece of sturdy rock to tie it to. After tugging at it a few times she threw the rest of the rope down the hole and immediately began climbing down. Soon she'd reached the bottom of the cave and looked up. Scarlett took a couple of deep breaths before also grabbing onto the rope. It had been years since she last climbed a rope in gym class. And she'd probably been more fit at the time than Scarlett was right now. As soon as she began climbing down she almost lost her grip, but after tightening her hands around the rope she managed to slowly make her way down. She burned her hands against the rope in the process, but soon enough her feet touched the cave floor. She looked down. The water was strikingly cold and came up to her ankles—probably ruining whatever material her shoes were made out of—but it was very clear.

"What now?" Kat asked, her words echoing throughout the cave.

Scarlett focused her gaze at the center of the cave where the pile of rocks rose up above the water. She stepped up to it and leaned over to try and pick up the stone at the top, but it was too heavy. Trying not to look too ruffled, she took a step back and gestured towards the pile. "Lift those."

Kat gave her an amused look that Scarlett pointedly ignored before walking over and grabbing the top-most rock with both hands. With a small grunt, she threw it to the side and it splashed into the water a short distance away. "More?" Kat asked and looked at Scarlett.

Scarlett nodded. "Continue."

The Shielder went back to moving the rocks as Scarlett watched on. After a minute Kat suddenly stopped after lifting away a particularly large rock. "There's something there."

"Don't touch it," Scarlett said and moved closer. Kat shifted to the side to give her space. A stained piece of curved gold stuck out from the rocks like a handle.

"What is it?" Kat asked.

Scarlett carefully grabbed hold of the object and pulled it out from the pile of rocks. Kat let out a sound of surprise.

"This," Scarlett said as she looked at the oddly shaped object. "Is a magical lamp."

Chapter 20 - Always read the fine print

"A real one?" Kat asked incredulously, staring at the strange lamp in Scarlett's hands. "Like from the story of the Nine Samaritan Thieves?"

Scarlett glanced at Kat. Her companions in the game had had dialogue that made it seem like they knew of magic lamps too, so the concept clearly wasn't too foreign in this world. "Something like that, yes," she said and looked back at the lamp. It had been buried in this cave for a long time. Thick grime coated it, but the gold beneath shimmered through on some spots.

"Are you gonna use it?"

"That was my intention."

The lamp felt strangely hot to the touch. Scarlett turned it around and lightly shook it. There was no sound. "Step back," she told Kat, placing the lamp on the pile of rocks in front of them.

"Wait, you're using it now?!"

"Indeed," she said and took a step up to the Shielder. She reached towards the woman's hip and put her hand into the black pouch hanging there, pulling out a large bottle filled with a thick, dark-red liquid.

"Hold this," she said and handed it to Kat, who stared at it with a confused expression.

"Is this blood?"

"Yes. But there is no need for worry. It is hogs' blood." That seemed to assuage the woman's confusion somewhat. Maybe. Scarlett hadn't been sure that she would have enough time to visit this place before having to return to Freybrook, but she had asked Garside to procure a flask of blood from the butchers just to be safe. Bless that man for not even raising an eyebrow at the request.

Stepping back to the pile of rocks, she eyed the lamp for a moment. "After I use this, it is vital that you do not speak a word until I say you can. Is that understood?" she asked Kat.

"Sure...But why?"

Scarlett looked back to see the Shielder looking down at the bottle of blood in her hands.

"Because you might inadvertently agree to something that is not within your best interests," she said. "It is important to not be deceived by appearances." She'd made that mistake in her first playthrough.

"Aren't djinns supposed to grant wishes?"

"This one is...unique. Now, be quiet." She leaned forward to wipe away the years of dirt, running her fingers against the lamp's surface. As she did, the lamp began to tremble against the stone. Raising herself, she stepped back just as heavy blue smoke started spilling out of the spout of the lamp. The vapor arched into the air where it began to take shape before them. The upper part of the smoke took the form of a muscular man with dark purple skin and flowing black hair that was tied into a knot that floated beside him. His bare body was bedecked with golden jewellery, and his ears—which were long and pointed—had a long pair of gold chains hanging from them.

"Who summons me?" he declared as he peered around the cavern. His gaze quickly found Scarlett and he looked down at her with a sneer. "Human...It was you?"

She found herself meeting his sneer with a sneer of her own. "It was."

The djinn observed her quietly for several seconds before crossing his large arms across his chest. "It has been a long time since I last saw the light of day. You have my gratitude, human."

"Your gratitude is not what we are here for."

He eyed her for several more seconds, then the edges of his lips rose into a small smile. "The nature of humans never changes, it seems," he said with a short laugh. "You know what I am. What is it that you wish for? Power? Money? Immortality?"

Scarlett smiled. "You claim it is within your power to gift these things?"

"Of course." The djinn waved his hand. Blue smoke trailed behind it, turning into gold coins that fell into the water beneath. "I can give you whatever it is that you want...for a price."

She raised an eyebrow. "I do not recall hearing that djinns ask a price for their gifts."

"Then perhaps you've heard incorrectly," he said and floated closer to the ground. "Nothing is free. And I have been in that lamp for a very long time. My power is...weakened. Depleted. If I am to grant you your boon, I will need to replenish it. So." He moved closer to Scarlett so that he was right in front of her. "Do you agree to the deal?"

Scarlett frowned as she almost breathed in some of the blue smoke that whirled around him, trying to wave it away with her hand. It seemed to ignore her movements. "I believe it is best if you specify the price before any arrangements are made."

"Certainly." He smiled and leaned back in the air. "I simply need the beating heart of a human."

Scarlett heard Kat flinch behind her as the woman's feet moved in the water, but thankfully the Shielder kept quiet. Scarlett stared at the grinning djinn. "That is a very macabre request, for a being such as you."

The djinn gave a non-committal shrug. "I am merely telling you what I require to regain my power and grant you your wish. Humans are a valuable source of mana."

"That may be, but I am afraid I cannot fulfill your request."

He looked at her. "A shame. You did seem the type for a moment," he said, rising up into the air again. "But very well. Then I need something else."

"Speak."

He froze, staring down at her. It appeared he did not like her ordering him around.

"...Blood," he eventually said. "I need blood to regain my strength."

Scarlett examined him for a moment. Then she turned around and took the flask in Kat's hands before looking back at him, holding the blood up. He stared at her as if he hadn't even noticed the object before, then slowly floated down to receive it. He tore the cap off and smelled the contents, then narrowed his eyes at her. "This is blood."

"Astute observation," she stated. When the djinn didn't immediately give a response she tilted her head ever-so-slightly to the side. "Is there a problem? I believe that is what you asked for, is it not?"

He stared at her, occasionally glancing at the bottle in his hands. He even sniffed it one more time.

"Do you perhaps think I am attempting to poison you?" Scarlett asked. "There would not be much point to such an action. Then you would be unable to give me what I wish for. Nor do I know of a poison that could harm a djinn."

He eyed her for a moment longer. "...Crafty woman," he muttered. Then he downed the whole flask before throwing it to the ground. His body suddenly began taking on a deeper hue and the smoke around him shifted into a darker violet. A smile played on his lips as he moved his body with the energy. "Ahh, it's been so long. To think such a measly amount would give so much."

Scarlett watched the djinn rejoice in its refound strength until he finally turned his attention back to her. "As agreed, I'll grant you one wish within my power. What is it that you want? Power? Money?"

"Power is what I need," she answered with confidence.

He sneered. "Of course it is...Then you agree to our deal?"

"Yes," Scarlett nodded her head.

"Then say the words," he said. He moved down to her level again. "Say that you agree to the terms."

"I agree to the terms of the deal." The moment the words left her lips a sharp burning sensation shot out from her left hand. The pain surprised her, but she clenched her teeth and forced herself to endure it. Smoke billowed out from her skin as a dark crest formed at the top of her hand. A steadily rising laugh resounded throughout the cave as the djinn's skin had suddenly begun growing darker and darker. Cackling like a madman, any sense of gravitas that he'd previously had was completely gone as his entire appearance started turning sharper and scaled. Scarlett heard Kat move behind her but held out her arm to stop the woman from doing anything. All the while she kept her eyes on the transforming djinn in front of them.

Eventually, he stopped laughing and turned his attention back to Scarlett, completely ignoring Kat. His entire body was now covered in dark purple scales and his mouth was filled with rows of teeth. He was staring at her with bright red eyes. "It's been centuries since I last had my own little meatbag-slave to toy with. This is going to be marvelous."

Scarlett kept quiet as she watched him. His eyes went to her arm that was blocking Kat. "Ah, of course. Greedy little human. Your reward." He grinned and waved his hand in the air, a necklace forming out of dark smoke. A circular violet crystal that hung from a thin black band and shimmered in the air as he threw it towards Scarlett. She caught it and examined it.

[Depraved Solitude's Choker (Unique)]

{This necklace hungers for power and appears to suck in the mana around it, waiting for it to be unleashed. 1/3000}

"Precisely what I required." She smiled and looked up at the djinn—or rather—the demon in front of her. "A pleasure doing business with you."

The large and scaled man let out another cackling laugh. "Crazy woman. No, it was a pleasure doing business with you." His face morphed into a maniacal grin.

"I am sure it was." Scarlett turned to Kat. "We have all we need. It is time for us to leave."

Kat met her eyes with a disbelieving look. "We're just going to leave? That's a demon!"

"Oh, you're not leaving yet." The demon's voice rang out behind Scarlett. "You're not leaving until I say so."

The pain started to grow on Scarlett's hand again and she felt an urge inside her pulling her back. It was mucky...Vile. If the traits that beheld her to the original Scarlett's personality were chains, then this was a tentacle. A barb that felt out and tried to drag her towards it.

But it was pitiful compared to the chains.

She looked back at the demon. "I think it is time we break this pact."

He smirked, revealing his rows of sharp teeth. "There is no breaking it. You are now mine, forever."

"I disagree." She held her left hand in front of her, looking at the dark crest imprinted on it. "Vezzeleth," she declared, the crest lighting up the moment she uttered the word.

The demon's eyes shot open. "Ho—"

"I demand this pact be broken." When her last word finished a blinding light radiated from the crest and filled the cavern they were in. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the light dissolved and the crest was gone from Scarlett's hand.

"You!" the demon screamed out. "My name...How!" He glared at her, his red eyes like molten lava. With a scream, he sprang towards her — but she was ready. She detonated a small Aqua Mine next to the magical lamp. The entire demon's body warped with an ear-piercing scream and pulled towards the lamp as it fell down into the water. A brief moment later he reformed above the lamp. "You littl—"

She had already pulled out her [Wand of Fireball] from Kat's pouch of holding and cast the spell at the lamp. The water around it instantly vaporized with the explosion and the demon cried out as its body twisted in the air above the lamp. Scarlett didn't hesitate for a second before casting the spell again, and then once more after that. After the third explosion, the demon had disappeared altogether and the lamp was just a half-molten lump of metal that was soon swallowed by the water that came flowing in around it.

[Quest Completed: Deal with the demon of The Isolated Hollow]

{Skill points awarded: 3}

Scarlett glanced at the window of text that appeared beside her as she kept her eyes on the lamp and waited for the ringing in her ears to stop. Fireball wasn't as ridiculously loud as some of the spells she'd seen Kat cast, but it was still a bit much for an enclosed space with a knack for amplifying sounds such as a cave. She should really be careful about things like this in the future.

After watching the lamp for long enough to feel sure that it was completely dealt with she finally turned to Kat. The woman was staring at her with a dumbfounded expression. "Now we leave."

The both of them quietly sat in the carriage as it moved across the road back towards Ambercrest. It had taken them some time to climb out of the cave and walk back to the resting spot because of Scarlett's relatively weak body, but with Kat's help, they'd eventually managed it. The Shielder had barely said a word the whole time, though. Kat wasn't one to often hold back her thoughts on matters so Scarlett felt a little uncomfortable with the silence.

Not that she'd show it. Showing any signs of discomfort was basically blasphemy to the original Scarlett. Her expressions essentially ranged from satisfied derision to contempt. A trait she'd found to be both a blessing and a pain. Mostly a pain, though.

"Did you know there would be a demon there before we entered the cave?"

Scarlett was pulled out of her thoughts as Kat finally decided to speak. She was now looking straight at her with an interrogating look.

"...Yes," Scarlett answered after a moment's deliberation. There did not seem to be much point in lying about it.

"Are you crazy?" Kat asked.

Scarlett paused, meeting her eyes. "I am quite sane."

"You struck a pact with a demon."

"And then broke that pact," Scarlett pointed out. "There was no real danger present." Even if her original plan hadn't worked she could have visited the Followers of Ittar's temple in the capital to get rid of the pact. It would be a lot more troublesome if that's what she had to do, but it was another solution nonetheless. That's what she'd been forced to do in her first playthrough when she'd fallen for the demon's tricks. She hadn't learned she could break the pact with the demon's name until her second playthrough. Although in that playthrough she had also given the demon a human heart, but the only difference that made was in the quality of the reward you received.

"And how did you do that?" Kat furrowed her forehead. "I didn't know pacts with demons could be broken that easily."

"I simply spoke his name." Scarlett looked out the carriage window. They were getting close to the city walls. "Their names hold a great deal of power to demons. Enough to weaken them. And definitely enough to break a pact."

"But how did you know his name?"

Scarlett observed some of the people on foot that they passed by. "I uncovered it in my research," she said as she spotted a brown-haired woman with a baby in her arms that reminded her of a friend back in her world. It wasn't the same person, but the resemblance was close enough to spark a few memories.

"So this was all part of your plan? From the start?"

"Yes."

"Then why didn't you tell me before? I was this close to bringing down the entire cave when I first saw that demon."

Scarlett shifted her head to look at Kat. The woman had a serious look on her face. "Would you have agreed to go if I told you we were looking for a demon?" she eventually asked. Demons were the stuff of nightmares in this world.

"I don't know. But it would have been better than not telling me," Kat said, meeting her eyes. "Technically I should cancel this whole escort request because of this. The Guild doesn't like endangering its members more than necessary."

Scarlett stared back at the woman, without saying anything. She looked out the window again and started tapping her fingers against its frame. "I..."

Closing her eyes for a moment, she took a breath. God damn it, this shouldn't be that hard. She'd apologized to Evelyne before!

"I...should have informed you beforehand," she eventually said, trying her best to avoid the wave of disgust that came with her actions. Damn it, that had barely been an apology! Why the hell was this worse than when she apologized to Evelyne.

Kat stayed quiet for a moment, and Scarlett glanced at her to see the woman also having turned her head to look out the window. "I didn't say I was going to. Just saying I probably should," she said. "Though I wouldn't mind some extra reward or something for all the dangerous things I'm always doing for you," she added in a light tone.

Scarlett's eyes widened somewhat, the edges of her mouth rising slightly. "I will ensure you are amply rewarded for the dangers you face. And I will keep you informed of such dangers in the future."

Kat shrugged her shoulders. "I won't object to that."

The carriage fell into silence again. Several minutes passed and the carriage passed into the city itself before Kat spoke again, in a lower tone. "All the dungeons, and those Zuverian ruins...Were they also something you found in your research?"

Scarlett looked at Kat. The blonde woman was absently fiddling with her braid.

"Yes."

"Huh." Kat kept her eyes fixed on the buildings they passed by.

"...You do not believe me," Scarlett stated in a neutral tone.

"No," Kat admitted. "But I don't think it's any of my business either. I would like for you to tell me, but I'm not going to force your hand about it."

Scarlett also turned her eyes outside. "I appreciate that."

They didn't say anything else after that.

Chapter 21 - Outlining

"Are you sure, my Lady?" Garside asked as he stood in front of the desk in the mansion's office.

"Yes. The sooner this is dealt with, the better," Scarlett said. "We have allowed the current situation to proceed for far too long."

Garside bowed, his shoulder-length grey hair springing from the movement. "I will personally see it done."

Scarlett nodded her head in approval. "Remember to confirm what the necessary procedures are as well. I will not have this become more complicated than it has to."

"As you wish. I will carry out your commands immediately," he responded. This was why Scarlett liked the man. Not only was he one of the few people that didn't even slightly irk the Scarlett part of her, but he was also incredibly efficient in basically everything he did. She would have been so much more lost in this world if he wasn't here to help her.

"Is there anything you need while I am gone, my Lady?" Garside continued. "I will relay the orders to the other servants."

She thought about it. There was something she had wanted to look into. "I require maps of the surroundings fiefs, as well as a map of all active Kilnstones," she said after a moment.

Garside's mustache trembled slightly as he grew a thoughtful expression across his wrinkled face. "I believe we have an old map in the library of Kilnstone locations, that belonged to the late Lord. It would be over twenty years old, but it is most likely still accurate. I will have one of the servants bring it and a map of the fiefs."

"Good," she nodded. "And Garside?"

"Yes, my Lady?"

"What did I have on the calendar in the coming weeks?"

"There was nothing until the Light Fest in the capital, two weeks from now," he answered.

That's right, she'd forgotten that the first Light Fest was pretty early into the game. It was just a large festival that took place in Elystead once a year. She hadn't been there for the first one in any of her playthroughs, but she had participated in several of the later ones. There were a couple of quests related to those.

She had things she wanted to do in the capital, so this wasn't unwelcome news. But two weeks...Was that enough? She had some things she had to prepare before going there.

She'd have to wait until she got those maps to make sure.

"...I see. Good," she said and brought her attention back to the old butler. "Then you may get to work."

"Very well." Garside performed one last bow before leaving to execute her orders. Right now his first job was to look into if there were any decent buildings in the city where they could move all the children to. Scarlett was still waiting for word from Evelyne on the matter, but she was starting to fear that might not pan out.

She'd had the thought of establishing an orphanage to house them in before, but she hadn't really considered it seriously. And although an orphanage might be a bit more than she wanted to deal with, she at least needed to move them somewhere. That had been made clear the day before when she returned from Ambercrest and followed Kat to do a quick check on the kids, finding the servant responsible for taking care of them at the time almost completely run-down from overworking, that she realized that she'd let this whole thing run on for far too long. Taking care of a large group of children wasn't what the people in this mansion were paid to do, yet they were still forced to perform that job in addition to their original duties. So she'd finally decided to handle the situation. In addition to finding new housing for the kids, Scarlett had also asked Garside to find some temporary hires to off-load the responsibility from the mansion servants. Frankly, she should have done that ages ago. But despite how she acted as if she belonged in her position, she really wasn't used to being in charge of other people and managing things like this. She was glad Evelyne was the one who actually took care of all the management matters in the Hartford family.

That reminded her that she had to inform the younger Hartford sister of her plans. She'd instructed Garside to address all potential costs to the Hartford estate, after all. Hopefully it wouldn't be expensive enough to prompt the younger woman to come running here to yell at her again. That was never a particularly pleasant experience for either of them, she wagered. Although, in the long run, she wasn't too concerned about their financial status. She'd concocted enough plans and tactics with her game knowledge for how to—among other things—earn money for her to feel safe in that area.

She took out a small key from the pouch of holding she had lying on the desk in front of her and used the key to unlock the drawer where she kept her notes. She picked out the red journal in it and placed it on the desk. Sifting through page after page of information she'd written down from 'Chronicle of Realms', she eventually stopped on a page where she had written several place names. She'd only been in this world for about two weeks so much of her game knowledge was still relatively fresh in her mind, but she still liked double-checking things from time to time. Although there were enough places in the game for there to be a decent chance she'd gotten at least a few of the names she'd written down wrong on a letter or two. Nonetheless, she found the name she was looking for, with a few notes beneath it describing what could be found there. Memorizing the name, she pushed the journal to the side and pulled another one out from the drawer. This one was black instead.

Opening it, she flipped past the first few pages. This was her 'min-maxing' book. Here she wrote down all the useful character builds she could think of. While stats like Strength, Charisma, HP, and things like that didn't seem to exist as they did in the game—or maybe they were just hidden for now—she did still have access to skills and items. As such, she had written down several possible combinations she'd thought of, to compare them. Many of them required skills or items that she was unlikely to ever get—just for fun she'd written down a build that would let her be a fighter through the use of a certain late-game skill that converted mana into strength—but those that her main focus was on were those that revolved around her pyromancy and pyrokinetic skills.

Right now her biggest obstacles were her low mana and her inability to cast spells. The mana problem she'd found two solutions for. The first was to use items that increased her mana. The artifact she'd gotten from the demon the day prior had effectively quadrupled her mana, from a rather measly 1000 to an only slightly measly 4000.

[Depraved Solitude's Choker (Unique)]

{This necklace hungers for power and appears to suck in the mana around it, waiting for it to be unleashed. 3000/3000}

It was slightly limited in that it would take her a while to fill it up herself—or that she had to get someone like Kat to fill it up—but in combat, that didn't make much of a difference.

The second way to increase her mana was by training. This wasn't anything new to her, she'd been doing some practicing with pyrokinesis and hydrokinesis for an hour or two every day for a while now, and it increased her max mana by around ten points each day. It was far from efficient, but she'd done the math and come to the conclusion that she would have to do it if she wanted most of her builds to work.

Sadly, her spellcasting problem didn't have as clear-cut of a solution as her mana problem. She was still spending some time practicing with Kat and studying the basics with the books she'd found, but it was like trying to learn a completely new language. Only worse.

She could still barely understand what an 'inner circle'—a term that was repeatedly used both by Kat and the books—was actually supposed to be. And she was no closer to feeling or moving her own mana. Using pyrokinesis or hydrokinesis didn't count, for some reason she still didn't understand, but she was having a really hard time figuring out how to do anything else. At the rate it was going right now, it might literally take a year for her to cast the most basic of spells. If she would even manage that.

So while she hadn't completely given up on the idea, her current plans were made on the assumption that she wouldn't be able to perform magic, and as such mostly had to do with making up for that.

[Name: Scarlett Hartford]

[Skills:

[Minor Mana Control]

[Pyromancy]

[Pyrokinesis]

[Minor Hydromancy]

[Minor Hydrokinesis]]

[Traits:

[Dignified August]

[Supercilious]

[Cavalier]

[Callous]

[Overbearing]

[Conceited]

[Third-rate Mana Veins]

[Mana: 365/1088 (3000/3000)]

[Skill points: 4]

For now, her mana had increased by about 100 since she first arrived in this world. She had upgraded her [Minor Pyrokinesis] and [Lesser Hydrokinesis] to [Pyrokinesis] and [Minor Hydrokinesis] to better make use of her Aqua Mines, and for now, that was her main focus when it came to using more of her skill points.

[Skills Menu:

Upgrades

[Greater Pyromancy] (10 points)

[Greater Pyrokinesis] (10 points)

[Hydromancy] (5 points)

[Hydrokinesis] (5 points)

[Mana Control] (5 points)

New skills

[LOCKED]]

If she could get both the skills to the Greater stage she felt pretty confident she could make great use of them both, even in other ways than just her Aqua Mines. After that, she might look into maybe upgrading [Minor Mana Control] or some of the other skills. Or maybe she'd finally have figured out how to unlock new skills by then.

A knock sounded out from the office's dark mahogany door. Scarlett looked up from her notes. "Enter," she said as she put both the red and the black book back into the drawer before locking it. She put the key back into the pouch of holding.

The door opened and the dark-haired Molly entered the room with a blonde servant girl close behind her that Scarlett had seen a few times before. Both of them carried large rolled-up pieces of parchment that stuck up above them.

"My Lady. We have brought the maps you asked for," Molly said as she performed the closest thing she could to a curtsy with both her hands busy.

"They are larger than I expected," Scarlett noted. Those wouldn't fit on the desk. Maybe there was a map-viewing room? She hadn't explored all parts of the mansion. She couldn't exactly ask that either. She considered it for a moment. She couldn't just unroll them on the floor. Both because it might dirty or damage the maps, and because it offended her sensibilities. Or rather, the original's sensibilities.

The dining hall's table was more than large enough, but that wasn't exactly the kind of place you looked at maps in. Neither was the parlor or her bedroom. She hadn't had much reason to visit many other places, except for the library, where she'd been when she looked for books on decorum and other things before. It was far too cramped to do anything but read books there.

That only left the reception hall, which was currently an impromptu living space for a bunch of children. Well, Kat was bound to be there so Scarlett could always use her presence as an excuse. The Shielder's opinion might be good to have on this as well.

"Come," Scarlett said as she rose from her chair. She then walked around her desk and past the two servants who immediately fell in behind her as she began walking towards the mansion's reception hall.

Chapter 22 - 21 questions

Soon enough Scarlett reached the mansion's reception hall with the two servants close behind her. Another servant was currently there and making those of the beds that weren't just a make-shift gathering of blankets lined up against one of the hall's walls. Most of the children were gathered over next to Kat at the other end of the room where it seemed like the Shielder was telling them stories. Or rather, showing them with her magic and pyrokinesis, as the woman didn't speak Voneian. Scarlett was certain that the servants appreciated Kat's help with taking care of the kids nonetheless.

Walking over to one of the large tables at the center of the room, Scarlett gestured towards Molly and the blonde servant girl. "Place them here. Then you may leave."

The two women did as she asked and rolled out the two maps on the table, bringing out small pieces of rectangular wood from pockets sewn into their clothes which they placed at the edges of the maps to keep them from rolling up on their own. The both of them then bid her farewell with a pair of curtsies and left the room.

Scarlett turned her attention to the laid-out maps. She touched the edge of the largest one. It appeared to be made out of some kind of fine leather instead of paper, which surprised her slightly. All of the books and documents that she'd read in this world had been paper, so it wasn't as if there was a large deficit of the material in this world. Was it perhaps because of the map's size? It was almost as tall as she was, and slightly wider, depicting the whole of the Graenal Empire with several landmarks on it that she presumed were Kilnstone locations. She glanced at the other map. This one showed the area around Freybrook and the southwestern part of the Empire. It was half the size of the larger one, and it at least seemed to be made out of paper. It also looked newer, though, so maybe that had something to do with it. Well, not that it mattered much.

She put the matter out of her mind and moved closer to examine the smaller map. As expected, Freybrook was the largest settlement on it, located just north of the Innisling Sea that bordered the Empire's southern border. Almost a good third of the map north and northeast of Freybrook was covered by mountains. It read 'Whitdown Mountains' in large dark letters on the map. If Scarlett remembered correctly from the lore in the game it was the highest mountain chain in the empire. It was also home to a lot of end-game dangers.

"What are we doing? Planning another trip?" Kat's voice rang out from next to her. She turned to find that the woman had already walked up to the table and started examining the two maps. The kids stood a short distance away and looked on with curious eyes. Their aversion to her had decreased slightly, at least.

"One could say that, yes," Scarlett said and looked over the map of the Freybrook area again. After a moment of searching, she found the name she was looking for and pointed towards the symbol of a small village that was nestled next to the western side of the large mountain chain. It was a far distance away from Freybrook itself. "This is where we are going."

Kat squinted at the map. "Whistlecreek?" she muttered in a half-surprised voice.

"Have you visited?"

Kat shook her head. "No, but I know of it. It's a pretty small place. Not much happens there as far as I have heard." She looked up at Scarlett. "Is this another place that your 'research' found for us to explore?"

"In a manner, yes."

There were a lot of things she needed to do in the future and a lot of places that she had to visit. One of the most important ones, one vital to her current plans in how to strengthen herself and prepare for the dangers she knew would appear in the future, was a dungeon known as the Howling Gale's Haunt in the game. Specifically, it held one artifact that she needed to get her hands on. But some rather hard criteria had to be met to even gain entrance to the place. One of those involved one of the possible companions in the game — a companion that you could recruit in the capital. But he wouldn't join you just because you asked him to, so she had to find a certain quest item first.

"It'll take a while for us to get there," Kat said as she looked down at the map again. "At least a few days. Even by carriage."

"I was afraid of that," Scarlett said as she inspected the large map with Kilnstone locations on it. She knew from the game that there were several Kilnstones located in the Whitdown Mountains, of which at least one was decently close to Whistlecreek. But from this map, it seemed like almost none of them were part of the current Kilnstone network used in the empire. There was just one, located on the eastern reaches of the mountain chain where it bordered on the Three Streams river. Had the other ones just not been discovered yet? Was it because the map was old? Had they been forgotten? Or maybe they just allowed travel between the cities from the Kilnstones. Whatever the reason, it seemed likely they would have to take the long way round for this trip.

"We will be leaving tomorrow," she finally said. She didn't know how long it might take to find what she needed, but she wanted at least some leeway between when she returned and when she had to leave again for the capital.

"Alright," Kat nodded her head. "I'll make sure to get ready."

The next day they set off from Freybrook's northern gate towards the village of Whistlecreek. The carriage they were in wasn't as ostentatious as the one Scarlett had gotten used to by now. This one was essentially just made out of plain wood, without any real adornments except for the Hartford family crest, which was a silver deer on a grey background. The wood was of fine quality, yes, and the seats in this carriage were at least as expensive as those in the main wagon she'd mostly used up till now, but from the outside, it was definitely less in-your-face. Maybe it was to avoid wear on the more fancy carriage. Or to not bring as much attention to itself. Although as far as she knew this wasn't a particularly problematic part of the empire, so she wasn't sure about that. Well, no matter. It didn't bother her much, and she was happy enough with that.

"You know," Kat spoke a while after they'd left the city behind and was traveling through the thick woods that surrounded Freybrook and its area. "I borrowed an issue of the Empyreal Chronicle from Harriet this morning."

"Harriet?" Scarlett asked with a glance.

Kat gave her an amused look. "She's one of your servants. The one with frilly brown hair."

Scarlett thought back to the servants of the mansion. Yes, she did recall there being one like that. She was starting to get to know most of their names, but there were still a few that she hadn't interacted with much, or just hadn't overheard the names of yet. Although she was considering just asking some of them straight out soon. It probably wouldn't be too out of character compared to the original Scarlett, honestly.

"Anyways," the Shielder continued. "There was a pretty interesting article in this week's issue."

"I am aware," Scarlett said as she leaned back slightly in her seat and turned her attention to the window. "I do not know where they got their information from, but it does not appear to be a reliable source."

Kat laughed. "You sure about that? I don't know... Maybe you are Freybrook's little public hero. Saving the city from those terrible criminals."

Scarlett frowned. She'd read the article about her in the Empyreal Chronicle and it was almost offensive to call that puff piece news. They'd essentially single-handedly singled her out as the main actor behind the whole ordeal, acting on the behalf of Count Knottley. The Shields Guild was only briefly mentioned. In addition to that, they had also considerably exaggerated the magnitude of the Grey Dog Gang's operations. They had quite literally painted her out as Freybrook's hero, which was problematic in more ways than one. If she were to guess, then the count himself was probably the reason behind that. She wasn't sure exactly how much he gained from it, but obviously he had chosen to lean into that whole angle she'd given him. The only silver lining was that it wasn't a front-page news story, a story about the imperial princess's visit to the eastern front taking precedence. Though that didn't seem to stop people from reading about it that much.

"You think they might give you a medal?"

Scarlett looked at the grinning Kat. "I do not see the amusement in this scenario. Is it not your achievement that has gone ignored?"

The woman just shrugged her shoulders. "I don't mind. I don't think I'd want that kind of attention anyway. And the Guild'll be fine without it."

"But you assume I would be more pleased with the attention?"

"Well, aren't you?"

"I am not."

"Huh," Kat made a somewhat surprised noise, looking at her for a moment. She seemed to consider something. "Has anyone told you you're a bit weird for a noble?"

"They have not," Scarlett replied. "Although admittedly, I have not given them much opportunity to."

Kat chuckled. "Sounds about right."

Scarlett raised an eyebrow. "I was under the impression that you did not have much prior experience with nobles. Yet you seem an authority on the matter."

The Shielder gave her a sheepish grin, leaning against the window sill with her elbow. "I didn't mean that. But everybody knows nobles are a bit...you know." She waved her hand in the air. "They're supposed to only care about status and all that. So it's a bit weird that you don't, isn't it?"

Scarlett felt the side of her lips move up just a bit. "I see you have a very favorable impression of the nobility. But you forget that we are also calculating. A momentary increase in status does not hold much value if its effects can be detrimental in the future." Well, at least she assumed that's how the nobility in this world thought. In some ways, she probably knew less about them than Kat did.

"What, so the attention somehow messes with some grand plan of yours?" Kat asked.

Scarlett remained quiet.

"Wait, seriously?"

"I believe 'grand plan' is somewhat of an embellishment, but it does have the potential to interfere with some of my plans, yes."

Kat stared at her. "I was joking, you know."

Scarlett nodded. "I presumed as much. But it was close to the truth nonetheless."

Giving her a long look, Kat said, "Are you comfortable with telling me this much?"

Scarlett leaned her head slightly to the side. "I have barely told you anything? I would be impressed if you could infer my plans from merely this much."

"No, but." Kat moved her arms in front of her. "Before you were all 'I just found it in my research' even though we both totally knew it was a lie, but now you're admitting to having these secret plans without even trying to hide it."

Scarlett felt a small smile force its way onto her lips. For seemingly being upset with it before, it seemed Kat had quickly grown comfortable with the fact that she was lying to her. "Now I am curious as to what it is you believe my 'secret plans' to be."

Kat paused, giving her a measuring look. "Isn't it...you know."

"Yes?" Scarlett prodded.

Kat opened her mouth as if she was about to say something, then she closed it and leaned back in her seat with a sigh. "Ok, fine. I can't really think of something that would fit. Unless you're doing it for money?" she said, throwing a glance toward Scarlett.

"Money is part of it," Scarlett admitted.

Kat's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yes. But I do not believe that to be especially surprising. There are not many people who do not strive for increasing their own wealth."

"But there's more to it?"

"Of course."

Kat grew a thoughtful expression, looking out the window at the passing trees. "You're gathering all these rare artifacts and earning money for something. You're getting ready, right?"

"I suppose that much is clear."

"And you even struck a deal with a devil because of it, so it's probably pretty dangerous."

"Although that situation was entirely under my control, I will admit that it is indeed dangerous."

Kat stopped to glance at her. "You're being surprisingly open right now. Just a day ago you were a lot more quiet about this," she pointed out.

"Call it a fancy," Scarlett said. "There is not much risk of you discerning too much anyhow."

"Is that so..." Kat mumbled, her gaze moving back out toward the forest. A moment later her eyes shot open. Springing out of her seat, she screamed "Get down!" as she pushed Scarlett away from the window towards the floor. Then the whole carriage shook as something slammed into it.

Chapter 23 - I spy...an ensnarement!

Scarlett felt something in her shoulder break as she hit the floor, pain shooting through her arm and sending a jolt throughout her body. Kat covered her body with her own as something flew into the carriage and collided with one of the walls with a loud crack at the same time as the carriage shook. From outside Scarlett heard the driver's yell as well as the agitated sounds of the horse. Then there was a moment of quiet as she listened to Kat's slow breaths before suddenly, everything moved.

Both she and Kat were thrown around as the whole carriage tipped on its side and slammed heavily into the ground. Scarlett landed relatively softly on the Shielder, but the impact still caused her to lose her breath as it sent another burst of sharp pain through her left shoulder. She felt Kat trying to get up from their current position lodged into one of the corners of the vehicle and slowly moved to let the woman free. The faint shimmering that Scarlett had come to associate with magical defenses such as [Mana Barrier] surrounded Kat as she stood up in the overturned carriage, looking up at the window where something had just bolted through. Her eyes then turned towards Scarlett. "I'm going out there," she said with a serious face. "Just stay here until I say it's safe. Alright?"

She didn't wait for Scarlett's response before jumping up and grabbing onto the window sill, smoothly pulling herself through it in one quick movement. Scarlett saw Kat jerk back as if something struck her, but the woman shrugged it off and soon disappeared from Scarlett's sight. Immediately after, explosions rang out from outside, followed by sounds as if the ground was torn apart. It seemed Kat had already gotten to work.

Scarlett closed her eyes for a moment to regain composure. Even with the effects of the original's traits helping her maintain her cool, her heart was still beating like crazy. And the pain in her shoulder was getting worse. Taking a few deep breaths, she tried to focus. This situation was so far removed from anything she'd ever had to deal with, but that applied to her entire life right now. Things like this are what she had been preparing for. Though it did perhaps say something about the original's personality that the first time she truly felt as if she wasn't in control was in a real dangerous situation. But she couldn't just lie here and waste time.

On unsteady legs, she used her right arm to stand up best she could. The sounds from the outside were raging on, and she heard a man's scream. Hopefully that hadn't been the driver.

She scrunched up her nose. Something smelled. Was that smoke? Her eyes scanned around the inner compartment of the carriage for the origin of the scent, but she couldn't find anything. Stumbling forward to the other end of the compartment, she leaned her back against the soft material of the carriage's seat. She tried to listen, shutting out the cacophony from the outside for a moment. There was a fire somewhere. She heard the low crackling from the back of the vehicle. And now that she knew where to look, she noticed small trails of smoke that were starting to find their way through the wooden boards next to her.

Crap. Could her [Pyrokinesis] and [Minor Hydrokinesis] deal with the fire once it reached her? Probably not. And by that point, the whole compartment might be filled with smoke. She had to get out of here.

She looked up towards the carriage door and the window that opened up into a wide blue sky from her point of view. The other side of the carriage was blocked, so that was her only way out. There was no way of knowing how long it would take Kat to finish the attackers, so waiting wasn't a good option. The window wasn't that much higher than her so she could probably jump to grab its edge like Kat had. But she wasn't strong enough to pull herself with just one arm.

Glancing around the space again, Scarlett's eyes stopped on the pouch of holding that had landed in a corner. She'd had it next to her while they traveled so it must have been knocked there during all the disarray. She moved over and bent down next to it. Using her right hand, she stiffly untied the rope that sealed the black bag's opening and reached inside. First, she brought out the [Wand of Fireball] and tucked it into her belt. She'd avoided bringing any fancy dresses on this trip and currently only wore the same clothes she'd worn when she first met Kat. After the wand, she brought out the rope she and Kat had used to descend into the Isolated Hollow back in Ambercrest, followed by a hook she'd made sure to buy along with the rope, though they hadn't actually had use for the hook itself before now. Occasionally throwing a glance upward to check for any danger, she set to work tying the end of the rope onto the hook. It was hard work doing it with only one working hand, and the carriage was slowly filling with more smoke the more time passed, but by making use of her feet and legs—in a manner that was decidedly unladylike, but which thankfully didn't seem to bother her much, perhaps thanks to the current circumstances—she soon had herself a means for getting out of here.

Standing up again, she had the pouch of holding tied to her side with the rope held in her hand. She then lobbed the hook up through the window and outside, then tugged at the rope. It seemed to have caught hold of an edge somewhere, just as she'd wanted. She moved so that she was right beneath the window and firmly tied the rope around her waist and rolled up part of the rope around her hand. Then she planted her foot on the carriage floor—which was now the wall—and slowly began making her way up by using the rope as a handhold like a mountain climber. It was incredibly tiring with just one arm—especially as her muscles were still a bit sore from all the climbing she did in Ambercrest—but before long she managed to make it up to the window. Peeking through it, she witnessed the disorder outside.

The dirt road was only about five meters wide and surrounded by forest on both sides, but all along the strip of road closest to the carriage there jutted out several person-sized walls of stone in an uneven pattern around the vehicle. Although most of them seemed to have been damaged in some way. About twenty meters back stood Kat, leaning out behind the cover of another stone wall to fire a spell of several flaming daggers towards a group of black-clothed individuals in robes with hoods. Every single one of their faces was covered by a golden mask. Judging from the ground between them and Kat, the woman had done a lot to force them back there. They didn't seem to have any problem dodging her latest spell though, some of them moving in behind the trees. It appeared as if Kat had already dealt with two of the assailants, however, as two motionless figures were lying on the ground close to her.

Scarlett couldn't really hold herself in this position for long so she was forced to climb out through the window—accidentally knocking her shoulder into its frame in the process which caused her to clench her teeth in pain—and stand on her knees on top of the toppled carriage.

Both the remaining attackers and Kat seemed to take notice of her. Two of them darted off to the side and towards the carriage, while four others all focused their attention and ran at Kat from several directions.

"I told you to stay inside!" Scarlett heard Kat yell, but her eyes were locked onto the two figures that were moving towards her. She hurriedly moved towards the edge of the carriage and flung her legs over the rim, using her right arm as support as she jumped down. The landing was a bit rough and she grazed her palm, but at least she didn't hurt herself overly much. Instinctually dusting herself off as she stood up straight, she grabbed the wand at her side and moved towards a nearby stone wall as she looked towards the two figures that were running towards her. Now that they were closer, she could see that there was gold gilding over most of their black robes and they both wore gold vambraces and greaves that covered part of their limbs. Those pieces, along with the golden metal masks covering their faces, were bejeweled with cryptic patterns and symbols that were far too familiar to Scarlett. In their hands, they both held a pair of long sickle-like weapons—khopesh, she believed they were called—that were the same golden color.

There were no other obstacles between them and her so she raised her wand and was just about to fire her spell when one of the figures suddenly had a stone wall extrude from the ground right in front of them, blocking Scarlett's vision of them. A moment later a large boulder came flying and Scarlett heard it impact with the person. Their body was thrown to the ground on the other side of the wall with its limbs bent in odd ways. The action was followed by a pained scream from Kat's direction, however, so it didn't seem as if the action had been entirely cost-free.

The other figure running towards her didn't even spare their companion a glance as they kept moving. She pointed the wand at them and cast Fireball, the blazing ball of fire forming before her in an instant and shooting out towards them. The weapons in their hand suddenly began emitting a blue glow and sliced out towards the spell. The Fireball almost looked to be split in two by the glowing blade, immediately dispersing into the air around it as if whatever it was that held the spell together had been cut. Scarlett scowled as the figure moved through the remainders of the spell without any apparent damage. She'd been hoping it wasn't one of the Mage Stalkers.

The Mage Stalker was quickly closing in on her. She conjured a couple of Aqua Mines in front of them with as high an intensity fire she could to ensure they reached the right heat. They slashed out towards them with their weapons too, and despite seemingly destabilizing the magic of the area around where the blades touched her Mines, they obviously weren't prepared for the resulting water that exploded towards them like miniature geysers. Their movement stopped for a moment as the boiling water slammed into them and Scarlett took the opportunity to cast another Fireball. This time the Mage Stalker didn't react in time and was hit by the spell straight on and was knocked back to the ground. Scarlett didn't hesitate to cast another Fireball immediately after, and then another. Explosions rang out as her spells slammed into the same spot twice and it took a moment for the smoke and dust to pass.

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the Mage Stalker shakily standing up from the ground. Much of their black robes were burnt off and they had clear burn marks on the skin beneath, but they were very much still in the fight. Their masked face turned towards her again as they grabbed their two weapons that had fallen to the ground, and then they began running towards her again. She conjured another pair of Mines but they simply dodged them and let the residual water wash over parts of their magical defense. She tried to aim at the weak points she spotted through the effects of her [Charms of Apperception], though it was hard when her target was moving so fast. But she saw one spot around their midsection that didn't move around too much.

When the Mage Stalker neared the wall she was standing next to they raised one of their blades as if to strike at her. She half-stumbled a step back and moved her hand in front of her, creating a wall of pure fire about the size of a washboard between the two of them. The glowing weapon cut through the fire—the area around the blade dissolving into the air—but most of the fire remained. Taking a few more quick steps back, Scarlett saw her attacker duck under the fire. She let it disappear and used her skills to create another obstacle between them. This time it was a floating wall made of water. It was smaller than the wall she'd made out of fire—there was only so much she could do with [Minor Hydrokinesis]—but she'd placed it right in front of the Mage Stalker's face. Their distorted visage was visible through the water and just as they were about to run into it, Scarlett struck.

She conjured the hottest wall of fire she could muster right on top of the water. The liquid sizzled loudly as steam burst out to cover the Mage Stalker's entire upper body—a maneuver she'd come up with and tried on Kat during one of their 'sparring' sessions—and Scarlett used the opening to create three more Aqua Mines. This time she placed them all close together in front of the Mage Stalker's midriff, near where'd she noticed a lapse in their defense. Fortunately, it was also one of the spots where most of their robes had already been burnt up. Not daring to lose this chance, she kept the Mines small and detonated them as quickly as she could. The resulting torrent of water slammed into her assailant with force and she saw the shimmering barrier around them flicker as the attack pierced the spot she'd aimed at and completely unravelled the barrier around it. The Mage Stalker let out a scream as their unprotected skin was carpeted with boiling water and bent over in front of her. Scarlett was close enough that a few droplets hit her unprotected face too, but it was nothing she couldn't ignore. Instead, she immediately set to creating another cluster of Mines.

Whatever kind of magical defense this person had—if she were to guess it was the Assassin class's [Adumbral Cape]—didn't restore itself immediately and actually had more weak points in it now, all of which clearly stood out to her artifact-enhanced eyes at this distance. One of the Mines formed close to their head, one at their left arm, and one above their right shoulder. The Mage Stalker had barely just recovered from her previous attack when she detonated this batch. One of them missed and simply slid off part of the remaining magical barrier, but the other two destroyed the defense around the Mage Stalker's head and upper back and completely knocked them to the ground. From there Scarlett didn't hesitate. She focused her complete attention on creating set after set of Mines that aimed at all of the attacker's weak points and unprotected areas. Soon any magical defense they'd had was completely disintegrated and she was just bombarding their unprotected body.

Eventually, after she didn't know how long, she stopped and wiped the sweat from her body with tired breaths as she stared at the unmoving figure, waiting for any sign of movement.

A yell rang out.

Scarlett's eyes opened wide as she remembered her current situation. The pain in her left shoulder washed over her once more like a wave of cold water and she clenched her teeth as she spun her head to where the sound originated. There, about a dozen or so meters away on the road close to the forest edge, stood Kat with one of her hands pressed to her side, blood running through her fingers. The area around the woman was utter chaos. Half-broken stone walls and small craters left and right, the bodies of several of the attackers lying on the ground with holes and burn marks on them, and Kat herself spitting out a spittle of blood as she waved her free hand towards the last of the assailants and caused a cluster of spikes to spring up from the ground. The robed figure managed to jump back just in time to avoid the attack before cutting at it with their own glowing khopesh, which caused the whole spell to just dissipate into the air around it. This one was also a Mage Stalker.

Scarlett heard Kat utter a curse and was just about to try and help when she saw the Shielder lift the hand placed at her side and with a grimace gesture with both of her hands. The ground around them started to shake, and suddenly the ground under the Mage Stalker split apart and they were swallowed by the earth itself. As quickly as it had opened, the ground closed itself over its victim and Scarlett could almost imagine herself hearing a crunch.

[Quest Completed: Survive the Hallowed Cabal's ambush]

{Skill points awarded: 3}

Scarlett only briefly glanced at the window that appeared before her as she watched Kat turn around, the woman's head hurriedly scanning the area. When Kat's eyes landed on Scarlett and the still body next to her, her expression calmed down. As the Shielder started walking towards her, Scarlett took the opportunity to gauge her surroundings. The stone walls erected by Kat were starting to dissipate, although smoke was still coming from the overturned carriage. It seemed like the fire itself had started on the other side of it. She might have been able to extinguish it if her pyrokinesis skill was one grade higher. But at least they didn't have too much luggage with them.

Her eyes shifted to the front of the carriage, where the horse and the coachman had been. It appeared as if the horse had torn its bindings and run away sometime during the fighting. The driver himself was also missing. Hopefully he'd also gotten away and hidden somewhere, without getting injured. Other than that, there wasn't anything around them except for their assailants' bodies and miles of forest.

"Are you alright?"

Scarlett turned back to Kat as the woman neared her. The Shielder had that slight pulsing light to her that appeared when she used [Earth Pulse]. The injury on her side was still red with blood, but she appeared able to walk despite it nonetheless.

"Largely, yes," Scarlett answered after a moment. The adrenaline from the situation had started disappearing and that general sense of poise and calmness that she had gotten so used to by now were beginning to make their way back. "My shoulder is injured, however. I would appreciate it if you could alleviate some of the pain."

"Of course." Kat moved forward and gently pressed her hand against the injured arm. Scarlett felt a warm feeling move through her arm towards the rest of her body along with a faint light, slightly relieving the pain she felt. It caused her shoulder to itch somewhat, though.

Kat's eyes turned to the burning carriage. She had a grim expression on her face, sweat and some loose strands of hair covering her forehead. "I'm sorry. I should have realized they could do something like that."

"...Do not mention it," Scarlett said. "I believe we were both taken by surprise." She couldn't avoid a scowl. She'd been expecting an attack eventually—that was the whole reason she had Kat with her to begin with—but now it was clear that she hadn't quite grasped the truth behind the complications and consequences of such a conflict. Yet another indication of just how unused she actually was to all this. And to how she had to be even more careful with her planning to make up for it.

"As for the carriage," she continued, gesturing towards the vehicle where the fire had now spread to this side too. "Can you control this?"

Kat shook her head. "I don't have any real spells for putting out a fire. And I can't handle a fire that large with just my pyrokinesis."

Scarlett slowly nodded her head. "I understand." That was one carriage less for the Hartford estate, then.

They watched the carriage for a moment, then Kat pointed towards the burned figure Scarlett had fought against. "Who in the Blazes were these people? I've never fought bastards like them. One even nullified my magic somehow."

Scarlett looked at the body of the Mage Stalker. She was pretty sure this person was dead; a fact she'd normally want to spend at least a little while to ponder and come to terms with. But she genuinely couldn't be bothered right now. She'd already suspected killing a person wouldn't faze her much emotionally as she was right now, so her general emotional indifference to this person's death didn't come as too much of a surprise for her. She could think about whatever ramifications and such this should have later on. "They were members of the Hallowed Cabal."

"The what?"

"The Hallowed Cabal," she said, looking up at Kat. "I presume you are aware of the Tribe of Sin?"

Kat narrowed her eyes. "...Yeah, of course."

"The Hallowed Cabal is the body they serve under."

The Shielder's eyes widened. "You're telling me they were related to the Tribe of Sin?"

Scarlett shook her head. "No. This group in particular is not related to the Tribe, apart from tangentially through their organizations. These were Cabal Adepts. In essence, assassins. They carry out much of the Cabal's work. The ones that caused you and me issue are called Mage Stalkers and are specialized in dealing with mages. Fortunately, there usually are not more than two of them to each squad."

"Wait, wait." Kat shook her hand and massaged her temples. "You're speaking as if you're familiar with these guys. Were you expecting this?"

Scarlett hesitated, leaning her head to the side. "I...suspected they would eventually take action. It is likely that their primary goal in this venture was to capture me."

Kat stared at her. It seemed she was unsure what to say. Scarlett waited for the woman to gather her thoughts. After a while, Kat just let out a tired sigh and sat down on the ground. "Do you have some water?" she asked and reached out a hand. Scarlett reached inside the pouch of holding on her waist and pulled out a flask that she gave to the woman. Kat grabbed the flask and thirstily drank out of it, wiping her mouth with her sleeve before handing the flask back. Scarlett was also pretty thirsty and took a sip of the water, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling she got from sharing a receptacle with someone else.

"I don't even know what to say." Kat suddenly said. "But honestly, I don't think I'm actually that surprised." She looked up at Scarlett. "Could you at least share why they're coming after you?"

Scarlett looked down and met her blue eyes. "It is likely a consequence of our encounter with the artifact in Stoolie's Nest."

Kat frowned. "What, when I heard that creepy voice in my head?"

Scarlett nodded. "Yes. That was the leader of the Cabal."

Kat raised her eyebrows. "So he's after you because you found that mirror? Or because you put a stop to the trafficking?"

"Neither. I presume I garnered his interest." At least that made the most sense from his words that day. She imagined it wasn't often he encountered people who could resist his powers.

Kat looked at the body of the Mage Stalker close to them. "He sent this whole group just because of that?"

"Evidently," Scarlett said, looking over the other bodies nearby. In the game, the Hallowed Cabal would sometimes randomly send groups of Cabal Adepts after the player if you had gotten far enough in the main questline and chosen the route where you fought against them. Most Cabal Adepts had a level ranging in the thirties, but they mostly worked in groups of four. It wasn't until later that they started attacking in larger and more dangerous groups in the game. It seemed she had a slightly higher priority level.

"Will they come again?" Kat asked.

"Presumably, yes. However, it will likely be some time before then."

"Is there any point in me asking how you know all of this? The Tribe of Sin is a pretty huge deal, you know." Kat turned back to her.

Scarlett looked at Kat for a moment. "I believe we both know the answer to that question." She couldn't exactly tell her that she'd fought against the Hallowed Cabal in a game, or that she had been part of them in her second playthrough.

"Right, right. 'Research' it is, then." Kat simply shook her head.

"I am glad we are in concord," Scarlett said, then she signaled towards their surroundings. "Now, I believe we should do something about this."

Kat's eyes passed over the area and she let out a tired sigh. "Yeah, you're probably right."

Chapter 24 - Where's the clean-up crew when you need them?

The sudden ambush by the Hallowed Cabal had put a damper on their plans. They were probably only an hour or so away from Freybrook, so it wouldn't take too long to get back to the city and send for help, but they still had to deal with all of the dead Cabal members and the wrecked carriage. Kat had gotten to work on cleaning up the parts of the road that had been destroyed during the fighting, as well as moving the bodies and lining them up by the wayside. It wasn't something Scarlett could've helped with, even if her shoulder hadn't been injured. She had started putting some light exercises into her daily routine, along with training her magic, but it was becoming all the more clear that she needed to put a bit more focus on her athletic ability in the future.

Instead of helping Kat, Scarlett began trying to—somewhat—control the fires that were swallowing the carriage with the help of her [Pyrokinesis] and [Minor Hydrokinesis] skills, so that the flames didn't spread to the nearby trees and bushes. While she couldn't extinguish the fire she at least managed to make a decent job of keeping it in check. Sometime during the process, she spotted the carriage's driver—it was the same young man she'd had as a coachman several times before—slinking up to them through the surrounding thicket with a half-relieved, half-horrified expression on his face as he took in the damage and the dead bodies. For a moment he'd seemed afraid that she would punish him for running away, but Scarlett just sent him off to look for the escaped horse. It took a while, but when he returned with the horse in tow she also ordered him to ride back to Freybrook and get another carriage and some more hands to deal with the situation.

While waiting for that help to arrive, she and Kat had gathered before the lined up bodies of the Cabal Adepts to inspect them. Some of them had pretty harrowing injuries — with Kat's magic having torn holes straight through their flesh and burned their skin to a crisp. If this was still her from her previous world, Scarlett would almost certainly have retched just from the sight of it. Thankfully, leftover traits from the original Scarlett had some perks to them, and she made do with simply feeling a slight sense of disgust at the display. Kat was the one who seemed most affected by it however, even though she'd been the one to cause those injuries to begin with. She'd also been the one that had to carry the bodies. Scarlett felt a slight tinge of pity for the woman.

As for the bodies themselves, just a closer look at them was enough for Scarlett to get a grasp of the equipment they wore.

[Mask of Canon (Epic)]

{Sees the truth of the world through the scriptures of the dogma}

[Robes of the Sinless (Rare)]

{Guards from perils with the words of truth}

[Boots of the Sinless (Rare)]

{Treads forth silently alighted upon the words of truth}

[Vambraces of the Sinless (Rare)]

{Finds all weaknesses by the virtue of the words of truth}

[Greaves of the Sinless (Rare)]

{Abates all weariness braced by the words of truth}

[Khopesh of the Sinless (Rare)]

{Cuts the world's fabric to the very soul through the grace of the words of truth}

She frowned. The descriptions for the pieces were very grandiose, but from what she knew the effects weren't anything that special. The helmet, for example, gave you complete vision in the dark along with a decent amount of magic resistance. That in and of itself was, admittedly, pretty rare as most resistance items in the game were type-specific—rather than just giving resistance against all magic—but she certainly wouldn't say it was enough to justify such an ostentatious description. As for the other equipment; if she recalled correctly, the robes gave resistance against pyromancy and a couple of other schools of magic, the boots lessened the amount of detectable noise you made, the vambraces increased your damage when attacking from behind, and the greaves just increased your stamina. She wasn't sure about the khopesh as she'd never used them herself in the game, but they probably had some damage-over-time effect that targeted the mind. If so, it was most likely some sort of umbramancy enchantment. That was the school of magic that dealt mostly with mind-related stuff. They were all decent enough sets—better than a lot of what she'd found yet—but there was a reason even some of these lower-ranked members of the Cabal could wear them. They were far from the best.

She was still uncertain if these descriptions were the item descriptions from the game or not — but if they weren't, then she was really curious as to who it was that wrote these versions. Of course, she was also curious about who created this system that bound her and put her in this world in the first place, but none of those questions were things she was likely to get an answer to any time soon. It wouldn't surprise her if all of those things shared a culprit, though.

Except for the equipment the Adepts wore, they didn't find anything special on most of the bodies. Kat did a cursory search and the only thing of note she found was a [Mirror of Communion] on the body of the Mage Stalker that Scarlett had fought. To avoid anything similar to what happened last time from occurring again, Scarlett instructed Kat to carefully pick it up with a piece of fabric before putting it in the pouch of holding. Thankfully no horrifying voice invaded their minds this time. For now, Scarlett would just keep it in the pouch. It might be that she could find a use for it sometime in the future.

As for the equipment itself; she now had eight sets of heavily enchanted armor to do with as she pleased. She didn't really have any practical use for the Cabal Adept's armor set, though. It was specialized for assassins, after all. It also wasn't the kind of thing you casually wanted to go around wearing. If she tried to sell them they'd probably be worth a decent amount, but that came with its own issues. The Cabal had eyes and ears in a lot of businesses, and she didn't know what the consequences could be for just outright selling their armor. In the game you could do it without anything special happening, but this felt like one of those things where the real world was likely to diverge from the game.

Of course, she'd already made herself a target of the Cabal — but they were a busy organization that had a lot of things to do all across the empire. And in the coming years, they'd no doubt become ever more occupied. As such, it might be in her best interest not to paint any more of a target on herself than she already had. She didn't want them to actually send any of their more powerful members after her.

Maybe it was possible to disenchant the armor for reagents? It had been a feature in the game, so there should be some equivalent to it in this world. Or perhaps there was some way of moving the enchantments or changing the looks of the equipment. The ability to see in the dark could certainly be useful in the future. She'd have to look further into it later on when she had the time.

They left the armor on the bodies for now—neither of them wanted to undress a bunch of corpses—and sat down at the edge of the road to wait for help to arrive. Kat had spent several minutes creating a chair for Scarlett through terrakinesis, saying things like "Yes, my Lady," and "Of course, my Lady," in an obviously fooling manner, but Scarlett couldn't really help it. There was just no way she could get herself to sit down on the dirt at a roadside.

As they waited, a couple of wagons drawn by a muscular pair of mules had passed by in the direction of Freybrook, but Scarlett had largely ignored them. At first, they seemed deathly scared by the toppled still-burning carriage and the row of bodies, but Kat had managed to calm them down somewhat and told them to keep traveling towards the city. After that Scarlett had absentmindedly practiced her magic as she kept watch on the carriage. Although the fight had been tiring, she still had almost half of her mana left.

[Mana: 1843/4088]

Of course, all of that mana had been used against just one opponent, but she didn't think that was too unreasonable of an amount. It was just that she had too little mana. She would need at least five times that in the future.

She'd also have to ask Kat to refill the [Depraved Solitude's Choker] for now.

"Hey," Kat eventually said at one point, a while after the wagons had passed by. "You said this 'Hallowed Cabal' is in charge of the Tribe of Sin." Scarlett turned to look at her. The Shielder had a dark expression on her face. "What is it that they actually do? How come I haven't heard about them?"

Scarlett dispelled an attempt at water sculpting that she'd been dallying away her time with as she thought about what to answer that question with. "There is a lot that they do. It ranges from assassinations and political tampering to mere racketeering and trafficking. Though I could not describe it in one word, suffice it to say that their activities are not something you would enjoy involving yourself with. As for why there is no widespread knowledge of them, it is simply because they conduct much of their activities from the so-called 'shadows'. The Tribe of Sin is the group that carries out their more overt endeavors. That said, their existence is not unknown to all. There are guaranteed to be certain members of the Shields Guild that are aware of their existence."

Kat's expression deepened, as she seemed to consider Scarlett's words. "...What use did they have for the children? The original buyer was that voice we heard, right? The leader of this cabal."

Scarlett hesitated. "I...am not entirely certain." She'd never heard of that situation specifically in the game, so she didn't actually know the answer. But the Cabal didn't use slaves. They didn't really need them. As such, there was only one use she could think of that the Cabal might have of them. "Be that as it may," she continued. "It is no longer of relevance. You have already helped prevent such a scenario."

Kat shook her head. "But there's bound to have been other cases like it. And more in the future. Gods know just how much grief just the Tribe of Sin has caused over the years." There was a bitterness to her voice.

Scarlett didn't respond. She couldn't really refute it. The Cabal was one of the major players behind the havoc that would beset the empire in the coming years, and that wasn't really something she could affect too much. Many of their actions were far outside the range of what she even had an interest in getting involved with. Of course, she wouldn't always have a choice in the matter. She was bound to clash with them at some point in the future.

"You said they were likely to come again," Kat continued. "How long before that, do you think?"

Scarlett leaned her head slightly to the side. "I cannot be sure. It is unlikely that they will make any significant moves against me while we are in any major city. I also do not believe they have the ability to send another group such as this one before we have returned from our current venture." While she knew the Cabal had an impressive information network, they weren't omniscient. She hadn't shared where they were going with many individuals, and the Cabal had just lost the group that was keeping an eye on her. It should take them some time to send out another group that could actually pose a threat to her, and even longer for that group to catch up. So as long as they kept a decent pace on their current trip they should be all right. Though she would have to be careful when traveling in less populated areas in the future.

"But you're saying we should still keep our eyes out?" Kat said.

Scarlett nodded her head. "It would be prudent to display caution, yes."

"Right."

They went silent again and Scarlett shifted her attention back to practicing her magic.

"You know," Kat suddenly spoke again. "When I originally accepted your escort request I never even imagined it'd lead to me exploring centuries-old ruins and having to fight murderous secret cabals. But despite that, I can't really say that I hate it. I wouldn't put it in my top five jobs, but I've definitely had worse."

Scarlett glanced at her. The woman had a thoughtful expression on her face as she looked out into the trees on the other side of the road. "...I am glad the danger has not discouraged you from continuing your employment," Scarlett said after a moment.

"Well, I once took on this request to get rid of some Grave Slimes back when I was a junior Shielder." Kat grimaced. "Lost almost half of my armor from that job, and I had to cut off almost all my hair just to get rid of the smell. At the time I seriously considered just quitting this work." She smiled. "I'm glad I didn't, though. I've been able to help a lot of people through my work as a Shielder and I wouldn't give it up for anything."

Scarlett gave her a long look. "It is commendable that you have such pride in your work...Although that does sound like an unpleasant experience."

"Oh, it was," Kat said. "But what I'm trying to say is that I won't abandon you just because things turned out to be a little more serious than I thought it'd be."

Scarlett knitted her brows. That's what she was getting at?

"From how things are looking, it seems like I'd put you in a pretty tough situation if I did that now, so..." Kat turned to look at her. "Well, I was going to say that you don't have to worry about it, but I'm honestly not sure if you ever worry about things. But just know that you can rely on me, even if you're super suspicious and all that."

"...I appreciate your loyalty, and your sincerity. I truly do," Scarlett said and turned away. If she had been in Kat's shoes she probably wouldn't have stuck around, so she honestly respected the woman's devotion. Although... "I ask that you henceforth refrain from suggesting that I am in any manner 'suspicious', however." Perhaps she was just a bit too honest at times.

Kat chuckled. "Is 'calculating' better?"

Scarlett gave a slight nod. "That is acceptable."

They once again lapsed into silence as they waited at the roadside.

Chapter 25 - Ah, there they are

Eventually people from the estate arrived with a silver-coated carriage and a wooden wagon in tow. Two guards in light armor and gambesons, that Scarlett recognized as two of the men who sometimes guarded the front of the mansion's gates, jumped down from the front of the carriage. The driver was the same young man Scarlett had sent away to get help—she just now realized she'd never even thought of getting his name, even though she had been trying to learn the names of many of the mansion's other servants—who seemed to have gotten a change of clothes. The man that helmed the wagon wasn't someone she recognized, though. He might've been a stablehand of some kind.

Soon the doors on the carriage swung open and a man in a dark suit stepped outside, followed by a middle-aged woman with dark brown hair in a bun that Scarlett recognized as the head of the female servants. The woman, however, quickly returned to the carriage with a horrified expression after catching a glimpse of the dead bodies. The guards stood to the side as the man in the suit, Garside, walked up to Scarlett—who had now risen from her own impromptu seat—and threw a glance at the row of corpses, grimacing. He bowed before Scarlett. "My Lady, we began moving as soon as we heard the news. It gladdens me greatly to see that you are safe." He turned to Kat and gave her a bow too, though not quite as deep as the one he gave Scarlett. "Miss Breeden. You have my eternal gratitude for protecting the Lady."

Kat threw up a hand. "Erm...it's nothing, really. It's literally my job."

"Nonetheless, it is an indisputable fact that you have been of great help to our mistress," Garside said, his thick grey mustache trembling slightly as he spoke. "I realize some of our earlier interactions have not been entirely cordial, and for that, I apologize. I hope I have not caused any undue offense."

Kat took a step back. She looked uncomfortable having the old man apologizing to her. "Right, well, all's well that ends well and all that."

Scarlett raised an eyebrow. For a moment she'd almost thought that Kat had quoted Shakespeare, but she knew that wasn't the only place where that proverb was used. It did make her wonder where the proverb originated in this world, however, and how the Modern Imperial in this place shared so many idioms with the English she was used to. They didn't just pop into being; they had to have some etymological roots that differed from those in her world. Just another thing she could add to the ever-growing list she had of questions about the nature of this world.

"Thank you, Miss Breeden," Garside said before turning from Kat back to Scarlett. "My Lady, how should we deal with this situation?" he then asked, wrinkling his nose as he gestured his arm towards the bodies that were lined up close to them. The smell wasn't that bad, actually. The smell of scorched wood from the burning carriage largely overtook it, and Scarlett didn't mind that smell too much.

She examined the damaged bodies for a moment, before speaking. "Remove their equipment and bring it back to the estate. I want it stored away safely. Ensure that as few individuals as possible know of it."

The butler's eyes stayed on the unmoving figures. "...And the bodies, my Lady?"

Scarlett looked at him. "Deal with them in a suitable manner."

Garside furrowed his bushy brows. "Suitable manner?"

She paused. She had hoped he'd know what to do just from that. He was the butler of a villainess, after all. Knowing how to get rid of bodies sounded like something they'd do sometimes. Then again, it might be possible the original Scarlett never involved Garside or any of her other servants in matters like that. She hadn't seen many signs of it, after all.

"Bring them to the officials in Freybrook and report them as brigands," she eventually said. She would have preferred if it didn't get out that she killed these people, but the Cabal would probably learn of it soon enough, so it might not matter that much. Hopefully turning up to the officials with a bunch of bodies in tow wouldn't be considered as something illegal or unreasonable for a noble like her to do if they claimed they were bandits. If people bothered to investigate, Kat's testimony should be enough to assuage any other doubts.

"I will make sure it's done." Garside nodded his head.

Scarlett then turned to the toppled carriage. "This will also require handling."

Garside looked at the burning vehicle. "This much I can do," he said and walked closer to it. He lifted his hands into the air, and soon enough the flames engulfing the carriage started dying down. After about half a minute the fire was almost completely gone, the only remaining specks of it the slightly-glowing wood pieces that had made up the carriage.

Kat let out an impressed whistle. "That was just through pyrokinesis? That's impressive."

Scarlett looked at the glowing remains. She'd had no idea he even knew any magic. What grade of pyrokinesis would this translate to? [Greater Pyrokinesis]?

The old butler lowered his hands. "You flatter me, Miss Breeden. I pale in comparison to the late Lord, and I am certain the Lady and young Madame will soon surpass me," he said, straightening his cuffs. "I've always had a knack for pyrokinesis, but I'm ashamed to admit my other skills aren't quite as impressive. I am no match for a B-ranked Shielder such as you, I'm sure."

After saying that, he looked towards the two guards who stood to the side, eyeing the bodies of the Cabal Adepts. "Excuse me, my Lady. I will go and guarantee your commands are followed." With that, he walked off towards the guards and started speaking with them. Their expressions sank at whatever it was that he said, though Scarlett could make a guess.

Kat stepped closer to Scarlett, leaning over surreptitiously. "Do your family actually just have some secret magic or something like that? First it's you being better at using advanced magic techniques than you are normal ones, and now the butler too?"

Scarlett kept her eyes on Garside as he oversaw the two guards who got to work undressing the dead bodies. "There is no secret. It is merely a coincidence," she answered. She seriously doubted the grey-haired butler had access to a skill system the way she did. But it was surprising that the old man hid such abilities. And apparently the original Scarlett's father had been even more impressive. It did make her curious what the previous head of the Hartford family had been capable of.

They watched for a while longer as Garside gave out orders to the guards and then the servant lady in the carriage before he returned to them. "My Lady," he asked. "What are your plans from here on?"

Scarlett thought about it. "We will be resuming our traveling," she said after a moment. "Did you prepare the other carriage?"

"Yes, as you asked," he said and nodded his head. "I presume you will not be returning to the mansion before, then?"

"No, we will leave at once. I do not wish to waste more time than necessary."

"Understood." He gave a short bow, before slowly looking up at her. "...If it does not trouble you too much, may I make a request?"

She signaled for him to go ahead.

"I ask that you allow me to accompany your Ladyship on this journey."

Scarlett frowned. This was unexpected. "Why?" she asked.

Garside inclined his head. "I am afraid something like this attack might occur again. If such a thing were to happen again, I would not be able to forgive myself for being complacent."

"Hmm." Scarlett looked over the man with a thoughtful expression.

"I will do my utmost to not hold you back in your endeavors, my Lady. I merely wish to aid you as I can."

"What of the matters I entrusted you with back in Freybrook?"

"I have already informed Marlon of the necessary procedures," he said. "The servants at the mansion will be able to carry on without me for a few days."

She presumed Marlon was the woman in the carriage. "...Very well," she said. It might be good to have another experienced person with her for now, just to be safe. She doubted the Cabal would make another attack before they returned, but it wouldn't hurt to be careful.

Garside just gave a short nod. "I will make the last necessary preparations before we leave then." Once again he walked over to the guards, pointing to the bodies, the wagon, and the destroyed carriage.

Scarlett looked over at Kat and saw that the woman had a slightly stiff expression. Ah, right. He'd been the one to tell her off for her 'uncouth' behavior before. Just a moment ago she'd been impressed by the man, but she might not like the idea of being stuck in a carriage with him for a few days.

Well, he'd already apologized. She doubted there'd be any more problems, especially when she was around. Mentally shrugging those thoughts away, Scarlett began moving towards the silver-coated carriage that the servants had brought. It didn't take too long for Garside to finish issuing his orders to the people, and soon enough they were off in the new carriage, leaving the servants with the wagon and the bodies to deal with the situation. She would have to remember to give them some kind of reward when she returned.

Chapter 26 - Are we there yet?

The remaining journey towards the village of Whistlecreek was thankfully much more uneventful than the first couple hours of the trip. The first day went by relatively quickly, even though Kat spent much of it constantly keeping an eye out the window, watching for any further ambushes. The Shielder's normally outgoing personality was further quieted down by Garside's presence, which did leave the ride somewhat more boring. It did give Scarlett some extra time to do some basic practicing with her magic, but she could only do that for so long with her current mana capacity.

She had taken the opportunity to use five of the seven skills points she had after receiving more from the ambush to upgrade her [Minor Hydrokinesis] to [Hydrokinesis], which she'd wanted to do for a while. Although she didn't have the chance to really try out the upgraded skill while traveling in the carriage.

To further pass the time Scarlett had brought out some books from her [Pouch of Holding] on the history of the Empire, the Rising Isle, the Forgotten Tower, the Everdust Barrier, and other interesting places that she knew of from the game to compare her knowledge of. She'd sent a servant to buy the books from some store in Freybrook, which is also when she'd come up with the—rather belated—idea of telling them to buy as many relevant books on matters of decorum and noble behavior as they could, 'on behalf of the ignorant Shielder in her employ'. Finding anything useful on the matter had surprisingly enough not been fruitful as of yet, but now she had a decent excuse if someone were to ask. Unfortunately, she hadn't had time to read any of those particular books yet, and she couldn't very well read them in front of others. Maybe Kat, but definitely not Garside. A miscalculation on her part.

Having spent most of the first day reading up on the history of the Graenal Empire, their carriage had reached a small township called Crowbell before night. Kat was especially happy about that as most of her baggage had been destroyed along with the first carriage—including some of her armor, which Scarlett did feel some guilt about. She would have to reimburse the woman somehow—and she'd been forced to borrow a set of Scarlett's traveling clothes that the servants had packed along. Kat's own clothes were essentially ruined from the fight, but Kat was both taller than Scarlett and had a much more toned physique so the clothing she borrowed wasn't the best fit. Add to that the injuries the Shielder was still recovering from, and she was quite excited about stopping the first night to get some real rest and get new clothes. Scarlett's shoulder had largely healed by then—after repeated uses of [Earth Pulse] from Kat throughout the day—so she didn't have as much of an issue.

After resting in that town they had started moving again the next morning. That day had been even more uneventful than the second half of the previous one. Scarlett managed to finish a book about the first emperor of the Graenal Empire—a Galrath the Great—and a few other imperial heroes, as well as start another book, by the time they reached another small town to stay for that night. It wasn't until evening on the third day of their journey through the vast forested land that was the southwestern part of the empire that they reached their destination.

The road leading directly to and from the village of Whistlecreek didn't look as if it saw much use. Grass and weeds covered much of it, with only a few trails caused by wagons and people visible through the underbrush. The village itself was located in a clearing next to a small lake that was overflowing with flora. The settlement wasn't that large — if Scarlett were to guess, the population was probably somewhere in the hundreds, definitely not the thousands at least. The majority of the buildings were simple single-floored wooden structures, which made for quite a different view than the one on the streets of Freybrook that she had started getting so used to.

As their carriage came closer and closer to the village they got a better view of the clearing it lay in. Not too far off from the heart of the village, on the opposite edge of the clearing from where they currently were, Scarlett saw several wide fields with distant figures walking around in them. They were quite large for a village this size, at least compared with many of the other places they'd passed by. Further off, above the copse of trees that surrounded the area, the ridges of part of the Whitstone Mountains towered over the small settlement, lending it some shade from the sun as it was starting to set.

Soon enough their carriage entered the bounds of the village itself and she peeked out at the buildings. There was no one outside, but she spotted some people staring at them through the windows. It didn't seem to be the most welcoming of communities. Then again, she did just arrive in a noble's carriage without prior notice. She supposed most people would be wary in a situation like this.

As they reached an area of Whistlecreek that looked the most like a village square—though it was a bit of a stretch to call it that as it was just a larger dirt area without any buildings on it—the coachman pulled the carriage to a stop. Garside looked out through the window, his brows slightly knitted. "My Lady, am I correct in taking it that you plan on staying here for a while?"

Scarlett glanced at him. "You are, yes," she said, turning her eyes outside. "I believe I spoke of business that required taking care of. This is where it is." She tried not to display too much of the inherent distaste she felt at the thought of staying at a place like this. Even in her previous life she had never been especially fond of camping and spending time outdoors. That went more than double for her now. The places that they had stayed at the previous two nights had at least been decent inns, but this place didn't even seem to have that. The largest building she'd seen was one with a stone base at the edge of this little square, and that was only about the size of a small barn. She doubted it had many amenities.

This world had toilets—although she assumed they were somehow magical in nature and were probably reserved for the more better-off places—but it wouldn't surprise her if this place didn't. While she accepted the necessity of sometimes having to deal with circumstances like this, and she didn't want to turn into the kind of blue-blooded stiff who couldn't even handle some minor inconveniences without crying about them, it was still terribly annoying for her to bear. Not only did she have to deal with the inconveniences themselves—which wasn't the easiest when you were used to a modern-day lifestyle—but she also had to live with the added-on annoyance and mental strain it took on her due to the original Scarlett's traits.

She'd had a friend back in her world that throughout their entire college experience would complain about how she would be irritated the whole day if she didn't get a coffee in the morning. At the time Scarlett had never understood it, even though she had been at the other end of its consequences on several occasions. Now, though? Now she definitely understood.

"You coming out?" Kat's voice brought Scarlett out of her musings as the Shielder—who wore a simple set of brown cloth clothing from the ones she'd gotten at their first stop—had already left the carriage and looked back at Scarlett. Garside had just stepped out and held the door open.

Grabbing the pouch of holding from the seat next to her and tying it to her waist, Scarlett rose and quickly exited the vehicle. As her feet touched down on the slightly wet mud that covered most of the ground around them she was glad that she had worn a high pair of thick traveling boots for the day.

"My Lady, I will see if I can find a reeve or village head," Garside said. "I believe this village is under the domain of Baron Gresham. As such, I will ensure a proper greeting is organized and that you are afforded the best accommodations."

She raised her hand towards him. "A welcome will not be necessary. Simply locate a place to stay and find the one in charge. I wish to speak with them."

He gave her a short nod. "Of course, my Lady." With that, he walked up to the young coachman—Dickens, it had turned out that his name was—and traded some words with him before heading off towards the larger building Scarlett had noticed near where they were.

"So...what now?" Kat asked from the side. The blonde-haired woman was tying some of her hair back into the braid she usually wore as she took in the houses around them.

"It depends," Scarlett answered.

"On?"

"On how willing the residents are to cooperate. In addition to a number of other factors." Scarlett really doubted the villagers would be particularly helpful in the matter. She just hoped they wouldn't have to wait for too long before the next attack.

"Cooperate?" Kat had a confused expression on her face. "What exactly are we here to do?"

Scarlett looked at her. "Why, we are here to help them, of course."

The Shielder narrowed her eyes in a disbelieving look. "Yeah, how about you say that again. With some emotion this time."

Scarlett merely shook her head. "We are here to deal with a problem that is plaguing this region, and to procure an artifact related to that problem."

Kat's confused face deepened. "Why wouldn't the villagers want to help us with that?"

"That, I believe, is a question they are more suitable to answer than I."

Kat raised an eyebrow. "...Right. And what exactly is this 'problem'?"

"I wonder." Scarlett looked towards Dickens, the coachman, as he stroked the carriage horse's mane while feeding it an apple.

"I thought you were going to start telling me these things beforehand," Kat said, and Scarlett saw the woman roll her eyes.

"I was," Scarlett admitted. "However, after having my good intentions doubted but a mere moment ago, I am beginning to have second thoughts on the matter."

Kat blinked her eyes. "Gods, you just like appearing mysterious and all-knowing, don't you? That's it, isn't it?"

Scarlett looked back at the woman, thinking about it for a moment. "Perhaps. That might in fact not be entirely incorrect." It was kind of intoxicating, that feeling of knowing more than everybody else of what was happening. She smiled ever-so-slightly. "Do not worry. I will apprise you of the situation and our exact objective later on. Though it isn't something you will have much trouble handling."

Kat looked at her for a moment longer before shrugging her shoulders with a quiet 'alright' as they waited for Garside to return. They didn't have to wait for long before Garside came walking back, a man with balding grey hair close behind him. The butler stood aside as the man stopped in front of Scarlett with an anxious look on his face, performing a hesitant bow. "W-Welcome, my Lady. I'm Dieter, the head of this village. I'm sorry for the poor reception, we didn't know you would be visiting."

She gave him a cursory look. He wore simple enough clothing that had dirt on its legs and sleeves and was wet with sweat. He seemed to have been busy at work during the day. She turned towards Garside, who gave her a nod. She wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean.

"I had no desire of being received by your people upon my visit anyhow, so it is of little matter," she said, looking back at the man. "I trust there is lodgment available for our stay?"

The village head feverishly nodded his head. "Of course, of course." He gestured towards the building Garside had walked towards earlier. "You can stay in the manor house."

She glanced at the building. They called that a manor house? It wasn't in disarray or anything, but it looked about as well as one might expect in a village where most of the buildings were made of simple wood.

Well, it appeared to be the center of the settlement, at least. "Lead the way," she said.

The man nodded his head once more and led them towards, and inside, the manor house, where they entered a decently sized space that had a fireplace at one end as well as some chairs and tables spread around. Next to the fireplace was a small area that appeared to function as a kitchen. There were also four doors that she presumed led to things like bedrooms and storage.

"We will prepare rooms for you as soon as possible, ehm, my Lady," the man said, looking over Kat and Garside who had entered along with Scarlett. Dickens was busy finding a place to keep the horse and carriage. "If you want we can also make you something to eat."

Scarlett's eyes moved over the space. "Yes, I believe that would be in order," she said as she walked over to one of the tables and sat down close to the fireplace. The fire wasn't lit so she used her pyrokinesis to light the kindling, which seemed to cause the village head to startle slightly.

"Now," she said, her eyes locking onto the nervous man where he stood. "I have some questions for you."

Chapter 27 - Lies and fangs

"To start with," Scarlett began her questioning. "The people I have seen appeared very tense. Why is that?"

The village head wiped his hands on the sides of his shirt. "That...I'm not sure what you mean, my Lady."

"I believe you are." She tapped her finger against the table next to her as she regarded him. "In fact, there was an unusually small number of people out on those fields too. I was under the impression that one worked until it was dark during times of harvest, yet so few of you seem to remain outside your homes." They'd passed by a number of hamlets on their way here where large groups of people—women and children—had been busy at work harvesting the field's yields. It stood out to her that that wasn't the case here.

"Ah. T-That's because..." He paused as his eyes went back and forth between Scarlett and her entourage.

"Yes?" She raised an eyebrow. "Surely you do not mean to say that I am the sole reason behind this behaviour?"

His eyes widened. "N-No! Of course not, my Lady. I wouldn't dare."

"Then there is another reason. Tell me of it."

He went quiet, squirming where he stood. Scarlett almost felt sympathy for the man. Though that wouldn't really stop her from grilling him. "I should mention that we will be staying for several days. Attempting to lie to me is not in your best interest."

The statement seemed to have spooked him. "I-I never meant to lie to you, my Lady. It's just that I don't think that such a small matter is worth bringing to your attention."

"I will be the judge of that," she said. "Speak."

He massaged the backs of his hands. "Recently...we've had some small problems with monsters attacking our crops." He held up both palms. "No one's gotten injured! We've just asked those more vulnerable to stay inside as it gets darker, just to be safe. But it's barely affected us, really."

"Why haven't you sent for help? Or contacted the Shields Guild?" Kat asked from the side.

The village head turned to look at her. "We are not the most wealthy of villages. We couldn't afford to spend money on something like that. And we could never bother the Lord with a problem this small."

Kat furrowed her brows. "The Guild doesn't cost that much. And if it's serious enough that some of you have to hide I wouldn't call it a small problem."

He stared at her with his mouth open. "T-Thats'...I-I'm..."

Scarlett clicked her tongue. It was clear that he didn't know what to say, so she decided to give him an out. "How long has this problem afflicted the village?" she asked.

The village head turned to her with a slightly relieved face. "Ehm, not that long, my Lady."

"Give me a figure."

He scratched the back of his head. "A few...weeks, maybe?"

She frowned. He was lying. She was pretty sure it was mentioned in the game that the villagers had put up with this for at least a year. And the first time she'd done the questline here in Whistlecreek it had been several months into the game, and by then someone had definitely died. But she wasn't certain how early into the game the quest became available. That first death might not have happened yet in relation to where she was in this world.

She eyed him quietly. "And what do you know of these monsters?"

"Ah, they're wolves of some kind. Very large wolves," he answered. before hesitating. "We, um, we don't know why they suddenly started attacking us." Another lie. "But they come every few days or so."

Scarlett glanced at Kat, seeing a disbelieving expression on the woman's face. "And their haunt," she asked, looking back at the village head. "Do you know where they make their den?"

Sweat ran down the man's face as he shook his head. "No, we have no idea. They just appear from out of nowhere and steal some of our crops before making off into the woods."

She stopped tapping her finger against the table, staring into his eyes. "Are you certain about that? Bear in mind that lying to me can have severe consequences."

She saw him gulp as he lowered his gaze to avoid hers. "Y-Yes, my Lady. I have no idea."

She kept her eyes on him for a while, watching him writhe in discomfort. "Very well," she finally said and rose from her seat. "It appears we will have to find their lair by ourselves then."

His head shot up and he stared at her with wide eyes. "You're going to look for them?!"

"Of course." She smiled. "As I happen to be passing through, it is only right that I lend my aid to the people of Baron Gresham's domain, is it not?"

"Ah, yes, of course," he started mumbling. "B-But it's dangerous. We could never have a noble like you risk themselves just for our sake."

"Was it not you who earlier claimed it was not a significant problem?" Scarlett gestured towards Kat. "Then I imagine I and the Shielder Miss Breeden here will have no issue in handling it."

His head spun to look at Kat. "Y-You're a Shielder?"

She nodded her head. "I am. A problem with that?"

"No, no. Of course not." He shook his head. "Then...that means you would be able to take care of the monsters?"

The Shielder looked at him for a moment. "Probably. I would have to see them first, though."

"I imagine it will not be long until you do," Scarlett said and walked over to one of the doors to look inside. It was a small room with a single bed and a closet in it. "If the residents here can be of no aid in locating their den, we will have to begin our own preparations." She looked back at the village head. "But first, I believe a meal is in order."

After eating—far from the best meal she'd had in this world—Scarlett and the others settled in for the night. She didn't want to risk missing it if the monsters were to attack again that night. While she had been pondering the best way of dealing with that question along with Kat, Garside had offered to stay awake the first few hours in case anything happened, and Kat then volunteered to cover the rest. Scarlett didn't feel quite comfortable asking that of a man his age, but she also didn't want to leave a job like that up to the coachman. And as she had to uphold at least a modicum of her 'haughty noble' performance, she couldn't really take it on herself either. Garside was also quite adamant about the duty, and Kat would be the one who had the toughest hours anyway, so in the end Scarlett had agreed to it. The Shielder had also assured her that she was quite used to surviving on little sleep and that it wouldn't be a problem. She'd mostly recovered from her wounds and could 'stay up for days.'

As such the butler and the Shielder had been on watch duty that night. Unfortunately for them, nothing did happen. So, first thing the next morning, Scarlett had ordered Garside to ask around some as she and Kat made off into the surrounding forest to try and find where the wolves made their home themselves. Though unlike some of the other dungeons and points of interest that she'd found in this world, the den of these monsters wasn't something that she had high hopes of finding just by looking around some. Even in the game it had been a tough find. It was basically a burrow next to some tree somewhere, largely hidden by the forest's undergrowth. She couldn't even remember exactly in which direction it was, just that it was closer to the mountains than it was to the village. Even with her and Kat searching for several hours on end they didn't find any clear traces of it and Scarlett found herself more annoyed than anything.

She knew at least some of the villagers knew where it was. They just didn't want any outsiders to find it because they were scared that people would find what was inside. She could probably have forced it out of the villagers, but she also didn't want to go too far. Not when she could just follow the wolves to it similar to how one could do it in the game. Although, she did lack a good means of tracking them as she did in the game — but she imagined Kat would be able to keep up. She'd asked the woman and it turned out she knew the [Haste] spell. Which was apparently also relatively rare. But it was a very useful spell, even though it wasn't always particularly suited to combat due to it leaving you completely burned out after using it.

They eventually returned to Whistlecreek around noon. Garside had asked around some but none of the villagers were especially open about things so he didn't have any new information beyond what the village head had already told them.

After eating they were supposed to continue their search through the forest, but walking around for hours on end in the forest turned out to be a bit much for Scarlett as she was right now, so Kat went back into the woods herself to resume the search as Scarlett took some rest. She took the opportunity to practice her magic some and get used to her upgraded skill. She picked a spot some distance away from the village and its fields, but she still noticed some of the inhabitants staring at her from a distance. She decided to largely ignore it, though.

[Name: Scarlett Hartford]

[Skills:

[Minor Mana Control]

[Pyromancy]

[Pyrokinesis]

[Minor Hydromancy]

[Hydrokinesis]]

[Traits:

[Dignified August]

[Supercilious]

[Cavalier]

[Callous]

[Overbearing]

[Conceited]

[Third-rate Mana Veins]]

[Mana: 3842/4123]

[Points: 2]

After testing it out, it seemed that the [Hydrokinesis] skill was more effective than its predecessor [Minor Hydrokinesis] by orders of magnitude. Previously the limit on the amount of water she could create at once was maybe close to a pitcher of water. Even less if she wanted great enough control of it to use it with her Aqua Mines. She used to be able to handle roughly three tennis ball-sized Mines, and now she could definitely create more. But she wasn't really sure where the new limit was. When it came to merely creating a batch of water, she managed to create maybe half a bathtub of the clear liquid when she really focused—an increase that was much starker than when she originally upgraded the [Pyrokinesis] skill, though that skill's performance was harder to estimate because it related more to the fire's heat—but it turned out that creating more Mines wasn't merely a matter of how much water she could create. Currently, she found herself losing control of them when she had more than five active at once, and even then they were a little unstable. It seemed it was more a matter of practice now than anything else.

Nonetheless, the upgrade was a welcome addition to her growing repertoire. Later on she hoped to accomplish some impressive things with those two skills of hers, as well as any other tricks she would pick up.

Kat returned later that day towards the evening when the sun began to set once more and most of the village's inhabitants had already returned to their homes. Scarlett was no expert on the matter, but it seemed like there was still much work to be done on the fields for the current harvest. They had a lot of work to catch up with.

Much as expected, Kat hadn't found anything new during her search, so they settled in for the day as one of them kept watch of the fields. The village head was quite nervous all the while, but it was clear that he didn't dare to say anything. Perhaps he was hoping that they'd be able to just take care of the wolves and settle for that.

It had already turned dark when the first sighting happened. Scarlett was sitting nearby the fireplace in the village's manor house reading a book about a rumored 'lost cave'—although it wasn't very rumored to her as she was well aware of its existence, even if it was incredibly hard to reach—in Rellaria Lake by the capital with Garside not far from her when Kat came barging in without so much as a knock.

"They're here," the Shielder said, moving a strand of hair away from her eyes. Now Scarlett understood why the woman usually wore a headband when they went dungeon-trekking.

Scarlett closed the book and put it into the pouch of holding as she rose from her chair and moved towards the door. "Then we will have to move quickly," she said as she tied the pouch to her side. "Our first objective is rebuffing the monsters into the forest. You know what to do after that, Kat." She looked at the woman for a moment, then turned to her butler. "Garside. You are in charge of ensuring the safety of the villagers. Try to make it so that none of them come to any serious harm. We would not want them to complain about our interfering."

He performed a quick bow. "I will do my utmost, my Lady."

She nodded her head. "I expect no less."

They left the house and both Kat and Garside began to run towards the fields. The elderly butler was in surprisingly good shape despite probably nearing his seventies. As for Scarlett, even during circumstances like this running wasn't something she could bring herself to do easily. It wasn't 'dignified', after all. Instead she settled for a rather hurried, but still calm, gait in the direction of her destination. She passed by several houses on the way, and even though it was quite dark outside by now she could still see a few faces looking out at her through the windows.

It took her a few minutes to reach the fields, but she could see and hear some of Kat's magic from a distance. Now and then she also saw sparks of light at other locations which she could only assume was Garside at work. As she neared the simple wooden fence that enclosed some of the fields and the tall stalks beyond them, she saw a pair of large men climb over the fence and run off towards the village. Not all had managed to get away yet, it seemed.

She entered the fields and walked along a path of trampled wheat stalks towards the other end of the field, where recurring bouts of rumblings and the occasional flash suggested Kat was currently fighting off some of the monsters. When Scarlett got close she spotted the Shielder launching a small boulder towards the side of a wolf the size of a pony. It had thick silver-grey fur that almost shone in the fledgling moonlight and displayed fangs the size of her fingers. Scarlett recognized it as a warg.

Honestly, seeing it in person she almost couldn't believe these monsters were only supposed to be level 25 in the game.

Another five of the wargs showed themselves not too far away, in the cover of the trees by the forest edge. All of them seemed injured in some way, either limping slightly or with large gashes on their side. Kat had already done a number on them.

As the last one that Kat had attacked slowly got up from the ground with a whimper, one of the other wargs let out a loud howl. It was soon met up by howls from other parts of the clearing and soon the group of wargs started running off into the cover of the forest.

Scarlett looked towards Kat, who gave her a nod. Immediately after Kat started gesturing with her hands in front of her and a low red-white light shimmered around her for a second. Scarlett saw how the woman's eyes took on a red hue. Then she took off like a bullet into the forest, leaving Scarlett behind.

Chapter 28 - Mysteries on the chase

After having watched Kat run off into the forest, Scarlett started following the forest edge as she searched the fields for her butler. It only took her a couple of minutes before she spotted him, close to the border of one of the fields, assisting a rather large bald man who lay on the ground and had blood running from what appeared to be a bite on his right leg. An impromptu splint made of part of the ruined fence nearby had been created to support the leg.

When Garside noticed her he stood up and bowed towards her. "My Lady. The monsters appear to have fled, as you predicted. I've assisted a number of the villagers in escaping back to the village itself, just as you ordered."

Scarlett inspected him. He'd been wearing the same black suit during most of their journey—she could only assume he had many like it—and it seemed mostly intact so he probably hadn't been hurt. There were some signs of blood on his sleeves, but they didn't seem to come from him. "Well done," she said, momentarily glancing over the injured villager as he shakily stood up. "Kat has left in pursuit of the monsters," she continued. "I expect it will be some time before she returns. I will retreat to the manor for now. If you wish to search for any other injured I suggest you do so immediately."

"Understood, my Lady. I will join you as soon as I can," Garside said. She nodded her head and began to make her way back to the village.

Kat's breath flowed out heavily as her foot found purchase on a protruding root in front of her. She tried to pace her breathing evenly as she sprinted through the dark canopied forest. The haste spell was taxing enough on the body as it was.

Leaping over the body of a fallen-over tree, and landing with some uncertainty before quickly regaining her balance, she spotted more movement some distance in front of her. These wolf monsters were as quick as cockatrices. Even after injuring some of them, she could only barely keep up. Another minute or so and she wouldn't be able to keep the spell up any longer either.

She dodged a low-hanging branch that she noticed at the last second, scanning around for the wolf she had been following. Howling sounded out somewhere to her right, but it was far too dark for her to see anything in that direction. She kept running forward, hoping to spot her target again.

There. A short distance away some of the moonlight found its way through the trees and reflected off silver fur. Kat immediately veered off towards it.

More howls, some of them closer than before, rang out from different points in the forest. She ignored them and focused on following the monster ahead of her. She saw it run out from amongst the trees and cross a wide area that held a large gathering of rocks before continuing deeper into the forest on the other end. She made sure to not lose it as she ran and kept her balance across the stones. The wolf didn't seem to mind her as she kept close to its heels, when it suddenly slinked into a large bush next to a tree and disappeared. Both her feet slammed into the forest floor and she grabbed onto the trunk of a nearby tree to help her halt despite her speed. She readied herself for an attack and observed the bush closely, but there was no more movement. The wolf wasn't hiding. She didn't even think these monsters had the brains to try and trick her like that.

She looked around the area. Judging from the howls earlier there were still other wolves out in the forest. Although they had turned out not to be a major threat to her, finding herself stuck amongst an entire pack of them while dealing with the aftereffects of using haste probably wasn't the brightest of ideas. She glanced up the tree next to her. Boosted by haste, she managed to jump and climb up the tree without much issue, setting herself to rest on a branch that was fairly high and gave her a good enough view of the bush that the wolf had disappeared into. She wanted to make sure this was the right place. She also let go of her haste spell, feeling the fatigue wash over her body like a Viles-damned wave. Some of her bones made small popping noises in protest and she was already starting to feel stiff all over. Gods, she really hated that spell.

Taking long and deep breaths as she kept an eye out for any more wolves, she began trying to look to the east and see if she couldn't find out her general position. Scarlett had been right when she'd said the mountains wouldn't be far off. Kat could see them through the treetops. Without haste it'd take her maybe a minute or two to get there.

She shook her head. Sometimes it was downright scary what that woman knew. She'd met plenty of impressive people throughout her time as a Shielder, but she'd never met someone quite like Scarlett Hartford. Despite being a baroness—and living up to at least half of the stereotypes Kat would have anticipated from a noble—Scarlett still somehow managed to go against her expectations. The woman so naturally somehow acted like there was barely any secret in the world that wasn't known to her, yet at the same time she was exploring new territory. Kat was pretty sure this was the first time Scarlett had ever been to Whistlecreek—and it showed—but it still felt like the woman knew all its mysteries. It was as if she had the gods themselves whispering in her ear all the little secrets she wanted to know.

Kat paused. Scarlett couldn't actually be an Augur, could she?

...No. That'd be ridiculous. From what she'd heard that was impossible outside members of the Followers. She didn't know if any of the other gods even bothered with things like that. And Scarlett felt about as far removed from a holy woman as possible, so it definitely wasn't that.

But what other ways were there for the woman to know all that she did? If it was just the stuff about the Tribe of Sin—Kat still had a hard time swallowing that there was a whole other group behind those monsters—then Kat might just have thought Scarlett had first-hand experience of them or something similar. But all the different ruins, caves, and other interesting places that they had visited because of Scarlett's vague 'research' didn't really fit into that explanation. There had to be more to it.

Did Scarlett actually have someone feeding her all this information? Somebody that had to be kept a secret? Or had she learned it all by herself?

Kat had found herself more and more intrigued by that question the more time she spent with the woman, and the more comfortable she also felt around her. It was pretty clear that Scarlett had also mellowed up some towards her — at least as far as that word went when it came to describing the usually indifferent noblewoman. Kat grinned. She'd even gotten Scarlett to pull what she was pretty sure were supposed to be jokes at times.

Movement down at ground level caught her attention and pulled her out of her thoughts. She spotted shadows in the shape of large wolves creep out from among the trees, lurking towards the bush where she'd seen the other wolf disappear. Either they didn't smell her, or they didn't mind her. Soon enough they disappeared into it too, which meant this was definitely the right spot.

She leaned back against the tree. At least they knew where they were supposed to go next then. Now she just had to return to Whistlecreek.

Although maybe she could take some time to rest first...

It wasn't until the next morning that Scarlett found Kat returning from the forest. The Shielder looked completely exhausted, almost like she'd spent the better part of the night just running. It seemed like the effect of [Haste] was much harsher in this world than it was in 'Chronicle of Realms'. That was curious. She didn't know what the spell actually did, so she could only guess as to the reason, but in the game [Haste] had drained your stamina and temporarily reduced the stat. If you were to translate that into the real world where not everybody has a stamina stat that recharges every few minutes then it sort of made sense for it to have more of an effect.

But Kat had managed to locate the wargs' den due to the use of the spell, so it wasn't a waste of effort at the very least. Scarlett did decide to let the Shielder rest for the day though, as intruding in the lair of a large pack of wolves didn't sound like the best idea when one in the group was too tired to stand on their own two legs. Much like the previous days, Scarlett took the opportunity to spend most of the day reading the books she had—she even managed to read some of the books on noble traditions and decorums when Garside was busy looking around the village—and getting some more practice with her upgraded hydrokinesis skill.

That night, after double-checking with Kat if she was well enough for it and getting a decently reassuring confirmation, they got ready to move out. After having checked everything and standing in the village's manor house prepared to leave, the village head had approached them. He seemed to mostly stay in some nearby house during their stay, but came in now and then to see if there was something Scarlett wanted and had noticed their preparations.

"Ah, ehm, my Lady. Are you leaving somewhere?"

Scarlett gave the man a look-over. He looked significantly more tired than when they'd first arrived here. She could only assume that the stress of their stay here didn't treat him well. "Indeed we are," she said. "We are leaving to attend to the infestation of monsters that have plagued your village for these past weeks."

His eyes widened at her words, no doubt realizing what it meant. "Y-You mean to say that you've found the monsters' lair?"

"That we have."

"Ah, that..." He hesitated as his eyes passed over Kat and Garside who were giving him careful looks. "That is great!" he exclaimed with just a bit more fervor than was believable. Scarlett chose not to bother him about it.

"Yes," she said and turned towards the door. "I expect that by the morning we will have concluded this entire affair in all of our favor. Then I and my retinue will be able to leave with clear consciences." She really couldn't wait. Having to endure using a smelly privy for her...business was practically torture in her current circumstances, and not a problem she ever wanted to face again in the future if she could avoid it.

"T-Then I wish you all the best," the village head said, though there didn't sound to be much emotion behind it. Scarlett gave him one last look before they left. Well, she couldn't really fault him. He was probably afraid they'd take what was in the wargs' den.

After they'd exited the manor house and had reached the outskirts of the village, Kat spoke. "That guy is so suspicious. He's been weird about the wolves ever since we got here. You'd almost think he would've tried something by now."

"I concur, Miss Breeden," Garside said as he thumbed his thick mustache. "The village head has most likely been hiding something from us. But attempting to do anything towards a noble such as the Lady would have been the height of folly. I do not believe he is the sort of man that would perform that kind of mistake."

"You're probably right. But you'd think he would've been happy about us going out to take care of their monster problem. Makes one wonder what would make him act like that." That last part was obviously directed towards Scarlett.

"There could be many reasons," Scarlett said, not looking at the Shielder. "But ultimately, none of them matter. Garside is correct in that they would not dare go against us, and I do not believe they are hiding anything nefarious." All of the villagers were weak. Even if you outright offended them during the questline in the game they still didn't dare go against you, and she had no reason to expect them to act differently here.

"Alright." Scarlett could imagine the Shielder shrugging. "If you say so."

Soon enough they entered the forest surrounding Whistlecreek, Kat leading the way with a lantern in hand. Scarlett didn't really recognize where they were going from the game, but it was both dark out, and this wasn't the most unique of forests, so that was hardly a surprise. They walked on slowly, keeping a lookout for any wargs in the area, but they didn't encounter any. To her knowledge, they only left their den every few days or so to raid Whistlecreek's fields, and now some of them had even gotten injured so it might have taken even more time before the next attack.

After a while Kat finally stopped, pointing towards a bush nested against a tree. "That's where I saw the wolves disappear."

"Wargs," Scarlett said as she cautiously neared the bush. "These monsters are called wargs." She realized now that she'd forgotten to tell Kat of the specific type of monster this was. Not that it really mattered much in their case.

"Wargs, huh?" the Shielder muttered. "I think I've heard of them. There are so many different kinds of wolves."

"They are quite a rare species," Garside said. "Not seen much outside of the Whitdown Mountains."

Scarlett turned to him. He seemed to know a bit about monsters. And he was giving her a curious look now.

...Crap. She looked back to the bush. Maybe she shouldn't act as if she knew things like this near him. He'd been rather quiet and obedient about stuff so she'd started to grow complacent around him. But there was no knowing what he might find odd or suspicious. "It is likely that there is a pathway here that the wargs use. We will have to utilize that," she said, looking at Kat.

The Shielder's lip turned up. "I'm guessing I'm going first then?"

Scarlett nodded her head. "I believe that would be the most prudent. You did say that you had mostly recovered and would have no trouble dealing with 'a few overgrown dogs.'"

Kat shook her head with a smile. "I wasn't complaining." She then walked closer to the bush and used her hands to move some of the branches away, attempting to climb in on her fours. "I think I found something," she said after disappearing behind some of the leaves on the bush. "There's definitely some kind of opening or hole here. It's a bit tight, but I'll try to climb inside." Her voice faded, until after a moment they heard it again but a lot more muted. "It's safe down here. You can come down!"

Scarlett looked towards Garside. "Kat will be enough for this. I believe it would be best if you stayed and ensured there are no problems here. Is that understood?"

He merely bowed. "Of course, my Lady. You may put your trust in me. And if there is anything else you require you need only signal me."

"Good." She moved away from the butler—who thankfully turned away as she did—and kneeled down. She wasn't exactly looking forward to this specific part.

Chapter 29 - I'll have a fried warg, with just a side of blood

Leaving the forest behind and making her way through the bush and down the small tunnel hidden in it was both awkward and uncomfortable for her, but Scarlett managed it without taking too much time and soon found herself crawling into a small cave of dirt with roots jutting out from the walls. Kat stood in the middle of it, holding the lantern up as she looked towards a part of the cave that narrowed down and led further in. To Scarlett's eyes, it almost looked like that passage had been widened by human hands.

As she stood up, taking out a cloth from her [Pouch of Holding] to wipe off some of the dirt, Kat turned to her and nodded towards the passage. "Looks like it'll get pretty tight. We don't really know how many of those wargs we'll encounter at once on the other side either. But I'm guessing that I can't convince you to stay here?"

Scarlett paused, looking between the passageway and the Shielder. This time there wasn't anything particularly dangerous that Kat couldn't handle, and as far as Scarlett remembered there weren't any traps in this dungeon. As such, she didn't actually have to come with. She'd probably be more in the way than anything else, and she wasn't sure how effective her own magic would be against these wargs. They weren't the highest level, so she could probably handle a couple of them, but there were a lot of them. Although Kat would be able to handle them all on her own, so she could just tell Kat what they were looking for and have the Shielder get it.

...But that didn't sit well with Scarlett. She didn't like the idea of just leaving the whole matter—which was directly connected to her current needs—in someone else's hands while she just waited for the results. She wasn't sure if that was something from her, from Amy, or if it was a consequence of her traits. Nevertheless, she didn't want to do it like that.

"Hello? You hearing me?" Kat's voice returned Scarlett's mind to the present and she met the woman's gaze. The Shielder had found a piece of white cloth from somewhere in the village which she was now using as a headband to keep her golden hair locks away from her eyes.

"What you said is true," Scarlett said. "But you are also correct in assuming that you will not be able to persuade me into staying here. If necessary, I trust in your capabilities to keep me safe in any unforeseen situation." A snap of her fingers conjured three small spheres of fire in the air above them. "And I believe I can be of some help, at the very least by relieving you of some of your encumbrances." It wasn't quite as bright as the lantern, but it did leave Kat free to worry about other things.

Kat just gave a small smile as she shrugged and put the lantern out. "You won't hear me complaining," she said, handing Scarlett the lantern to put in the pouch of holding. "Just be careful, as usual. If I tell you to get back it's probably a wise idea to get back."

With that Kat began moving towards the small passage and squeezed into it. Scarlett followed closely behind, keeping the fires slightly in front of them as they moved. Before long they reached a point where the passageway opened up into the side of a stone corridor. It almost looked like the passageway had originally formed from a crack in the wall, and later been widened artificially — probably by animals at first, but then by humans. If Scarlett were to guess it was the villagers of Whistlecreek, back when they first discovered this place. It was never mentioned in the game specifically how they found this place though.

The floor of the corridor they now found themselves in was covered with dirt. Scarlett scrunched her nose at what she was pretty certain was animal droppings. Too small to be from the wargs, but it wasn't too unusual for bats to be found in places like this in the game.

The rather decrepit appearance of the corridor brought attention away from the walls, which were covered with different murals and depictions of several large wolf heads with fangs around them like wreaths. Kat let out a low whistle at the sight. "I keep on running into the most interesting places when I'm with you," she whispered and leaned close to Scarlett.

This was barely anything compared to some of the other places one visited later in the game, but Scarlett had to admit that some of these illustrations were impressive. She wouldn't say they were quite on the level of some of what they'd seen in the Zuverian ruins, but the wolves did have a flair to them that old statues of a mostly extinct race didn't.

Scarlett glanced to the right, where there seemed to have been a cave-in of sorts that blocked most of the passage, and to the left where the corridor continued on into the darkness outside her fire sphere's range. Kat had already started moving further down that path and Scarlett followed. Soon they reached a set of stairs that went down. Scarlett touched Kat on the shoulder, gesturing down the steps. Kat seemed to understand what she meant as she gave her a nod and cautiously began moving down. Scarlett waited for a moment before following.

The area at the bottom opened up into a larger chamber, but how large was impossible to see as almost the entirety of it was covered in darkness. Scarlett could only see a few meters ahead, though she knew this was the place she was looking for. Almost as soon as Kat reached the end of the stairs, several low growls echoed throughout their surroundings. The growls grew in number and strength, and soon the two of them were flooded by a cacophony of snarls and gnarls from the shadows.

The wargs weren't happy about them being here. None had attacked yet, though. Scarlett saw Kat move her hands and suddenly two walls of stone taller than them both rose on either side of them, blocking anything from approaching from anywhere but the front. Scarlett created two more spheres of light above Kat to give the woman even more light, as well as a basketball-sized sphere of fire high up in the air a few meters ahead of them. The extra light illuminated even more of the chamber, revealing dozens of the man-sized wolves—spread around the center of the chamber,—that growled at the sudden appearance of the miniature sun. Keeping it was a little expensive mana-wise, but they were at too much of a disadvantage otherwise so it was necessary in this case. She was pretty sure most wolf species in the game had at least [Greater Darkvision].

Several of the wargs were approaching Kat by now, their silvery fur reflecting some of the fires' flames as they stepped closer to the lights. Scarlett wasn't quite sure why they hadn't attacked yet. The entire pack was here, so could it be that they were afraid of Kat?

A warg that was closer to the Shielder than the rest let out a low snarl and jumped towards the Shielder, but was immediately met by a boulder that slammed into their snout and knocked them back into the shadows with a loud whine. The growling in the chamber around them intensified but there was no other attempt at attacking Kat. Then a new warg appeared, stepping in under the light of Scarlett's larger fire. It was the size of a full-grown horse with bright, almost white, fur that sat upon a muscled frame. Both its eyes were a dark red and a long scar ran down one of them, ending just above its mouth that was opened to reveal rows of glistening sharp teeth.

The pack leader.

Its eyes seemed to meet Kat's, and for a moment the chamber was engulfed in silence. The pack leader let out a loud snarl — and the wargs moved.

Spikes ruptured up from the ground and speared some of them as a couple fireballs soon followed, but several of the beasts made it past and lunged towards Kat. She quickly created another set of stone walls, narrowing the opening between her and the wargs even further and knocking some of them away in the process. Only one made it through the gap and charged at her, its teeth catching around the Shielder's arm. While it did seem to affect her balance somewhat, Kat didn't seem to panic, and with a quick movement of her other hand a single spike rose up and pierced through the warg's heavy body. Kat quickly yanked her arm loose and cast a bolt of fire towards another warg that tried to make it through the gap.

Scarlett threw a quick glance at the woman's arm, noticing a light shimmering but without any blood, before looking towards the temporary barriers that protected their sides. She heard some of the wargs slam into them on the other side and cracks were already beginning to form. Kat seemed to know what she was doing, so she doubted it'd become a problem. But just to be safe she got ready to conjure some of her Aqua Mines if necessary.

A loud howl drew Scarlett's attention to the center of the chamber. She couldn't see the pack leader now because of the walls and wargs blocking it, but she was pretty certain it was the origin of the sound. It grew in strength, and soon it was so loud that she was forced to cover her ears. She felt her pulse quicken as an inkling sense of dread began to fill her. She shook her head and the feeling quickly disappeared. She'd forgotten they had an ability like that. Not that it felt particularly strong to her. She looked towards Kat, but she didn't seem to have minded the noise much other than protecting her ears for a second. The Shielder had already slain a good number of wargs and taken to reinforcing the barricades that surrounded them.

The wargs kept charging at Kat, but the woman had no issue dealing with them as they came, even when a couple of them succeded in clambering over the walls and jumping her at once. She did sustain some injuries, one of them a bite to the shoulder that her mana barrier apparently hadn't been enough to fully block, but in general these wargs weren't a real threat to her. Scarlett had once estimated that Kat had probably been somewhere close to the equivalent of a level 50 character in the game, and seeing how the woman handled this pack of creatures that were in the high-twenties range in the game, that estimate didn't seem far off.

Kat had lessened the wargs' number considerably by the time that the pack leader finally moved. Even through the mess of bodies and stone that was in front of her, Scarlett could feel the ground move as the leader charged towards them. It climbed over the bodies of its fellow wargs and shattered the edges of the walls Kat had set up as it moved for the Shielder, but Kat didn't give it the opportunity to land an attack. [Earth Spikes] shot up from between the dead bodies and forced the pack leader to move back as one of its paws was pierced. Kat didn't give it even a second of reprieve now that she didn't have to pay the other wargs as much attention and shot off spell after spell at it, forcing the pack leader further back into the chamber where the darkness was thicker. When given the opportunity, Scarlett saw how stones started gathering in the air before Kat as the woman moved her hands, creating a spherical cluster of rocks that soon started glowing as molten stone emerged from the cracks. Scarlett took several steps back just as the Shielder pushed forwards and released the spell. The pack leader barely managed to move aside as the flaming boulder slammed into the ground next to it and exploded into a mess of rock and lava that lit up the entire chamber and all of the remaining wargs with it. The place shook with the blast as slabs rained down from the ceiling.

It took several seconds for the dirt and ash that was knocked into the air from the attack to settle, and soon any glowing remnants of the spell itself disintegrated into thin air, leaving the chamber completely dark. Scarlett had lost her concentration on her fires from the explosion so she conjured another set close to where Kat had been as well as a larger one higher up in the air. It revealed the large crater that now lay at the center of the chamber, along with the burned bodies of the pack leader and several of the other wargs.

"I sure hope whatever you're looking for around here wasn't something fragile," Kat said in front of her, the woman moving some hair over her shoulder and wiping sweat from her face as she turned back to Scarlett. "I think I might have overdone it a little there, but it was better than using living burial at least."

Scarlett looked over the devastation the Shielder had caused. Calling this a massacre really wouldn't be exaggerating it. She frowned. And the smell wasn't particularly pleasant either. She had to fight back a gag. She didn't want to stay down in this stale dungeon for any longer than necessary. Stepping forward and walking past Kat, who let the remainder of her stone walls disappear now that the fight was over, Scarlett created another large fire ahead of her as she moved further into the chamber. "Though I am loath to stand in the way of what I am starting to suspect is your own, rather unique way of managing your inhibitions," she said as she carefully side-stepped the smoldering body of a once silver-furred warg. "I do ask that you give me a word of warning henceforward. It is of no real consequence this time, but it is always best to be cautious."

Kat quickly caught up to her, not seeming to care as much about avoiding some of the gore on the ground. Well, it was her clothes.

"That's, ehm...duly noted?" she said as they reached the crater that her last spell had created. "Just so you know, I was exaggerating there. I had a decent idea of how much damage that'd do. I don't, uh...get off on blowing things up, if that's what you think."

Scarlett turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow. "No. That is not what I meant to imply either."

"Oh. Well, never mind then." Kat quickly looked away and pointed towards the other end of the chamber that was now partly lit up by Scarlett's other sphere of fire. "Now that's pretty interesting, don't you think?"

Scarlett's eyes stayed on Kat for a moment before shifting to where she was pointing, urging her fire further ahead to give even more light.

At the end of the chamber was an elevated bed of white stone that held a small podium. It was surrounded on both sides by large statues of wolves of the same hue and that were even larger than the pack leader had been. Not far from the right statue, tucked into the corner at the back of the chamber, were piles of stalks that Scarlett assumed were the crops the wargs had raided from the village. Most of it looked wet and soggy, with the stalks themselves not being in the best shape, but there was a fair amount of it nonetheless.

Kat also seemed to have noticed the wheat. "So that's what they took from the village? Why would they just take some produce? It has barely even been touched."

Scarlett eyed it for a moment longer until she reached the stone bed that was the centerpiece of the chamber. There was a small set of stairs at its front that led up the bed itself. "They did not take it for the sustenance," she said as she began climbing the steps. "But rather for the mana."

"Mana?" Kat asked, the Shielder following her onto the stairs.

"That is what I said, yes."

"I meant that as a question."

"And I took it as such."

Scarlett's lips curled upwards slightly as Kat let out a sigh beside her. When she then reached the top of the stairs and had the podium before her, Scarlett stopped. On the podium lay a single white ring, almost looking like it was made out of bone with odd carvings on the inside. "To be more precise then," she said, grabbing the ring and holding it in front of her. "The mana belonging to this."

[Mark of the Gale (Unique)]

{This ring has an odd air to it, causing the wearer to be filled with a sense of frigidness and vigor}

"That's it?" Kat asked, staring at the ring. "No cache of gold, artifacts, or weapons, but just that ring? That's what we came here for?"

Scarlett smiled and put the ring away in the pouch at her side. It wasn't for her to wear. "That is indeed correct. And I would argue that it is a more than sufficient prize." The possibilities having this ring would unlock for her in the future were definitely more than worth the discomfort she'd had to suffer on this little trip. "Of course," she continued. "In the process, we also saved a village plagued by monsters. I believe some would argue that alone would be enough of a reason for all this."

Kat narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, but most people also wouldn't have known this was here to begin with." Then she let out another sigh and scanned around the chamber. There wasn't much else to see. "I really was expecting something a bit more interesting from this place."

Scarlett merely turned around and began walking down the stairs. "How fortunate that I do not pay you to enjoy yourself, then," she said and gestured for Kat to follow. "There will be many more opportunities for discovering fascinating locations in the future, if you continue working with me. For now, I think it best if we leave this place."

The smell really was starting to get to her.

Chapter 30 - It's technically not stealing if you're gonna return it

Soon enough Scarlett found herself outside in the dark forest again, where Garside stood waiting for them with a lantern in hand. Kat crawled out from the bushes behind Scarlett not long after, standing up and brushing away some dirt from her clothes—an action without much point considering the woman's clothes were already ruined by all the warg blood that had soaked into them—as the butler turned his attention to the two of them.

"I presume there were no major difficulties?" he asked, his eyes shifting from Kat's disheveled appearance to Scarlett's mostly untouched one.

"None whatsoever," Scarlett responded, taking in the clear forest air. She'd have to get used to dealing with places like this dungeon, considering some of the plans she had for the future. "We will leave this village in the morning," she continued, turning to the grey-haired butler.

"If that is your wish, my Lady," Garside said, lowering his head. "Am I to assume you have accomplished all that needed to be done for the night?"

"Yes. There is not much else of interest left around these parts." She'd considered trying to look for the Kilnstone that was supposed to be somewhere in the mountains close to here, but she'd decided to give up on that. With how distances changed and increased in this world compared to the game, there really was no telling how long it might take to find that particular Kilnstone. And it wasn't as if it was a particularly important one. Nor did she even know if she'd be able to make use of it. Considering how regulated the old Zuverian artifacts had been in the cities it might not be a good idea to try and use one without any warning to the right authorities.

She'd have to look into that matter more in the future. There were some Kilnstones that it would be very convenient if she could use as she wished in the future.

She noticed that both Kat and Garside looked at her as if they were expecting her to say more, but she simply waved her hand at them. "I suggest we get moving if we wish for any rest before the night is over."

Garside's mustache quivered slightly as he examined her for a moment, his face still as a mask, before he gave a short nod. "Of course, my Lady. I can lead the way back to the village," he said, then turned around and started walking with the light from his lantern revealing the way.

Scarlett stared at his back for a short while before she too started moving behind him. She was pretty certain Garside had noticed she was acting odd quite a while ago. It would almost be weird if he didn't think so, at this point. But she wasn't sure what he thought of it, or how far she could push her actions when around him.

It genuinely didn't feel like he meant her any harm, or was hostile in any way. He'd been more than amenable to anything she'd asked of him, and if it weren't for the butler she probably couldn't have accomplished even half of the things she had so far. But she also wasn't a real noble and wasn't used to the kind of games those people and the people around them might play in this world. For all she knew Garside could just be a good actor. It really wouldn't do for her to get exposed or ousted because she put too much trust in the wrong person. But she also couldn't not rely on other people to some extent when she was still new to both this world and the position she'd found herself in.

...For now, she'd keep her eyes open. She would have to deal with this particular problem somehow eventually.

"Are we really just leaving now?" Kat's voice suddenly sounded out from beside her. Scarlett turned to look at the woman, finding the Shielder walking beside her with a questioning expression.

"I believe that is what I said, yes," Scarlett said.

"But what about the villagers?" Kat asked.

"What of them?"

"What was their whole deal?" The Shielder used her arm to move a branch hanging down in front of them to the side. "I still don't understand what they were being all weird about. I was half expecting us to find out they were part of some cult or something."

Scarlett raised a bemused eyebrow at her. "Is that something you have encountered before?"

"Well, no," Kat said. "But I've heard a few stories in the Guild."

Scarlett looked ahead where Garside was walking a couple of meters in front of them. He was consciously choosing a path without much undergrowth in it, it seemed. "You have a colorful imagination," she said after a moment. It wasn't too unrealistic of a guess. There was at least one quest similar to a situation like that in the game. It wasn't the Whistlecreek questline, though. "However, as I said before, I do not think there is much risk of the villagers taking part in any particularly nefarious acts."

"Then what do you think?"

Garside paused, looking back at Kat with what Scarlett was sure was the closest thing she'd ever seen to a glare from him. Kat's eyes widened.

"Ehm, right. Sorry. I meant, what is it that you, uh, believe?"

Scarlett glanced at the woman—who suddenly looked rather uncomfortable, as if she had just remembered the previous interactions she'd had with the butler—before looking back ahead. "It's all right, Garside. I have already grown accustomed to Miss Breeden's inability to maintain proper manners. I do not expect anything of the sort of her. She is of far too much import to my affairs to concern myself over such inconsequential matters."

His eyes stayed on Kat for a second, then turned to Scarlett. "Very well, my Lady. It is true that a woman of Miss Breeden's ability is indeed rare." With that, he spun around again and kept moving through the forest.

Scarlett's gaze dwelled on him for a moment longer before she spoke again. "As for what I believe," she said, briefly turning her head towards Kat as she responded to the woman's original question. "I believe an adequate explanation for their actions can be derived from much of what we have already observed."

She saw Kat throw a quick look towards Garside before giving a small smile. "Is that right?"

"Indeed."

"Then, mind sharing?"

Scarlett met Kat's eyes. "It is simple. The villagers of Whistlecreek meddled with an artifact they did not have a complete understanding of and were not prepared for the consequences."

"The consequences being the wargs?" Kat stated.

"Exactly," Scarlett said. "They did not expect that their actions would attract the monsters' attention."

Scarlett saw Kat's eyes move down towards the pouch of holding at her hip.

"I'm guessing a certain ring is the artifact they 'meddled' with?"

"A reasonable assumption," Scarlett said.

"Earlier you also said the village's crops were filled with mana," Kat pointed out. "Mana belonging to that ring."

Scarlett nodded. "A closer examination of the fields here will no doubt confirm that. I am sure you can verify that yourself too, if you so wish."

"You're right," Kat said. "I probably can."

A slight frown formed on Scarlett's face as she saw Kat look at her with an amused expression.

...Oh, right. She'd told the woman that she couldn't see mana before. Well, whatever. It wasn't as if Kat actually thought Scarlett had figured all of this out just from observing things. It was doubtful if even Garside would wholly believe that.

"Anyhow," she continued. "It is clear that the mana present in the crops attracted the wargs, who then made their den inside the dungeon whose location I assume you have already realized the village head was well aware of even before we arrived."

Kat grew a thoughtful expression. "So the villagers found this artifact and somehow used it on their fields?"

"Most likely, yes," Scarlett said. "Did you not find the size of this village's harvest odd, when compared to Whistlecreek's size?"

Kat shook her head. "I didn't really think about it."

Well, neither would Scarlett have done if she didn't already know about it from the game. "While it is unlikely to be its true purpose," she continued. "It appears the villagers unwittingly discovered the ring and realized they could infuse their fields with its mana to increase their yields." She didn't know the specifics of the situation, but this much had been made clear in 'Chronicle of Realms'. "I presume the podium and the altar it rested upon serve as a means of recharging the artifact. It must have been quite a surprise to the villagers when the wargs appeared and prevented them from retrieving it anymore."

"Wait." Kat rubbed her temples. "If that's true, then their behavior doesn't make any sense."

"Oh? And why is that?" Scarlett asked.

"Because then they haven't done anything wrong. There's not much reason for them not to ask for help."

The corners of Scarlett's mouth rose. "And risk some duplicitous noble stealing their precious artifact after having dealt with the monsters?"

Kat paused for a moment. "The Guild is always an option."

"And the assigned Shielders would have reported the matter, ensuring that a record of an unknown artifact in this region is created," Scarlett said. "While I do not doubt the Guild's trustworthiness, I cannot say the same for a village of unschooled peasants." God, she never thought she'd use 'peasant' unironically like this in her life. "I am sure you have noticed that Whistlecreek is far from prosperous. I imagine they believed it was better to wait for the wargs to leave than to request aid and risk losing the artifact. After all, if the village head is to be believed the wargs had yet to become a truly dangerous obstacle."

Kat went quiet, a pensive expression on her face. The woman didn't say anything more as they made their way back through the thick forest towards Whistlecreek. When they eventually left the cover of the trees behind and entered the large clearing that the village was nestled in Kat took the opportunity to briefly jog over to the closest field to check if there indeed was mana present in the crops—there was—before returning to them as they walked into the small settlement and towards the manor house where they'd made their stay. When they entered the building Scarlett saw the village head sitting at a table close to the fireplace. The anxiety was clear on his face as he looked up towards them.

"W-Welcome back!" he almost shouted. "D-Did it go well?"

Scarlett walked over to the same table as him and sat down in the chair at its head. "Quite," she said as she leaned back in the chair. They hadn't actually been gone for too long, and she hadn't done much personally, but it still felt nice to relax being in a place like that. "The monster threat has been taken care of and will bother you no more," she said, gesturing towards Kat. "As you can see, it was a considerable task. Your village can consider itself fortunate that we were present to resolve the issue."

The village head's eyes turned towards Kat and widened when he saw her appearance. It seemed he hadn't noticed it at first. "W-Was it really that dangerous?" he asked, his eyes locked onto the bloodied Shielder. Kat herself didn't say anything as she leaned against the wall closest to the door, while Garside had apparently taken it on himself to go over to the fireplace and feed some more wood to the fire.

Good man. It was a bit chilly in here.

"That it was," Scarlett eventually said in response to the village head's words. "It would only have been a matter of time before the monsters stopped being content with solely taking your crops and began taking people instead."

She wasn't lying. While the occasional warg would have been a problem for the villagers on and off for a year or so ever since they first used the [Mark of the Gale], the monsters making their den in the old dungeon should have been a relatively recent event. And from how it'd looked down there, Scarlett assumed the wargs hadn't actually been eating the stolen crops. As such, it made sense that a pack of that size would eventually start going after people when they'd hunted everything else in the area out of existence. If she were to guess, that's probably the thought process behind how it happened in the game.

"B-But you can't know that. They didn't bother us that much before," the head said, looking back at her.

She curled her lips at him, oddly enough feeling a little bit of glee at seeing his face ashen. "Was it not you who said they had only been intermittently harassing you for a few weeks? That is not much time to determine the future behavior of such a dangerous monster."

He stared at her for a while, seemingly unsure as to what to say. "A-Ah, yo—"

"Well," she interrupted him. "It is no longer relevant in any event. Just know that you no longer have anything to fear, and that we will be departing in the morning. There is no need for any rewards or other such signs of gratitude, as I doubt you have anything of worth to give."

It seemed to take him a moment to digest her words, but a look of relief did come across his face at her mention of them leaving.

"Ah," he began, hesitatingly looking between Kat and her. "But you said you removed the monsters in their den. Does that mean you explored all of it?"

"We did, yes."

"Ah...Then, did you maybe find something special down there?" he asked.

Scarlett eyed him for a moment, slowly tapping her finger against the wooden table. "We did not," she eventually said. She practically saw his pupils dilate at the reply.

"A-Are you sure?" he continued. "There are some objects that have gone missing in the village lately and we thought the monsters might have taken them."

She almost wanted to scoff at the barefaced lie. She wasn't even sure if he genuinely thought there was a chance of her buying that, or if this was just his desperation speaking. She simply shook her head. "There was nothing of a recoverable nature remaining," she said, once again gesturing towards Kat. "Unfortunately, Miss Breeden was forced to employ rather extreme measures to properly deal with the monsters. As such, there is a high likelihood that whatever personal possessions it is that went missing were lost to the flames." She wasn't about to give away the artifact she'd spent this much time getting her hands on.

The village head's expression sank at her words. But she wasn't about to let guilt affect her decision. The ring wasn't really the villagers' to begin with anyway. In the game they'd even willingly give it to the player if you completed the quest after getting the companion that it was related to. It's not like they'd starve just because they didn't have it.

Probably.

If both she and the village was still around in a few years she might try and make it up to them, but till then they were on their own.

"Do you have something to say?" she asked the village head.

He was quiet for a while, every now and then looking like he was about to say something, before nervously looking towards Kat leaning against the wall, and Garside who had now placed himself behind Scarlett. "N-No, of course not," he eventually said with an awkward smile. "You've already helped us more than we could ever ask, ehm, my Lady."

"Good," she said and signaled towards the door. "Then you may leave. We will need rest before departing tomorrow."

The village head hesitated for a moment, but he soon stood up and began walking towards the door. After he'd left, Scarlett turned to look at the butler behind her. "Garside, find Dickens and ensure he is aware of our departure so that there are no delays tomorrow."

Garside gave her a bow. "Of course, my Lady," he said, and soon after he too had exited the building.

Scarlett turned to look at the air above the table.

[Quest completed: Howls amongst the creeks]

{Skill points awarded: 3}

The quest completion message had appeared right after the village head had left. Although it was odd. She was pretty certain this was the first quest she'd completed that actually had the same quest name as in 'Chronicle of Realms'. Why was that? Was it because this was the first time she'd actually done the same quest as in the game? Many of the other quests she'd completed up to this point hadn't been actual quests in the game, but rather dungeons or something similar. When she took care of the Grey Dog Gang she hadn't done it at Evelyne's request like you did in the game, and the demon in the Isolated Hollow was actually related to a quest you could get by reading some random book in Ambercrest. So this would technically be the first real quest she'd done from the game, even though she did sort of force her way into it.

It didn't seem to give her anything different when it came to rewards though. But it was interesting, at least.

"Why'd you lie earlier?"

Scarlett was brought out of her thinking by Kat asking a question. She turned to look at the Shielder, who had now moved over and was leaning against the fireplace with her arms crossed.

"About the artifact," Kat continued. "I'm guessing it's because you want it. But are you just going to take it like that?"

Scarlett observed the woman for a moment, then took the ring out from the pouch of holding and held it up in front of her. The bone-white ring almost seemed alive when she moved it around between her fingers, feeling both cold to the touch, and...energetic? It was an odd sensation, not quite something she could describe with words. It was pleasing, though. She almost wanted to try it on. But she decided against it. It'd only give her a slight boost to HP and stamina—however that translated to this world—as well as some frost resistance. Nothing to call home about. And if she tried, the companion would know later on when she gave it to him. In the game it had just been a throwaway line on the companion's end, with them being slightly annoyed by it, but it wasn't really something she wanted to risk in her current situation. The ring's true potential could only be brought out by the companion anyhow.

"The villagers of Whistlecreek have nearly as little right to take this ring as I have," Scarlett said, looking up towards Kat. "So I do not believe there is anything wrong with me taking it instead. My aim is to return it to its rightful owner, after all."

The Shielder looked at her with a slightly surprised expression. "That place was old. I doubt they're still alive."

"The original owner might not be," Scarlett said and put the ring back in her pouch. "But the current owner is."

"Care to share who they are?" Kat asked.

"Perhaps in the future."

"Thought so."

Silence fell upon the room for a moment, before Kat spoke again. "What about the village? They were the ones who found it, and they seemed to make good use of it. Is it really that wrong to let them have it?"

"Is that truly something you should say after seeing those wargs?" Scarlett asked. "What I said before was no lie. If we had not come here the villagers would have been the next victims."

"Yeah, but we took care of the wargs."

"Momentarily. But it would only be a matter of time until the ring's mana attracted more monsters. Allowing it to remain in their possession would only bring calamity upon them." Scarlett didn't actually know if that was true, she honestly suspected it wasn't considering leaving the ring with the villagers was an option in the game, but it wasn't too unreasonable of an assumption to make.

Kat had turned silent at her words.

"...Do you object to my actions?" Scarlett eventually asked.

The Shielder looked at her for a moment, then shook her head. "No. I think I get it."

"Good." Scarlett nodded her head. "Then I think it best if you clean yourself and get to rest. I want us to return to Freybrook as soon as possible."

Kat gave her a small smile. "Alright. I'll go ahead and do that," she said, before walking off and into one of the smaller rooms at the other end of the room. Scarlett followed the woman with her eyes then turned her attention to the fireplace that now had a lively fire in it.

Now it was time to return. And the Light Fest in the capital wasn't far off. Soon things would actually get started.

Chapter 31 - Discourse

Evelyne looked out the window as the carriage traveled through the open iron gates and along the graveled road that led towards the large mansion. The mansion that had belonged to the Hartford family for generations. She leaned her chin against the palm of her hand as she watched the passing hedges and the facade of the approaching building. This was where she grew up. And despite her current circumstances, it was still more her home than the small manor on the border of the northern district that she was currently living in. Yet the only times she could visit were when she had something she needed to discuss with Scarlett, as she did now. It was always a bittersweet mix of sentimentality and frustration.

Soon the carriage stopped not far from the mansion's courtyard and Evelyne stepped outside, taking the entirety of the structure in. Though what it was like internally changed, it still looked the same from the outside.

She shook her head and started walking towards the entrance. Unsurprisingly, one of the servants had noticed her arrival because when she'd passed the fountain at the center of the courtyard she saw the mansion's main doors open and a girl a little younger than Evelyne with blonde hair in servants' clothing standing there.

"Madame Evelyne," the girl said as Evelyne climbed the stairs and entered, curtsying as she entered the foyer. Evelyne ignored the drop of frustration she felt at the manner of address. It was just another of Scarlett's attempts at disparaging her. She wouldn't let it get to her.

"Her Ladyship only recently returned from her trip. I'm not sure if she's ready to take any visitors right now," the servant continued.

Evelyne's eyes scanned around the lobby, stopping momentarily on the door leading to the reception hall, before returning to the girl. "Didn't she get back yesterday? Then there shouldn't be any issue with meeting me now. It's regarding important family matters." As usual.

The servant girl opened her mouth, but she didn't seem sure what to say in response. Evelyne was still technically the heir, after all. She watched the girl's hesitant expression, fighting back letting out a sigh. Why did it always have to be this hard? "Just go get Garside, will you? He won't scold you for it. And he won't tell my sister about it either."

The girl paused for a short time, before giving another short curtsy. "Then please wait here, Madame Evelyne. I'll go and inform Master Garside immediately." With that, the servant left up one of the stairs in the foyer and disappeared down a hallway at the end of it, leaving Evelyne alone in the entrance hall.

A stranger in her own home.

She walked up to the doors that led to the reception hall and peeked inside. The large room was largely empty — no signs of any tables, chairs, or hastily gathered beds and blankets. It seemed Scarlett really had moved the kids. Evelyne had already guessed it from the promissory note she'd seen, but it was still surprising. Much of what her sister did lately was.

Not only had Scarlett left for a sudden trip further up north a week ago, but she'd also apparently been ambushed by a group of supposed bandits immediately following. A matter that ended up on Evelyne's desk when the city guard sent a message asking about some corpses. And of course, she couldn't do much more than explain to them what she heard from the servants. She couldn't even ask Garside about it because he'd followed Scarlett on her trip.

A trip that had left Evelyne even more confused. She'd assumed Scarlett was traveling northwest to visit their lands for some reason or other, but Scarlett had instead visited some minor village in the neighboring domain. As far as Evelyne knew there was nothing of note in the area, so she couldn't for the life of her figure out what Scarlett had gone there to do. She just hoped it wouldn't come back to bite her in the ass later on. Although she had long since gotten used to cleaning up Scarlett's messes.

Evelyne closed the doors to the reception hall and went back to waiting in the lobby, and she didn't have to wait for much longer before she spotted Garside coming down the stairs. A small smile played on the old butler's face as he approached her, stopping before her in a bow with one arm bent behind him and one in front. "Lady Evelyne, it gladdens me to see you well."

The tips of her lips rose involuntarily. "Garside. How are things?" she asked. "I heard you joined my sister on her trip. I hope it wasn't too hard on you."

Garside raised himself from the bow, standing slightly taller than her. "There is no need to worry, young Lady. These old bones still have some vigor in them." He rolled his shoulders as if to show there was nothing wrong with him. "It is still some time yet before I will allow anything minor like age impede my ability to serve you and the Lady to my full extent."

Evelyne couldn't stop her face from growing into an outright smile. No matter the circumstances it was always nice seeing Garside. Ever since her parents had died he had been one of the few people to still treat her like this. "I'm glad to hear that," she said, but then her smile weakened when she thought of what she wanted to ask. "But was it truly necessary for you to go with Scarlett on her trip? Did she do something that will cause us trouble later on?"

His grey mustache trembled slightly as he looked at her for a moment. "...I believe that is not for me to say," he eventually said. "Perhaps you should inquire about it directly with the Lady."

Evelyne scoffed. "As if she'll tell me. We both know she would rather I disappeared completely than involve myself in any of her affairs."

Garside had a reflective expression on his face. "I would not be quite so sure of that."

Evelyne blinked. "You don't actually believe she would actually bother answering my questions, do you?"

He stroked his mustache. "It is not my place to make any judgement on the subject, but I do feel the Lady has changed recently. I think the young Lady will have noticed it too."

She shook her head. "It's just another one of her schemes. Or she's gotten bored of her banquets and is looking for something new to entertain her."

"I do not believe that is the case," Garside said. She furrowed her brows. He looked as if he knew something she didn't. Had he seen something while he was gone?

"People don't just change for no reason."

He slowly nodded his head. "That is true."

She narrowed her eyes. What would drive her sister to suddenly change the way she acted? Scarlett was too proud to care about anything she considered minor.

Reputation, money, power. Those were the kinds of things Scarlett wanted. But none of her sister's recent actions seemed to fit with her aiming for those. Sure, there had been some excitement the week prior regarding the criminals Scarlett 'helped' apprehend, but people would forget about that soon enough, and nobles even sooner. And Scarlett had always cared more about her relationships with people in the different noble social cliques than what her reputation among the public was. Scarlett only ever tolerated commoners, and that was assuming they stayed where they 'belonged'. The moment they encroached on what Scarlett considered to be the territory of nobles...

Evelyne stopped her line of thought there before it went any further and turned her attention back to Garside. "Is there something wrong with Scarlett?"

The butler grew a contemplative expression across his face. "I am unsure whether it could be described as wrong," he said thoughtfully. "And I will admit that I myself am uncertain as to what has effected this recent development in the Lady. But of one thing I am certain." He met her eyes. "There is a purpose to her. One that goes beyond what has previously motivated the Lady, and which I sense is more profound than this old man could unravel from merely observing from the sidelines."

"What are you talking about?" Evelyne found herself asking. Garside was about the only person she knew that Scarlett had ever let remotely close to herself, so seeing him talk about her sister like this was startling.

"I am not quite certain I understand it myself," he responded with a small chuckle. "Call it the musings of an old servant, the hopes of an aging man, or perhaps the intervention of Ittar himself."

Evelyne's eyes widened. "You can't be serious?" One would think Scarlett was dying from how he seemed to think she had changed.

"As I said, young Lady. I am not one to tell." He gently shook his head. "I am but a servant in service to his lady, as I was to your father before."

Evelyne gave him a wistful look. He always had been loyal to a fault to their father. And that hadn't changed much after father's death. She had always respected that about him, even though she'd often wished it hadn't been so.

"But I will not take up any more of your time, young Lady," Garside suddenly said, putting on the same old impartial expression he always used to wear when he stood behind her father back when she was young. "I am aware both you and Kinsey have much work to do at this time, especially now in preparation for the Light Fest. I understand you wish to speak with the Lady?"

She took in his black and prim attire, how he gave off an almost completely different air compared to just a few seconds earlier. She didn't mind him taking up her time. She was busy, yes. But there were so few chances for her to meet Garside and some of the other older servants that still worked in the mansion. She held those thoughts in, though, and simply gave him a short nod. "Thank you. Yes, I have some matters I need to speak with her about."

He turned and gestured along with his arm. "Then I will accompany you to the office. The Lady has been occupied during the morning, but I am certain she will have time to spare for you."

He began leading the way through the mansion's familiar hallways and soon enough they found themselves in the far end of the west wing of the mansion where Scarlett's office was. He gently knocked on that nostalgic dark mahogany door, waiting for a second before speaking.

"My Lady. Madame Evelyne is here and wishes to meet with you."

A moment of silence came, followed by the sound of a drawer being opened and closed on the other side of the door. Then her sister's voice rang out from inside, as frigid as ever. "She may enter."

Garside looked back at her, giving a short bow with his head, before opening the door to let her inside. She took a few steps and entered the office as he closed the door behind her. As usual, Scarlett was looking at her with a scowl on her face. Maybe her sister's expression wasn't quite as sharp as it usually was, but that might also just have been her imagination.

She walked over and sat down in the chair that was opposite Scarlett's across the desk. The desk itself was largely empty, save for the same large ornate mirror as before, with a silver clock piece and black pouch next to it. It seemed whatever Scarlett had been busy with, it wasn't something she wanted her to know of.

The woman herself leaned back in her chair, her red hair flowing out over her right shoulder as she peered down at Evelyne. She wore a light white dress with a pair of half-circular earrings that had an amber gem affixed to them that Evelyne felt relatively certain she'd seen Scarlett wear the last time they met too. That was odd, considering it was Scarlett.

"I take it there was something you wished to discuss?" her sister suddenly asked coldly, shattering any illusions Evelyne had built up in her mind about seeing any real change in Scarlett.

"Yes. A number of things, actually," she said, examining her sister for a second. "You've been busy lately."

Scarlett simply gave a nod. "I have."

"Are you going to bother telling me about any of it?"

Scarlett tilted her head slightly to the side. "Do you want me to?"

"Do I want you to?" Evelyne let out a low chuckle. "Honestly? No. I would prefer it if I never had to care about your activities. But I don't have a choice in the matter." She looked into Scarlett's amber eyes. "And you promised you'd report news to me."

Her sister frowned. "I believe what I said was that I will keep you informed of matters that are relevant. My most recent outing did not have much relevance to your affairs."

Evelyne gaped at her. "You were attacked!" she exclaimed. "Eight people were killed! And one of our carriages was destroyed! How is that not relevant to me?"

"Eight bandits," Scarlett remarked. "And do you perhaps expect me to report any potential ambushes against my person beforehand, from now on? I hope I do not have to tell you why that would be difficult to accomplish."

Evelyne stared at her. "That's not what I meant, and you know it."

Scarlett just stared back. "Then what is it that you meant?" she asked.

Evelyne swallowed a cry. She was so tired of always going around in circles with Scarlett, always stepping around and lashing out at each other. "Just..." She leaned forward, looking down at the wooden flooring. "...I'm not here to argue about that. So fine, just ignore telling me anything about why someone attacked my own sister." She finally let out the sigh she'd kept in most of the morning, since before she even left her manor. "I just don't understand what you're up to, and I'm so tired of still having to care about it for the family."

Her words were met with silence. She looked up to see Scarlett looking at her with an odd expression.

"I..." Scarlett hesitated. Scarlett. It wasn't just her delaying her words or preparing to follow it up with something worse. Scarlett legitimately looked like she wasn't sure what to say. Evelyne hadn't seen her sister with an expression like that for years. Since before mother and father died.

"...I do not think it would be wise of me to share the particulars of the current situation with you," Scarlett said after a while. "It is both complicated and dangerous — as well as unrelated to you. As such, it is best for all parties if you are aware exclusively of the matters that directly affect the house, and do not involve yourself with anything else."

Evelyne gazed at her. Dangerous? For who? For her? Scarlett wasn't likely to care much about that. What was more probable was that Scarlett wanted Evelyne out of the way of whatever it was she was doing.

...But that had essentially been true for everything Scarlett had done since becoming head of the family. Yet she'd never acted like this before.

What exactly had her sister gotten involved with now?

"Regarding matters that do relate to you," Scarlett suddenly continued. "I had Garside ensure the acquisition of a building in the city to house the children who were previously being accommodated in the mansion. He informed me he had already confirmed you were versed on the issue and the related costs." She paused for a moment. "Speaking frankly, I assumed that is what you would have wished to discuss with me."

Scarlett's words reminded Evelyne of what she was originally here for, and she took the chance to change the subject. "That is one of the things we needed to talk about." She observed her sister. On the way here she'd almost wanted to yell at Scarlett because of her wastefulness, but that feeling had mostly gone away now. The thought did pass through her mind that this might be exactly what Scarlett wanted, but that was on a level of manipulation that she'd not seen even in Scarlett. "I thought you asked my help dealing with the children, but then you went and bought an entire building for them near the eastern gate?"

"You were taking too long finding an answer to the problem," Scarlett said. "It proved to be too draining on the mansion's resources to have them stay any longer than necessary, so I judged it best that they were relocated to another facility more suited for harboring them."

More likely Scarlett was just fed up with having a group of kids in the mansion with her.

Scarlett began tapping one of her fingers against her armrest. Ittar's light, Evelyne hated that habit of Scarlett's. "Did you have another solution for the issue?"

"I was looking into if there were any orphanages or families in the villages around Stagmond that could take some of them in, but I can't just wave my hand and magically find a place for them," Evelyne said, and immediately noticed her sister's eyes grow just a bit sharper.

"Would the children have to be separated in such a scenario?"

"What?" Evelyne blinked. "Of course they would. There's no place that could take them all in at the same time. So—"

"Then it is not a suitable resolution at the moment," Scarlett interrupted. "The children only speak Voneian, so separating and entrusting them to households which they cannot communicate with would do them no favor. It is better to allow them to stay together and ensure they are taken care of until they have mastered the language, and proceed from there."

Evelyne paused, taken aback. "Why do you even care?" she asked.

Scarlett had a hard look in her eyes. "Because it is my responsibility, and I do not believe in performing matters perfunctorily after having taken them upon myself."

Evelyne didn't know how to respond to that. Scarlett almost never bothered dealing with things she thought were annoying, nearly always delegating it off to either her or somebody else. This might be one of the first times since they were young that she'd ever seen her sister look like she cared about anything else than her dozen different ploys for societal power. Just what was happening here?

"I will take your silence as your concurrence on the matter," Scarlett said.

Evelyne looked at her in a daze for a moment, then shook her head. "There's still the matter of costs."

Scarlett paused her tapping on her chair's armrest. "Costs?"

"Yes. Costs." Evelyne furrowed her brows. "Do you know how our finances have looked this past month?"

"I have not paid it much attention, no."

This time Evelyne swallowed her sigh. Of course she hadn't. This was the Scarlett that she knew. "Just the house itself cost 42 000 solars. And that's without counting the extra costs from all the new hires I've also got reports on. In addition to that, I've also heard that you have that senior Shielder on a continuous contract right now. Do you know how much that costs?"

Scarlett gave her a quiet look as if waiting for her to continue.

"That's at least 4000 solars just this month. That's almost as much as we spend on all of the servants and personnel in the mansion put together. And as if those things weren't the worst." Evelyne took a deep breath and clasped her hands together. "The carriage we lost was worth over 100 000."

Her sister raised an eyebrow. "That is indeed quite the sum. Although as I said, not something I could affect. I prefer my own life over that of a simple carriage."

"Yes, I know." Evelyne decided to ignore pointing out that it wasn't just a simple carriage. "I'm not saying you could have done anything to prevent it, but we can't afford this right now. I've told you our situation is bad at the moment, and none of this helps. We're not that far away from having to start selling some of our assets and firing some of the people working for the family."

She was already making do with just three people herself, and that was if you included Kinsey, who was currently back in the manor ladled with enough paperwork for the fiefs and businesses Evelyne had tried investing into to last for days on end. Yet despite this, they couldn't just fire the over-a-dozen people working for them in the mansion, or the people responsible for their mansion in the capital. Partly because they were responsible for them to a certain degree, but also because Scarlett would never agree to it.

Her sister stayed quiet, genuinely looking like she was considering Evelyne's words, before picking up a key that lay on the desk and unlocking one of the drawers. Evelyne couldn't see the contents of the drawer from where she sat, but Scarlett soon pulled out a red leather journal that she began sifting through with it held in the air before her. She looked through it for a while, the only noise in the office being the sound of pages occasionally turning, before eventually putting it back into the drawer and turning her attention back to Evelyne. Evelyne herself was unsure what to feel about the situation. There was a kind of uncomfortable sense of being disregarded she got from sitting silently in the same room as Scarlett when her sister essentially acted as if she wasn't present, and it annoyed her that she even felt like that to begin with.

"It appears that I have been neglectful in taking this situation into consideration," Scarlett finally said, once more leaning back in her chair. "I was not aware it had reached this point, but I do have some responses prepared. First of all, I presume you recall my earlier request to you regarding establishing contact with an auction house on my account?"

"Yes," Evelyne nodded. She'd contacted the only auction house in Freybrook and ensured they contacted Scarlett, but largely forgotten about the matter after that.

"Their appraisal of the artifacts I secured with the aid of the Shielder is over 30 000 solars, which—while not equivalent to the full amount—I hope can alleviate some of the burden caused by the acquisition of the house," Scarlett said. She then paused for a second. "In addition to that, I may know of some vacant businesses in Elystead that I believe hold some potential for growth in the near future if handled properly, and which should not require excessive capital to acquire."

Scarlett then frowned again, as if there was something else that she thought of. "And I did not consider it till now, as it did not pertain to my goals at the time, but there is an old Zuverian crypt not far from Freybrook that I and Miss Breeden explored at the start of the month. There were several magical crystals there that served as lamps." She began tapping the armrest again. "I am uncertain if the Shields Guild has already cleared the ruins, but as a month has yet to pass I believe any remaining spoils would still belong to me by law. While I do not know the worth of these crystals, it might be worth inquiring further into the matter."

Evelyne stared at her sister with wide eyes. "You actually found Zuverian ruins? And you decided to explore it yourself?"

Scarlett gave her a quizzical look. "Where else did you think I obtained the Zuverian coins I spoke of?"

"You never told me you got them yourselves." Evelyne shook her head. "This is huge. How did you even find it? And does the Brook Tower know already?"

"I do not believe it is that noteworthy of an occurrence," Scarlett said with knitted brows. "It was not a particularly expansive set of ruins, lacking much of true worth. As for how I found it, that is largely irrelevant to the situation. And as I mentioned I did not pay it much thought till now so I do not know which parties are aware of the ruins at present."

Evelyne was genuinely shocked by Scarlett's disregard for what she was saying. "It's been years since the last ruins were found. The Ustrum Assembly and the towers will all be interested in it, and we might be able to trade any artifacts found with them for a decent price." Even people from the Rising Isle may be curious about it. If what Scarlett said is true, she might be able to use this to establish some contacts that could be useful in the future.

Evelyne examined her sister. Could she trust her on this? Finding ruins built by the old Zuver wasn't something she thought Scarlett could do by herself. There had to be someone helping her...But this could be incredibly helpful to them in their current position.

"I'll try and contact my friend at the Guild to see what they've done about the situation. But I would also like to send someone myself to check the ruins. Could you send me a map of where it is later?"

"I can lend you the Shielder that aided me when I originally cleared it. I believe that will be easier for us both."

"That works too." Evelyne nodded her head. "Also," she said, giving Scarlett a hesitant look. "I have business that I have to do in the capital this year during the Light Fest, so I will be staying at the residence there during the celebration."

"Is that so," her sister casually said, not giving any special reaction.

Evelyne waited for more, but Scarlett didn't say anything else. "I'll also be attending the Elysian Proclamation."

Now Scarlett was staring at her. "...Are you asking for my permission?"

"What? No." Evelyne's eyes flashed. "I am going."

"Then do so," Scarlett said. "Unless you expect me to stop you?"

Evelyne met her sister's eyes. There was annoyance there, irritation, but not anger. "...No. But I'm still asking that you don't."

Scarlett clicked her tongue. "I had no intention to, and as I said, I won't. Now, was there any other issue you wished to discuss with me today or is that all? Further details when it comes to the financial matters can be left for another day."

Evelyne paused for a moment, then gave a short nod. "That's all. I'll be leaving for Elystead the day after tomorrow and I've already contacted Whiteley so that he knows both of us will be staying during the Light Fest. Everything should be prepared when you arrive."

"Good. It appears as if you have it under control for now. Then before you leave I only have one request."

"And what's that?"

"A week ago I had Garside inquire into the procedures necessary in establishing an orphanage in the family's name. If the circumstances allow for it, I would like for you to handle the process, ensuring any hired personnel is competent and not a waste of money."

Evelyne gave Scarlett a long look. "You're establishing an orphanage?"

"I am," Scarlett said, looking almost haughty now — as if this whole conversation hadn't just been a weave of one absurd or illogical thing after the other. "I think it would serve well as a display of my generosity, would it not? This should be a solution we can both be satisfied with, I am sure you can agree."

Evelyne let out a short laugh. At one moment Scarlett was acting like herself and the next she wasn't, before suddenly she was again. She was getting more and more confused by all of this. "I'll look into what it would require. I'm still not sure if those artifacts you spoke of from the ruins will get us anything, and even then it might not be enough to add another expenditure on top of what we already have, but I'll try at least."

Scarlett waved her hand. "I have other means of acquiring wealth later so there is no need to worry about the future. Merely ensure that it is done so that I do not have to pay it any more mind. That is all I ask of you."

"...Then I'll get it done."

"Good." Scarlett gestured towards the office door. "Now then. You may leave."

Evelyne looked at her sister for a moment longer, before rising from her chair and walking towards the door. She threw one last glance at Scarlett before she left the room behind and entered the hallway outside. Garside had already left to somewhere else.

For a while she just stood there, unsure what to make of the conversation she'd just had. She massaged the bridge of her nose as she heard the sound of a drawer from inside the office, then she started making her way down the hallway. She really had no idea where all this was going.

Chapter 32 - Crossroad

Scarlett closed the last page of the book she'd been reading and put it off to the side on the desk before her. This was the third book she'd finished in as many days covering different aspects of noble society and etiquette in this world. This last one had been a compendium on prominent families in the Empire, which she'd felt was relevant as she was soon supposed to travel to the capital for what was apparently some kind of noble gathering. Suffice to say that there had been and were a lot of important families in the Graenal Empire. The book had even mentioned the Hartfords—albeit only briefly—due to some of the predecessors being famous mages.

While she couldn't possibly memorize all of the different families in this short time, now she at least felt some certainty in being able to tell some of the noble houses apart if necessary — which was about as much as one could expect after binging through a book in the span of a day. She still had more books she wanted to read through before she had to leave and actually begin interacting with the nobles of this world. And that wasn't the only thing she wanted to do before she left.

The trip itself to Elystead was supposed to be through Kilnstone in two days. Then the Light Fest began two days after that, on the 31st of August, continuing over a period of eight days. From her meeting with Evelyne a couple of days before she knew that the younger woman was supposed to have left earlier this day and was probably already at whatever residence it was that the Hartfords owned in the capital. The thought of sharing the same building as Evelyne for over a week didn't exactly excite Scarlett—considering how uncomfortable it was, just being in the same room as her for a few minutes—but there wasn't much she could do about it in this case. She could probably try and restrict Evelyne's movements to avoid things like that, being the head of the family and all, but she certainly wouldn't. That might have been something the original Scarlett would try, it wouldn't surprise her, but it wasn't something she was willing to do. As such, living with Evelyne during their stay in the capital was just something she'd have to deal with.

She'd probably manage it without too much trouble. Hopefully. Their last meeting hadn't been too bad, all things considered. She'd largely succeeded in restraining the flaring feelings of anger and disgust that arose when speaking with Evelyne, and if you were to ask her they'd had what she'd genuinely call a productive conversation... Wherein Scarlett had learned some things she hadn't been aware of. Namely, that she wasn't as loaded as she had previously thought.

She had to admit that she had been a bit lax when it came to confirming her current financial situation as 'Scarlett Hartford'. She'd intended to, but then it turned out she could just wave her hand and the Hartford family would pay for it, which she had felt was fine for now until she actually got started on any of her plans. A definite oversight on her part. She probably shouldn't have just assumed Scarlett was filthy rich. Although she did feel it was somewhat defendable, considering that she lived in a huge mansion with over a dozen people working under her. And honestly, if you asked her this still fit under the 'filthy rich' label, despite any current financial troubles the family might have.

But Scarlett did feel a little bad for Evelyne, thinking of how the woman must have reacted when she first saw the cost of the things she had done this last month. It still surprised her that the destroyed carriage had been worth as much as it had. Sure, it had been a comfortable carriage—the one they'd switched to afterward definitely rocked a lot more—but to think it was worth several times the amount of an ordinary house. She assumed the high cost was because it was enchanted in some manner.

Anyhow, what she had learned from this was that she had to be a bit more frugal in the future. At least until she could start earning some real money herself. She still felt pretty confident in the plans she had for amassing a decent amount of wealth, as long as she had the time. She also still had the gear that she'd looted from the Cabal Adepts that had attacked them when they left for Whistlecreek. She hadn't done anything with it yet. For now she was planning on just bringing it with her to the capital. She only knew of one store from the game that dealt with enchanted armor here in Freybrook and she wasn't sure if that place could necessarily be trusted with equipment like this. But there was one store in Elystead that she was certain could do it. Although she'd have to wait until she was actually there to decide whether she would simply try selling the armor or repurposing it in some way.

Another matter she'd almost forgotten about was the reward for the servants that ended up having to deal with the aftermath of the fight with the Adepts, as well as the bodies. Although Scarlett did try to keep up at least part of the 'villainess' facade she had going from the original, there were some points she didn't mind acting differently on. The servants that had dealt with that matter deserved some kind of reward, she felt. At least to the degree she could afford at the moment.

She had also wanted to get Kat some kind of armor, as compensation for the equipment the Shielder had lost along with the burned carriage, but that turned out to be a bit difficult under the current circumstances. Kat hadn't actually brought the matter up—perhaps the employer wasn't considered responsible for any lost equipment while the Shielder was under contract—but Scarlett felt it would be better for both of them if it was resolved. Maybe she could get a good deal along with the gear from the Cabal Adepts?

Just as Scarlett was about to pick up and begin the next book that lay on her desk, a knock sounded out from the office's door. Scarlett looked up as Kat's voice rang out from the other side of the door.

"Hello? You busy? Can we talk for a moment?" From the way she spoke, it sounded like something serious.

Scarlett opened up the drawer where she kept her journals for the moment and placed the books she'd been reading there before closing it. "Enter," she said.

Kat soon opened the door and walked in, the blonde woman sitting down in the single chair across Scarlett.

"Is there something you wish to say?" Scarlett asked, examining the Shielder's expression. Kat's expression did indeed look like this wasn't an ordinary matter.

"I just got a message from my colleagues at the branch," Kat began, folding her arms across her chest. "There's come in a request from the Guild's branch in the capital, calling for the assistance of all senior Shielders in the empire ranked B or higher."

Scarlett raised an eyebrow. This was unexpected. "Did they inform you of a reason?"

Kat shook her head. "Nothing specific. Even if they did, I doubt it's something I could share. I just know it's an emergency of some kind."

Scarlett leaned back and tapped her finger against the armrest in thought. It wasn't too long until the Tribe of Sin would start causing some ruckus here in the Empire. In fact, that would be the start of the process that would light the fuse of the main questline in 'Chronicle of Realms', though as far as she knew the player could never be involved in matters this early. The first movements of the Tribe were instead something the player would read about in the Empyreal Chronicle after the fact.

Could it be that the Shields Guild was aware something was going down and was trying to counteract it? She hadn't really considered the possibility, but it did sound like it from what Kat had just said. In her first playthrough Scarlett had only been an F-ranked junior Shielder at this point, so she didn't really know too much about the inner workings of the Guild this early. Considering how things went in the game though, whatever they were trying to do now was bound to fail. Or at the very least not go completely in their favor.

"I assume this means that you will no longer be able to act as my escort until the emergency has been handled?" Scarlett asked after considering it.

Kat looked at her for a moment, then slowly nodded her head. "Probably, yeah. It's rare for the capital branch to send out empire-wide requests like this." She grimaced, pulling her hand through her unbraided hair, leaving it slightly ruffled. "They actually wanted me to leave immediately, saying they'd pay damages for the broken contract. But considering your circumstances I didn't feel comfortable leaving just like that. I convinced them that I'd stay with you at least until we're in the capital, and then I was thinking that I could find some replacements for me there... If that works for you? I have a few contacts at their branch."

Scarlett stayed quiet for a while, gazing at Kat. Would that work? Or could she find someone else to replace Kat? She didn't know many organizations except the Shields Guild that so easily would let you hire and give you access to such strong individuals without needing any prior connections.

In fact, she only knew of one. But the Vanguards made their base in Wildscar, near the Empire's eastern border, where the Everdust Barrier protected the empire from the threats of the Unresting Steppes. Even if you discounted the fact that Wildscar was one of the few major cities in the empire that didn't have a Kilnstone, meaning getting in contact with the Vanguards might be hard, she wasn't even sure they accepted normal escort requests. They mainly took jobs that meant venturing out into the Unresting Steppes themselves, which—while there were certainly things of interest to her in the large desert—wasn't exactly what she needed right now.

Any replacement Kat found was bound to be at most C-ranked. Which wasn't weak, but it could be problematic if that was all Scarlett had to defend her. But it was also better than nothing. And considering she was planning on picking up one of the game's companions while she was in the capital, it might be enough for now.

"So?" Kat asked after Scarlett had stayed quiet for some time.

Scarlett gave the woman a nod. "It seems to be an acceptable compromise, under these circumstances. I would appreciate the consideration on your part."

Kat let out a relieved sigh, before giving a small smile. "I'll make sure they're capable enough so that they don't just get in your way."

"Anything less and I would be quite disappointed."

Kat chuckled. "Yeah, I'm sure you would be."

"As for this 'emergency'," Scarlett brought the subject back to what they'd spoken about before. "There was no indication as to for how long it might continue?"

Some of the events related to the Tribe's coming actions had been covered by the weekly news report in the game, but she really didn't know too much about the details related to the different factions' movement this early in the timeline. For all she knew it was possible things continued for months behind the scenes.

"I have no idea. I don't know what the reason behind it is yet," Kat said. "The last time something this major happened in the Guild was during the Dragon Rampage seven years ago, and I heard they dealt with the aftermath of that for months on end."

"I see." Scarlett gave another nod. "Nevertheless, you are more than welcome to return to my service after matters have been concluded. You have been of significant help up to this point, and I will not easily forget it." It looked like she wouldn't be able to get Kat any new armor before the woman left. But at least this gave her more time to prepare something for the future.

"I'll keep that in mind," Kat said with a smile. She then looked towards Scarlett's empty desk. "You busy now, by the way? I was thinking that now that we didn't have much time left, we could use some of it to get you some more training. The best defense is the one where you can defend yourself, after all."

Some of the hairs on Scarlett's neck rose. As she'd had more and more training sessions with Kat and had grown more and more used to being in a fight, the Shielder had also grown more and more aggressive in their practice. And while Scarlett could usually ignore the slight feeling of annoyance that was almost ever-present when she interacted with the rather informal woman, she found that her self-control was pushed to its limits when that very same woman threw her to the ground like a sack of rice. But she couldn't deny that it was good training.

"...Very well."

The smile on Kat's face grew wider, and Scarlett felt that perhaps she would be less careful with her Aqua Mines this time than usual.

Chapter 33 - The Capital

"Gods, that's a lot of people." Kat's words filled the small carriage cabin they were in.

"Indeed it is," Scarlett agreed, looking out the carriage window at the masses of people, wagons, and carriages that filled the enormous circular plaza they found themselves in. Like them, many of the people here were moving away from the center of the plaza, where there was a large half-open structure surrounded by lines of people. The structure bore some resemblance to the building in Freybrook that housed the city's Kilnstone, but this one was much more extensive and elaborate in its design. If Scarlett were to just describe its appearance, she'd call it something like a neoclassical mausoleum. It also just happened to be called the Mausoleum, so she wasn't the only one who thought so.

It also happened to be home to the Imperial Capital's four Kilnstones—Elystead was the only city that had more than one of the old Zuverian artifacts—making it a very busy spot now during midday, just two days before the Light Fest begins. They'd traveled through one of those just a few minutes earlier.

Scarlett's eyes carried across the whole plaza and its surroundings, taking in the views. It was one thing seeing it in the game, but seeing Elystead in real life was a completely different experience. Although Freybrook and Ambercrest had their own charm, they couldn't match up to the capital's grandeur. She knew it wasn't the same over the whole city, but all of the buildings encircling this area had a very old, but pristine, look to them. Much like the Mausoleum, they were all very Roman-esque, with a lot of open spaces, neatly filed trees between buildings and in the middle of the streets, with small ponds here and there. It was very clear where the original designers for 'Chronicle of Realms'—if they actually existed—had gotten their inspiration from for this part of the city. She was pretty sure the whole of Ascendant Court, which was what this district of the city was called, was filled with buildings like this.

The sight actually filled her with a sense of...reverence? Pride? She wasn't sure exactly what it was, but she had a suspicion it wasn't actually from her. Nonetheless, it still left her wordless for a moment.

As their carriage started nearing the edge of the plaza and began moving along the street that encircled it, Scarlett's eyes shifted towards the other side of the Mausoleum from where they'd exited. A long rectangular pond with still, blue water stretched almost a hundred meters from the Mausoleum, surrounded on both sides by circular collonades that were placed in lines. At the far end of the pool of water stood an incredibly large structure that curved slightly, like a half-moon, towards the pond and the plaza, its white marble walls and pillars resplendently reflecting the rays of the midday sun.

That had to be the Ustrum Assembly. The foremost authority of magic in the Empire—if you discounted the Rising Isle, which didn't technically exist in the Empire—and a major faction in the game. She'd also been part of it in her first playthrough.

It almost looked like some kind of ancient dam, now that she saw it like this, towering over the plaza and all the nearby buildings here, reaching about the same height as the Mausoleum. Her view of the grandiose building was eventually cut off, however, when the carriage moved further away from it and turned off onto another much bigger road. It pointed away from the plaza and towards the south, where it went on through the rest of the city all the way to where it cut off into a large body of gleaming water. That would be Rellaria Lake, 'The Jewel of the Empire'. And off into the distance, a short stretch into the bay, Scarlett could see the remote facade of an extensive and faintly red castle that stood like a mountain unto itself in the lake. And that'd be Dawnlight Palace. Home to the imperial family, and the heart of the Graenal Empire's power.

Their carriage started traveling down the bustling street, which Scarlett remembered was called 'Sunset Walk'—there were too many places to remember around here—on the in-game maps of the city, surrounded on both sides by large buildings of all kinds. This was the main thoroughfare of the central parts of the city, and seeing it like this really lent to the effect of impressing how large Elystead actually was. Freybrook was a decently large city—she'd read in a book somewhere that it was the third-largest imperial city area-wise—but the city she had seen in this world had been mostly similar to what she'd known from the game, with only some parts having changed, or increased in size, or opened up where they had been locked in the game. Elystead, however, was much larger here than in the game. It really couldn't compare. Just from what she was seeing right now it looked like it could compare with some of the smaller capital cities in the modern world when it came to size, which was impressive considering the world they were in.

"It's good to be back," Kat said. Scarlett turned to see the woman looking out at the passing buildings.

"You have been here before, then?"

The Shielder nodded her head. "I grew up here."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, in the Foreign Quarter." Kat smiled. "My mom was originally from the Luicean Isles before she traveled here and met my old man. They always said I rubbed more off of her than him, though." She went quiet for a second. "Coming back here always reminds me of her."

Scarlett studied the woman's face. "I imagine she must have been a headstrong woman."

Kat let out a short laugh. "The opposite, actually. She was shy as a bird, really. More often than not I had to go with her when she bought anything just to make sure she didn't get hoodwinked into paying more than she needed to."

Scarlett raised an eyebrow. "That is surprising."

Kat just shrugged her shoulders. "There were a lot of other things I got from her though." The woman leaned closer to the window as she peeked out at a pair of statues that Scarlett assumed were depictions of some old hero or other. Past those statues, the design of most buildings changed to look much more like those in Freybrook and Ambercrest, which likely meant that they were now out of the Ascendant Court. Scarlett spent a few seconds trying to remember which district of the city came next. Was it the Wise Quarter? No, that had been in the opposite direction, hadn't it? Then The Coins, perhaps? She looked out at the buildings, seeing several smaller, but still decently wide, streets move off from the Sunset Walk and, in between the houses, masses of people moving about them and looking into different storefronts. The Coins it was then.

This was essentially the commercial district of the capital, where the majority of the shops and trades made their place. She also had some business she needed to get done here, though that would have to wait for a bit.

"Shame I'll probably have to leave again soon," Kat said, leaning back in her seat as she moved her braided hair over her shoulder.

"Have they told you where you will be going?" Scarlett asked.

Kat shook her head. "No. They'll probably wait until I get to the branch here before telling me that. But I doubt it'll be anywhere close to the capital."

Scarlett didn't say anything. From what she knew Kat wasn't wrong.

"Oh, right." Suddenly Kat sat up and looked at her. "I've found two replacements for me as escorts. They're from the branch here in Elystead, and they're both C-ranked so I think they'll do a decent enough job of protecting you. They are a bit young, and only recently became senior Shielders, but I'm familiar with them and can promise you that they're reliable."

Scarlett eyed Kat, slowly beginning to tap her finger against the windowsill. Two reliable Shielders definitely sounded good right now. That they were senior Shielders was also important, but she hadn't expected Kat to recommend her junior Shielders anyway. In the Shields Guild, you could only become a senior Shielder after having completed a good amount of requests and showcasing to the Guild that you were both reliable and upheld their principles. It was less a measure of your strength and more a certificate that you were trustworthy.

"Although if you need more than that, I can probably see if I can't find someone more to take on the job," Kat added.

Scarlett considered it for a moment, then shook her head. "No, I believe two escorts will be enough for now." While more was usually better, hiring more than two Shielders might not be the best idea for her right now. For one thing, she had to think about her expenses—although that would hopefully not be a factor for too long—and for another, she didn't want to move around with too large of a group. She was already planning on recruiting one companion soon which should give her a decent amount of force for the moment. And having too many people working for her that didn't actually work under her felt like it could get troublesome later on.

"Alright, if you say so." Kat leaned back in her seat.

"I should probably warn you, though," she added after a while. "Even if I said they're trustworthy, one of their fathers is a bigshot in the Guild. So you might want to be a bit careful with what you do when they're around."

Scarlett looked at Kat. "And what might you mean with that?"

Kat gave her a knowing smile. "Not to offend, but some of the stuff you do seem a little...shady, at first glance. I haven't really had an issue with it too much—frankly because I trust you—and have only reported what was necessary for my job." She met Scarlett's eyes. "But I can't promise that they'll always be the same."

Then Kat shrugged her shoulders again and looked out the window. "Well, not that I think it'll be any real problem. They're good kids. You can make use of them as you like." She grinned. "You can even tell them I said that."

"I will keep that in mind," Scarlett said. "Although, I believe I had already expressed my distaste of being described in such questionable terms as 'shady'... But seeing as you will soon be leaving on what is almost assured to be a dangerous undertaking, I will endeavor to forgive it without further rebuke this time."

Kat looked at her with an amused expression, then performed a mock bow. "How magnimous of you, my Lady."

"I believe you mean magnanimous."

Kat just waved her hand in the air. "Close enough. Besides, we don't know if it'll be that dangerous yet. Unless you happened to learn anything about it in that research of yours too."

Scarlett's finger paused in its rhythm and she didn't immediately respond. Kat seemed to read enough from just that because she froze, her smile disappearing as she looked at her.

"Seriously?"

Scarlett hesitated over whether to say anything or not. This was a matter she hadn't decided how to resolve yet. She'd largely given up most pretenses around the Shielder as Kat had shown herself trustworthy enough, but Scarlett wasn't sure how much she wanted to share. With the amount of information she had, she could most definitely use it to help a lot of people if she shared it with the right people. She could for example go right up to the Guild and tell them everything she knew. It might be hard to convince them at the start, but there was no doubt in her mind that she could do it, and with that give them a huge advantage in the future. But was that what she wanted? Was she obligated to do that just because she could? Her goal wasn't world peace or to become an empire-wide hero.

In fact, she wasn't even sure what her goal was. Surviving had been the main one, which was why she was preparing for when things would start to get worse in this world. But that only went so far. So outside of that, what did she want? To return to her world, most likely. To know that she could meet her sister and friends again in the future. But she had no idea if that would ever be possible. She'd been in this world for almost a month now without any clues on that front yet, nor any clues on how to get any clues. And the system that was tied to her had been painfully unhelpful on the matter whenever she'd tried to use it to get information.

Seeing as how she didn't really know what she wanted to do here yet—except simply continue as she had up till now—one of the more reasonable options was probably to reach out to any of the more honest and respectable organizations in this world. So why was she still so hesitant to do it?

...She didn't actually know. Did she just want to hog all of the potential benefits to herself? Was she just inherently that selfish? Honestly, it felt that way to her right now. Otherwise, she couldn't explain this reluctance she felt to the idea of sharing all her information. To giving away the main advantage she had in this world.

Oh, she could say it was because it was too risky. That even the Guild might have Cabal spies in its ranks. Or maybe that it was the remnants of the original Scarlett's personality that made her feel like this, that made her selfish. But that just felt like attempts at rationalizing it. Excuses for her not to feel bad about it. Which she already didn't. At least emotionally.

Well, that part she could probably mostly blame on the traits.

She turned her attention back to Kat, who was still staring at her silently. Scarlett closed her eyes for a moment.

Screw it. For now, she'd do what she wanted to. Nothing more, nothing less. Any complicated thoughts on the moral implications or whatever of her actions could just take a backseat till later for all she cared. She was a freaking editor. She never signed up to having to make choices that could seriously affect people's lives.

This meant helping those that she wanted to help, and ignoring those she didn't.

She finally spoke. "I have come to be aware of some movements made by the Tribe of Sin in recent times." She saw Kat's eyes widen at the words. "Although I do not know much, what I know happens to coincide quite well with the current response from the Shields Guild."

"...Do you know what they're up to?" Kat asked, her voice serious.

"No. My insight into the Hallowed Cabal's and the Tribe of Sin's activities is far from complete." That wasn't entirely true, but sharing the purpose behind the Tribe's current movements wouldn't serve to help Kat very much.

"I'll take anything you have, no matter how small," Kat said. "If it's something that can help with whatever's happening right now, I'll do anything to make up for it after too. I can't promise not to tell anyone it came from you—those above me in the Guild could probably figure it out anyway—but I can at least ask that it doesn't spread."

Scarlett observed Kat briefly. "I fear you may be overestimating what information I have." These events were far back enough in the game's timeline that what she could share about the details themselves was essentially just what had been reported in the Empyreal Chronicle after-the-fact. It was entirely possible the Guild already knew more than that.

Kat looked at her for several seconds, then suddenly leaned back with a sigh that seemed to relax the mood in the carriage. "If it's the Tribe I'll take whatever I can get, even if it's something small." She leaned her right arm against the rest of the seat behind her. "But I can't really force you, so..."

A small smile tugged at Scarlett's lips. Was that supposed to be an attempt at reverse psychology? "I did not say that I would not tell you."

Kat looked at her with attention. "Yeah?"

Scarlett waited for a second before she continued. "It is not much, but currently there would be good reason for the Guild to pay attention to several of the minor settlements spread across the Empire. I presume they are aware of as much. What I would suggest the Guild to do, is pay particular regard to the town of Brinewick."

Kat scratched her cheek with a thoughtful expression. "Brinewick? That's northeast from here, right?"

"It is."

She seemed to think about it for a moment longer before giving her a nod. "I'll keep it in mind."

"Ensure that you do," Scarlett said. She paused.

"...In addition," she continued after Kat's attention was turned back to her. "I have a warning. I do not know if it will have any relevance whatsoever, but I wish to say it nonetheless." She looked Kat in the eyes. "If at any time during these coming events you encounter an individual with either violet or silver hair, referring to herself as Vail, then do not, under any circumstances, clash with her. Unless either Gratianus Graham or Rosanna Adlam are nearby, you should immediately flee with no regard to anything else."

Kat stared back at her. "Those are S-ranked Shielders."

"I am aware." The S-rank wasn't something the Shields Guild just gave out to anybody. At this point in time there should only be three of them here in the Empire, and if Scarlett remembered correctly the third one was busy this early in the game.

Kat's brows furrowed together. "Who is this Vail person?"

Scarlett sighed. "An incredibly dangerous individual, feared even amongst the Tribe. There is not much more I can tell you about her than that."

Kat grew a thoughtful expression once more, then gave a slow nod. "Alright, I'll make sure to remember that."

"Good," Scarlett said. She wasn't sure what people were involved in this on the Tribe's side, but Vail was definitely the most problematic of the possibilities. There were other dangerous individuals in the Tribe, but most of those weren't as ruthless.

Scarlett looked out the window again and saw that the coachman had steered their carriage off the main road and entered into the streets of The Coins district.

"I believe we will soon reach our destination," she said and turned to Kat.

Kat also glanced out the window and nodded her head. "Yeah, looks like it."

This was where they'd part ways for now.

Chapter 34 - Goodbyes and good businesses

Their carriage passed through the busy streets of The Coins district, occasionally navigating by some of the smaller roads until they finally reached the Shields Guild's capital branch. It was a large stone building at the end of a large street that was mostly filled with carriages moving back and forth. On a sign that hung above the building's entrance was the upturned triangle with a blue shield and the handle of a sword inside that was the Guild's symbol.

"Right. I guess this is where we part ways for now," Kat said, looking out at the building. "I'll go ahead and make sure everything is set up with my replacements so you don't have to bother too much with it. Although I heard that they were busy with another job until the evening, so I'm afraid you might have to wait for a while anyway." She turned to Scarlett. "I might be able to talk the people at the branch into giving me some extra time if you need me to stay with you until then?"

Scarlett shook her head. "While I do appreciate the offer, that will not be necessary. I have some business that I wanted to carry out today, but it is nothing that requires the added protection. I believe I will be safe for now."

Kat shrugged her shoulders. "If you say so. Just don't go and get yourself into any trouble now while I'm gone."

"I believe I could say the same to you."

Kat grinned. "Yeah, maybe you could."

The Shielder stood up and opened the carriage door and Scarlett saw the coachman take a step back to avoid getting hit by it.

"Oh, sorry about that," Kat said to the man as she jumped down onto the cobbled street. It was the same older man that had driven the carriage for their trip to Ambercrest.

Kat turned back to look at Scarlett. "You know, it's been a good time. I don't usually get too many exciting jobs working in Freybrook, but this one has been something special. I hope you don't forget about me in the future when you need my help again."

"You can rest assured that there is not much risk of that happening. You are quite the memorable individual," Scarlett said to the blonde-haired woman. "Your aid has been greatly useful. You can feel free to contact me when you are available once more."

"Look who's talking." Kat smiled, then she turned around again and started walking towards the branch building. "I'm not one for long goodbyes, so I'll just take my leave here," she said with a wave. "When you're looking for the other two later you can just tell the people at the branch that I sent you and they'll help you out from there. Say goodbye to the kids for me, if you can. Bye!"

Scarlett watched her leave with an amused look. "I wish you well, Miss Breeden. Goodbye for now."

Soon enough Kat disappeared into the large building. Scarlett's eyes stayed on its doors.

"My Lady," the coachman suddenly spoke. Her gaze shifted to him. "Where do you wish to go now? Shall we head for the mansion?"

She studied him for a moment, before turning away. "No, not yet. I believe there is a street nearby known as the Silver Way. Find a spot near there to park the carriage."

The man bowed. "Of course, my Lady." He then closed the carriage door, and soon they were on the move again.

Scarlett's gaze lingered on the Guild building as the vehicle turned into a side street and started moving away from it. When she originally hired Kat, she hadn't expected the woman to be quite as useful as she was, nor had she expected to somewhat grow to like the woman as much as she had. Especially not so soon after she'd just found herself alone and stuck in some kind of game world. But she was thankful for it. Even if it did still grate on her nerves sometimes when Kat talked.

Honestly, Scarlett wasn't sure if that annoyance had actually lessened over the past month, or if she had just gotten better at putting up with it. Nonetheless, it had reached a level where it was more than bearable right now. She might actually even miss it. She hadn't considered it before, but Kat was probably the first friend she'd made in years. She really hadn't been good at going out and meeting new people lately, before coming to this world.

Well, she didn't have much choice in it any longer. From the looks of things, Kat was just one of the first in a long line of people she'd have to meet in the future now. She could just hope nothing terrible happened to the woman while she was gone.

Although everything she knew about storytelling told her that that's exactly what she shouldn't be thinking. But that was probably a baseless concern. This world might have been based on a game—or maybe vice-versa—but that didn't mean it had to follow standard storytelling structures just because of that. That'd be ridiculous. Probably.

She turned her attention back to the world outside to avoid thinking about existentialism in this world and started observing the people milling about their lives as her carriage drove through the district.

For a moment she wondered whether the coachman simply knew all the streets in all of the empire's cities or if he just happened to be familiar with both Elystead and Ambercrest. Just like when they'd been in the smaller city for the wedding back then, the coachman seemed to steer them through the streets of the capital without any issue, deftly giving out warnings to people who were in the way of the carriage and keeping a safe distance from other vehicles that passed by.

It didn't take them too long before they reached a boulevard. After following it for a while they reached a large area at the end of it that was warded off by iron fences and had several wagons and carriages parked in it. Adjacent to it, Scarlett spotted a building that looked like a stable of sorts. Most of the carriages she saw didn't look like they belonged to nobles, lacking any kind of insignia or coat of arms, but there was still a decent amount of them. She guessed this was essentially this world's equivalent to parking lots.

The carriage drove in and stopped next to the other carriages, and soon the coachman opened the door for her.

"I will return later," she said as she climbed down the steps of the stairs that the man folded out from beneath the carriage for her. "You may wait here until I do."

He gave her an uncertain look. "Are you sure, my Lady? I can accompany you if needed."

She held up a hand. "No, that will not be necessary. Simply be prepared to leave when I return."

He bowed to her. "As you wish, my Lady."

She turned away from him and left the parking space behind, stepping out onto the busy street outside. Then she paused for a moment, moving to the side where there were, for the most part, only people walking and no carriages, before glancing around her. The middle of the large boulevard was parted off by evenly placed trees, and most people seemed to cross however they wished as they moved between the different stores and buildings around here.

A person brushed against her dress as they passed by, the contact sending shivers down her spine. She had to hold herself back from snapping at the person.

Ok. She did not like this.

She almost wished she could just order everybody to make way for her—and if she were the original Scarlett she might actually have tried to—but she couldn't very well do that now. With Kat out of the picture for now, and Garside back in Freybrook to take care of things, Scarlett had to be able to do some things by herself in this world without relying on others. Even if it went against what she currently wanted.

She reflexively took another step back when a tall 'gentleman' in a coat almost bumped into her. She held her rising anger inside her, forcing herself to take a deep breath.

Calm down. It was just a day out on the town. She'd done it hundreds of times before. So what if some people almost walked into her and didn't have the eyes to see that she was a freaking noble. What of it? She didn't care. She was calmness personified.

Taking her eyes off the back of the man in the coat that she'd been glaring at, she once again scanned her surroundings. This should either be the Silver Way or be somewhere near it. In the game, the Silver Way had been one of the streets in The Coins that you could visit to buy and sell different kinds of materials. She had a decent memory of how it looked, but she wasn't sure how different it would be here in real life. She didn't recognize herself right now, at the very least.

Well. There wasn't much to do other than start looking. She crossed a part of the streets where the carriages passed by—they didn't have any kind of crosswalk at all in this world she gathered—and started to walk past storefront after storefront as she made her way down the boulevard, careful to avoid people as much as she could. Luckily she was moving in the opposite direction of the stream of people around her and most seemed to dodge her path after seeing her expression, making her life a bit simpler.

She kept walking like that for a while, keeping her eyes out for anything she recognized from the game, when she finally spotted a restaurant on the other side of the street called 'The Vermillion Apple'. That had been a place you could buy expensive food in the game. As food had let you regenerate some health outside of combat in the game, it had been a decent way of saving your potions—which were rare and expensive—and your mana. Although she doubted food had that kind of effect in this world, considering she hadn't noticed anything special up till now despite the food she ate at the mansion in Freybrook being some of the best food she'd ever eaten.

After glancing both ways—a habit from her past life that she didn't even realize had carried over—she carefully crossed the wide street to the restaurant. She looked around. It shouldn't be far from here. She started moving down the street in the direction she remembered from the game. After a few more minutes, she stopped before a rather large, destitute building. It was bigger than she would have thought, and it certainly stuck out in comparison to the other buildings nearby that were full of life. In the game she hadn't thought about it, but looking at it now, it felt odd that this building was the only one in this condition. On such a populated street too. It wasn't falling apart or anything, but it was clear from just the dark and slightly dusty windows that this place hadn't seen any activity for some time. And if she were to trust the information she had from the game this wouldn't be the only place like it in the city.

Earning money in 'Chronicle of Realms' could be done in many ways. Quests, dungeon clearing, blacksmithing, enchanting, and the list went on — as it often did for open-world RPGs. One of those methods had been to buy and run businesses in cities like Elystead, where they would constantly give you income every month and could be upgraded to increase how much you earned. In the game, there had basically been no way to not earn money through this tactic, so there really was no reason not to do it. But you couldn't just go up to any old store and buy it. You could only buy shops at a few specific locations. And this place in front of her just happened to be one of those locations, which had been dirt-cheap in the game if you considered its value.

While she'd made millions of solars off that in the game, Scarlett didn't know anything about real business. She really wasn't anything more than an editor. Her experience with finances was limited to knowing how to pay her taxes and what she'd learned back when she was forced to take care of her sister after their parents had died. That's why most of her plans when it came to money in this world had basically been 'get valuable thing' and 'sell valuable thing'. It wasn't until Evelyne had confronted her about their current financial situation that she had even considered this option.

She didn't even know if there was any validity to this idea. There were so many things that could go wrong. But she was thinking that, if the businesses were essentially guaranteed to succeed in the game, then maybe there was some logical reasoning behind it that also carried over to this world. This place, for example, could be bought as a weavery in the game. So if it was set up like that again in this world, then it might secure her an extra source of income.

It was a long shot, especially considering there had to be dozens upon dozens of different factors that played into the result, but it was worth a try at least. She was pretty sure this place only cost a couple thousand or so solars in the game—which was a ridiculous bargain if the real price was even anywhere near that—and she knew many others like it that could be worth investing in if it went well.

She'd probably have to get Evelyne to handle the actual matter, though. In the game you could just walk up to the place and buy it like that, but there was bound to be a lot more to it in reality. But she could at the very least have Evelyne look into if there was any potential to this place.

Scarlett surveyed the places nearby to make sure she remembered where this was. Then, satisfied, she started moving down the street again to see if she couldn't find a few more of the places. It took her quite some time—and a lot of turns into some of the smaller streets around the Silver Way—but she eventually managed to find two more buildings that she was relatively certain had been purchasable in the game and memorized their locations as well as she could before she started making her way back up the boulevard. The next place she wanted to find had a bit more importance to her current plans.

As she walked, she watched for any signs that could give her directions of some kind. Now and then she did see them hanging from the side of buildings, with names of some of those streets that met the Silver Way, but she didn't spot what she wanted. Eventually, after having walked for long enough for her feet to start getting tired—thankfully she had opted out of wearing any of the high heels today from the arsenal of the shoes that the original had owned—and almost ending up back where she started, she set her eyes on a small stall selling jewellery of some kind at the corner of one of the streets that led into the boulevard. She was relatively certain the place she was looking for wasn't too far away. It should be close by in the neighboring district, but she just wasn't sure which direction that was, and there were no signs showing it. She didn't want to head off into the depths of an unknown city just to end up losing her way.

She approached the quaint little stall, her eyes momentarily glancing over its articles before locking onto the man helming it. He wore rough, wool clothing and had a bald head, with slightly pudgy skin and a half-shaven chin, a small mole above his right lip. As his eyes met hers, a smile played on his face.

"My oh my, is the lady interested in my humble wares?" he declared in a somewhat raspy voice. "I see you have a good eye! These stem from a wide range of exotic locations, all the way from Zovivios to the far west and the Luicean Torrential Belt to the far south! They're only of the best quality, I can assure you."

Scarlett examined him. "I had no intention of buying your goods. I simply wished to ask a question."

"Ah, is that so? That is a shame, that. They would have fit you well." His eyes traveled over her, taking in her appearance in less than a second. "But I am not one to deny a woman's wishes." He leaned forwards against his stall, some of the sweat on his forehead clearer as he came closer to her. "What is this question you had of me?"

She furrowed her brows at his conduct, but said nothing of it. "I wish to know whether you are aware of where the pub The Whishing Cod is located, and how to get there from here."

"The Whishing Cod, you say?" He rubbed his chin. "Why would a lady such as you want to visit that place?"

"To meet with an acquaintance." In the game, the companion she wanted to recruit could be found during the days in The Whishing Cod for the majority of the early game. She had been hoping there was some truth to that here too. As that would be the simplest way of meeting him, her plan was to visit the place every day during the Light Fest until she found him.

"Is this acquaintance of yours someone with whom you've already planned a meeting, or could you perhaps be looking for them at the Old Cod?" the man asked with an inquisitive look.

She narrowed her eyes. "I am looking for him, although, I do not believe any further information than that would be of relevance to you. If you do not wish to answer me I can simply ask someone else."

He brought his arms out to the sides. "I was merely curious. Do not blame a man for a base desire. But by all means, I can of course answer your question without issue." He brought his hand down under the wooden stall and pulled out a piece of paper from beneath it.

Scarlett looked down as he unfurled it to show what she recognized as a map of the city. Then he flipped his hand and suddenly there was a knife in it. She barely had time to react before it spun between his fingers and was slammed into a part of the map. The man smiled at her. "This is where The Whishing Cod is," he said, pointing towards where the tip of the knife cut into the yellowed parchment.

She stared at him, but his expression remained unchanged. She would be lying if she said her heart didn't skip a beat there. It was unlikely that he would do anything to her when there were literally dozens of people walking past them at all times, but her instincts didn't care about rational thoughts like that. She would probably have jumped away in fright if it wasn't for the traits' effects on her.

Thankfully she already had plans for getting herself some real defensive capabilities. Otherwise she'd probably start wanting to look more into that now.

"How much for the map?" she eventually asked.

The man seemed to ponder it for a second, before pointing to a black necklace that looked to be made of a cheap jade of some kind. "Let us say it is a gift. A gift that comes with that."

The necklace didn't really look like much. But she could use a map of the city for the time she was here. And this saved her the bother of having to get one. "How much?"

He held up four fingers. "Forty solars."

She took out a silver coin the size of half her thumb from her pouch of holding and put it on the table next to the map. "You call it a gift to a stranger, so I presume it does not hold much worth to you. I will give you ten solars for the map solely."

His eyebrows rose and looked at her for a moment, before glancing down at the coin. "Well, who am I to argue with the lady?" With one quick movement he took both the coin and the knife away. Scarlett took the map and put it in her pouch. She really didn't mind paying ten solars for it. It wasn't in the best condition, but that was probably a lot cheaper than she would get for a new map.

Just as she was about to turn around to leave, the man spoke up again. "Just one piece of advice, on the house." She looked back as he smiled at her. "You won't find many people at the Cod this time of day, nor would I recommend for a lady like you to visit it at night, so you would probably do best to visit it tomorrow morning."

She considered him for a moment. "I will take that into account." Then she turned around and left. She had been planning on visiting the place today, but perhaps it was best to postpone that until tomorrow when she wasn't alone. While she wasn't inclined to always mistrust the words of all people just because they struck her as a little bit shady, there was no harm in playing it safe. She should probably double-check the location he gave her later, too.

She looked around the boulevard. There wasn't much left she wanted to do around here today, so she made her way back towards where the carriage was parked and soon found the coachman where he'd been taking care of the horse in the nearby stable. As he was tying the horse to the front of the carriage, he asked, "Where to next, my Lady?"

She brought out the map she'd just acquired and looked over it. Well, she was essentially just wasting time right now until evening, so she could try visiting a place she'd been curious about.

"To the Old Quarter," she said, putting the map away and climbing into the small carriage cabin after he opened the door for her. "The House of Fire."

Chapter 35 - Introductions

It took a while for them to get from The Coins district to the Old Quarter. They had had to return to the Sunset Walk and drive along the trafficked highway further south to The Docks—Elystead's harbor district—and almost reached Rellaria Lake itself before turning off the large road. The Old Quarter was situated close to the water, and built on a higher ground than most of Elystead, so as her carriage traveled up along its timeworn streets Scarlett was afforded a great view of the sprawling metropolis, along with the Dawnlight Palace itself.

Like a massive fortress, the palace was built upon a set of high cliffs, protected from all sides by tall walls that were of a polished, bronze-red stone, with the Sunset Walk itself branching off as a large bridge to connect the island to the rest of the city. The palace was built mostly of the same bronze-red stone, giving it a bright sheen in the afternoon light, and had two extensive wings with high towers to the east and the west, the area in the middle of the two sections being only half as high but with a walkway of pure gold connecting the two wings. Similar to when she first arrived in the Ascendant Court, Scarlett felt a sense of admiration surge up from deep inside her at the majesty of the sight. The feelings might not truly be hers, but she felt them as strongly nonetheless.

As they continued further into the Old Quarter she eventually lost sight of the Dawnlight Palace and instead turned her attention to her surroundings. Most of the buildings in this district were made of stone and—as the name implied—had a much older appearance than the rest of the city. Despite that, the architectural style of these buildings wasn't that different from most of Elystead — reminiscent perhaps of structures from the early Middle Ages.

She wasn't actually quite sure if this part of the city was older than the Ascendant Court, or if it was the other way around. It wasn't a matter she gave much thought to in the game, but the difference in styles between the two districts did raise some questions.

The carriage kept traveling through the Old Quarter for a while until it finally drew near a large building that looked much like an old church, with tall vines crawling up its walls. The stairs leading up to its entrance, however, were guarded by two tall stone statues with arms raised to the skies, although the features of those statues had long since been worn down by the long years. The mouth of the building's entrance also had a large stone protrusion above it that, like the statues, had not fared well under the passage of time, but might have once been in the shape of a head.

Soon enough the carriage stopped at a space not far from the building and the coachman opened the carriage's door for Scarlett.

"My Lady, we have arrived at the House of Fire."

She took the antique church in as she stepped out, giving the man a slight nod. "I will not be long. Wait here until I return."

He bowed. "Of course, my Lady."

Scarlett walked towards the building, past the worn-down statues, and up the stairs to the church's entrance. The old wooden doors let out loud creaks as she pushed them open and entered. The inside wasn't too different from a traditional Catholic church, with high vaulted ceilings and pillars with archways to the sides. There were signs of murals on parts of the walls and roof—what might have once been depictions of flames and ancient people—but most of it was indecipherable with how much the paint had faded.

Turning her head downwards, rows of wooden seats lined the long hall of the church, some of them filled with people who seemed to be occupied in prayer, and at the front of the gallery on a small platform stood a marble altar with several objects on it that was in far better condition than the surfaces around the altar. As Scarlett crossed the hall, she got a closer look at the gold reliquary that rested on it. It had a gilded sun at its center and was surrounded by many other minor relics and objects with what she recognized as the Follower of Ittar's symbol on them.

Behind the altar was a wall made of wooden planks that reached all the way up to the roof, but with the way it intersected with the arched ceiling, it was clear that the wall hadn't been part of the original design. There was also a door in it, leading to the space Scarlett knew was behind it, but with the way the door fit into the wall it blended in quite well and wasn't apparent at first glance.

When she approached the altar a figure to the side seemed to notice her and stood up from where they had been kneeling in front of a low podium. They wore a thick set of red robes with gold emblazoning and a long hood, their face covered by a simple white mask with some golden lines across it.

"Is there something I can help you with?" the figure asked quietly, a woman's voice sounding out from behind the mask.

Scarlett observed the person. A lower priest from the Followers of Ittar. As this wasn't one of their main churches they probably didn't prioritize manning it with full priests. In the game she'd never actually interacted with any of the NPCs in this church, so she hadn't actually noticed this detail.

"Yes," she said, consciously mustering some of that domineering imperiousness that came so easily to her now. "I wish to enter the backroom." She gestured towards the door in the wood wall.

The priest's head turned to look at the door, then back to her. "I'm afraid that space is restricted to those amongst Ittar's clergy."

Scarlett frowned. In the game the player could just walk in there as they wished, but there was actually something like this? "Then what will I have to do to be allowed entry?"

The priest seemed to hesitate for a moment. "I...This is the statute that is observed here in the House of Fire as a temple for the worship of the resplendent Ittar. We cannot simply change it and let non-clergy members enter. Something like that would need direct approval from a deacon of the Quorum."

So Scarlett would have to get permission from one of the head honchos of the Followers of Ittar just to get access to this place? As far as the Followers were concerned that place shouldn't be anything special, at least from what she knew. So did it just come down to them having inconvenient rules? Maybe—as this had been used as a temple to Ittar for the last century or so—they didn't want people paying too much attention to what it was before. Not that it was much of a secret, considering the whole theme of this place.

Scarlett let out a huff. "Very well," she said and turned around. "I will return at a later time then." She started walking pasts the rows of seats towards the exit.

"May Ittar's light always be upon you," the priest said to her as she left.

It wasn't as if she'd gain anything from getting entry now anyway. She would need to get a lot stronger for that. She'd just been curious to check the place out, but seemed like that would have to wait. And she might have to get one of the higher-ups in the Followers of Ittar to give her permission. She knew a few members that she could probably get to owe her a few favors somehow. The Augur was one possibility. Although she was pretty sure the woman wasn't actually part of the Quorum, despite holding a high position among the Followers, so that might not work. The same went for the Exarch. And calling in a favor for something this minor from him would probably be overkill.

As Scarlett had exited the church and was walking down the stairs she continued considering the matter. Had Raimond Abram been a deacon? She was pretty certain he was, so that might be a possible entryway. It would be wise to make some plans for future interactions with him. Though there was still quite some time before that would be necessary.

She stopped and looked back at the church. Of course, there always was the option of breaking into the place if none of her other plans panned out. She would just have to wait and see.

She glanced up at the sky as she started walking towards the carriage again. The sun was still up. It'd probably be a few hours still before it completely disappeared. She wasn't the best at judging time from the position of the sun, but it was definitely moving towards evening. It took her a while to get here from The Coins district so going on any detours now probably wasn't a good idea. She got into the carriage and ordered the coachman to drive her back to the Guild.

Allyssa played with the napkin on the table in front of her, trying to fold it into the shape of a bird like her dad used to do. It didn't turn out too bad, if she said so herself. Although she quickly grew tired of it and laid down on the long seat under her. "Do you think she'll be here soon?" she asked as she took off her goggles—pushing away the stray pieces of blonde locks that fell down over her eyes—and held them above her, looking over the brown leather and lightly green-tinted glass. Oh. There was still some dirt left on them from earlier. She'd need to clean them later.

"Probably," Shin coolly answered. "But it won't go any faster just because you ask about it."

"I wasn't saying it would." She put the goggles onto the table and sat up, turning towards where he sat on the opposite side of the table. The tanned youth was immersed in the book he'd bought a few days earlier.

"Then why ask? It won't make a difference," he said as he turned a page.

"That's not the point." Allyssa shook her head. Sometimes talking to Shin was like talking to a wall. "Aren't you curious?"

"About what?"

"About the woman we'll be working for. Didn't Kat say she's a noble?"

He glanced up at her. "Kat also said the client does whatever she wants, and to try and not make her angry. We won't learn anything until she arrives, and we never set a specific time, so we'll just have to keep waiting," he said, then shifted his attention back to the book.

"You kids doing alright?" a voice rang out from behind Allyssa . She turned around to see a slightly older, tall woman with short brown hair carrying a wooden tray with cups on it. Maggie was the one responsible for the small cafeteria here in the Guild's branch. Many of the capital's Shielders used this as a gathering place, even though it was mostly empty at this time.

"We're good," Allyssa answered with a smile. "Just waiting for our next client to arrive. Shin's being boring as usual, though."

Maggie's lips curled upwards as she walked up to their table and set down two cups on the table, one filled with coffee and one with a tea that gave off a pleasant smell. "Good to hear things are as always then. With the uproar around here the last week I was worried you would have a hard time."

"Thank you." Allyssa grabbed the cup with tea in it, pushing the other cup with its offending contents towards Shin. "It has been a bit crazy lately. We've had to complete four different C-ranked requests just during the last three days because all the higher-ranked Shielders left, and I heard Wilfrid and the others have been doing nothing but that for days. They even had to take on an emergency B-ranked request."

"We will just have to hope that whatever it is that's happening is resolved soon," Maggie said.

Allyssa took a sip of the warm tea and nodded. "Hopefully it'll be fine."

"Well, I'm sure you two will be alright. You've always been clever kids." Maggie put her hand on Shin's head as she ruffled his short black hair, earning an annoyed look from him as he put aside his book and palmed the cup of coffee next to him. "And if you ever need anything you can always come and ask me. I promised your dad I'd take care of you, after all."

"We'll be fine. Besides, we'll be busy with something else. And we're not kids anymore."

Maggie laughed. "You'll always be kids in my eyes, no matter how big you get. I still remember when you were this tall, running around here crying after you had a little accident when you saw the dead grask one of the others had brought in."

Allyssa palmed her face. "Can we not bring that up, please?"

"I never heard this," Shin said as he drank from his cup.

Allyssa stared at him. "Don't you dare."

He looked at her with his poker face, but she saw that he was starting to smile a little. "Maggie, why don't you share more of this story?" He turned to the older woman.

Maggie beamed. "Oh, well this was back when Allyssa's mother was working at the tower. Allyssa was just so cu—"

"Astrey! Thornthon!" a voice cried out from the cafeteria's entrance. Allyssa turned around as Leandro, the Guild receptionist, leaned in through the door. The long-haired man's spectacled eyes shifted to point towards them. "Baroness Scarlett Hartford is here to meet you," he stated in a serious voice.

"Baroness?" Maggie looked at them with surprise.

"Kat set us up for some escort job with a noble friend of hers," Allyssa said as she stood up and picked up her large pack that was under the table, making sure her bandolier with its flasks and pockets was tightly secured before grabbing her goggles and putting them on so that the lenses rested on top of her head.

"We don't know for how long yet, but it might be possible that we won't be back before the Light Fest ends." Shin also pulled out a thick pack from beneath the table, as well as a polished round metal shield and his pran that rested against the edge of his seat. The long and unusual sword was bent along its tip and had a wave-like shape at the base of its upper side.

"Oh, dear." Maggie held up a hand to her mouth. "I did see that Kat was back for a while earlier today, but I didn't know she had spoken with you about something like that. Here I was, talking about taking care of you just when you're about to leave too."

Allyssa smiled at her. "We'll be fine. Bye for now, Maggie." She downed the rest of the tea and lugged her pack over her shoulder and Shin did the same. The two of them crossed the room towards Leandro as Maggie put their cups back on the tray and moved towards the kitchen.

"The Baroness is waiting in the lobby," Leandro told them when they reached him. "She doesn't look like the friendliest of nobles so if I were you I would be careful with what you say during this job." He paused. "Although considering Kat had it before, it might not actually matter."

They followed him into the branch's lobby where they saw a lady in a black dress sitting in one of the couches to the side of the reception desk. She had dark, red hair that flowed over her shoulders and a thin black necklace with a round purple crystal hanging from it that nicely accented her thin neck. She was definitely one of the more beautiful women Allyssa had seen, but that was offset somewhat by the cold look the woman had on her face as she looked off towards the building's entrance.

Allyssa turned to look at Shin to see if he was staring, but he'd shifted into his normal expressionless face now and was steadily walking beside her. Leandro had soon walked up to the lady with his business smile on.

"Baroness, these are the two Shielders we spoke of. They'll be working with you from now on, but if there are any problems that emerge you can always visit us again and we'll do our best to help."

The baroness looked to him for a moment, then waved her hand. "Very well." Her voice sounded completely indifferent. "If there are any other matters that I require your assistance with I will keep that in mind. You may leave."

Allyssa saw how that made part of Leandro's smile crack. He did not like rude clients. But he stayed quiet and simply turned around, giving the two of them a look. "You're on your own from here," he whispered as he walked past them and towards the room behind the reception desk. After he was gone, the baroness turned her attention to Allyssa and Shin, wordlessly examining them. Her eyes seemed to stop at the wide scar above Shin's left eye and the small hand crossbow hanging off Allyssa's side for a moment, before moving on. Allyssa felt uncomfortable silently standing under the woman's gaze, but for some reason she didn't want to be the first one to speak either.

"How old are you?" the baroness suddenly asked.

Allyssa blinked. That was not what she thought the woman would ask first.

"I'm seventeen, and he's eighteen," she said, gesturing towards herself and Shin beside her.

For some reason the baroness frowned at that, but eventually she relaxed her gaze. "I suppose that is acceptable."

Did she perhaps think they couldn't handle themselves because they were young? They'd both been official Shielders for almost two years now, and there weren't many that had become senior Shielders as fast as they had.

The baroness crossed her right leg over her left. "I presume you have already been made aware, but I am Scarlett Hartford, head of the Hartford barony and baroness of Stagmond. I am originally from Freybrook but am currently visiting here in Elystead for the Light Fest."

She then went quiet and looked at them. "Well?" she asked.

Allyssa realized she'd been waiting for them to speak.

"I'm Shin Thornthon, a C-ranked senior Shielder here at the Elystead Guild branch," Shin spoke before she could.

"And I'm Allyssa Astrey. Also a C-ranked senior Shielder here."

The baroness raised an eyebrow at her. "Astrey?"

Allyssa nodded. "Yepp."

The baroness gave her a strange look. "...I see. Anyhow." She rose from the couch. "As the introductions are finished I believe we should take our leave."

"Excuse me."

The red-haired woman was just about to start walking when Shin spoke and she turned her attention to him. "Yes?"

"How are we supposed to refer to you? We don't often work with nobles."

Oh, right. Allyssa hadn't thought of that. How did you normally talk to nobles? Most of those she'd met had been friends of her dad and didn't care much about that.

The baroness seemed to consider the question for a moment. "In formal and public settings you will refer to me either as 'my Lady' or simply as 'Baroness'. However, as I did so for Miss Breeden, I will allow you to address me as 'Scarlett' when in private — as long as you show the proper respect. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Baroness." Shin was quick to respond.

"Ehm, yes. Baroness."

The baroness—or rather, Scarlett—gave a short nod and turned around. "Then follow me. I assume you have finished any necessary preparations so that there will be no issue with leaving now."

"We're ready," Shin said.

"Good."

The both of them followed her out of the Guild building and onto the street which had less traffic at this time of day. Soon they reached a parked black carriage at the end of the street with an emblem of a silver deer on it. Scarlett gestured towards a man that stood at its front who moved to open the door for them. "We will now be leaving for the mansion," she told him.

"Understood, my Lady. I will have us there posthaste." The man bowed as he pulled out a stair from under the carriage that the baroness elegantly used to ascend into the carriage. She then looked back at the two of them, who were hesitating outside.

"There is no need to remain here and waste time. Climb inside."

Allyssa threw an uncertain look at Shin before she also started climbing the steps. It had been years since she last was in a real carriage, and it had never been a fancy one like this. She sat down at the far end in the small cabin, opposite Scarlett and beside one of the windows, with Shin climbing inside right after and sitting down beside her.

"Are you aware of what your responsibilities will be during this tenure of you acting as my escorts?" Scarlett asked after the carriage started moving.

"We'll just be protecting you, right?" Allyssa stated.

"We were also told we might have to go out and fight some monsters," Shin added.

Scarlett inclined her head as if that was only partly right. "I do indeed require protection, as there are some rather bothersome individuals who currently wish me harm. They are however unlikely to take action in the near future, and as such protection is not the main focus at the moment." She started tapping her finger against the windowsill. Allyssa's eyes were drawn to the movement. "Aside from escorting me while here in the city, it is also probable that I will require your aid in the exploration of possible ruins and other places of note in the future, many of which harbor threats that would pose a danger to me by my lonesome."

Allyssa's focus shifted towards Scarlett's face. "Wait, ruins?"

"Yes, ruins. I am unaware of exactly how much Miss Breeden shared with you, but I have over the last few months found and acquired a considerable amount of research on a large number of relevant locations that I lack the capability to explore completely by my own force, which is why I have need of you."

"What sort of ruins are we talking about?" Shin asked.

Scarlett turned to him. "It will depend. One can expect a large degree of variance between them, although I would expect at least one instance of a Zuverian ruin."

Allyssa's eyes widened.

"Zuverian?!" Shin exclaimed beside her.

"That is what I said, yes. Do not be so surprised. There was another set of those found just earlier this month. Now, any further questions?"

The both of them looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

"Good," Scarlett said with a nod. "If there are any issues that arise, or questions you have of me in the future, feel free to bring it up with me if I am available. As we will be working closely together it would be best if we maintained a comfortable relationship."

She said that, but from the way she talked, it seemed to Allyssa like the baroness didn't actually mean it.

"We'll...keep that in mind," Allyssa said, and Shin agreed next to her.

"Ensure that you do." With that, Scarlett turned her head to look out the carriage window and the cabin descended into silence. Neither Allyssa nor Shin dared to say anything more right now.

The silence stayed for the rest of the ride, making Allyssa shift in her seat from time to time just from the awkwardness she felt. She almost let out a sigh of relief when they finally appeared to have arrived at their destination.

The baroness was the first to exit the carriage, followed by Allyssa and then Shin. Allyssa had barely noticed it during the ride but they had entered the Eastgate district. That wasn't really a surprise to her though, considering that's where most of the nobles lived.

The streets here were both wide and clean, with the street they were on right now being lined by rows of large mansions as well as a broad garden that spread out at the end of the road. The older man who had driven the carriage walked up to the iron gates of one of the mansions—a large building of white and grey stone with three floors—and opened it to let them inside the low stone wall that surrounded the front of the estate. Scarlett immediately started walking down the small stone path surrounded by flowers that led to the entrance. Allyssa felt a pull on her sleeve and looked to see Shin signaling for her to follow. She shook her head free from any stray thoughts she'd had about the cost of all of this and also started walking down the path.

As Scarlett reached the mansion its broad doors were opened by a slightly older woman wearing a loose dark gown with a wide skirt, with greying hair at the temples.

"Welcome, my Lady. Your room has been prepared and the chef is ready to arrange dinner if you are hungry," the woman said and stepped to the side as Scarlett walked inside. Allyssa and Shin followed behind a moment after, entering into a decently sized foyer with tapestries and several paintings inside it. Several doors led to other rooms and there was also a set of stairs that led to the next floor.

"Thank you. Dinner would be appreciated. I am quite weary and have not yet eaten," Scarlett said as she moved to the center of the foyer.

The older servant had a look of surprise for a moment, but gave a curtsy as her expression relaxed. "I will inform the chef."

"Prepare something for my guests too," Scarlett added.

The woman glanced at Allyssa and Shin. "As you wish, my Lady." She then walked off and through a set of doors at the end of a short hallway.

Allyssa looked around, unsure what to do now. Then another door opened and a middle-aged man with slicked-back black hair in a black suit entered the foyer before bowing towards Scarlett. "My Lady, welcome to Elystead. It's always a pleasure to have you here."

Scarlett appeared to examine him for a moment. "Yes, I imagine it might," she said slowly, then looked around. "Is my sister here?"

"Madame Evelyne is upstairs in the office. She has been busy the whole day with matters related to the fief and the business here in the capital."

"I see." Scarlett turned her attention back to the man, then signaled towards Allyssa and Shin. "Prepare rooms for these two for the night. They are under my employ and will be staying here for some time."

"Of course, my Lady. I will see it done," he responded without hesitation, giving the two of them a curious look.

"Prepare an extra room too," Scarlett said after a second, as the older woman seemed to have thought of something. "It will likely be required soon."

"Understood. Do you wish for me to do it at once?"

"Yes, that would be preferable."

"Then I will take my leave." The man climbed the stairs at the end of the foyer and disappeared around a corner.

Scarlett turned back to look at them and it looked like she was about to say something when Allyssa suddenly spotted another person appear at the top of the stairs. A woman not much older than Allyssa herself, with short brown hair—a hint of red to it—that split at the front and hung over part of her right eye. She had light freckles and a beauty mark under her right lip, and the clothes she wore were a relaxed set of white woolen pants and a shirt.

"You're finally here," the woman said and Allyssa saw how the previously apathetic expression on Scarlett's face immediately grew more frigid. "Wasn't the Kilnstone transit scheduled for three? I thought you would've arrived sooner."

Scarlett seemed to try and control her expression for a second before she turned to the woman. "I had business that needed attending."

"...Of course." The younger woman walked down and stopped at the foot of the stairs. She looked at Allyssa and Shin. "And they are?"

"A pair of Shielders that will be under my employ for now."

Allyssa noticed a small frown appear on the woman's face at Scarlett's words.

"What about the other one?"

"Other matters arose within the Guild that Miss Breeden had to attend to. These two are the replacements she arranged before leaving."

"I see." The younger woman drew her mouth together. Now that Allyssa looked closer, she thought she could see the resemblance between Scarlett and this woman.

"I am Evelyne Hartford," the woman said. "Scarlett's younger sister. It's a pleasure to meet you." She sounded a lot more friendly than Scarlett had when she introduced herself.

Allyssa smiled. "Hello. I'm Allyssa Astrey, and he's Shin Thornthon. We're both C-ranked senior Shielders here at the Guild Branch in Elystead. Nice meeting you."

Evelyne raised an eyebrow at her. Allyssa was really starting to see the resemblance between the two sisters now, despite the difference in their characters.

"Astrey?" Evelyne asked. "Could you be related to...?"

Allyssa nodded. "Yes. He's my father." She was used to that reaction. Anyone that knew even a little about the Shields Guild's affairs would recognize the name.

Evelyne wore a surprised expression on her face. "I remember hearing some impressive stories about your father when I was younger. From what I know he and my father were acquaintances. It's a surprise to meet his daughter like this."

Allyssa let out an awkward laugh. "Yeah, my dad knows a lot of people..."

"Did you have need of me for something?" Scarlett suddenly asked Evelyne. "Or did you merely come down to greet me upon my arrival?"

"...No, there was nothing special right now." Evelyne looked away from Allyssa and at Scarlett.

"Then we can leave further discussions for another time," Scarlett said as she began moving towards the stairs to leave the foyer. Before she reached them, though, she turned back to Allyssa and Shin. "You can speak to the servants regarding the lodgings and the meals. I believe anything else can wait for now. Take care not to sleep in tomorrow, as we will be leaving early."

With that, the red-haired woman spun around and disappeared up the stairs, leaving Allyssa and Shin alone with the younger of the two noble sisters.

Evelyne let out a sigh as she looked at the two of them. "I'm sorry for my sister. She mostly only deals with other nobles and is a bit hard to deal with."

Allyssa put up her hands. "Ah, it's fine. Really. She doesn't seem too bad." The baroness was a bit intimidating, but she hadn't been that bad. Besides, if she was a friend of Kat then there had to be something good to her.

"We're only hired to act as her escort. I think the Baroness is generous enough in her treatment, considering she's decided to let us stay here for the duration of the contract," Shin said. "We won't complain as long as we can do our job without issue."

Evelyne examined them for a second. "All right, if you say so. I hope you enjoy your stay. Maybe we will get more chances to talk in the future, but for now, I have to get back to work." She gave them a short goodbye before also walking up the stairs and disappearing.

Allyssa looked at Shin, who looked back at her. They looked at the fancy foyer around them before meeting eyes again. Allyssa shrugged her shoulders. "This might be kind of fun. I've always wanted to try and live in one of these places."

Shin just shook his head with a small smile.

Chapter 36 - Introductions 2.0

"Ehm, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly are we doing here?" a bright voice sounded out behind Scarlett as she gazed at the grizzled exterior of a large wooden building. It stood at the end of a narrow street ladled with tight alleyways and older houses. While the neighborhood couldn't quite be described as dirty, it certainly appeared lived in.

Scarlett turned around to look at the short young woman who had asked the question. Allyssa wore a mix of pale blue clothing and brown leather armor that was partially visible through the front of the dark blue cape, along with the lids of flasks of some kind hanging from a bandolier under the cape. She had long blonde hair that was mostly curled up in the hood of her cape, along with a pair of large leather goggles that sat upon her head for some reason.

"Are you here to meet someone?" Shin, the young man that stood next to Allyssa, asked. He was almost a head taller than his colleague, with short black hair; deep, tanned skin; and a hefty scar above his left eye that looked like a claw-mark of some kind. Unlike Allyssa, though, he only wore a light set of brown clothes right now — if you discounted the shield he had strapped to his back and the oddly-shaped sword that hung from his side. Scarlett seemed to recall that in the game it was a type of weapon you could often find in the eastern part of the empire and the Unresting Steppes.

"One could say that, yes," Scarlett answered as she looked over the two new Shielders working for her. She had only first met them the day before so she didn't know much about them. But they looked capable enough, probably. Her eye wasn't exactly trained in these matters, but she trusted in Kat's and the Guild's judgement. They were a bit young if you asked her, but she couldn't really criticize. You were probably considered an adult around fifteen or sixteen in this world, if she were to guess. And she herself had been their age when she had had to start taking care of herself and her sister.

It didn't hurt that the Allyssa girl was apparently the daughter of an influential character from the game. Scarlett had been surprised when she first heard the name Astrey from the girl's mouth, but she sure wouldn't mind the chance of establishing a relationship with Allyssa's father in the future.

Said girl was giving her an odd look right now. "Don't you think you'll stick out too much?"

Scarlett followed Allyssa's eyes down to the dark lavender dress she was wearing. It was one of the less ostentatious dresses Scarlett owned, with a relatively simple cut and not too many embellishments. But it was still the dress of a noble. She did have some 'simpler' clothes—like the travel clothes she often used when she went out with Kat—but in general, she felt more comfortable in this type of clothing when she didn't have to do anything physically taxing. No doubt a consequence of the original's influence.

"That might be the case," she said. "But I see no reason to concern myself with it. Only a fool would attempt anything untoward, and I bear no scruples towards teaching fools a lesson." She swore, if any morning drunk tried something with her, she'd make sure they couldn't sit right for weeks. If she was lucky they might even be a person that was strong enough to have some form of magical defense and she wouldn't have to hold back. She'd grown to enjoy using her pyro and hydrokinesis after all her sparring with Kat.

She turned back to the building before them. The morning sun was still inching higher in the sky, although not much of the direct sunlight made it down to this street because of the surrounding buildings. The particular building she was looking at right now was the pub she'd been given directions to the day before by the man who worked at that jewellery stall, 'The Whishing Cod'. She had wanted to make sure that they arrived at this place early enough so that those who were staying here—because despite having been called a pub in the game it was basically an inn of sorts—had woken up, but not yet moved out for the day. While the companion could be found during most times of the day in the game, she couldn't assume that would be the same here.

Leaving that early did mean that Scarlett had missed the chance to talk to Evelyne about the potential businesses here during the morning, though. And she'd been too tired the night before to push herself through having a longer conversation with the younger Hartford sister. She'd have to do it later on, it seemed.

She began striding forward toward the pub and opened its weathered doors. Inside, she was met by a wide room filled with several tables of different shapes and sizes, the space lit mostly by candles set upon simple wood chandeliers that hung from the ceiling by iron chains. The lower half of the room's walls looked like murals of stones stacked atop each other in an old-fashioned manner, with wooden beams running along them. The upper part was made of a simple, murky white stone that she had seen on many of the buildings in this part of the city. In addition to the tables and the people sitting at them, there was also a large unlit hearth set into one of the walls, along with a bar at the far end of the room beneath a set of wooden stairs. The bar was currently manned by a short stout man who was leaning over the counter and speaking with a guest.

She scanned the room, taking in its inhabitants. She hadn't been entirely certain it was true, but as she'd been told it did indeed seem like this place was pretty active in the mornings. The tables were at least half full right now, with over probably thirty people spread across the room. As her eyes roamed across the space she saw a team of men drinking while playing dice, a woman with long hair and her back turned to the entrance playing a light tune on some instrument in her hands, a pair of men in thick brown robes that looked to be busy eating breakfast, until her gaze finally locked onto the figure of a young man sitting alone at one of the smaller tables in the corner of the room. Wearing simple grey clothes, he had a lean but athletic build and looked to either be a young adult or in his late teens. Though he almost seemed to lean into himself with the way he sat, as if very poorly trying not to catch anyone's attention, he had a very distinct appearance with his wild, neck-length hair that was a stark white.

She found him.

Her entrance appeared to have caught the attention of some of the pub's patrons but she completely ignored that as she turned back to the two Shielders that entered behind her. "Find a table and buy something to eat if you did not do so before we left. I will compensate you for any costs," she said as the two looked at her.

"What about you?" Allyssa asked.

Scarlett looked back at the lone figure in the corner of the room. "I have some matters to discuss with that individual."

Both Allyssa and Shin glanced towards where she was looking. "Oh. Well, alright then. Just... give us a sign if you need help with anything, ok?" Saying that, Allyssa pulled her fellow Shielder along and they found seats at one of the nearby tables. Scarlett then returned her focus to the companion and started walking towards him.

She genuinely hadn't been expecting to find him this fast. Yes, he was found here the majority of the time in the game, but it had never been clear why. When it was a game she just assumed it was due to convenient game design. No real reason needed. But his backstory said that—at this point in time—he took on a lot of different jobs here and there, doing what he could to earn some money without catching too much attention. As such, it was only reasonable that in real life he wouldn't always be found in this place. But here he was.

Perhaps she should just consider herself lucky, as it would save her all the time it would have taken trying to track him down by herself.

When she neared his table, his head immediately shot up from the tray of sausages and potatoes he'd been eating to her. He stared at her with clear yellow eyes that almost seemed to glow a little. She met his gaze as she walked up to the chair opposite him, contemplating the crumbs and dust on it for a moment, before sitting down.

"...Who are you?" he asked her warily. There wasn't even an attempt on his part at trying to act casual.

"I am your future employer," she said, putting her hand into the black pouch hanging off her waist and pulling out the [Mark of the Gale], placing the bone-like ring on the table between them.

His eyes went wide at the action, staring at the white ring. Several seconds passed without him even saying a word. Suddenly, his hand moved like the wind and grabbed the ring, his mouth agape as he held it aloft in front of him. Scarlett leisurely drummed her finger against the table as she let him inspect it until, finally, he seemed to remember her presence. He immediately put the ring back on the table and sat up straight, looking uncertain of what to say. "That's... that's a nice ring."

A small smile bore on her lips. "That it is." She had seen a scene similar to this in the game, yet it was interesting seeing it play out in the flesh. This was the first example she had seen of anything character-related from the game translating so directly to this world.

"Why do you have it? I mean—" He scratched the side of his cheek as he glanced to the side. "Why would you take something like that out?"

"To return it to you."

He stopped, his eyes moving back to her. "What?"

"To answer both of your questions," Scarlett said. "I sought it out in order to return it to you."

He stared at her for several more seconds. "What?"

"I sought the ring out in order to return it to you."

"...Why?"

He didn't question her words, which she hadn't expected him to do either. In the game he had been able to tell when people lied—at least to a certain degree, though she didn't know where the limit was—so she had planned this encounter based on that premise. It was important that she gained at least some of his trust.

"Are you not its rightful owner?" she asked, gesturing towards the ring.

He pulled his arms back from where they had moved close to the ring. "N-No, I don't know what you're talking about. I've never seen it before."

She shook her head slowly. "I never said that you had. But I believe it is a bit late to claim you are not aware of what it is."

She picked it up, seeing him jolt slightly as she touched it, and brought it up to her face to look at the carvings on the inside. "'The brood of Grehalyr howls — The gale answers — King of the peaks — Brook no pretenders.'" She watched his eyes slowly widen once more as she recited what she remembered the carvings saying, though she might have got a word or two wrong. "To me it appears as if not simply anyone should hold this artifact. Then is it not only right that you have it?" She looked at him. "After all, you are not simply anyone."

"...Who are you? How can you read that?" he asked much more seriously.

"I am Baroness Scarlett Hartford and, as I said, your future employer." She turned the ring around between her fingers. "As for your second question: the truth is that I am unable to read it myself. I have, however, seen a translation of it. Although I cannot entirely speak for its accuracy."

"I've never heard of you," he said after a moment. "What do you want with me?"

She raised an eyebrow and signaled to the ring in her hand. "I believe I only a moment ago told you I intend to return this to you?"

"That's all?"

"No. Did I also not make my intention of hiring you clear?"

He blinked, as if he just now realized the meaning of her earlier words. Knowing him, he probably did.

"I went through quite a bit of trouble to acquire this," she continued. "It would truly be a shame were you not to accept it."

His attention seemed to continually shift between her and the ring, as if he was unsure what was the most important. He eventually stopped with his focus on her. "Do you know what that is?" he asked.

"I do," she said.

"How?"

She smiled at him. "Suffice it to say that I uncovered it during some of my research."

He eyed her for a while. "You're lying."

Oh? He could tell that much? It wasn't a complete lie on her part—more akin to a half-truth with her being vague with what 'research' actually entailed—so she hadn't been sure whether he would notice or not. It did make her wonder how that ability of his actually worked. She would assume it had something to do with hearing or smell, but there was bound to be some magic to it too considering how neither of those were entirely reliable sources.

Letting out a low sigh, as if she was reluctant to share more, she spoke. "While I am not lying, it is accurate that my words were not the whole truth. That is not something I can share with you at this time, for reasons beyond simple secrecy. I can however tell you that I am aware of your history, as well as your current situation."

She looked at him quietly for a few seconds. "You can rest assured that I wish you no harm. In fact, I wish to offer you a deal that would be in both of our favor. I think you will find it is a far better alternative than aimlessly completing odd jobs here in Elystead." She put the ring back on the table between them, his eyes moving down with it.

"So you just want to hire me?"

She gave a short nod. "Indeed."

"For what, exactly?"

"Simply to be under my employ," she said. "I have need of someone of your talents. I would not have you waste away in a place such as this when there is so much potential in you. Potential which I am willing to develop, for the benefit of both you and me." She pointed at the ring. "You can wear it. Consider it a sign of faith on my part."

He gave her a bewildered look before slowly moving to pick the ring up again. Once more he moved it between his fingers, looking almost reverent of the artifact, before finally putting it on his right hand's middle finger. The ring immediately shrank in size to fit and a strong wind blew around the table, ruffling the hair of both of them. Scarlett had to mentally force herself to ignore the stares the phenomenon gathered as she began fixing her hair and observed the young white-haired man's eyes light up for a brief moment. Then he was just staring out into the empty air, completely oblivious to his surroundings. Scarlett wasn't sure what he actually experienced from equipping the ring—that had never been made clear in the game—but she assumed it was something important to his backstory.

It took a while, but eventually, he returned to the present, his gaze slowly shifting to her.

"I-I never believed I would find this. I gave up on it long ago. You..." He looked at her, then the ring. "T-Thank you."

Scarlett fought away a frown as she corrected the last of her disarrayed hair. "I am glad that my gift was satisfactory. And what do you have to say to my offer?"

His expression changed from that of gratitude to uncertainty once more. "I...I don't know. I have things I have to take care of. People that..." He trailed off. "I don't know if I can trust you."

Well okay, it wasn't that easy then. But she hadn't expected it to be either.

"Under normal circumstances, the work you would perform would only include escorting me. Occasionally I might require you to aid in the exploration of ruins and the like, fighting certain monsters along with others under my employ, as well as completing other minor tasks I give you," she said. "However; food and lodging will be provided by me, as well as any necessary equipment. In addition to that, you will also be paid 500 solars every month."

"500?!" he exclaimed loudly enough for the group of men playing dice a few tables over to look over at them, joining the assortment of eyes that were already watching them. Well whatever, it wasn't as if any of the people here mattered right now.

"That is what I said, yes." She'd had an inkling that would convince him some.

He hesitatingly looked at the ring, seeming to consider it for several seconds. Finally, he gave a quiet nod. "Ok. I'll do it." Then he gave her an intense stare. "But this better not be some kind of trick."

Her eyes narrowed. "Is that a threat?"

He paused, blinking for a moment, before suddenly bringing his hands up in the air in front of him. "Oh, n-nono, I didn't mean it like that, definitely not like that," he hurriedly said. "I just meant that if it was then I couldn't continue working for you and would have to quit even if you're paying really well and know who I am and about the ring but I definitely didn't mean to threaten you or anything I promise."

It was weird seeing him like this, being so close in real life to how he was at the start of the game. And to think this doofus would run around like a mad dog by the end of the game, beating people up left and right. Bad people, yes; but still people.

"Then I believe we have an agreement," she said as she watched him calm down. "Perhaps it is time that you introduce yourself as well, now."

"Ah." A look of realization came upon his face. "I'm Fynn. Just Fynn. I'll, eh, be under your care? Or would it be the opposite?"

"I imagine there will be cases of both." She brought a hand into her pouch to pull out ten silver coins worth 100 solars. "This is a small advance you can use as necessary."

She'd made sure to have some coin on her to solve any immediate problems until she could earn some more from the Cabal Adept's equipment or another dungeon run. And Fynn should definitely need the money at this point in time.

He looked at the coins for a moment, before picking them up and putting them into one of his pockets. "Thank you."

[Quest completed: Recruit companion — Fyntrarth Grehaldrae]

{Skill points awarded: 5}

Scarlett stared at the window that appeared before her. To think there'd be a quest for this. And it gave 5 skill points too.

The companions had been a pretty important part of the allure of 'Chronicle of Realms'. All of them had pretty extensive backstories and questlines, with their own unique classes and dialogues that could affect how the story went at times. While you could only ever have four of them in your party, there had been ten different possible companions—or rather eleven, but the last one was one that you eventually had to get no matter what—that could be divided into three categories. Those who were 'good' and would only stick with the player in a 'good' run; those who were 'evil' and would only stick with the player in an 'evil' run; and those who could be 'neutral', if you didn't really go for either of those alternatives in the main story. The split between the companions had essentially been even, with five of the companions being available for a good run and five for the evil run. Three of the companions from both of the categories had also been possible choices for neutral runs.

Fynn had been one of the pure 'good' companions, but that was only insofar that it was the only one of three possible main routes where you fought directly with the Hallowed Cabal.

"So, uhm, what now then?" he asked, suddenly glancing around the pub.

"Meeting with you was the lone reason I had to visit this place," Scarlett began. "Next, we leave and..." Her words came to a halt and she snapped her head to the side.

"Leave and wha—"

"Silence." She raised her hand into the air as she looked around, inspecting the room.

And oh she lived, that she did~

She bilked, she duped,

and she kept her way~

Tilde, never once did she keep her say~

She was a scamp, a cheat,

but she kept you astray~

The low and soft singing spread out across the room, not quite overtaking the clamor of the pub's guests, but carrying a distinct tone nonetheless. A tone that Scarlett recognized.

Her eyes locked onto the source of the singing at the other end of the large room. A back covered by long, curled brown hair with the neck of a tall instrument sticking out to the left. It was the woman Scarlett had seen playing when she first entered the building.

She turned back to Fynn. "Further conversation will have to wait," she said and pointed towards the table near the entrance where her two new Shielder hires sat. "Those two are Shielders contracted by me. You may introduce yourself to them. New matters have come to my attention that I must attend to."

"What? But I don't know wh—" She stood up and began walking across the room. "Oh okay, I guess I'll go and say hello?" she heard him mutter as she moved away. The quest was already completed anyway.

She kept her eyes on the back of the woman who was singing, concentrating to separate the singing from the rest of the noise around her.

Tilde once tried to be a li'l honest~

Her attempts all flew out the window~

Scarlett was certain now. This was a song that sometimes played in taverns in the game. She'd heard it countless times.

The eyes of the group listening to the woman's playing turned to Scarlett as she approached. A couple of them seemed to notice her clothing and quietly turned around to their own tables. Some of the others had awkward expressions on their faces.

Just as Scarlett stopped behind her, the woman stopped her music and turned around. She wore a simple white shirt with a thin brown vest over it, and in addition to her long, wavy hair, the woman had clear violet eyes as well as vague freckles across her nose and cheeks. She almost seemed to frown for a brief moment when she first saw Scarlett, but as soon as it had appeared the expression was gone, replaced by a smile playing across the woman's face.

"Come over to admire my singing? There's always place for more in the crowd," the woman said. Then she looked back at the people who were pretending not to pay attention. "Especially now that I seem to have lost some of them."

Scarlett stared at her, taking in the woman's appearance. What mattered here wasn't that she recognized the song from the game. What mattered was that she recognized the voice.

This woman was another of the game's companions.

"It can't be? Did I strike you mute?" the woman suddenly said, staring at Scarlett with an exaggerated expression and her hand covering her mouth. "My, this is a first even for me."

"You are Rosalina Hale, are you not?" Scarlett asked.

The woman grinned as she leaned her instrument—which looked like some variant of a hurdy-gurdy with a longer neck—against the side of her chair and leaned forward over the backrest. She rolled one of her arms in the air before her as she dipped her neck in a mock-elegant curtsy. "It seems my reputation precedes me. It is indeed I, Rosalina Hale, balladeer extraordinaire." She turned her head up, a large grin on her face. "Though people usually just call me Rosa. But it's always a delight meeting another fan of mine."

She leaned her elbow on the back of her seat, resting her chin against her palm. "So, what'd you come over here for? It can't be you actually want my autograph? I'll have to warn you that I don't sign body parts, and I don't have a brush either."

Scarlett frowned. "Is that a request people actually make?" She didn't even know they had autographs here.

The woman shot her another smile. "Not really, no. But sometime's got to be the first, am I right?"

Scarlett looked at her for several seconds, feeling the irritation bubbling up. She hadn't considered it, but this... was going to be grating with the way her personality currently was.

"So it is in actuality more of a fixation on your part, rather than the legitimate desire of any alleged admirers," she said soberly. "If so I suggest you keep any further such fascinations to yourself. I have other matters to discuss with you."

Rosa wore an amused expression. "Well, color me intrigued. Not only did you see through my dastardly intentions, but you also have business with me? I hope I'm not in any trouble."

In 'Chronicle of Realms', Rosalina Hale had been one of the good/neutral companions that Scarlett had had in her party for her first playthrough. While Rosa came with her own problems, she had been one of Scarlett's favorite characters in the game and had a unique support class, which was why Scarlett had considered looking for her in the future. But even though Rosa could be recruited in several different places in the game, 'The Whishing Cod' had never been one of them.

Scarlett truly hadn't been expecting to run into the woman this early. In fact, what were even the odds of meeting two of the game's companions in the same place like this? Two of the more reasonable ones, to boot. That was one heck of a coincidence. Should she just consider herself lucky?

"Do I have something on my face?" Rosa put her free hand to wipe her cheek. "Maybe I shouldn't have had that gravy earlier."

"...You simply reminded me of someone," Scarlett said, watching the woman flick her hand as if she'd actually removed some of the non-existing sauce. "But it is of no matter. As I said, I have something to discuss with you. A proposal."

Rosa's brows rose. "A proposal? How scandalous. We barely know each other."

Scarlett gave the woman a long look. Right, this is about what she should have expected. "I see you are quite carefree."

"Ehhhh, I dunno about that," Rosa said, now running her finger over the backrest. "I prefer blithe. It has a better ring to it."

"I see," Scarlett slowly responded. She felt very odd seeing Rosa like this. One part of her wanted to chastise the woman for her manners, the other didn't really mind and actually enjoyed seeing Rosa in real life like this. "In any event," she eventually said. "My name is Scarlett, and I have need of your services. I would ensure that you are paid handsomely if you were to come under my employ for the near future."

Rosa looked at her with slight surprise. "You want to hire me? What for? I know what I said, but I don't really do solo performances."

"I would not ask that you perform," Scarlett said. "I am aware that you have other qualities to offer."

Rosa's forehead furrowed. "...I'm not sure I'm smelling what you're cooking here."

"Then I suggest a probationary contract. Further questions can be answered in the future, but if you agree to my terms you will be compensated with 500 solars every month, as well as several other benefits." Several of the people nearby reacted at her mention of 500 solars. She hadn't been expecting to hire another person this soon so she might be stretching it here—Evelyne probably wouldn't like it at least—but this much shouldn't be a problem. And she didn't want to throw away this chance of getting her hands on another of the game's companions. With Rosa's help it would also be much easier to clear one of the dungeons near Elystead that had an item Scarlett wanted.

"500 solars? Now that doesn't sound too bad." Rosa looked at her for a second. "Probationary, you said? I'm not your stays-in-one-place kind of gal, but I'll listen to whatever it is you want me to do here for you. Who knows, maybe it'll be fun?"

"Good," Scarlett said, beginning to turn around. "Then you can follow me. I shall explain further what this would entail."

Rosa got up and picked up her instrument, spinning around to give the people she'd been playing for a wave. "Sorry, looks like the show's over. You guys were great, though. I was really feeling it."

Then traipsing over to Scarlett, Rosa had a slight sparkle in her eyes. "Ok, let's see what interesting stuff you have for me then. Just don't get too sad when I jump the ship if this turns out to be some kinda frolicky rabbit-orgy cult." She shivered. "I'm not doing that again."

Scarlett looked at her. She was half-tempted to ask whether that was a joke or not. "...I do not anticipate that to be a problem," she said as she started walking towards the entrance of the pub where Fynn appeared to have introduced himself to the other two at one of the tables. "Although I also cannot promise that it will always be interesting."

"That's fine." Rosa smiled beside her, leaning her hurdy-gurdy look-alike over her shoulder. "For this kinda coin? I'll make it interesting."

[Quest completed: Recruit companion — Rosalina Hale]

{Skill points awarded: 5}

Chapter 37 - The interview

The others looked up at them as Scarlett approached with Rosa in tow. Both Allyssa and Shin gave Rosa a curious look but didn't say anything.

"We will be leaving now," Scarlett said as she looked down at their table. There were half-eaten lumps of bread on it, along with two bowls of some brown soup. She hadn't given them much time to actually have their meal, she realized. Well, they could probably get something else later on.

"You're done then?" Allyssa asked. "I thought you only had business with..." She looked at the white-haired young man that now sat next to her. "Fynn was it, right?."

"Hmm? Yes." Fynn answered after a second. "But to be honest I don't really know what I'm supposed to do here."

"That's a laugh," Rosa cut in from the side, moving closer to the table. "Neither do I." She smiled at them, then seemed to look closer at Fynn. "Aren't you the guy who fought with the barkeep last night?"

"Oh, you're the weird singing lady," he said as he appeared to recognize her. He then shook his head. "And no, that was just a misunderstanding. I only told him this place smelled."

"Ah, of course. That's one of the classics." Rosa nodded her head sagely, apparently not minding being described as a 'weird singing lady'. "I always tell people their homes smell too, and they always get mad for some reason. People just don't appreciate compliments these days."

Fynn gave her a slightly confused look. "But I wasn't trying to compliment him?"

"Well, there's your problem then."

His forehead knitted together as if he didn't quite understand the meaning behind Rosa's words, when Allyssa leaned in beside him. "Why would you tell the barkeep that his business smelled?"

"I thought it would be good if he knew. There was a rotten piece of meat under the stairs."

The people around the table went quiet for a moment.

"...Who are these two supposed to be?" Shin eventually asked, looking at Scarlett as he signaled towards both Fynn and Rosa.

"They are people I have hired, in part to assist you in your work," Scarlett responded. She gestured to Rosa. "Her name is Rosalina. And it appears you have already been introduced to Fynn." She pointed to the white-haired young man next to Allyssa.

Rosa brought her hand up and fluttered her fingers in what resembled a wave. "You can just call me Rosa."

Allyssa met her greeting. "Hello. I'm Allyssa. This is Shin. We're both Shielders."

Shin gave a short nod.

"Shielders?" Rosa gave them an inquisitive look, before turning to Scarlett. "You work for her?"

"That's right." Allyssa brought out a small blue badge with the Shields Guild symbol on it. "We're her escorts."

Rosa raised an eyebrow at that. "You have escorts?"

"I do, though it is a rather recent development. We can leave any further questions to when we are moving," Scarlett said and started walking towards the exit.

The others quickly caught up to her after she'd exited the pub onto the narrow street outside. From there she followed the street down to where it ended in a small intersection with another street, before turning a few corners until she eventually reached a slightly wider street that was large enough for carriages to pass through. The Foreign Quarter was a pretty densely populated district in Elystead, but unlike some of the similar areas in Freybrook, you weren't only limited to traversing on foot everywhere here. Their carriage was parked in front of the opening of an empty alleyway, and the coachman immediately started preparing it when he saw them approaching.

Rosa looked at the carriage with some surprise as the coachman—who Scarlett had overheard being called Tobia by the maid lady at the mansion here in the capital earlier today—greeted Scarlett and opened the carriage door for her.

"You're a noble?" the woman asked, glancing at the Hartford crest depicting a deer on the side of the vehicle.

"I am," Scarlett said.

"That explains the money," Rosa hummed as Scarlett climbed inside the carriage. The others soon followed, with Allyssa, Shin, and Fynn pressing themselves into the seat opposite Scarlett and Rosa sitting down beside her. This particular carriage wasn't quite designed for this many occupants.

Scarlett looked out the window as the carriage rolled into motion. She was planning on dealing with the Cabal Adepts' equipment today. After that, she was also planning on paying a visit to the Elystead Tower: the imperial mage tower here in the capital. She wanted to get these matters out of the way before the Light Fest began the next day, as things in the city would get a lot busier then. In addition to that, the Elysian Proclamation was supposed to take place on the third day of the event, on the 2nd of September. Almost a whole month after she first arrived here in this world.

To be honest, she wasn't quite sure what to expect of the event. It wasn't something the player was ever involved in when she played the game. She knew it was a gathering in the Dawnlight Palace where a lot of nobles would be, swearing their allegiance to the emperor and reaffirming old oaths. Supposedly it had been a tradition for centuries, ever since the Empire began. She learned that much from a book describing some of the festivals celebrated in the empire, but she hadn't found anything that went into the particulars of what the nobles did per se, so there was some nervousness present for her. And she was pretty certain it wasn't something she could skip out on as the head of the Hartford family. But this was why she had spent several days reading up on some of the decorum and noble families before getting here. Hopefully, she would be able to get through it without any major issues.

"So," Rosa sang from the side. "What kind of noble are you? The 'my great-great-grandfather was recognized by the emperor' kind? The 'my mansion is bigger than your village' kind? Or maybe the princess-on-the-run kind — fleeing from being locked up in a castle, wanting to experience the world?"

Scarlett frowned. "Do not disparage the imperial family," she found herself saying before she even realized it.

Well, that was annoying. She had noticed signs of this earlier, but there seemed to be some odd fixation on the capital, the imperial palace, and the imperial family leftover from the original that still affected her pretty severely. The funny thing was that, despite being a bit cliché, Rosa's word wasn't too far off when it came to this empire's princess.

Scarlett turned to look at the woman. "I am a baroness. Scarlett Hartford, Lady of the ancestral Stagmond keep."

"Hartford?" Rosa Knitted her brows. "I think I recognize that. Didn't you have a fight with some criminals in Freybrook or something? I remember reading that in the Chronicle."

"Now that you mention it, I also remember that," Allyssa mumbled.

Scarlett held in a sigh. "Yes, that was me. However, those claims were greatly exaggerated."

Rosa let out a small laugh. "I never would have guessed, just looking at you."

"And what might you mean with that?" Scarlett questioned.

"You don't exactly give out the 'people's hero' vibe, you know? Unless this isn't how you usually are, and you just happened to eat a bad olive for breakfast."

"Describing me as the 'people's hero' is an even greater exaggeration than the original claims," Scarlett said coldly. "I will not refute your words; however, I do wonder why you appear to be so certain that it is safe for you to dare speak so carelessly in my presence when that is your assessment of me."

"You could say I have an eye for these things." Rosa grinned. "I can tell that, deep inside, you have the soul and compassion of a cute little doe."

Scarlett stared at her.

"Ok, maybe a porcupine," Rosa said after a moment. "But an adorable one."

From what Scarlett knew, Rosa didn't actually have any special ability related to anything like that, so that was most likely supposed to be a joke.

"You know, I don't know how I missed it, but now that I look closely." Rosa squinted her eyes. "You're definitely a noble. I can practically see the nobly-ness ooze off you. Waves of it. Just flowing everywhere." She turned her head forward and nodded loftily twice. "Indeed, quite noble."

"Wonderful," Scarlett said. She didn't bother hiding the steely sarcasm in her voice. Nor the slight irritation. "I am glad that I have your approval."

The carriage descended into silence for a few seconds. "I thought the dress would have been a pretty clear sign she was a noble," Allyssa then suddenly said and everybody's attention turned to the apparel in question.

"Is it expensive?" Fynn asked.

"I think so. I haven't seen many normal people wear anything like it, at least."

Scarlett glanced down at her lavender dress. This was still considered an obvious noble dress? Though it was a cut above what she saw most people wear in this world, it was far from the most lavish the original Scarlett had in her repertoire. She, as Amy, had even had one similar to it back in her world. That was even part of the reason she chose this one. Maybe she was underestimating the worth of some of the materials for clothes like these in this world.

"Oh," Rosa blurted out from next to Scarlett. She glimpsed the female musician look at her dress as if this was the first she had seen of it. Rosa was quiet for just a second, then gave a bright smile.

"I must have missed that somehow." She gave another short laugh. "I can't tell left from right with fashion. You could put a dress on an elephant and I wouldn't be able to tell you if it looks good or not. Not to say you're an elephant. But if you were, I'm sure you'd be the envy of all the other large noble elephant ladies."

"Then it is fortunate that the work I would have you do does not rely upon your fashional acumen," Scarlett said. "Nor on your ability to offer compliments."

"Oh, but I'm great at compliments." Rosa grinned. "It's all about what kind of compliments I'm giving." She picked up her instrument—Scarlett was just going to call it a hurdy-gurdy—from where she'd put it on the seat next to her, patting the lacquered wooden side. "But I'm curious. What exactly is this work you want me to do? Most people come to me because of this baby." Her smile grew a bit more playful and she pointed to herself. "And, of course, because of this baby."

"I am certain that they do," Scarlett said coolly, then gestured to the three people opposite them. "Their job will be to escort me, as well as aid me in future excursions." She looked towards Rosa. "Your job, should you choose to accept it, would include supporting them in their endeavors. This would denote some degree of danger—which is the reason for the high wage—but there is not a large risk of severe injury. Of that, I can assure you. And the potential benefits on your part far outweigh merely the wage."

Rosa scrunched her eyes up at her. "Benefits like?" she asked, dragging out on the second word.

Scarlett looked away and out the window. "Being employed in my service would no doubt give you access to artifacts and other useful resources, though I do not know how much would interest you." She paused for a moment. "What might be of more interest to you is the possibility of forging a connection with the head of a noble household. One who happens to hold a large amount of knowledge on a wide number of areas, and whose aid could prove very helpful in the future, should you require it."

"And that person just so happens to be you?"

Scarlett gave a nod. "Yes."

"What makes you so sure I'd be of any use?" Rosa asked.

"One could say I have an eye for these matters," Scarlett said. She glanced briefly at Rosa, gauging the woman's expression. While she hadn't been ready to meet her, and as such hadn't prepared a proper excuse, she did know something that would almost be guaranteed to convince the woman. But she knew both of them would probably prefer it if she didn't bring up the matter.

Thankfully Rosa didn't seem to mind the vague answer. "Mysterious," the woman said with a smirk. "Now you've definitely got me all curious. I think I'll accept this offer of yours, for now. At least until the other end of the hammer falls."

She then turned to look at Fynn who had been sitting quietly and listening in on the conversation. "What about you? Did she give you the same offer?"

His eyes widened slightly. "Yes? No?" He looked at Scarlett. "I'm still a bit confused about the details of what you want me to do."

"Nothing. For now," Scarlett said. "It would be enough to do as those two, when asked." She gestured towards Allyssa and Shin. "You will have an opportunity to showcase your capabilities soon. Either tomorrow or the day after, presumably. Until then, there is no need to worry about it."

"Does that hold for me as well?" Rosa asked.

"Yes, though I do not expect you to always accompany me as they will." Fynn would be really handy to have along—especially when in more dangerous places—because of his excellent perception abilities. As for Rosa... For now, it would be enough to only bring her along when raiding dungeons and on other similar jaunts. "I will ensure that a room is prepared for you at the mansion I am staying in. When I have no need of you, you may do as you wish with your free time."

"But you're still paying me?"

"Yes."

"Oh, this is definitely too good to be true. Tell me as it is." Rosa eyed her. "This is some kind of scam, isn't it?"

"It is not," Scarlett told her.

"She's not lying," Fynn said.

"Well, if he says so, then I guess it must be true." Rosa leaned back in her seat. "Maybe I'll use the time to finish up the new song I've been writing."

"You create your own songs?" Allyssa asked.

"Of course I do! No self-respecting bard wouldn't," Rosa responded.

Scarlett tuned the ensuing conversation out as she looked out the window at the passing buildings and people.

Chapter 38 - The fantasy tower

The first location Scarlett visited with the others was a shop located in The Coins district. She knew from the game that it dealt mainly with magical equipment and artifacts. When she had been thinking of what to do with the Cabal Adepts' armor it had been one of the first places that came to mind. With most other places, she couldn't be 100% certain whether they had a tie to the Cabal or not—even though she assumed most didn't—but this one she was sure could be trusted. Chiefly because it, along with the old man who owned it, was involved in one of the questlines to repair a divine piece of equipment—the most powerful tier—when you played the 'good' route in the game.

After arriving at the place, she'd had Fynn and Rosa stay behind as Allyssa and Shin helped her bring the equipment inside the shop. The old man working there—who'd been a dead-ringer to how he appeared in the game—had looked surprised at the assembly of gear, but hadn't made any special comment about it. It was possible that he recognized what it was, but Scarlett doubted that. It was more likely that he was just taken aback at seeing several identical sets of such quality, especially with the damage some of the pieces had.

It turned out the equipment itself wasn't of much use to him—he didn't show much interest in reselling it, and Scarlett had subtly warned against doing so—but after some negotiating with the man, they had instead come into an agreement regarding the materials themselves, which he did have some interest in. In the end, they agreed that he would buy six of the eight sets she had, with her deciding to keep the two most intact ones in case she ever needed them in the future.

Unfortunately, the owner hadn't been able to immediately give her a price for the six sets he bought. He was uncertain of the exact material, and enchantments, placed on the equipment, as well how much of it was repurposable. Apparently, some enchantments on gear could essentially be recycled depending on some factors Scarlett didn't quite understand, which wasn't a feature in the game. But that was something Scarlett had had an interest in, so she had asked him to send her a notice when he had appraised everything and to inform her if any of the enchantments could be recycled. His rough guesses for a price from just the first glance had been somewhere in the upper thousands for all six of the sets, which had been less than Scarlett had wished for. But hopefully that estimate would change in the future, after he'd had more time to look into it. The sets were mixes of rare and epic equipment, after all. In the game just one such set could probably run for well over twenty thousand if it was brand new.

After having finished at that shop and bid their goodbyes, Scarlett had left The Coins district behind along with the others. Traveling along the bustling Sunset Walk to the Ascendant Court at the heart of the city, they'd journeyed past the ever-active Mausoleum as well as the grandiose Ustrum Assembly, all the way to the northern part of the city, where the Wise Quarter was located.

Elystead was divided into eleven districts, and of those, the Wise Quarter was one of the smaller ones. This part of the city was dominated by fewer, but more extensive, buildings — several of which Scarlett knew as schools or academies of some sort from the game. It wasn't quite as busy as the rest of the city was, though there were still a decent amount of people here as the Light Fest itself was just one day away.

They were currently nearing the eastern end of the district, where a tall and wide tower of smooth white stone stretched into the sky, a few balcony-like framings with blue light hovering above them jutting out from the structure at even intervals all the way to the top. This was the Elystead Tower: the most prominent mage tower in the empire.

Officially, all of the mage towers in the empire were subsidiaries—for lack of a better word—of the Ustrum Assembly, although Scarlett recalled that it wasn't quite that simple in reality. While the Ustrum Assembly was the main authority on matters of magic in the Empire, it acted more as an organization or guild. One that the towers belonged to, but didn't necessarily heed all the time.

Regardless, Scarlett's visit to this place didn't have anything to do with its internal politics or workings. Rather, she'd gone here mainly to get information on a certain matter that related to some of her future plans.

When the carriage stopped at the edge of a round square in front of the building they all exited the vehicle in short order, with Rosa gazing up at the tall tower and letting out a whistle.

"It looks even taller up close," Fynn said as he too admired the complex structure. "I almost find it hard to believe that humans could build something like this."

"It's the second-highest structure in the capital," Shin commented, his head turning around as he appeared to take in their surroundings. This square was one of the most active spots in the Wise Quarter, with people in different-colored robes milling about to and fro. In other parts of the city it wasn't too uncommon to see guards and people walking around with weapons on them, but here there was almost none of that. The young Shielder appeared to have observed the same custom, considering he had left his sword and shield in the carriage. "The twin spires of the Dawnlight Palace are the only ones that are taller."

"Really?" Fynn turned to him with an impressed look. "I've only seen them from a distance before. I had no idea they were also that tall."

"It's because the palace is built on elevated cliffs. Otherwise the Elystead tower would be thirteen meters higher. They purposely made it shorter back when it was built, as not to offend Emperor Gautier. He was said to be an irritable man."

"Even when he was the emperor?" Fynn furrowed his brows. "Why didn't people just stop following him then? I've heard rebellions have happened before."

"There are a dozen different reasons, and while it is true that rebellions have felled dynasties in the past, that has never happened in the empire. It also didn't help that Emperor Gautier was famed as one of the strongest warriors of his time."

"Oh. That makes sense then." Fynn nodded his head. "But how do you know all of this?"

"It's because he spends all his time with his nose in books," Allyssa said with a joking grimace. "Nobody cares when Emperor Whatever did who-knows-what, but he can't get enough of it."

"Maybe if you did care about some of it, I wouldn't have had to do all of the homework your dad used to give you," Shin casually shot back.

Scarlett watched the young Shielder girl jam an elbow into her colleague's side. "Maybe you should keep your trap shut."

Rosa also looked on with a smile. "Ah, young love~" she hummed.

"Hah." Allyssa let out a short laugh. "He'd be lucky if a girl so much as talked to him. You know, he hasn't even danced with a girl once in his life."

Rosa raised a brow. "Oh? But he's pretty handsome, isn't he? He's got that look to him. Cute, with just a splash of rugged to the side. Add a smidge of cool nonchalance, and most girls would be swooning."

Allyssa shook her head. "It's the opposite. He just scares them off. If anything, then Fynn would be the handsome one." She gestured towards the white-haired youth that walked to the side, causing him to turn to them with a perplexed expression.

"Did I do something?"

"You can ignore it. She gets riled up easily," Shin said.

"I do not," Allyssa exclaimed.

Fynn looked on at the two. "But I'm not even a—" he began, but stopped before saying more.

"If you are about finished," Scarlett cut in as they closed in on the large open brass doors that served as the entrance to the tower. "You can save those conversations for a later time. There is business for me to attend to here."

Rosa let out a light laugh. "Ah, but don't you think it's at least a little bit interesting?"

"I have no interest in matters of romance, or the lack thereof," Scarlett said. It really was one of the last things she cared to think about in her current circumstances. She hadn't been on a real date for years before coming here, and now certainly wasn't the time to start bothering with that. It was bad enough that she had a fiancé she barely knew.

She pushed those thoughts to the side and walked through the open doors, entering into a large lobby—it was almost like a chamber, with a curving ceiling lit up by blue magical lights—and moving towards the center of it where a circular area not too dissimilar to a reception was. The rest of the lobby was filled mostly with people in robes, walking between different bookcases spread around the room or conversing at tables that lined the walls.

Scarlett spotted an empty table and pointed towards it. "These particular proceedings will not require the assistance of any of you. You can wait there until I am finished with what I have come here for."

"You're going alone?" Allyssa asked.

"I am in no danger here."

"I guess not. But..." The young woman glanced around the room.

Scarlett stopped for a moment and looked the others over for a moment, considering. "Very well. It would be inconvenient if you all came with, but one of you can. Decide amongst yourselves who." With that, she began walking towards the center of the lobby again, leaving them behind. A little while later Shin caught up to her, giving her an affirmative nod before silently closing in to walk behind her.

When they reached the center area of the lobby a man sitting behind a crescent-shaped desk peering over a pile of papers looked up at her. He had short, balding hair and wore a deep black robe with long sleeves. "Can I help you?" he drawled out with tired eyes.

"Yes," Scarlett said, setting herself into the noble persona. "I wish to meet with one of the tower officials."

There were a couple of things she wanted to discuss with the people here. There were some basic matters that any member could probably give her answers to, but the most important subject point was something that only certain people could help her with. She was going through the list of names in her mind of those who fit that criteria.

"For what reason?" the man asked, idly bringing out a new piece of paper from a pile to the side and bringing a black pencil up to his lips.

"Inquiring into the purchase of several magic-related articles, as well as the trade of some highly valuable information."

He started writing something on the paper. "We have a branch who handles the selling and buying of material and items further down in the Wise Quarter, as well as a small establishment in The Coins that handles any common official requests. I recommend that you try visiting those, I'm sure they'll be able to help you."

"Common requests?" Scarlett felt her eye twitch. "I believe I said I wished to meet with an official, not send in a petition."

"This is the imperial mage tower. Our members are some of the most esteemed mages and wizards in the empire. I realize it might be an inconvenience for you, but they simply don't have the time to meet with just anyone that asks. The other places I pointed you to are more than capable of assisting you, so once again I recommend that you turn to them." He stopped writing and looked up, his eyes glancing over to Shin who stood behind her. The man's eyes seemed to stay on the scar above Shin's left eye for a second. He then looked back at Scarlett, only now seeming to take in her appearance. "What was your name, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Scarlett Hartford," she answered. "Baroness Scarlett Hartford."

The man was quiet for a few seconds. "...Perhaps there is someone who is available at the moment." He bent down, picking up a thick tome from beneath the desk and placing it beside the arcs of paper in front of him. He opened it and flipped through it, stopping at one page and trailing his finger down it. "It appears that Adjunct Mage Allen Fletcher is free. I could have a meeting arranged with them if you wish."

She had no idea who that was, but an Adjunct Mage wouldn't be of any use to her. "Is Adalicia Mendenhall here?" she asked.

The man paused, looking up at her. "...Emeritus Master Docent Grand Wizard Mendenhall is currently on an exchange expedition to the Rising Isle."

Oh, wow. That was a mouthful. And Emeritus? She was expecting some Latin terms here and there considering how prevalent it was in the English language, and she knew Docent was a rank here so that didn't surprise her, but straight out hearing an adjective Latin term like that used as one might back in her world felt weird. She really had to look into the linguistical history of Modern Imperial sometime in the future.

Still, it was a shame that Adalicia Mendenhall wasn't here. The woman was one of the more important people in the tower, and the one Scarlett felt most confident about being able to work with.

"Then Kinnard Berkeley?" He wouldn't know anything about what she wanted, but he should at least have the authority to make a deal with her.

"Master Docent Mage Berkeley is also on the Rising Isle..."

Scarlett frowned. "Very well. Then is Swale available?"

"Do you mean Master Docent Wizard Swale?"

"Yes," she said. She barely remembered anything about him but his last name, but he was the head of one of the tower's departments so he should still be able to help her.

The man gave her a long look. "He is also away on the expedition."

Was every member of the Elystead Tower on this damn expedition!? Or was this man just straight up lying to get rid of her? She swallowed back a sigh. "If so, then I do not have many other options. Is Merlion Rowley still present? I presume he would not have joined this expedition." He was far from her first choice, but it should still work.

She saw how the man's expression grew a bit stale. "Baroness, I understand that you have business you want to carry out with us, but all of the people you have mentioned are highly influential and busy members of the tower. Even if they were here, I would not be able to arrange a meeting with them for you. And that goes twice for Vice-Dean Rowley."

Scarlett leveled her gaze at the man. "I would not be so certain of that. Inform Rowley that I know the location of a primordial spell and am willing to trade it."

The black-robed man froze, his mouth stuck in a half-open grimace. "Surely you can't be serious. This isn't the place to joke around like that."

She kept her eyes locked on him. "Do I appear to you as a person who would so carelessly lie about such significant matters?"

"That's not what I mea—"

"Then contact him. Inform him that Baroness Hartford wishes to meet, and that it will not take long."

The man stared at her for several seconds.

She crossed her arms. "I am waiting."

"I-I'll see what I can do," he eventually said, and began sifting through drawers under the desk. "But I can't promise that he'll be available, or even answer. It will take some time."

"Then I will wait here." She turned, gesturing for Shin to start moving. "Notify me when you have an answer."

Chapter 39 - Dealings with a Wizard

"This way, Baroness," the person in a black robe who guided Scarlett said. They were a middle-aged woman with dark brown hair that was pulled up into a bun at the back of their head and had originally come to find Scarlett in the tower's lobby after she'd been waiting there for about half an hour. As Scarlett had expected, Rowley had agreed to meet with her after hearing about what it was that she was offering.

Before coming, she'd spent a decent while considering what would both be something the tower would be incredibly excited about getting and something she personally had no use for. The particular primordial spell that she was planning on offering them the location of fit perfectly with that description. It was probably even a little bit overkill—or rather, it definitely was—but the Elystead Tower was an entity that she trusted to consider their own gain enough not to leak such valuable information to any outsiders, as well as not risk the future relationship with an individual holding that kind of information. She didn't doubt they'd be generous with their payment too.

The woman in the robe—who like most members of the different towers in the empire was most likely a mage of some sort, though Scarlett didn't know her rank or school—led Scarlett down a relatively simple, but long, hallway to a dark set of wooden doors. The two of them were currently somewhere in the upper part of the tower, as far as Scarlett could tell. The inside of the tall structure was a maze unto itself, and even though she had been here many times in the game, she would definitely have gotten lost after just a few minutes here if she didn't have someone leading her. To get here, they'd passed through a dozen similar-looking corridors, as well as using a large magical elevator of sorts—which she assumed was either incredibly expensive or high maintenance, considering how uncommon they were in the Empire—before they arrived at what was ostensibly the office of the Vice-Dean of the imperial tower.

"Vice-Dean Master Docent Grand Wizard Rowley does not have much free time to spare your visit," the woman said before opening the doors. "So make sure not to linger."

Scarlett didn't bother replying as she entered the room all by herself. Shin had been asked to stay behind in the end, and Scarlett hadn't cared enough to argue the matter.

The Vice-Dean's office was a considerable chamber in the shape of a half-sphere, with rows of bookshelves lining the walls and reaching all the way to the domed ceiling. Somehow the books weren't falling out of the uppermost shelves despite being at an angle toward the floor. There was just one large window in the room, set into the wall to Scarlett's right between a pair of marble busts of dragons, offering a beautiful view of Elystead as well as the glimmering waters of Rellaria Lake in the distance. From here, the lake almost had a clear green hue to it. At the back of the room stood a wide desk with some lamps, books, an iron cage, as well as some other contraptions on it. In front of the desk was a low wooden table with a silver tray and a thick leather-bound tome on it. Four leather armchairs surrounded the table.

In one of those chairs sat a man in dark red robes, looking at Scarlett closely after she'd entered the room. He had short white hair that was combed back and started to thin at the temples, as well as a finely trimmed beard that still had some streaks of grey in it. Adding to that, he also had a pair of thick, bushy eyebrows that almost seemed to have a life of their own with the way they moved. Different from what one might expect from an old wizard, though, he had a sharp nose, and his eyes almost made one think of a hawk with the way he was staring at Scarlett.

"You bear a striking resemblance to your father," the man spoke in a raspy voice.

Scarlett paused at the entrance. Those weren't the first words she'd expected to hear from Rowley. "You were acquainted with my father?" she asked.

"I was." He gave a slight nod. "Though I wouldn't say we were close. But he was a respectable enough man. Always more of a mage than a man of the aristocracy. It's only because I heard his name that I even considered accepting this little meeting." He gestured towards the red leather armchair opposite him. "Take a seat."

Scarlett casually strode over to the piece of furniture and settled into it. "That surprises me. I would have imagined it would be my proposition that garnered your interest. Are you claiming that it isn't so?"

"Bagh." His long robe flowed with motion as he waved his hand through the air. "You expect me to believe that drivel? That you know where to find a primordial spell? Don't insult me, girl. I am not that naive."

Scarlett stared at him for a moment without saying anything. She pressed down some of the annoyance that burbled up at his words. There was a reason why she hadn't wanted to meet with him directly. "I must say." She lightly tapped her finger against the armchair. "I find this hard to believe."

His brow furrowed. "Excuse me?"

"To me, it would appear somewhat unlikely that someone of your position would not have any interest in the prospect of me knowing the whereabouts of a primordial spell. I do not wish to imply that you are dishonest, but surely you do not mean to say that you only consented to this meeting because of a distant acquaintance with my father?"

"Don't be ungrateful, girl. It is obvious you only mentioned the spell because you were desperate to meet me, and I accepted because I had a small amount of time to waste and due to the remote possibility that whatever it was that you truly wished to speak to me about could be something actually worthwhile." He grunted and moved his head. Suddenly the tray on the table floated up into the air and towards him. He picked up a white porcelain cup from it and brought the cup to his mouth. "But if you're only here to babble on about legends and fairytales of which you have no understanding, then I am disappointed. This truly was an even worse waste of time. I would have expected more of Castor's daughter."

Scarlett flinched at the mention of that name. The urge overcame her to pick up the thick tome that lay on the table and throw it at the stupid old man—

She stopped. Unclasping the tight grip she'd almost unconsciously taken on the chair's armrest she showed Rowley a small smile, fighting against the torrent of emotions that tried to wrest themselves out of her control.

These weren't her issues to deal with. These weren't her issues to deal with.

"I see you do not hold back your words," she said with her mask of calm, garnering his attention as the silver tray floated back to the wooden table. "But would those words still hold true if I were to tell you that it is an aeromancy spell?"

His hand halted for a moment as he was about to take another sip from his cup. Now she saw it. A hint of curiosity in his eyes. Of course there would be. There wasn't an aeromancer in this world that wouldn't salivate over the possibility of getting their hands on a primordial spell belonging to their own school. Rowley was no exception.

"It seems you do not know when to quit," he said haltingly, eyeing her closely.

"And it seems you do a poor job of keeping yourself informed of current events."

He arched one of his bushy eyebrows. "What?"

"It was barely a month ago that a Zuverian ruin was discovered in the region near Freybrook," Scarlett explained. She didn't actually expect him to know about something like that, but it would work as a decent excuse.

Rowley nodded slowly. "I am aware. And?"

Oh? He'd actually heard about it? So Evelyne was right in that this was something the towers were that interested in? Well, whatever. It worked in her favor.

"Then I presume you are also aware of who it was that discovered those ruins?" she asked him.

He looked at her wordlessly for a few seconds, silently bending forward to put the cup held in his hands back on the tray, before leaning back in his chair. "You're saying it was you?"

"Of course." She couldn't stop a small sneer from forming on her lips. "It is truly astonishing, the knowledge the old Zuver had of legends and fairytales."

He sat still for several more seconds, examining her as if he was now studying a subject. "I will have to confirm this with my assistant. But say you're speaking the truth. What is it that you want in return?"

She met his gaze, trying her best not to show too much of the emotions that had boiled up at his previous comments. "First off, I thought it would be fitting to agree on a transactional fee before we begin any true dialogue. I am certain that, with the resources the tower has at its disposal, this is not a matter where you will be overly miserly."

"That would depend on what it is you ask."

"Nothing much," she responded. "It would simply be convenient to me if the tower could grant upon me and the Hartford household some potions and other magical artifacts, in addition to offering a discount on scrolls and other magical items in the future."

"Bagh." Rowley shook his hand. "Is that all? What do you take us for? Some minor mage tower in the backwoods? None of that would be an issue."

Up till now in this world, Scarlett hadn't given much thought to potions and the like. Healing potions were expensive and not even close to as efficient as a healer was. As most of the things she'd done up till now hadn't really been too dangerous—though she had misjudged the Cabal ambush somewhat—she never prioritized the potion matter. After getting injured in that attack though, she had reevaluated that conclusion somewhat and decided to look further into the subject. Unfortunately, that was around the point where she learned about her current financial situation. Some inquiring on her end had also revealed the fact that the Brook Tower in Freybrook—the only place selling potions in that city—didn't have a large supply of the items to begin with.

Now that she had already found Rosa, Scarlett might not actually have any need for such potions, as the chipper woman was a pretty decent healer in her own right. But that didn't mean it wasn't a good idea to get some now that she had the chance to get some free things. And any artifacts and other magical items the Elystead Tower could give her could either be used or sold for a decent amount. Add on a discount to that and she could probably benefit greatly in the future. Scrolls weren't a thing she actually had any real need for at the moment—in the game they were just used to learn new spells, which there were spellbooks for here too—but it could come in handy sometime.

"Of course, that is not all," she declared.

"I would expect so." He shook his head. "Out with it. If your information does indeed turn out to be accurate, I will personally see to it that whatever you want is fulfilled."

She leaned forward. "I require the tower's assistance in locating a particular person."

He steered his stare toward her. "That is all?"

"That is all."

"Hmph." He turned towards the desk at the head of the room, from which a flat, circular instrument made out of metal started floating towards him.

He put the object down on the table between them. It looked a bit like a sextant. "Then, of course, it would be of no problem. That is certainly within our means. Who is it that you want to find?"

"The Gentleman."

She saw the expression on Rowley's face freeze, the pupils in his eyes dilating as he went completely silent. The aloof air he'd adopted towards the end of their current conversation was completely gone as he narrowed his hawk-like eyes at her.

Scarlett continued on. "You should be awar—"

"I'm afraid we won't be able to do business with you," he interrupted her.

She paused, her forehead furrowing into a frown. "What?"

"As a favor to your father, I will pretend this conversation never happened. I ask that you don't contact me again," he continued and turned away from her.

"What? Why are you—"

He waved his hand, and suddenly the air around Scarlett shimmered. The space around her seemed to shift and bend in on itself, and for just a moment everything turned pitch black. A second later she found herself letting out a painful yelp as she fell tail-first onto solid stone.

She was outside Elystead Tower again, the soaring structure stretching up before her.

What... What the hell just happened?!

Did he just teleport her?

Did that decrepit old man actually just kick her out?! What the hell did he think he was doing?! How dare he just—!

She spun her head to look at the people around her. There were at least a handful of people in robes that were staring at her with surprise plastered across their faces. She wanted to scream at them to mind their own business, but she forced herself off the ground as she patted the dirt off her dress, then immediately started marching back towards the tower's open doors. Entering the building, she strode through the large lobby, her eyes locked onto the center of the hall where the bald man from before sat. He looked up at her as she approached.

"I'm sorry Baroness, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave," he said carefully, putting down a rectangular object with glowing lines on it on the side of the desk in front of him.

Scarlett stopped in front of him. "...What?"

"Vice-Dean Rowley has instructed that you not be allowed on the tower's premises...and that all dealings with you directly are to be restricted for the immediate future." He paused for a moment. "I think it would be best if you left without delaying before we're pushed to, ehem...enforce those orders."

She stared at the black-robed man quietly, processing his words.

Did Rowley just blacklist her?!

That old bastard.

She clenched her teeth as her nails bit into the palm of her hands. It had been a long time since she felt this...humiliated. She knew this wasn't wholly her own emotions, but she still had to mentally hold herself back from lashing out right here and now. If Kat had still been here and they were back at the mansion, the woman might have been able to help Scarlett vent these feelings. But now she was left here not knowing what to do.

The man before her visibly grew more anxious the longer she stayed quiet. Eventually, she turned around without a word and began walking towards the exit. Rosa, Fynn, Allyssa, and Shin had apparently noticed her return and started moving towards her but seemed to slow down when they got a closer look at her. She simply gestured for them to follow and kept on walking.

What the hell was up with Rowley's reaction? Why did he panic as soon as she mentioned she was looking for The Gentleman? In the game, Rowley was one of the people that helped you find him to begin with! Was there something she wasn't aware of behind their backstory? Or had something changed? It was impossible for her to know right now. Whatever it was, why would it cause Rowley to restrict all interactions with her because of just looking for The Gentleman? She was offering him a freaking primordial spell! Literally one of the strongest spells in the game! That was supposed to be a wizard's wet dream in this world. So what if he couldn't help her with finding The Gentleman. He could at least have made a deal with her regarding the other things!

The boiling emotions inside her grew even stronger as she brooded on Rowley's actions. When she reached the carriage that was parked a short distance away from the tower she climbed in without a word and sat down in the seat closest to the window, staring out at the buildings here in the Wise Quarter.

God damn it. She should have waited with contacting the Elystead Tower until Adalicia had returned and tried contacting her instead. Could she still do that? But she wasn't even sure how to, now that the tower had essentially banned her. She also had no idea when the woman would return. It could be months, for all she knew. She should've asked that before.

She would have to find another way of getting in contact with The Gentleman, but that wasn't a matter you could just bring to anyone. She wasn't even sure which factions it was safe to trade valuable information like this safely with. One of the reasons she'd approached the Elystead Tower was because they were one of the factions she was most familiar with, and one of the few she trusted to want to work with her without trying to screw her over too badly. That didn't hold as true for other factions, such as the Ustrum Assembly.

...But could she even trust the Elystead Tower now? Rowley had said that he'd pretend like their conversation never happened, but then he still went ahead and banned her. How could she be sure he wouldn't cause issues for her, now that he knew she might have information on the location of a primordial spell and no real relationship with them?

"Judging by your expression, I'm guessing it didn't go quite as expected?"

Scarlett turned her head around and saw that Rosa and the others had also climbed inside the carriage by now. Fynn had a slightly confused expression on his face, while Alyssa looked uncomfortable. Rosa and Shin managed to hide their thoughts fairly well.

Scarlett looked at Rosa, who had been the one to speak.

"...No, it did not," she said slowly before turning back to the window. "We will return to the mansion for now. I think it best that you all stay quiet until then."

She wasn't sure she would be able to keep her emotions under check if they said anything that triggered her. It was already annoying enough, just being seen in this state.

They all seemed to follow her words well enough, as the cabin sunk into silence, and soon enough it was in motion back towards the Hartford Elystead estate.

Chapter 40 - Mystic stress relief

After they got back to the mansion they were greeted by Whiteley—the steward-or-whatever that was in charge of taking care of the estate here in the capital—where Scarlett simply gave him a short order to arrange another room for Rosa before she left the others by themselves in the foyer. She'd spent a short amount of time exploring the mansion this morning and during that time she saw that it had a small garden—if you could call it that—at its center. It seemed as good a place as any right now, so that's where she decided to go.

It wasn't particularly large; the training ground back at the Freybrook mansion, for example, was several times larger. This little patio was just a square-shaped area enclosed by low bushes and surrounded on all sides by the mansion's walls. At its center stood a white metal bench, situated so that you got a view of a tiny patch of red flowers that grew next to the bushes. Scarlett sat down on the bench and leaned back, taking a deep breath as she looked at the flowers. They looked like lilies of some kind. Though the pistils were far longer than what she was used to.

She stayed like that for a while, simply observing them. Those feelings from earlier were still there, simmering under the surface even now that she was just sitting here. It was odd, how long the emotions persisted this time. Was it because she hadn't gotten the opportunity to do anything about the situation? Other than just accept it and run away? That part almost angered even the Amy side of her.

God. She almost felt like a child again, running away to hide from her parents due to throwing a tantrum.

Could she maybe do something to get back at Rowley? Would that make her feel better?

...It probably would.

But that wasn't an option. Anything she could do right now was more likely to cause her harm in the long term. She just had to accept that this particular facet of her plans would be delayed for the moment. And if she wanted potions and the like when here in the capital she would have to buy them the old-fashioned way. Still... That bastard could at least have treated her with some respect, instead of just kicking her out like that.

She paused. She was starting to get riled up again. Looking down at her palms, she saw that she'd unconsciously started digging her nails into them again. Shaking her head, she brought her hand up into the air. She needed something to take her mind off things for a bit.

With a flick of her wrist, a flaming ball of fire appeared above her hand.

[Name: Scarlett Hartford]

[Skills:

[Minor Mana-control]

[Pyromancy]

[Pyrokinesis]

[Minor Hydromancy]

[Hydrokinesis]]

[Traits:

[Dignified August]

[Supercilious]

[Cavalier]

[Callous]

[Overbearing]

[Conceited]

[Third-rate Mana Veins]]

[Mana: 4189/4226]

[Points: 15]

She let the ball float further up in the air and grow in diameter as it did, soon reaching the size of a fitness ball back from her world. Its light blanketed her and the garden in a deep orange as she felt its warmth wash against her skin. With some additional mental exertion, a sphere of churning water formed next to the sphere of fire, although only about half the size. The reflections across its surface were interesting to look at.

It'd been a while now since she had upgraded her hydrokinesis to just [Hydrokinesis], and she had mostly acclimated to the difference. Now both of her skills were at the same level. Hydrokinesis wasn't as...pliable as pyrokinesis was, though. To her, it felt like the water skill had much more of a weight to it, while pyrokinesis almost felt like playing with playdough. The volume of water she could control was much less than what she could control with her fire. It might have something to do with the fact that her pyromancy was at a higher level. Or perhaps that was just how the different elements worked. That wouldn't be too unreasonable either.

She turned her head to the side as another window appeared in the air before her.

[Skills Menu:

Upgrades

[Greater Pyromancy] (10 points)

[Greater Pyrokinesis] (10 points)

[Hydromancy] (5 points)

[Greater Hydrokinesis] (10 points)

[Mana Control] (5 points)

New skills

[LOCKED]]

Recruiting both Rosa and Fynn had netted her a decent amount of skill points. Her first priority was [Greater Pyrokinesis]. She'd already decided that some time ago. After that, she also wanted to get [Greater Hydrokinesis], but that would have to wait for a bit.

With five points left over after upgrading her pyrokinesis, she was considering upgrading one of the other cheaper options instead of just saving for the hydrokinesis upgrade immediately. [Hydromancy] and [Greater Pyromancy] wouldn't be of much use to her when she still didn't know how to use real magic. From the game, she knew it was likely that they would decrease her mana expenditure for the correlating kinesis skill, but she hadn't tested that hypothesis out yet. She would eventually, because she would definitely need something like that later on. But right now she still wanted to focus more on raw power. [Mana Control] was the other option, as the New Skills section was unfortunately still locked. Thus far she was no closer to figuring out how to unlock it, or when it would happen.

Her eyes hovered on the text for the different skills. She'd considered the value of [Mana Control] on several occasions. Because it was a bit of an unknown factor what it actually did in this world she hadn't brought it into her calculations for any of the builds she had come up with, though she had been curious whether it did anything more than just lower mana costs like it did in the game. That could be what 'control' referred to. If so, then it was around the same priority level as [Greater Pyromancy] and [Hydromancy].

But there was of course also the possibility that it did more than that. She'd considered it likely, even, considering that her pyrokinesis and hydrokinesis skills had appeared to work differently in this world compared to in the game. One possibility she had considered was that it could be a skill that'd help her in her efforts to learn spells. That wasn't too farfetched. No matter how exciting of a prospect that was, however, learning spells wasn't a priority of hers. She had given it some effort, far from enough to get anywhere noteworthy, but enough to make it clear to her that, even with more help, she wouldn't become a master mage any time soon. Even if she learned the necessary steps to control and shape her 'inner' mana—which was somehow different from what she did with her other magic, but still a part she suspected could be aided by the effect of skills from the system—she'd realized that actually learning some of the spells was much more complicated than that.

She was still dreaming of doing it, eventually. But it wasn't reasonable to expect her to learn what essentially took some of the mages in this world decades in not even a quarter of that time, even with the system's aid. At least not judging from how it appeared to work at the moment. And unfortunately she had never been the kind of person that was good at learning those kinds of things.

But that didn't mean it wasn't worth trying to upgrade [Minor Mana Control], at least. Even if it did just affect mana costs, which was the minimum of what she was hoping, it would still be worth investing in when she had points leftover in the future.

She focused on the upgrade window and the different options in it and imagined herself spending her skill points.

[Name: Scarlett Hartford]

[Skills:

[Mana Control]

[Pyromancy]

[Greater Pyrokinesis]

[Minor Hydromancy]

[Hydrokinesis]]

[Traits:

[Dignified August]

[Supercilious]

[Cavalier]

[Callous]

[Overbearing]

[Conceited]

[Third-rate Mana Veins]]

[Mana: 4127/4226]

[Points: 0]

As her status window updated itself, she suddenly felt like a small weight was taken off her mind. She looked up at the two elemental spheres that hovered above her, but they were unchanged. Her perception of them, though, was...clearer? Vaguer?

Both, oddly enough. Even though she previously hadn't considered maintaining only those two a strain on her mind, now it was clear to her that they had been. She'd just grown used to it. But now? They were noticeably easier to maintain, to the point where she felt she could almost completely forget about them and they'd still remain. In that sense, their presence to her senses was vaguer. But at the same time, she felt a stronger...hold over them.

She let both spheres dissipate into the air and concentrated her attention on the space above her palm. A basketball-sized ball of water appeared above it, the water swirling across its surface for a moment before she managed to get it completely still. It seemed her literal control hadn't changed much. This was the largest sphere of completely still water that she could create with her hydrokinesis at the moment. It was something she had experimented a bit with for her Aqua Mines.

She glanced at her status window.

[Mana: 3978/4226]

Before, just conjuring this had taken around 200 mana for her. But now it didn't even take 150. That was a pretty decent decrease.

She let the sphere dissipate and created another one of fire a few feet above her. She then let it grow, both in intensity and size. It quickly became larger than the previous one she had made, and she had to pause its expansion when it had reached almost three times that because it was becoming a bit too large for her current space. At this level, it did take her a great deal of concentration to sustain the fire, sweat forming on her brow not only due to the heat, but she was pretty sure she could push it even further. The difference between [Pyrokinesis] and [Greater Pyrokinesis] was obvious.

After maintaining that fire as it was for over almost half a minute, she let it disappear with a deep breath.

[Mana: 1765/4226]

It was leagues more powerful than what she could do before, but also extremely mana-intensive. But it did make her wonder what the higher tiers of the skill were capable of.

[Skills Menu:

Upgrades

[Greater Pyromancy] (10 points)

[Superior Pyrokinesis] (25 points)

[Hydromancy] (5 points)

[Greater Hydrokinesis] (10 points)

[Greater Mana Control] (10 points)

New skills

[LOCKED]]

25 points to upgrade pyrokinesis the next time. It wasn't exactly cheap, but it was definitely achievable.

She conjured a smaller flame above her hand and started playing around with it, shaping it into different forms, like that of one of the lilies in front of her, as well as the head of a dragon. She'd taken to doing that now and then during her practice sessions lately. She might have gotten it from Kat. The Shielder had entertained the children this way on several occasions.

It did make Scarlett wonder what level of pyrokinesis Kat was at. Judging from what she had seen, it was probably somewhere around just the common [Pyrokinesis]. Garside was a bit more of a mystery, on that part. At minimum, he was at a level equivalent to where Scarlett was now. She felt like she might be able to extinguish a carriage on fire now, but she wasn't entirely sure. But it was also possible that Garside's true capabilities were above that, which would be quite impressive, considering some of the stuff Scarlett had learned about magic since she arrived in this world.

It was funny, actually, how the skills the system allowed her to learn without knowing any real magic were specifically hydrokinesis and pyrokinesis. Kat had mentioned to her before how that was basically the opposite of how things normally worked, but Scarlett hadn't quite understood the reality behind that then.

From the game, Scarlett had known that there were essentially seven schools of magic in this world. Those schools were pyromancy, hydromancy, terramancy, aeromancy, lumomancy, umbramancy, and 'unschooled' magic which had aspects that weren't quite as defined. What hadn't been mentioned in the game was that there were also two types of magic: evanescent and manifest.

Evanescent magic was by far the most commonly used type and included spells like [Fireball] and [Earth Spikes]. It was effectively magic that couldn't affect the world itself, but rather created magical phenomena through which to influence the world. While Scarlett didn't quite understand the underlying mechanics, it basically meant that [Fireball] didn't actually create a flaming ball of fire, but rather...mimicked—if that was the word to describe it—the effects in a way. In the same vein of thought, [Earth Spikes] didn't move the ground beneath it to create spikes, but instead fashioned them out of mana. So while the effects of evanescent spells like these could have a lasting effect on the world, the magic itself always dissipated after a while.

In comparison, manifest magic referred to the type of magic that altered the world itself, which was supposed to be a much harder process than simply creating a magical phenomenon. She had only seen one such spell herself up till now, when Kat had cast what Scarlett recognized as the [Living Burial] spell from the game to take care of the last of the Cabal Adepts that had attacked them previously.

From what she could tell, mages normally began with using only evanescent magic. Manifest magic wasn't something they could even begin using until they were more experienced. Though Scarlett didn't quite know how 'experienced' you had to be. All she knew was that pyrokinesis, hydrokinesis, and all the other elemental variants of the same technique, were a more basic application of manifest magic — and thus, far from beginner-friendly.

She didn't really know if there was a large difference in power between the two types of magic. She could think of several of the more powerful spells from the game that were likely to be manifest spells, but she could also think of a few that were evanescent, so it wasn't as if manifest magic was the same as high-level magic. But one difference that she knew of, and had observed first hand, was that manifest magic wasn't as susceptible to anti-magic measures as evanescent magic was. It had probably been the main reason she had been able to beat that Cabal Adept by herself back then.

There had been some spells that had a higher magic penetration in the game, so it was possible that had been related to this. She wasn't quite sure.

One question this revelation had raised to Scarlett—back when she originally learned of this difference between the two types—was why she had started with two skills like that upon first arriving in this world. She'd just assumed it was because the original Scarlett had known them, but that didn't really fit what she knew of the woman. After all, the original Scarlett was supposed to be a very mediocre mage.

Despite thinking it over for a while, she hadn't come up with a certain answer to that question. The original might have been better at magic than she thought, but that didn't seem very likely.

Still, in the end that was just one more question added to an already long list of things she didn't understand about this world and was unlikely to find any answers to any time soon.

Well, she wasn't one to waste too much time trying to solve things she didn't have much chance of understanding without more information. A snap of her finger brought forth a small array of elemental spheres that hovered a little unsteadily around her. As of now, she still had some mana left, and if she was frugal with it she could probably spend a bit more time out here without feeling like she was delaying. Complicated matters that were beyond her right now would have to wait for later.

Chapter 41 - Sibling love

After staying outside for a while longer, and having mostly calmed down from her trait-induced anger issues, Scarlett eventually returned inside. From earlier, she had been planning on finding Evelyne, meaning to talk to the younger woman about her current plans as well as see if there were any updates on the business side of things. Walking through a hallway on the second floor of the mansion, she spotted Rosa looking at some large paintings that hung off of the wall.

As she approached, the curly-haired woman turned her head away from a vibrant landscape painting in front of her to look at Scarlett.

"You seemed to have fun earlier," she said with a glint in her eye, before shifting her gaze to a large portrait next to the painting she'd been looking at. "Don't mind me, just sightseeing. Not often you get a free pass to go around fancy places like this, so you gotta take the chance when you can, right? Find some of that artistic inspiration, if you know what I mean."

"...I see," Scarlett mumbled as she stopped next to her. She'd met enough of the creative sort in her life to know that they came in all kinds.

She looked over at the portrait Rosa was studying now. It showed a beautiful woman with dark black hair standing in a scarlet dress with golden filaments across it, staring straight ahead with an almost imperious expression.

"So, who's this supposed to be?" Rosa asked.

Scarlett examined the painting for a short while. "This is Mireya Liana Hartford," she eventually answered. "She was the head five generations back, as well as an accomplished mage." There was a family tree of the Hartfords that was recorded on one of the walls in the library back in Freybrook. During the last week, Scarlett had spent some time familiarizing herself with the different previous family members on it, and Mireya Hartford had been one of the more notable ones.

Rosa looked over the painting for a few seconds. "She sure looks...imposing."

"I believe that was the intent."

"Well, your ancestor sure got their money's worth then," Rosa mused. "It's good. Although maybe a bit avant-garde."

Scarlett arched an eyebrow, ignoring the odd use of a decidedly non-English phrase as she looked closer at the painting. "How so?" She couldn't find anything odd. It was just the portrait, with the background mostly being a blurry brown to emphasize the likeness itself.

"I get she wanted to try and appear all serious and menacing—and I'm not saying it doesn't fit with the color scheme—but, the blood is a bit much, don't you think?"

Scarlett frowned. "The blood?"

Rosa paused and looked at her with an odd expression, staying quiet for a second. Then she smiled. "I'm joking."

She turned back to the painting, and after a moment she pointed to the area beneath the lady's eyes. "Doesn't it sort of look like there's blood coming from her eyes, the way the strokes are done?"

Scarlett focused on the portion Rosa was pointing at. "...I do not see it."

Maybe—if you really squinted your eyes—you could interpret some of the thicker strokes, that had a slightly reddish hue to them, that way. But that was a far stretch.

"That's because you're all serious and grim. You've gotta add some imagination."

Scarlett shook her head. She herself wasn't the most creative of people, sure. But she wasn't that bad.

Stepping away from the portrait, she turned down the hallway. "I have some business to handle, but feel free to explore to your heart's content. As long as you stay in my employ the mansion is open to you as you see fit."

"Oh my. I feel like a princess with the way I'm being treated. And it's only my first day."

"That is good. I have no intention of mistreating those in my service," Scarlett said, then started walking away, but stopped for a moment to look back at Rosa. "Be warned, however. We will soon be leaving on an excursion outside of Elystead, where there will be some dangers present. It is likely that your capabilities will be put to the test, though I am certain that you will not have any issues in handling those circumstances."

Rosa brought her left hand up to her temple in some kind of mock salute. "Your words are my command, captain!"

Scarlett came quite close to rolling her eyes at the sight, but simply turned around and continued down the hallway, leaving the jesting bard on her own. She had an inkling of where Evelyne's office in this place was located, and started making her way in that direction. In the process she passed by a young maid that was cleaning a window facing the small garden Scarlett had been in before, the woman almost jumping away in fright when she first caught sight of her. Scarlett didn't feel like scaring the woman even further, so she elected to simply ignore her and continue her way.

This was probably the first of the servants she'd seen in this place, if you discounted Whiteley and the older lady who had opened the door for them when they'd originally arrived the day before. She didn't know how many people they had working in this place. It was probably only a third the size of the mansion back in Freybrook, so it likely didn't require as large a number of personnel. The number was probably less when the place wasn't in use by its master either. She would ask Evelyne about it—it probably wouldn't even be considered weird for Scarlett not to know about something like that—but this probably wasn't the time. Maybe she could ask for a report on all the people working for the family sometime in the future though. It'd be good to know. She doubted they had any hidden knights or some such that she didn't know about—she wasn't even sure if there were any knights that served households in this world, or if they all were part of knight orders serving the empire—but there was still the possibility that there were some particularly useful people serving the house. A barony wasn't particularly big, but there should still be at least a few people working under them back in their domain.

Scarlett soon reached a door at the end of a corridor—not too far from the main lobby—and knocked on it.

"Wait a moment," a voice rang out from the inside. There was quiet for a short while, followed by the sounds of papers rustling before the voice sounded out again. "Alright, what is it?"

Scarlett opened the door and entered the room. It was a small office with a couple of bookcases lining one of the walls and a singular window on another wall. Evelyne sat behind a wooden desk opposite the entrance and looked surprised when she saw her. "Scarlett? What are you doing here?"

Scarlett fought down the emotions that were bubbling up inside her once again, doing her best to ignore the feelings of disgust and hatred that always emerged when she saw the younger Hartford sister. "I have some matters to discuss with you."

Evelyne looked at her for a second, then pointed to an armchair that stood between the two bookshelves. "Alright. I had something I wanted to know too."

Scarlett walked over and sat down, leaning back in the chair as she turned to look at Evelyne.

"Before you say anything, I have to ask." Evelyne probed her with her eyes. "Was that you outside, earlier?"

Scarlett glanced over at the window. Oh. It did appear to give a view of the garden, though you couldn't see the ground from here. She looked back at Evelyne. "Are you perhaps referring to the fire from earlier?"

"The fire?" Evelyne stared at her for several seconds. "I almost thought we were being attacked. It was blinding! For a second I was sure the window was going to melt."

That wouldn't have happened. Scarlett had been careful not to keep it too close to the building itself.

"So it was you then?" Evelyne continued.

Scarlett thought about if there was any point in denying it for a moment, then nodded her head. "It was."

"Since when can you do something like that?" Evelyne seemed genuinely perplexed. "Is it because of some kind of artifact?"

"I suppose you could say that, yes." She wouldn't have been able to do that with just her own mana supply, after all. [Depraved Solitude's Choker] was pretty vital to her.

"Was it another one of those you found in the Zuverian ruins?"

"No." Scarlett moved her red hair to the side with the back of her hand, showing one of the [Charms of Apperception] that hung off of her ear. "These, however, were."

Evelyne shook her head. "Where do you actually find all of this?"

"In the likes of those Zuverian ruins, evidently," Scarlett said. "As for how I find those...I believe I explained before how that is not a matter you should presently concern yourself with. However, while we are discussing the subject, I should inform you that I will be leaving on yet another such excursion soon."

"Again? But the Light Fest is starting tomorrow. And the Elysian Proclamation is in just three days." Evelyne knitted her forehead. "How long will you be gone?"

"Not long. I will return before the Proclamation begins."

Evelyne studied Scarlett for a moment. "Can I at least ask where you're going?"

"...North of Elystead. To Temisbrook Woods."

"Temisbrook?" Evelyne asked, furrowing her brows. "That's almost a whole day's travel away."

Scarlett hid her surprise at that. She hadn't quite expected it to be that far away. These distance changes between this world and the game were hard to predict. But there was something she really wanted there, and this was a great opportunity to try out her new group.

"I will be leaving tomorrow," she said. It might be cutting it a bit close, but if they left early tomorrow morning they should be able to make it back in time. She'd rather visit that place sooner than later. "I will not be staying in Temisbrook for long, however," she added.

Evelyne sighed. "It's not as if I can stop you regardless. Just...Please don't miss the Proclamation. We wouldn't be able to handle the consequences of something like that right now."

"I have no intention of being absent for it." Even if she really wanted to avoid most of these noble dealings, this didn't sound like the kind of thing she could afford to skip out on. "On another matter, I have been meaning to ask regarding the results related to the Zuverian ruins. Did that bear any fruit?"

Evelyne got a serious look on her face. "It turned out the local Shields Guild branch had already gone ahead and cleared the rest of the ruins because so much time had passed since you found it. They were afraid it was going to get looted. Right now they have everything stored in a warehouse back in Freybrook, but I was told the majority of the artifacts found were just lighting crystals. I've heard those are worth a decent amount, though. There were also some things they hadn't identified yet, mainly what remained of some of the traps and other devices."

She signaled to some of the papers on the desk in front of her. "The Guild might be the ones currently possessing it, but I'm in the process of changing that. They themselves admitted that you were the one that discovered the ruins, and that that gives you the legal right to what's found. It's a little problematic because you didn't collect it yourself, but considering a full month still hasn't passed, I think I'll be able to handle it. I've already spoken with a representative of the Brook Tower about selling some of the crystals to them, and I think I might be able to get in contact with someone from the Ustrum Assembly who could be interested in studying some of the other things that were found."

Scarlett listened on with a neutral expression and slowly nodded her head. It seemed she caused more trouble than she expected by not sharing this information earlier. If she ever visited another place or dungeon that she thought could have things that were valuable besides the items she wanted she would have to make sure to inform Evelyne about it.

"I've also continued the work on setting up the orphanage you told me to arrange," Evelyne continued.

Scarlett paused. Right, she'd almost completely forgotten about that. "And how is that proceeding?" she asked.

"The orphanage itself is already mostly up and running as far as I know. It turns out Garside had already hired some temporary workers to take care of the children. They were competent enough, and a couple spoke Voneian, so I didn't have to do much about that. It'll take some time for the orphanage to be officially recognized though, so it won't be eligible for any allocations from the city or official donations. That would require passing several inspections and a lot of time, but I'm working on the necessary paperwork right now. You're going to need to name it, though."

Scarlett arched an eyebrow. "Me?"

"We'll be setting it up in the household's name, and you're the family head. But if you find it annoying I can—"

"No, I do not mind." Scarlett waved her hand in the air and looked out the window, leaning her head on her fingers. What should she name it? Naming things wasn't her forte.

"Call it The Scarlett Cross," she said after a moment. She wasn't averse to copying pre-existing groups. She also imagined that people wouldn't find it particularly odd if she, as Scarlett, named things after herself.

"Scarlett Cross?" Evelyne seemed a bit surprised at the name. "...Alright. If you say so," she said, looking down as she wrote it on a piece of paper.

"There was also one more matter I wanted to discuss," Scarlett added.

Evelyne looked up again. "And what's that?"

"It's regarding some promising business prospects here in Elystead." Scarlett noticed a blank piece of paper at the front of the desk. She raised her hand in the air, focusing, she created a straight line of fire in a shape similar to a pen above the paper. As lightly as possible, she then tried to press the faux writing implement against the paper as she burned a few place names into the sheet. It was a bit hard from this angle, but Scarlett felt like the result wasn't too bad. When she finished, she turned her attention back to Evelyne — who was staring at her in shock.

Gesturing to the paper, Scarlett spoke. "These are locations of three closed-down businesses on the Silver Way that I have reason to believe will make for good investments. I would like for you to inquire into the possibility of us acquiring and managing them in the future, when given the opportunity."

Apparently still a bit surprised about the whole fire-pen thing, Evelyne reached out for the paper with a doubtful expression. She touched the letters that were burned into it, examining them, before turning the piece of paper around to actually read what it said.

Scarlett looked on as she did. Using her pyrokinesis like that had mostly just been an off-the-cuff impulse that struck her fancy. It had seemed far simpler than rising from her chair, at least. But she had to admit, it was a little amusing seeing the younger woman react like this to it.

"What are these places?" Evelyne suddenly asked.

Scarlett leaned back in her chair as she tried to recall the game variants of the names she'd written down. They were all the places she had visited the day before. "I believe one is a weavery, one is a silversmith, and the last dealt with jewellery of some kind," she said. "I am not knowledgeable of the specific details of these locales, nor of the types of appliances and equipment that are present there; I simply wanted you to explore the possibilities."

Evelyne looked up at her. "Really? That's everything?"

Scarlett gave a short nod. "It is, yes. There is no obligation for us to act on this matter if you judge there to be no value in it."

Evelyne went quiet. She stared at her as if she was looking at a ghost. Scarlett was beginning to get used to variants of that expression by now.

"It'll have to wait until after the Proclamation, at least," Evelyne said.

"That is acceptable."

"And there's no guarantee of us being able to afford to buy these places, even if we manage to sell the artifacts from the ruins. We have other debts and expenses that we have to prioritize."

"I will arrange some additional funds if necessary. We can consider it as an investment."

Evelyne went quiet again. Then she opened up a drawer on the desk and put the paper in it. "I'm assuming you won't tell me why you're so interested in these places in particular," she stated dryly as she closed the drawer, leaning forward on the desk.

"You assume correctly." Scarlett could have tried and thought up some lie for this part, but considering how little even she actually knew of these locations she would have been hard-pressed to come up with anything believable. She doubted saying she 'had a feeling' would cut it.

Thankfully, Evelyne seemed to give up pretty easily on most matters that had to do with Scarlett. That in itself didn't exactly bode well for the sister-sister relationship between the two—she didn't want to think too much about what Evelyne had to have dealt with over the years—but Scarlett didn't mind using that fact at times like this.

Silence filled the room, and after some time with neither of them speaking Evelyne asked, "Was there something else you wanted to talk about?"

Scarlett looked at her for a moment, then shook her head. They would have more opportunities to speak in the future. "Then I will take my leave."

Chapter 42 - Morning preparations

The next morning, Scarlett found herself walking into the dining hall of the Elystead mansion and saw both Allyssa and Shin, along with Fynn and Rosa, already sitting at the large rectangular table that took up most of the room. That didn't surprise Scarlett, as she had given them the freedom to treat this place as their own during the time that they stayed here. What did surprise her, though, was the fact that Evelyne was also here — in the middle of a conversation with both Allyssa and Rosa as they all ate what looked like a hearty meal consisting of bread, soup, and some kind of meatloaf with different sauces on the side.

Everybody's attention turned to Scarlett as she walked up to the head of the table and took a seat. While being in the same room as Evelyne this early in the morning wasn't the most comfortable way to start the day, she wasn't going to leave just because of that. "I see that all of you have already awoken and seem to be prepared for the outing later today," she voiced, moving aside the large silver lid on top of the plate that had been prepared for her to reveal her own meal.

"Who'd miss a free feast and service like this?" Rosa said, pausing whatever conversation it was that she had been in with Evelyne and Allyssa to wave a white piece of bread around. "I'd get up even earlier if this was what was waiting for me every day."

Scarlett saw Evelyne's eyes widen a little at that, but ignored it. "I am glad that you are enjoying the accommodations. You can expect more of this in the future, should you choose to continue being in my employ." She looked toward the two Shielders working for her. "And you? What are your opinions as of now?"

Allyssa looked slightly surprised by the question, the young blonde putting her hands up in front of her. "We're used to sleeping out in the forest when we have to. We can't complain."

Shin, who sat next to her, simply nodded his head. "We appreciate the generosity you're showing us. But like she said, it's not our place to object as it is right now. We aren't afraid to get our feet dirty when needed, though."

Scarlett turned to Fynn, who was in the process of wolfing down the food before him. He already had a couple of empty plates beside him. The sight did bother Scarlett's instincts somewhat, but at least he was using a fork. "And you?"

It took him a moment to stop his eating and look up at her. "It's very large here," he stated.

Scarlett waited for him to say something more, but that was all. "I suppose you are correct," she admitted. "And I suppose there has not yet been much time to form an opinion exceeding that degree either." Her eyes shifted to the white ring around his finger. "And what of my gift? Have you succeeded in familiarizing yourself with it?" In the game it took a while before he unlocked any of the special abilities related to it, so she wasn't expecting it to do that much for him yet.

His yellow eyes also turned to the ring. "...No, not yet."

As she expected. "I am sure you will eventually," she said before turning back to her meal.

"He got a gift?" Rosa asked from the other side of the table.

Scarlett gave a short nod. "Indeed."

"Can I ask what it was?"

"You can." Scarlett cut into a piece of meat with a silver knife and fork. "But it is not my place to answer," she added on, bringing the fork up to her mouth.

Rosa looked at Fynn, but he stayed quiet. "Secrets, eh? I see how it is. Then I won't pry."

The room lapsed into silence for a short while before the conversation that Evelyne, Allyssa, and Rosa had been in before Scarlett arrived seemed to get picked up again. Evelyne looked a little bit uncomfortable now—which could just be because of Scarlett's presence—but from what Scarlett could hear they were discussing the different places Rosa had visited across the empire. Judging from the woman's words, she'd moved around quite a lot.

"Right," Rosa said after some time had passed and their conversation had instead shifted to the places Allyssa had visited in her time as a Shielder. "Where is it that we're going today?" she asked, directing the question towards Scarlett.

Scarlett looked up from her plate at Rosa. "We are journeying north of the capital, to Temisbrook."

Allyssa turned away from Rosa to also look at Scarlett. "Temisbrook? What are we doing there?"

"We will be venturing inside Temisbrook Woods in search of an old location that holds items of some worth. It will also serve as a good test of your abilities, so that I am aware of your limitations for the future."

"Wait, will it be dangerous?" Evelyne suddenly asked.

Scarlett looked at the younger Hartford sister. "I do not expect any danger, no."

She saw Fynn's head tilt to the side from the corner of her eye. "That's a lie, though."

She stared at him. For a moment she felt like sighing. Right, she had almost forgotten he could tell lies apart. Later she would have to talk to him about that. Glancing at Evelyne, she was somewhat surprised to see that the woman's expression had darkened a little.

"To clarify," she said, pretending to not care about Fynn's words. "The location we are visiting will not hold much real danger for any of us. But, as there are certain groups that currently hold malicious interests for me, there is always a risk in embarking on these excursions. That is part of the reason why I have need of all of you. I believe this is something I already explained to Shin and Allyssa."

"Yeah, Kat told us about the people who attacked you two before," Allyssa said.

"Attacked?" Evelyne's head spun to look at the young Shielder. "Are you talking about the time she left with that Shielder for some random trip two weeks ago?" She turned back to Scarlett. "You told me they were bandits."

Scarlett paused. She had said that. This was probably a conversation she should have waited to have later.

"It is not unprecedented for bandits to have ulterior motives," she said after a moment.

Evelyne frowned. "That's not what's important here. Doesn't this mean there's actually someone who's trying to kill you?!"

"Evelyne." Scarlett held a slightly steely tone as she spoke now. This wasn't the best place to get into another argument just because she was bad at hiding these things. "I have the situation under control. It is not something you need concern yourself with."

"You're saying that a lot lately."

"Because it is the truth. If you wish to further discuss this we can do so at a later time."

"When is that?" Evelyne asked. "You're not returning until right before the Proclamation, are you? You want to discuss it when we're busy preparing for that?"

"Then we can discuss it after the event," Scarlett said.

"Right. After you've risked your life to go on your little trip." Evelyne looked her in the eyes. "Do you even know what would happen to the house if you were to just die?"

Scarlett didn't, actually. She had assumed it just meant Evelyne would be the new baroness. But maybe it wasn't that easy. "I will not die. The purpose of this 'trip' is precisely to preclude such a possibility in the future."

They both stared at each other for a good ten seconds. Then, finally, Evelyne stood up from the table. "Fine. Do what you want. I'll stay here and do all the work you pushed onto me, as usual."

She turned to Rosa and Allyssa. "It was a pleasure meeting and talking with you. I hope we have the chance to speak more in the future. I ask that you take care of my sister while you're out there." With that, she walked off and left the room.

Scarlett watched the door Evelyne had exited through. That didn't exactly go well. To think they'd had a productive conversation just the day before. Glancing at the others, who had all been quiet during the whole exchange, she saw that Allyssa looked a bit awkward about the whole thing, while Fynn and Shin looked like they didn't care about any of it. Rosa's expression was unreadable.

"Perhaps we should discuss today's matters," Scarlett said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Later that day, Scarlett and the others sat in a carriage as it began the journey to leave Elystead. This carriage was a little bit bigger than the one Scarlett had used before—apparently it was the one they kept in the capital, so if Scarlett counted right the Hartford family had three or so of them around—but it wasn't as adorned or comfortable as the other two Scarlett had used. She wasn't going to complain, but it was slightly distracting that the carriage rattled as much as it did when it moved. She hadn't considered it much before, but there probably was some kind of enchantment on the other carriages she'd been in.

Next time she might use the fancier carriage for a trip like this, though that probably meant it'd need a few days of cleaning and maintenance before she could use it again. It had been pretty dirty when she originally returned from Whistlecreek.

The district in the capital where their mansion was located was called Eastgate and was, unsurprisingly, located in the eastern part of the city. Oddly enough though, there wasn't actually a real gate anywhere in the district as far as Scarlett was aware. Elystead, unlike many of the other cities in the Graenal Empire, wasn't a city that was surrounded by walls. She was far from the best when it came to the history of this world, but from what she knew the main reason behind many of the empire's cities being walled wasn't to ward off sieges and the like, but rather to keep away monsters. She didn't know how large of a problem it actually was—there were without a doubt dangerous monsters in the wild, which you encountered all the time in the game—but it wasn't as if the world outside the cities was a hostile wasteland. There were plenty of smaller towns and villages, like Whistlecreek, where people lived mostly peaceful lives without such defensive measures. Maybe monsters were attracted more to places where a large number of people were gathered, or maybe things like that were more an issue of the past and things had changed since then. Scarlett didn't know. What she did know was simply that Elystead, at least, never had to bother with those things because it—along with the immediate area surrounding the city—naturally repelled the majority of monsters. You had to get a decent distance away from the city before you would even start running into any of them.

Officially, this was due to the city being blessed by Ittar back when the empire was founded. Unofficially, Scarlett knew that it wasn't quite that simple.

Although the Eastgate district was far from as active as the other parts of the city, being mostly where only the more affluent members of society lived and all that, there was still a decent amount of activity on the roads this morning as their carriage moved closer to the borders of the city. Anywhere they passed there were large lights set up along the roads and some of the buildings. Different symbols representing the sun also decorated many houses, and every now and then she saw adults and children walking around with paper lamps on tall sticks in their hands. The Light Fest had officially started, and things were in full movement for the celebration.

Scarlett didn't really mind missing the first two days of the event due to this trip. She had never been much of a fan of festivals. But it had occurred to her that some of the others might not feel the same way about it. Although, looking at them where they sat next to her in the carriage cabin, they didn't seem to care too much about it. Rosa was playing a soft tune on her hurdy-gurdy as Fynn and Allyssa listened on, while Shin was immersed in a book that was almost as thick as Scarlett's forearm.

That was good. She was still pretty new to this whole 'boss' business, so it'd be kinda sad if she had already ruined the morale of those working under her.

She looked back out the window, casually taking in the sights passing by. This trip didn't worry her too much, though she did understand that Evelyne would be worried after learning there were actually people who were going after Scarlett. Or, well, she didn't quite understand it, apparently. She'd been under the impression that Evelyne would have preferred if she died so that she herself could inherit the barony and do something good with it. But assuming it wasn't that simple—judging from Evelyne's words—she wasn't certain what to think. It could be that Evelyne actually cared for her somehow—there were some signs that suggested that could be true—but it could also just be that there were some complications if a house head were to just die in this world. In the game you didn't deal with Scarlett until after you'd gotten definitive proof of her crimes, after all.

Nonetheless, Evelyne clearly didn't want her to just drop dead on a random trip like this. But Scarlett felt pretty safe with the current set-up she had going. As senior C-ranked Shielders, Allyssa and Shin were guaranteed to be decently strong fighters. In game terms, they would at least be somewhere in their late thirties when it came to levels. Rosa started at a slightly lower level when you first encountered her in the game, but she was also a support character so it didn't matter as much. Fynn started at level forty, and he was a powerhouse.

So while her group level-wise probably wasn't much stronger than the usual Cabal assassination groups that were sent after the player in the game, she was pretty sure they were more than strong enough in reality. And unlike last time when they'd been surprised by an ambush, any future attack was almost guaranteed to be noticed by Fynn well in advance. He was an expert at things like that. As such, unless the Hallowed Cabal decided to send someone actually strong against her—which she highly doubted, considering how low of a priority she should be, with them sending only a basic assassination group after her last time, and how busy their higher-ranked members were—she should be safe on that front. Besides, she wasn't actually expecting another attack from the Cabal for a while. In the game they didn't even come once a month.

No, what she feared the most right now wasn't the Cabal. Rather, it was the uncertainty of the situation with the Elystead Tower.

They probably wouldn't do anything to her, if she were to just judge from the interactions she'd had with the tower in the game. But there was always a possibility that they would. And she wasn't quite sure how to act if they did.

If they sent someone truly strong, like Rowley himself, then there literally wasn't anything she could do to stop him. There were no easy-to-get items that would miraculously help here, and she didn't know any people in the capital that were both strong enough to protect her and trustworthy enough that she could use her information to pay them. The Guild was an option, but they were occupied with their own business at the moment. The Followers of Ittar weren't all bad either, but getting involved with them this early would leave her tied to them on a level she didn't want.

She could try and turn to the Ustrum Assembly. They were the closest thing the Elystead Tower had to a competitor here in the capital. But they were also a lot more greedy than the tower, so making a deal with them to ensure her safety would essentially guarantee her getting entirely beholden to them. The Rising Isle was better in that regard, and they were definitely a powerful faction even in the Empire, but they didn't actually have a base in Elystead. She only knew that members visited sometimes, but that wasn't often.

In the end, she would just have to hope that if the Elystead Tower did try something, they wouldn't do it immediately. If she got a few days to visit both this dungeon, and maybe one more after the Elysian Proclamation, then she would at least be somewhat ready to deal with any potential attacks. Though she would still have to figure out an alternative to how she would get in contact with The Gentleman.

They were a bit shadier than she would have preferred, but she did have a couple of options in mind.

Of course, she couldn't forget the Proclamation itself, as the important event that it was. She was still woefully uninformed on what it actually entailed. And she was guaranteed to meet a lot of nobles that knew the old Scarlett there.

All in all, she had a lot of things to think about right now. In that way, this trip felt almost like a vacation to her. If you overlooked all of the risks related to it.

God. Things really would have been much easier if she had just transmigrated to this world as your ordinary adventurer. Then she could just have spent all of her time going from dungeon to dungeon at her own pace, not having to bother with all of this crap that got more complicated the more time that passed. But unfortunately, that fate just wasn't in her cards.

Well. For now, at least, she'd put all of the annoying matters at the back of her mind and focus on the dungeon they were visiting. Scarlett had been kinda excited about seeing it for a while now.

Chapter 43 - Fairy tale forest

The trip north of Elystead turned out to be rather uneventful in the end, with Scarlett and the others making it to the small town of Temisbrook just a short while before the sun had started setting. There, Scarlett had found an inn where there was enough space for both the horse and the carriage before she led the group to the outskirts of the town. Temisbrook was situated right at the border of Temisbrook Woods, which was an old—almost ancient—forest with massive trees reaching well over fifty meters in height, and Scarlett doubted even a bear would've been able to wrap their arms around their trunks. Many of the trees also had an odd, hardened texture to them; the bark on them almost a pale grey color similar to that of stone.

Though the forest wasn't particularly large, it was dense. There wasn't much foliage growing between the trees, but you still couldn't see much further than a dozen or so meters into it. And with it growing darker every minute, the visibility was quickly dropping.

"It's been a while since I was here," Rosa commented as they left Tremisbrook behind and closed in on the forest.

"You have been here before?" Scarlett asked, looking at the musician.

"On occasion." Rosa held the hurdy-gurdy she was carrying in front of her for a moment, miming herself playing it. "Even the people in small towns like this need opportunities to relax once in a while. Who am I to deny them those chances?" She grinned. "Besides, there aren't many places quite as unique as this," she added, looking ahead at the trees.

"Why are they like that?" Fynn asked, visibly sniffing the air as he stared at the trees. "They look wrong."

"People say that it's because they've been turned into stone by the fairies inhabiting the forest, to prevent them from withering away," Shin said. "They're not actually stone, but there is said to be some credence to the view that the cause is fairies."

"Huh," Allyssa let out, tightening the bandolier around her chest and pulling her goggles out from beneath the cloak she was wearing. She pushed back some of her blonde locks as she put the leather goggles on the top of her head. "Are there really fairies here?"

"Oh, there are," Rosa answered. "I would avoid angering them if I were you."

"And how do I do that?"

"Excellent question!" Rosa looked toward Scarlett. "I'm guessing the boss-lady has some good ideas? The fairies usually don't like it when people traipse too far into their home."

Scarlett glanced back at her. "You speak as if you have experience on the matter."

"Let's just say that a younger—and oh so cute—version of me thought it would be a great idea to make some fairy pals." The woman grimaced. "And let's just say that younger me learned a few lessons about being careful with who you try and make friends with."

"...I see." Scarlett had heard many odd stories from the Rosa from 'Chronicle of Realms', but somehow she was still surprised by the woman. She definitely hadn't heard this one before, at least.

"Lesson number one: if the first thing a prospective friend does is try and stick you to the top of a tree, it might not be the best idea to try and befriend them with songs."

Allyssa blinked at the woman. "You actually did that?"

Rosa shrugged her shoulders with a smile. "I thought they'd be a captivating audience. And I wasn't wrong there. I just misjudged things a little."

Allyssa turned her head to Scarlett. "Are we going to have to fight with fairies? I haven't done that before, so I'm not sure what they're like."

Scarlett nodded her head. "It is likely that our mission will require you combating some fairies, yes. However, while I do not doubt your capabilities on the matter, I do not intend to waste time attempting to deal with this forest's inhabitants." In the game the fairies living in this forest were free XP, but here, they would just be an annoyance. She was already expecting it to take extra time just to find the place she was looking for, and she didn't want to add to that any more than necessary. "I already have taken measures to ensure they do not bother us, so there is nothing to worry about."

"Oh? And what are these 'measures'?" Rosa asked.

Scarlett stopped—only a couple dozen meters away from the forest now—and put her hand into the [Pouch of Holding] that hung at her waist. When she pulled her hand out she immediately saw Fynn's expression change into a scowl. She held her palm up to reveal a bronze bell with slits on its sides. She shook it around some and a strong smell wafted through the air.

"What is that?" Allyssa asked.

"Rosemary," Shin answered, looking closely at the bell.

Scarlett turned to him. "That is correct. It is a smell that will repel most fairies in this forest as long as we do not do something to further agitate them." She had made sure to have these prepared before she left for the capital, having contacted a store in Freybrook that had been able to get them made with surprising speed. And pretty inexpensively, at that. These would be enough to get through the forest without having to fight anything.

She handed the bell to Allyssa, who held it up to her nose to smell it. Scarlett then took out another three bells and gave them to the others—Fynn didn't seem to like the smell too much for some reason, but still accepted the bell—before taking out one more that she kept for herself. She had ten of these with her in total, just in case. She then took out a couple of lanterns, which she also handed out to the others, before she then entered the forest itself.

The first few minutes of moving between the large trees were slow, but there was nothing of note that happened. Occasionally, the light from the lanterns would pass over a branch or a small animal that looked like something else in the darkness, but that was all. After some more time passed, however, Fynn suddenly stopped.

"There's something following us," he said, looking off towards the side.

Allyssa turned the face of the lantern she was holding in that direction, but nothing showed in the light.

"It's hiding further away," Fynn said and took a step in that direction. Scarlett held up a hand to stop him.

"Ignore it. It will not come closer."

He looked at her, his tousled white hair blocking his eyes partly. After sniffing the air loudly a couple of times—he really didn't know the meaning of subterfuge—he blinked. "You're right."

He glanced down at the bell held in his hand.

"More of them are likely to emerge. Only inform us if it appears as if they are coming too close," Scarlett said. Then she pointed ahead in the direction they'd been walking and the others started moving forward again. They continued like that for at least thirty minutes, with Fynn not saying anything in that time, before they started seeing changes in their surroundings. The trees were starting to gradually become smaller the further they moved, and some of them almost looked like they had a slight purple sheen around them. After observing this change for some time, Scarlett eventually held her hand up and stopped the group where they stood.

Allyssa walked up to one of the trees and leaned closer to the bark, inspecting the strange phenomena.

"There are over a dozen of them now," Fynn suddenly cut in. "They're coming closer."

"How do you know?" Allyssa asked, turning to him.

"They smell odd. Like the trees, but moving."

The girl stared at him. "...Okay."

Scarlett took out a new batch of bells and handed them out amongst the group. According to Fynn the beings closing in on them almost immediately moved further away.

Then she brought out a bouquet of ordinary flowers she'd arranged—they'd started to wither a bit from being in the pouch for a few days, but they'd still work as far as she was aware—and held them up in the air in front of her. It barely required any effort on her part to light them up with her pyrokinesis, after which she closely observed the flames. The smoke wafting off the flowers almost seemed to clump together as it rolled in a certain direction, deeper into the forest.

Rosa leaned close to the burning flowers, eyeing the strange smoke. "Now that's an odd sight."

Scarlett simply pointed in the direction the smoke moved. "We are nearing our goal," she said and started walking again. When the flowers were almost gone she simply took out another bouquet and repeated the process, continuing like that for a while until they finally reached a small clearing that was lit up by the moon that was now hanging high in the night sky. Flowers of all colors blanketed the clearing and at the center of it was a small lake of clear blue water. It was completely tranquil, not a ripple on its surface, to the point where the moon's reflection on it almost looked like the real deal.

Rosa let out a low whistle at the view, and the rest of the group seemed similarly impressed.

"Is this what we were looking for?" Shin asked, his eyes scanning the clearing and their surroundings.

"It is the entrance," Scarlett answered.

"Entrance? What entrance?" Allyssa had bent over to examine a flower that had petals that were a mix of blue and yellow but now looked up at Scarlett with a knitted forehead. "Don't tell me it's the lake."

Scarlett walked over to the center of the clearing, stopping at the lake's edge. "It is not," she said and bent down to put her hand into the water. For a moment she tried controlling it with her hydrokinesis, but nothing happened. She'd suspected that wouldn't work.

Rosa walked up beside her and also leaned down, collecting some of the water in her palms and bringing it up to her mouth.

"Oh, that's good," she said with a smile. "Not often you find water this refreshing."

Scarlett arched an eyebrow. She would have been careful with drinking water she didn't know the quality of beforehand, but apparently health concerns like that weren't on the woman's mind.

Shaking her head, Scarlett stood up and turned to the others. "From here on, things will become dangerous. If you have any further preparations to complete, then do so now."

At those words, Shin unclasped the polished metal shield he'd worn on his back and took a firm handle on his strange-shaped sword that was clasped to his side. He wore a set of grey armor along with a pale-blue short cloak that wrapped over one of his shoulders.

Beside him, Allyssa took out a small hand crossbow from beneath her own cloak and opened the cork to one of the bottles that hung on her bandolier. Bringing out a number of bolts from a pouch on her waist, the girl then proceeded to dip the tips of the projectiles into the bottle before attaching them to a small space on the side of her crossbow. Last of all, she pulled down the goggles on her head and gave a nod.

Compared to those two, Fynn just remained as he was, briefly glancing at the ring on his finger. He mainly fought with his fists and Scarlett knew that worked for him. But she would have to get him some real equipment that would work for him later on.

She glanced over at Rosa. The woman was simply looking over her instrument, not appearing particularly worried.

"I take it you are all ready then," Scarlett eventually said and turned around to look at the lake itself again. "Then we will begin."

She took out a coin made out of gold from a small pocket on her pants. It had a relief of the sun on one side, and of a man with a spiked crown on the other. This was a coin worth one hundred solars. She would have preferred to keep it, but this was the only way she knew of to do this.

Turning her eyes toward the reflection of the moon that was at the center of the lake, she paused for a moment. She frowned. This part might actually be a bit too hard for her.

She looked back at the others. "Come here, Fynn."

The young man walked up to her with a slightly perplexed expression, which turn into pure confusion when she handed the golden coin to him. "Throw this into the lake, where the moon is reflected."

He looked up at her, blinking. "But this is worth a lot."

"That may be so, but this is the only way." She pointed out into the water. "Throw it."

He hesitated for a second, glancing down at the coin, before taking a step forward. Moving his arm back behind his head, he then brought it forward in one smooth movement and released the coin in flight towards the lake's center. It struck the moon's reflection and immediately disappeared beneath the surface, leaving small ripples that spread out around it.

It was quiet for a short while.

Then a loud sound like a hundred disharmonized lutes spread out across the clearing. The water closest to them solidified as it formed into stairs that descended into a bright space where nothing could be seen. Scarlett temporarily looked back at the others, who all looked a bit surprised, then took the first step onto the water. Her foot didn't sink through it. She gestured for the others to follow, then she climbed down.

Chapter 44 - Is it really a real fairy tale without any fairies?

Scarlett found herself walking up another staircase of water, surrounded by silver light, and a completely different kind of forest presented itself in front of her eyes when she reached the top of those stairs. The leaves on the trees here were a deep violet, fluttering in strange patterns along with some unseen wind. Fluorescent lines carved themselves into the trunks of the trees, continuing down into the ground, where dozens upon dozens of them met up into a complex weave of veins that seemed to encompass the entire forest floor.

That wasn't the only odd thing about this place. The sky was almost completely pitch black, with no stars at all visible in it. The only thing visible there was the full moon. Yet something about this one was off, even though she couldn't quite put her thumb on what. She knew it was a sort of replica of the moon she had just seen, which had also reached its full phase. The game had been relatively simplistic with its calendar after all, and the moon phase followed that by having a full moon at the end and start of every month. That was also part of the reason she had wanted to visit this dungeon first, although it most certainly wasn't the only reason.

She looked back. Behind her was a lake much like the one she had just descended into, surrounded by several strange flowers and plants. Yet, unlike the other lake, this one was situated right next to a cliff wall that stretched high into the air. Water cascaded down one part of the cliff in a waterfall that ended in the lake, but there was almost no sound coming from it. In fact, this entire place was eerily quiet.

Scarlett heard a light gasp from beside her and turned her head to see Allyssa looking around with a marveled expression.

"This is amazing," the young Shielder said with wide eyes.

Scarlett was inclined to agree. It had been a pretty impressive sight in the game as well, but it was completely different witnessing it directly like this. She almost wished she had a camera to catch the view with.

"It'd be nice to have a drawing of this place," Rosa commented, having come through right after Allyssa.

Scarlett looked at the woman. They were both thinking on the same track here, it seemed.

Rosa smiled at her. "If you're thinking I should do it, then I'll have to disappoint. I'm afraid this is a bit out of my wheelhouse." She curled one of her brown locks around her finger. "Tried out painting, once, but decided not to. Didn't want all the famous painters to feel threatened, you see."

"You certainly acted knowledgable enough on the subject yesterday," Scarlett said.

Rosa put her left foot back and her hand forward in a very exaggerated bow. "You're very generous. Thank you."

Scarlett skipped pointing out that it wasn't really a compliment, instead looking towards the others. Shin and Fynn both seemed busy examining their current surroundings, presumably for any threats. Fynn had a perplexed expression on his face for some reason, though.

"Is there something unusual?" Scarlett asked him.

He paused and shifted to look at her. "I don't know. This place feels weird. The smells aren't like they should be, and things sound weird."

Now that he mentioned it, there was something off about the sound here. Other than that things were just too quiet. There was almost a bit of an off-pitch echo to their words. Only barely noticeable, unless you focused on it. It reminded Scarlett of some of those modulation filters that you could play around with on some phone apps.

"I believe that is simply an inherent aspect of this place," she said after a while. "It might take time to accustom yourself to it, but I do not think it is something you have to be alarmed about."

He seemed to accept that, as he went back to observing their surroundings.

"Where are we even?" Allyssa asked, inspecting a tall flower that had a mix of red and green colored petals and almost reached her waist. She almost looked comical now that she leaned over it with her goggles down.

"We are still in Temisbrook Woods. To be precise, we are in an interstitial space between our world and the Wandering Realm, known as Temisbrook Glade," Scarlett explained.

In 'Chronicle of Realms', the game world wasn't confined to only one realm. The majority of the game took place in the Material Realm, where the Graenal Empire was. The Blazes—which was divided into six circles, each ruled by a Vile—was another example of a realm, and where the demons originated. And the Wandering Realm was where many of the fairies, spirits and other fey creatures made their home. From a description she'd read in the game, Scarlett knew that the name came from the fact that people sometimes found themselves transported there by mistake because many of the entrances could change positions. As such, it came to be that many believed that the realm itself wandered from place to place, though from what she understood that wasn't the case.

"What's an interstitial space?" Allyssa wondered.

"It's an area that connects two different realms, taking characteristics from both and acting as a corridor between them," Shin said. "At least that's what I've read. But this place doesn't look like any kind of corridor to me. It almost looks like its own realm."

Scarlett looked at him with slight surprise. Almost a walking compendium, that one.

"Though it is not incorrect to say that it connects different realms, describing it as a corridor is not always entirely accurate," she said. The majority of the examples she could think of from the game didn't really fit that description, in fact. While it was possible to move between realms through some of the interstitial spaces, their practical application in the game had often been more as their own dimensional spaces, mostly cut off from the outside world.

"Nor are they restricted to only connect two realms," she added.

Her words seemed to interest Shin. "They aren't? The only mentions I've seen of it said that that's how they occur."

Scarlett shook her head. "There are most definitely ones that connect more than one realm." The Forgotten Tower was the first example that came to her mind.

"While I'd hate to interrupt this conversation about realms and what-not, I think our little warning bell has found something." Rosa pointed toward Fynn, who was staring at one specific point in the forest ahead of them, a serious expression on his face.

Allyssa moved up beside him and peered into the enchanted forest. "Is there anything there?" she asked, squinting her eyes.

He was quiet for a moment, before speaking. "I don't know. It feels weird. Like something is staring at us." He furrowed his brows. "But I can't sense it."

Scarlett turned to where they were looking as well, but she couldn't see anything. "The rosemary will no longer have an effect here," she said slowly. "I suggest you all prepare to demonstrate your abilities."

Shin immediately stepped closer to the forest to stand in front of the rest. Rosa clasped her hurdy-gurdy with both hands, while Allyssa pointed her crossbow forward. Fynn stayed where he was.

Scarlett herself took a step back to give the others space. She was intending to let them take care of things themselves, both to let them get a grasp of things and to get an idea herself of what they were capable of.

That didn't stop her from touching at the belt on her waist to double-check that the [Wand of Fireball] was easily reachable if needed, though.

They stood like that for a while, breathing quietly as they waited. Then, something came flying from among the trees. It stopped at the edge of the clearing they were in, hovering in the air with small wings that fluttered behind it like that of a colibri. Its shape was vaguely humanoid but much smaller, with bent legs and a big rounded head that had black circular eyes whose size was proportionally far too large. In addition to that, its mouth was filled with rows of sharp teeth, with its feet and hands having several claws on them.

"What...is that?" Allyssa blurted out in surprise.

"A fairy," Scarlett answered.

"That's a fairy?!"

"That's one memorable fairy," Rosa mused. "The ones I've seen were a lot cuter."

"I heard the appearance of fairies varies a lot," Shin said from the front, still keeping his eyes on the small figure.

"Yes. This particular one is a Restless Blot-Sprite," Scarlett explained, watching the odd little creature. Its appearance was decidedly ferocious, even though all it was seemingly doing right now was observing them.

"Isn't it going to do anything?" Allyssa asked, and just as she did, it darted off deeper into the forest, quickly disappearing between the trees.

Scarlett's eyes stayed on the path it had flown off on. "I believe it has."

"You think our little pal is getting his friends?" Rosa asked.

Suddenly Fynn let out a low growl and took a step forward, bending forward with his hands in front of him like he was ready to slash something down with them.

No one had to ask the reason as a high, almost buzzing, noise emerged from the forest barely a moment later, the strength of the sound only amplified further by the odd after-effect of this place. Soon, a wave of the small grey creatures came flying towards them at high speed. The ones at the front showed their teeth as they let out small screeches that echoed out around their group.

"That's a lot of friends," Allyssa mumbled just as both Shin and Fynn jumped ahead to meet the oncoming mass of critters. Several crashed into Shin's shield or were caught in a wide slash from his long sword, but there were so many of them that it barely dented their numbers. Fynn caught a surprising number of the creatures when he slashed out with his hands, a strong wind trailing behind his limbs and knocking monsters to the ground, but still more flew past the two and towards the rest of the group.

Allyssa seemed to immediately make a judgement and put away her crossbow, taking out a knife strapped to her leg and holding it in her right hand while she pulled out an opaque bottle into her other. Deftly opening the bottle with her thumb, the Shielder threw out its contents in the air in front of her, which spread into a thick brown mist that many of the fairies flew through. Those that did were suddenly coated in it, the substance clinging to their skin and solidifying almost instantly. A large number fell to the ground like small statues, Allyssa slashing out with her dagger at those that didn't.

While this move felled much more than Fynn's and Shin's original attacks, there were still enough of the creatures that a few made it past. And instead of joining their fellows in responding to Allyssa's attack, they made for Rosa and Scarlett who stood further away.

Scarlett was ready to surround herself with a wall of fire if they were to reach her, but Rosa acted before she had to. The bard spun the crank on her instrument, rolling her shoulder with the soft movement, and a strong tune rang out from it. The fairies suddenly stopped right in their tracks, some of them looking around in a state of confusion. Yet another note resounded from Rosa's instrument, much smoother this time, and Scarlett felt a wellspring of energy rise up from inside her following it. It almost felt like she'd overdosed on caffeine.

Suddenly, virtually from nowhere, Fynn jumped in from the side almost quicker than Scarlett could see—she noticed that Shin seemed to have taken on the fairies at the front by himself now—and slashed out at the fairies that were dazed by Rosa's music. Clumped together as they were, and in their current state, it was enough to knock over half of them to the ground all at once. The remaining ones were struck down by him only a moment later, then he immediately proceeded to jump forward to strike at the ones that were swarming around Allyssa now.

Scarlett observed as the battle continued, but there wasn't much left to see. Rosa's attack had affected enough of the little creatures that it was almost child's play for the other three to deal with the remaining ones, and after barely a minute, dozens upon dozens of the fairies' bodies littered the grass around them. Perhaps it would have been considered a horrid image under normal circumstances, but oddly enough there was no blood coming from the creatures. To Scarlett, it almost looked just like a large gathering of dolls—albeit fierce-looking ones—had been tossed around on the ground.

Shin's head moved around a few times—scanning their surroundings for any more dangers, most likely—before he started moving towards Rosa and Scarlett, stepping over some of the dead creatures. Both Allyssa and Fynn also approached them, both having some small cuts across their faces, but nothing major. With her [Charms of Apperception] Scarlett could see their magical defenses—surrounding them like a faint sheen to her eyes—and they looked decent enough to her untrained eyes.

"You were right," Allyssa said to Rosa as she put away her knife in the sheath attached to her leg and closed the bottle she'd used in the fight. She then moved her arms back and forth, jumping up and down a couple of times as well. "This really is useful. I almost feel like I could outrun a cockatrice right now."

"First time I've heard that analogy," Rosa said with a smile. "But it's certainly something I'd like to see someday."

Fynn opened and closed his hands in front of him. "I didn't expect it to feel like this."

"Like what? Amazing?" Rosa cranked her instrument once more and a short, mellow tone echoed from it. Scarlett saw how the cuts on the others suddenly disappeared as a soft purple light enveloped them. "Amazing-ness is my middle name. Right after charming."

"You weren't exaggerating it, at least," Shin said when he reached them. He swung his sword up and down with what looked like relative ease. "This will be useful in fights."

Scarlett's eyes passed over all of them. It seemed like they'd already had some kind of discussion regarding their abilities sometime when she wasn't around. That was good. Although maybe something she herself should have double-checked that they do.

"Well, what now?" Rosa asked and turned to her. "We traipsing into the forest, singing songs as we go on our little adventure?"

Scarlett let out a little air through her nose at that. "In essence, yes." She nodded her head. "However, the singing will not be necessary." She looked down at the fairies on the ground. "You dealt with this in a satisfactory manner, so I do not predict any issues with the current plan. As such, I will lend you my aid in dealing with any further groups of these creatures."

That would help things move on a little faster. Her skill set was a particularly good counter against these monsters. She pointed towards the forest ahead of them. "Then, let us continue."

Chapter 45 - Battle worms

It wasn't long after they'd entered the enchanted forest that the next swarm of [Restless Blot-Sprites] appeared, but despite being numerous they were all quite squishy. A wall of intense fire in their path—surrounded on both sides by smaller walls of water to lessen the risk of the nearby trees catching fire—was enough to char almost every single one of the little creatures to death.

Everybody except Rosa stared at her with surprise after witnessing it.

"You're a mage?!" Allyssa exclaimed.

"Nominally? No. However, I can replicate some of their feats," Scarlett said as she scrunched her nose at the smell that wafted into it. Ok, it might be an effective method, but it certainly had its downsides. "I would have thought you to already be aware of this."

"Kat never mentioned it," Shin said. "She just said you could be crafty sometimes."

Scarlett arched an eyebrow at him. Crafty? She felt like Kat had some weird priorities over what and what not to share here. "Anyhow, now you are aware. I am quite limited in my abilities, however, and will still require your protection, so do not grow complacent."

Allyssa gave a sure nod. "We won't. You can trust us."

"Good," Scarlett said.

Allyssa gestured to the defeated creatures. "Are we just going to leave things as they are?" She looked around at some of the plants around them. "I'm not sure about these fairies, but some of these plants look really interesting. It might be worth bringing some of them with us."

Scarlett shook her head. "Leave it be for now. We cannot carry it all with us, and my pouch is limited in its capacity. We will handle any gathering as we make our return."

"Ok. If you say so," Allyssa said, though there did seem to be some reluctance in the young woman's voice as she looked at an oddly-shaped plant.

As they began to delve deeper into the forest they continued to be accosted by swarms of [Restless Blot-Sprites] every ten minutes or so—the critters were certainly annoying, the way they didn't seem to care for their own self-preservation—but they weren't a real issue with Scarlett handling them quickly each time.

Nonetheless, annoying was annoying.

After about an hour of walking deeper and deeper into the magical woods, Scarlett was beginning to wonder how much they had left. She knew that, in this dungeon, simply continuing in the same direction would bring you to the same place no matter which path you chose. She just didn't know how long that would take. And while the sights around them were breathtaking, with the glowing lines etched into the trees and the forest bed, the diverse flora, and the beautiful leaves hanging above them, you did get used to the sight after a while. There were only so many times she could see the same color-shifting flower before it wasn't as special anymore.

Honestly, she was a bit let down by the experience. Perhaps she would have enjoyed it more before she arrived in this world. Or maybe she was just naturally too much of a cynic when it came to these things. She preferred it in small doses.

Finally, just as she was starting to worry if the structure of this place had changed from the game, she spotted something other than the now-familiar trees ahead of them.

It was a large clearing. A tranquil lake sat at the center of it, with a small island situated in the middle of the lake. On the island was what looked like a classical park pavilion, made of old white marble, and overrun with vines and plants that clung to its pillars. Though it was hard to tell from here, there seemed to be some kind of blue light originating from the center of that pavilion.

The others also appeared to take note of this as they neared the clearing. Rosa squinted her eyes, looking toward the structure. "Looks like a perfect spot for a short little break."

"It would appear so, yes," Scarlett said.

"Ok. From that, I'm assuming it isn't."

Leaving the underbrush of the forest itself, Scarlett stopped at the edge of the clearing, a dozen or so meters from the lake itself. "A wise assumption."

The others stopped beside her, scanning the area.

Scarlett noticed a slight disturbance on the surface of the lake. There was virtually no wind at all here, so the surface was mostly still. "I would suggest you all prepare yourselves," she said, focusing on the spot she'd seen.

Fynn and Shin took a couple of steps ahead, while Allyssa brandished her hand crossbow. Rosa, as usual, had a small smile on her face as she held her instrument in her arms.

Everybody was quiet for a while, but nothing happened.

"Do you really think something is going to come?" Allyssa asked, looking around. Scarlett also noticed Fynn's head move, as if he was trying to listen for something, but he stayed quiet.

"I do," Scarlett said.

Maybe they had to get closer before it started. Well, she wasn't going to do that. That's only what you did in games, where dying once or twice wasn't a big deal.

She conjured a large ball of fire right above the lake's surface. Steam immediately rose from under it with a loud whoosh as the flames touched the water.

A second passed.

Then something massive emerged from beneath the surface and swallowed the sphere almost too fast for her to even see, before disappearing back into the lake immediately after.

Well, that went better than she had expected. She only meant to catch its attention.

A deep, reverberating noise reached their ears as something that resembled a tail created a large splash in another part of the lake.

"What in Ittar's name is—" Allyssa began.

Her words were interrupted as a geyser of water erupted up from the water as a gigantic, elongated creature flew dozens of meters into the air. A high-pitched screeching followed its wake, almost forcing Scarlett to cover her ears to avoid pain. The creature's skin was a deep beige—almost coral—tint with bulbous nubs and thick hairs spread unevenly along it, taking on a purple shade the closer it got to its tail. Its head, now turning away from the sky and to them, was just one massive mouth, with a maw of rough, yellowed teeth that grew irregularly. It opened to reveal a pitch-dark abyss. Above it was a pair of stretched, sunken-in eyes that were nothing but black.

The creature was floating in the sky as if by magic—duh—and reminded Scarlett of an earthworm — if you'd first put it through some kind of Lovecraftian nightmare machine.

Rosa let out a low whistle. "I'll admit, I wasn't expecting that. It's been ages since I met someone with teeth that bad."

The high-pitched screeching echoed out from the creature once more, even stronger than before. This time Scarlett covered her ears.

"Alright, enough of that." Rosa cranked her instrument and two melodic notes followed each other. Suddenly, the sound around them quietened down considerably. Scarlett lowered her hands, giving the woman a curious glance. She didn't know Rosa could do something like that.

"Do we have to fight that?" Allyssa asked, staring up at the horrifying monster.

Almost as if in response, the behemoth began its descent straight towards their group. Before anyone had the chance to say anything else, Fynn was off. Running ahead to meet the creature, that now focused its attention on him, Fynn bent down just as its large maw loomed over him. He jumped up right before it reached him and struck it just beneath its mouth.

Amazingly, even though the blow seemed limited in its effect, it was enough to knock the monster slightly off-path. Instead of devouring Fynn, its head slammed into the grass behind him with full force, gouging up a mountain of earth as it burrowed through meters of ground.

The rest of them hastily moved to the side to avoid it. Feeling it would be a waste to miss this opportunity, Scarlett conjured another, larger, sphere of fire of an even higher intensity than before in its path and watched it get devoured with a small smile.

Even more screeching rang out as smoke left its mouth, but the majority of the noise was canceled by Rosa's magic.

Scarlett wasn't the only one taking this chance either, it seemed, as Allyssa aimed her crossbow and shot off a bolt that went straight into one of its eyes, disappearing in the black sclera.

All of them moved further away as it finally reached a halt just before the forest edge and turned towards them. More of Rosa's music sounded out as Scarlett felt a new sense of renewed vigor suffuse her, and once again Fynn came running at the monster, with Shin following.

It roared at Fynn, meeting the young man head-on. This time, however, Fynn's jump brought him on top of the monster's head, where he started bashing down at it with full strength. It started writhing in all directions in response, and soon Fynn was sent flying into the nearby trees.

Shin came running at it, his shield now on his back as he wielded his sword with both hands. A silver light slowly formed around the blade, soon extending out of it like a long lance, and he used the distraction Fynn gave to slash out at a spot right under its mouth, cutting off a decent chunk of meat. The blade disappeared in the process, however, and now the monster's attention turned to Shin. It seemed to have a hard time finding him, though, as it spun its head around several times before lashing out. Scarlett now noticed that its right eye, where Alyssa had fired her bolt earlier, had rapidly taken on a sickly green color.

As Shin managed to jump to the side to dodge the creature's lunge at him, Scarlett raised her hand to create another fire sphere. The monster didn't appear to have any special defenses other than its large size. It moved around too much, however, and her sphere didn't do more than singe the parts of its skin that it briefly touched.

That was enough to catch its attention, though. Soon it ignored Shin who was slashing at its side with his blade and started flying towards Allyssa, Rosa, and her who were all standing near each other.

Rosa immediately responded by playing another short musical piece, whereas the air between them and the creature suddenly started moving as if there was a hot fire under it.

"Move it!" the woman called out as she took Scarlett by the arm and both of them ran to the side, with Allyssa running the other way. The worm monster didn't seem to even notice their movement as its maw tore straight through the place where they'd been and tossed up a cloud of dirt around it. Scarlett saw another opportunity as it was about to turn around and created four Aqua Mines—among the largest ones she'd ever created—and detonated them close to its still working eye. Sweat running down her temple, she saw how one of them struck its eye and caused it to let out another bout of high-pitched screeches.

It started throwing its body around randomly in search of them, like a worm trying to escape on land, when both Shin and Fynn suddenly came running up. Fynn jumped at it once again, landing on its head and only barely hanging on with his whole body. Then Shin threw his sword—with accuracy that amazed Scarlett—and Fynn caught it by its blade and slammed it straight into the monster's head.

Another screech from it was followed by the monster flying up into the sky with Fynn on it. He wasn't about to let it go though, as Scarlett observed him continuously slamming his fist into it over and over again next to where the sword was. Eventually, it was too far up for her to see what happened, but suddenly she felt the air around them move as the creature let out one more scream, louder than all the others, before stilling in the air and starting to fall towards the lake.

She saw Fynn grab the sword from its head in its descent and jump off—from what would probably be considered a four-story building's height—and land at the border of the lake without any issue.

Water flew in all directions as the monster's dead body landed in the lake, and Scarlett watched on as the giant carcass slowly sunk beneath the water.

"I feel like I have to take a bath," Allyssa grumbled, wearing a grimace as she smelled her cloak. There was what appeared to be some kind of mucus or slime covering part of it. Luckily Scarlett hadn't gotten any of that on her.

Shin walked up to Allyssa and gave her a once-over before nodding his head in agreement. "You do. Maybe two."

She glared at him.

"What now?" Rosa asked, moving up beside Scarlett. "We having a picnic?" She gestured toward the pavilion on the island at the center of the lake.

"Of a sort," Scarlett said, trekking closer to the lake where Fynn was staring down into the water with a frown. "Is there something wrong?" she asked.

He turned and looked at her for a few seconds. "I don't know. I can't sense things well here. Everything is off."

He pointed down at the lake. "The fish here aren't acting like they should. Not with a predator this large nearby. Even now they're barely reacting to it."

Scarlett tilted her head. He could even sense the fish moving around in the lake? She didn't know his senses were that good. What she did know was that, for some reason, he usually couldn't sense things well in the Wandering Realm.

She thought about it for a minute. "Perhaps it is because there are in actuality no fish here," she said.

This earned a befuddled look from him.

"An interstitial space borrows properties from the realms it is connected to, but that does not necessarily mean those properties are wholly authentic," she said and looked out over the lake. "I imagine this type of phenomena could be the product of that trait."

Not that she knew the details about how this stuff worked. That was just a guess of hers, judging from some of the descriptions she'd read in the game and what Fynn just said.

She pointed up at the moon that hung in the night sky above them. "Much like the moon, the fish might not be entirely real."

Fynn's eyes widened, his bright yellow irises suddenly starting to shift around as his gaze began moving around fervently. It was as if he was taking in their surroundings and the nature around them for the first time. Then he turned back to the lake and, without saying a word, dove straight into it before Scarlett could even say anything.

"Somebody's excited," Rosa's voice sounded out next to her, the bard grinning as she walked up to the edge of the water. "He found a fish he want to catch?"

Scarlett shook her head. "I am uncertain. However, I wish he would have stayed for a moment longer before leaving."

"I get what you mean," Rosa hummed along. "Used to have a dog myself, when I was younger. Cutest little mongrel you'll ever see. Wouldn't stop running around trying to give people's legs a shagging, though."

Scarlett turned to look at the woman. Did she already have an idea as to what Fynn was? As far as Scarlett knew Rosa shouldn't know about his tribe, so that shouldn't be the case. But it was true that he wasn't exactly the best at acting inconspicuous when it came to his abilities either. Rosa getting some kind of idea from that wouldn't be too surprising.

"So. How we getting over there?" The woman pointed towards the pavilion. "I'm guessing you're not planning for us to swim?"

Scarlett observed her for a moment longer, then turned to look out over the water. "I am not," she said.

The water's surface right in front of them was suddenly broken by a head of white locks. Fynn looked up at them with water dripping down his face, his hair sticking to the skin like seaweed.

"The fish are missing," he said—almost like a question—as he moved to climb back up on land. "The lake is completely empty except for that monster."

"Then we have one mystery solved," Scarlett said and stepped in front of him, halting him from climbing up. "Before you leaped into the water, I intended to present you two tasks." She pointed towards where the monster's body had sunk beneath the surface. "The first is to retrieve the core of that creature."

Fynn stayed afloat by kicking water—it seemed to be rather deep even this close to land—and spun around to look. "It has a core?"

"It does, although I cannot tell you where, as I do not know. It will be your responsibility to locate it by yourself. Can you manage that?"

He looked back at her and nodded. "Yeah, probably. What was the other task?"

She pointed to the island next. "While it is not visible, there should be a bridge connecting to that island. However, it can only be seen from under the water, so I require your aid in finding that as well."

From what she remembered, you could avoid the fight with the worm monster completely in the game if you already knew where that path was. Otherwise you had to find it by jumping into the lake, or just swim the entire way to the island.

Fynn looked towards the island, then the spot where the monster had fallen. Soon he disappeared into the water again without any complaints.

Scarlett was a bit amazed at his response, actually. Or lack of it.

While it did fit with what she knew of him, she herself never could have fathomed diving into a lake like this without any concerns. Not when it was this dark out and she'd just witnessed that it was home to a giant monster.

She shook her head at the fact. Some people were just different.

They ended up waiting for about twenty minutes before he returned, now with messy clothes that were absolutely covered in gore that was only partially washed away by the water. He held up a hand in which he held up a slightly translucent purple gem that glowed.

[Doomscreamer Gaspaw's Core (Epic)]

{The collected energy gathered by the Doomscreamer Gaspaw from its surroundings over a long period of time}

Scarlett received the object without any words and placed it in her pouch of holding as Fynn climbed up on land.

Allyssa grimaced at his appearance. "Did you have to cover yourself in all of its innards?"

He looked down at himself. "None of this is from its innards though? Its core was in its—"

Allyssa held up her hand. "I don't want to know."

Fynn just looked at her for a moment, then shrugged. Then he turned to Scarlett and pointed to a point of the lake further away. "The bridge you mentioned is over there."

Scarlett told him to show the way and their group headed off in that direction. Like the game, the spot he pointed out looked like any other part of the lake. The water was tranquil and reflected the odd moon-replica just like normal water would. And even though there wasn't too much light to lend visibility far beneath the surface, it didn't look like there was anything there. Yet, after carefully lowering her right foot into the water—feeling the liquid seep into her boots wasn't the most comfortable experience—she found solid ground just as it reached her calf. She gingerly took another step without any issue.

Turning to the others, she signaled for them to follow. "It is time for the next event."

Chapter 46 - Dungeon crawling and furniture shopping

Scarlett crossed the invisible underwater bridge over the lake along with the others, reaching the small island at its center. The soft light from the moon suspended high in the starless sky, along with the almost mystical, violet luster that hung over much of the forest and this space, gave the old marble pavilion on the island a mysterious, supernatural vibe.

Fitting, really. It was supernatural, after all. The pale blue light that escaped from the center of the pavilion, like small wisps spoke of that much.

Scarlett walked closer to it, climbing a small set of overgrown stairs to step onto the pavilion's floor, just out of reach of the strands of blue light that floated off from its center. There was a small altar there, upon which stood a simple stone chalice filled with glowing water that the shine flowed out from.

"What is that?" Allyssa asked, moving up next to Scarlett.

Scarlett looked at her. The young Shielder had pulled up her brown leather goggles to get a better look. "If you are curious, you may attempt to touch it."

Allyssa turned to her with surprise. "Is it safe?"

Scarlett nodded. "To my knowledge, yes."

The girl seemed a bit hesitant, but soon took on a determined expression and stepped forward. Before she could get any further, however, Shin grabbed hold of her shoulder and pulled her back.

"Don't go running ahead from just that," he admonished her, before looking at Scarlett with a serious face. "What is it?"

Scarlett looked at him curiously. "Nothing dangerous. It will simply transport her to a separate location."

"Then I'll go first." He hung his sword off his side and raised his shield in the air as he walked past an annoyed Allyssa, advancing on the chalice. Scarlett looked on as he put forward his right hand towards the object, and a moment after he touched it he disappeared in a cloud of blue lights.

She turned to the others. "Who is next?"

Allyssa immediately went forward and mimicked Shin's actions, also disappearing in the same manner. After that was Fynn, with Rosa gesturing for Scarlett to go next.

Scarlett arched a brow at that. "How very generous of you."

Rosa gave her a smirk. "I'd rather be the one to die last, if it turns out to actually just be a person-poofer in disguise."

Scarlett let out a low chuckle. "I believe that is the sort of thought one usually keeps to oneself in this scenario."

The woman gently shrugged her shoulders. "You know what they say. Better an honest truth than an insincere smooch. I happen to be good at both."

Scarlett shook her head. "I am certain that you are," she said, then stepped forward to the chalice and extended her hand. The moment she touched it, she felt an odd pull on her body. For a brief second, her surroundings became a blend of different colors, before reforming into a completely new image around her.

It was a wide stone corridor. Dark carpets ran along the floor, and vines grew along the old walls. Odd pieces of furniture were spread out along the walls haphazardly, in ways that didn't really make much sense. A table stood on its side next to a short bed, for example, with several wooden chairs placed on top of each other almost like a bookcase not far away.

Shin, Allyssa, and Fynn were all here already, looking around at their new surroundings. After a short while, Rosa also appeared from thin air beside Scarlett, the bard's head spinning around as she took in their new environment.

"Well, this place sure is dreary."

Scarlett took another glance around at the place. She wouldn't exactly call it dreary, but it was clear this wasn't exactly the kind of place people lived in.

"What now?" Allyssa asked, turning away from an upside-down nightstand of dark oak. The corridor they were in terminated in a dead-end just a few meters behind them, continuing in the other direction where it gradually turned left.

"We continue on, as we have up till this point," Scarlett said.

Allyssa had already walked a short distance down the corridor, and now stopped next to a small window in the wall next to her.

"Wow..." she mumbled as she looked out through it. Then she suddenly raised her hand and pointed at some point outside. "Isn't that where we just were?"

Scarlett and the others moved closer to peer through the window, where they saw a massive midnight forest stretch out far beneath them. From this point of view, it looked like the leaves on top of the trees were a dark purple, and it all had a much eerier feel to it than down on the ground. In the distance, where Allyssa was pointing, was a lake with a small island at its center. Where they'd just been.

"And that's where we started," Fynn said, pointing to a spot that was much closer to where they were now. Looking down, Scarlett saw the wall of the structure they found themselves in—a tall tower that was at least one hundred meters high at their current point—and a high cliff edge not far from where it met the ground. A river extended out from beside the tower, ending in a waterfall that fell to a lake at the bottom of that cliff. That was indeed where they'd first entered this dungeon.

Allyssa leaned further out the window—Shin's hand going out to stop her from going too far—as she looked down. "Wait, we're this close to where we began? How come we didn't see this place when we first arrived?"

"It might be some kind of illusion covering this place, similar to the bridge we walked over," Shin said behind her.

Scarlett stayed quiet. That could very well be true, but she didn't really know the answer this time.

Turning away from the window, she began walking down the corridor further into this tower. The others caught up with her almost immediately, the air around them turning more serious. The corridor itself was ever-turning, continuing to the left indefinitely. It wasn't noticeable at first, but it also seemed to be at a slight slope, so every step brought them higher up the tower. After they'd walked for some time the furniture they passed by also began increasing in number.

"Ensure that you are aware of your surroundings," Scarlett said as she paid attention to the objects.

"What," Allyssa began. "Are the tables goin—" She didn't manage to say more before a nearby chair suddenly moved and jumped towards her, but Fynn was quick as the wind and leaped in from the side, his hand slashing down and through the chair and splintering it into pieces.

All of them stood still for a moment.

"...Seriously?" Allyssa muttered.

"I believe I did warn you," Scarlett said. The others placed themselves around her, with Shin at the front of the group and Fynn at the back so that they could react quickly if needed. Like that, they continued following the corridor, with the occasional furniture springing to life to attack them, though it wasn't anything they couldn't easily handle.

After they'd been walking for a while, and destroyed dozens upon dozens of pieces of furniture, they finally reached what appeared to be the end of the corridor. A very large set of heavy iron doors stood before them, guarded on both sides by three pairs of armor. The suits of armor were all a deep black and held different weapons. Scarlett signaled for the others to stop before they got too close.

Fynn sniffed the air as Shin appeared to examine the armor carefully.

Allyssa put her hands on her waist. "Let me guess. Those things are going to start moving as soon as we get near, aren't they?"

Scarlett nodded her head. "Astute prediction."

The Shielder let out a sigh. "What's up with all of this moving junk?"

"Animated objects are a well known occurrence when it comes to fairies," Shin said.

"Well, I've never seen any myself before, so I didn't know."

"That's because you never studied."

"Yeah yeah. Whatever." Allyssa turned away from the armor and to Scarlett. "So are these just regular old metal then? If you ignore the fact that they can move."

Scarlett tilted her head to the side. She wasn't completely sure, actually. "I would imagine so, yes. However, their weapons are likely to be artifacts or magical in some manner."

"Alright then." Allyssa gave a slow nod, adjusting her goggles as she turned to the stationary armor. She then pulled her cloak open and shifted the bandolier across her chest so that she could reach the pouches on the side, her fingers passing over a couple of them before grabbing a thin vial that had a thick silvery liquid inside it. It looked a bit like quicksilver.

Shaking the vial for a few seconds, Allyssa then took a step forward and did a quick underhanded toss with it. The vial landed on a spot between the armor, shattering into a hundred pieces as a metallic cloud immediately spread out in thin strands, soon extending to envelop the two closest suits.

Scarlett saw how the dark metal of the armor suddenly started frothing where the gas touched it, and within moments it evaporated into a dark cloud of smoke that rose toward the ceiling. As the argent cloud continued to spread, four of the six suits of armor were reduced to essentially nothing within thirty seconds. The last two had only partially been within reach of the gas, but they still lost a full quarter of their plate, revealing an empty space inside as they fell over on the ground.

The defenders of these doors never even got the chance to start moving before they were defeated.

Somehow, the weapons that the suits had held were completely unaffected, having clinked onto the stone floor as the suits were destroyed. There were two large two-handed swords, a big rectangular shield with an odd wavy pattern to it, a long spear with a silver edge, a black flail covered in spikes, and a pair of thick bracers with curved blades on their end.

Rosa let out an impressed whistle. "That certainly saves us time. Didn't know alchemy could do that."

"Nor did I," Scarlett said quietly, looking up at the roof where the dark clouds had stuck to the stone ceiling. This was much more than she had been expecting from the craft.

In the game, there had been no such class as 'alchemist'. It had always been a profession you did on the side, and its applications in combat had been limited to enhancing your normal stats and adding some extra damage when creating coatings for your weapons.

"It's the Philter of Ire's Decay," Allyssa said as she took out another, thicker, vial with a clear liquid inside it. "It's useful now and then, but takes a lot of time to concoct. And the materials are pretty expensive."

She walked closer to the cloud of silvery gas that was now hanging still in the air in front of the doors. "It also takes ages to disappear, and you don't want to breathe it in," she added, opening the new vial and flicking its contents at the cloud. Where the liquid touched the gas it reacted like boiling water and sputtered before disappearing almost completely. She spent a short while doing that, ensuring all of the gas was gone, before turning back to them. "There we go. All clear."

Fynn walked forward and bent down next to one of the damaged suits of armor, but it didn't move even as he poked its half-open chest plate.

Scarlett also slowly moved forward, stopping next to Allyssa. "Your...concoctions. Where do you procure them?"

"I make them myself."

Scarlett paused. "...Is that so?"

Allyssa's lips curved up, though the smile looked a bit goofy when she was wearing her large goggles. "My mom was an alchemist. She used to work as a researcher at the Elystead Tower before she had me. I started learning from her when I was still a kid."

Scarlett glanced at the remains of the armor. "It appears you are quite skilled at it."

The Shielder showed an awkward smile at that and scratched the back of her head. "I wouldn't go that far, but I'm trying my best."

"She could have easily become accepted by any tower in the empire if she hadn't decided to become a Shielder," Shin cut in from the side. "It's the one thing she actually spends effort on to study."

Allyssa punched him on a part of his arm that was less heavily armed. "Not everyone is as obsessed with books as you."

Scarlett observed the two's interaction for a moment, then spoke. "If you wish, I could look into the prospect of the Hartford barony assisting you in acquiring materials for your alchemy," she said. "In exchange for some of your services."

Allyssa turned to her with wide eyes. "W-What? Are you serious?"

Scarlett nodded. "I am."

"I-I don't know. I don't exactly do commissions and things like that."

Scarlett turned to the weapons lying on the floor next to them. "You do not have to make a decision now. We can discuss it further at a later point, if you are interested. For now, we have other matters to prioritize."

"Oh, ehm. Yeah, of course." Allyssa nodded along thoughtlessly.

Scarlett stepped closer to the spear with the silver edge.

[Spear of Maladies (Rare)]

{Provokes the blood of those it cuts, ensuring a heavy flow}

Her eyes passed over the other items.

[Two-hander of Vim (Rare)]

[Blade of Biting (Rare)]

[Bulwark of Courage (Rare)]

[Fists of Malaise (Rare)]

[Flail of Bloodletting (Rare)]

They were all of a decent enough quality, even though they weren't something she personally had a need for. But they should be worth something at least. Her eyes lingered on the bracers with blades on them. She could ask Fynn if he wanted those later on too, maybe. Though they didn't really look like his style.

"Are we going to take all of these with us?" Allyssa asked, gesturing to the weapons.

"That was my intention, yes," Scarlett said. "For now, however, we can leave them as they are." They wouldn't fit in her [Pouch of Holding], and it'd be a pain to carry them around. But she already had a solution in mind for that. That was another one of the reasons she'd wanted to visit this dungeon in particular.

"Aagh!"

Everybody readied themselves and turned their attention to Rosa, who'd suddenly jumped back from something on the ground. There was the gauntlet of one of the sets, completely still.

They all looked at her, who was staring down at the gauntlet with a weird expression.

"Are you okay?" Allyssa asked. "Did it move?"

Rosa looked up at her, then down at the gauntlet again. "No, it didn't," she said with a light chuckle as she shook her head. "Just hit my foot on it, and my mind was playing tricks making me think it was after my little toesies. I'm fine."

Fynn studied her for a moment. "...Are you sure?"

She smiled. "Of course I am. I'm always fine."

She lightly kicked the gauntlet away so that it knocked into the stone wall, then pointed towards the doors ahead of them. "So, how we getting those open? I've seen buildings that look lighter than that."

Scarlett eyed Rosa for a moment longer before turning to the doors. "Strength will not be necessary here," she said and walked over to them. With one simple touch against their cold metal surface, both doors smoothly began to open themselves. She heard how a couple of the others breathed in at the sight that was revealed.

In front of them was a veritable paradise, completely disparate from the comparatively tight corridors they'd been moving through. There was an expanse of flora here that was even more of a spectacle than the magical forest outside. It was a vast room, with shimmering water covering much of it. Lines of trees—each with vibrant purple lines running across their trunks like the other trees they'd witnessed up till this point—that were so close that they practically grew into each other encircled the entire area, acting almost like a natural wall for the space. And above their heads hung the open night sky, with the same slightly odd moon from earlier looking over it. Yet now, the moon was suspended so low that it felt like it took up almost half of the sky.

At the center of this room was a tree like none of the others. Wooden bridges with lights lining them arched up to the roots, where a wide walkway grew into and encircled the tree. The trunk itself was almost brimming with those glowing lines, and the tree's crown stretched far above the other trees, looking like it could almost reach up to the moon itself.

The bridges that connected to the root of the tree extended out into the room to large circular wooden platforms that floated upon the lake that made up the floor of this room. Strange plants that had long, sprouting lilac leaves jutted out of the water at random intervals close to these platforms, each plant sporting balloon-shaped caps with web-like patterns over them that shone a pale yellow.

Most notable of all, though, were the tiny blue and purple shapes that flittered about the space in disorderly paths all over the place. There were dozens upon dozens of them, every single one leaving a small trail behind them as they flew through the air. Focusing closely, Scarlett could tell that those shapes were humanoid, with small wings behind them. These creatures looked much more like the classical fairy one might envision when hearing the word, compared to those creatures they had encountered before.

She smiled. Here was where the true treasure of this dungeon could be found.

Chapter 47 - Puzzles

"Hmm~" Rosa hummed at the sight before Scarlett and the others. "It might just be me, but I'm starting to suspect space is a bit weird in this place."

"I think you might be right," Allyssa mumbled, looking up at the giant moon above them.

Scarlett saw a small grin on Rosa's face in her peripheral. "I do have that tendency, don't I?"

Fynn pointed to one of the groups of small humanoid figures that flew past only a few meters away. "Are those also fairies?"

"They are," Scarlett said. "However, there is no need to fear these. They should not be as aggressive as their relatives, assuming you do nothing to provoke them."

You could fight all the fairies in here—they weren't particularly strong either—but it wasn't necessary. It also felt unnecessarily cruel, and would probably clash with her current plans.

That hadn't stopped her from doing it in her second playthrough, though.

She stepped through the open doorway onto the first circular platform inside this 'room'. The floor of the platform consisted of bent and wiry roots that were intertwined over each other. An arching wooden bridge extended out from the platform towards another platform just like it. The small yellow lights that protruded along the side of the bridge reminded her a bit of streetlights.

Scanning across the room, with all the different platforms and bridges floating above the water, there appeared to be no clear way of getting to the large tree at the center of the room without swimming. Several of the platforms looked like dead ends, and there were dozens of them. The main tree was also a decent distance away from their current position.

As she examined the room, one of the fairies—this one glistening with an almost magenta color—approached Scarlett curiously. It floated around her, stopping a few times to get a closer look. It was about the size of her head, and when it stopped she could see that—while it wasn't wearing any clothes—the intangible shine that seeped out from its body looked like a flowing dress, starting from its shoulders and drifting down to the knees. The fairy's hair was long and almost translucent, with its skin being a pale blue with tufts of white strands growing here and there. Its face had slightly alien features, with large round eyes that blinked as they watched her like a child would a new toy.

It stayed like that for a while, simply observing her, before it finally seemed to grow bored and fluttered away to join a passing group of fairies.

A few fairies had approached the others too, and Scarlett saw Allyssa move closer to the edge of the platform, slowly spinning around as she took in their surroundings and two fairies that moved near her head. She let out a small chuckle when two more fairies joined in and they all spun around her in an assemblage of colors. "So what is this place?" she asked, looking towards Scarlett.

"It is no different from the rest of the interstitial space," Scarlett answered as she started moving towards the bridge connecting this platform with the next. "It simply happens to be home to another of the species native to the Wandering Realm, one that is not quite as intrusive."

When she reached the bridge, Shin and Fynn stepped onto it along with her. Rosa and Allyssa followed a couple of steps behind. As they crossed it, Fynn's eyes seemed to be locked onto one of the plants that jutted out of the water not far from them with a group of fairies circling it. It was as if he sensed something special about the plant.

Scarlett wasn't sure if his instincts were just that good, or if it was simply a coincidence.

Stepping onto the next platform, she looked around. There were two other bridges connecting to this platform, but the left one led to an empty platform without any further connections, and though the right one had two more bridges, it too led to a dead-end soon enough. Albeit closer to the center.

"Is that our target?" Shin asked, pointing to the massive tree ahead of them.

"It is."

Fynn tore his eyes away from the plant he'd been staring at, examining the tree and the lack of a path to reach it. "How are we getting there? Are we swimming?"

Scarlett shook her head. "I would advise against diving into the water here," she said, looking down into the lake around them. You couldn't even see past the surface. She tried using her hydromancy, but like the small lake in Temisbrook Woods it didn't budge.

In the game, jumping into the water would bring you to the start of the dungeon. It had been a pain in the game, but here it would be even worse. She did not want to spend all that time walking back here.

She turned to the plant that Fynn had been looking at. After glancing back, ensuring that both Rosa and Allyssa had made it onto their current platform, she raised her hand and snapped her fingers. A small Aqua Mine formed next to the glowing bulb at the top of the plant. When she detonated her magic it blasted into the bulb and a loud, echoing sound—almost like the fracture sounds when skating on an ice lake—rang out as it started swaying back and forth. Slowly, the color of the light changed from yellow to a dull blue.

The others looked at her with slight confusion, but she stayed quiet as she waited. Then, after a while, the bridge to the right of them suddenly withdrew into their platform and disappeared. Another bridge grew out even further to their left, establishing a connection to another platform on that end.

"Wow. That's certainly..unique," Rosa said.

"How did you know it was going to do that?" Allyssa asked.

"I was informed of it beforehand," Scarlett said as she casually started crossing the new bridge to the next platform. "We are not the first people to visit this place."

The next platform had two bridges connecting to it, but Scarlett only looked at where they led for a brief moment before choosing the rightmost one. She then led the way over two more bridges, before eventually stopping at a platform that had three bridges jutting out from it. All of them appeared to lead to dead ends, though.

She frowned as she examined their current location. She was pretty sure this was the correct platform at this point, if you followed the game's designs. And while they weren't entirely trustworthy, they'd almost always been correct when it came to things like this.

She looked out into the water next to the platform. This platform had two plants close to it, instead of just one. Which one was it at this step? She felt like it was the left one. After spending a moment trying to remember, she just shook her head and put her hand into the pouch at her side, bringing out the red leather journal she used to keep notes. She had spent some time trying to memorize this, but it was best to double-check just in case.

She opened it up and flipped through its pages, making sure to turn it away from the others as they looked on with curious gazes. She eventually found the right page, but what she'd written there made her frown even further.

'I think the left one is next, but it could be the right too. Good luck'

Right...it was this part. That explained why she had a hard time remembering the correct one.

Although she had gone through this place several times in her playthroughs—it took several attempts to get it right—her memory still wasn't perfect for this puzzle, even when she'd originally written it down a month earlier.

She looked up at the two plants.

Well, she had to assume that the past her was right. But she'd known there was going to be some luck involved in this section. Holding back a sigh, she looked through the rest of the steps she'd written down to refresh her memory before returning the journal to her pouch. Then she raised her fingers—only feeling slightly anxious—and conjured an Aqua Mine next to the left plant.

"That's wrong," Fynn suddenly said.

She paused, turning to him. "What do you mean?"

"That one is wrong." He gestured at the left plant, then towards the fairies that were flying around the room. "They know it too."

Scarlett shifted her gaze to the fairies, and then she saw it. Although their movements seemed to be largely random as they moved around, there was a pattern to them. Or a part of a pattern. She saw as two passing groups of fairies flew by close to both plants, but both groups kept a noticeably larger distance from the left one.

She almost wanted to laugh at the realization. That explained so much. How had she missed this? In the game, she spent ages originally trying to figure out the correct plants through trial and error. She did think it odd at the time that there would be no way to determine which plants were the right ones, but she wasn't one to look up the wikis when she couldn't figure things out by herself. When she had the time to spare she didn't mind bulldozing through things like this. Puzzles weren't always her forte, but stubbornness could be.

She did feel stupid now, though. To think it was something that easy. She remembered having thought it might have something to do with the glowing lines on the surrounding trees, or some nonsense like that.

In her defense, the pattern in the fairies' flight was subtle. Even if that was present in the game, she wasn't entirely certain it'd be something she would notice through the screen.

Well, whatever. This made things a lot easier. Now the only thing she had to remember was the path she needed to take.

She dismissed the Mine she had created and conjured another one next to the glowing bulb of the right plant, and detonated it. The same odd sound from before rang out with the blow as the plant changed colors. She held her breath for a brief moment as she waited for something to happen, but soon the bridges started rearranging themselves.

Thank god Fynn had noticed that before it was too late. Otherwise their platform would have been lowered under the water, and she did not want to restart from the beginning.

Choosing the bridge she knew was the next amongst the steps she'd written down, they crossed a few platforms more before reaching another one with plants. After double-checking she was picking the right one by observing the fairies and asking Fynn, they then continued on again. After proceeding for a while by repeating that procedure, they eventually reached a platform that was at the opposite end of this room from where the entrance was. This platform, like the others, was mostly empty. There were no plants near it nor any bridge connecting to it other than the one they'd used to reach it.

"I thought we were aiming for the center?" Allyssa asked, as Scarlett strode towards the edge of the platform.

"We are," Scarlett confirmed as she bent down. Next to her was what looked like a dirty, army-green leather strap, stuck between two roots that had a small space separating them. The other end of the strap hung over the edge of the platform and was hidden beneath the water's surface. "However, as I mentioned, we are not the first to find this place."

She took hold of the rim of the strap—using just her index finger and thumb, to avoid getting too dirty—and pulled it loose from where it was wedged stuck. She then lifted the rest of it out of the water and held the object up for the others to see.

It was a green satchel. The image of a face—if one could call it that—was sewn into its side in turquoise and red colors, with thick eyebrows and thin white eyes that were partly closed. The turquoise was sewn in a manner where it almost looked like a kind of face paint. It reminded Scarlett somewhat of some Aztec imagery. Or perhaps something that'd come out from Majora's Mask.

[Bag of Juham (Epic)]

{A link to the interstitial space originally birthed by the Idol Juham, dwelling in the inner dell of the Forest of Consciousness}

Scarlett read the small description screen that appeared with the item. The description was a bit fancy, but in the end, it was just a bag of holding. But it was a significant upgrade compared to her current [Pouch of Holding], which was pretty limited in its space as well as what items could fit through its opening.

An item like this bag was something she'd wanted to get her hands on for a while now.

"Someone left that here?" Rosa asked with some disbelief.

"Someone did, yes," Scarlett said.

"Then they're someone you know? The same person that gave you all the information about this place?"

Scarlett glanced at Fynn. "...Not quite," she said after a moment. "I am not aware of who it was that left this here. However, I was informed that it could be here."

She walked over and handed the bag to Rosa, who received it with a slightly addled face. "For now, I will entrust it to you. Its worth is significant, so do be careful not to lose it."

The bard held it by the dry part of the strap and turned it so that the front faced her. "Not exactly my style, but if you say so."

"It's a bit creepy, isn't it?" Allyssa said as she leaned close to Rosa, staring at the stitched face.

Rosa tiled her head as she observed the bag. "Nah, I've seen worse. I think it's cute."

"What? Really?"

"Of course! You learn to appreciate these things after a while."

Allyssa looked up at the older woman with a doubtful expression. "A while of what?"

Rosa smiled. "Oh, you know. Sometimes you just see an odd face or two. You'd be surprised how many people there are out there that look like they're walking around with sticks up their shafts most of the time."

Fynn furrowed his forehead. "People have sticks up their butts?"

"They sure do," Rosa said as she nodded her head.

Scarlett decided to leave them to their conversation as she began walking back over the bridge. Then she started backtracking for a while until they eventually reached an earlier platform they'd already passed, from which she started making her way towards the large tree at the center for real this time. Without her having to worry about whether she would activate the wrong plants or not, it only took them about five minutes from there to reach one of the bridges that connected to the walkway that grew into the root of the tree.

Walking up to the enormous tree's trunk there was an indentation in the tree where it looked like the bark had grown together to cover a hole. Looking back at the group to ensure they were ready, Scarlett walked up to the tree and touched the bark, and it retracted into the sides to open up into a door inside the tree.

Chapter 48 - There's a baroness on your lawn

The inside of the tree was large. Weaves of glowing twines dangled from somewhere above them, coating the space in a light violet light. They created an interesting crisscrossing tapestry, some coiling together in large luminescent tangles. Only hints of the tree's hollow nature could be seen through them even further up.

Scarlett turned her head down and focused on the middle of this 'room'. There, on top of a multi-leveled circular dais of roots and wood that grew from the floor and covered nearly half of the free space, was a gathering of large leaves that arched up in the air like the petals on a flower. They were a bright green and had a clear luster to them, but the edges of all the leaves had started to fade into a more lifeless brown color.

Between the leaves was an empty space, like an altar or a throne, lined by crowns, where a lean figure with blue-green skin waited. Its features were vague and androgynous, with bark growing in spots across its body, along with tufts of pale hair that glimmered slightly. Thin, long ears pointed up in the air, and the hair on its head was more akin to thin filaments of translucent grass than anything else. The lower half of its body was also soft bark that grew into the wood itself beneath it.

The being watched them as they entered its abode, one of its eyes nothing but a large golden iris that had an almost childlike gleam to it. The other eye, however, was sickly and colorless.

This was the last boss of this dungeon. [Eupherbia Wildshimmer].

Scarlett wasn't sure if that had been its name in the game, or simply the type of creature that it was. But that didn't matter.

She looked back at the others. "Leave the handling of these matters to me, and do not act unless absolutely necessary," she said. After seeing that they all understood, she looked back at the center of the room and cautiously began walking forward, gauging the figure's reactions as its gaze repeatedly shifted between her and the other members of her group behind her. Thankfully it didn't seem to find any reason to take any hostile action towards them yet.

This had been an annoying fight in the game.

Eventually stopping a few meters away from the flower-like throne the being was part of, Scarlett glanced down at the floor. Several roots, the size of even some tree trunks, began just a foot or so ahead of her and grew around the throne in a circle. This was probably the point she didn't want to cross past.

The Eupherbia's head tilted to the side in a strangely fluid motion, its single eye focused on Scarlett now. "Human?"

"Human"

"Hum—"

"an?"

"Human"

Its voice echoed out like a note throughout the inside of the tree, as if it came from several places at once. Both as a question, a statement, and a command.

Scarlett waited a moment for it to speak again.

"Why?"

"What?"

"Who?"

"No"

Although the voices all came at once, oddly enough, she had no issue telling them apart.

"I am Scarlett Hartford," she declared in a loud voice. "A noble of the Graenal Empire, and baroness of Stagmond. I am here in search of a trade."

A puzzled expression formed on the fairy being's face. "Trade?"

"Barter"

"Deal"

"Steal"

Scarlett looked around. She wasn't quite sure where the last voice was coming from. It seemed to vary. "I am no thief," she announced. "I would form a covenant to prove as such, and to offer you a bargain."

The Eupherbia's golden eye widened "Covenant?"

"Covenant"

"Covenant"

"Covenant"

"Covenant"

"Covenant"

"Covenant"

"Dishonest"

A cacophony of voices sang out at her words.

A covenant was in many ways similar to a deal with a demon, but was something only those beings related to the Wandering Realm could make. While a deal with a demon was almost guaranteed to be in your own disfavor, a covenant with a fairy was a much more safe thing. If you were a Spirit User, for example, special covenants with these creatures were how you gained much of your power. Scarlett couldn't strike that particular kind of covenant—that required some skills she unfortunately lacked—but she should still be able to make use of the process. In fact, she had to. Otherwise her plans here were likely to all fall apart.

The Eupherbia leaned forward, its lower half somehow growing forward through the ground as it did. Scarlett saw how the roots on the ground near her twitched.

"Bargain?" it asked, this time only the single voice coming out.

Scarlett gestured towards the deteriorating parts of the leaves that surrounded it, and the Eupherbia gazed toward them with a languid expression.

"Foreign elements have invaded your dwelling. You are weakening. Perishing," she said. Not all creatures related to the Wandering Realm were friendly to each other. "What I offer is something that can aid you. In rejuvenating yourself, and your home."

The Eupherbia looked at her. "Friend?" it asked, then its eye moved toward Scarlett's group behind her.

"Ally?"

"Help?"

"Frien—"

"No"

"Fiend"

"EVIL"

The voices grew in volume, becoming more erratic. The roots in front of Scarlett suddenly shot up from the floor like writhing tentacles, screaming faces forming on the dark bark. The Eupherbia's expression grew more agitated as dozens of these roots appeared, and Scarlett hurried to take a step to the side, putting herself in front of the fairy's gaze.

"We are no threat," she said, holding her hands up in the air in front of her. "We have slain the Doomscreamer Gaspaw. Our purpose here is not to cause you harm."

The roots stilled for a moment, as the Eupherbia's attention was now focused solely on her.

Glancing back, Scarlett saw that the roots surrounded her allies. Although Rosa looked a bit shaken, all of them looked ready to fight any second now.

Well, this didn't surprise her. She hadn't quite expected this reaction either, but she could understand it to some degree.

Turning back to the ruler of this place, Scarlett put her hand into the pouch at her side and pulled out the core they'd taken from the giant worm monster's corpse. She held it up in front of her. "This is proof of my words."

The Eupherbia stared wordlessly at the glowing object. Then another root grew up from the floor—this one without any faces on it—and reached for the core.

Scarlett pulled it back and put one hand forward. "A bargain is what I proposed."

The root stopped where it was. The Eupherbia's eye was locked on the core in Scarlett's hand, and it stayed like that for a while. Then it looked up at Scarlett.

"Covenant."

"Covenant"

"Covenant"

"Covenant"

"Covenant"

"Covenant"

"Covenant"

A wave of voices echoed across the inside of the tree, and this time Scarlett couldn't make out one voice from the next as all the faces on the roots around them sang the same word.

The Eupherbia brought up one of its hands, gesturing towards Scarlett. She cautiously took a step forward, and when none of the roots moved in response she inwardly breathed a sigh of relief before walking up to the fairy.

It held its hand up, palm faced towards her. She brought up her free hand, placing it against the bark on the Eupherbia's palm.

"Covenant," it said once more.

She more or less understood what it wanted. "I, Scarlett Hartford, hereby proclaim that I am not here to precipitate any violence upon you or those of yours, nor take that which is not mine. I have slain the creature that drained your home of its life, and swear to aid you in recovering from the corruption it has caused, in return for a trade."

A bright green light rose from her hand as a circular shape engraved itself into it. Yet, unlike the time she made the deal with the demon, there was no pain here, just a cool sensation on her skin.

Now the Eupherbia looked her in the eyes. "Help," it chanted.

"Help"

"Aid"

Scarlett glanced down at the core in her hand.

The way she understood it, this core was a pure concentration of the mana and life energy that had been stolen from this space by the [Doomscreamer Gaspaw] over a long period of time. The worm had essentially been a very large parasite, and the core was where it saved most of what it took. This also meant that the core itself was worth a lot as a magical item and reagent. That's why it had dropped from a 'mini'-boss like that.

Honestly, she would have liked to keep it. But the path she was choosing was far better for her.

She looked up and offered it to the fairy, who reached forth and grabbed it in both hands. The Eupherbia held it in front of its torso as it stared into the translucent purple surface. It then turned away from her and moved to the center of its natural throne. Scarlett then heard how it crushed the core. A blinding light sprang out and blocked her view for a couple of seconds, but the light itself soon began being absorbed by the Eupherbia's lean shape. The fairy's skin grew brighter and brighter, at the same time as the leaves surrounding it began regaining their color on all of the damaged parts.

The change wasn't immediate, going on for about half a minute, but when it was finished it turned back to look at Scarlett. Both of its eyes now shone a clear gold. It nodded its head. "Helped."

"Good"

"Good"

"Trade"

[Side-Quest completed: Help [Eupherbia Wildshimmer] recover its power]

{Skill points awarded: 2}

Oh? It tracked that as a side-quest? That did surprise her somewhat. But this was an optional way of clearing the dungeon, so maybe it shouldn't be that unexpected.

For a while, the Eupherbia stood completely still as it observed Scarlett. Then it turned its head to the side and moved its arm. Part of its throne morphed at the motion, with three spots in the wood suddenly rising. Three items revealed themselves.

One was a long staff of curling dark wood. It had several leaves growing off of it, and odd symbols were engraved on its hilt. At its top, the wood coiled into itself around a large amethyst that glittered as light fell on it.

[Moonshadow's Crown (Epic)]

{Endowed within this staff is the harmonious power of the lunar, tranquil in its state as it waits to envelop its surroundings}

Next to it was the second item. A wooden shield that looked like it had grown out of the trunk of a tree, with twisting roots that spiraled into a tear-shape and had moss covering parts of it.

[Pastoral Glade's Bulwark (Epic)]

{Endowed within this shield is the arcadian power of the forest, calm in its rest as it waits to protect its surroundings}

Those two items were certainly impressive on their own, but they weren't where Scarlett's focus was. She was looking at the third item.

It was a small ring of carved wood that had an almost golden luster to it—one could almost mistake it to be made of gold, if not for the telltale grooves of the wood itself—where its upper part was like two horns that enveloped each other.

[Lifeblood's Eternal Circuit (Unique)]

{Endowed within this ring is the lifeblood of Temisbrook Glade, overflowing and eager with the ambition to support its wearer}

This was Scarlett's main goal in visiting this dungeon. Because, while there was a plethora of other powerful artifacts and items that she could try to find, this was one of the few ones that solved one of the largest concerns she'd had recently.

Namely, that of her own fragility.

The description of the item itself this time wasn't too bad when it came to describing the actual effect. But if one were to be more specific, this ring gave her access to the class spell [Sidhe's Flowing Garbs], which belonged to the Druid class tree, a variant of the Spirit User tree. Just like class spells such as [Adumbral Cape] or [Mana Barrier], [Sidhe's Flowing Garbs] gave you a magical barrier that defended against damage. Something she had been sorely lacking, considering one attack from most things would be enough to kill her.

This was also why it had been absolutely vital to her that she sacrificed the [Doomscreamer Gaspaw]'s core to help the Eupherbia. Otherwise, the only way to clear this dungeon was to fight the Eupherbia. Its condition would then rapidly grow worse, and while you still got loot from the encounter, they were corrupted versions of these items; more fit for offense than defense.

Scarlett bent down and picked the ring up, palming it in her hand as she turned it around. Like when she originally acquired the [Charms of Apperception] and her other items, she felt a warm sensation from the ring for a moment when a connection formed with it. Putting it on, she could feel the connection at the back of her mind, just asking to be pulled.

She did.

She saw how a faint shimmer formed around her arms and hands. It reminded her a lot of the magical barriers Kat, Allyssa, and others used, but it was more purple in its coloration. Looking over her body with her artifact-powered vision, she also felt like her barrier was a lot more transparent—or perhaps clearer—than the other variants she'd seen. It wasn't quite as everchanging as [Mana Barrier] was, for example. There were also fewer of those points of instability that she'd trained herself to look for in Kat's and others' defenses.

"Pleased?" the Eupherbia's flowing voice sounded out from beside her.

"Happy?"

"Trade"

"Promise"

"Covenant"

Scarlett looked up as the voices echoed out. "Yes, this is a satisfying prize."

She looked at the staff and shield, moving to pick them up too. They were heavier than they looked—Scarlett was still not in the best of shape—but it was nothing she couldn't handle. Holding both in her arms, she walked back to her group. The roots that had been surrounding them had returned back into the ground by now.

Handing the items to Fynn for the moment, Scarlett turned back to the Eupherbia. It looked at her with a curious gaze, then pointed to Scarlett's group. "Leave?"

"Go?"

"Elsewhere"

"Bad"

"Away"

Scarlett paused for a moment, then nodded her head. "Yes. Our purpose has been fulfilled."

It leaned its body to the side, then pointed at Scarlett herself. "Stay?"

"Friend"

"Home"

"Good"

Scarlett's eyes widened slightly. It was expecting her to remain? She shook her head. "No, I will also be leaving. I have a home that I have an obligation to return to."

The voices went quiet, and the Eupherbia stared at her for a while. Then it moved its hand and a root made its way towards Scarlett. For a brief second she thought it was attacking—Fynn and Shin even moved to get in front of her—but the root stopped a short distance away. Then the tip of the root glowed a light blue and a small blue crystal took shape. Scarlett only barely managed to react and catch the object as it fell.

"Gift."

"Gift"

"Gift"

She stared down at the crystal.

[Mark of the Fey (Rare)]

{A mark of gratitude from a being of the Wandering Realms}

She had no idea what this was. She'd never gotten it in the game. Was this some quest reward she had missed? But that didn't make sense. She'd done this in the game.

She looked up at the Eupherbia, who was looking at her with anticipating eyes.

As far as she was aware, her actions in this dungeon up till now hadn't been too different from what she'd done in the game. She was pretty sure this just wasn't an item you could get in 'Chronicle of Realms', even if it appeared to have a description and all that here — a feature she'd thought only in-game items had retained in this world.

She didn't really know what to do with this.

Throwing one last glance at the item description, she gave the Eupherbia a slow nod. "I appreciate the gesture," she said and put the crystal inside her pouch of holding. She would try and figure out what it was later on.

The Eupherbia smiled, the gleeful expression looking very childlike on its face. Then, without so much as another word, it sunk down into the tree and disappeared.

[Quest completed: Cleared Temisbrook Glade]

{Skill points awarded: 5}

Silence filled the inside of the large tree as the quest completion message appeared.

"Well, that sure was something," Rosa's voice sounded out.

"That fairy was weird," Fynn said as he stared at the spot where it had vanished.

Allyssa shushed him. "It could still be listening. Don't be rude!"

"It called us bad though. Wasn't that rude?"

Allyssa shook her head. "No, I don't think it meant us specifically. Maybe it just doesn't like humans in general."

Scarlett turned around to the exit. Shin stepped closer and looked at her. "Will it be safe for you to leave?"

She gave him a questioning look. "I believe so. Why would it not be?"

"Many of the collected stories of fairies and the Wandering Realm describe people being abducted against their will. It seemed to want you to stay, so can we be sure won't try to stop us later on?"

She gestured to the pouch at her side. "It is unlikely. What it gave me was a sign of gratitude among its kind. It would not express that by also confining me here."

He leaned his head back, quiet for a moment as he gave her an interested look. "You know a lot about them."

"That I do." She simply nodded her head and began walking towards the exit, gesturing for the others to follow.

"It is time that we return to Elystead. I believe we will have ample time for rest during what remains of the night, then we will leave in the morning. Ensure that you gather any useful materials as we move."

This dungeon had given a good haul, but now it was time for another kind of excitement.

If you could call it that.

It was soon time to attend the Elysian Proclamation.

Chapter 49 - The Elysian Proclamation

Evelyne watched on as the huge sight of the Dawnlight Palace drew closer and closer. Their carriage was slowly traveling across the Dawnset Bridge towards the palace, a long line of other noble carriages trailing behind them. The gleaming bronze-red walls that surrounded the palace reflected the midday sun, with large banners bearing the imperial crest hanging at even intervals over the stone.

It had been years since she last had an opportunity to attend an event here. Not since her father had still been alive. She was both a bit nervous and expectant.

Her head turned to the opposite end of the carriage cabin, where her older sister was looking out the window with a serious expression.

They hadn't talked much since Scarlett left for her trip two days earlier. Evelyne had heard that she returned the night before at least. Unharmed, thankfully. After that most of this morning had gone into preparing for the Proclamation.

Evelyne herself wore a white undershirt with a deep green jacket over it, gilded with silver buttons and studs. It was one of her more expensive pieces of clothing, but not one that was likely to stick out much amongst the noble cliques of the capital.

Scarlett, in comparison, wore a lustrous dark red dress that left her shoulders mostly uncovered and flowed into a captivating v-neck. It was a tight fit, focusing more on gracefulness than comfort, but it wouldn't surprise Evelyne if that was what was in fashion right now.

And while the dress did look relatively simple outwardly, Evelyne knew how expensive it actually was. It was made of blossom satin, after all. She remembered how livid she had gotten when she originally saw the order for it.

In addition to the dress, Scarlett also wore those same amber earrings that Evelyne had seen before. It surprised her that Scarlett chose to wear them even to this event. Usually, her older sister switched accessories and jewellery as often as she did clothes. But lately, she'd seen Scarlett not only wear those earrings more than once, but also wear the same necklace most of the time, along with a black ring on her right hand. She wasn't wearing the necklace right now at least, but the ring was still there. Along with another ring Evelyne had never seen before, that looked to be made out of gold-colored wood for some reason.

Judging from recent events, it was entirely possible that all of those items were artifacts. Or enchanted in some way.

What Evelyne didn't fully understand was why she wore them so much these days. The only reason she could think of was whatever threat it was that Scarlett was under, but she had so little knowledge of what was going on that it left her anxious.

Not that her sister seemed to care any about that.

She turned her attention back outside. Eventually their carriage passed through the large gates of the palace and into an extensive square bounded by royal oleander trees, the gold-red leaves hanging off them kept ever in bloom through magic even during the colder times of the year.

The carriages ahead of them in the line continued on to where a large set of stairs began, leading up to the entrance of the palace itself. The carriage at the front stopped at a point where rows upon rows of servants in bronze-gold uniforms stood lined up, ready to receive every single one of today's auspicious visitors.

As their carriage neared the front, Evelyne looked on as the large black carriage ahead of them—bearing the crest of a green stag on it, belonging to the Tyndall family—stopped, and the two servants at the head of the row of servants walked up. They bowed, and one of them opened the carriage door to let out a group of five people.

After that group's carriage had left and they started climbing the stairs, guided by the two servants, Evelyne's and Scarlett's turn was up next. Two more servants approached their carriage. Scarlett was the first to exit the vehicle as the door was opened, with Evelyne following close behind.

"His Imperial Majesty, the gilded sun of the Empire and the light who shines upon us all, bids you welcome Baroness Hartford," one of the servants said, a middle-aged man with slicked-back black hair. He bowed to Scarlett, then gave Evelyne a short bow too. "Lady Evelyne."

Evelyne froze at his address. He appeared to notice her reaction as well because his eyes turned a bit nervous. She turned to Scarlett, readying for the outburst—

Scarlett wasn't showing any reaction to it at all. In fact, she was giving both of them a strange look like she didn't understand why they had both paused. She seemed to look at the man for a moment, the other female servant beside Scarlett trying to remain completely quiet, then her forehead furrowed in a frown. As if she only now had realized his words.

Scarlett clicked her tongue and signaled for the stairs. "Are we continuing onward or not?"

The man just looked confused now, briefly giving Evelyne an odd look, before lowering his head at Scarlett. "Of course, Baroness. Follow me."

He turned around and started guiding them up the stairs. Scarlett and the other servant immediately followed, but Evelyne remained still for a second, unsure how to interpret the situation.

Usually Scarlett would go mad at anyone that referred to Evelyne as 'lady'. But now she let it go without a word?

Was it just to save face? Did she really not notice? Or was there something more to it? Could she interpret it as Scarlett actually recognizing her position?

Evelyne shook her head. No, that wasn't likely.

As their carriage started leaving behind her and the next carriage began driving forward, Evelyne pushed the matter out of her head for now and hurried to catch up, only briefly glancing at the large gold-plated statues that lined the stairs.

When they entered the large entrance hall of the palace, Evelyne noticed that Scarlett was staring at the giant statue of Galrath the Great that overlooked most of the hall. Scarlett had always had an odd fascination for the empire's founder, beyond just what was normal.

Reaching the center of the hall, the two servants turned to them. The man spoke. "Baroness. I will lead you to the Inaugural Chamber where you may finish your preparations. Please, follow me."

Scarlett diverted her attention from the statue to him, giving a slight nod. "Very well," she said, following the man as he began walking towards a flight of stairs at the side of the hall.

The other servant then walked up to Evelyne. "My Lady. I will lead you to the Chamber of Elysia," she said in a low voice.

Evelyne watched for a moment as Scarlett left, then looked at the servant. "Please do," she said, then proceeded to follow the woman.

Dawnlight Palace was a massive structure, not only on the outside. As they walked over to the golden stairs at the center of the room, they soon exited the entrance hall and continued through several gilded halls. They passed dozens of guards in polished steel armor, emblazoned with gold along the edges and wearing crimson capes. Imposing swords hung at their sides, and not an inch could be seen of their faces through their helmets.

Despite barely ever seeing any real combat, the Palace Guards were famed for their discipline, with only a few hundred members allowed within its ranks. They stood lined up on both sides of the corridors she passed through, ready to take action at any second if necessary.

She imagined that a day like this—when they were showcased in front of many of the Empire's aristocrats—was among the most important days of the year for them.

She recalled wanting to be one herself, when she was little. It was after the first time father had brought her and mother along for the Proclamation, when she had seen them and dreamt of being a knight. Of proving herself and joining the Palace Guard, and maybe even the Imperial Solar Knights someday.

Of course, that was then. Now she had no interest in things like that. She hadn't even touched a sword in years. Her goal was only as a mage now. To eventually reach the same level as her father, and even further, like the forefathers of the Hartford family.

After a while, they reached a corridor with a set of open doors at the end, offering a glimpse of other people inside. The servant guiding her stopped a short distance from the doorway, turning to face her and gesturing towards the opening. "Please enter through there, my Lady," she said with a curtsy. "You can find a place to wait until the ceremony begins."

"Thank you," Evelyne replied, walking past the servant. Passing through the open doors, she entered a truly massive hall of resplendency. Although not her first visit here, the sight of the Chamber of Elysia never failed to leave her breathless.

The vaulted ceiling seemed entirely crafted from gold, yet it possessed a unique translucency that gave a rich, hued view of the clear sky above. Sunlight streamed through, casting reflections on the hall's impeccably polished floor. The walls, adorned with stunning tapestry, were made of pristine white marble. Each tapestry probably represented years—perhaps even decades—of intricate workmanship.

The rectangular hall stretched out before her, and Evelyne had entered through a smaller entrance located in the middle of the hall. On her left, at one end of the room, loomed a tall set of bronze-red metal doors. From them extended a gilded red carpet, stretching across the space and culminating in a short flight of stairs that led to a platform. Atop the platform stood an ornate golden throne beneath a decorated vermilion baldachin. Behind the throne, a curved staircase ascended to a smaller set of doors overlooking the chamber.

Evelyne's gaze swept across the assembled guests. Arrayed along the walls were individuals clad in bright white capes and black armor heavily embellished with gold. The Solar Knights were traditionally the only knight order involved in this ceremony, assuming the Palace Guards' role for the day. Unlike the Palace Guards, however, they weren't wearing their helmets.

She recognized a few faces among them. None she knew especially well, but people she had heard of or greeted on some occasion or other.

As she continued looking around, she couldn't help but notice that the Solar Knights' captain was missing. That was odd. Wasn't he usually in command?

Instead, she only saw Leon Delmon, the vice-captain of the order and her sister's fiancé. He stood by the stairs leading to the throne, his gaze fixed ahead, both hands resting on the pommel of his sword, which leaned against the floor.

Apart from the knights, the large hall only housed about thirty or so people right now, most of whom were gathered in groups near Evelyne, avoiding the central area where the carpet was. Among them were some of the members of the Tyndall family she'd seen earlier, as well as individuals from other influential families.

There was no one here yet that was from anything less than a count's household, except for her. As only the sister of a baroness, she hadn't had many dealings with these people. Her father had done some business with the Tyndalls so she had interacted a bit with the current heir and his brother—both were twins with dark, neck-length hair in elegant green outfits—but she doubted any of them remembered her. She'd only been a child back then.

But all of this was part of the reason she had wanted to attend the Proclamation this time. The majority of her associates were merchants and commoners. She had far too few contacts amongst the nobility. It had also never helped that she seldom had the time or the opportunity to attend events where any nobles outside of Freybrook gathered. While right now wasn't the time for socializing, during the ball after the ceremony she was planning on talking to as many people as she could.

While her older sister often made it hard for Evelyne to strike deals with people—in more ways than one—Scarlett's recent achievements and acquisitions had created plenty of chances for Evelyne to forge new relationships.

For now, she walked up to the gathering of people and situated herself at the edge of the different groups. The only noise that could be heard throughout the hall was the occasional shuffling. Even though there were a few younger family members among the nobles present here, no one spoke a single word. And as the minutes passed more and more people would join from the entrance Evelyne had come through, joining the groups already waiting.

Seeing a couple of kids near her who were clearly getting tired of standing around without anything happening, Evelyne felt a pang of sympathy. Scarlett had never had an issue with it when they were younger—Evelyne recalled how her older sister would often distance herself from her and her mother and pretend like they didn't exist during the wait—but Evelyne herself had been very active at that age. She remembered how she'd almost scared her mother to death after she had been close to crying the first time she was here when she was eight.

It got easier as you got older, but this ceremony was still hard to endure at times.

After a long time of waiting, the number of people in the room now reaching several hundred, there was finally some activity. A tall man in black and red dress, the royal herald, had walked up to the main doors with a thick metal staff in hand. He then slammed the staff into the floor, the sound reverberating throughout the whole chamber.

"His Majesty, Gartelnas Articius Verddun Teronia!" he announced as everybody turned to the throne. "Kneel before Ittar's chosen light!"

Waves of rustling noises spread around the room as everyone except the Solar Knights got down on one knee. Soon, the doors behind the throne opened and two members of the Royal Guard entered, wearing elegant white armor with gold inlays and helmets that bore miniature figures of brilliant dragons perched atop them. Each of them walked down one side of the stairs and stopped on either side of the throne.

Next came the emperor himself, walking out through the door in an intricate set of gold and red robes that trailed on the floor behind him. He had a trimmed beard and wavy blond hair that reached to the bottoms of his ears, and was beginning to lose its color at the edges. On his head, he wore a heavy golden crown that went down over his forehead and had a set of three large gems affixed to its front.

Immediately following him were the crown prince and the two imperial princesses, along with the imperial advisor—who hadn't aged a day since Evelyne last saw her—who followed a step after them.

They all walked behind the emperor as he descended the stairs and sat down upon the throne, situating themselves to the sides behind it. Then three more members of the Royal Guard entered—one of which was as large as a mountain—and closed the doors, placing themselves on guard in front of them at the top of the stairs.

The emperor's gaze moved across the people assembled on one side of the room, then he gestured with his hand. "Bring them forth," he said, his voice carrying across the chamber clearly.

Everyone stood up as the royal herald slammed his staff into the ground once more. "First amongst His Majesty's loyal servants, Duke Ingomar Valentino of Bridgespell has arrived to reaffirm his family's oaths to his liege and the Empire!"

The large metal doors opened up and a large man wearing trimmed black clothes and tall white boots entered the hall, a short blade with a gold handle hanging at his side. He had neck-length dark hair that had started greying at the sides, along with a thin mustache.

Evelyne looked at him with slight surprise. She almost didn't recognize him as Duke Valentino. He'd grown a lot bigger in the stomach area since she last saw him, and overall didn't look to be in as good health as she remembered.

The duke started walking across the carpet at the center of the room towards the throne, a slight limp on his left leg. Reaching the bottom of the stairs before the throne, he knelt down—with some difficulty—on both knees and touched his head against the floor once before looking up at the emperor.

"Let this grateful servant of the Empire greet your Majesty, on this day of oaths and testimonies," his raspy voice sounded out. He pulled out the blade at his side and held it up towards the emperor with both hands. "I offer you my blade once more, ever to be in your service and protect your lands in your name and the name of Ittar. Justly and earnestly have I carried out your will, and so I shall until the end of my days. I beg of your Majesty to accept my pledge."

From his throne, the emperor observed the duke for a moment, before showing a small smile. "Duke Valentino. Your family has always served the empire faithfully. Naturally, I accept your pledge."

The duke bowed his head. "Thank you, my liege," he said and resheathed the blade. He then placed it at the bottom of the stairs before standing up and walking over to stand at the side of the room opposite where Evelyne and everyone else was.

The sound of a staff slamming into the floor resounded again. Evelyne turned to the entrance where another person stood in wait.

"Second amongst His Majesty's loyal servants, Marchioness Sahra Thackeray of Wildscar has arrived to reaffirm her family's oaths to her liege and the Empire!"

The marchioness crossed the hall, repeating the same process as the duke. Her pledge was also accepted by the emperor as she placed her blade at the bottom of the stairs.

She was then followed by several others, until eventually, it was almost time.

"Ninth amongst His Majesty's loyal servants, Duke Santos Tyndall of Windgrove has arrived to reaffirm his family's oaths to his liege and the Empire!"

Evelyne's eyes turned to the door behind Duke Tyndall who started crossing the room. There, she saw Scarlett approaching. Her sister was climbing up a set of stairs and stopped just before the doors, looking completely in her element as she stared ahead at the duke with a confident look. A blade hung by her side from a red belt as well.

Evelyne had many choice words to describe her sister, but she couldn't deny that Scarlett always seemed to belong in situations like this.

Even though they were a mere barony, the Hartford family had always held a more respectful position in the empire than many other baronies. And part of that was because they held such a privileged position when it came to their slot in the Elysian Proclamation. Despite historically being limited in their hierarchical advancement due to other reasons, it could never be disputed that their family had been one of the first families to swear fealty to the first emperor.

And Scarlett personified that pride in their family.

Soon, the staff slammed into the floor again.

"Tenth amongst His Majesty's loyal servants, Baroness Scarlett Hartford of Stagmond has arrived to reaffirm her family's oaths to her liege and the Empire!"

Scarlett began moving, her gait calm as she crossed the hall. When she reached the stairs, she bent down on both knees.

For some reason, a foreboding sensation traveled up Evelyne's spine.

Scarlett touched her head against the floor once, then looked up.

Evelyne felt her blood run cold.

"Let this grateful servant of the Empire greet your Majesty, on this day of oaths and testimonies," Scarlett's voice rang out. She pulled out the blade and held it up to the emperor. "I offer you my blade once more, ever to be in your service and protect your lands in your name and the name of Ittar. Justly and earnestly have I carried out your will, and so I shall until the end of my days. I beg of your Majesty to accept my pledge."

Evelyne heard the gasps from the people around her, but she could barely tear her eyes away from her sister.

What had she just done?!

Chapter 50 - Pledges matter

Scarlett felt the stares of people bearing down upon her, a strange mood covering the room following her words. The man before her, sitting on a golden throne overlooking the room, had an inscrutable expression on his face as he studied her. The emperor's gaze felt stifling to her, the lingering emotions inside her urging her between supplicating in front of him and rising up to teach the noisy people around them a lesson.

She chose to do nothing for the moment.

She wasn't quite sure why the original seemed to have such a heavy obsession with the imperial—it definitely was to an unhealthy level—but it wasn't something she wanted to feed too much into when she could avoid it.

"The Baroness appears to have a high opinion of herself," the emperor suddenly said, leaning back on his throne.

Scarlett felt an odd sensation travel up her back. She wasn't certain if that was a prompt for her to speak, or if it was meant rhetorically. Her whole current situation was far removed from what she would have wanted.

She had been nervous for a while—or as nervous as she could get with the system's traits weighing down on her—about this ceremony. It was an unknown to her and her knowledge of the game, which made it a danger considering how important of an event it appeared to be.

The Elysian Proclamation, and other situations like it, were exactly why she had spent so much time prior to visiting the capital trying to read up on the local customs. And while she had learned a lot, detailed information on precisely what went on during this ceremony wasn't among it.

For a time, she had hoped that what she had learned of the general noble customs would be enough. She knew most of the correct forms of address among the aristocracy and towards the imperial family, and was wishing that would be enough to make do. And if things really went to hell, she had a couple of contingency plans that would probably ensure her safety, though they would also likely put her in a position where she was indentured to the imperial family in ways she didn't want, even if she could work with it if necessary.

Unfortunately it didn't seem like lady luck felt like smiling at her today. Scarlett's hopes had quickly sunk after Evelyne and she had been separated after they arrived and that male servant had led her to the 'Inaugural Chamber'. There, they had given her a damn blade out of nowhere—something she hadn't seen any mention about in anything she read—and just left her in a large dining hall along with a bunch of other nobles without further explanations. She had at least been thankful enough that no one spoke to each other there, simply partaking in the light refreshments provided.

But then more servants had arrived and started leading the nobles away one by one. When it came to her turn Scarlett had actually been brazen enough to try and get some information from the servant leading her, but the servant had simply told her—with a rather strange look—that they weren't privy to the goings-on in the 'Chamber of Elysia', as it was.

Left without any other options, when they'd reached a long set of stairs leading up to the throne rooms which she had been prompted to climb, Scarlett had simply kept all her attention focused on the noble a few dozen meters ahead of her—which she only then realized was Duke Tyndall—and copied exactly what he did.

Which had put her in her current situation.

Although there had been some noise immediately following her words, the hall was completely quiet now as the emperor observed her. Just a few steps to her right Scarlett could feel Leon Delmon's stare too. As if it wasn't enough that she'd made a fool of herself in front of this nation's freaking ruler.

The person immediately beside the throne suddenly leaned closer to the emperor, and Scarlett's eyes shifted to them. It was someone she recognized well. Wearing a tight-fitting red dress, with what almost looked like purple scales running down along its sides, and with a long silver staff in hand that had a purple gem affixed to its crown, was the imperial advisor. A woman with long black hair and a striking appearance.

Evelia Blackwood.

The woman whispered something in the emperor's ear, who nodded along slowly. Scarlett's eyes lingered on her for a moment as she stepped back. The emperor leaned forward on his throne, and Scarlett shifted her eyes back to him, readying herself for what she might have to respond.

"Well, I am not one to discourage ambition," he announced in a clear voice. "You are of a perennial house, one that has served this empire for longer than most. I will accept your pledge."

Scarlett paused, unsure for a moment what to do as an almost gratified feeling welled up inside her. Pushing the odd sensation to the side as she focused on the situation, she recalled what actions Duke Tyndall had taken and bowed her head as she returned the blade in her hands to the short scabbard she'd been given.

"Thank you, my liege," she said, standing up and walking to the foot of the stairs where she put her blade down next to the others. She pointedly ignored Leon—who had eyes front with a still face now—and turned to the left to walk over to where the other nobles who'd completed their pledge had gathered. Most of their eyes were on her as she approached. A couple displayed poorly disguised outrage on their faces, but most didn't show much of an expression at all. She ignored them for now, situating herself next to Duke Tyndall, who didn't seem to want to pay her much attention to begin with.

The emperor hadn't gotten angry at her, so maybe she did have some luck after all. She'd work with what she got.

Looking back toward the platform where the emperor sat on his throne, this was Scarlett's first real chance to observe the people around him. Most of them she recognized.

Behind the throne and slightly to the right was a tall man somewhere in his early twenties with bright blond hair that curled to one side. He had a sure smile on his face, wearing an odd mix between a red-and-blue uniform and golden pauldrons and bracers. That was the crown prince, who—while not super relevant to the overarching plot of the game—did appear now and then in 'Chronicle of Realms'.

At the same spot but to the left of the throne was a young woman with neck-length black hair resembling a bob cut. She wore a tidy set of black-and-red attire with a frilly scarlet cravat, standing with a straight back as she looked on at the current proceedings with a neutral expression.

This one Scarlett knew best. After all, Princess Regina was one of the game's companions.

She turned her eyes away from the princess. Regina might be a companion, but that didn't mean Scarlett wanted anything to do with the young woman. While having her in your party was fun in the game, having an escaped princess running along with you in this world just sounded like an even worse recipe for disaster than whatever she'd just done.

Slightly behind Regina was the second imperial princess, a young girl with bright golden hair arranged into a long braid. Scarlett didn't know too much about her. The second princess had mostly just been an NPC you could share some short dialogue with in the game, but nothing major or plot-related.

Evelia Blackwood stood in front of both of them, closest to the throne. Scarlett avoided glancing at her for too long—she didn't want the woman to think she had any interest at all in her—and instead inspected the five people in golden white armor that surrounded the imperial family. With their helmets on she wasn't quite certain exactly who was who, but she had some idea at least. She only remembered the names of two of the Royal Guards, though.

The absolute giant of a figure that stood at the top of the stairs—Scarlett wouldn't be surprised if he would've won some kind of Guinness record back in her world—guarding the door the imperial family had entered through had to be Holdger 'The Mammoth'. The sword that hung over his back had to be longer than Scarlett was tall.

And though she wasn't quite sure which of the other white-armored guards was Leandra 'The Swift', there were two that looked more female so it was probably one of them.

While Scarlett hadn't paid it much mind in the game, it did occur to her that all the members of the Royal Guard had epithets of some kind. She wasn't quite sure if that was something you gained when joining, or if there was some other connection behind that. Whatever the reason, in the game it had served as a pretty good indication that they were strong.

She turned her gaze back to the emperor himself, mostly trying to ignore the feeling of reverence that filled her when she looked at him and the rest of the imperial family. She had no idea why the original was so fixated on them like this.

But she had to admit that he had an air of grandeur to him, gazing out over the throne room filled with people who were all important in some way or the other. She found it a little bit humorous, however, that he was the one up on that platform that she had seen the least of in the game. He barely appeared in it at all, in fact. The only time she had seen him was in her second playthrough.

When she assassinated him.

He always died about one year into the game no matter what you did though. It was just that in her Cabal playthrough, you could complete a long questline where you were the one to do it. Albeit with the help of some powerful members of the Cabal.

She followed his eyes across the space. The next noble in line had already approached the large doors to the throne room, but there were still countless stares in her direction.

She paused when she spotted Evelyne among the crowd. The younger woman had a horrified expression on her face.

For just a brief moment, Scarlett felt a pang of guilt at having been the cause of that, but—perhaps unfortunately—the emotion didn't last long.

"Next amongst his majesty's loyal servants," the man next to the entrance suddenly announced as he slammed his staff onto the floor. "Count Stockwell Bentley of Farmire has arrived to reaffirm his family's oaths to his liege and the Empire!"

Now most people's eyes turned away from Scarlett as the next noble—an old man with balding grey hair—began walking across the red carpet running through the center of the room. When he reached the stairs, he knelt down in front of the emperor on the same spot Scarlett had and touched his head against the floor twice.

"Let this humble servant of the Empire greet your majesty, on this day of oaths and testimonies," the old man cried out. "I offer you my blade once more, ever to be in your service and protect your lands in your name and the name of Ittar. Justly and earnestly have I carried out your will, and so I shall until the end of my days. I beg of your majesty to accept my pledge."

Scarlett held back a sigh at the sight. So there were different lines and conduct for different nobles. Then, by copying the noble before her, she'd essentially copied the proper actions for a duke?

Her eyes shifted to the emperor. That couldn't be a crime, could it? Considering the emperor had still accepted her pledge like that, probably not. At worst, it was just some sort of faux pas, most likely.

...But even if that were to be true, it couldn't be denied that this had been a major misstep on her part.

Barely listening to the emperor's response, her eyes went back to Evelyne, who seemed to look on at the current doings with a distracted expression. In truth, Scarlett could think of a way she could have avoided a situation like this. But she wasn't quite sure if it was something she could have brought herself to do.

She only partially registered the old man placing his blade in front of the stairs and walking over to stand by her, as an announcement arrived of another noble's entrance. The same procedure repeated itself, continuing for a long while. Most of the titles the nobles held gradually grew less important as time went on. Scarlett recognized a few of them here and there—Count Knottley among them—but it was mindboggling how many of them there were. What was even more amazing was how the announcer fellow could keep track of all of them, as well as the order they were in. While she herself didn't count, she was pretty sure there were at least two hundred of them, if not more. She'd only seen maybe a sixth of them when she was still there in the Inaugural Chamber, so she hadn't expected quite this many.

One of the things she did take note of while observing the train of nobles pledging their allegiance to the emperor was that a baroness such as herself was supposed to touch their head to the floor five times—not one—before addressing the emperor, as well as refer to themselves as 'lowly servant' instead of 'grateful'. They were minor details, but such things mattered in this culture, she assumed.

It took hours—literal hours—for the entire pledging process to finish. And the entire time everyone was expected to just stand there and wait, doing absolutely nothing but listen. Scarlett was honestly surprised that all of the people present managed it. There were some older people present, and she saw several younger children on the other side of the hall that also had to suffer through it. Her sympathy went out to them.

Although her situation wasn't really the best at the moment either. She endured the endless waiting, but her mind often wandered to what she should do next. Even though she now realized what her mistake was, she didn't know the magnitude of it yet, or the consequences it would have. As long as it didn't mean actually trying to kill her she would probably be fine, but she didn't quite know what she would have to pay.

When the sound of a staff hitting the ground rang out once again, this time louder than all the times before, everyone's attention turned to it.

"All present have born witness to the testaments of His Majesty's servants as they carry on the glory of the Empire!"

Then people's attention suddenly shifted back to the emperor, and everyone near Scarlett kneeled. She hurried to do the same, as the emperor slowly rose from his throne. The Royal Guard opened the door at the top of the stairs as the emperor began walking towards them, the rest of the people around him following close behind. Soon enough, after the platform holding the throne was completely empty and the last of the guards had disappeared through the door, a staff strike resounded once more.

"His Majesty has retired to recoup for the Elysian Ball. The Imperial Gallery will now open up until evening!"

Suddenly every single one of the black-armored knights who lined the walls of the throne room slammed their fists against their chests as they stood at attention. Scarlett looked around her as people slowly started moving, the nobles on her end of the room towards a set of doors near them that were opened by two knights and the people on the other side of the room towards a similar set of doors.

Right. So the next thing up was this ball or whatever.

Chapter 51 - Balls and curiosities

Scarlett looked out over the throngs of people beneath her, all of them occupied in their matters and conversations. Essentially none paid any attention to her, though she hadn't exactly situated herself so that people would anyhow.

She stood at the edge of a large, circular terrace that had a red granite floor—polished to the level where you could basically see your reflection—and a low marble railing running along its edges. Small plants and trees were placed at even intervals next to the railing in ceramic pots.

Her terrace wasn't the only of these platforms around. There were dozens of them, spread out at different elevations, before her, connecting to each other with stairs here and there. Some of the terraces had lavish fountains at their center, while others were home to a wide assortment of impressive displays and exotic-looking plants that Scarlett was pretty sure didn't exist back in her world. A lot of people were walking around amongst these platforms, taking in—and seemingly enjoying—the atmosphere around them.

This was the imperial garden. If memory served her right it was named 'Rosa's Garden', or 'Rosalind's Garden'. Something along those lines, at least.

And this space was large. Absolutely massive, in fact. The throne room they'd been in earlier—the 'Chamber of Elysia', as it were—might have been big, yes, but this place was on a different level. It was probably over fifty meters to the ceiling, and the entire outer wall of this space was made out of glass, giving an incredible view of Rellaria Lake. The sun hadn't quite begun to set yet, but it was moving towards evening. Still, some ships could be seen out on the gleaming water. And if you really squinted your eyes, you could just barely make out land on the other side of the lake.

But the grandeur of this place aside, Scarlett wasn't really 'enjoying' herself. The terrace she was on was close to one of the entrances, but definitely one of the more boring ones when it came to the decor. The only ones here, except for her, were a male servant who'd served her a glass of wine earlier and an old couple that sat on a bench a few meters from her.

She had considered moving on to one of the other platforms, but she didn't really know what more to do so she'd just ended up staying here. It did give her a good view of the venue, at least.

After the Proclamation ceremony itself had ended—if that was what that whole thing earlier had been—Scarlett, and the rest of "His Majesty's loyal servants" had been led to a few rooms similar to the Inaugural Chambers they'd been led to at the start. There, they had been given some time to refresh themselves and interact, but that hadn't resulted in much for Scarlett. No one had bothered to approach her—she wasn't completely sure how those who hadn't witnessed her display already seemed to know something was up—and she didn't feel certain enough in her current situation to purposefully try and interact with others, so she had just whiled away time by herself in a corner.

Eventually, a bunch of servants had arrived to announce that the Elysian Ball was about to begin, which was when all of them had been slowly led to this section of the palace, where the rest of the aristocrats who didn't have titles had also started appearing.

The other nobles had been quick to begin their mingling, spreading out among the different miniature gardens scattered across the room. And while Scarlett hadn't done much yet, it was clear that people were avoiding her.

Some did it naturally, as if she wasn't a person they would have known to begin with, but others clearly did it intentionally. She'd seen several people throw glances her direction, only to then pretend she wasn't there. At one point her eyes had even coincidentally met with those of Viscount Clapham—the noble she had met at the wedding in Ambercrest—on a neighboring terrace, but the older man had awkwardly looked away after the minor interaction.

Even Evelyne was ignoring her. Although she wasn't quite sure if that was due to the same reason. She'd often spotted the younger woman, walking around between groups, trying to strike up conversations.

In a way, she felt that was for the best though. If an argument were to begin between the two of them now it would probably worsen the situation.

Honestly, there was a part of her that felt glad that people were ignoring her. That she had an excuse not to interact with any of the people here, in this noble culture that was still so foreign to her.

She had done just fine back in Ambercrest, so she'd had some confidence she would be able to manage conversing with others today. But after her mistake earlier she was a bit apprehensive that she'd mess up even a basic conversation.

She would probably be able to spin it as she wanted. She had gotten pretty decent at improvising some of these things, after all.

But, having that responsibility almost forcibly taken away from her...it felt reassuring, in an odd way.

She wished the entirety of her could have shared that sentiment. Unfortunately, being intentionally singled out and quite clearly ignored was never a nice experience. There was a part of her that felt uncomfortable at the fact, and a part that was fuming.

This whole day had been an odd mix of emotions that she had not often experienced.

And it had gone to show that, maybe, some of the ways she had chosen to proceed weren't the best ones.

As she looked out across the vista of terraces, Scarlett's gaze lingered on the figure of Evelyne, seeing the woman try and converse with an older gentleman and his wife next to a miniature statue of a dragon.

Her mind went back to when they'd first arrived at the palace earlier today. While reciting the oath incorrectly in front of the emperor had definitely been her largest mistake today, it hadn't been her first. That had probably been when she hadn't shown any special reaction to the servants' welcome after she and Evelyne had exited the carriage. Back then Evelyne's strange look had clued Scarlett in that there was something she was missing, but it wasn't really until then that it clicked in her head that she had only ever heard Evelyne being referred to as 'Madame' around her, instead of 'Lady'. And this was despite her having read that 'lady' was a completely normal thing to address people with when in person if they either held a title or were the heir to one.

From that, Scarlett had roughly guessed the situation. But it had been a bit late to do anything about it at the time so she had simply ignored it and continued on.

Still. She did wonder what Evelyne's view of her was right now. It must be so confusing to her right now, seeing who she thought was her sister acting so erratically.

Scarlett took a sip out of the wine glass she had placed on the railing in front of her as her eyes moved away from Evelyne, slowly roaming over the other people here. Of the ones that were close enough to make out, there were a few she recognized from the game. Bendon Tyndall, standing at the center of a group of young women in fancy dresses. Count Hayden, standing in a group of other middle-aged men laughing next to a silver fountain. Count Soames, the portly man grabbing another two glasses of alcohol from a nearby servant.

"Baroness Hartford," a voice suddenly called out from behind.

Scarlett turned around, and froze for a brief second.

In the same black-and-red outfit as before, but now with a gold-handled saber hanging from her left side, was Princess Regina.

A step behind her was one of the Royal Guards, now without a helmet. A woman with sharp eyes and pale blonde hair that was mostly tied up in a bun at the back.

It took a moment longer than she would have wanted for Scarlett to remember what would be the correct way of address in this situation, as she performed a small curtsy. "Greetings to the first star of the Empire, Her Imperial Highness."

She really hoped there weren't any other special rules other than what she'd found today.

The princess observed her for a moment. Although Regina was younger than Scarlett—maybe even younger than Evelyne—she had a very stern expression on her face, along with two golden irises that clashed with her black hair.

"I think this is the first chance we have had to speak," the princess said after a moment, before gesturing to the woman behind her. "You're likely already aware, but this is Leandra Alston. The Third Sword of the Royal Guard. She is oftentimes my escort for events such as this."

The woman behind Regina nodded at Scarlett. "Baroness."

Scarlett glanced at the woman, giving a slow nod in return. "I am well aware, yes."

That was definitely Leandra 'The Swift'. It didn't surprise her that she was the one to guard the princess today. But she didn't know if the original had ever met Leandra, so it was best to play it safe.

The princess looked back at Scarlett. "I have heard some of you before. You're Sir Leon's fiancée, aren't you?"

"...That is correct, Your Highness. Are you well acquainted with Sir Leon?"

"I suppose you could say that. He's the vice-captain of the Imperial Solar Knight order, after all. He spends a lot of time here in the palace."

"I see," Scarlett said. A lot of the normal steeliness and coldness that was usually such a natural part of her speech was easier to control when speaking to the princess, she realized. It was a nice change from what she was used to. Although she would have preferred it if Regina hadn't approached her to begin with. "Is it common that he speaks of me?"

"No. Sir Leon does not often mention anything from his private life, as far as I know. Leandra would probably know more about that." The princess looked back at Leandra, who raised an eyebrow in slight amusement.

"Sorry to say, but I can't recall him ever mentioning you when I've talked with him."

"There is nothing to be sorry about," Scarlett said, keeping her attention mostly focused on Regina. She wasn't sure what the young woman wanted. "It sounds as if Sir Leon is good at separating his personal affairs from matters unrelated to them. An admirable quality."

"Yes, Sir Leon is an upstanding knight after all." The princess turned quiet for a short moment, staring at Scarlett. "I have heard some interesting news about you lately from an acquaintance of mine," she eventually continued.

Scarlett readied herself. "What would that be, Your Highness?"

She really hoped Regina's reason for talking to her wasn't something that would cause her even more trouble.

It wasn't as if the princess was a walking timebomb, but it was frighteningly easy to get her to join your party in the game. And while the following questlines related to her being a princess were interesting from a player's point of view, Scarlett doubted she would feel that way in real life.

"Is it true that your house recently uncovered a new Zuverian ruin?"

Scarlett paused.

Now that she thought about it, Regina had had an interest in the Zuver in the game.

"That is indeed true. It was at the beginning of last month, in an area not far from Freybrook. I and a local Shielder were the first to explore the ruins."

"Truly?" the princess asked.

While their previous exchange had only seemed like basic niceties to Scarlett, she now saw a small spark in the princess's eyes.

"And what were your findings? Was there any new discovery, or anything else special?"

"There were some artifacts amongst what we uncovered. We did also encounter some undead that appeared to have been buried there and protected the ruins."

"Undead? Yes, I've heard that's not uncommon." The princess nodded. "Then, what of the artifacts? Which era did they seem to hail from? I've read in Myerscough's Pursuit that many of the Zuverian relics found in the southwestern part of the empire appear to originate from the Datihr period."

Scarlett blinked at the princess, then shook her head. "I am afraid I will have to disappoint, Your Highness. However, I am not the right person to ask such a question. I am not an expert on the subject, so unfortunately I cannot give you an answer, nor can I speak for the value of the ruins or what was found there beyond some of the artifacts."

"That is a shame." The princess looked slightly disappointed. "But if so, how did you find the ruins? From what I have heard it does not sound like it was simply an accident."

Scarlett gently swirled the remaining wine in her glass. "Perhaps one could say that it was partially a coincidence," she said, glancing down. "By happenstance I discovered some research in our family library left by one of my ancestors. It was a collection of old local tales that pointed to these ruins. For some reason it had yet to be used, so I saw fit to change that."

"Really?" The princess's eyes widened just barely. "Then might we expect another discovery like this in the near future?"

Scarlett fought back a frown. She wasn't quite sure if the princess was just curious, or if she had another aim when asking that question. With what she knew of Regina, both were very real options.

"...I am uncertain," she said after a moment, taking a deliberate sip out of her wine glass. "We are still investigating some of the information. It is conceivable that this is all that we will find. As such, I do not wish to inaccurately attempt to predict the outcome."

The princess seemed to study her for a second, then nodded her head. "The Baroness is quite prudent. I don't think I would act much differently in your situation. Still, I wish for the best in this research. There are still so many things about the old Zuver that we don't know, and any new findings are a blessing."

Regina's head turned as her eyes appeared to move to one of the other terraces. Her gaze temporarily returned to Scarlett. "I will have to take my leave now. It was a pleasure speaking with you, Baroness. I hope we will get more opportunities like it in the future."

"The honor has been mine, Your Highness," Scarlett said with a small curtsy. The princess then turned around to leave, and Scarlett glanced at Leandra who gave her a curious look before adopting a neutral expression and following the princess.

Scarlett was once more left to herself. She turned around to the railing once again, eyes wandering over the large array of gardens as she began to ponder this interaction.

She hadn't been expecting to even see much of Regina in this world, much less have a conversation with the young woman. Thankfully it at least seemed to have been a much more innocent interaction than she had feared. Regina wasn't the type of person to 'plot', per se, so it was likely that her choice to approach and speak with Scarlett really was just due to curiosity.

The question was if that was where it ended. Because, while Regina had a very strict and dutiful personality, Scarlett knew she wasn't satisfied with her role as simply being a princess. And while—realistically—Regina would have no reason to get overly involved or attached to the actions of some minor baroness who superficially only dabbled in some ruin exploration, Scarlett couldn't shake off the feeling that Regina would want to join her party just because she had already recruited two other companions.

Maybe it was because this world was still, in many ways, a game to her. It felt real, it functioned like it was real, and it held living people in it. But it was still the world of a game to her. And because of that, sometimes she couldn't avoid this feeling of being the 'protagonist'. Of being the player. The one everything naturally revolves around, and whom every other person accommodates in some way.

She was pretty sure that wasn't the case. Mostly because she hadn't felt any real signs of it yet. But maybe it was also because she almost didn't want it to be true. Because that would somehow invalidate everything about this place and her actions here. As well as the people.

And although she didn't actually want to live out her life here—for reasons other than it simply being annoying having her personality shackled by an undecipherable system—she also didn't want everything here to be meaningless.

She shook her head. Whatever. She wasn't quite sure of Regina's intentions, but she wasn't going to spend too much of her time worrying about them either. She had plenty of other things to do that with as it was.

Looking out before her, Scarlett spotted the princess once more on a terrace a couple of levels below her current one. Leandra walked closely behind in her gold-and-white armor.

The princess was approaching another platform that had grass growing on much of its bed, sporting several hedges sculpted into different animals and people. There weren't too many people there at the moment, but on the far end of the platform Scarlett saw a figure in the white-gold Royal Guard armor who towered over even some of the nearby sculptures. The figure was too far away to make out a face, but Scarlett knew that this was Holdger 'The Mammoth'.

Close to him was the small shape of a child, hunched over on the grass next to a verdant sculpture of a woman. Regina was currently walking over to the young girl, soon stopping next to her. Her escort lined up next to her larger compatriot as the two Royal Guards kept watch over their charges.

Scarlett watched as the older princess seemed to share a few words with her younger sibling, but her attention shifted when she heard a gathering of heels hitting the floor approaching her from behind. Turning around, she saw a small posse of women around her age, in fancy dresses and wearing jewellery, stop close to her with smiles on their faces.

"Why, Baroness! It's been so long since we last met," one of the women declared, a tall brunette in a blue dress.

Scarlett arched an eyebrow at that. Up until a short while ago people had been avoiding her like the plague, but now these women had just decided to approach her like that? While she was no expert on the subject, her incoming-bullshit-O-meter did go off at this.

"I love that dress!" another woman said with a large smile as the group stepped closer to Scarlett.

A third woman shook a wine glass. "Yes, it's simply amazing. I had one like it before, but it couldn't compare to the cut on yours Baroness."

"Was that the first Imperial Princess you were speaking with earlier?" the first woman asked. "To think you would have connections even within the imperial family. As expected of you, Baroness."

Scarlett eyed all of the women with an impassive expression.

Right. Being ignored definitely wasn't so bad then.

"Was there a matter of which any of you wished to speak to me about?" she asked coolly, earning surprised reactions on their ends. Not that she cared much. She had no idea who any of them even were—she was pretty sure none of them had been among the nobles swearing oaths to the emperor earlier—but judging from how they treated her they probably weren't particularly important.

The brunette opened her mouth and closed it, before slowly opening it again. "We just wanted to greet you, Baroness. I feel like we haven't had many chances for so long, after all."

Scarlett looked at the woman for several seconds, feeling maybe just a little bit too much satisfaction in seeing the woman's eyes shy away at her stare, then took a step forward. Two of the women almost immediately stepped to the side to make way.

"If that is all, then this greeting should be enough. I trust we will meet again sometime in the future," Scarlett said, beginning to walk towards the stairs that led down to the next terrace. There was another spot a few platforms away that she felt looked secluded and comfortable enough that she could try moving to for now.

The women seemed flabbergasted at her words, and none seemed to try and stop her leaving, which fit her perfectly. She had originally come here ready to try and socialize with those necessary—and she definitely didn't intend to consciously make more enemies than she might already have—but she had a decent enough general understanding of what kinds of people these women were, and they weren't people she wanted to bother with right now. One could call it her gut instinct. Or just her prejudices. Whichever it was, she wanted to spare herself the irritation.

None of the women seemed to follow her, and as she passed over to the next platform—which had more people than the one she had been on, but still relatively few—she placed her wine glass on a small round table she passed by filled with other empty glasses and made her way towards her goal.

After having crossed a couple of increasingly populated terraces, nearing the one she was aiming for, her attention was caught by a person's movements in her peripheral vision. Someone who looked like they were advancing towards her. Turning to look, she saw a person in golden black armor weave their way through the crowd of people, their eyes locked on her with a serious expression.

She paused at the sight. Right. She had completely forgotten about his existence for a time.

Leon Delmon was making his way to her.

Chapter 52 - A knight's conception

Leon stood close to the edge of one of the terrace platforms in Rosalind's Garden, steadily keeping watch over the masses of people that were spread out around the garden. Over one of the largest gatherings of power on the whole continent. Many important deals and connections were forged here every year.

The Solar Knights were technically allowed to take part in the festivities— and he had let many of the others do so so that they could enjoy the ball with their close ones—but he himself had refrained from partaking for the moment. With Captain Crowder and a third of the knights currently absent, he was the one in command. And he felt it important to maintain some sense of decorum in his current position.

He might take some time later to go and greet Trista and her new husband if he spotted them, but he had never enjoyed these events that much to begin with. He had already neglected his mother and father when they had approached him along with his elder brother, citing his duties as an excuse.

He had a hunch that he knew what it was that they wanted to talk about, though. It had been a little amusing seeing the looks on their faces earlier. That now they were probably going to be the ones wanting to rescind the choice they'd forced upon him.

Passing his eyes over the crowds, Leon found his attention once again being drawn towards one of the higher terraces near one of the entrances. Where Scarlett had been standing by herself for most of the evening. Doing essentially nothing at all, shockingly enough.

He had considered confronting her several times now. He still had a hard time understanding her thought process today. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure out why she had done that. Whether it was part of some new scheme of hers, or if it was just pure arrogance.

It surprised him to see that Her Highness and Leandra were now speaking with Scarlett. The princess even looked to be the one to have begun the conversation.

He furrowed his forehead. After the disrespect Scarlett showed to the other nobles during the Proclamation ceremony she was still approached by a member of the imperial family? What could the princess have to talk about with Scarlett?

He observed them for a while before turning back to the crowds. While he didn't like the thought of Scarlett having the chance to spread her falsities around her, it wasn't his place to decide what the princess did. He doubted Scarlett could, or would, cause any sort of harm to the princess anyway.

His attention was caught by a group of nobles that stood on a platform adjacent to the one he was on, slightly beneath it. They were just barely within earshot of him. He recognized a couple of them, and the conversation they were having appeared to be about the Solar Knights.

"Captain Crowder wasn't the only one absent today, either," an older man with a long mustache said. "I presume I wasn't the only one that noted there were noticeably fewer of the knights present this year than the previous."

"Hmm. Yes, I did see that," another man said. "It's uncommon for all of the Captain's duties to be left to the Vice-Captain for an event such as this."

"How about you, Count Wyther? You are a patron of the Amber Knight order, aren't you? Have you heard anything through your connections?"

A tall gentleman in a red waistcoat massaged his chin. "No, I have not. But it certainly does appear as if something is brewing. It would not surprise me if we were to hear of it soon."

Leon glanced at the group with a thoughtful expression. It was only a matter of time before people started asking questions.

He wasn't informed of all the details either, but he knew enough about the situation. He would have preferred to have joined the captain if possible, but things were what they were. They all had their duties that they had to perform.

After some time, he spotted the same head of distinct dark-red hair once more, now moving amongst the crowd. Looking to where Scarlett had been before, he now noticed she was missing. His eyes returned to her. It seemed as if she was making her way towards another of the terraces that overlooked part of the venue.

He looked over at one of the other platforms for a moment, where a fellow knight was keeping watch. The prince was also only a short distance away, with Dame Iyana behind him. Things were under control.

Leon considered it for another moment, then he started moving towards where Scarlett was. This was one of the few opportunities he would have to speak with her in the coming week.

Walking through the crowd of people in front of him, he neared her as she was close to reaching another of the platforms that were relatively empty. Suddenly she paused. Her head turned toward him and she stared at him with a cold gaze. She looked around, then began moving in the same direction as before again.

Leon stopped for a moment, then started following again. While he had never considered himself an expert on Scarlett, it didn't seem like she was trying to avoid him.

His advances stopped once again though when another person unexpectedly walked up and stopped in front of Scarlett. A man with greying hair and a small pair of glasses. "Ah, Baroness Hartford. Could I have a moment of your time, perhaps? I have been intending to speak with you for a while now."

Scarlett stopped and gave the man a cool, examining look. "Was there something you wished to speak to me about?"

"Ah, yes there was, actually." The man returned her a polite smile. "I am Baron Loreno Atherton, Master Docent Wizard and dean of Fayrun Tower. I actually sent a missive to your estate two weeks back but I understand that you might have much to do. I wanted to speak to you about the Zuverian ruins discovered last month, and the artifacts found there. You see, the Fayrun Tower would be very interested in perhaps coming to some sort of agreement regarding the rights to examine and buying some of—"

"I do not mean to be impolite," Scarlett interrupted. "However, all of the matters regarding the managing of what was found in the Zuverian ruins are handled by my younger sister. If you wish to discuss it further, I would recommend speaking with her. I am certain she can be more of aid to you than I in this."

The man's eyes widened slightly. "I-I see. Your sister, you say?"

"Yes. Evelyne Hartford. She is also here today, so if you want to continue this discussion you can attempt to find her."

He slowly nodded his head. "Then I will do so. I will inform her that you directed me to her."

"Do so."

"Then I won't bother you any more than necessary. I hope you have a good evening," the man said as he left.

Scarlett only seemed to keep her eyes on him for a second before she started walking again.

Leon had observed the exchange quietly from a short distance, but he wasn't entirely sure what it was about. Had Scarlett discovered Zuverian ruins? Or maybe her younger sister had?

He thought about what was the most reasonable alternative as he began moving again, soon climbing onto the platform Scarlett had stopped on. He slowly approached her, where she now stood beside the railing next to a marble bust of one of the previous emperors. She was looking out the giant windows that made up the southern walls of the Garden, seemingly observing the waters of Rellaria Lake as the sun was beginning to lower.

She turned to Leon with a calm expression as he stopped next to her.

"Sir Leon. It has been some time."

He blinked. Scarlett had never been a woman to show much of her emotions, except when angered, but she usually wasn't so distant as to refer to him with his knight title. Was she purposefully trying to dissociate herself from him?

"...What are you up to now, Scarlett?" he asked. He never knew what to say to her, and he'd found ages ago that it wasn't worth trying to play her games.

She raised an eyebrow. "I believe you asked me something similar the last time we spoke as well. I can only assume that your assessment of me must be rather abject, for that to always be your first assumption."

"I learn from my experiences. And I try not to repeat any mistakes."

Scarlett let out a low huff as if she found that funny. "Is that so? Well, to answer your question." She gestured around them. "I am partaking in the ball. Same as everyone else."

He looked at the mostly empty area around them. "It doesn't look that way to me."

He saw the look in Scarlett's eyes turn a little harder. "...I see no point in engaging in conversation with people who currently have no desire to speak with me. That is all."

"You expected anything less? This is your own doing."

She looked at him for a few seconds, before turning to gaze out over the rest of the garden. "That may be so," she said slowly, trailing off.

Leon stared at her, unsure what to continue with. That wasn't the kind of response he had been expecting.

"My parents spoke to me briefly. Earlier," he finally said. "They'll probably want to end the engagement after this."

Scarlett glanced at him. "Very well."

"...You've got nothing to say about that?"

"What is there to say? If one party no longer wishes for the engagement to continue then there is no point to it."

He frowned. "But you were the one that was so obsessed with it to start with."

"And I no longer am." Scarlett started tapping her finger against the railing next to her. "I would have thought this to be good news to you."

Leon stayed silent for a moment. Studying her expression. He was racking his brain for how this could be a plan for her to trick him into something, but he couldn't come up with anything reasonable.

It couldn't be that Scarlett had found someone powerful she was trying to pursue? Would that perhaps explain why she'd dared to act that way during the Proclamation?

No, the Scarlett he knew wouldn't be satisfied relying so much on someone else like that. If there was one thing Scarlett was, it was proud.

"Then what are you going to do next?" he asked, intentionally avoiding responding to her statement. "This will leave you shunned by most of noble society. And now you won't even have the family of a marquis to support you."

"It is of no matter." Scarlett's eyes seemed to be focused on a certain point that was a few terraces away from theirs. Leon looked over and saw that Scarlett's younger sister was there, talking with a small group of people.

"None of this will have any true bearing on how I proceed from hereupon," she continued. "I am not limited simply by how people perceive me."

He looked back at her. She wasn't wrong there. She'd always had a scary ability to make sure that just the right people saw her the way she wanted. Even if others saw her for how she truly was.

She turned back to him. "I imagine we will not have many more interactions in the future, should the engagement be canceled as you said. Is there something you wish to tell me, while you have the opportunity?"

He knitted his brows. She was taking all of this too casually. Even if he doubted she had ever had any strong emotions for him, Scarlett had always been obsessed with the prestige and power that came with his family name. Doubly so after he became the vice-captain of the Solar Knights — something he had suspicions she had gambled on transpiring from the beginning.

Still, he shook his head. "There is nothing."

Although he had many opinions on the matter, he didn't think it was worth bringing any of them up with her. It was doubtful she would care about it anyway, and he didn't doubt that she could try and use it as leverage against him sometime in the future.

Scarlett simply nodded. "Then I believe we have no further business with each other."

"...Yes," he slowly agreed.

She stared at him, as if she was expecting him to leave. Eventually, he turned and walked away.

Chapter 53 - Deliberating

Scarlett felt the onset of a headache as she languidly leaned back in her chair. She had been feeling stressed out the whole morning now.

Right now she was in one of the offices in the capital mansion. It was mostly empty, the only decoration here a couple of bookcases at the edge of the room and the desk in front of her. She didn't really need more than that right now, so the plain nature of the room didn't bother her much.

The ball had already ended the night before, so that wasn't what was stressing her out now. While it had been far from a pleasant experience— by any definition of the word—and the only true silver lining was that she appeared to have managed to avoid committing any further large mistakes during the ball itself, she didn't feel the need to excessively worry about it now that it was over.

The ending of the night had also turned out relatively calm, all things considered. After her interaction with Leon, no more people had approached her, and when things had finally started dying down and people started leaving she had been led back to the carriage and been allowed to leave the palace without any real issues.

She had been a bit surprised over the whole divorce talk Leon had brought up with her, but it wasn't really something she cared that much about. From what she remembered he wasn't a bad man, but she hadn't been planning on actually marrying him to start with. He was still essentially a stranger to her, and one who had a pretty poor image of her. If their end decided to end things that just made it easier on her.

No, the current problem was none of that, but rather Evelyne.

To say that their ride back had been comfortable would be a straight-out lie. Their current situation was...awkward, at best. Scarlett had fully expected Evelyne to tear into her about what she'd done during the Proclamation ceremony, but instead, the younger woman had stayed quiet the entire ride back to the mansion.

Scarlett wasn't entirely sure how to interpret that.

While she had managed to get a decent night's sleep despite the events of the previous day, that hadn't meant much this morning. Evelyne had been missing during breakfast—not that unusual of an occurrence between the two sisters, if Scarlett were to guess—but her absence had been especially noticeable today. Doubly so as she had been spending a lot of time trying to figure out exactly what she should say to her.

To keep her mind off of things for a bit, Scarlett had spent a couple of hours after that going through the [Bag of Juham] to create an account of all the loot they'd picked up from Temisbrook Glade, but that had only gotten her so far.

After that, she had started scanning through her little red book, going through her notes and trying to get a sense of which of her current plans might get affected by or derailed because of what happened at the Elysian Proclamation. Unfortunately, there were a lot of things she was still unsure of when it came to how far-reaching the consequences of that were, so she had been somewhat limited in her conclusions.

One upside was that attending the Elysian Proclamation had apparently been considered a quest by the system—which it definitely hadn't been in the game—so she had gained five skill points from that on her way back at least. That meant she now had 12 skill points, which would be enough to upgrade her [Hydrokinesis] to [Greater Hydrokinesis]. Her hydrokinesis was a bit limited in what it could do right now, but considering the increase in effectiveness that she had seen after upgrading her pyrokinesis she had high expectations.

A knock that sounded out from the door caught Scarlett's attention.

"Enter," she said coolly.

The door opened and one of the servants entered. A black-haired woman Scarlett didn't know the name of.

The woman curtsied. "My Lady. We received a reply from the Tyndall residence."

Scarlett raised an eyebrow. That was a quick response. She'd only asked her servants to send a letter earlier this morning.

"What did they say?"

The servant seemed to hesitate. "They declined your request for a meeting, my Lady. They claimed they are preoccupied for the remainder of the Light Fest, and do not have the spare time to fit you in..."

Scarlett held back a sigh as she felt a rivulet of irritation swell up from inside.

Like hell they were busy. There was no way they couldn't spare even half an hour for her.

"Send another letter," she said. "Address it to the youngest son. Inform him I have an important business proposal, solely for him. It is something that he is guaranteed to have an interest in, and I need no longer than fifteen minutes of his time."

The servant woman curtsied. "Understood, my Lady."

Scarlett watched the woman leave as she thought about the matter. She didn't want to be too conspicuous when just setting up the meeting itself, but hopefully this would be enough to get him to at least agree to it. It would be annoying if her plans were delayed because she couldn't even meet the man.

Turning her attention back to the desk before her, her eyes went to a pile of papers lying on it. Those were the notes she had written down detailing the items from the dungeon. It was eleven artifacts, all in all. The [Bag of Juham (Epic)], [Lifeblood's Eternal Circuit (Unique)], and [Mark of the Fey (Rare)] were items she was going to keep without question. She still wasn't really sure exactly what [Mark of the Fey] did or was, but she imagined it might be useful sometime in the future when she next interacted with creatures of the Wandering Realm.

Regarding what she would do with the rest of the items though, things were still a bit up in the air. She had asked Fynn if he wanted the [Fists of Malaise (Rare)], just to be sure, but he hadn't shown much interest in them. She would probably just end up selling most of the rare weapons that had been dropped by the suits of armor.

There was a possibility that Shin might be interested in one of the shields they'd found, [Bulwark of Courage (Rare)] and [Pastoral Glade's Bulwark (Epic)], so she was considering lending either of them to him. He was technically just temporarily in her employ, so she wouldn't straight out give it to him. They were bound to be worth a decent amount of money, after all. Especially [Pastoral Glade's Bulwark], with it being a completely undamaged epic artifact.

The other epic artifact, [Moonshadow's Crown], Scarlett was a bit unsure about as well. She would probably just auction it off with the rest of the items. Although she was trying to see if she could figure out a better use for it.

As for the rest of the loot; when they had made their way back through the dungeon they'd harvested lots of different interesting plants—mostly on Allyssa's prompting—among other things. Shin, for example, had pointed out that the wings of the [Restless Blot-Sprites] might hold some value, so they had ended up spending some time gathering those that weren't too damaged. At that point, Scarlett had slightly regretted having charred so many of them to ash with her pyromancy.

She glanced down at her right hand, where she had both the black [Ring of Umbral Defiance] and [Lifeblood's Eternal Circuit]. She was especially satisfied with the golden, carved wooden ring she had gotten from that place. She liked not feeling like as much of a walking target anymore. Though she would still have to experiment some with its limits.

Nonetheless, they had made off with a pretty good haul of loot from that excursion. She would probably get a good amount of money if she managed to sell most of it.

Of course, that was one of her current issues. She herself didn't actually have the connections to sell these things at the moment. Evelyne was the one who was more knowledgeable in that area, and the one who had handled it last time. Scarlett had kind of been banking on the same this time as well, though she had intended to learn more about it at the same time.

Scarlett looked out the office's window, into the small garden outside. Evelyne's office was on the opposite end there.

She wasn't sure what kind of mood the younger woman was in right now. It was bound to be bad, though. Scarlett certainly wouldn't have been happy had she been in Evelyne's situation, not even really understanding everything that was going on or why it was happening.

Scarlett leaned forward over the desk and rubbed her temples. The crux of the matter was Evelyne. Despite her instincts not wanting to admit it, she was heavily reliant on the woman in her current position. As such, she really had to handle this situation before it got even worse than it already was. She needed to have a talk with Evelyne. A serious talk.

A...real talk.

While she thought things were generally proceeding well for her, she couldn't go on like she had up till now. It irked her, part of the very core of her being screaming out against it, but the previous day had shown the consequences of her being neglectful. That she had to change how she handled things.

To be honest, most of what she had done up till now today could have been postponed to later. She was just having a bit of a hard time getting herself to visit Evelyne. She had gone through what she could say in her head a few times by now. Made sure it didn't sound too unreasonable. That, while not being the truth, it was close enough to seem like it.

But it was genuinely hard.

She remembered when she had forced herself to apologize to Evelyne the second time they met, and it had made her feel pretty bad. Angry. Vulnerable. Humiliated, even. But this...

Even the thought of what she was intending to do made her wince. She wasn't entirely sure she could do it, even. But she had to try. There were a lot of things she had to speak to Evelyne about. For one, Evelyne was probably her best option at finding out the exact ramifications of what she did during the Proclamation. Knowing that was vital if she wanted to better adjust her plans for the future. In addition, Evelyne might know the best ways to handle the current situation so that she didn't piss off the other nobles more than necessary. Because, truth be told, a lot of her plans relied on essentially brute-forcing her way through things with her game knowledge. Her main means of earning money was running dungeons, for instance.

What she was most afraid of right now was that she would go through with this but still fail to convince Evelyne. That would be pretty crap scenario for her. Because unlike many of the other things she had done, she didn't know a specific game detail that could help her much with Evelyne.

Scarlett tapped her finger against the desk as she stared into the air in front of her.

Well, she wouldn't get anywhere if she just stayed cooped up in here all day. The best way to remove a band-aid was to rip it off.

She pushed back her chair as she stood up and walked around the desk towards the exit.

Everything would probably go fine.

Chapter 54 - Confessions

Evelyne read over the same passage in the papers before her for the fifth time in a row. She let out a low groan as she grabbed the sides of her head, leaning over her desk. She was barely getting any work at all done today. All her thoughts kept coming back to the same issue.

Yesterday had been a catastrophe.

After Scarlett's insane showing, in front of almost every single noble in the empire, Evelyne didn't know what to do. Watching her sister do something so presumptuous in front of the emperor had made Evelyne think she was going to faint. Standing there in the Chamber of Elysia for hours, knowing that dozens of people around her knew who she was and were giving her looks, had been one of the most stressful experiences in her life.

When the Elysian Ball had started, she had at least hoped she could salvage some of the situation. She had gone around and tried to talk with as many people as possible, trying to gloss over Scarlett's words and forge some connections, but so many just came up with cheap excuses to avoid speaking with her after she introduced herself. Even a couple of her old business partners had ignored her. One of the few who had seemed to have any interest at all in talking to her had been a baron who had been the dean of a mage tower. Introduced by Scarlett, of all people.

Because of course her sister didn't know that they had already made agreements with other towers about the materials found in the Zuverian ruins.

If it wouldn't have been so stupid in a situation like this, Evelyne would have thought Scarlett was intentionally trying to make everything as difficult as possible for her.

Scarlett's actions had caused the majority of noble society to freeze out their family in less than a day. Nobody wanted to be affiliated with a house that publicly offended all the duchies, and showcased such blatant arrogance.

Evelyne closed her eyes and put her head down on the desk. She was so tired. Yesterday had sucked all energy from her. She hadn't even had the spirit to question Scarlett about anything on the way back from the palace. The night before she had wanted to do nothing less than just go to sleep and hope it was all a bad dream. But then she had barely gotten any sleep at all because she couldn't stop thinking about things.

For a while, she had thought Scarlett was improving. She'd hoped it was true, even despite how much they had argued recently. But no. Whatever business it was that her sister had gotten herself involved in now had clearly gone to her head. Now she seemed to think she could do absolutely what she wanted, consequences be damned.

Did Scarlett even realize that she had stabbed both of them in the foot with this? Or did she seriously think this was going to bring her higher up the social ladder?

It was almost funny the lengths her sister was going to, to bring their house to ruin. They were already in a terrible situation financially, and now they were going to be crippled socially among the nobility as well.

Evelyne lay there with her head on the desk for a while, trying to calm down as she got her thoughts in order. Then she forced herself to return to the documents she had been going through, with only marginal success.

Eventually, a knock sounded out from the door.

"What is it?" she asked with a drained voice.

There was a pause on the other side of the door, before a voice came through. "I believe we should speak."

Evelyne's eyes widened. It was Scarlett.

"...I'm busy."

She did not want to have whatever conversation this was right now.

"That may be so, but we still need to speak," Scarlett's voice rang out. "I do not believe I can postpone this any further."

The door opened and Scarlett walked inside, looking as fit and elegant as ever in the tight dark dress she wore. She certainly didn't seem to have problems sleeping.

"What don't you understand about busy?" Evelyne muttered.

Scarlett looked down at the documents on Evelyne's desk. "...I apologize. However, this is important."

She walked over and sat down in the armchair situated between the two bookcases in the room, placing both hands on her legs as her head was turned down.

Evelyne watched with confusion. This didn't feel like her sister at all. She would have expected her to be even worse than usual, after the previous day.

"I..." Scarlett began, looking up at her. "I realize that what I did yesterday was damaging to us."

Evelyne blinked, staring at her sister.

"And I will admit that I..." Scarlett paused again. "...That I did not entirely recognize the ramifications this might have on our house."

"You're...apologizing?" Evelyne asked.

She saw how Scarlett's knuckles turned white as she clenched them, folding them over each other. Her sister met her eyes and gave a slow nod. "I am."

Evelyne was quiet for a while. "Why?" she finally asked.

"Because I consider it to only be right for me to admit to my wrongs before we begin this conversation."

Evelyne shook her head. "No. I mean why did you do it?" She stared at Scarlett. "Why did you do something as stupid as to try and put yourself on the same level as a duke in front of the whole empire!"

Scarlett looked back at her. Evelyne saw the intensity in her eyes. The same stare her sister always had when she got angry at her. But instead of lashing back, Scarlett closed her eyes for a second and turned away towards the window.

"I believe this is a good transition to the main topic I came here to speak about. The truth behind some of the recent events. Although it will be somewhat difficult to properly explain."

"...What?"

"I imagine you have had many thoughts and questions regarding my actions this last month." Scarlett raised one hand and snapped her fingers. A ball of fire appeared in the middle of the room, hovering a meter above the floor. "I believe you have also been curious about my current magical capabilities, as well as the related artifacts."

Suddenly a ball of swirling water appeared beside it, and the two spheres started circling each other. "Although I did hint to it previously, the truth behind this is that there are no artifacts responsible for my magic."

Scarlett pushed her red hair to the side and pointed to the amber earring she had on her right ear. "This has a function entirely extraneous to both pyromancy and hydromancy. As do the rest of the artifacts I have acquired. The pyrokinesis and hydrokinesis you see me displaying are solely my own power."

Evelyne stared at the two spinning elemental spheres, then turned to Scarlett. "That's impossible."

Neither her own pyrokinesis nor her terrakinesis was even close to reaching the levels she had seen Scarlett showcase if that were true. What she was seeing here, and had seen a few days earlier in the garden, had to be caused by artifacts or enchanted items of some kind. There was no way Scarlett could do that. Evelyne knew better than anyone that Scarlett had always been terrible at magic.

"I will not fault you for your distrust, but it is the truth nonetheless," Scarlett said.

"How would that be possible?" Evelyne asked. "You're trying to tell me that you've been hiding this all along?"

Scarlett snapped her fingers and the fire and water disappeared. "The answer to that ties into the reason I acted as I did at the Proclamation, so I suppose I will begin there."

Her sister took a deep breath, then continued speaking. "The simple truth is that I had..." Evelyne saw her sister's jaw tighten. "...Forgotten the appropriate greeting. As such, I instead mimicked the actions of Duke Tyndall."

Evelyne's eyes widened as she stared at her sister. "You forgot?!"

Scarlett nodded. "And that is not the only thing I have forgotten."

"What do you mean?"

Scarlett stayed quiet for a few seconds. "Do you recall your visit to the mansion at the beginning of last month?" she suddenly changed the subject.

Evelyne knitted her brows. That was when she joined Kinsley when he delivered the domain ledgers. She'd wanted to confront Scarlett about her repealing the stipend for the Brook Tower.

"That is when it began," Scarlett continued.

"When what began?"

"It is...complex in ways I cannot fully describe." Scarlett looked as if she was considering what to say. "I presume you are aware of who the Augur is?"

"Of course I am. But what do the Followers have to do with this?"

"Nothing. However, that is not what I am implying." Scarlett shook her head. "The Augur is bestowed guidance and visions of the future from divinity. From Ittar himself. Yet the current Augur does not often show herself. Do you know why that is?"

"Because the work of an Augur is taxing on the mind. They have to spend a lot of time interpreting Ittar's wishes." Evelyne frowned, although she wanted to sigh. Why was Scarlett going around in circles like this?

"That is true, in part." Scarlett nodded. "However, it significantly diminishes the severity of the seat, and the consequences of it. The full truth is that the Augur herself is not in a lucid enough state to be presentable the vast majority of the time."

Evelyne gave Scarlett an incredulous look. "How could you possibly know that?"

Scarlett gave an almost bitter smile. "Because I am in a not too dissimilar position."

Silence filled the room. The two of them stared at each other.

Evelyne was starting to seriously question her sister's sanity.

"I did not expect for you to take me at my word," Scarlett said. "Although I do hope you will hear me out."

"Hear you out about what? You're saying Ittar is speaking to you?"

Scarlett gave her a long look. "Not quite, no."

"Then what?" Evelyne asked.

"While I cannot speak for the origin of the phenomenon, it is true that I have received a...revelation, of sorts. From some power that is far above myself." Scarlett held up her hand, showing the two rings that were on it, and pointing to her earring. "Knowledge of a future that has yet to come to pass. Information on important artifacts, events, and people, that one would not be able to gather by typical means. Experience with magic that I instinctually understand."

Scarlett looked her in the eyes. "You wondered where I learned of the Zuverian ruins, and the other artifacts I have acquired? How I could perform magic such as what I displayed earlier without the aid of items?" She nodded at her. "There is your answer."

Both of them went quiet again.

"Let's say I believe you," Evelyne finally said with a tired voice. She didn't know why Scarlett was trying to come up with all of these outlandish excuses, but clearly her sister had put some thought into it. "You're saying you've forgotten things because some god put visions in your head?"

"I did not say it was a god," Scarlett cut in with a frown. "Merely a power that is beyond me. Nor did I claim to have received visions."

Her sister's mouth tightened. "...Perhaps it would be best to describe them as memories. Separate from what was there before, and frighteningly real in their predictions, yet not always reliable in their accuracy. And, unfortunately, they have made differentiating some information from other difficult inside my mind. Impossible even, at times."

Evelyne stared at her. "You're serious?"

Scarlett gave her a heavy look. "Deadly so."

"...And it began one month ago?"

"Yes."

"...And you just thought it was a good idea to stay quiet about it? To attend the blasted Elysian Proclamation without knowing what to do?!"

Evelyne bent forward and palmed her temples, shaking her head at what she was hearing. It sounded like just some lie Scarlett was spouting, but it didn't make sense for her to lie about forgetting things if it wasn't true.

Was that part actually true, and Scarlett was trying to cover things up by adding on the rest of this nonsense?

"That..." She heard Scarlett hesitate. "It is close to the truth."

Evelyne glanced up at her. "You understand none of this makes any sense, don't you? Why couldn't you just have paused to think for a moment, maybe considered telling me about it? Before you went ahead and offended half of the people in the empire!"

Scarlett raised an eyebrow at her. "That is what I am doing now. However, I did not, and still do not, think it would have been a wise decision on my part to do so earlier."

"Why not?!"

Her sister's gaze on her turned even colder than usual. "I am aware you have been collecting evidence in order to depose me."

Evelyne stilled.

"Can you say, while staying entirely forthright, that you would have simply lent me your aid had I approached you one month ago with this information? Had I..." Scarlett scowled. "Admitted...that I am not fully of sound mind, incapable of fulfilling all my duties as baroness?"

"I-I..." Evelyne was unsure what to say.

"I do not believe you would. So I judged it best to stay quiet. Though I admit it was arrogant of me, I believed I would be able to make do on my own."

A dozen thoughts passed through Evelyne's brain, and she didn't know what to focus on. But one thing caught her mind. "So you knew?" she asked her sister. "That's why you suddenly decided to 'help' Count Knottley in dealing with those criminals. You did just want to hide any traces of your involvement with them, because you were afraid I would find something to implicate you with."

Scarlett's scowl deepened. "No, that was not the sole reason I did that."

"What, you're going to tell me you actually did it for those kids?" Evelyne let out a derisive laugh. "We both know you don't care a single thing about what happens to them. You setting up an orphanage is a joke in more ways than one and everyone who really knows you will see through it clear as day."

"That is not at all what I—"

"And now whatever you've gotten yourself involved in this time isn't only threatening your life, but the survival of our whole house!"

"Evelyne," Scarlett snapped. "Let me speak."

Evelyne felt a cold chill run down her spine as the words halted in her throat, but she shook her head. "No, I won't let you speak. Do you know how hard it's been. How after father died I've had to watch you bring the barony closer and closer to ruin every year because of your indifference to anything that doesn't interest you or increase your standing? To watch you ruin people's, children's, lives, just to satisfy your own greed. To spend every single day trying to clean up after your mess?"

She saw Scarlett's expression worsening by the second, but she didn't care.

"Evel—"

"What? You think things are going to get better just because you threw away some of the skeletons in your closet? Pretend like you're helping people, and managing to find some artifacts? The truth is you threw away even all that yesterday, and I can't even say I would ha—"

"Would you shut up for just a second!" Scarlett yelled.

Evelyne froze, her eyes unblinking as she stared at Scarlett.

Her sister looked even more surprised, almost all the anger that was in her expression having disappeared. Scarlett looked at her for a moment, then turned away with a frown. She clicked her tongue as she put her hand to her temple.

"I have nothing to say of the hardships you have gone through," she said with a calmer voice. "Truly, it is a regretful matter, but it is not something the current me can apologize for. Simply know that I, as I am now, have no desire of putting undue burdens on your shoulders."

She stayed silent for a few seconds more, then turned back to Evelyne. "My involvement with the Grey Dog Gang was a mistake that the old me performed out of pettiness and improvidence. I decided to deal with them because I witnessed what future that path would have led me down, and it was not a destiny I wished for."

Her sister had a resolved look now. "Although I regret them, I will not ask for absolution for all of the actions of that nature that I have taken. I will rectify the wrongs that I can, but know this: I will not allow the past to hinder my future."

Evelyne absorbed her sister's words in a daze. Only now did it sink in what she herself had said, and she couldn't quite understand what her sister was trying to say. It was pretentious, vain, and straight-out offensive in their dereliction of culpability, but she also felt there was a promise in those words. Of betterment. Of course, knowing Scarlett it was bound to be just another ploy to confuse her.

In so many ways her sister's words were like the Scarlett that she knew, yet so different. And for Scarlett to snap like that...Evelyne couldn't recall a single time that she had been alive when that had happened.

Was there truth behind the story Scarlett had told of visions...memories...or whatever?

Evelyne looked at her sister. Was there a difference between the old Scarlett and the Scarlett in front of her? It had become more and more clear to her that the woman before her wasn't the same as before.

The problem was that she didn't know what kind of Scarlett this was. When had she ever thought that her sister would come out and, genuinely, ask for her help?

Scarlett let out a sigh from her armchair, pulling Evelyne out from her thoughts. "This did not quite go as planned. I believe we both might have been too affected by our emotions. I have said most of what I came here to say, although I also wished to get your confirmation that you would aid me. But I believe it best if we postpone such discussions until you have had more time to consider what I have said."

She rose from her chair, giving Evelyne one last, long look. Then she walked out of the office without another word. Evelyne just watched her leave, not bothering to come up with any goodbyes.

For some time she just sat there in front of her desk, going through the conversation in her head. Eventually, she just let out a tired laugh and closed her eyes as she put her head down on the desk again.

She really needed to sleep.

Chapter 55 - Shopping trip

"There are so many people," Fynn said as he looked out the carriage window and at the masses that crowded the streets. The young man's eyes seemed to be plastered on a small stall that was selling what Scarlett could only liken to some sort of candied apples to a group of kids.

"Is this your first time in the capital for the Light Fest?" Allyssa asked him from beside Scarlett.

"Yes. Where I'm from we don't have it," he said.

"Where's that?"

Fynn stilled, and Scarlett could practically see the cogs moving in his head as he tried to answer. She knew he was terrible with lies, so she decided to help him out this once.

"If I recall correctly, you were from Dimfrost, were you not?" she said casually.

He looked towards her with slight surprise, then slowly nodded his head. "...That's right."

From what Scarlett remembered, that was a village that was closely connected to his tribe. In the game it was where he said he was from up until he started trusting you more.

"Dimfrost? That's somwhere to the west, isn't it?" Allyssa asked.

"It's situated between the eastern edge of the Whitdown Mountains and the Three Streams. Just south of the Blasted Lands," Shin said, not looking up from the thick book he was reading.

"Oh." Allyssa's eyes widened. "Then during the Dragon Rampage you..."

Fynn's expression darkened somewhat, and Allyssa went quiet.

"...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up something personal."

He shook his head, turning to look out the window once more. "It's fine," he muttered.

Scarlett kept her gaze on him, observing the young man. His eyes were glued to the children visiting the stalls outside.

Silence descended on the carriage for a while following that. Scarlett eventually shifted her attention to the crowds that were passing by outside as well.

The Light Fest truly was in full swing now. Earlier they had traveled across part of the Sunset Walk, the large road that ran through the center of the city, and were currently in The Coins district. Its busy streets, filled with pedestrians who were enjoying the festival, made their progress slower than usual, but the bright and lively environment outside made up for part of that. Even though they were several days into the celebration by now there were still plenty of colorful banners hanging from the different buildings, and various sun-themed iconography could be seen on every street corner.

It was a bit before noon right now, and they had left the mansion about forty minutes earlier. Their current destination was the shop where she tried to sell the Cabal equipment. They had received a notice about it the day before, so Scarlett had decided to handle the matter as early as possible.

Unfortunately she hadn't talked at all with Evelyne since they'd had their conversation the day before. She was hoping the younger woman would be ready to talk more later today, but she wasn't quite certain how Evelyne had taken what she told her. She didn't want to hound her about it. They had both been a bit...agitated, the day before. And she wanted to let Evelyne fully digest everything before they spoke any further. But just waiting for a response was nerve-racking in its own way. She also felt a bit embarrassed about meeting her right now. Her outburst during their conversation had been surprising in more ways than one. Not only because she had ended up getting a lot more worked up than she had expected, but also because she was pretty sure that a part of her personality had poked through.

A part of Amy Bernal.

Honestly, that was the thing that had shocked her the most. For just a brief moment the anger and irritation she felt from Scarlett's half had merged with her real personality and she had unwittingly acted like she might have back in her world when she was upset. Of course, she had regretted it immediately after. The Scarlett part of her had practically been writhing in shame from the display, and she had ended up basically running away from the conversation soon after that.

But it also made her a bit relieved. She didn't know what it meant, but this was the first sign she had seen that the traits shackling her weren't unbendable. And she sorely wished for a future where she wasn't bounded by those stupid traits of hers.

But for now, she wasn't quite certain how to use this phenomenon. At the moment, it seemed like all it would take was her getting unreasonably angry at her estranged—substitute—sister. Easy enough to do in her situation, although not exactly the most constructive way of spending one's time. Nor was it proven to be repeatable. She had gotten angry at Evelyne plenty of times previously, after all.

But all of those thoughts were for another day. Right now, she was just hoping she hadn't royally pooched things even further by telling Evelyne about her situation. Or, well, an abridged and tweaked version of her situation. For the time being, she could do nothing but wait on that front though.

Scarlett's itinerary for the whole day was to visit the shop regarding the equipment, perhaps look around for a place where she could get some materials for Allyssa—who was still thinking about her offer related to the young Shielder's alchemy—and last but not least, visit the residence of the Tyndall duchy.

She would have preferred to have delayed the visit to the Tyndalls to a later date. She wasn't exactly excited about poking the hornet's nest that was the empire's noble society more than necessary, and getting some guidance from Evelyne before this meeting had been one of the reasons why she had gone to her yesterday. But unfortunately, Scarlett had received a response to her previous message this morning—they had been a lot slower with replying this time than the last—saying that the second son of the Tyndall family was willing to meet with her today. However, only briefly. And the time for the visit was not negotiable.

At least she had managed to arrange the meeting. That was good news in and of itself. And the meeting wasn't actually related to any noble matters, so hopefully it wouldn't go as bad as any of her previous interactions of the same nature.

She kept pondering over things as their carriage made its way through the district, until eventually, they stopped at the side of the street, next to a large building made out of white wood.

"Apologies, my Lady," the coachman's voice rang out from the front of the carriage. "There seems to be a stop in the flow of traffic up ahead. It will take some time before we arrive."

Scarlett frowned involuntarily, leaning closer to the window to look ahead. Rows of carriages stood still on the road ahead of them, and one of the streets that turned right was completely congested with people and motionless vehicles.

She turned to the others. "Which of you know the way from here?" she asked.

Rosa, who had been unusually silent this ride, looked at her. "We're going to that magic shop we visited a few days ago, right?"

"That is correct."

She smiled. "Then I'm your girl."

"Good." Scarlett nodded her head and gestured to the rest. "We are disembarking here. The remainder will be traversed on foot."

They all exited the carriage onto the cobbled road outside and Scarlett turned back to the coachman. "Find a location nearby where you can park the carriage. We will return later."

The older man tipped the wide-brimmed hat he wore to shield his eyes from the sun. "As you wish, my Lady."

Scarlett then began striding towards the nearby walkway where dozens of people were walking back and forth. It hadn't exactly been a pleasant experience last time she had walked around like this, and now there were even more people around, but she would just have to suck it up. She didn't want to waste all of her time sitting around and waiting in the carriage, and she was pretty sure the shop wasn't that far away.

Thankfully it seemed like the appearance of her little group was enough to cause some space to open up among the throngs of moving people, only occasionally causing her to bang into other people. Of course, Scarlett would definitely have preferred it if she hadn't had to knock shoulders with anyone at all.

As they walked on, Rosa leading the way when necessary, the constant shifting and proximity of all the nearby people were getting on Scarlett's nerves a bit faster than she expected, so when they eventually turned off onto a street that only had half the traffic she let out a sigh of relief inside.

The calm didn't last too long, though, as when they were walking down the street she suddenly felt someone slam into her side, almost causing her to lose her balance. She instinctively activated the effect of [Lifeblood's Eternal Circuit] to create a barrier around herself as the wave of irritation she had pressed down for a while surged to the surface.

"Who dares—" she spun around, only to see a child lying on the ground. A small boy that now looked up at her with wide eyes filled with fear. A slightly older girl was kneeling next to him like she was trying to help him up, but she too was completely still now as she stared up at Scarlett.

Realizing that she was scowling, Scarlett tried to school her expression into something more neutral. But it was somewhat hard when the annoyance was still there.

...Apparently, not even children were safe from the original's anger.

And to think not much earlier she had been thinking about how maybe she wasn't letting herself be as affected by the original.

Both Allyssa and Rosa stepped over and kneeled next to the two children. Rosa had a smile on her face as she gently put her hand on the scared boy's back.

Three days sunshine ~

Three days rain

Don't let those tears leave a stain ~

Soon all will be well again

Rosa sang calmly as her other hand moved over the boy's knee which had a large scrape on it from the fall. A soft purple light covered the wound, which soon disappeared to reveal completely smooth skin.

"There we go. Good as new!" the woman declared. "There's no need to be afraid of big ol' Red here. She doesn't bite unless you're a large monster."

The boy threw an amazed look at his knee, before turning to Rosa with wide eyes.

Scarlett merely observed as the bard and Allyssa helped both the boy and the girl up to their feet. Belatedly, she thought of checking her waist to make sure her pouch was still there. It would have been a bit of a cliche to have it stolen like that, but it was still there. She eyed the kids' clothes. Well, they didn't look like they had it especially hard anyways. They were probably just normal kids.

"Elmer! Maira!" a voice rang out as a woman a few years older than Scarlett came running. "I told you not to get too far away from me!" the woman panted, taking a few deep breaths with her hand to her chest. Her eyes then went to Rosa, Scarlett, and the others. "I'm so sorry. I hope they didn't cause you any trouble."

The others' eyes turned to Scarlett, who studied the woman for a couple of seconds. She then shook her head slowly. "No harm was caused. However, I suggest you pay more attention to your child in the future. Not everyone is quite as forgiving to unfamiliar children that run into them."

The woman's eyes widened, and from the looks of it she seemed to have realized that Scarlett wasn't your ordinary person because Scarlett saw how she glanced down at her clothes and the others in her group.

"O-Of course. I'll be more careful in the future," the woman stuttered, holding her two children carefully. Soon enough, she was pushing the two further down the street, away from their company.

Scarlett glanced over the others in her party, who were all looking at her, before turning around and resuming walking without any further words.

Probably not the best impression she could have made, but they probably wouldn't think it was too odd considering how she usually acted.

As they continued moving, they eventually reached the shop that she had left the Cabal Equipment with previously. The old man that was the shop owner soon came out of a back room, fetched by a younger man, presumably his apprentice, who had been manning the storefront.

After speaking some with the old man, he had told her that he could give her 40000 solars for all six of the sets she had given him. That was significantly higher a price than he had cited at first after looking at the equipment—he had originally guessed it would be closer to 10000—but it was still not even half of what the equipment would have been worth brand-new in the game.

But much of it was also broken, and he was more paying for the materials and enchantments placed on the equipment, rather than the equipment itself. Scarlett saw no reason to decline the offer, and so they agreed to that price. And instead of him giving her the entire sum right now he would have it sent over to the mansion later on.

In addition, as he had previously spoken about recycling some of the enchantments, Scarlett had asked him if he could lower the payment and instead reimburse her with an item holding the enchantment on the Cabal helmets that made it so that you could see in the dark. The man had said that he would look into the matter, and contact her about it later on.

After that, they left the shop to continue on to the next subject of the day.

Chapter 56 - There's always a secret organization or two

"My Lady, we've arrived," the coachman's voice rang out from the front of the carriage.

"Welcome, Baroness," another voice said from outside the window.

Looking out, Scarlett saw a man in black servant's clothing standing before a wide iron gate. On the other side of the gate was a garden with a large mansion overlooking it. The building wasn't quite as large as the Hartford mansion back in Freybrook, but it wasn't too far off. It was most certainly bigger than the mansion they had here in the capital, that was for sure.

"The young master is waiting in his study," the man said as the coachman walked over and opened the carriage door for Scarlett. She wordlessly exited, turning back to see Fynn and Shin follow her out of the vehicle.

Allyssa and Rosa had stayed in The Coins district, rather than accompanying them here to the Eastgate district where most of the nobles had their mansions. Technically it was so that Allyssa could buy materials for her alchemy—because of all the traffic they'd had less time for that before—but Scarlett had also felt she could let them enjoy the festival a bit too.

Turning to the servant, she saw him give both Fynn and Shin a mildly surprised look. The man's attention returned to her as she spoke. "Lead the way."

He gave a slight bow. "Of course. Follow me."

He signaled to a guard in a dark green gambeson with black edges who walked forward to open the gates. The servant then led them through the garden and into the mansion itself, where they halted in the middle of a large, decorated lobby that had four large chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Curving along the walls up to the second floor was a pair of white marble staircases, with a black banner, hung off the far wall, that had the image of a dark green stag with golden eyes on it.

It was the same insignia she'd seen in Freybrook a few weeks back, when she had originally traveled to Ambercrest. Although she hadn't quite been able to place it at the time, she now recognized it as the family crest of the Tyndall ducal family.

Another servant, a younger woman with short brown hair, stepped over to their group as the male servant turned to Scarlett. "Young Mireya here will guide you to the second master. Your companions may wait in the parlor. We will prepare some refreshments for them."

Scarlett glanced back at Fynn and Shin.

Yeah, that would probably be for the best. Some of the things she was about to discuss were best left secret. Even though Fynn's ability to tell lies from the truth was useful, she didn't really need it here.

Shin was giving her an asking look, so she gave a low nod. "I do not believe this will take long. Wait for me until then."

Fynn's attention seemed to be focused on a painting that depicted some large beast or other, but Shin at least nodded his head in understanding. "All right."

Scarlett turned to the female servant, who gave a short curtsy. "Please follow me, my Lady."

The young woman then walked off, guiding Scarlett up one of the long stairs to the second floor where they continued to walk through a series of corridors until they eventually reached a dark oak door at the end of one of the hallways.

"The young master is waiting inside," the woman said, opening the door.

Inside was a dimly lit room filled with bookshelves. A black wooden desk stood at one end with a stone fireplace not far from it, and near the center of the room was a low table with a green couch on each side. On one of the couches sat a man with a pair of glasses, reading a book he held in his right hand. He had dark hair that was combed to the sides so as not to fall in front of his eyes and that reached down to the nape of his neck, and wore a set of deep green pants along with a white shirt.

Walking into the room, Scarlett noticed a green jacket and black undercoat hanging leisurely over the side of a chair next to the desk at the other end of the room.

She wasn't an expert on these things, but she suspected this wasn't how you commonly greeted other nobles.

The man's head turned to her. "Ah, Baroness," he said, leaning forward over the table in front of him and placing the book down on it along with the glasses he'd used. "Or maybe I should refer to you as 'your grace?'"

Scarlett eyed him. "Baroness will suffice."

She had learned enough to know that the title of 'grace' was only appropriate for dukes, people in higher stations, and certain members of the imperial family.

He made no sign of caring much about her reaction, simply gesturing toward the couch opposite him. "Take a seat. I've been curious all day about what this proposal you have for me might be."

Scarlett moved to sit on the couch, leaning her right arm against the armrest as she took the man in.

This was Beldon Tyndall, the younger son of the current duke of Windgrove. If she were to guess, he was probably a couple years older than her—somewhere in his late twenties—and had somewhat of that stereotypical 'handsome noble' look to him. From just seeing him like this, a slight smile on his face as he looked at her, she might have assumed him to be your typical playboy-type of guy.

But she knew there was a lot more to him.

"Well?" he asked, somewhat nonchalantly. "What is it that brings a beautiful lady like you here to see me?"

Scarlett looked around the room, wondering momentarily if there were any kinds of recording devices here.

They were a thing, she knew that much. She just didn't know how common they were. The ones she'd seen in the game had been of Zuverian make, so they were probably a relatively rare element in this world. Although if anyone were to have one, it would probably be this guy.

"It is a delicate matter," she said after a moment, her eyes stopping on Beldon. "I hope I can trust that you will not allow it to leave these walls."

Well, she said that, but it wasn't as if it really mattered that much if he recorded what she was about to say. It wasn't something he could go around spreading. She was mostly just curious, if anything.

Beldon let out a short laugh. "When you put it like that it makes me fear it's something that would put me in danger of having Sir Leon's envy directed at me."

Scarlett frowned. Did he have to bring that guy up right now?

Beldon eyed her for a second with a small smile. "Ah, but maybe that's not something that I have to fear anymore."

Ugh. And of course he had to prod at her like this.

Was this a rumor that was already spreading, or was it just this guy being ahead of the curve?

Whatever. It didn't matter.

"I do not believe Sir Leon is one to easily show jealousy over such trifling matters."

Beldon raised an eyebrow. "Even when his fianceé visits another man's house during the Light Fest like this?"

"Even then, yes. And what I do on my own time does not concern him."

She didn't know if there was some cultural significance to visiting a person like this during the Light Fest, but even if there was it really didn't matter. It seemed like the engagement was going to get annulled anyways.

"Anyhow, that is inconsequential to our current discussion. I am not here to deliberate such topics."

"Is that right?" Beldon leaned further back on his couch. "Do tell."

Scarlett looked at him for a few seconds. "I wish to commission the services of Mirage."

The smile on his face froze for a brief—almost imperceptible—moment. Then he let out a long laugh. "Hah...I didn't know the Baroness was one for jokes. It's different from what I've heard of you."

She stared at him. "It was not a jest."

His laughter died down and he ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, but I find that hard to believe. Who in their right mind would set up a meeting with me, of all people, and ask about Mirage? If you wanted an excuse to see me that badly, you could have just said so," he said, throwing her another smile.

Scarlett ignored it. She wasn't exactly expecting him to admit it that easily. Mirage was technically a criminal organization, after all. But they were also one of the best information gatherers in the empire, and one of the few factions in the capital that she felt could help her with this matter without causing too much of a ruckus.

That wasn't to say she wasn't hesitant about getting involved with them. She would have vastly preferred not to. But in the end, she'd judged the pros and cons, and felt like this was her best option for now. Especially after her first choice had gone as poorly as it did.

Beldon eyed her quietly for a moment, then suddenly leaned forward and picked up a small silver bell that stood on the table. Almost immediately after ringing it, the door to the study opened and the female servant from before entered the room.

"Yes, young master?"

"Would you get us some refreshments?" he asked the servant. "Something that fits our guest here?"

The woman curtsied. "Of course," she said, and left the room.

Beldon then turned back to Scarlett, his previous playboy smile having returned. "I hope you don't mind."

"There is no need to maintain this charade," Scarlett said.

"...Pardon? I don't quite get what you mean."

She arched a brow. "I believe you do. I am well aware of your true vocation."

He stared at her for a good duration with a slightly amused expression on his face. "Is that so?" he asked.

"It is," she said.

"I see..."

His expression turned completely flat, the look in his eyes losing all signs of mirth. "It seems the Baroness is growing a bit too large for her boots," he said as his whole air changed.

Although she had been expecting it, the sudden change still took Scarlett a bit off guard.

"I'm curious what little bird you've been listening to, that put these ideas into your mind."

She studied him for a moment. "Where I learned it no longer matters. There is no risk that it will spread further than me, if that is your concern."

"You say that," he said slowly. Scarlett now noticed that he was rolling a gold coin between his finger, though she had no idea when he'd taken it out. "But I've always been a person who likes to confirm these kinds of things myself. It wouldn't do if any false rumors started spreading about me, would it?"

"That would indeed be regretful."

The both of them looked at each other.

A knock sounded out from the door. Scarlett turned to look as the servant from earlier entered, holding a silver plate with two cups and small confections on it. There was also a thin, brown leather book on it.

That was fast.

The woman walked up and put the plate down on the table between them, placing one of the cups in front of Scarlett. It appeared to be a tea of some kind, giving off a pleasant citrus fragrance. Not her favorite, but she wasn't going to complain.

The servant woman placed the other cup in front of Beldon and handed him the book, before wordlessly picking up the plate and leaving the room.

Beldon made his coin vanish with a small flourish and opened the book.

"Scarlett Hartford," he said, looking down at its pages. "Vern Cheek. Bodil Pudges. The Blue Skulls. Grey Dog Gang. Although maybe I should strike that last one now."

Scarlett knitted her forehead. She knew one of those names, but what were the others?

"You've always been an ambitious one, haven't you? But I never took you for someone to cross that line." He looked up at her. "You've been quite active lately. Ousting your former associates. Exploring Zuverian ruins. Selling artifacts. Causing murmurs at the Elysian Proclamation."

She glanced down at the book in his hands. Was that about her, then?

"It appears you are well informed of my movements," she said.

There was a lot more that he had missed, but Scarlett wasn't sure if that was simply him hiding his full knowledge or if that was just the full extent of it. If she were to guess it was probably closer to the latter, but she didn't actually know how organizations like this worked.

It did feel somewhat unreasonable for them to keep full tabs on every single noble at all times, at least.

"I hear a thing or two from birds, here and there."

She stared at him, almost feeling the need to roll her eyes. "I was unaware you were such an accomplished ornithologist," she said sardonically.

"I could say the same of you."

The room fell quiet as their eyes met.

Scarlett broke the silence as she leaned closer to the table and picked up the cup of steaming tea near her. "If you are quite finished attempting to intimidate me by spouting what I already know, shall we continue onto business?"

She blew lightly on the tea, focusing for a second as she used her pyrokinesis to lower its temperature. She had always hated waiting for drinks to cool down in these situations. It might be superficial, but this was probably one of the nicest things about this world. This, and the food back at the Freybrook mansion.

Of course, magic in general was cool too.

"And by business, you mean this 'commission' you spoke of?" Beldon asked.

Scarlett inclined her head as she took a sip from the tea. For a brief moment she had thought about whether it was poisoned or not, but that would literally be one of the poorest disguised murders in history, so she doubted it. It even turned out to be better than she expected. "Indeed. It is something that I believe your association is well equipped to handle."

"And who is this commission for?"

She paused, glancing up at him. "I am the one who is requesting it, if that is what you mean."

"That is what I'm asking, yes. And I'm sure you understand when I tell you that I don't trust your answer."

"And why is that?"

"I wonder," he said, studying her for a while. "...Every fish has their own pond that they belong in. It is often ill-advised leaving it."

Scarlett felt her blood rise, though she wasn't sure if it was because he kept using unnecessary metaphors all the time or because he likened her to a fish. "I ask that you refrain from comparing me with such animals."

"Would a frog in a well work better for you?" he asked, his expressionless face contrasting with his jesting words.

She stared at him. "It would not."

He put the leather-bound book in his hands to the side on the couch as he shrugged. "Simply trying to help. But if you don't care, so be it. Let me hear what this 'commission' is about."

Scarlett took another sip of her tea. "To be precise, there are two commissions. However, neither of them portends any true danger as long as one abstains from acting foolishly." She put the cup down on the table and placed her hands on her lap, focusing her gaze on Beldon. "I require your aid in locating two individuals. For one of them, I need your aid in arranging a meeting. For the other one, you simply have to pass on a short message."

He stared at her. "That's all?"

"That is all."

He seemed to consider her for a moment, then nodded. "Who are these individuals?"

"The first one is named Gaven Ridley. He was previously a member of the Vanguards, but now takes on various jobs in the underworld across the empire."

Gaven had been another of the possible companions in the game, although he was for either an evil or a neutral run. While Scarlett was hesitant about trying to add him to her party, there were several other uses she had planned for him if they were to collaborate. That was why, when she'd decided that she was going to make contact with Beldon and commission the services of Mirage, she'd also chosen to use this opportunity to find where Gaven was.

"I don't recognize the name. But if he was part of the Vanguards I don't think it'll be too hard to find information about him."

Scarlett gave a slight nod. "That is what I would have expected."

"And the other person?"

She paused. This was the one she had been the most nervous about.

"Have you heard of The Gentleman?"

Beldon's eyes widened by just a little, and a small smile even grew on his lips. "That's not a name you hear often. And certainly not one I would have expected to hear now of all times."

Scarlett let out an inner sigh of relief at the fact that he didn't seem to panic at the mention of the name. From what she knew, it was highly unlikely that Beldon Tyndall would have any relationship with The Gentleman. At most, she assumed he'd heard of him. But she had still been afraid that this would be a repeat of last time's events.

Beldon brought his right hand up to his chin, stroking it slowly as he studied her. "What dealings do you have with him that requires our help?"

"That is of no concern to you. You simply have to complete the task."

"I think it might be some of my concern, actually, considering we're the ones who would be looking for him."

"I imagine that much should be possible with your resources," she said. "As I said, all that I demand is that you pass on a message. You do not have to meet him or anything of the sort. Merely ensure that he hears it."

"And what would that message be?"

"That Scarlett Hartford wishes to meet with him."

Beldon looked at her. "Nothing more?"

"That is enough."

She was pretty sure that would be enough to get him to find her. She didn't want to press for anything more than that at this point.

Beldon looked thoughtful. "While it certainly sounds interesting," he eventually said. "I'm afraid I'll have to decline."

Scarlett frowned. "I have not yet told you of the compensation."

"And what, pray tell, were you planning to reimburse us with?"

"The location of Alton Carlyle."

Beldon froze, and Scarlett's lips curled up a little at the sight.

She'd done these questlines in the game in her second playthrough. She knew what Mirage wanted. Honestly, they were probably one of the cheapest available options for her when it came to making deals, with all the information she had. The downside, of course, was the fact that they were technically a criminal organization. There were some risks to getting involved with them. And it would definitely put her on their map.

"...And how exactly do you know that name?" Beldon asked, a hint of a distrust clear in his voice.

"Perhaps I will share that sometime in the future, were we to establish a constructive relationship," Scarlett said calmly. "For now, I believe you should focus on whether you judge that being suspicious of my sources is more important than apprehending him."

Alton Carlyle was a minor character without any importance at all to her. He was literally just a one-time target in one of the Mirage questlines. She wasn't even sure if he had any lines. But Mirage wanted him because he was a traitor, so this was a decent deal for both of them.

Beldon stared at her quietly for several seconds, then he nodded slowly. "Very well. You have a deal."

Chapter 57 - Compromises

Following her meeting with Beldon, Scarlett had returned to the mansion after picking up Rosa and Allyssa. Currently, she was in her temporary office there, looking through her red leather journal.

She had been thinking of clearing another dungeon before the Light Fest ended, but as things had ended up a bit more hectic and uncertain than originally planned, she was looking at revising that idea. The dungeon she originally had been thinking of clearing was an underwater cavern that held a decent amount of artifacts that one could sell and a ring that amplified the effects of aeromancy spells. While Fynn technically didn't cast spells, she was pretty sure buffs like that still worked for him so it would have been a good fit. But that dungeon would probably take some time to find, and it was a decent distance away from Elystead, so that idea was being scrapped for now.

Instead, Scarlett was looking over the other dungeons she knew of in the local area. Unfortunately, none of them had anything particularly interesting that she wanted right now. At least not of those that she both felt certain they could handle right now, and whose location was certain enough where it would be easy to locate it with her game knowledge. She might have to be satisfied with just choosing some random mid-level dungeon and clearing it for the easy loot.

That was, if she could find the time for it. As it was, she wasn't entirely sure what her schedule would look like for the coming days. The Light Fest was nearing its end, but that didn't mean there weren't still things to do.

A knock sounded out from the door, and Scarlett looked up.

"Enter," she said after putting her journal away in the [Pouch of Holding] lying on the desk before her. She now reserved the pouch for the more personal things, and the stuff she wanted to have close to her. The rest usually went in the [Bag of Juham].

The door opened and Evelyne walked inside. Scarlett found herself scowling before she even realized it, but quickly managed to temper her expression some.

Ever since their conversation the day before her emotions had fluctuated up and down a lot more than normal when she thought of the younger woman, and she was still working on how to exactly interpret that. Most of the time it was a mix of irritation and...humiliation, maybe? It was hard to put a finger on it. It wasn't just the embarrassment she had felt from her outburst the prior day, at the very least. Her relationship with her real sister had also been complicated at times, but she had never felt quite like this before, so she didn't really have a point of reference on the subject.

What she did know was that it was annoying.

Evelyne stood still near the entrance for several seconds, looking at her, before finally crossing the room and sitting down in the chair opposite Scarlett.

Scarlett narrowed her eyes as she examined Evelyne's face. The woman looked tired. Had Evelyne been like that yesterday as well? Scarlett hadn't thought about it then. But looking closer, she also noticed that Evelyne's normally smooth hair was frayed and jutted out in spots.

Had she gotten any sleep the last few days?

"I've thought over what you said yesterday," Evelyne suddenly said.

Scarlett shifted her gaze to meet Evelyne's. "I see. And have you reached a conclusion?"

Evelyne appeared to hesitate for a moment, but her eyes kept on Scarlett's. "I'm going to be honest. I have a really hard time believing all of what you told me."

Scarlett slowly nodded her head. "I expected as much."

She wasn't sure how she herself would have reacted in a situation like that, but Evelyne's and the original's relationship had never been simple to her knowledge. She couldn't judge Evelyne for being skeptical.

"Despite that," Evelyne continued. "I...I don't think you're lying about having forgotten things. And asking for my help."

Those last few words almost made Scarlett grimace, but she took a moment to relax. "That is good. While the truthfulness of my other claim may be more difficult to attest to at this point, I see no good reason for why I would have lied on those two points."

"Like that has ever stopped you before," Evelyne remarked, though she seemed to regret it immediately after. Scarlett didn't respond, so Evelyne let out a sigh and shook her head. "No, I'm not here today to argue with you again. I'm too tired for any more of that right now."

"I would hope so. It would do neither of us any good if we continued to quarrel in our current situation."

Evelyne gave her a hard look. "It would be nice if you actually tried to suit your actions to your words."

Scarlett frowned. "I do not—"

She paused. She was about to say that she didn't think she said much to cause more arguments, but realized that was just blatantly untrue.

"...I will endeavor to refrain from speaking in an overly adversarial manner from now on."

Evelyne blinked, staring at her. Then she turned her eyes down and shook her head with a light chuckle. "That's right. You are different."

"I am," Scarlett agreed.

Evelyne stayed quiet for a moment, then looked up at her. "You said you had visions?"

"Not—"

"Right. Not visions," Evelyne interrupted her, and Scarlett had to hold back from biting her tongue.

Was it just her, or was Evelyne a lot more forward today than before?

"Memories, revelations of the future, and predictions of what might happen. That's what you said, wasn't it?"

"...In simple terms, yes."

Evelyne nodded her head. "I don't think—" She paused, and shook her head. "I don't know if I believe any of that. But I'll trust that you're not lying about forgetting things. And, even though I know how stupid it is of me, I'll trust that you actually want to make up for some of the stuff that you've done. That you're aware of it."

"That is the truth."

"Even if it is, don't expect to get any forgiveness just like that."

Scarlett stayed quiet. She honestly didn't care much for forgiveness for things she personally hadn't done, but saying that now probably wasn't the best idea.

Evelyne put her palm up to her temples. "I...Never mind. Right now, we have other things to worry about. Things have been on the decline for years now, and what happened at the Proclamation definitely didn't help. If I'm being honest, I really hope that whatever this 'knowledge' is that you have, it will continue being useful to us. Because we'll be needing it."

"I can assure you it will continue to be quite beneficial," Scarlett said. "In fact, while I have yet to inform you of it, I procured several new artifacts during my latest excursion before the Proclamation. Amongst those are two artifacts of epic quality."

Evelyne gave her a confused look. "Epic?"

Scarlett went silent. Right. Of course they wouldn't use terms like that.

"That is to say, they are quite rare and powerful. I believe they hold considerable value."

"Really? That's good then."

"There is also some equipment that I traded earlier today for over thirty thousand solars."

Evelyne looked slightly surprised at that. Leaning forward, the woman took on a much more serious expression, staying quiet for a moment before she spoke. "Exactly how much do you know? How many more items and artifacts like this would you be able to find?"

Scarlett's eyes shifted to the side as she mentally went over the number of dungeons written down in her notes, mindlessly tapping away at the desk. "It is difficult to determine a specific number. I know of a vast amount of locations that could hold worth to us, but oftentimes my insight is vague and lacks detail. However, there would be, at minimum, a few dozen that I feel certain enough to locate without too much difficulty."

Evelyne looked at her. "A few dozen...what? Are we talking places like those Zuverian ruins you found?"

"Amongst others, yes. It varies, but many of the sites I know of are old caves, abandoned temples, and other such locations that have not been visited by people for a long time, but still house relics that hold value today."

"So you do know of even more Zuverian ruins? Because the amount of interest we got from the different towers and other mage organizations was a lot larger than what we can satisfy with what we have."

"I do, yes. However, that is hardly the most valuable information I hold."

Evelyne stared at her with a disbelieving expression.

"You're serious?"

"I have not lied once during this conversation."

The younger woman went quiet again, seemingly studying Scarlett's face. "If what you're saying really is true, then I might have to reconsider what I said before about our situation. I was thinking we might be able to repay all our debts, but this might mean we would be able to do a lot more than just that."

"I would hope so," Scarlett said. "I have been working under the assumption those issues would be dealt with soon anyhow. Our financial woes are not where our current issues lie."

Evelyne knitted her forehead, and Scarlett continued. "Can I interpret your words as a recognition of you lending me your aid? I am willing to forget any previous disputes between us in order to cooperate on these matters."

"That might fit you well and all that, but I'm not planning on 'forgetting' anything. Nor will I ask for forgiveness for doing what I considered necessary," Evelyne said, but then let out a long sigh. "...But right now, if I don't want our house to fall to ruin, I don't have much choice but to help you."

"I do not believe you will regret it, if that abates some of your worries," Scarlett said.

"That means a lot coming from you."

Scarlett raised an eyebrow. "I believe it was you who earlier pointed out my inimical conduct."

Evelyne's eyes widened. "...That's true. I'm sorry. Let's continue onto the main point I wanted to talk about today."

Scarlett looked at her curiously. "And what was that?"

"Were you planning on attending the Providing Ceremony in two days?"

Scarlett frowned. "The Providing Ceremony? I had not given it much thought."

The Providing Ceremony was an event that was held at the end of the Light Fest, by the Followers of Ittar. She didn't know much about it because it hadn't really played a role in the game, but it had come up briefly in her research.

"I doubt anyone has sent you invites to any banquets or the other gatherings that are going on right now," Evelyne said. "Even most of those who don't care about what happened are probably going to wait until things calm down before openly interacting with you. But they can't stop you from attending the Providing Ceremony."

Scarlett studied Evelyne. "I presume there is a reason you believe I should attend."

Evelyne nodded. "Right now, rumors about you being arrogant are going to go around no matter what we do," she said, pausing briefly as Scarlett let her expression slip for a moment. "...That's what they're going to say in the noble circuits, at least. But what we want to do is stop that from circulating in other circuits. I don't think many nobles will bother to actively try and undermine a mere barony like ours just because of what you did, but as long as people think they might offend someone by doing business with our house it'll affect what we can do."

"And what is it you suggest our response should be?" Scarlett asked.

Evelyne hesitated for a moment. "It's a bit blatant, but to start with, if you donate something that is worth a lot during the Providing Ceremony it could help to improve your reputation somewhat. At least among some of the commoners. There will be nobles that think we're being shameless, but if we can find more Zuverian ruins and other things like you said then we don't have to care about them. We just have to make sure our house's reputation doesn't go any lower than it already has, for now."

She let out a short, almost derisive, laugh. "Your showing in the Empyreal Chronicle a few weeks ago might even help here."

Scarlett crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair as she considered Evelyne's words. "And what would be an appropriate donation, in your opinion?"

"We can't afford to donate enough money to make much of a difference, so our best bet would probably be an artifact. Preferably something valuable enough that the priests make a point of publicly acknowledging it during the ceremony. It would almost have to be, to stand out. But...that might be hard."

"Acknowledge?" Scarlett asked. "Elaborate."

Evelyne glanced at her. "You've forgotten about the Providing Ceremony too?"

"I recall some details, but I cannot recall the minutiae of what occurs during the event, no."

The younger woman studied her with an odd face, then spoke. "The Followers are the ones in charge of the offerings to Ittar and the citizens during the ceremony. Everyone is allowed to donate, but they always publicly recognize those who donate the most and record their names in the Hall of Providers. Father's name is written down there as well."

The more Scarlett heard about this event, the more it sounded like some kind of charity gala where nobles could spend their money to improve their PR. It did make her wonder what the Followers of Ittar did with all that money. They were the kind of organization where it wouldn't surprise her if they actually used it to help people, but at the same time, it was entirely possible that they would just use it for their own gain.

Well, whatever it was, she doubted any of the artifacts she had right now would be worth more than what anyone else would donate. But if she donated both [Moonshadow's Crown (Epic)] and [Pastoral Glade's Bulwark (Epic)] she might get a mention, at least. She didn't have another immediate use for them anyway.

Although...another thought did cross her mind.

"There is no other important event tomorrow, is there?" she asked Evelyne.

Her—interim—sister nodded. "No. Nothing. But the Providing Ceremony starts at midday in two days, if you're planning to disappear somewhere again."

Scarlett did some quick mental arithmetic in her head. She'd already questioned the others in her party regarding the distances to the different dungeon locations she had been thinking of visiting, so she knew roughly how long it would take to reach them. There were a couple that were too far away for her to reach and subsequently return within two days by carriage, so she'd written them off, but...

Fynn could probably make it in time if he was by himself. She knew he had some crazy stamina. He probably wouldn't outrun a horse, but he was definitely faster than a carriage. If it was him, he could probably solo the monster in that place without too much of an issue. And if it was about giving the Followers something they considered valuable...well, it was certainly worth a shot. And she always had the other two artifacts if it didn't pan out.

She smiled at Evelyne. "What do you know of sacred relics?"

Interlude - Listen

The winds parted before Fynn as he raced ahead across an open field, splitting and rallying behind him as he pushed forward, step by step. Every leap flowed fluidly into the next, continuous now for several hours.

Fynn shifted his head to the side when something entered his senses and he stopped immediately, reining in the trailing winds as they ruffled his hair and clothes.

He fought back the urge to keep going. To continue and be one with the gale. To heed the words of his ancestors, whispering to him from the ring on his right hand. Shaking his head violently, the impulse slowly faded.

The elders had always warned him not to fall to inexperience.

He peered into the forest that was to his left. There was a presence there. It felt exactly like what Miss Scarlett had described. Warm. Pungent. Sharp in his nose.

She seemed to know the strangest things.

He started moving again. Without relying on the winds this time. Soon he reached the forest, moving deeper amongst the trees. The smell grew stronger as the trees grew thicker, less of the sun's light reaching the forest floor here through the treetops. Although Fynn didn't mind the lack of light.

As the smell reached its height, the forest opened up into a clearing. Old stone buildings lay strewn about the area, having mostly been overtaken by nature. They reminded him of some of the structures he'd seen in Elystead.

Turning his head, he looked around. The wind carried traces of humans, but it wasn't from his immediate surroundings. Miss Scarlett had said the road wasn't far from here. He didn't like using it, though.

He started moving towards the center of the ruins, where there was a crumbling statue with only the lower half remaining. That's where the smell was at its strongest.

He didn't quite understand the reason behind this mission, but Miss Scarlett had explained that it was important. And that he was the only one that could do it. So he hadn't complained. She had given him the relic of his ancestors. Even though he still wasn't used to it, the ring had already shown him more than he could have imagined.

Miss Scarlett was also paying him. She had already given him 100 solars, which he had sent back to the others in Dimfrost as fast as he could. Then she had promised to pay him 300 more if he succeeded with this task, in addition to the 500 he would get monthly. With that, he wouldn't have to worry any longer.

To him, Miss Scarlett seemed like a trustworthy person. She was weird, though. He didn't understand all the things she knew, and while he didn't want to be rude, some of the things she knew seemed almost impossible to have learned. There was also a hint of falsehood hidden in all her words. Some more than others.

At first he had been suspicious because of this. He had only accepted her first offer because of the ring. And the money.

But after a while, he'd caught on that the falseness wasn't just lies. Instead, it was like Miss Scarlett was always pretending for some reason. The other weird woman was the same.

He didn't understand it.

As he neared the broken statue at the center of the ruins, Fynn scowled and scanned the area with his eyes. This close the smell was making it hard to get a good sense of things.

Stopping in front of the statue, he examined it more closely. While the upper part was gone, the legs were covered by what was probably supposed to be a robe of some kind, and there were offerings on the ground in front of it, the kind humans around here set up for their sun god sometimes. It seemed this place wasn't completely abandoned.

Fynn reached to his shoulder to pull off the magical bag that Miss Scarlett had let him borrow. Glancing at the strange face on the bag's front for a second, he then opened the flap and pulled out an iron shovel. Walking up close to the statue, he pushed the offerings to the side with his foot. The grass here was fresh, despite things having been lying on top of it for a while. This was also where the smell was coming from.

He put the shovel to the ground and started digging. It took some time, but a heap of dirt steadily piled up next to him as the hole widened. Finally, a shiny object was exposed under all the dirt. Throwing the shovel aside to the ridge of the hole, he bent down on his knees and started digging out the dirt around the object with his hands. Soon, a gold chalice with bright red gems lining the rim was revealed.

He dug the rest of the chalice out as he picked it up, leaning it upside down and using his fingers to remove the remaining dirt that was stuck on the inside. Tilting his head to the side, he studied the object, brushing aside some of the dirt stuck to the rim as well.

What was this doing in a place like this? It looked expensive.

He knew most people in the empire loved shiny things, so if they had known it was here they would have already taken it. That's what Miss Scarlett was doing now, after all.

She had known about the mark of the gale too, and that was supposed to be a secret.

Fynn didn't know too much about the empire's nobles, but he felt that Miss Scarlett was probably special even among them.

He was curious about these things, but he didn't think it was likely that she would tell him much even if he asked.

He threw one last glance at the chalice before standing up and reaching for the magical bag again. Putting the chalice inside of it, he jumped out of the hole and dusted himself off.

He turned his head to take in his surroundings again. The smell was quickly starting to dissipate now, and with it, the odd presence that had been around this place. But Miss Scarlett warned him of this mission, so he shouldn't get too relaxed.

...But nothing was happening. Even after he had taken the chalice. Had Miss Scarlett been wrong?

The hairs on his neck rose and his eyes immediately pivoted to a spot in front of the statue. A new presence was forming there. Cold. Resentful. A swirling mass of grey smoke convalesced into the form of a large, floating person. Their body was covered in thick, translucent robes with complicated patterns on them. The figure's head was covered by a strange, square-looking mask similar to those he had seen some of the empire's priests wear.

But those priests never felt this angry.

The apparition let out a loud shriek, one that he felt all the way down to his bones. It raised an arm, and Fynn immediately leaped to the side as a bright beam of light burst out and slammed into the ground, sending dirt into the air on the spot where he'd been.

Baring his teeth, Fynn lowered his stance and dashed forward. Swiping his right hand at the figure, he was surprised to find that it just passed right through the apparition's body, leaving a tingling numb feeling in his fingers.

He jumped back just in time as another blast of light shot out towards him. The apparition raised both hands and he had to jump back even further to dodge two more attacks.

This was the first time he had fought something that he couldn't touch.

Miss Scarlett had told him that might be the case, though.

He glanced toward the magical bag as he dodged another bout of attacks.

She had even lent him one of the weapons they had found in the fairy forest, saying that it might help.

But he preferred his hands. They were more trustworthy.

His eyes widened as all of his senses suddenly screamed at him all at the same time. He hastily borrowed from the power of his ancestors to create a burst of wind to leap to the side, but it was a moment too late.

A burning sensation slammed into his side and he lost his footing as he tumbled to the ground. It didn't get through his defenses entirely, though. He rushed to stand as he readied for another attack, staring ahead.

Confusion filled him. The apparition had moved, yet it hadn't. There were a dozen of them now, surrounding him in a circle, all with their hands raised.

A blinding light spread across the ruins as they all fired at once.

It was impossible to dodge this time, but he felt just one burst of light strike his back. With a growl he spun around, trying to determine where the attack had come from.

He sniffed the air, violently shaking his head. It felt like they were all real. But Miss Scarlett had said it was a trick of the light. Illusions.

So why did they all have the same presence?

Another burst of attacks fired off. Once more he tried dodging, but he still felt pain strike his side. This time it had gone through his defense, singeing his clothes.

Was his head affected? Was this dark magic? Dark magic along with light magic. He didn't know they could be mixed like this.

Another blinding set of attacks burst forth, and yet again he couldn't determine where the real attack was coming from as he was knocked to his knees. He grit his teeth and let out a roar as he pushed himself to his feet, running towards the closest of the figures. Its shape took on a hazy image of itself as his hand passed through it, but he immediately set off toward the next one, staggering through another bout of attacks. The next flickered like the previous one as he reached and slashed out at it.

He growled as his eyes moved to the other ones. They'd shifted so that they surrounded him again, and their numbers hadn't changed. As the apparitions prepared another set of attacks, he raised his right hand.

With a howl, he tapped deeper into the power of the ring on his finger and felt the instincts rush into him. The air around him swelled as blades of wind formed, gushing out from him in rough clusters.

When the blades struck the illusions they became hazy images like before, and Fynn's eyes instantly locked onto the only one that was different. Borrowing even more power, he shot out at the apparition and reached it in less than a breath. His first strike passed through it, but there was no haziness now, and the numbness was back.

The apparition fired another attack that hit the side of Fynn's face, singeing his hair, but he ignored it and slashed out again. And again. And again.

His hands kept passing through it without any effect, but he continued, fighting through all its attacks. He felt how the winds surged up around them. How the whispers spoke to him.

And he listened. He listened and shaped power—his power—as the whispers said, enveloping it around his hands like claws that tore through the apparition's body. And where they did, the apparition didn't immediately reform.

It tried to launch another attack at him, but this time he slashed out towards its arm and sliced it off. The anger exuded from the apparition intensified, but Fynn didn't care a bit about that as he tore into the being. Shreds of it disappeared with every blow, and within moments almost all traces of it were gone. He gathered even more power into his fist as he reached out for what remained of its lingering presence, clasping it tight and squeezing it into nothingness as a wailing scream echoed out across the ruins.

Then there was silence. Fynn stood there, completely motionless. Listening.

It is still early, the whispers told him. Too early, they said.

But soon, they muttered as he breathed out deeply, taking in his still surroundings.

Soon the gale will howl again.

Chapter 58 - New faces

Scarlett was in the mansion's foyer along with the others, getting herself ready to leave. Today was the end of the Light Fest, and when the Providing Ceremony was held.

Soon, Evelyne came walking down the stairs, stopping in front of Scarlett as she sent an evaluating look at the others behind her. "You're bringing all of them with you?"

Scarlett looked back at them as well. "That was my intent, yes. Is there an issue with that?"

Evelyne gave her a skeptical look. "I don't think that's a good idea. People generally don't bring a large entourage today. Considering what happened during the Elysian Proclamation, I think bringing all of them would just cause even more rumors right now."

Scarlett's eyes passed over her retinue, one by one. They all wore what she presumed was their fine wear, after she had told them it was fine. Rosa, especially, looked ready to enjoy herself, dressed in a flowing purple dress with the end of her long, wavy hair tied into a braid that hung over her right shoulder. Her hurdy-gurdy-esque instrument was in her hands, leaning over her other shoulder.

Shin and Allyssa also wore decently fine clothing.

Fynn was the only one that wasn't there. He'd returned from the job Scarlett sent him on a few hours earlier, and he didn't seem to have any real interest in today's events, so she had let him rest for the day. He had also looked more beat up than she had expected, so that was probably for the best. Of course, she'd also had Rosa use some of her healing magic on him.

"I suppose we can leave them in the common section." It was highly unlikely that she would need much defending today. "But I believe one of you should remain with me, nonetheless."

"I can do that," Allyssa volunteered, glancing at Shin and Rosa. "You two can enjoy yourselves, and I'll stay with her for the day."

Shin raised a brow at her. "You sure?"

"Yeah, it'll be fine. You can go and buy some boring books or something from the stalls. Maybe go and pay Maggie and the others a visit."

He looked at her for a second, then nodded his head. "If you say so."

Looking at the exchange between the two, Rosa turned to Scarlett with a smile. "I certainly won't complain. I've been itching to find a nice crowd the last couple days. The tail end of the Light Fest is a prime opportunity to let loose and give my admirers a nice little spectacle."

"Then it is decided," Scarlett said, turning to Evelyne. "Was there anything more you wished to say before we make our leave?"

The younger woman appeared to hesitate for a second, before leaning forward as she spoke in a lower voice. "You remember everything we talked about, right?"

Scarlett gave a sure nod. "I do."

"...And you're not going to do anything random, are you?" Evelyne looked her in the eyes. "There's nothing you haven't told me about for today?"

Scarlett met her gaze. "I will not. And no, there is not. We both agreed on what the correct course of action is today, and I will act in accordance with that."

Evelyne's eyes lingered on her for a moment, then she lowered them. "Yes. You're right."

The both of them had spent quite some time the day before, going through the details of the Providing Ceremony and what it entailed, making sure that Scarlett was filled in on what she was unsure of or didn't know about. They had also settled on what Scarlett should try to achieve today, and which people she should try to avoid speaking to right now.

It was somewhat unfortunate that Scarlett, as the head of the house, had to handle most of the more important matters solely by virtue of her position. Otherwise, Evelyne herself could probably have done more to directly help.

Although, that might not have been possible anyway. Evelyne apparently had a figurative mountain of work that had to be completed at the moment—some of which had been delayed because of the last couple of days' events—so she didn't actually have the time to join today's Providing Ceremony.

Which meant it was all up to Scarlett.

Evelyne took a step back, looking over Scarlett and her group one last time. "Then I hope everything goes well."

"It will," Scarlett said with a confidence she wasn't entirely certain about. She then turned around, pulling off the [Pouch of Holding] she had at her side and holding it out to Allyssa. "You will be carrying this. Ensure that nothing happens to it."

She had removed some of the more important things from it, but today's offering was still there.

The young Shielder received the pouch with only a slightly confused expression, then their group left the mansion.

As they walked down the stone path to the gates of the mansion where the carriage awaited, Rosa shot Scarlett a curious look. "What was that I heard about the Elysian Proclamation? Did something interesting happen? I don't want to brag, but I've been to a fancy occasion or two, but never something quite like that."

Scarlett glanced at the woman, then continued walking. "There was nothing of real note," she said, a bit more curtly than she intended.

"Is that so?" the bard hummed. "Shame. Sounds like a waste of a venue."

"You're talking like it's a concert," Allyssa said. "It's the Elysian Proclamation. All of the nobles and the imperial family are there."

Rosa looked at the younger woman with a grin. "Why couldn't it be a concert? I reckon I could get a few oh-so noble backsides moving with excitement if I wanted."

She waved her hand in Scarlett's direction. "Ah, of course, you're free to dance along too if you want."

Scarlett shook her head as she stepped towards the carriage. "Perhaps it is best if you save your breath for your upcoming performance."

Rosa smiled. "It's fine. I never get out of breath," she said as they all climbed into the vehicle.

"Have you considered my proposal?" Scarlett asked as the view of the busy streets of the Petal District passed by outside the carriage window.

"Ah, you mean that about the alchemy?" Allyssa turned to look at her with a look of slight surprise.

Scarlett nodded.

The two of them were the only ones left in the carriage. They had left Shin and Rosa in another part of the district, where the majority of people celebrating today were. The section Scarlett and Allyssa were in right now was mostly where the more well-off gathered for the event. There were, among other things, a lot more gardens and expensive-looking buildings in this part.

"I have," Allyssa said after a while. "And it's not like I have anything against the idea, but..." she trailed off.

Scarlett had mentioned it to her a few times during the last few days, but they hadn't reached an agreement regarding it yet.

"You are hesitant to accept?"

Allyssa shrugged her shoulders. "I haven't done anything like that before. I don't know if I could."

"You would not be expected to bear the cost of materials, and you would be amply remunerated. I also do not expect you to do more than you are capable of, so there would be no cause to fret over such things. It would also allow you many opportunities to work with rare ingredients in the future."

"That does sound nice," Allyssa said. "But...would you give me some more time to think about it?"

"Of course," Scarlett said, turning her attention back outside. "Take however much time you require."

Eventually, their carriage reached an open area where there was a lot of traffic passing through. The carriage stopped at the side of the road, where Scarlett and Allyssa exited the vehicle. The coachman then drove off after a brief exchange. He would return here later in the day to pick them up again.

Scarlett looked around. This area of the Petal District was like a large square, which seemed to have been repurposed almost as some kind of staging area for carriages and wagons for today. A pair of carts not too far from them were off-loading crates that were filled with different sorts of decorations for the festival.

Six streets connected to the square, but three of them were closed off for vehicles at the moment. Large goalposts of wood had been set up at the entrances of the streets, bedecked in gold coloring and paper suns that hung down from strings. It was similar to what had been present around much of the city during the whole week, though there did seem to be even more of the decorations present today. More like them hung from almost every single building continuing down those streets. Among the people walking there, Scarlett also spotted several priests from the Followers of Ittar, with their iconic helmets and robes.

"Come," she told Allyssa, beginning to move towards the middle of the roads. Evelyne had told her that the Providing Ceremony itself was held at an even larger square that was an intersection between the different district sections, but the event was still some time away so they had another destination at the moment.

Soon they were walking down the middle street, keeping to the side of the road where there was less traffic. There was still a decent number of people here, despite this being where primarily the more wealthy gathered. Scarlett mostly kept her eyes on the passing houses and some of the smaller gardens around here as they moved.

"This doesn't really feel all that different from how the celebrations are in the common section," Allyssa said, looking at two kids who were buying some kind of fruit sweets from a stand along with their mother. "Although it is nice actually being able to move without walking into people."

"I imagine it would be."

"Where are we heading right now?" the Shielder asked.

"To Hamet Garden," Scarlett answered.

Apparently, that was a common place for some of the more connected and influential people to gather today.

"Oh, I've been there a couple of times before. It's not usually open to the public though."

"Is that so," Scarlett hummed, putting that piece of information to the side in her head. "Did you perhaps visit it with your father?"

"No." Allyssa shook her head, a melancholic look on her face. "It was with my mother, actually. She used to love gardens, so we often visited the Petal District."

"I believe you told me she was the one who taught you alchemy, if I recall correctly."

"Yes, but I was still pretty young back then. I don't actually remember too much of what she taught me, or my visits with her."

"Then this would be an opportunity for you to explore it once more, would it not?"

Allyssa smiled awkwardly. "I've still got to perform my job as a member of the Shields Guild."

Scarlett shook her head. "While I did ask you to accompany me, there will not be much for you to do today. It would be enough if you merely remain in the vicinity, so if you wish, you may explore some by yourself later. I have business that I need to attend to, that I suspect would only be uncomfortable for you."

"Uncomfortable?"

"Yes, in consideration of the fact that even I do not enjoy the thought of doing it."

Allyssa went quiet for a moment. "I don't know if anyone has told you this before...but you're pretty nice, aren't you?"

Scarlett looked at her with slight surprise, before turning her head away and looking forward. "...No, that is not a descriptor people commonly ascribe to me. And for good reason, I would argue."

She had done her fair share of selfish and stupid things. Just because she tried to be nice sometimes didn't mean she would call herself a nice person.

"I merely endeavor to consider the circumstances of others on occasion, when it does not require any particular sacrifice on my part," she said. "That, in itself, does not constitute me as 'nice', if I am to share my opinion on the matter."

"But isn't that what being nice is?" Allyssa asked.

"No. That is simply common decency."

She heard the Shielder let out a small laugh beside her at that, as they lapsed into silence and continued down the busy street.

Scarlett knew roughly where to go, and soon enough they reached a sectioned-off area surrounded by thick hedges that blocked the view inside. The only thing that could be seen from the outside was the top of a large stone manor that appeared to be situated at the far end of this area.

This was the Hamet Garden.

The entrance near them had two guards next to it, but they seemed to let most people pass without issue, even though they did keep a watchful eye on those that entered. Scarlett and Allyssa walked through without any fuss and were met with an impressive sight.

The garden was sectioned into several different parts, each large enough that it could be considered a garden of its own, and having different kinds of flowers and architectural arrangements. All of the paths were also neatly organized into nice rows and patterns, with several beautiful fountains and statues spread out around the sections as well.

While Rosalind's Garden in Dawnlight Palace was incredibly impressive in its own way, this place was both larger and felt more like a real garden; the kind one might have expected to see near late medieval or renaissance palaces back in Scarlett's world.

Where they had entered they were given a decent view of the whole place, but soon they started walking down a short set of stairs and onto a gravel path that led towards the center of the garden, where there was a large fountain with a lot of people gathered near it. According to Evelyne, that was where most of the important people usually gathered at this time.

Scarlett glanced to the side, noticing that Allyssa seemed completely immersed in taking in the sights around them, appearing especially intrigued by some of the more exotic examples of flora that they passed by.

"You may leave and explore on your own now, if you so wish," Scarlett said.

Allyssa seemed to be pulled out of her stupor, turning to Scarlett with a slightly flustered face. Then she looked around, as if considering it. "I might do that then," she said, turning to look forward towards the fountain at the center of the garden. "Is that where you're going to be?"

"Indeed," Scarlett answered. "I will remain there for some time, so there is no need to stress."

"Ah, then I'll...be off?" Allyssa said slowly. Scarlett gave her a nod in confirmation, and she soon veered off on one of the smaller paths that led to another part of the garden.

Continuing forward by herself, Scarlett soon reached the fountain. There were dozens of different groups gathered here, all dressed a bit fancier than your usual commoner. They didn't all look like nobles, though. At least if she were to judge from what she had seen during the Elysian Proclamation.

There were small tables that had been set up to the sides, with appetizers and drinks on them, but Scarlett mostly ignored those as she scanned across the groups of people. Evelyne had given her the names of several people whom she should try striking up some conversations with during the day, but as Scarlett only had descriptions to go off, it was going to be a bit tiresome identifying people. She knew that most of them were merchants, though, with a few mages and other individuals lumped in as well. Evelyne had recommended avoiding most nobles for the time being.

Her head stopped as her eyes landed on a particular figure. A man wearing a set of red robes with light gold emblazoning on the sleeves, similar to what some of the lower priests in the Followers of Ittar wore. Unlike most of the Followers' priests though, he wasn't wearing a mask. He had handsome features and bright blond hair that was tied back in a ponytail, a smile on his face as he spoke with a small group of people beside him.

Although this wasn't the graphics in a game anymore, Scarlett had no difficulty recognizing the man as Raimond Abram. A member of the Followers of Ittar and—if Scarlett's memory didn't fail her—one of the deacons that were part of the Quorum that made many of the church's decisions.

She started walking in his direction. She would have to interact with him at some point eventually, so now was as good a time as any to introduce herself. It would also be good to make sure he knew her name, before she presented her offering later in the day.

As she got closer, one of the people that Raimond was talking to suddenly turned to look at her with a shocked expression.

"Scarlett?" the woman exclaimed, causing the others in the group to turn around as well.

Scarlett stared at her. She was short, had long brown hair, and wore glasses.

"Ah, I'm sorry Ray. I didn't mean to interrupt you. I was just surprised," the woman said, looking at Raimond.

"There's no issue at all, Miss Livvi." Raimond smiled back at her. "Why don't you introduce this fine lady? Is she perhaps a friend of yours?" he asked, looking at Scarlett.

"Ah, yes she is. We have known each other since we were young," the woman—Livvi, apparently—said. Her eyes turned to Scarlett. "But I wasn't expecting you to be here today."

"...Nor I you," Scarlett said slowly. She had no idea who this woman was supposed to be, but she had yet to meet many people that referred to her with her first name like this.

"I just arrived here in Elystead yesterday," Livvi said. "I've been busy with Guild matters for some time, but father had been pestering me about making at least one appearance."

Her eyes then widened, and she looked at the others. "Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to introduce her. This is Scarlett Hartford, Baroness of Stagmond."

"And this is Monika Melton, daughter of the head of the Whiteley Trade Guild." She looked back at Scarlett and gestured to a woman with short black hair in a blue dress. She then gestured towards a man in a green overcoat with light brown hair. "He is Derik Thorp. My colleague from the Shields Guild." Lastly, she pointed at Raimond. "And this is Ray Abraham."

"Greetings, Baroness."

"Nice to meet you."

The man and woman gave short greetings. Raimond—or 'Ray'—however, lowered his body in a graceful bow. "I see that Miss Livvi's friends are just as fair as she is. It is a delight to become acquainted with you, Baroness. Yours is a name I have heard before."

Scarlett studied the man closely. "I believe I recall having heard your name at some point as well."

He gave her a bashful smile. "While it would gladden my heart to hear it from the lips of a fine lady such as you, I'm afraid my name is not that noteworthy. You are probably thinking of someone else."

"Is that so?" Scarlett said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Perhaps I was mistaken then."

Raimond had been like that in the game as well. Often going around under an alias and pretending like he wasn't anybody special.

"I wouldn't think you would attend the Providing Ceremony, Scarlett," Livvi suddenly said.

Scarlett turned to look at the woman. Surprisingly, being referred to by her first name didn't really cause any annoyance on her part. Even though she had allowed it from Kat and the others, it had always irked the Scarlett part of her at least a little bit. Was there something special about this lady?

"I suppose one could say that recent events called for it," Scarlett said after a moment. "And an occasion such as this does not occur often. I believed it to be a good opportunity to present a certain item of value that I recently came upon. One that the Followers will greatly appreciate."

She saw Livvi's eyes narrow ever-so-slightly at her words, as if the woman wasn't entirely sure how to interpret them. Scarlett ignored it, instead turning to Raimond. "You were a priest, were you not? Are you perhaps involved in today's ceremony?"

He let out a low chuckle as he gently shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Were it so, I would likely not be here right now. Important rituals such as these are usually left to more experienced members of the clergy."

"If so, what is it that you customarily do?"

"Oh, I do all kinds of things," he answered with a dashing smile. "But nothing terribly impressive. In the end, I'm just a humble servant of Ittar."

"I see. How very pious of you," Scarlett said. Not that it was much of an answer.

"If you wish to know more about the duties of a traveling priest such as I, then I'm sure we can discuss it at some other time and I can go further in-depth."

"Yes, perhaps if you were ever to visit Freybrook you could visit my residence. I will ensure that you are suitably welcomed."

"Ah, nothing would gladden me more," Raimond said with another bow.

"I will leave you to your previous conversation once more," Scarlett said as she looked around and spotted a person that seemed to fit one of the descriptions Evelyne had given her. "It was a pleasure exchanging greetings with all of you, but I have prior matters to deal with at present."

Although it was sudden, the others gave her short farewells as she walked away from their group. She then schooled her expression and tried to enter her best impression of business mode.

She had a lot of boring conversations to get through.

Chapter 59 - The two princesses

After having excused herself from Raimond Abram and the others, Scarlett had mingled with several of the other groups here. None of the conversations she got into were particularly interesting—mostly just basic introductions and her inquiring about and mentioning some potential business ventures Evelyne had asked her to speak about—and she only stayed with one group just long enough that it wouldn't seem completely rude to leave, but she had still probably been at it for well over an hour before determining that it was enough, right about when some of the people had started leaving the garden.

It was a bit earlier than she had originally expected—she was pretty sure there was a decent amount of time left until the ceremony itself—and Allyssa hadn't returned yet, but that didn't matter much. If she were to guess the young Shielder would probably come looking for her soon enough, but, as there was enough time, Scarlett didn't mind exploring the garden some more to find the girl herself.

Her eyes passed over the remaining crowds as she double-checked Allyssa wasn't nearby and had just gotten pulled into a conversation somehow. Although there were a lot fewer nobles here than for the Elysian Proclamation, there were still several faces she recognized from there. She wasn't here anymore, but earlier Scarlett had also seen Princess Regina moving around for a time. She was the only member of the imperial family that Scarlett had spotted though, and the young princess had only interacted with some of the upper-crust nobles that had hung out at the other edge of the fountain.

Not finding any traces of Allyssa, Scarlett was just about to step onto a smaller gravel path that led away from the center area when she heard a voice calling out to her.

"Scarlett."

She turned around to see the woman with glasses from earlier—Livvi—walking up to her with hurried steps.

"Yes. Was there something you wanted?"

Livvi stopped in front of Scarlett, seemingly taking a second to regain her breath. "What's with you today?" she asked with a slight frown. Then she shook her head. "No, never mind. I just wanted to ask if everything was okay."

Scarlett gave the woman a long look. "Okay?"

"Yes," Livvi said with a sure nod. "I've been busy for some time now, so I don't know the latest of what has been transpiring here in the capital, but I have the feeling that something happened. And yesterday when I spoke with my father he seemed annoyed at you for some reason. More than usual, that is. What did you do?"

Scarlett arched an eyebrow. That might have meant more if she knew who this woman's father was.

"There was an incident during the Proclamation ceremony," she said. "I believe some may have taken offense to a few of the words I spoke. It is nothing I am not taking measures to deal with."

"Words?" Livvi furrowed her forehead in what looked like minor confusion, but soon relaxed. "As long as everything is all right. How is Evelyne?"

This woman knew Evelyne closely as well? Was it because she and the original had apparently been 'friends' since young?

"...She is quite busy at present. I believe the last few days have worn her down somewhat, but I am certain she will recover. In general, she appears to be largely fine."

Livvi grew a surprised expression. "R-Really? I wouldn't have thought you to—" she paused in the middle of her sentence, turning her eyes downward. "Never mind. Send her my regards, if you could. I hope she manages to get some rest if she needs it."

They lapsed into silence.

"Was there anything else?" Scarlett asked after a while.

"Ah, no. That was all," Livvi said and looked up. "I had been planning on paying a short visit now that you're here in the capital, but if you're that busy perhaps now isn't a good time."

"No, now would probably not be a suitable time."

"Perhaps I'll visit next time I am back in Freybrook, then. But I won't keep you any longer. It was nice seeing you again, after so long."

"...Yes. You as well," Scarlett said as Livvi turned around and left. Scarlett kept her eyes on the woman's back as she walked off.

She was surprisingly...pleasant, for someone who was supposedly a friend of the original.

It might have been a bit prejudiced of her, but Scarlett had assumed that all of the original's friends were the kind of one-dimensional stuck-up aristocrats that were commonly depicted as villains in stories.

Although, considering the original's personality, it was entirely possible that Livvi's 'friendship' was one-sided. Or that Livvi just said they were friends to fit the situation.

Watching the woman for a moment longer, Scarlett eventually turned around and started walking away herself. She could ask Evelyne more about who Livvi was when she got back.

She followed the gravel path into another section, one that looked a lot like a hedge maze. This was the part of the garden one had the least visibility into from the center, so she figured there was a decent chance Allyssa was here considering she hadn't seen her in any of the other sections.

The hedges themselves were too tall to see above them, but as she walked closer she realized they weren't actually arranged in a maze pattern. Instead, there were several long paths winding straight through the 'maze', with small mini-gardens here and there, half closed-off by the surrounding shrubbery. Scarlett spent about ten minutes strolling around there, then she heard a familiar voice from close by.

Continuing around a corner and down one of the paths, Scarlett stopped to peek through an opening to her right, into a small space with a circular bed of flowers at its center. Two figures sat hunched over before the flowers, with their backs turned towards her.

The smaller of the two figures sat to the left and looked to be a young girl wearing a white dress and what looked almost like a bleached coif over her head. Part of the girl's bright golden hair hung over her shoulder in a long braid, however, and Scarlett felt that the girl seemed familiar.

"—used to mitigate the symptoms from certain poisonous berries. And this one is called Aecolla," the other figure's voice rang out, whom Scarlett easily recognized as Allyssa. The young Shielder pointed to a flower with yellow, diamond-shaped leaves. "Its stems are good for creating some solvents. It's pretty rare though, so you don't see it blooming like this often."

The young girl slowly nodded her head at the words, pointing to another flower. This one looked a lot like a forget-me-not, if you had increased its size by five times and added thorns on its stalks.

"That's a Dawn Swinie. They only grow where there's a lot of sunlight, and they're great for relieving pain. Just touching the thin bristles on the back of the leaves numbs you a bit."

As Scarlett took a few steps closer, Allyssa suddenly turned her head around towards her. "Oh, Sca-I mean...Baroness." She stood up, dusting off her legs with her hands. "Sorry. Did I take too long?"

Scarlett's eyes turned to the girl next to Allyssa. "No, it is quite all right. There is still ample time." She froze for a brief moment when the girl turned around. "Greetings to the second star of the Empire, Her Imperial Highness." She went down into a curtsy. "I am Baroness Scarlett Hartford."

The girl looked on with an expressionless face, even as Scarlett saw Allyssa's eyes widen in panic.

"H-Highness?!"

Had Allyssa been accompanying one of the empire's princesses all this time, without even realizing it? And why was the youngest princess even by herself in a place like this?

The princess grabbed the hem of her dress, wordlessly returning the curtsy.

Scarlett threw a short look towards Allyssa. "I apologize on the behalf of my retainer. It appears she was unaware of Your Highness's identity. While she had an amiable disposition, I hope she has not caused you any offense?"

The princess glanced at the shocked Allyssa for a second, then shook her head.

"No."

"I am glad."

Silence fell around them. Allyssa looked unsure what to say, and the princess didn't show much reaction either. Scarlett's eyes rested on the young girl.

...For some reason, the princess reminded her of her own sister at that age. Back from her world. Despite the two of them not bearing any direct similarities, as far as she could tell.

"May I ask what Your Highness is doing here by yourself?" Scarlett eventually asked, wanting to break the awkward silence. She wasn't really certain about what to do in this whole situation either. Should she just excuse herself and Allyssa?

The princess stared at her. "I'm not alone," she said.

Scarlett looked between Allyssa and the princess. That wasn't exactly what she had meant with 'alone'.

"...Ger," the princess mumbled.

Scarlett held her breath as a new figure rose up above the hedge to her left, towering over even the bush that was two heads taller than Scarlett. The figure wore a white helmet with gold inlays and a miniature figure of a dragon on top of it, with the handle of a sword showing behind the shoulder.

The knight—Holdger 'The Mammoth'—stayed completely silent, simply standing there.

"...I see," she said slowly as she stared at the giant of a man. She had not been expecting one of the Royal Guard to be hiding there. "It appears I was mistaken. Then are you perhaps partaking in the Providing Ceremony as well, Your Highness?"

The princess nodded. "Yes."

Scarlett's gaze lingered on Holdger for a moment longer, before shifting to the flowerbed behind Allyssa and the princess. "I was intending to begin relocating to the site and meant to find Miss Astrey before that. I will admit that I was surprised to discover you here as well, Your Highness. Are you perhaps fond of flowers?"

The princess turned back to look at the flowerbed, then shook her head. "No."

"There is nothing wrong with having interests. Especially burgeoning ones," Scarlett said, studying the young girl. If she were to guess, the princess was probably around ten or eleven years old. Her own sister had been pretty...outspoken, in general, at that age—especially towards her—but it wasn't too unusual for kids that age to be uncomfortable around adults they didn't know. It wouldn't surprise her if that went double among some nobles.

"Although if you simply wished to eschew the gatherings, I can understand that as well," she added.

The princess was quiet for a short while, then looked towards Allyssa. "...It was interesting hearing her talk."

Scarlett raised an eyebrow. "Is that so. I am sure that gladdens her to hear."

Allyssa grew a flustered expression. "Ah, yes. Well, ehm...thank you, Your Highness."

A moment later, Scarlett heard steps on gravel approaching from behind. Turning around, she saw Princess Regina appear at the entrance, wearing a set of black and gold clothing with burgundy pants.

"So it was true that you were here, Hilde," Regina said as she entered the enclosed space. Her escort, Leandra 'The Swift', stopped next to the entrance with a neutral expression on her face.

"And we meet again, Baroness," Regina said as she looked at Scarlett, who responded with a curtsy.

"Greetings to the star of the Empire, her Imperial Highness."

The princess nodded in return. "I would not have expected to find you here with my sister, Baroness."

"I happened upon Her Highness in search of my retainer, Miss Astrey," Scarlett said, gesturing to Allyssa. The young Shielder looked a little overwhelmed now that there were two princesses here.

Regina walked over to the second princess, stopping next to her. She glanced down at the flowers. "Have you been enjoying the flowers, Hilde?"

The younger princess suddenly showed a small smile, shaking her head. "No, I was simply exploring. I didn't want to get in your way when you were talking to the others."

Scarlett blinked at the stark difference between the young girl now, and just a minute earlier.

"Next time, inform me if you're leaving. It worries me when you suddenly disappear," Regina said.

"Okay, sister," the second princess said with a nod.

The first princess looked at her younger sister for a second. "And if you want to explore, we can always visit again later. We still have duties to uphold."

The smile on the second princess' face stilled for a brief moment, but it soon returned. "I'm sorry, sister. It was my fault. I won't do it next time."

"I'm not berating you, Hilde. Just reminding you that father has expectations of us today." Regina went quiet, looking back at the flowers. "...If you wish, we can visit mother together again later today, after the ceremony has finished."

Scarlett watched on silently as the two sisters interacted, not feeling like she really belonged. There was a clear distance between these two, one that was quite familiar to her.

"No, it's fine," the second princess said.

"...Very well." Regina turned back to Scarlett. "We will be leaving now, although I presume we will be seeing each other again during the ceremony."

"That we will, Your Highness," Scarlett said.

Regina looked at Allyssa as well, and gave her a slight nod before she started walking. The second princess curtsied at Scarlett once again, and at Allyssa. "Farewell Baroness, and...Miss Astrey," she said, then started following her sister. As she passed her by, Scarlett spoke.

"Your Highness," she said gently, not quite sure why she was bothering involving herself with others' matters. The young girl stopped momentarily. "I do not wish to overstep my bounds, but I believe that sometimes, it is okay to complain. One does not always have to be satisfied."

The young princess stared at her with an undecipherable look, and Regina also looked pretty surprised. But soon enough they started moving again, with the two Royal Guards disappearing along with them, leaving Scarlett and Allyssa by themselves.

"...We just met the princesses," Allyssa muttered to herself after a while.

"Not a common occurrence, no," Scarlett said.

"Are you kidding me?!"

Scarlett turned to her, eyebrow raised.

Allyssa grimaced. "S-Sorry. It's just...I never thought I'd meet them, of all people."

"Understandable. I suppose I might have reacted in a similar manner, had I realized I had unwittingly been speaking with a princess. It must have been quite an experience."

"That's one way to describe it. Not even in my wildest dreams did I think I would meet the second princess like that." Allyssa's eyes turned to the entrance where the others had left. She was silent for a moment. "But...Don't you think she looked a bit sad?"

"...It is not our place to speculate on matters of the imperial family," Scarlett said slowly.

And maybe she could just ignore the fact that her last words to them had basically been doing just that.

Chapter 60 - Providing

After leaving Hamet Garden behind, Scarlett and Allyssa began making their way to where the Providing Ceremony was held. It didn't take them much longer than ten minutes.

The space that it was being held in was a massive square, surrounded on all sides by lines of yellow-leafed trees that separated the square from the nearby buildings. Several roads ushered people into the square from all directions, with large crowds already waiting in the mostly-full space. If Scarlett were to guess, there were probably at least a couple of thousand people here.

The street they had been following from Hamet Garden led into an area of the square that was cordoned off with wooden fences, and mostly only appeared to house those that were more well-off. A decent amount of people were gathered in this section as well, but it was nowhere near the rest of the square. It was also clear that not all of the nobles who had attended the Elysian Proclamation attended this event.

A large raised platform of smooth white stone stood at the center of the square. On the platform stood several figures, all wearing the elaborate gold-emblazoned red robes distinctive to the full priests of the Followers of Ittar. None of their faces were visible, covered by those strange golden masks that were perhaps best described as an odd octagon of two overlayed squares. Scarlett was pretty sure it was supposed to represent the sun, though that wasn't the first thing she thought of when seeing them.

Situating themselves in an empty spot close to the edge of their section, Scarlett and Allyssa waited for things to begin. After some time, one of the priests stepped over to the center of the stage. Unlike the other priests, this priest's robes also had two silver vestments hanging over his shoulders. As they raised their arms, a lot of the noise and chatter around the square quieted down.

"Revered citizens of our glorious empire," their voice rang out, somehow resounding out across the whole square. It was a man's deep voice, and Scarlett could almost feel the reverberations down to her bone. "The end of this auspicious festival is nearing, but there still remains time."

The priest gave a brief pause, as if waiting for his words to sink in and everybody in the crowd settle.

"Many of you have endured much through the year. This period is not simply a commemoration of the resplendent glory of Ittar's light that has been generously bestowed upon us all, but also to celebrate the labor performed by his beloved children. The blood and sweat that has been shed, whose fruits will soon be reaped, providing for us, as Ittar bears his rest."

The priest continuously rotated as he talked, peering out across all of the people gathered around the center platform.

"We, the Followers of Ittar and conduits to his will, shall as ever provide our aid during these times. To those destitute and starving, as well as to those in need of Ittar's grace. This is part of our sacred duty, as it has been since the birth of this brilliant empire. A duty that we have always allowed those most devoted of Ittar's children to partake in."

He gestured to one of the other priests, who pulled out a large scroll from their robe, before walking forward and handing it to him. It seemed the priest who was speaking was the head priest for this event.

"There are yet many efforts shepherded by us followers of the resplendent sun. The renewal of the damage wrought by the blaze-damned dragon of devastation in the Blasted Lands continues to this day, as does the relief given to those affected by the drought in the southeastern regions of the empire the previous year. Blessedly, as in preceding years, there are many in this empire who care for their fellow man and woman, who willingly choose to aid in providing for those who themselves cannot. As is praxis, all of you shall bear witness to these individuals' selfless displays."

The head priest opened the long scroll, which unfurled far enough to reach the white stone of the platform he was on. "First amongst those of the providers, carrying on the hallowed charge of their great forefathers and Ittar's chosen lights, is the offering bestowed upon us by the crown!" he announced with vigor. "All defer yourselves before Her Imperial Highness Hilde Priscilla Verddun Teronia, the second star of the Empire!"

Scarlett saw how the crowds of people gathered in the square began lowering their heads following the man's words, and she did the same. Normally, this probably wouldn't have been considered enough when it came to showing deference to the imperial family, but considering how the people outside of the VIP section were packed tight like sardines, they probably made exceptions for this event.

A few seconds later, as people started raising their heads again, Scarlett noticed a short figure in a white dress nearing the platform with the priests on it. The second princess was carrying a small gold chest in her hands, climbing up a set of stairs until she stopped before the head priest.

It was impossible to make out any details at the distance they were at, so Scarlett couldn't tell much of what the princess was doing, but she did feel that it was a bit harsh forcing such a young girl up on a stage in front of these many people.

Of course, being a princess, she might actually be used to it. Scarlett had only met her briefly, so she couldn't really say too much on the matter. And she wasn't one to often care too much about people unrelated to her.

...Still, this one did irk her somewhat.

The other priest, the one who had given the head priest the scroll, stepped closer to the princess to receive the golden chest in her hands.

"From the chosen light of the Empire, a gift of twenty million solars!" the head priest announced. "As is due, Her Highness' name will be recorded in the Hall of Providers along with her ancestors."

Scarlett almost did a double-take at the amount of money donated. She had not been expecting sums like that to be on the table. That wasn't something she could beat, no matter what she did. Evelyne had warned her some of the donations were pretty massive, though. And maybe that's what one would expect from the imperial family, considering they were one of the most powerful families in this world. Twenty million probably wasn't too much, by their standards.

The second princess soon left the platform, returning to a section of the cordoned-off area where there were two decorated chairs set up, and a number of Solar Knights standing guard. Regina was there too, as well as the two members of the Royal Guard that had been with the two princesses earlier in the garden.

"Continuing down the list of providers, in the order in which they were entered, next is Countess Morley of Chillburg!" the head priest's voice sounded out once more.

This time a woman looking to be somewhere in her thirties climbed onto the platform, holding an odd-shaped helmet with clear green patterns across the face. It looked somewhat like a beetle head. The same priest as earlier stepped forward to receive it.

"She presents an old heirloom hailing from Zovivios as her offering," the head priest declared and looked toward his fellow priest. The other priest appeared to study the helmet for a few seconds, before turning to the head priest and saying something that couldn't be heard.

"An artifact, it appears!" the priests soon announced. "And estimated at a worth of no less than two hundred thousand solars! A worthy offering for a citizen of the empire!"

Scarlett arched a brow. Two hundred thousand, just for one artifact? That had to be a pretty powerful item. Maybe even considered legendary-tier in the game. She wasn't sure if [Moonshadow's Crown (Epic)] and [Pastoral Glade's Bulwark (Epic)] would have been able to beat that, if she had decided to go with those as her offerings. And it still didn't seem to be enough to be considered for the Hall of Providers.

...It had been a good choice on her part to not aim for the monetary value today.

The head priest continued down the list of 'providers', most of which appeared to be either nobles or rich merchants of some kind. A lot of them just offered money straight out, mostly ranging anywhere from fifty thousand solars to one million. There were still a decent amount of magical items and artifacts though, all of which seemed to be appraised on the spot by the second priest who had to be some kind of appraisal expert.

Scarlett couldn't quite figure out how they determined what was considered worthy enough to let you be 'recorded in the Hall of Providers', though. One count had given nine hundred thousand solars, which was the lowest amount she observed being considered enough when it came to pure cash. But there was one merchant that had gifted an assortment of magical items appraised at six hundred thousand, which was apparently enough for some reason.

She had originally assumed things like this would have been decided after everyone had given their things, but clearly, that assumption had been wrong.

"Are you providing something too?" Allyssa asked her at one point after a good amount of people had already performed their donations.

"Yes, I am," Scarlett said as she observed the central scene. "Although I believe there is still some time until then. Our admission was rather belated."

Because she had wanted to make sure Fynn was successful with his task before they did anything, they hadn't sent in the official entry for their donation until early this morning. Evelyne had told her it was fine though. The Followers accepted new entries almost all the way up until the ceremony itself. She had also double-checked with Evelyne that what she was donating was okay. The younger woman had appeared pretty surprised by what it was, but she had said that there shouldn't be a problem with it.

"Is what you're offering as insanely expensive as some of these other things?"

Scarlett glanced at Allyssa with a small smile. "It depends on who you ask. There are some who would offer no more than one thousand for it."

There were always vendors in games that wouldn't pay you any more than scraps for even the most valuable items, just because they were locked into some quest or other.

Allyssa gave her a curious look. "To me that still sounds pretty expensive, but that's not really a lot to these people, is it?"

Scarlett shook her head. "It is not."

"Sooo, I'm guessing it's worth more to them?"

"I would hope so. But we will have to wait and see."

Allyssa's eyes narrowed at Scarlett. But soon she shrugged her shoulders, pushing a lock of blonde hair away from her face as she turned towards the platform in the middle. "Kat said you were like that sometimes, as well," she mumbled.

Once more Scarlett found herself wondering exactly what Kat had told these kids about her, but she decided to ignore it as she focused her attention on the current events.

People continued to climb onto the platform and give their offerings for quite some time—there had probably been about two hundred or so of them by now, even though a lot had given relatively small amounts—until eventually, Scarlett's name was called out. She hadn't been quite certain when her turn was, so she had already moved closer to the center platform to be ready.

Turning to Allyssa, she signaled for the pouch of holding that the young Shielder had, taking out the item she needed from inside. It was a chalice made out of pure gold that glittered in the sunlight. Along its rim were several bright red gems that almost seemed to shine on their own. As the light reflected on the side of the chalice, strange symbols also appeared at its base.

Eyeing it for just a moment, Scarlett then started walking towards the center with quick—but not hurried—steps. As she reached the platform and started climbing the stairs, the head priest continued speaking.

"She presents an old item hailing from the early days of the empire, possibly bearing strong ties to prominent members of the clergy," he declared, turning to look at the priest in charge of appraisal as they were about to receive the chalice from Scarlett. That other priest stopped, however, just as they were about to grab it.

Scarlett watched as the masked person stood still for several seconds, finally reaching out toward the chalice with almost shaking hands. She let it go without issue, and the priest gently held the artifact up as they turned it around, studying the symbols on it.

The head priest seemed a bit confused as to why things were taking longer than usual, but stayed quiet. Scarlett saw some of the heads in the crowds moving around with slight confusion as well.

That was also the point that Scarlett realized she was standing in front of thousands of people right now, but she didn't allow that thought to go too far. It was true that she had never been close to being in front of this many people before—even if you counted the Elysian Proclamation—but it didn't feel uncomfortable at all to her. Rather, she would almost say she felt a sense of enjoyment from it.

Though that was most likely a remnant from the original.

Eventually, after almost thirty seconds of relative quiet had passed, the priest in front of Scarlett lowered the chalice and turned towards the head priest, taking a step closer to him. She heard the priest speak in a vaguely feminine voice, but it was too soft for her to make out any details. The reaction from the head priest, however, was quite unmistakable. His head spun to stare at the chalice, and it looked like he was almost about to reach out to it to check it himself. He stopped himself, though, and after a moment he turned his attention back to the surrounding crowds.

"I-It appears as if the importance of this chalice has been strongly understated. Not only does it hail from the early days of the empire and bear strong ties to Ittar's followers, but it also bears strong ties to Ittar himself! For this is none other than one of the ten Chalices of Canon!"

Scarlett heard audible gasps from the other priests on the platform, as well as from a few of the people nearest the platform.

"An artifact such as this..." the head priest continued, looking towards Scarlett. "Its value is simply not something we can measure in solars. This is a sacred relic of god, belonging to one of the original deacons of the Renascence!"

Scarlett held back a smile. She had expected them to like it. The original quest to find this item was something you got from one of the deacons, and they'd had a similar reaction when first seeing it. Although at this point in time they wouldn't be aware of its location, so there shouldn't be a problem with her finding it by herself.

"The Baroness' offering is of a kind we have not seen for a long time," the head priest proclaimed. "Long have the Followers of Ittar been in search of the remainder of these sacred relics, and it is an unmistakable illustration of her dedication and fervor that she has found and returned this Chalice of Canon to us! Her laudable actions will have her name recorded in the Hall of Providence as an exemplary icon of devotion to the empire from one of its citizens!"

There was some cheering from the crowds as the priest holding the chalice carefully carried it back to one of the other priests who placed it inside a large coffer. Scarlett began leaving the platform, walking down the steps of the stairs with a calm gait as everyone's eyes were on her.

She had to admit, seeing the looks on the faces of some of the nobles nearby as they now gaped at her was quite entertaining. Especially as she had seen some of them scoffing at her as she walked up.

Allyssa was staring at her with wide eyes as she neared her, and Scarlett stopped beside the woman with a small smirk. "It appears as if you were correct. It was indeed worth more to them."

Allyssa just let out a laugh at that.

Chapter 61 - Nametaker

Kat

Destruction surrounded her.

Kat was standing in the middle of a wide dirt street, with black-clad bodies surrounding her. The faces of the bodies had strange white symbols painted on them. Every single one of the nearby buildings was ruined beyond recognition, what remained of the scorched wooden pillars and stone littering the street.

"The entire southern section of the town is on fire!" a voice screamed out behind them.

Kat turned to look as Thurlow, a fellow Shielder, came running up to them. There was blood running down the left side of his head.

"The knights are heading there as we speak, but we need to send mages to assist them with controlling the fire," he continued as he stopped close to Kat's group, bending over as he breathed heavily.

All of them turned their heads to the south. The night sky was beginning to take on an orange hue there.

"We'll go," Wilmer said as the man took a step forward along with Muriel. The two of them were the best among them when it came to hydromancy.

"I'll guide you," Thurlow said, standing straight after he'd caught his breath for a moment. Then the three of them immediately took off down one of the muddy streets.

That left seven Shielders in their group. Two A-ranks and five B-ranks.

"Can't believe they're causing all this destruction," one of the other Shielders muttered. "Blazes...what could they even be after?"

"I doubt even the Augur could understand these maniacs," Arnall—the current leader of their group, and an A-ranked senior Shielder—said.

Kat glanced at the bodies on the street, grinding her teeth at the sight.

"We'll keep moving. We've already taken care of this group, and there's supposed to be more of them north of here," Arnall said, hefting his large sword onto his shoulder. The rest of them got ready, and soon they were moving through the streets again.

They passed by countless demolished buildings, each one nearly wrecked down to the base. It had only been a few hours since the attack started, and the town of Brinewick was already ravaged to this state. It was like the Tribe was seeking pure destruction here, and nothing else.

Or maybe she should say the Hallowed Cabal, considering what she had learned from Scarlett.

The higher-ups of the Guild had taken her warning seriously too, judging there could be truth to her words after her first run-in with the Cabal. Kat did feel a little bad about inevitably placing some attention on Scarlett with her warning, but for now, those she had talked to in the Shields Guild had agreed to leave the baroness be. And they had decided to place extra importance on Brinewick.

But they had still underestimated the Cabal. That much was clear.

The Guild was worn thin. Kat didn't really know the details of everything—she preferred having things simple—but they only had about thirty Shielders here in Brinewick. There were so many other places in the empire that they had to send people as well. Despite that, the number of high-ranked Shielders placed here was much higher than in most of the other places.

And they weren't the only ones here either. She had seen several knight orders around, as well as mages from some of the Mage Towers. She had even seen Solar Knights, every one of which would probably be enough to justify A-rank in the Guild.

And still, things had gotten to this level.

The Tribe of Sin was a lot stronger than any of them had expected. Both in terms of numbers, and in individual power. Even though most of the Tribe members Kat and the others had run into up till now were handled without too much issue, she knew there were much more dangerous individuals among them. She was also pretty sure that all of the damage around here wasn't caused by those that she had fought. Some of these buildings were almost literally wiped out of existence.

She wasn't even close to being able to do something like that on anything close to this scale.

"There's someone over here," one of the others cried out.

Kat's attention turned to what remained of an overturned wagon. Arnall and Rolland rushed over to lift the debris away, revealing a brown-haired man with dried blood across his face and a large wound on the side of his stomach.

"What in the name of..." Arnall muttered with a frown.

"I thought all the people were evacuated last night?" Kat asked, taking a step back as Aubriana moved forward and kneeled next to the injured man. Kat wasn't too familiar with the older woman, but she knew she was good when it came to healing magic.

"They were supposed to be," Ami—the other A-ranked Shielder in their group—said darkly.

Beaming water formed above Aubriana's hand and floated in the air towards the injured man, soon mending the damage to his side and washing away some of the blood on his face.

Arnall snapped a finger next to the man's head. "Hey. What are you doing here? Everyone was supposed to have evacuated."

The man's eyes slowly opened, appearing slightly hazy as he looked at them. "W-Wha..."

"Focus." Arnall grabbed the man's shoulder. "You should already have evacuated. What are you still doing here?"

The man seemed to take a moment to realize where he was. Suddenly, he jolted up, stopped only by the A-rank's grip. "W-Where am I? Wait, the others..."

"I said focus. We found you injured under this wagon. Why are you still in the town?"

The man stared at Arnall for several seconds, then shook his head. "I-I tried to run after everything started collapsing. I-I thought I could make it."

Kat furrowed her brows at the man's words, taking a step closer and staring at him over Aubriana's shoulder. "What started collapsing? Were there others with you?"

His frantic eyes turned to her. "Uh, t-the cellar we were all hiding in started collapsing. W-We didn't think it was worth fleeing before, so we stayed. There w-were over a dozen of us, and their families."

Kat's heart stopped for a beat. She thought they had been able to avoid most deaths after evacuating all the people to a temporary camp a day's travel away. She looked at Arnall.

"There could still be people alive."

He turned his head to look back at her, a heavy expression on his face. After a short period, he turned back to the man. "Where was this?"

The man looked around, like he was trying to reorient himself among the destroyed buildings. "N-Near the town square. In that direction." He pointed with a weak finger.

Kat looked to where he was pointing. That was to the east. But they were supposed to go and help some of the other Shielders in the northern part of the town.

Arnall looked back at Kat and the others. His eyes stayed on Kat for an extra second, then he stood up with a sigh. "We can't just leave it. Kat, Rolland, and I will go and see if there are any more survivors. The rest of you take this man and continue to the rest."

Kat saw Ami frown at the order, but the large woman stayed silent as she moved over and lifted the injured man up without issue, placing him over her shoulder. The man let out a groan and some weak complaints, but Ami ignored them, nodding at Arnall as she and the three other Shielders took off in their original direction.

Arnall turned to Kat and Rolland. "Let's go."

The three of them started running in the other direction, towards where the man had pointed. They continued moving for a while, surprisingly enough not running into any of the Tribe's members before they reached what had probably been the town square. Now, it was just a large open area with rubble spread around it.

"We'll start looking around from here. Stay within sight," Arnall said, and they split up to search some of the nearby buildings. Some of them were actually still standing.

Kat had just finished searching the second of her buildings when she heard a sound from the other side of the square. Turning around, she just caught sight of someone in black clothes getting thrown a dozen meters into a stone wall and falling limp there.

"Tribe members!" Arnall's voice cried out as he slammed his sword into the shield of another black-dressed individual near him, beating the person down to the ground.

Kat started running to help, but she was interrupted when she spotted a handful more Tribe members come running from one of the side streets, their painted faces standing out clearly in the moonlight. Rolland also seemed to be in the middle of fighting even more of them at the other end of the square, so Kat turned her attention to the ones near her, moving her hands as she cast boulder smash.

The stones formed in front of her quickly, shooting out and slamming into three of the surprised targets, although the others managed to dodge. She quickly cast two fireballs to finish off the ones she had knocked down as the other ones started running at her. Luckily, none of them seemed to be a mage. With a few more spells, she managed to take them down well before they reached her, and she returned her attention to Arnall. The man was standing next to one of the remaining buildings, a few more black-clad bodies than before lying around him.

Suddenly, the building behind him exploded into a million fragments. Kat put up her arms to shield her face as some of the debris flew towards her. One piece of stone hit her with such force that not even her mana barrier could withstand all of it, and she felt part of her bone crack as she was knocked back.

Coughing as the cloud of dust that filled part of the square slowly settled, she hurriedly cast earth pulse on herself before pushing herself up with her good arm. The warm feeling pulsed through her arm and into the rest of her body as she squinted her eyes.

There was someone standing where the house had been. A woman. She wore tight-fitting black clothes with a short hood that reached the top of her head. Unruly violet hair hung down along the edges of her face, and she was staring ahead with bright eyes that practically glowed with the same color as her hair. Covering her neck, and reaching up to the sides of her jaws, was some sort of strange, scale-like growth of a dull silver. It almost looked like a shell of some kind, as if it was growing over her skin.

Her appearance tickled some memory at the back of Kat's mind.

The woman's eyes traveled over the square, crossing over Kat and Rolland in an almost sluggish manner, and only momentarily stopping on the bodies of the dead members of the Tribe of Sin with a small scowl.

Kat's eyes widened.

If you under any time during these coming events encounter an individual with either violet or silver hair, referring to herself as Vail, then do not under any circumstances clash with her.

Scarlett's warning rang through her head.

Kat threw her uninjured arm up in the air, and cast a spell she had only learned recently. A small flame formed above her finger, then shot off into the sky in an arc, leaving a thin streak behind it. When it reached its apex it flared up and fractured into hundreds of smaller lights, each one floating down like snow as they slowly flickered out.

The violet-haired woman observed the light show with a curious expression, then set her eyes on Kat, who was just about to prepare to cast another spell when the stones on the ground near the woman suddenly moved.

Piles of the stone were thrown to the side as Arnall pushed his way free with a yell, covered in dust and cuts. His head immediately sprang to the violet-haired woman, who stared at him quietly.

"W-Wait don't!" Kat began yelling as Arnall took one long step towards the woman, striking out with his right arm.

For a moment it looked like the woman was going to take the attack head-on, but just as it was about to reach her face, her hand moved up and caught his fist. She looked him straight in the eyes, then frowned.

"Weak."

Kat's eyes widened and she stared on as the woman moved her hand, and Arnall's arm went with it. The moment after, he disappeared as well. Kat didn't even see what happened.

"NOOO!" Rolland's voice cried out from the side, pulling Kat out of her trance.

The woman turned her attention towards Rolland.

Quickly raising both her arms, fighting through the pain from her still-unhealed left one, she hurriedly cast two fireballs one after the other. Both spells flew in an almost straight arc, striking the woman almost straight on. Kat saw how the magic behind the spells unraveled and disappeared into nothingness as they did.

The woman tilted her head at Kat. "You too."

Kat was already moving her hands again, putting her all into casting one of her most complicated spells. The ground started to shake according to her will, and the ground beneath the woman suddenly opened up to swallow her whole.

Silence filled the square.

Then mounds of rock blasted up into the sky as a large crater formed. The woman walked up from it like it was nothing, not an inch of her body looking injured. She looked at Kat.

"Manifest," she said, now with a small smile that sent shivers down Kat's spine. "I'll give you a chance. I am Vail Nejothreb Terlizzi Titus Kolzryrreg. What is your name?"

Kat stared at the woman. At Vail. And before she could do anything, Vail moved.

She didn't even have time to blink, and suddenly Vail was right in front of her. She tried to step back, but Vail's hand gripped hold of her neck immediately. Her throat tightened as her feet left the ground, and she was lifted up in the air.

"BAAASTA—" Rolland's cry came screaming from the side, but one flick of Vail's hand sent him flying.

As Kat desperately clasped at Vail's hand, the woman's smile disappeared and she looked at Kat with a disappointed expression. "As I thought. Weak."

Kat's eyes widened as the pressure on her neck grew, and—

"Why don't you let her down," a gravelly voice called out.

The pressure stopped, and Vail turned her head. Kat got a glimpse of the person that had spoken.

A dozen meters away from them stood a man. He had a full head of grey hair and a thick beard, wearing a light set of black-and-white leather and scale armor. A long wooden spear leaned over the back of his shoulder, and a thick book hung off from his side.

For a moment, Kat felt a hint of relief. It had been agreed that the flare spell she used was reserved for emergencies, but this definitely counted.

Vail stared at the man, her eyes closely taking him in.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Nothing I have to share with monsters like your kind," the man responded calmly.

Pain shot through Kat's body as Vail jammed one of her hands into her side, but she could barely let out a groan as the pressure around her neck intensified again.

The man clenched his teeth. "...Gratianus Graham."

Vail leaned her head to the side. "Gratianus?"

There was a short pause, before the woman showed a menacing smile. "I like it."

Kat fought through the haziness that was starting to cloud her mind, removing her hands from Vail's, and moving them near the woman's head.

Fireball

A blazing explosion enveloped them both, disappearing almost the second it began. Kat felt the side of her face burn as the grip on her neck loosened for a brief moment and she was knocked back through the air. Everything was going in circles in her head as she landed on her back, knocking the air out of her.

Desperately turning to the side, she tried casting earth pulse on herself again but couldn't focus on the spell. Loud claps and bursts of air shot out from the two figures near her that were suddenly crashing into each other, but she could barely make any details out through her blurry and red vision.

Finally she managed to cast earth pulse, relief spreading as the warm feeling spread through her body again.

"Vail!" a loud voice rang out.

The two fighting figures stopped momentarily as a third figure appeared at the edge of the square. They were just a muddy black spot in Kat's eyes.

"Stop playing around with that old man. We're finished here!" the figure yelled.

"No," Vail declared.

"We were given an order. We're leaving."

Kat could barely make out Vail glancing at the figure, before looking back at Gratianus. "...Next time." Vail sounded vexed.

A moment later the woman was gone, and Kat saw Gratianus' figure approaching her.

"You look like you've been to the Blazes and back, girl," the man said.

Kat tried to fight through the pain and push herself up. If things were over she had to check on Rolland and Arnall. And there could still be survivors nearby.

"Don't be an idiot. You're not getting anywhere like that," Gratianus' voice sounded out beside her as she fell down to the ground. "You've done enough for now. I'll ensure more help comes. Rest for now."

Suddenly Kat felt so tired. Like the last dredges of energy she had been trying to pull out from her body just disappeared, and there was nothing left but cool languidness. She tried to fight it, but soon, the exhaustion took her and everything went black.

Chapter 62 - That sure took a while

The morning after the Providing Ceremony, Scarlett sat in the dining hall along with the others, eating breakfast. Even Evelyne was here today, the young woman seeming to be a bit more refreshed today than the day before.

"—and in the end I gathered quite the crowd," Rosa said, being in the middle of a conversation with Allyssa at the edge of the table. "I think even your aloof little friend here enjoyed himself."

"Wait, what? He actually stayed with you all the time?" Allyssa turned to stare at Shin, who was quietly eating his food. "I was sure he would just end up wasting away his time looking at books."

Rosa grinned. "I had a little chit-chat with him. We both came to the agreement that it would be oh-so dull if one didn't use such a beautiful day to do something more exciting. And it just so happens that exciting is my middle name. Right after breathtaking."

"You seem to remember that conversation differently from me," Shin said with an indifferent voice as he bit into a piece of bread.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean," Rosa said, then turned her head to Scarlett. "Anyhow, after all that, we took the chance to also take a gander at the old Providing Ceremony. Can't say I've ever been a fan of listening to those priests drone on and on about how much money rich people have for hours—they couldn't put on a good show if it jumped up in front of them and flashed them its bottom—but that ending certainly was something. Our little resident baroness over here certainly knows how to make things interesting."

Scarlett glanced momentarily at the woman, but soon returned her attention to her own plate of food. "I suppose I cannot argue with you on that."

"Do you mind if I ask where you found a relic like that?" Shin asked, seeming interested. "In the last three centuries, only five of the other Chalices of Canon have been uncovered. Even though they're sacred treasures to the Followers, they're clearly not something easy to find."

Scarlett saw Evelyne's eyes turn to her at the question. Evelyne had doubted her at first, when she told her she knew where to find the chalice. But being able to find it so quickly probably lent a lot to making Evelyne more convinced of everything else she had told her.

"What's so hard about it?" Fynn suddenly asked. "You could sense it from miles away. And it wasn't particularly well hidden."

Everybody's attention turned to him.

"Wait...that's what you went away to do back then?" Allyssa exclaimed.

Scarlett held back a sigh. "Fynn. I believe we spoke briefly regarding speaking openly about matters such as these. While it is not a true issue in this particular circumstance, you should still be careful of what you say."

He moved his head back and forth as he seemed to realize everyone was looking at him. "Oh, r-right. I forgot about that. I thought you only meant that other stuff..."

She'd asked him to be more careful when it came to sharing things from his past and his abilities, and to ignore when she said things to others that he thought were lies. She knew he was a bit unaccustomed to things like that, though, so she had kind of been expecting him to not always remember it. But he also didn't know that much. At least not to the point where it was too much of a risk to let the others present know of it.

"I did not. I hope you will endeavor to be more careful of these things in the future, so long as you continue to be under my employ," she said. "It would also be good for you to keep in mind that not every person can sense these things the same way that you are capable of. To most, those ruins would have simply appeared as ordinary stone."

He knitted his forehead, almost as if he didn't quite believe her. Of course, he should be able to tell she was speaking the truth.

A knock sounded out from the dining hall door, and soon a female servant entered carrying what looked like a newspaper in her hands.

Scarlett glanced at Shin, before focusing her eyes on that newspaper. Shin would have to be content with not getting a full answer to his question for now, it seemed.

The servant walked over to Evelyne, who thanked the woman as she received the paper. Scarlett watched as Evelyne turned away from the conversation that had been ongoing and looked down at the paper, then froze.

She looked up at Scarlett with wide eyes.

Scarlett returned a small nod. She had told Evelyne that something big would happen in the empire soon.

"This can't be..." Evelyne mumbled as she read over the page in her hands. Everybody's attention turned to her.

"What? Does the Chronicle say anything special this week?" Allyssa asked.

Evelyne read on with a serious expression, then she looked up and handed the paper to Allyssa, peeking quite obviously at Scarlett.

"What?!" Allyssa cried out.

Shin frowned and leaned closer to her. "What is it?"

"The Tribe of Sin has attacked over a dozen different settlements all across the empire," Allyssa said, her voice trembling slightly. "They say some of the towns and villages have been completely demolished, and that they don't know how many people have died at the moment."

[Main questline has begun: Rising action]

{Conflicts are brewing as powerful factions have started moving on the continent of Tanrelia. The Tribute of Dominion stands as the focal point of these clashing designs, resting in the heart of the ruins of Beld Thylelion}

[Objective: Enter the ruins of Beld Thylelion before all others]

[Reward: Additional Skills Menu privileges]

[Failure: Demise]

Scarlett blinked as she stared at the wall of text that suddenly appeared in the air before her.

Was this a...quest? The system was actually giving her a real quest?

She had already been in this world for this long, but it hadn't decided to be more active until now?

It did align somewhat with when the main questline started in the game, but...

This wasn't the same main questline from the game. Like many of the smaller hidden quests she had finished previously, this was something completely different.

Her eyes read through the words in front of her, over and over again, as she digested what this meant.

In 'Chronicle of Realms', Beld Thylelion were ancient Zuverian ruins that played a major part in the main storyline. They housed several valuable artifacts, including the Tribute of Dominion: a MacGuffin-esque relic that the Hallowed Cabal wanted to get their hands on to advance their plans, and that many of the other factions wanted to either stop the Cabal from getting or acquire for themselves.

In the game, Beld Thylelion only opened up at the mid-point of the storyline. Time-wise, this was probably about ten or so months into the game, as there were several time skips during the later sections.

At this point, the player would often be around level fifty, so while they were far from being among the strongest, they were at least decently powerful.

The problem was that, when Beld Thylelion opened up, everybody that was aware of it came running. That meant the Hallowed Cabal, Tribe of Sin, Shields Guild, Rising Isle mages, Mage Towers, and more. And as far as Scarlett knew, there were no hidden entrances or anything like it that you could use to get there earlier.

Even though you always found the Tribute of Dominion first as the player, that was only because the game was set up so that the player would get there first. She couldn't be certain that, if she were to try and replicate that scenario in this world, it would play out the same. And considering all of the different powerful people that were present at that point, even being near the ruins when they opened up was a real risk.

Of course, the quest just wanted her to enter the ruins before others. Nothing more. But apparently, failing that led to 'demise'. What that meant, she wasn't completely sure about. It could mean that the system itself would kill her. Or maybe that this world would somehow be destroyed, if that was something that was within this system's powers.

But it could also refer to the consequences of her not reaching Beld Thylelion first. If, for example, her not getting there first meant that the Hallowed Cabal arrived first, then the ultimate consequence of that would probably also be 'demise', as it'd mean they would get the Tribute of Dominion first. Although that didn't really fit with the whole 'enter before the others' part.

But honestly, while all of that was certainly on her mind, it wasn't what she had first thought about when seeing this. She wasn't thinking about how dangerous this quest sounded, but rather about how it was decided that this was the quest she should get at this point.

It was just too coincidental.

After all, she had already started putting plans into motion that would ensure she didn't have to care about who could enter the ruins first when they opened. If she succeeded, there was no question about whether she would be able to finish this quest or not. This had been one of the earliest goals she had started planning for when she arrived here, because she knew it was vital that the Cabal and others didn't get the Tribute of Dominion while she was still living in this world.

Was this just providence? The opening of Beld Thylelion was a pretty major event in the game. It could just be a coincidence that the main quest just so happened to fit her plans so well.

But she felt like she'd had a lot of such coincidences in this world. And just from reading the quest, it was more than clear that something had created it specifically for someone in her situation, just like many of the other quests she'd completed. There was a clear intelligence behind it.

And in the end, this was the world of a video game. Which of those came first—the game or this world—or how they related to each other weren't questions she knew the answer to. But it was clear that things like this didn't just happen randomly, so coincidences like these were also suspect.

Unfortunately, like usual, she didn't have anything real to go on in order to draw any conclusions. All she could do was come up with theories, none of which would help her solve these questions.

But this did help her with reaffirming her current goal, as well as providing some hope that she would be able to decipher what this system was and who was behind it sometime in the future.

Her eyes lingered on the reward section of the quest.

That also looked pretty interesting.

[Skills Menu:

Upgrades

[Greater Pyromancy] (10 points)

[Superior Pyrokinesis] (25 points)

[Hydromancy] (5 points)

[Superior Hydrokinesis] (25 points)

[Greater Mana Control] (10 points)

New skills

[LOCKED]]

If she were to guess, the 'additional skills menu privileges' meant that the New skills section would be unlocked. Which might mean that she could finally unlock some new skills other than those she had started with.

Considering some of the skills that had existed in the game, this was a very appealing prize. And as her only other choice was apparently 'demise', she was going to have to clear this quest no matter what.

In a way, she felt like this quest took away some of the burdens she'd had on her shoulders. She had felt a little bit uncertain about implementing some parts of the plans she had when it came to getting into Beld Thylelion, but now she didn't have much choice.

"—arlett?"

She turned away from the wall of text in front of her as Evelyne said her name. She now realized that everybody was looking at her.

"Yes, what is it?" she asked, trying to act normal.

"You weren't saying anything."

"...It was quite shocking news," she said, briefly looking at the wall of text before her and focusing on it so that it disappeared. "I was simply processing the ramifications this might have."

She would have to wait and see what further things she would learn about this system in the future, but for now, she would have to focus on the present.

Chapter 63 - Returning

"Now that the Light Fest has ended, I will soon be returning to Freybrook," Scarlett said, looking across the table to where Allyssa, Shin, Fynn, and Rosa sat. They were still in the dining hall, but Evelyne had recently left because she had wanted to check deeper into which places had been attacked by the Tribe of Sin.

The news reported by the Empyreal Chronicle had probably spread to most people around the mansion by now, but Scarlett had long since been expecting it so that wasn't her main focus right now. The trip back to Freybrook through one of the capital's Kilnstones had already been booked for tomorrow, and considering how busy those usually were—especially at the end of a festival, and under the current circumstances here in the empire—there probably weren't many chances to reschedule the trip.

Because of this, she'd wanted to talk with those in her party before they left.

"My original offer to you two," she said, looking specifically at Rosa and Fynn. "Was made under the assumption that you would continue to be under my employ even after I had returned to Freybrook. As such, if you are satisfied with the current state of affairs, I will have you accompany me tomorrow. You will be allocated lodging and treated as guests in the Freybrook mansion, and there will be ample opportunity for your current pay and benefits to increase further depending on the development from there."

"Where is Freybrook?" Fynn asked, earning a couple of odd looks from the others.

"In the southwestern part of the empire, south of the Whitdown Mountains."

"All right. Sure."

"I take that to mean you wish to continue to be in my service?" Scarlett asked.

"Yes."

"Good. And you?" She turned to Rosa, who just gave her a smile.

"Who would say no to that? I haven't lived this luxuriously for years. And all I have to do is play a little tune now and then? Count this girl in."

Scarlett nodded, then looked at Allyssa and Shin. "And what of you? While I am aware that you are based in Elystead, the same offer applies. I believe it was also Kat's original intention that you would continue the contract. That is also why I proposed an arrangement regarding your alchemy, Allyssa. Were you two to terminate the contract, however, I would have to find new Shielders to hire once I return."

The two young Shielders looked at each other.

"I don't think either of us would mind going to Freybrook, but things might have changed now that the Tribe of Sin has returned," Allyssa said. "We don't know if the Guild's going to need our help dealing with things."

Right...Scarlett hadn't considered that. Kat had been called away because of what was happening, after all.

Although judging from what she knew from the game, the Shields Guild probably wouldn't call too many of the lower-ranked members. But she couldn't know that for sure.

"And we're also pretty sure that Kat and some other people we know were involved in what happened, so we're worried about them."

"That is understandable," Scarlett said.

She was also interested in learning how Kat was doing. The woman was relatively strong, but both the Tribe of Sin and the Hallowed Cabal had plenty of members stronger than her. And Scarlett didn't know exactly where Kat herself had gone this time.

"However, I would imagine that the Shields Guild will not be the only ones engaged in dealing with the ramifications of these events, nor that they will entirely arrest their usual state of affairs. If they have need of you, I am certain they will inform you of such. In addition, Kat herself is based in Freybrook, so you would in all likelihood have the opportunity to confirm her well-being when she returns there."

"Would you allow us to visit the Guild branch later today just to confirm the situation?" Shin asked. "We would have to check in with them no matter what, but if we're going to Freybrook we also have to say our goodbyes and pack things. Allyssa would also need to bring alchemy equipment along, and a place to practice it when we're there."

Allyssa turned to him. "Are you making plans for me now?"

He just shrugged. "I think you should accept her proposal if you can."

The girl smacked his shoulder with a somewhat peeved expression, but it didn't look like she was actually annoyed.

Scarlett studied them for a moment. "I believe we will be able to find a suitable solution for her. If she requires a space to carry out her work we have an abundant number of rooms she can appropriate as she wishes. We will assist her where needed."

"Wait...really?" Allyssa looked at her.

"Yes."

The young Shielder looked surprised by that. "Huh. Maybe I should just quit as a Shielder and go work for you instead."

"Then do it," Shin said, earning another smack from Allyssa.

"I wasn't being serious you goof. Besides, you wouldn't make it for a week without me."

"If you say so." Shin shook his head lightly, then turned to Scarlett. "We'll go and see how things are at the Guild, then we'll give you our response," he said.

Scarlett simply gave a nod in reply. "Very well."

"What are you going to do after returning to Freybrook?" Evelyne asked Scarlett later that day, as the two of them sat in Evelyne's office.

Scarlett took a sip out of the cup of tea she had prepared for this conversation — a way for her to distract herself somewhat from the emotions that rose up from talking to the younger woman. "My first priority will be locating the places of interest I am aware of near Freybrook. The more artifacts and other such items I can gather, the more we can bolster our current position."

"Are any of those Zuverian ruins?"

"Unfortunately not. I believe there will still be some time before I explore the next Zuverian ruin."

"Hmm, all right. But you're certain there will be valuable artifacts at least?"

"I am."

"Good. Then I'll look into securing a deal with one of the auction houses here. It would probably be best if you could give me one or two of the artifacts you've already found, so that I've got something to show for our words."

Scarlett paused. "You are staying in the capital?"

Evelyne gave a short nod. "Yes. I still have a lot of things that I need to take care of here. I probably won't return to Freybrook for at least a few weeks."

"...I see," Scarlett murmured. "I suppose that is understandable. Then I will present you some of the artifacts from my latest excursion. When you return I hope that you visit the mansion and inform me as such."

"I will," Evelyne said.

"And if you so wish, you may stay there when you feel necessary. I will not stand in your way."

Evelyne grew a strange look on her face. "You mean live in the mansion?"

"I mean stay. For how long you wish to do so will be your own decision."

Evelyne stared at Scarlett.

"I do not mean to say that we must fraternize with each other beyond when necessary," Scarlett clarified. "However, if it would work to facilitate for you in your efforts, I see no need to bar your access to the estate."

Evelyne stayed quiet for several seconds, before eventually giving a slow nod. "If you say so."

"In addition, as you will continue to reside here for the immediate future, I will present you notes pertaining to more locations home to defunct establishments that could prove fruitful to look further into," Scarlett continued.

She had used the day before the Providing Ceremony to, in part, go into town and look up a few more of the places she'd had vague recollections of from the game and rank up her hydrokinesis skill and get used to it somewhat. In addition, she had also received a pair of glasses with some sort of dark-vision enchantment from the shop she'd made a deal with earlier.

Evelyne raised a brow. "You mean like those three you told me about earlier?"

"Yes, exactly."

"Were those also things you knew of because of your new...knowledge?"

"They were," Scarlett said. "All those locations were home to businesses that fared well in the future, as far as I can surmise. As for why they did so, I am unfortunately unaware. But as I have previously mentioned, I believe it worth inquiring further into."

Evelyne shook her head slowly, but if Scarlett were to guess she probably didn't think her words were completely bogus anymore.

"I'll look into it."

"Ensure that you do so," Scarlett said, taking another sip from her cup. "Have you found anything regarding the first three locales?"

"I've only had time to investigate one of them, mostly because I didn't think there would be much point to it," Evelyne admitted. "It was the silversmith. It seems like most of the equipment and previous paperwork are still there, according to the current owner. I sent a few messages to them, and apparently they inherited it from their grandfather but didn't have the money to keep it running. They seemed excited at what I guess they thought was interest from my end, and tried to pretty unsubtly convince me to invest so that they could get the place up and running again."

Scarlett nodded along as she listened on. So that was how things were in this world. "I believe it would be good to do so."

Evelyne still looked a bit doubtful. "We don't actually know if it's worth it. And at the moment we're still short on the money we'd need."

"Consider it an experiment. If the venture appears promising, we know that there is potential in investing in the other locales as well. And money will not be an issue for much longer, so simply allocate some funds that we can spare this once. If you wish, you can also use the money from what I sold earlier this week."

It was still unclear whether the fact that those businesses always succeeded in the game without any real input from the player actually translated into this world in any way whatsoever, but it was worth trying to find out.

"...All right. I'll see what I can do."

"Good." Scarlett placed her cup down on a small table to the side of the chair she sat in. "Incidentally, I presume you recall Miss Livvi?"

"Livvi? Of course I do. What about her?"

"I came across her yesterday, and she wished for me to send you her regards. She also said she would pay a visit to the estate in Freybrook sometime in the future."

"And you accepted it?"

"I saw no reason not to."

Scarlett hadn't really considered it to be an option at the time, to be honest.

"You haven't met her for years, so why now?" Evelyne asked.

"Why not?" Scarlett said. "I will admit, my memories of her are somewhat vague. I can barely remember which house she belongs to, but perhaps interacting with her further will help with that."

Evelyne narrowed her eyes. "You know she's Count Knottley's daughter, right?"

Scarlett raised her eyebrows. "...I see. That does sound familiar."

So Livvi was that guy's daughter. That made some sense.

"How could you forget something like that," Evelyne said with a sigh.

"I am unable to control what I do and do not remember in my current state, unfortunately. However, considering the advantages that come with it, I would say that neither of us has much to complain of on the matter."

Evelyne just quietly shook her head, and Scarlett decided to change the subject.

"There was something else which I had intended to ask before. What are our current relations with the Elystead Tower?"

"The Elystead Tower?" Evelyne furrowed her forehead. "They're one of the towers we made a deal with regarding what was found in the ruins. But that's all."

"I see," Scarlett said, tapping her finger against the armrest next to her. "They have not said anything, or sent us any particular complaints lately?"

Evelyne frowned with confusion. "No, not that I'm aware. Why would they?"

Scarlett went quiet for a moment. "...One could say that their vice-Dean and I fell into a dispute, of sorts, and he saw fit to ban me from interacting further with the tower. I feared that would also encompass our house, but it appears they did not take it that far."

Evelyne's eyes widened. "He banned you? What did you do?!"

Scarlett shot her a cold stare. "I did nothing. It certainly wasn't egregious enough to warrant such a response, at the very least. Rowley simply chose to do so of his own volition, for some arbitrary and illogical reasons that I have yet to discern."

She saw the disbelieving look in Evelyne's eyes.

"I am saying this, aware of how I usually act," Scarlett added. "It truly was due to no fault of mine in this particular instance."

Well, she did ask for help in finding The Gentleman, which Rowley clearly hadn't liked. But you didn't freaking blacklist someone without explanation just because you hear a name you're not fond of.

Beldon had had a much more reasonable reaction. Say what you want about that guy, but at least he had some manners.

Evelyne stayed quiet for a while before speaking again. "Then, are you asking me to stop making deals with the Elystead Tower?"

Scarlett gave her a bewildered look. "Why would I ask that? If they are not raising any undue concerns, and we stand to gain from it, I see no reason to discontinue our relationship with them. I simply wished to inform you of this so that you are aware."

Evelyne looked surprised at that.

"What?" Scarlett asked. "Have I not promised to be forthcoming regarding issues such as these? I will admit that I forgot to inform you up till now, but I did not intend on concealing it from you."

Evelyne shook her head. "No, I'm just not used to it."

"Then I hope that you grow to be soon," Scarlett said. "In addition, I wanted to ask that you contact a certain member of the Elystead Tower. Her name is Adalicia Mendenhall. She should currently be on an excursion to the Rising Isle, but when she returns I would like it if you could arrange a meeting between me and her. I believe she is likely to accept, but if she does not, you may feel free to inform her that I have valuable information regarding the Zuver that she would be interested in."

While Scarlett didn't need the tower's help finding The Gentleman anymore—and she was banned from interacting with them—it would still be good to establish a relationship with some of their higher officials. Adalicia also held some leverage within the Ustrum Assembly, which could be useful in the future.

"Adalicia Mendenhall?" Evelyne hummed. "Sure. I'll send the message."

"I appreciate your support," Scarlett said, though the words did leave a bad taste in her mouth. She then stood up from her chair. "That is all I have to say for now. If there are any further details you wish to go over we can do so before I leave tomorrow."

After exchanging brief goodbyes, she left the room and started walking down the mansion's halls. She had a few more minor things she wanted to take care of by herself while she was still here, but soon she'd be leaving Elystead.

And then, it was back to Freybrook.

Chapter 64 - Facile hydrodynamics

"Welcome back, my Lady," Garside's raspy voice sounded out. The old butler bowed in greeting as Scarlett exited the carriage in front of the Freybrook mansion's courtyard. "I presume the latest excursion fared well, judging from your premature return?"

"It did." Scarlett glanced over at the two other servants behind him. Marlon and Harriet. "Are the preparations finished?"

"They are. We inspected the articles delivered this morning. They all comply with the directions you gave."

Scarlett nodded. "Good. Bring them to the training ground for now. I will deal with it later."

"As you wish, my Lady." The old man stepped aside as Scarlett walked past.

"What was that about?" Allyssa asked from behind. The young Shielder and the rest of Scarlett's entourage had exited the carriage right after her. Most of their clothes were covered in dirt. Fynn's, especially, looked like they'd rolled through mud several times over and been left out in the sun to dry.

She had been reluctant about having him ride in the carriage like that, but they hadn't brought a spare change of clothes, so...

"I am planning on performing some experiments and required certain materials to conduct them," Scarlett replied absentmindedly. "I had put Garside in charge of guaranteeing their quality before I begin."

"Oh? What sort of experiments are we talking about?" Rosa asked, the bard hefting her hurdy-gurdy over her shoulder. The instrument, at least, was devoid of any muck on it.

"Perhaps you will see at a later time," Scarlett said as they crossed the mansion's courtyard.

It had been several days since they returned from Elystead, and they had been pretty active following that. Shin and Allyssa continued working with her after getting the go-ahead from the Guild Branch, and they had also started preparing one of the unoccupied storages in the mansion for Allyssa's alchemy. It could apparently be quite volatile.

In the last few days, they found and cleared two dungeons. Being a low-level area, the items and artifacts found here weren't the best, but they were still worth a decent amount. Scarlett had previously scrounged together around 30000 solars in a week, after all.

Eventually, she was going to exhaust the dungeons in this area, but that just meant making full use of her knowledge. Afterwards, she could just go to another area.

The dungeon run they'd just returned from had been no issue at all. That was a given. Her current party was comprised of people who would all probably be over level 30 in game terms. And like Kat, Fynn could most likely solo all the dungeons in this area, considering he was close to level 40 at the start of the game.

Of course, he wasn't exempt from some of the more unfortunate realities of dungeon diving.

Scarlett glanced back at the white-haired young man. This dungeon had been an underground cavern a few hours' travel away. It had been home to several caves filled with murky pools of water, which in turn had been home to overgrown alligators, several of which the young man had ended up wrestling.

She was just thankful she didn't have to do those things.

After entering the mansion itself, their group split up in order to wash up from the trip. Scarlett went to her chambers to clean herself off and change from her 'adventuring' attire to a more comfortable, dark-blue one-piece dress. Molly, the maid, had stayed near her quarters and offered to assist, but Scarlett brushed her off.

She assumed things like that were more common in this world, but Scarlett found it bothersome having someone else help her with changing. That was one matter where she didn't mind diverging too much from how the original might have acted. Not unless she was putting on some dress that was hard to do by herself.

Truthfully, she'd become more lax with details like that ever since returning from Elystead. Maybe it was because she had already told Evelyne part of the truth, and didn't feel as much pressure to 'blend in' as she did before. Although, considering how ingrained many of the original's habits were in her by now, there were still several things she couldn't diverge on even if she wanted to.

After changing clothes, Scarlett headed to her office and sat at her desk. After jotting down the loot they'd retrieved from this latest excursion—it was good to have it written down, both for her own sake, and for Evelyne's later on—she took some time to look through her notes about the remaining dungeons in the Freybrook area.

Some had a couple of items that could prove useful, but there wasn't anything she needed. For now, she was checking the dungeons off in the order she felt surest of finding them.

The next one she was planning on locating was a hidden-away copse somewhere to the east that she was hoping Fynn could find with his senses. That would save them the irritation of having to look for it for several hours. The entrance to today's dungeon had taken over four hours to find, which had been somewhat of an oversight on Scarlett's part. She would prefer if she could avoid such time wastage in the future.

After looking over her notes, Scarlett then pulled out her status window.

[Name: Scarlett Hartford]

[Skills:

[Mana Control]

[Pyromancy]

[Greater Pyrokinesis]

[Minor Hydromancy]

[Greater Hydrokinesis]]

[Traits:

[Dignified August]

[Supercilious]

[Cavalier]

[Callous]

[Overbearing]

[Conceited]

[Third-rate Mana Veins]]

[Mana: 3149/4327]

[Points: 6]

[Skills Menu:

Upgrades

[Greater Pyromancy] (10 points)

[Superior Pyrokinesis] (25 points)

[Hydromancy] (5 points)

[Superior Hydrokinesis] (25 points)

[Greater Mana Control] (10 points)

New skills

[LOCKED]]

Her total mana was still pretty measly, all things considered. She couldn't quite remember what her base had been at first—before getting the [Depraved Solitude's Choker]—but it had at most increased by a few hundred points since then. She had to actively use her mana to increase it, after all. And even then, it only grew at a rate of about 10 mana per day. Considering her goal was to reach a minimum of 25000, she still had a ways to go. More items would help.

For her skills, as she had upgraded her hydrokinesis to [Greater Hydrokinesis] a couple of days before she left the capital, she'd had a decent amount of time to get used to the upgrade.

Just like when she upgraded pyrokinesis last time, the difference between [Hydrokinesis] and [Greater Hydrokinesis] had been very notable. Now she could even put some genuine force behind the water she controlled, which opened up several potential avenues. She was quite excited about upgrading her two main skills even further in the future, when she gathered even more skill points.

That was, of course, another reason why she was clearing these low-level dungeons at the moment.

Scarlett glanced at the clock at the edge of her desk. It might be a good idea to get herself something to eat soon. While in the capital, she'd missed the meals here.

Scarlett surveyed the items lying on the stone courtyard before her. It was an array of different-shaped metal pieces, ranging from palm-sized to anvil-sized. One, in fact, was an anvil.

She had moved herself to the training ground that was behind the mansion and stood near the wooden targets that were set up at the far end of the grounds. Once more, she had changed clothes, now into a simple set of black leggings with a white overshirt. It didn't exactly fit that much with her current preferences, but it was the first thing she had found now that her usual set of clothes for these kinds of things were dirty.

She should look into getting more clothes that weren't just different kinds of dresses.

Scarlett bent down and picked up a thin strip of metal that was on the ground. It wasn't anything special. Just ordinary iron, barely a millimeter thick. That's what her request to the blacksmith had outlined.

A benchmark test, if you would.

She raised her free hand, holding out her index finger for no other reason than that it felt fitting. Then she conjured a thin stream of water in front of her nail. The action came a lot easier to her now than it had before she upgraded hydrokinesis, and something this minor didn't even come close to taxing her mind nowadays.

She lowered the small water-knife she'd created towards the edge of the metal piece, and the liquid split over it.

Well, that was expected. This was tricky to do correctly. She'd only ever tried it on paper up till now.

Letting the water vanish, she formed another blade yet again. This time, she put even more attention on maintaining the shape's rigidity. She also focused more on making the edge of the blade as thin and sharp—or what at least approached 'sharpness' when working with magically shaped water like this—as she could.

Interestingly enough, she had noticed that she could use her hydrokinesis to force water to act more like a solid. A bit like ice, maybe. She wasn't sure if what she was doing was just increasing the density or if that was even how Newtonian fluids worked—she wasn't a real 'science person', and it was only thanks to Mythbusters that she even knew a term like that—but it worked, and that was all that mattered to her.

Although she had to admit that it was pretty hard.

Once more, she tried cutting downward with her blade, and this time the water didn't split as soon as it touched the metal. Instead, however, it bent like a very watery piece of wire, trying to maintain the shape she was commanding it to.

She tried asserting even more force, and even though the water became even more contorted around the piece of metal, the edge of the metal piece also started bending under the pressure now.

It wasn't a knife slicing through butter, but she hadn't been expecting that either.

While [Greater Hydrokinesis] gave her a lot more freedom with what she could do with her magic, she had quickly realized that it didn't magically make her proficient at it. Or well, it did. But there were limits to it. For example, how she had difficulties just getting this right.

She felt like she had the power, but not the precision, to do what she wanted now. Upgrading [Mana Control] further might help with that somewhat.

If she wanted to cut through this metal with her hydrokinesis, for example, she could probably create a decent enough blade of water and just force it through, with enough practice. One problem was that she had no idea how viable of a tactic that was in this world. For all she knew, that could be one of the most inefficient ways of attacking possible against the people here.

Another possibility was using the water more like a saw, or maybe even like a water jet cutter. She had imagined herself moving the water back and forth at extreme speeds to replicate the effect, walking around with an industrial-grade weapon at her fingertips.

Of course, after actually trying it, she realized that was considerably harder than just making the water act more solid. It was also insanely mana expensive.

Not to mention she had some major doubts about how effective that really was, too. She was pretty sure that water jet cutters back in her world didn't actually use pure water, after all. They had some abrasive substance mixed in with the water.

Although maybe she could replicate that somehow, even in this world?

She had lots and lots of interesting ideas, but her current skill-level limited her possibilities, and some of them were questionable in their usefulness. There was also a limit to how much pressure her hydrokinesis could produce, which was the most important deciding factor. And she had no idea where that limit was.

She did have an idea of how she could measure it, in a pseudo-scientific way that did not at all speak for her general intelligence. But she'd always lived by the adage that "if it works, it ain't stupid", and she would continue to do so until it no longer worked.

... Or she actually had to get serious about things.

Putting the metal strip back on the ground for later, Scarlett shifted her attention to a small iron ball lying on the ground. She picked it up and gave it a small shake. It was lighter than it looked because it was hollow inside, filled with water now instead of metal.

She closed her eyes as she held the ball in her palm.

Although the idea of her becoming some kind of water samurai with her hydrokinesis was pretty appealing, this experiment was what she had been most curious about. She'd tried lifting a bottle of water before, which had worked without issue. So she assumed that her ability to control water wasn't entirely limited by sight. She was curious exactly how much could be done with that.

For some time, she stood there, trying to get a sense of the water inside the iron ball in her palm. Eventually, she succeeded, albeit the connection felt somewhat hazy compared to what she was used to. The ball floated up as she moved the water, though it felt like there was a certain lag to the motions because she was moving the water itself and not the ball the liquid was pushing against.

Still, the sphere did move back and forth through the air at her command. She tried putting some force behind it and aimed the ball at one of the wooden targets. It struck the target with a bang, but it was nowhere near strong enough to get through the magical barriers the wooden dummies sported.

She would have to explore the limitations of this particular use of hydrokinesis further. For now, she wasn't banking on making a weapon out of it. But what she was interested in was if she couldn't couple this with the alchemy that Allyssa used.

She tried using her hydrokinesis to make the ball fly again to bring it back to her, but—perhaps because of the distance—she couldn't establish a connection with it. Eventually, she went and picked it up herself. Putting it back on the ground, next to the other items, she turned to the anvil.

Somehow, the blacksmith had created a fist-sized hole in its side and made it partially hollow on the inside. Through the dark hole, she could see vague reflections of a surface that she assumed was water. There were a few other items similar to this, but the anvil was her focus. It was the true benchmark, in a way, for her abilities.

She took a step back, so as not to be next to the anvil if it were to topple over, then raised both hands. Raising the water was much easier when actually having sight of it.

At first, the water stopped as it reached the anvil's ceiling. But she pushed on. A vein on her forehead tightened as she clenched her jaw. Just as she reached her limit, the anvil rose a short distance into the air, slamming back into the ground as she fell to her knees.

Panting, she eyed the anvil. She'd never been one much for the gym, but she imagined this was how it was when you tried to bench something just above your limit.

Staying like that for a while, enough to let her pulse calm down, she stood and studied the remaining items.

The anvil might be too much for now, but she still had lots of other things to experiment with.

Chapter 65 - Reunions (+Map)

"My Lady," Garside's voice called out from the other side of her office door. "We have received a notice from the Shields Guild branch."

"Enter," Scarlett said calmly as she flipped a page in the book she was reading on old legends and fairytales here in the empire. A few days had passed since she started experimenting more with her magic, and things had been relatively calm as of late. But judging from what she'd read in the latest issue of the Empyreal Chronicle, things were a lot more hectic in the other areas of the empire because of the attacks that had happened.

Garside opened the door and walked into the room. "It is from Miss Breeden," the old butler said, holding up a piece of paper. "It appears she has returned to Freybrook. Miss Astrey and Mister Thornthon have expressed their desire to visit her, as it appears she will not stay for long."

Scarlett looked up from her book. So Kat was fine? She'd started growing worried about the woman after not hearing from her after the attacks, so this was a welcome piece of news.

"Did they wish to leave at once?" she asked.

"It appears so, my Lady."

Scarlett looked at the silver clock piece that sat on the left side of her desk. It was noon, and she hadn't planned on clearing another dungeon today, so taking a trip into town would probably be fine.

She was getting a little nervous about what the Hallowed Cabal's next move towards her would be, so she had been a bit more paranoid about leaving the mansion in general, but she hired Shielders for a reason.

"Inform them that we will leave in half an hour," she said.

"You are accompanying them, my Lady?" Garside asked, his thick mustache moving slightly as he spoke.

Scarlett nodded her head. "That is correct. I am curious how Miss Breeden has fared, and I have a promise to uphold."

She glanced at the [Bag of Juham] that lay on the other side of her desk. Although this was a bit earlier than expected, she could probably scrounge together something for now.

Soon enough, Scarlett sat in the carriage along with Allyssa and Shin, moving south from the northern district of Freybrook where the mansion was located and towards the heart of the city. They spoke little on the way, but the streets outside were vibrant with life as usual. Before long, they arrived at their destination, the carriage stopping in front of the large stone building with an overhanging white birch roof that was the local Shields Guild branch.

Exiting the vehicle after the coachman opened the carriage door for her, Scarlett stepped onto the cobbled stone pavement and glanced around the surrounding square.

Allyssa was already on her way up the stairs to the building, with a slightly amused Shin close behind. Following, Scarlett passed under the sign with the Shields Guild's symbol on it and entered the wide lobby inside. There were a few more people here now than the last time she had visited, with several of the spots around the tables in the lobby already filled. Most looked to be customers of some kind, though, rather than Shielders.

Allyssa was heading straight towards the reception desk at one end of the lobby. Scarlett didn't begrudge the girl her eagerness, but followed with a much more calm gait.

The receptionist was the same dark-haired woman Scarlett had met the first time she was here. The woman greeted Allyssa when she stopped in front of the desk. "Hello miss. Can I help you?"

"Yes, I'm a Shielder," Allyssa said, holding up her Shielder badge. "I heard Kat's back. Could we see her?"

The receptionist studied Allyssa for a second, her eyes also passing over to Shin as he walked up next to Allyssa. "Kat mentioned she might have guests from the capital. I'll bring you to her soon," she said, her eyes reaching Scarlett. A surprised look passed over her face. She glanced between Scarlett and the other two, somewhat hesitantly. "Baroness. Are you... also here to see Kat? Or can I help you with something else?"

"I came to meet with Miss Breeden."

"I-I see. Then I will bring you all to see her. She has been talking with the branch head for a while now, but I think they should be finished by now."

The receptionist leaned to the side to check that there were no other people in line behind them, then started leading them through the same side door and flight of stairs that Scarlett had traveled down last time, eventually guiding them into the waiting room she had been in before at the end of a hallway.

"I'll see if Kat is free, so please wait here until then," the receptionist said as she left the room.

Scarlett walked over and sat down in an armchair next to the table at the center of the room. Shin and Allyssa did the same, although the latter did seem confused.

"Why did she bring us here instead of to just meet with Kat immediately?" Allyssa asked.

"Probably because we have a noble with us," Shin replied, looking around the room. "I'm assuming this is the reception room they have for the more important clients."

Allyssa blinked, turning to Scarlett. "Oh."

"Neither of you have been to this branch before, I presume?" Scarlett asked.

"No. I've only been to the branch in Elystead and Ambercrest."

"The same for me. Although I have also been in the Wildscar branch," Shin said.

"I see." Scarlett nodded. "I suppose you two are still young, and have had little opportunity to travel."

"We're not that young," Allyssa said with a small frown.

"You have yet to turn eighteen, have you not?"

"Well, no, we haven't."

"Then you are most definitely still young. I am close to ten years your senior, and I would still hesitate to describe myself as anything other than 'young'."

From what Scarlett had seen of the family tree, the real Scarlett was only about a year older than her.

"What?" Allyssa stared at her. "I thought you'd be older."

Scarlett arched an eyebrow. "And why is that?"

Allyssa grew a flushed face. "No, it's just that you..."

"You have a very mature air to you," Shin finished her sentence. "Compared to Rosa, you act a lot older."

"Is that so?" Scarlett tapped her finger slowly against the armrest. "While I believe you underestimate Miss Hale based on appearances, I do see your point."

Allyssa knitted her brows. "What do you—"

The door was knocked open. In walked a tall woman in simple clothes, with sun-bleached gold hair hanging in a braid above her shoulder.

"Kat!" Allyssa cried out and got up off her chair, then stilled as she stared at the older Shielder. "Wait, what happened to you?!"

Scarlett narrowed her eyes, noticing that the lower half of Kat's right chin had a large burn, cracked red skin running over it.

"Hey Ali. Shin." Kat smiled at the two young Shielders. She pointed at her chin. "This? You could say I got in over my head. And unfortunately, I didn't quite manage to get myself healed in time."

Allyssa ran up to Kat, a worried expression on her face as she looked over the older woman. Shin had also stood up to move closer. "Was this from all of those attacks that happened across the empire?" Allyssa asked.

"It was." Kat's countenance darkened. "We lost a lot of people."

They all went quiet for a moment. But then Kat smiled again as she looked at her two juniors. "But we can talk about that some other time. Right now, it feels good just seeing you two again. It's been so long." She grabbed both of them and pulled them into a hug. "Two full-fledged Shielders, ready to make a name for yourselves. To think I'd see the day!"

Allyssa looked uneasy for a moment, but soon relaxed and returned the hug with a small smile. "It's good to see you too, Kat."

Kat's eyes turned to Shin. "I hope you've been keeping an eye on this one. Made sure she hasn't gotten into any trouble."

Shin smiled as he removed himself from the hug. "She's been relatively well-behaved lately."

"Hey!" Allyssa cried out as she also released herself from Kat, readjusting the goggles on her head that had fallen down over her forehead.

Scarlett had stayed silent till now, content to let the three of them have their reunion. Now, however, Kat turned to look at her.

"I'm going to be honest. I didn't really expect you to be here as well," the Shielder said, crossing her arms. "Couldn't stop yourself from seeing your old friend, eh?"

Scarlett gave her a long look. "I would hardly describe us as 'old friends.'"

"Not yet, maybe." Kat let out a laugh, gesturing at Allyssa and Shin. "I hope these two have been useful to you?"

"They have," Scarlett said with a nod. "I am glad that you introduced them to me."

Kat shrugged. "Hey, you're the one paying them. It's good that they get some experience, and I imagined that working with you might be fun for them."

She looked at the two younger Shielders. "Did you visit any strange places?"

"Oh, yeah we did," Allyssa answered. "The last week we've been going to all of these hidden caves, and a couple of weeks ago we visited this magical forest full of bloodthirsty fairies. Oh, and back in Elystead, I even met the princesses!"

"Bloodthirsty fairies? And the princesses?" Kat glanced at Scarlett. "I thought I did weird things."

Scarlett smirked. "If you are envious, I know of several other such places that you might enjoy."

"Yeah, of course you do." Kat shook her head, focusing her attention on Allyssa and Shin. "I'd love to chat and catch up on how things are, but I have to talk with Scarlett about a few things first. The two of you could go and ask Kyla where the backroom is and you can stay there for the meanwhile. I'll come find you later."

Alyssa looked between Kat and Scarlett. "Talk to her about what?"

Shin put his hand on Allyssa's shoulder, looking over at Kat. "We'll wait for you there, then. Let's go, Allyssa."

The two of them left the room, although Allyssa did it somewhat reluctantly.

Kat's eyes stayed on the door for a moment after they'd left, then she turned back to Scarlett. She suddenly looked a lot more tired as she walked over and sat down in the armchair opposite Scarlett's.

"How are you?" Scarlett asked.

"Alive," Kat answered, gently touching her hand against the side of her face. "That's about as much as I can ask for."

"...What happened?"

"A lot of things," Kat said, lowering her hand. "But first, I should probably thank you."

Scarlett leaned her head to the side. "Thank me?"

"Yes. I probably wouldn't be alive if it weren't for you." Kat looked her in the eyes. "I ran into that 'Vail' you mentioned."

Scarlett stilled. "...I see. I am glad that you are still alive."

Vail did not give most people the chance to escape, unless she thought there was a chance that they were strong enough.

"There are others that aren't," Kat said with a dark expression. "I was lucky."

"Where was this?" Scarlett asked. She didn't know for sure where Vail showed up this early in the game, but she had guessed that it would be Brinewick, considering that was the most important location for this occurrence.

"I was sent to Brinewick, along with some other Shielders. We cooperated with several other organizations to evacuate and protect the place, but we were still overwhelmed."

Scarlett tapped her finger against the armrest. "...I was afraid that would be the case."

She had been expecting it, to a certain degree. She wasn't sure if her warning could have made too much of a difference at this point, no matter what she said.

"The Guild is on high alert right now, and we're working all over the empire to help those affected and find out what the Tribe of Sin is up to," Kat said. She turned quiet for a moment. "...And the Hallowed Cabal as well, I guess."

"Does that mean you will be occupied for the immediate future?" Scarlett asked.

"Probably, yeah. I can't really say. For now, most of the high-ranked Shielders will be busy. I think only a few will remain at the branches in order to deal with more important and dangerous requests."

"I see. That is a shame. I had hoped to commission your services once more."

Kat gave a small smile. "Well, I might be up for it later. Can't say I've ever seen any fairies before."

"That reminds me." Scarlett looked around the room. Right, she gave the [Bag of Juham] to Shin. "When you talk to Shin later, ask him to give you the items I spoke to him about. They are a reimbursement on my part."

Kat gave her a confused look. "Reimbursement?"

"It means compensation."

"Wha—" Kat shook her head. "I know what reimbursement means. I just don't know what it's for."

"When we were originally assaulted by the Hallowed Cabal's assassins, you lost your equipment along with the burned carriage. If I remember correctly, I promised to compensate you for it, in recognition of the aid you had lent me."

Kat scrunched her face together, placing her hand on her neck. "You said that?"

"Did I not?" Scarlett frowned. She had most definitely promised herself that she would do something like that, but she couldn't quite remember if she'd ever told Kat about it. "No matter. I will give it to you anyhow."

"You don't really owe me anything. I can't acce—"

"Do not attempt to refuse it," Scarlett said. "It is nothing remarkable, and certainly not anything I have need of. But it could prove useful to you in the future. Be a good Shielder and accept what I am deigning to bequeath upon you."

Kat raised both eyebrows in a small smirk. "Someone sure is pushy."

"I have already chosen the items. There is not much point to me keeping them anymore. You may do with them as you wish."

They weren't particularly special items, really. Just what she had on hand. There was a pair of gloves that made terramancy slightly more powerful; a light set of—slightly rusty—armor that increased some of one's resistances, and a ring that buffed restoration magic. For someone of Kat's strength they were probably a bit weak, but it was better than nothing.

It'd be good if Kat didn't go and get herself killed somewhere, and Scarlett did feel somewhat indebted to the woman that had helped her when she first arrived in this world. This was the least she could do for the time being.

"I guess I can't say no, then." Kat shrugged her shoulders. "It makes me happy, actually. Just a tiny bit. I sort of thought you would have forgotten about me as 'that one Shielder you hired once', so this is unexpected."

"I believe I told you before that you are quite the memorable individual," Scarlett said.

That got a short chuckle out of Kat. "Oh, yeah. You did."

The woman went quiet for a moment, then her expression turned serious again. "...There's one thing I've been meaning to ask you," she said slowly. "Is there anything else you know about the Hallowed Cabal or the Tribe of Sin that might be important right now?"

Scarlett looked at her.

"Not that you're forced to tell me or anything." Kat raised her hands in the air in front of her. "But...it sure would be helpful. And you always seem to know these kinds of things."

Scarlett leaned back in her chair. There wasn't much point in sharing what would happen in Beld Thylelion, or over a year from now. The Guild would be aware of a lot by then, anyway. It'd also be strange if she started talking about things that were that far away. And the Cabal would probably stay quiet for now.

"At present, there is not much that I know," she began, keeping her eyes on Kat. "But if I do learn anything new, I will inform you of it posthaste."

Kat looked disappointed for a brief moment, but it soon grew into a relieved expression. "Thanks. Seriously. You don't know how much that means to me."

"It is the least I can do."

"It's not really that small." Kat shook her head. "But enough about that. I'm curious. What have you been up to since we last met? Mind sharing a little?"

Chapter 66 - A bard never tells

Later that day, after spending some surprisingly enjoyable time catching up with Kat, Scarlett returned to the mansion by herself.

Shin and Allyssa were at the Guild branch. She wasn't about to come between them and their first real meeting with Kat for what appeared to be quite some time. She also didn't have much in the city to do at the moment, and she hadn't wanted to wait around until they were done, either.

And even though she was being more wary about the Hallowed Cabal right now, it wasn't like there was a high likelihood of them doing anything in the middle of the day when she was out in the open in Freybrook.

At least, that's what she'd convinced herself when she had been sitting in the carriage cabin all by herself. In the future, she might bring along Fynn on trips like this too, just to be safe.

Despite her worries though, she did return to the estate without issue. As she was crossing the courtyard towards the mansion's entrance, however, she was surprised to find Rosa there, sitting on one of the curved benches that encircled the fountain at the center of the courtyard. The brown-haired woman had her hurdy-gurdy-esque instrument in her lap, slowly turning its crank. By the looks of it, she was in the process of tuning it.

Scarlett stopped for a moment to observe. Rosa seemed so absorbed in her work that she hadn't even noticed her yet.

Suddenly the bard swore, pulling her hands back with a grimace. She sat still for several seconds, staring down at the instrument.

Scarlett frowned. That was odd.

"Is everything all right?" she asked, stepping closer to the curved bench.

Rosa's head spun to look at her with slightly widened eyes. It might have been all in Scarlett's imagination, but the woman's face looked paler than usual. The large smile that grew on her face seemed to belie that impression, however.

"I'm fine." Rosa let out a light laugh, placing her hand against her chest. "At least I think I am, if my heart hasn't jumped straight out of my throat now. You sure know how to sneak up on a girl."

Scarlett took the woman in. For all of Rosa's appearances of being cheerful and sprightly, she always had a hard time reading the woman.

"I made no attempt at disguising my approach," she said, walking over and sitting down next to Rosa. "You were simply too occupied with your instrument."

This earned raised brows from the bard. "Well, sorry for taking pride in my craft. I come from a long line of klert tuners, you see." Rosa took on an exaggerated tone, patting her instrument. Apparently, it was called a klert. "In fact, legend has it that my great-great-great-great-great-uncle's-cousin-twice-removed had an affair with a klert, so it's practically in my blood."

Scarlett got the urge to roll her eyes. "I see. And I suppose his brother had an affair with a thread of yarn?"

Rosa gave her a confused look. For a moment, Scarlett thought her joke had been a bit too far-fetched, but soon the bard grinned. "Are you perhaps calling my great-great-great-aunt's-fifth cousin a spinner of yarn?"

"...You appear to have a rather complicated family tree."

"Why! I'll have you know the Hales are a prestigious house that put our esteem above all else." Rosa took on a sultry tone. "We don't satisfy with a mere tree. We're not content unless you need an abacus to make sense of it."

Scarlett shook her head. "I struggle to comprehend what that is even supposed to mean. Although I imagine you have many relatives."

Rosa turned quiet. She looked forward, at the fountain, and spoke in the same jovial tone as before. "Hmm, yeah. Maybe."

As the woman's words trailed off, Scarlett examined her face, considering what else to say. To be honest, she wasn't sure why she'd sat down to begin with. Or why she started playing along with Rosa's banter. There was nothing in specific she wanted to speak about with her.

"Is there a reason as to why you are spending your time out here?" she eventually asked.

Rosa turned back to her. "No, not really. Sometimes you just want a breath of fresh air, you know? Tuning my klert sometimes helps me calm down and think. See things for how they really are, rather than how they appear at the moment."

There was a smile on Rosa's face, but Scarlett wasn't quite sure what to make of it. "That is understandable," she said. "However, if there are any issues with the accommodations provided to you, or if you are uncomfortable with any of the staff, there is no need to hesitate in raising your concerns."

Rosa gave her what looked like a genuinely incredulous look. "I'm being treated like a guest of honor, at a noble's mansion of all places. All the while I get to enjoy some of the best food I've ever had, and get to go on exciting little adventures several times a week. You'd have to be a real nincompoop to complain about any of that."

"As long as you are content." Scarlett nodded along. "And the chef is indeed quite proficient at his craft."

"That's an understatement if I ever heard any." Rosa chuckled. "I'd quite literally kill for those scones I had this morning. Ah, and that beef bourguignon..." the woman trailed off with a blissful expression.

Scarlett leaned her head to the side, her attention caught by Rosa's use of a word that was decidedly non-English in origin. Even though she usually didn't pay it much mind, things like that still came off as odd to her about this world.

"Why is it named that, would you say?" she found herself asking.

"You mean the beef bourguignon?" Rosa rubbed her chin. "I don't know. I suppose it's the same reason all words are as they are. Some old coot thought to himself, 'now that's a gobbledygook if I've ever seen one', and the rest is history. In this case I guess they also happened to be Voneian."

Scarlett stared at the woman. "...As ever, your way with words astounds."

Still, she had seen Voneian both in its written and its spoken form. She personally wouldn't say it was that similar to French, so Rosa implying that it was a Voneian loanword struck her as odd. Although Scarlett was pretty terrible with other languages in general, so she wouldn't call herself an authority on the matter.

Besides, the English of this world—or rather, the Modern Imperial—would have had to get its loanwords from somewhere. She already knew that some of what she considered Latin terms came from the language of the old Zuver here, and that many of the idioms and phrases from her world also existed in this world. Because of this, she'd already guessed that the way Modern Imperial developed would have had to mirror English in some manner.

But, considering how ridiculously convoluted linguistic history got even after just going back a few decades, she didn't understand how that was possible. To her, it seemed like the evolution of a language was just too complicated and had too many factors to it for it to be replicated like that, even if it was in a world like this where everything was seemingly inspired by a video game.

But the other alternative was that everything had just popped into place as is, which seemed even more unrealistic to her. After all, she knew there was history to this world. And as such, the evolution of the languages around here had to be part of that history.

God, a linguistics scholar would probably have a field day with this.

Maybe she should spend some time looking into the matter. Did they actually have linguistic scholars in this world? If the Modern Imperial in this world didn't evolve naturally, there should be some obvious inconsistencies in its history. And even if it did evolve naturally, there might still be clues as to why it was exactly like the English of her world.

She had been thinking about this for a while now, really. In fact, getting to the bottom of this might even give her some clues to what this world actually was.

Realizing her thoughts had wandered, and that Rosa had gone silent with her eyes turned downward towards her klert, Scarlett spoke again. "I have been meaning to ask. The magic that you perform. It is unlike anything I have witnessed. Where did you learn techniques such as those?"

In 'Chronicle of Realms', Rosa had a unique class. And as far as Scarlett was aware, she was the only character that used music for their magic. In the game, the woman had always been vague and secretive about most personal matters, and this was a matter Scarlett had never learned much about.

"I picked up a few things here and there," Rosa answered, turning her gaze upward. "Met this old lady who taught me a trick or two as well."

"...I see." Maybe Scarlett had been expecting a bit too much. "Perhaps you know what type of magic it is? If, for instance, it can be considered to belong to the same branch as aeromancy?"

It'd be good to know what kind of items could improve Rosa's magic outside of just general buff items.

"Can't say I do. I'm not really much of a mage, you see. To tell you the truth, I would almost have expected you to know the answer to that."

Scarlett gave her an inquiring look. "And why is that?"

"What, you think a girl doesn't notice a few things just because you surround yourself with a gaggle of weirdos?" Rosa let out a short laugh. "You've got this...it to you, you know? This quality." Her tone turned more solemn. "Some people interact with the world as it is, living their lives as they come. Others interact with the world as they think it should be, and they live their lives to make it so."

The woman fiddled with her klert again, much more deftly now.

"I've met those kinds of people before," Rosa continued, glancing at Scarlett for only a second before turning back to the fountain. "They always seem like they know what to do, making you think 'what is it with this person? How do I become like that?'"

"...You would compare me to them?" Scarlett asked.

"Oh, definitely," Rosa laughed. "I've got a knack for these things." She winked at her. "Of course, it doesn't hurt that you go around acting like you know quite literally everything, pulling out one unbelievable thing after another from out of nowhere all the time."

It looked like she was about to continue, but her eyes suddenly widened and she quickly turned away, turning silent.

Over a dozen seconds passed, before Rosa abruptly spoke again. "Hey, you're a noble, aren't you?"

Scarlett arched a brow at her. "I am uncertain whether or not you are expecting me to answer that."

"When we first met, you said something about being able to help if I ever wanted to learn anything special, right?" Rosa's voice wavered slightly, her gaze was locked on the fountain before them.

Scarlett studied Rosa closely, paying close attention to the area under the woman's eyes. There didn't seem to be anything wrong at the moment. "…While those were not the exact words I used, it is a close enough summary."

Rosa turned to look at her, the bard's violet eyes meeting hers. "Does that mean you could help me find information on...anything?"

Scarlett furrowed her brows. She was pretty sure she knew what this was about. "Anything within my power."

Rosa held her eyes for several seconds. Then, she let out another short laugh and returned her gaze to the fountain. "Well, good to know. I suppose if I ever want to know how to make some fairy friends, I know who to ask."

Scarlett's eyes lingered on the woman. "...If there is anything you wish to ask me, or if there is anything troubling you, there is no need to hesitate."

Rosa shook her head with a smile. "What would I have to worry about? I'm fine. Better than fine, even! Haven't been in as good a situation as this for years!"

The woman tore her eyes away from the fountain, bringing them back to the instrument in her lap as she started gently rotating the crank again. Some soft notes sounded out as she returned to her earlier tuning.

Scarlett opened her mouth, intending to prod further, but slowly closed it after a moment.

She wasn't sure how Rosa'd react if she knew she was aware of what it was she wanted to know. Worse came to worst, it was entirely possible Rosa would decide to leave if she thought Scarlett knew her secret. At the very least, the woman would be deeply uncomfortable with the fact.

And it wasn't as if Scarlett could straight out tell the woman that she could help her. That had risks all on its own.

"If that is how it is," Scarlett began. "Then—"

The sound of shattering glass blasted out near them.

Both of them turned to look towards their left, where the edge of the courtyard met the east wing of the mansion. Scarlett couldn't avoid gaping as she saw a person flying out of one of the second-floor windows, landing in one of the flower beds a moment later.

Next to the broken window stood a somewhat ruffled Fynn, staring down at the courtyard.

Scarlett blinked at the sight, holding herself back from crying out.

What the hell just happened?!

Chapter 67 - Budding schemes

Scarlett gaped at the scene before her. A gust of wind swirled across the courtyard as Fynn jumped out of the broken window, touching down next to the person who'd flown out it.

"What is the meaning of this?" she cried out, rising from her seat as she looked towards the person lying on the ground. A large patch of flowers had been flattened by the broken glass and the person's fall, but the surrounding flowers stopped her from seeing much of their figure.

Fynn looked at her, but his head almost immediately snapped back to the person beside him as they moved. Fynn lashed out, but the person had somehow already made it halfway to their feet and stumbled away from the attack, squashing even more of the colorful flowers under their feet as they stepped back. They wore a dark hood, and two knives flashed into their hands from out of nowhere.

Scarlett breathed in at the sight. So this was an intruder? Had the Cabal made their move?

Fynn let out a low growl as he jumped after the figure, the winds running over the flowerbeds along with him. The hooded figure dodged the incoming blow, side-stepping under it and shuffling onto the stone path leading around the courtyard.

Scarlett lifted her hands—sensing Rosa raising her klert beside her—and readied herself to use her magic. Fynn dove in once more, the young man acting fiercer than Scarlett had ever seen him before. As he swiped out towards the intruder once more, an indistinct green light formed into claw-like shapes around his left hand. Scarlett stilled at the sight, the hooded intruder only barely managing to step out of the claws' range.

Since when could Fynn use [Claws of the Tempest]?! She thought it would take him far longer to learn that.

Scarlett had to push any further thoughts over Fynn's surprising development to the side, as the intruder tried to dodge yet another swipe from Fynn. It forced them into the path of the young man's other hand, which also sported claws now.

The intruder suddenly turned into a hazy streak of red. Fynn's claws tore through the light red fog left behind as the person reappeared a few meters away, close to the mouth of the courtyard.

Scarlett's eyes widened. She recognized that ability.

Like a predator locking onto its prey, Fynn was already about to jump after the person.

"Halt! Fynn, stop at once!" Scarlett yelled.

She conjured a thick wall of water in front of him. Fynn smashed right through it, his upper body becoming soaked as he awkwardly tried to arrest his sprint. When he stopped, he threw a quick glance at the hooded figure in front of him before turning to Scarlett with a confused expression.

Scarlett focused on the intruder, who'd looked like they were about to turn tail and make a run for it up until now.

At a closer look, it was clear this person wasn't part of the Hallowed Cabal. While they wore a hood that covered much of their face, their outfit was a simple mix of thick, dark fabric and leather armor, with an assortment of small knives hanging off their side. From their build, and the outlines of a beard seen beneath the hood, she could tell it was a man.

She lowered her hands, gesturing for Rosa to do the same.

The hooded man seemed to take this as a sign. He, too, lowered his knives and placed them on his belt.

"Gaven Ridley, I presume?" Scarlett asked, just loud enough that it would reach the man.

"Huh. So you were expecting me," a rough voice sounded out. "I was starting to think I'd been conned. This sure is a one-of-a-kind welcome."

Scarlett held back a sigh. She looked toward the broken window and the ruined flowerbed. "This is not how we ordinarily greet our guests."

"He's a guest?" Fynn asked, visibly bewildered as he frowned at Gaven. "But I sensed him sneaking around inside. He didn't smell like any of the others. He smelled bad."

"...You sensed me, eh?"

Scarlett cringed inwardly at how her previous talks about being secretive about certain things clearly hadn't produced much result with Fynn.

"So you saw fit to destroy part of my residence?" She locked her gaze on the white-haired young man. He froze, his eyes shifting to the window in question, and what remained of it in the ruined flowerbed.

"I...I didn't…"

"Never mind." Scarlett probably didn't succeed in hiding the irritation in her voice.

The doors to the mansion slammed open, and she turned to see some of the servants come running out and down the stairs. For now, she ignored it and returned her attention to the intruder. To Gaven Ridley. One of the companions in 'Chronicle of Realms'.

"And you," she said, her voice ice cold. "You believe it acceptable to creep into my home? Without my explicit permission? Did the thought of contacting me prior to your visit not even occur to you?"

Evidently, Mirage had done their job when it came to finding Gaven, but apparently they overlooked giving him clear instructions on how to meet with her. She certainly hadn't anticipated him trying to sneak into her mansion like this.

In fact, what she had been expecting was for Mirage to contact her again after they'd found him, informing her of when the meeting was to take place. But clearly, that was too much to hope for.

Was it just her being stupid when she expected others to act like reasonable people and communicate with each other?

Gaven simply shrugged his shoulders. "I wasn't exactly planning for the boy over there to find me."

"You should wish yourself fortunate that he did."

If she'd found herself surprised by a hooded stranger in her home, there was no telling what would've happened. While she wasn't entirely certain she could take down Gaven—he had one of the highest evasion stats in the game, among other things—it sure as hell wouldn't have been pretty, for either of them.

"I take it you are indeed here to meet with me, then?" she asked.

"Me?" Gaven crossed his arms. "You're the one who called."

Scarlett just shook her head at the whole situation. A moment later, two of the mansion's servants came running toward her. It was Marlon, the woman in charge of the female servants, and a brown-haired young man named Gilbert.

"My Lady!" Marlon held up the hems of her dress so that it didn't come in the way of her feet. "Is everything all right?!"

The woman's head turned—in something halfway between a frown and an expression of worry—to Fynn and the wrecked window, as well as Gaven where he was. While the man's hood covered much of his face, which looked pretty suspicious in this situation, the belt he'd worn with weapons on it had now disappeared under his clothing.

Scarlett looked around the courtyard as a few more of the servants exited the mansion, including Garside.

"I am unharmed," she told Marlon, and pointed to the side where broken glass lay scattered. "Have someone clean that up. Ensure there is no glass inside as well."

Marlon threw one last look at both Gaven and Fynn, but soon bowed her head. "Of course my Lady," she said, walking off.

Scarlett turned to look at Garside as he approached, with a couple other servants trailing behind him. "Garside. Contact a glazier to repair that window. And inform the staff that, while an unfortunate accident occurred, the matter has been resolved and that there is no need for worry."

The man furrowed his brows as he appeared to take in the situation, eyes stopping on both Fynn and Gaven. After a moment, he lowered his head. "As you wish, my Lady."

Scarlett turned her eyes to the courtyard's opening, where the archway that connected the two wings of the mansion enclosed the courtyard. Looking past that, and past the garden that was between the building itself and the stone wall that encompassed the entire estate, it didn't seem like the hired guards had noticed what was going on.

"In addition," she added, turning back to Garside. "Inform the guards that, henceforth, they will patrol the grounds regularly and report any suspicious matters directly to me. I also want you to look into employing more men to increase the shifts."

The good thing about having Fynn around was that he was great at detecting suspicious interlopers. But they weren't at the mansion twenty-four seven, so it might be wise to hire more guards. No matter how weak they were.

"I will do so forthwith," Garside responded with a firm tone. "But, if it's not too bold of me, may I inquire into what has happened here?"

The small gathering of servants that stood before her now, including Rosa, gave her curious looks.

"A misunderstanding occurred between one of my retainers and a guest. None of you need bother yourselves with it further than that." She shot a look at Fynn. "That includes you as well."

He gave her an embarrassed look.

Scarlett turned back to the servants, gesturing with her hand. "Now, you may all leave. Those that have work to do should return to it immediately."

The servants got to moving, and even Fynn started walking back towards the mansion with hesitant steps. Scarlett would have to talk with him later, but for now, she looked to Rosa, who had stayed uncharacteristically quiet throughout the entire proceedings. "We will have to suspend our conversation here, it appears. I apologize for the disturbance."

The bard returned a smile. "No, it's fine. Looks like you've got a lot on your plate."

Scarlett turned to Garside, who was also yet to leave. "I will be in the parlor next to my office. Inform Molly and all others that I do not want to be disturbed for the coming hour, and that they should refrain from entering the east wing other than to address the broken window. This includes Fynn and the other individuals temporarily under my employ."

This probably looked pretty suspicious, but it was better than anyone overhearing things. Fynn's hearing, especially, was an issue.

"Your words are our commands, my Lady," Garside said. "But...is it safe?"

She looked at the grey-haired man for a moment, then gave a slow nod. "It is."

"I see. Then I will ensure that your orders are followed to the letter." The butler bowed and started moving back towards the mansion, passing by two servants that had already begun picking up some of the glass scattered about the courtyard.

Scarlett turned to Gaven, who hadn't moved an inch during the last minute. "Then, shall we have a talk?"

"Gaven Ridley," Scarlett said the name once more. She sat on a red leather couch in the smaller guest parlor, located close to her office in the east wing. The man in question sat opposite her, now with his hood down.

Unlike the large reception hall in the mansion, this guest parlor was relatively simple, with a large table placed in its center, surrounded by several expensive-looking armchairs and couches. There were a couple of bookcases lining the walls, and a wall looking out over the eastern part of the Hartford compound, but the rest of the walls only held some modest paintings.

Gaven Ridley himself was quite similar to what Scarlett remembered from the game. Other than his attire—which looked much like what one might expect from a rogue-like character in a setting such as this—he had a head of thick, flowing, dark-brown hair that parted to the sides and reached to his neck. In addition, he had an unexpectedly well-kept beard and light-brown eyes that had been looking at her with an amused gaze for some time now.

A fact that only slightly annoyed her.

"I will not delve further into the fatuity of attempting to sneak into my home without my prior knowledge. I presume you were contacted by someone about my desire to meet with you? But they did not tell you how and when?" she asked.

"Yeah. Some shady individuals came and made me an offer I couldn't refuse." Gaven shrugged. "I assumed anytime would be fine. But your kind don't often take well to working with mine, so I make it a habit to not let unrelated people notice me. Most of the time, I don't get caught."

"You did this time," Scarlett pointed out. "Perhaps that will teach you to be more heedful in the future."

She almost wished she could give Mirage a bad review on Google or something like that. For poor customer service. This made her somewhat worried that her other request to them would be handled even worse. But, considering how that request was relatively simple, she hoped that wouldn't be an issue.

Gaven smirked. "Heh, maybe I will. I'll have to wait and see." He leaned back on his couch, folding one leg over the other. "So, what's a lofty baroness like you want with someone like me?"

Scarlett tapped her finger against the armrest next to her, not bothering to hold back her stare as she studied the man. While Gaven had been a companion in the game, his personality didn't mesh the best with Scarlett's. Not to mention the fact that he was technically a criminal.

But he was also necessary for her plans.

"It is simple." She locked eyes with him. " I want to hire your services."

"I kinda figured as much."

"Then I can only assume you are interested in the prospect."

"Depends." He smiled. "What do I get out of it? And what do you want me to do?"

"You will be compensated handsomely for your labor," she said. "Both money and enchanted equipment are on the table. The work itself will vary, although I can assure you I will only assign tasks you are capable of."

"Like?"

"Locating certain items of interest, as well as certain individuals."

"Hmm." He turned his head as he studied the paintings in the room. "Would any of these items of interest happen to already have an owner?"

Scarlett gave him a long look, then a slow nod. "Some of them, yes."

A roguish smile grew on his face. "Then I'm listening."

[Quest completed: Hire companion's services — Gaven Ridley]

{Skill points awarded: 3}

Scarlett briefly glanced at the small window of text that appeared in front of her, before returning her attention to the man opposite her.

"To start with, when you contact me in the future, you are to do so through the guards at the front of my estate. I will ensure that they know what to do so that you are escorted straight to me. In addition, I advise that you wear more inconspicuous attire for such visits from now on."

Gaven gave a short nod. "If you say so, boss."

Scarlett frowned slightly at the easygoing tone, but decided to let it go for now. "Now, for the first task I would have you perform. I believe you should be familiar with the city of Bridgespell?"

Gaven raised both brows at her words. "I am, yeah. But I have to wonder why a baroness like you would know something like that about little old me."

"There is much that I know. If you were to stop and demand an explanation every time a matter surprises you, our conversation would not move very fast."

He blinked, then a smile grew back on his face once again. From nowhere, he pulled out a thin knife with a hole at the bottom and started spinning it around his finger.

Scarlett felt her eye twitch at the sight.

"So, what is it you want me to do in Bridgesp—agh!" He pulled his hand back as his knife dropped onto the couch beside him, red hot as it seared the leather on the furniture.

"While I do not expect you to maintain the same standards of decorum as my regular attendants, I would advise you to be conscious of your position." Scarlett's voice was cold as she conjured a mass of water around the knife to cool it down. A small cloud of smoke trailed up in the air, a faint burnt scent spreading inside the room.

With her vision enhanced by her [Charms of Apperception], Scarlett had already noted that Gaven didn't have any defenses up at the moment. It'd been hard to hold herself back from teaching him a little lesson with her pyrokinesis at that point. It was only recently that she'd learned that it wasn't only limited to creating fire, but that it could also be used to heat up certain objects.

What a perfect—and satisfying—opportunity to test the ability out in action.

She definitely wouldn't do something like this to her other employees, though. She was very particular about her abuses of power.

Gaven looked at her with a mildly surprised face as he held his left hand in his right. There was no anger there, though.

"Right, I get it, my Lady," he said, giving an exaggerated bow with his head.

Scarlett decided to let it go with that.

"As I was saying," she continued. "Having grown up in parts of the city, you should be familiar with the different districts there. In particular, the Lower Ward."

Now he gave her a wary look, and she returned a small smile. She was purposefully trying to overplay how much she knew in order to get him to trust her even more later down the line, but she was fully expecting him to be suspicious this early on.

"I have also heard that your name is one that is currently on the lips of several of the local syndicates, meaning there will be some difficulty for you to move readily through the city."

Gaven frowned. "If the first job's in Bridgespell, it's not an issue. Those people wouldn't be able to find me even if they knew where I was."

Scarlett shook her head. "The first job is not in Bridgespell itself. That would be for a later undertaking. No, the first thing I want of you is to prove your worth."

"My worth?"

"Yes. I will provide you with the location of a certain abandoned ruin near Kilsfell. I expect you to find it, explore it, and return with an item held deep within this ruin."

"That's...certainly a unique way of proving one's worth." Gaven opened and closed his hand. "But what about payment?"

"For a simple matter such as this, your payment will be any items of value found during your delve. Excluding the item I need."

Gaven knitted his forehead. "How do I know it's worth it?"

"I believe someone as capable as you should be able to determine that yourself when you are there."

He crossed his arms as he seemed to consider it.

"Although I doubt it will come to pass," Scarlett added. "If you are not satisfied with the payment after having finished the task, I will compensate you further upon completion."

Now Gaven grinned. "Then I'm your man."

"I expected as much," Scarlett said. "In addition, there are preparations that you will have to complete along with this task. I will arrange for transport through the Kilnstones so that you can travel between Freybrook and Bridgespell, but you will have to arrange disguises and anything else that may be necessary for you to be able to openly visit the city without encountering complications."

He caressed the beard on his chin as he grew a contemplative expression. "And what exactly is this for?"

"You will learn that after you have completed your first tasks."

He grew quiet for a second. "How much time would I have?"

Scarlett leaned her head to the side as she considered it for a second. "I believe two weeks is a reasonable period of time. After that, I expect you to have returned to me with both matters concluded."

He let out a laugh. "Then we shouldn't have any issue at all." He leaned forward and held out his hand over the table with a smirk. "I believe we have a deal, don't you?"

Scarlett eyed the dirty hand for a moment. "It appears we do," she replied, not putting forth her own. Gaven didn't seem to mind as he pulled back onto the couch.

"What about an advance?" He rubbed his thumb and index finger together. "Preparing these things will cost some."

"You will be provided two thousand solars."

"Two thousand, eh?" he muttered. "I'll probably make do then."

"I would hope so," Scarlett said. "Any further questions?"

Gaven shook his head.

"Good. Then let us discuss the details."

Chapter 68 - Foreboding winds

Scarlett walked through the mansion, absentmindedly taking in the various expensive decors spread throughout the hallways as she passed by. A few days had gone by since her meeting with Gaven, but not much of note had happened since. She was still clearing the surrounding area's low-level dungeons—collecting skill points and valuable items—so excitement wasn't exactly on her itinerary at the moment, even after hiring Gaven's services.

Those particular plans of hers would take a while to get moving.

Besides her dungeon farming, she had also communicated with Evelyne a lot these past few days, sending missives through a carrier service that made use of the Kilnstones.

There were magical items and artifacts that allowed direct communication over long distances in this world. The [Mirror of Communion] used by the Angler Man and the Hallowed Cabal was a prime example of this. But they were relatively rare—Scarlett wasn't even sure if there were any that weren't Zuverian—and from what she could tell, no one had set up a network with those to be used en masse. She knew for a fact that the Shields Guild had one for their own use, as did the Ustrum Assembly and some of the other influential groups across the empire, but the public had to make do, it appeared.

Not that it mattered much to her. The carrier services she'd been using to communicate with Evelyne were efficient enough for now. On occasion, she'd wondered if there wasn't a promising business opportunity in trying to set up a communication network for the public somehow. But there probably was a reason something like that didn't already exist. Most likely a mix between the rarity of the needed items and the complicated logistics such a venture required.

Eventually she'd no doubt try to get her hands on some artifacts like this for her private needs, but she would probably keep using the carrier services even then. They had the added benefit of transporting goods in addition to messages. A feature she had used to send over much of the loot she'd gathered to Evelyne in the capital, where the younger Hartford sister forwarded it to the auction houses and a few interested buyers.

Scarlett's attention was caught as she passed by a window that gave a good view of the back part of the estate. Beyond the hedge garden hugging the mansion's facade were the training grounds, where she saw Fynn running around between the target dummies like a madman.

The young man had been completely engrossed in training these past days, and Scarlett couldn't quite understand why. At first, she had thought it had something to do with the run-in with Gaven and the somewhat unfair admonishment she'd given Fynn at the time. But that didn't appear to be it. When she'd talked to him about the matter—also reminding him not to openly leak secrets and avoid destroying her property—she had gotten the impression it had to do with strength. For some reason, he was just intent on growing stronger as fast as possible right now.

To her, this came out of the left field. As had the fact that he was apparently already able to use [Claws of the Tempest]. In the game he didn't learn that until level 50, which should theoretically—or as theoretical as one could be when trying to translate a game to the real world—be some time away from where he was currently.

She was still trying to figure out what had prompted this premature development in him. It didn't feel like any of her actions up till now should have had much effect on his strength. The [Mark of the Gale] and dungeon-running were all things done in the game. But she wasn't sure what else it could be.

One alternative was that there was some factor, unknown to her, that had changed. But it could just as well be another of those things where it simply differed from the game because of how things translated. Whatever it was, she was holding back her complaints for now. Getting a more powerful companion was a good thing.

She was just hoping he wouldn't grow too fast.

Eventually, having entered the first floor of the west wing, Scarlett reached the far end of a corridor. A worn-out door stood before her, its frame showing signs of disrepair. The west wing was where much of the mansion staff lived, but it was also here some of the age of this place showed itself the most.

Grabbing hold of the door's worn metal handle, she opened it to expose a tight set of stone stairs. They led down to a cellar area. The air had that chilly, slightly moist feel to it, common to underground places like these. The stone was also cold to the touch as she traced her hand along the wall, as not to lose her balance on her way down the steep decline.

The cellar itself wasn't too large, comprising a short hallway with doors on both sides. Presumably storage rooms of some kind. Scarlett walked over to the closest of the doors and opened it, revealing a simple stone room. Packs of crates lay strewn along the walls, and two long tables stood at the center of the room with a range of odd tools and items placed on them. Placed under one of the tables was an open crate filled with a dozen varieties of vessels made of stone and metal.

Between the two tables stood Allyssa, brown leather goggles covering her eyes as the blonde girl turned towards the entrance. She was wearing a simple set of brown clothes and a thick apron with dark splodges on it.

Scarlett scrunched up her nose at the thick smell that wafted to her with a gust of wind. She looked to a small set of windows at the top of the far wall, lending a view of the western side of the estate. The windows were open to allow for some fresh air, but it clearly wasn't enough to combat the smell.

"Oh, you were coming here?" Allyssa's muffled voice sounded out as she pulled down a piece of cloth covering her mouth. "I thought I was supposed to go find you later."

Scarlett shifted her attention to the young Shielder. This morning she'd said that they should talk more about what Allyssa could do with her alchemy, now that the girl had had time to get things set up here in the mansion. Originally, Scarlett had intended to discuss it in the office, but she'd found herself curious about how things looked down here, now that Allyssa was actually performing her craft. As such, she'd decided to pay a visit herself.

Although she hadn't quite expected the smell to be this strong. She might have to change clothes later if it stuck to them.

"I had time to spare, so there is no need to fret," she said, eyes passing over a row of vials that stood on one of the tables. They all contained dark liquids of a few different colors, some of which looked similar to what she'd seen Allyssa use during their various excursions. "I heard from Garside that you have yet to use any of the alchemical ingredients he offered, choosing to first exhaust your own supplies. Is that correct?"

"Ehm, yeah, that's true." Allyssa pushed up her goggles and reordered the frayed locks of hair jumbled by the action. "You said that it was ok if I focused on refilling my own supply before I made anything else, so that's what I've been focusing on... But it didn't feel right using what you gave me for that. And I still had some stuff left from Elystead, so I wanted to use that up first."

"Does that not limit you in what you can make? Garside spent quite some time compiling all of that." Scarlett walked over to stand next to Allyssa, gently running her finger over the side of a triangular piece of metal on the closest table. The odd piece of equipment had three depressions on its face, with strange lines and symbols running between them. She recalled that this was an item you had used in the game when performing alchemy, though the true purpose of it evaded her. "My understanding is that he acquired a wide range of materials that would be useful for someone of your craft. You are more than welcome to make full use of it, even when it is for your own use. While you are under my employ, any improvement to your capabilities in the field benefits me as well."

For some reason Allyssa looked as if that thought hadn't even crossed her mind. Scarlett felt like she had made it clear on more than one occasion that she fully intended to support the young woman in her craft. The potential signified by it held a lot of interest to her, after all.

Although, considering the invoice for all the materials Garside had gathered totaled several thousand solars, perhaps Allyssa's reaction made sense. While that amount was basically nothing in the grand scheme of things—especially to some nobles—it was a good sum of money to ordinary people. It was a decent amount to Scarlett at the moment too. They were still in the process of selling many of the items and artifacts she was collecting. But she had enough cash at hand right now for this much, at least.

"I'll...remember that in the future," Allyssa said. "But I've already finished most of what I needed to do for myself. There are still some potions and elixirs that I haven't had the time or materials to create, like the Philter of Ire's Decay, but I should be fine for now. If there's anything special you wanted me to try and create, I could probably get started on it soon."

Scarlett nodded. "That is, in fact, what I wished to speak with you about. However, I am uncertain what the limits of your capabilities are, so I do not know exactly what I can request."

"Well…" Allyssa wore a careful expression. "I don't really talk much with real alchemists, outside of a couple of my mom's old friends, so I don't know how I would compare to others. I think I would at least be considered on the same level as an Alchemist Adept in most towers? Maybe?"

Scarlett knitted her brow. The alchemical ranking system wasn't something she was acquainted with. If it was anything like the system that mages used though, an Adept was probably a step or two above a Novice, which in turn was a step above a complete beginner. "I am unfamiliar with the practices of alchemists, so that does not tell me much. Would you be capable of creating healing potions, as an example?"

Allyssa's brow wrinkled as she considered it. "It depends on the level? I usually don't create those because the materials are so expensive, but I can make at least some minor ones. I know how to make ordinary ones, but I'm not completely sure I'd succeed. It could be a waste to even try."

Scarlett frowned. In the game, the prefixes for potions and the like went Lesser - Minor - None - Greater - Superior - Major - Argent. [Minor Healing Potions] and [Healing Potions] were weaker than she would have wanted at this point, looking at it from a purely game perspective. [Greater Healing Potion] was more along the lines of what she'd hoped for. From what she had learned, just one of those cost thousands of solars—even if one didn't already have a poor relationship with one of the major suppliers—so having Allyssa be able to make them for her at a lower price would have been amazing.

That the young woman might only create [Healing Potions], at best, was a shame.

But who knows? Maybe ordinary healing potions were more effective than she thought. It wasn't as if Scarlett had actually tried any yet in this world. It was certainly better than nothing.

Hopefully they'd never need them, though. That was what Rosa was for.

"You may attempt to create some regular healing potions," she said. "As many as you deem reasonable. In addition, I would like you to compile a list of concoctions you are currently capable of, so that I can decide what might prove useful in the future."

Allyssa gave her a curious look. "Are these all for your personal use?"

"They are, yes. Although if I were to sell any of your concoctions, I would ensure that you receive part of the profits as well."

"No, that's not really what I was aski—" A powerful gust of wind suddenly rushed in from the open windows, blowing a pile of loose papers laying on the table into the air.

"Agh, nonono!" Allyssa cried out as she whirled around, pushing the papers back on the table. Some of them had just been about to fly into a tiny cauldron with a sludgy brown solution in it. The young Shielder let out another short cry as the wind increased in strength, some of the loose vials and other tools in the rooms rattling against each other.

Scarlett narrowed her eyes at the window as the chilly breeze pushed against her skin, making the hairs on her arms stand up. It was increasing in strength frighteningly fast. By the time she reached the windows the wind had almost grown to a level where she only barely managed to force them shut.

"What's happening?" Allyssa asked with a bewildered tone behind her. "Is there a storm outside? I didn't even think that was possible here in the southwest."

"It is not," Scarlett muttered, peering out through the glass. All storms in this region were supposed to be drawn out south into the Innisling Sea, where the Forgotten Tower was, before they even formed. A storm around Freybrook was essentially impossible, as far as she knew. That, coupled with the fact that it was still bright and sunny outside, lent to a storm not being the cause for all this wind.

Whatever this was, it wasn't natural. And it was enough to cause the trees outside the estate's stone walls to sway heavily, small clouds of dust blowing up along the gravel pathways inside the walls. It looked to originate from somewhere behind the mansion.

"Come," she said, turning around and walking towards the door, not leaving much room for Allyssa to ask anything else. Exiting into the enclosed cellar, she hurriedly climbed up the narrow staircase to the first floor and moved through the hallways towards the center of the mansion. On the way, they passed by a few of the staff who were curiously observing the strange phenomenon outside.

Now some of the smaller trees were even rocking back and forth to the level where it looked like some of them might break.

The two of them ran into Shin as they passed through the mansion's foyer. The young man had apparently had the gumption to retrieve his strange-looking sword and the large, rectangular shield from Temisbrook Glade that Scarlett had lent him. He wordlessly stepped in behind them, and soon they reached the mansion's back entrance, exiting into the hedge garden outside.

"What in Ittar's name is happening?!" Allyssa cried out beside Scarlett. Both of them were forced to keep their hair in check against the winds that violently pushed at them.

A growing premonition wormed its way into the forefront of Scarlett's mind as the three of them fought their way through the cyclone of currents, beyond the garden, and in the direction of where all this seemed to originate. Soon, the training grounds came into view.

Debris of wood and small stone had been spread around in an array of chaotic mayhem. The wooden targets were ripped apart at their limbs, and the shed at the end of the grounds had lost half of its roofing, with more planks threatening to tear off at any moment. At the heart of all this, sitting at the eye of the storm, was Fynn. Hunched together like a cowering beast. Even from this distance, the viridescent glow surrounding him stood out clear as day.

"Damn..." Scarlett swore, not even caring about the presence of two Shielders beside her.

This wasn't good.

Fynn was experiencing his first awakening.

Chapter 69 - Tough decisions

This was too early. Far too early. Scarlett never imagined Fynn would awaken this soon.

This scene was similar to the game, but seeing it like this gave a whole new weightiness to the situation. The powerful winds stemming from Fynn were almost enough to force her off her feet, tearing at her hair and clothes. She'd activated [Lifeblood's Eternal Circuit], but it didn't help much against the wind itself. Only the small pieces of wood and scrap flying their way.

"What is he doing?!" Allyssa cried out beside Scarlett, barely audible over the turmoil.

"I don't think he's conscious!" Shin shouted, pushing ahead through the storm. He threw his shield up just in time to defend against the lower half of a training dummy that came soaring at him, almost losing his footing as the doll bumped off. Allyssa tried running up to support him but had even more trouble moving forward than him.

Scarlett focused on the crouching figure of Fynn that sat at the center of all this chaos. If this continued, there was no telling how much destruction would be done to the estate. In the game this had occurred in a field, so she didn't know how powerful it was.

Maybe if Kat was here the woman would've been able to fashion some kind of temporary stone shelter around Fynn, but that wasn't an option now. And Scarlett didn't know any sure-fire way to interrupt what was happening. In the game you just waited it out.

Was that an option?

He was a good distance away from the mansion, so the building itself might be fine.

Shin pressed forward, signaling for Allyssa to back away. The air shifted as the winds surrounding Fynn suddenly grew stronger. Even Shin seemed to struggle now, hiding behind his shield as he approached the center step by step, dodging and trying to defend against the flying debris simultaneously.

Could they knock Fynn out with an Aqua Mine or two? Or would that even work on him?

Scarlett blinked as she heard a distinct tune carry across the wind, a flow of energy and calmness rising from inside. Turning around, she saw Rosa come running, klert in hand, and with her curled brown hair mangled in all directions from the wind. "A bit early for a party, isn't it?!" the bard yelled as she stopped before them. "What's got sourpuss over there all worked up?"

Scarlett narrowed her eyes at the woman. "Rosa. Are you able to calm him down?"

"Depends. Pretty-boy might want to get away first, at the very least."

Scarlett spun to look at Shin, who was too far away for their voices to reach him now.

"…He will be fine," she said after a moment.

If Rosa was going to use what she thought she was, then it wouldn't have any lasting effect on Shin, as long as he kept being pummeled by the winds around Fynn. If not, she was willing to pay for any damages.

Rosa glanced at her, but soon looked forward with a focused expression. "Well, all right. Let's hope little wolf-boy likes lullabies."

She cranked her instrument as several more notes rang out. They had a peaceful, mellow feel to them which belied their current situation.

To Scarlett, it looked like the air in front of them shimmered as a faint white light moved through it like a wave. When it reached Shin, he tottered and fell down on one knee, but seemed to regain his wits just enough not to get pulled away by the gale bearing down upon him.

The rippling advanced through the air, reaching Fynn. The young man barely showed any reaction, already hunched over on the ground. But the air around him—and the glow surrounding him—immediately grew calmer and less distinct. The same went for the powerful gusts raging about, which flurried around as if having lost their direction, soon petering out into a still nothingness.

"Shin!" Allyssa ran up to her friend, leaning down to check that he was okay. It took him a moment to get back to his feet, but he didn't look any worse for wear.

Scarlett scanned across the surrounding area. It was covered in small debris, dirt, and the broken branches and leaves from the trees outside the stone walls. It'd take ages to clean all of this up.

She began walking towards Fynn.

"What was that?" Allyssa walked up beside Scarlett as she stopped before Fynn. "All of that was Fynn, right?"

Scarlett bent down next to the young man, reaching out with her hand to push away some of the white locks that covered his face. His eyes were still closed.

"It was," she answered. "However, he was not in control."

"You could say that again," Rosa said. The bard seemed busy trying to untangle her hair.

"But at least we stopped whatever it was, right?" Allyssa looked at the mess surrounding them. "That's good."

Scarlett shook her head. "No. There is nothing good about the current situation."

Scarlett locked herself inside her office soon after the incident. It almost definitely left everybody else thoroughly confused over what had happened, but she had bigger fish to fry right now.

Fynn appeared to be out for the count for now, not waking up whatever they did. Shin had carried him inside, and Scarlett had set Garside to organizing the staff to clean up the mess that was the training grounds and its surroundings. Now she had to figure out what to do next.

Not only had Fynn completely lost control, but now they were on a countdown. This was where, in the game, you only had a certain amount of time to continue Fynn's questline or risk losing him as a companion.

Scarlett flipped through her notes. They covered much of her game knowledge, along with the plans she'd written down now on how to deal with this premature future.

She pressed her lips together, the reality of the current situation looming over her.

Fynn growing stronger had always been a double-edged sword. On one end, it was incredibly advantageous to her, considering how capable he was. On the other, because of his lineage, the stronger and more connected to his powers he grew, the more he would lose control of them if they weren't handled correctly.

The real problem here was that Fynn's first awakening wasn't supposed to happen until he reached level 50. While Scarlett might have picked him up earlier here than in the game, he definitely shouldn't have grown to that level already.

At least, she didn't think so. It was hard to tell when things like strength and HP weren't clearly quantifiable.

Nevertheless, Scarlett never expected him to awaken this early. She'd been racking her brains over what she could have done differently that led to this, but she couldn't figure it out. To her, it just seemed like everything she'd done up till now with regard to him aligned pretty close to how you did it in the game.

Give him the [Mark of the Gale]. Go raid dungeons with him. Give him some money now and then. What more was there to it?

At the earliest, she'd been expecting Fynn to awaken a couple of months from now. It happening this early was probably the largest disparity between this world and the game that she'd encountered yet. Right now, she couldn't even afford to care too much about why it happened. She had to figure out how to deal with it.

She crossed her hands, looking down at the open page of her notebook. She'd already crosschecked things with her game-related knowledge. There was only one way she knew of to resolve things after Fynn awakened.

She opened up one of the desk drawers and picked up the gold bell that lay inside it. It wasn't used that often nowadays. After ringing it, a knock soon came from the door.

"Enter."

Molly—the black-haired servant that had been the first person Scarlett met in this world—opened the door and stepped inside. The woman curtsied. "My Lady called."

"Inform Garside to clear my schedule for the coming week. In addition, I will be requiring passage through the Kilnstones as soon as possible. Cost is not an issue, providing it is settled with urgency."

"I will have Madame Marlon look into it immediately. Where to, my Lady? "

"Angersong Post."

"Angersong?" Molly grew a confused expression.

"Yes." Scarlett nodded. "It is a small outpost on the west bank of the Three Streams, south of Dimfrost."

Molly lowered her head. "As you wish. I'll inform Master Garside and Madame Marlon." The servant gave another short curtsy before leaving the room.

Scarlett leaned forward over her desk, staring into the air in front of her.

Hopefully, booking a trip through the Kilnstones wouldn't prove to be an issue. Kat had once said you needed to book months in advance, but as a noble, Scarlett had certain privileges. She just didn't know how far those reached. For the trip to Elystead, they'd booked two weeks in advance, and the same went for the passage to Bridgespell that she had arranged for Gaven. Maybe any sooner than that was impossible.

If she was lucky, it varied depending on where you were going. Angersong Post wasn't even a town. It was just a small trading station situated on a thin strip of land between the Whitdown Mountains and the Three Streams river. She imagined it might be used to restock some ships that passed by and things like that, but there shouldn't be too much traffic to the place. It was only there to begin with because of the Kilnstone.

Unfortunately, that was also the only Kilnstone close to the Whitdown Mountains. Or at least the only one in the empire's Kilnstone network, from what she'd seen. Kilsfell was an alternative, but that place was much more heavily trafficked. Still, they would have to take a boat up the river no matter what happened.

The question was what to do when they reached their final destination. Even if they got there before any further issues arose with Fynn, this was all too soon. Her current party was too weak. Even supposing that Fynn was somehow roughly equivalent to a level 50 in the game—which Scarlett doubted—the remaining members of her party weren't.

Kat had left Freybrook already, so hiring her for this wasn't an option. And there currently weren't any other Shielders above rank C at the Freybrook branch.

Maybe she could hire a bunch of C-rankers to help instead? They'd still be too weak, but enough numbers could make up for that.

…But the Shields Guild might not even accept her hiring people for a job like that. Not unless she lied about how dangerous it was.

She frowned.

There was also the matter of secrecy. There was no clause in the Shielder's contracts that said they had to keep what they saw during their assignments secret. They weren't mercenaries. Kat had seemed relatively lax about it, but Scarlett doubted that was the rule among Shielders. Hiring them for this was bound to reveal things about this place that she didn't want to reveal. Frankly, it was doubtful whether she should even bring Shin and Allyssa.

Letting out a deep sigh, she tapped her finger against the wood under her.

There wasn't any organization she wanted to find out about this place. So there was basically nobody she could get help from. But without more help, it was very uncertain whether she could clear this place.

Should she just…not do it?

It could quite literally cost her life trying to clear it. Not bothering would save her a lot of hassle.

But that would essentially mean abandoning Fynn. Now that he'd had his first awakening, he would leave for the Whitdown Mountains no matter what she did. And he would probably never return. Unless he got help.

She could just…let him go. It wasn't as if he was a necessity for her to keep on living in this world.

She looked up towards the dark oak ceiling, slowly leaning back in her chair.

Could she do that?

She closed her eyes.

No. She probably couldn't.

Not only would it mean sacrificing many of her future plans, it also meant giving up several important items she needed. It also didn't sit well with her to abandon Fynn like that. While she wouldn't say that what she felt for the young man was quite at the level of fondness—at least in the sense of how she knew him as a real person—he wasn't a stranger to her, either.

No, she would help him deal with his awakening. That much was certain.

The only question was how.

How would they clear the first section of the Howling Gale's Haunt?

Chapter 70 - Perilous propositions

Allyssa swung her legs back and forth as she looked at the people working outside. She sat on the window ledge in Shin's room, and the people outside were walking around, cleaning away uprooted bushes, dirt, and all the other things that'd been spread about during the chaos earlier in the day.

"Do you think she'll tell us what's going on?" she asked out loud, rolling a few strands of hair around her finger.

"I don't know," Shin answered from behind her. "You could try asking."

"I already did, didn't I?" Allyssa turned toward where he was sitting, next to a small table at the other end of the room. As usual he wasn't paying her much attention, occupied with the book in his hands. The sight of him wearing his grey armor while reading—with his sword and shield lying on the floor nearby—was fairly funny, at least.

But after what happened just a few hours earlier, she'd also changed into her normal equipment. She couldn't be stuck in her dirty old clothes and alchemical apron in case things started up again. She also had her cloak, bandolier, and crossbow placed next to Shin's weapons for easy access.

"Then there you have it," Shin said as he flipped a page in his dusty, boring old book. He'd been extra absorbed in reading ever since they'd arrived here in Freybrook. Scarlett had allowed him to read any of the books in her library, which Allyssa imagined was the same as giving a kid free access to a candy stall.

"Ugh." She rolled her eyes at his reply, glancing over the rest of the room. It was large. And fancy. That was about how she would describe it.

Back when they had started staying at Scarlett's mansion in Elystead things had felt kind of weird. Staying in an expensive-looking place like that, getting to enjoy great food, and being served by other people most of the day was so far removed from what she was used to. Still, it had only taken a few days to get used to it. But for some reason, it felt different staying here in Freybrook.

The rooms were bigger, yes. But they were still about the same level of fancy. The food was, somehow, even better than in Elystead, but it was still just food. And the people working here did basically the same work as the people that had worked in the mansion back in the capital. So Allyssa wasn't really sure what it was that stuck out about staying here.

Shin hadn't seemed to notice anything. Or he just didn't care.

Maybe it was in the expectations she had? In Elystead, living in a mansion for a short while was a unique experience, but she hadn't expected it to last long. But here? Now? She wasn't so sure.

For some reason, both Leandro and the branch head in Elystead hadn't had any objections to Allyssa and Shin continuing the contract with Scarlett when they'd asked about it. Allyssa thought they'd want the two of them to help after what happened with the Tribe of Sin, but apparently not. It had almost seemed like they preferred for them to remain with the Baroness instead. And there'd been no mention of any time limit. Neither from the Guild's side nor Scarlett's.

Allyssa leaned her head against the window frame.

Maybe that's why things felt so strange. It was like they were living here now. If she didn't know any better, she would say they were working for Scarlett, rather than just being in a temporary contract with the noblewoman.

…Well, Allyssa had been hired by Scarlett for her alchemy skills. But that was just something she did on the side. It would have to end when this contract was over. Although, if she was going to be honest, she loved every minute of it. It'd been ages since she last had this much time to spend solely on her alchemy. And she'd already learned so many things.

While it had taken some time to get things set up, she now had a place completely to herself. It was much nicer than having to borrow a cellar room from the Guild now and then, like before. Most of her alchemy couldn't be done at home because of the smell and the volatile nature of the materials she worked with, so just this fact alone felt like a miracle given from above by Ittar.

That nice old butler had even gathered lots of herbs and materials for her, as well as some old documents on alchemy that Allyssa had never even seen before. Almost half of her time this last week had been spent just poring through those alone.

She had felt a little bad over that when she talked with Scarlett earlier, though. She probably should have spent more time actually working. But many of the potions and elixirs she'd concocted required a lot of downtime, so she couldn't have done things that much faster even if she hadn't gotten distracted. Still, in the future, she'd do better.

It was doubtful if Scarlett would've berated her even if she knew, though. It was true that the older woman acted cold and all stiff most of the time—and sometimes she could be really scary—but from what Allyssa had seen, she honestly seemed like a kind person. Even if Scarlett herself didn't appear to agree.

Most of the things Kat had told them about Scarlett were pretty spot on. Though Allyssa felt the strangeness was underplayed. It was actually pretty fun being brought along by Scarlett to explore all these strange caves and abandoned places every other day, but there was so much weirdness going on at the same time.

One thing was how Scarlett knew how to find these locations to begin with. Sometimes they spent a few hours looking for hidden entrances and things like that, and those were the times it felt kind of normal. If that was all, Allyssa might have believed Scarlett's explanation that she'd learned of these places through her research and whatnot. But then, after they actually found these places, Scarlett would occasionally just suddenly know that there was a trap under a certain rock, or a monster hiding further ahead behind the corner. Like she'd been there before. Even more strange was how almost all of these places turned out to be hiding old artifacts and other valuable items, and Scarlett always seemed to know exactly where these were located and what they were, long before they ever got close to finishing exploring a place. At least that's the feeling Allyssa got from observing the woman.

She had thought about it a lot, but she couldn't figure out how Scarlett did all of that. What could she possibly have done beforehand to know those things? Allyssa had even double-checked to make sure that many of the places looked like they hadn't been visited by other people in ages, so there shouldn't have been anyone that told Scarlett about it. But it's not like there were treasure maps for these kinds of things either, were there?

It almost felt taboo to ask about it. Still, she had, and Scarlett always gave the same vague answers. It also didn't help that both Rosa and Fynn were pretty weird. Especially Fynn.

The whole thing earlier today had shocked Allyssa, but now that she was looking back at it, maybe it wasn't that surprising. He had always acted strange. It made a strange sort of sense that he'd do something crazy like that.

That didn't mean that she understood it.

She shook these thoughts out of her mind for now. Thinking about all this just drove her mad.

"I'm going to see if they don't need my help with anything outside," she said, jumping down from the ledge. "You're staying here, I guess?"

Shin glanced up at her from his book. "You know they're paid to do that, don't you? There's nothing wrong with letting them do their job."

Allyssa stuck out her tongue. "And there's nothing wrong with me helping them if I feel like it."

She walked towards the door, stopping in front of it for a moment to decide whether she should bring along the rest of her equipment. Things had been calm now, though, and going around with your weapons at the ready probably wouldn't help any of the people working here relax. If anything happened, Shin would definitely carry the stuff with him.

Having decided on leaving the stuff, Allyssa was just about to leave when the door was pulled open from the other end by a woman with short blonde hair.

"Oh, hi Nichol," Allyssa said, stopping in the doorway. The two of them were pretty close in age, so she'd gotten to know the servant fairly well these few weeks.

"Miss Astrey." Nichol did one of those little curtsies with her hands on her dark dress. "The Baroness has called for the both of you. She is waiting in the dining hall."

Allyssa's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

She leaned her head back into the room. "Hey, hear that? You're gonna have to put that down after all. Try not to cry."

Shin looked up at her with a dead expression. After a moment, he placed the book on the table and stood up, wordlessly walking over to her. The two of them exited into the hallway outside and started following Nichol through the mansion.

"What were you reading anyway?" Allyssa asked him.

"A treatise on the Steepmond Border Accords with Voneia."

Allyssa knitted her forehead. "The what now?"

She saw him shake his head at that. The know-it-all.

"It was an old treaty forged between our two nations after the border conflicts thirty years ago. The treatise goes over how the borders were defined between us and Voneia after that, how goods and people are allowed to be transported across them. It also explored how it was thought to affect things in the future. There was a brief postscript going further into that, but I haven't read it yet."

"Do you really need a whole treatise for that?"

Shin nodded. "Yes. These things are much more complex than you think. It's surprisingly interesting, as well. I hadn't heard of this specific treatise before."

"If you say so," Allyssa muttered, turning her attention to Nichol ahead of them instead. "Hey, did the Baroness say what she wanted us to come for?"

Nichol looked back at her with a hesitant expression. "I'm sorry… I didn't think to ask."

"It's fine," Allyssa said. "We'll get to know soon enough anyway."

She'd noticed that a lot of the people working here—and at the mansion back in Elystead—almost seemed scared of Scarlett, even though the woman didn't look that bad from what interactions Allyssa had seen her have with her servants. When asking Nichol about it, the woman had whispered to her that the Baroness used to be a lot worse before, and many of those working under her were still afraid things would go back to how they were then.

Allyssa herself wasn't sure what to think about that. Personally, she thought it seemed like the servants just hadn't spoken to Scarlett much and instead formed their opinions from the way she presented herself. The butler didn't appear to have any problems interacting with Scarlett after all, and the same went for the older lady who was the head servant.

But Allyssa also didn't want to draw conclusions just like that, so she'd mostly stayed quiet on the matter.

Soon enough, the three of them found themselves in the mansion's dining hall, which was a large space with a painted ceiling that often made Allyssa wonder whether the painter had been able to fly. Scarlett sat at the head of a long table at the center of the room, which had a beautifully decorated rug under it that Allyssa wished she could have a smaller version of for herself. Rosa was here as well, with Scarlett's old butler standing to the side next to the wall.

Nichol guided Allyssa and Shin to two of the chairs at the table before performing a short curtsy and leaving the room.

Allyssa looked over the table where a few trays of bread and a couple of simple pastries lay. It was a bit early for dinner, but this wasn't too bad.

"I imagine you have several questions," Scarlett said, breaking the silence that had been covering the room. Allyssa saw now that there was a large, furled-up piece of paper in front of the woman.

"Whatever could have given you that idea?" Rosa said with a sly smile. The woman had already helped herself to a piece of round bread that looked to be glazed with some kind of white cream.

"If you do not—" Scarlett gave the woman a look. "I suppose we can proceed to more vital matters without ado."

"Uh, I actually have a few questions." Allyssa raised her hand into the air. "If you're planning to explain what happened earlier."

"That depends." Scarlett's gaze slowly passed over both Allyssa and Shin. A small shiver passed down Allyssa's spine. "The simple truth is that the details of what occurred are not mine to share. However, as Fynn is currently indisposed, and matters have turned rather urgent, I have judged that certain exceptions have to be made. Be that as it may, me telling you this information is contingent on whether you can be trusted with it."

"Trusted?" Allyssa asked.

"Yes." Scarlett gave a short nod. "I am aware that, as Shielders, the two of you have certain obligations to uphold regarding reporting what you do during assignments. This is especially important when it comes to matters that you believe could signify danger to the common populace. Am I correct?"

"Yes, that is broadly how it works," Shin answered.

"Up till now, I have tried to take this into consideration when choosing the tasks we have carried out," Scarlett said. "There are certain matters that I have made sure to avoid having you learn of, as their confidentiality relates to both the prosperity of my household and domain, as well as their safety. And as with Fynn's situation, there are other things that I simply do not believe I should share without the explicit permission of those involved."

"Ehm, okay?" Allyssa wasn't sure what to say to that. "That makes sense?"

Most merchants, and presumably nobles, had trade secrets and things like that. This felt like it would go double for someone like Scarlett, who felt like she knew a lot of secrets.

"I shared some of what I knew with Kat because I deemed it vital that she knew of it. But I fear that choice has also meant that I have garnered more attention than I would have preferred," Scarlett said. "And while I will not explain the reasons behind it at this time, I am currently in a perilous position where the wrong type of attention could prove disastrous for both myself and any of my associates. You are all aware of what happened recently in the empire. I assume that by now, you have all understood that times of upheaval may very well soon be upon us."

Allyssa furrowed her brows. Because of what the Tribe of Sin did?

Scarlett paused for a moment, and her amber eyes pierced into Allyssa. "What I mean to say with this is that, if you are to continue aiding me with all that I do, there will be things which I must ask that you do not disclose to anyone, including the Shields Guild."

Both Allyssa and Shin turned quiet at that.

"I reckon this goes for me as well?" Rosa asked.

Scarlett turned to the woman. "It does. Although I did not expect you to share any such secrets to begin with."

"Oh? Why's that?" Rosa smirked. "I'm a fabled tattletale, you know. An old friend of mine once told me about a particular foot issue of his. Next morning, even the yokels next village over were singing ballads about quail-footed Kipp."

"That may be so." Scarlett showed little reaction. "But I have confidence that you will be able to suppress any such desires while you remain under my employ."

Rosa blinked at her words. "That's some trust you have there."

Allyssa looked away from them and turned to Shin when he nudged her arm. He leaned closer to her. "I think we should agree to what she's asking."

"Why?" she whispered back, feeling a little ridiculous. "I'm not saying we shouldn't, but I thought you would be against something like this."

Shin shook his head. "The Guild wants us to continue working for her as we have. Even if we were to agree to this, they would probably prefer it over the alternative."

"What? How do you know that?"

"Because the Baroness knows things the Guild doesn't. They want to maintain a relationship with her. That's why they let us join her here in Freybrook. Don't you remember that Kat said the same thing?"

Allyssa stared at him.

Wait, was that actually it? So she hadn't been crazy?

It was true that Kat had told them she thought it'd be good if they continued working for Scarlett when they'd met her. But Allyssa thought that was just because the two of them seemed to be friends.

"So," Scarlett's voice brought Allyssa out of her thoughts. "Have you reached a conclusion after your…deliberating?"

Feeling slightly embarrassed, Allyssa leaned away from Shin and sat upright in her seat, looking towards Scarlett at the head of the table.

"Ehm, yeah... I think so?"

"We can keep some things secret," Shin added. "As long as it's not anything illegal, or could get people injured."

Scarlett lowered her head. "That will not be an issue. I have no interest in such dealings to begin with."

"Then we shouldn't have a problem."

"Good. Then onto the matter at hand." Scarlett unfurled the piece of paper next to her over the table, gesturing across it. It looked like a map of the southwestern part of the empire, with mountains and forest taking up much of it. "While I will be brief on the details, Fynn is part of a tribe of people who made their homes in the Whitdown Mountains. As you have perhaps already noticed, he is not like us; he possesses certain traits and abilities that we lack."

Allyssa couldn't stop herself from smiling slightly when Rosa covered her mouth in mock surprise across the table.

"What happened today is due in part to a ritual that Fynn's people are required to go through when they mature." Scarlett continued. "However, as you observed, it is far from safe, both for those around him and for Fynn himself."

"It also appears somewhat hard to predict," Scarlett added after a moment, and Allyssa felt like she detected a hint of annoyance in the woman's voice.

"To prevent it from growing worse, Fynn has to visit an ancient sanctuary of his people and pass a trial." Scarlett pointed at the northeastern edge of the map. "There is a problem with this. The trial is not something that the current Fynn can survive on his lonesome."

"He has to clear a trial, but it's not something he can do by himself?" Rosa asked with a disbelieving expression. "Begs the question of who designed it. I'd certainly want a word with them, if I were in his position."

"I do not know why it is the way it is," Scarlett said. "Merely that it is, and that he will require our aid with this." The woman's gaze passed over them all. "It will be dangerous. There is also no guarantee that it will be enough, even with our assistance."

"Aren't there any more of his people that can help?" Allyssa asked.

Scarlett turned to her, voice cold. "There are not."

Allyssa's eyes widened. "Oh…"

She recalled Fynn's reaction when she had mentioned the Dragon Rampage.

"That being said." Scarlett's eyes turned to the side of the room, where the butler stood with his hands behind his back. "Garside. You were once a companion of my father, were you not?"

The grey-haired man bowed his head. "Yes, that is correct my Lady. It was a long time ago, however. Before you were born."

"That may well be so, but from what I have heard, my father was reputed for his prowess even since young. The same went for those who fought alongside him."

The man stayed quiet as Scarlett's gaze tore into him, rhythmically tapping her finger on the table.

"Have you ever taken the Shields Guild's proficiency test?" she asked.

His mustache trembled slightly as he spoke. "I have not, my Lady."

"Then, if you were to take it, what rank do you think you would compare to?"

"My skills are quite meager, my Lady. I am certain both you and Madame Evelyne will grow to surpass this old man before long."

"Be truthful, Garside. This could very well be a matter of life and death."

The butler stilled, his eyes fixed on Scarlett. "If so, my Lady... Is it truly necessary to endanger yourself so?"

"It is," Scarlett answered.

"I see..." he mumbled, lowering his gaze for a moment. "If that is the case." He looked up. "I believe I would compare roughly to those bearing the rank of A among the Shields Guild. I am quite unpracticed now, however."

Allyssa's eyes widened.

She'd met people his age who were still incredibly powerful—like old Graham—but they had a completely different air to them. She never would have expected him to be around an A-ranked Shielder in strength.

"I expected as much." Scarlett nodded slowly. "Then, Garside… Would you join us?"

A hesitant look appeared on the man's face. "I have long since sworn off most forms of violence, my Lady." He looked at Scarlett for a long while. "…But my oath to serve and defend the children of the late lord still holds precedence, I suppose. If you intend to depart on this perilous venture, then I will accompany you without objection."

Allyssa could have sworn she saw a small smile grow on Scarlett. "That heartens me to hear. Truly."

Chapter 71 - Extreme mountaineering

Scarlett held the thick wool shawl close as she looked out across the water. She stood at the bow of a ship, traveling northeast, down a steady stream that stretched out miles before her.

The Three Streams river was wide. Wider than any river she'd seen. They were close to the western bank, and the other shore was far in the distance, outlined by rocky outcroppings and the low, hilly area north of Kilsfell. It made for a rather dull scenery for any listless maritime passengers.

This was the first time she'd traveled on a body of water like this for any longer than a few minutes, and although it was a somewhat novel experience, she couldn't say she was especially fond of it. Seasickness hadn't proven to be an issue, fortunately, but it was much colder than she thought it would have been. Even though the sun stood high in the sky the temperatures were still declining as autumn began settling on the land. They had also been subjected to chilly winds for a while, which might have something to do with the large mountain range immediately to their west. Maybe. She wasn't a meteorologist, so she couldn't say.

The ship they were on wasn't particularly large, lacking all but a tiny sail at its center that felt far too small, even for this vessel. A group of rowers had been working hard for the few last hours to maintain their speed, though Scarlett imagined the river's flow helped a bit as well. Still, they weren't moving fast. She had long since stopped counting the larger ships she'd seen travel past them.

Unfortunately, this vessel had been their best option under their current circumstances.

They had taken the Kilnstone to Angersong Post earlier this morning, after her staff had somehow managed to arrange passage for their group. It had actually gone much faster than what she feared. But six days had still passed since Fynn's awakening, and they were probably skirting on the edge of what time they had left by now.

Scarlett had considered whether it wouldn't be quicker to charter a ship in Freybrook, making the journey all the way from there, but Fynn had been unconscious up till two days prior, and there also didn't seem to be many ships willing to stop near their destination.

So instead, after they'd arrived in Angersong Post earlier today—which turned out to be one of the few places that was no larger here than it had been in the game, not being much more than a village on a thin piece of arid land, with a small forest nearby—they had instead gathered up a bunch of the local men and convinced them to bring Scarlett's party up north with one of their ships. It had cost a few thousand solars to get things moving on such short notice, but she didn't really have the privilege to care about things like budgeting at the moment.

With Fynn having been unconscious for far longer than she had expected—possibly a consequence of them interrupting him when he was first awakening—the stress had built up. At one point, Scarlett had been afraid he wouldn't wake up in time at all, which would have spelled disaster. Then, when he did wake up, he'd appeared somewhat out of it. Scarlett had tried to roughly explain the situation, but he hadn't seemed to care much. Not even the fact that she had shared some of his past with the others had brought much reaction. Instead, he'd been entirely focused on leaving to deal with his awakening.

It had taken some real persuading on her part for him to wait until they could take the Kilnstone and the rest could join him. And he had been antsy ever since then.

Currently, he was sitting at the back of the ship, absorbed in his own little world. Scarlett assumed that was another consequence of the awakening itself, though she wasn't sure about the particulars. She just knew that the longer he went without performing the first trial in the Howling Gale's Haunt, the more it'd affect him. Eventually, he would lose control completely.

"We're pulling in near that cliff!" a gruff voice called out from the center of the vessel. Scarlett turned to look as a burly man pointed towards an outcropping to their left, shouting further orders at the men manning the ship.

Her eyes turned to the others in her party who also sat at the back. It was the only section of the ship that had space for them to sit around. She'd gone up to the bow because she was tired of huddling together with everybody, though it was only marginally better here with the wind beating at her. Garside had repeatedly gone up to check that things were alright, giving her this shawl, among other things.

Rosa had also refrained from sitting at the back. Instead, she was sitting on her lonesome on a small, uncomfortable-looking crate at the center of the ship, near the rowers. The bard had started the trip with her usual merry display, pulling jokes and playing songs for the crew to enjoy. But she'd stopped at some point when Scarlett wasn't paying attention, shifting to tuning her klert with a distant look on her face.

Scarlett was pretty sure it didn't take that long to tune the instrument.

She observed Rosa as the ship started moving closer to the shore. Her concerns regarding the woman had grown since talking with her the week before. This facet of her character wasn't something Scarlett had witnessed in the game, and it was always hard to judge the woman's state because of how she often carried herself. But it felt like these bouts of melancholy, or whatever it was, were growing more and more common.

Scarlett could probably understand where it came from, but it had still surprised her the first time she'd noticed it. She was still hoping it was just her imagination. Or that she was jumping to conclusions because of her game knowledge. There was enough on her plate with Fynn's issues right now, so if something else was to crop up, there wasn't a guarantee that she could deal with it.

Eventually, she shifted her gaze to the approaching shore. To the right of the cliff they were aiming toward, the shoreline consisted of a long bed of stones that stretched northwards. Following the bank with her eyes, she saw paths that led up to a more elevated area where there were signs of a settlement. They had reached Dimfrost.

The village was located close to the northern border of the Whitdown Mountains. Here, the closest mountaintops were actually visible, compared to how most of them had been hidden by clouds further down south. Soon, they'd be climbing up those mountains.

Overall, it took about ten minutes for the ship to get lodged on the stones in a safe enough manner that it wouldn't damage the ship and allow all the passengers to get off. Most of the crew also took this opportunity to rest on some of the larger rocks. After leaving Scarlett and her gang, they would soon continue back to Angersong Post. She had considered getting them to stay here until she and her party were finished, but she doubted she could get any of them to agree to that without paying a king's ransom.

She took one last look at her party. Allyssa and Shin were decked out in their usual Shielder attire, looking about as prepared as one could expect. Rosa had her klert strapped over her shoulder, back to wearing her usual smile now that things were moving again. Scarlett had procured some decent traveling attire for the woman, as well as giving her some simple magical equipment gathered from their different dungeon runs. It wasn't anything special, mostly just a couple of leather bracers and other items that raised some resistances and such, but it was the best they'd found for now.

Garside, in comparison, wore an interesting set of what looked like studded leather armor. Instead of leather, however, it was some sort of black fabric, similar to ordinary wool. It was clear he hadn't worn it for some time, being a bit too wide along some seams and around the shoulders. Still, it made the old butler look a lot more adventurous than Scarlett was used to. He was also in charge of the [Bag of Juham], which hung across his left shoulder.

She wasn't sure exactly what kind of armor it was, but he had assured her it had served him well through many conflicts in the past, and would be more than enough for him now. It was almost definitely better than anything she could give him, at least. And considering how he was probably the most powerful member of their group, that made sense.

She turned to the last in their group. Fynn was staring off towards the mountain peaks with a focused look, as if he was listening to something the others couldn't hear.

Scarlett was indeed stressed about the whole situation, but the usually innocent—if somewhat boorish—young man was without a doubt the one worst affected by the delay in getting here.

Finding that everyone seemed ready, they set out and followed the shore and climbed up the paths towards Dimfrost. At the top of a small hill was the building that Scarlett had spotted from the water. It looked to be an old outpost, presumably built to look out over the river. It was a small ramshackle shed with a stone fire pit next to it. Neither looked to have been used for a while.

Passing by, they continued up. When they reached the crest of the path they were climbing, they were afforded a view of a wide valley leading down to the northwest, surrounded by high cliffsides. Nestled in the valley was a village, with wooden and stone buildings spread out across the land. There weren't many people moving around however, and the far end of the valley was blocked off by a massive barrier of stone that almost looked like it might have been carved straight out of one of the nearby mountainsides.

"Is this Dimfrost?" Allyssa asked, gazing out over the valley.

"It is," Scarlett said. She turned to look at Fynn. "Do you wish to visit them before we continue?"

He fervently shook his head. "No. Not now. They'd want to come." He pointed to a narrow passage that began at the mouth of the valley, leading into the mountains to their left. "We don't have to enter the village at all."

Scarlett's eyes followed the path. It continued up the base of the nearest mountain but quickly disappeared among the steep ridges. It might not be an issue for Fynn and his people, but the thought of climbing all that certainly didn't enthuse her. While over a month of training had helped her get in much better shape than originally, she was still far off from what she would describe as 'athletic'.

She glanced back at Garside, who had an unreadable expression on his face.

He was pretty old as well. She had no idea if his strength—as, she presumed, a magic caster—did anything for his stamina. She also didn't have any stamina-boosting items to help. The only one she'd gotten so far was the [Plate of Torn Resilience], which sacrificed HP for stamina. And she'd sold that long ago.

There should be an item like that after defeating the first boss here in the Howling Gale's Haunt at least, so hopefully she'd get her hands on that. In the future, when she didn't have to prioritize other things, she might also have Allyssa make some stamina potions. For now, they would just have to make do, though.

She prayed that she didn't end up giving the old butler a stroke or something.

They set down towards the valley, veering off onto the path Fynn had pointed out. It was obvious Fynn wanted to go faster, but Scarlett had gotten him to promise not to go off on his own. While she knew where the Howling Gale's Haunt's entrance was in theory, the Whitdown Mountains were bound to be one of those places that was a lot larger in reality than it had been in 'Chronicle of Realms'. They didn't have time to search through the range by themselves just to find it, so his guidance was vital.

Thankfully, the path they were climbing wasn't as bad as she had feared. There was a clear trail up the foot of the mountain, which was relatively bare of trees and other vegetation. The section they were climbing also wasn't overly steep, so while she definitely had to pause to get her breath back at some sections—and was certain to feel some serious soreness in her legs later on—they made some good headway, with Fynn leading.

After about two hours of trekking, they reached an overhang where this section of the mountain connected with another, smaller mountain further into the range. Scarlett inwardly let out a sigh when they stopped near it. This part was another point on the list of things she wasn't terribly excited about.

Fynn looked down the steep precipice. "Now we go down."

The others all looked at him.

"...You're not serious, are you?" Allyssa asked.

"I am," he replied. He walked even closer to the edge, leaning over with almost his whole body—Scarlett felt deeply uncomfortable at the sight—and pointed down at the mountainside.

Scarlett didn't bother going closer and checking as the others did. She already knew what was there. A small crevice on the face of the mountain, which they would have to climb down to.

"We're going down there?" Allyssa sat down on her knees and peered over the edge, one hand firmly grasped around Shin's leg. "How?!"

Fynn gave her a bewildered look. "We climb?"

She stared at him. "We're hundreds of meters up, and there's barely anything to grab hold of here. We'll die if we fall!"

Fynn furrowed his brows. "I learned to do this when I was six."

Allyssa shook her head in disbelief. "The more I hear about you, the more amazed I am. Are you even human?"

Fynn looked like he was about to answer her, then paused and look at Scarlett. "I thought she told you? She already knows everything."

"I only shared what was necessary with them. If you wish to tell them more, that is up to you."

Scarlett was unsure what was going through his mind as he looked at her for several seconds.

"I think I might be able to make this climb, but not everyone can," Shin spoke up, gathering everyone's attention. He glanced at Scarlett. "Is there a plan?"

Garside took a step forward, clearing his throat. "I believe this is where I involve myself. My Lady has already prepared for this scenario." He pulled off the [Bag of Juham] hanging over his shoulder and extracted a set of thick ropes, iron pitons, and leather belts to tie it all to.

Scarlett had asked him to procure it all before they left and, remembering what it had been like when she last did this with Kat, took some extra precautions this time. The butler had given her an odd look at the request, but as with most things, he carried out her order without issue. He also seemed to have a flair for the dramatic she hadn't known about, judging from how he announced it like that.

His exact thoughts regarding this whole situation were a mystery, however. She knew he'd been in contact with Evelyne about things, but she didn't know how much the younger Hartford sister had shared about their situation. It certainly seemed like the old man had accepted the sudden changes in Scarlett's personality with grace, at least. And for now, that was enough for her.

"Well, well~" Rosa hummed as she picked up one of the ropes. "I expected no less from our resident Baroness."

Scarlett saw Garside frown slightly at the woman's speech, but he stayed quiet.

"It'll still take a while to get down there," Shin said, peering over the cliff edge. "If we're doing it safely like this, it'll probably take up to an hour."

Fynn scowled. "What?"

"We can't all go down at once. Preparing all the equipment and a way to climb down will also take a while."

"That's too slow." Fynn's tone grew serious."We need to get there faster. They're calling."

"Who's they?" Allyssa asked, but Fynn didn't answer. Instead, his eyes focused on Scarlett and the edge, moving back and forth between them.

For a second, Scarlett thought he was thinking about continuing on alone, but just as she was about to speak, he stepped closer to her and lifted her up in his arms. Her eyes widened. "What are you—"

A cry escaped her as the air surged up around them and Fynn leaped off the edge. A sinking feeling tore its home in her stomach as their speed increased at a terrifying rate. Her mind froze for a moment at the stone protrusions on the ground moving closer, and she unwillingly closed her eyes as she reflexively activated [Sidhe's Flowing Garbs]. Suddenly a powerful gust pushed at them from underneath and the side, followed by a jolt through her entire body as they landed on hard ground.

Opening her eyes, she saw they were now inside the crevice.

As Fynn let her down on the ground, Scarlett had to take a moment just to regain her balance, feeling a tide of anger well up from inside.

She turned to glare at Fynn. "Never do that again without my permission."

He paused and gaped at her, quietly opening and closing his mouth. As if he didn't realize what he'd just done wrong.

She felt a serious urge to teach the little fool a lesson and snap at him some more, but she forced herself to rein some of it in as she took a deep breath. Her heart was beating like crazy, and she'd seriously thought she was going to die there for a moment. Voices could be heard calling out from above.

After taking a short while to calm down, she looked back at Fynn. "Return up and inform them that I am fine. If it is within your abilities, you can also bring them down in the same manner. However," she stressed the last word and locked eyes with him. "Make certain that you do not do so without both a warning and their explicit approval."

He looked back at her with was probably a mix between embarrassment and displeasure—which just made her even more irritated—but soon gave her a brief nod and disappeared out the opening of the cave.

She let out an audible sigh as he left. It didn't matter how much more efficient it was. This was most definitely worse than last time with Kat.

Turning away from the opening, she looked deeper inside the crevice. It was a few meters wide at the mouth, continuing just far enough into the mountain for the light from outside to not reach all the way. She put her hand down to her waist, where her [Pouch of Holding] was tightly fastened, and pulled out a pair of black-tinted glasses. Putting them on, she squinted her eyes as the light from outside grew marginally stronger and the surrounding darkness cleared up significantly.

There was a stone obelisk placed at the far end of the crevice, with peculiar markings etched into its face. Several of them resembled fangs and wolves, but she wasn't sure about the rest. They were centered on a circular space on the stone that had been carved into the shape of a handprint.

A loud scream sounded out from behind as Scarlett felt the wind flow past her. She turned to see Fynn land at the opening with a flustered Allyssa in his arms. The young Shielder quickly climbed off him, hand pressed against her chest. Fynn himself immediately disappeared once again.

"I take it you are not fond of heights?" Scarlett asked, stepping over to the girl.

"I don't mind as long as I'm not falling down them." Allyssa raised her free hand to fix her hair, also checking that her goggles were still there.

Scarlett gave a slow nod. "I am inclined to agree."

The young Shielder's gaze moved past Scarlett and into the darkness behind her. "Wait, does this even lead anywhere?"

"It does."

Allyssa gave her a surprised look, but seemed to accept it without further questions. She pointed at Scarlett. "Are those the enchanted glasses you ordered?"

"They are, yes." Scarlett touched them with a finger. "They are quite useful. If you are curious, however—" She waved her hand and conjured a large sphere of fire closer to the roof. Its bright, orange light swallowed the dark darkness surrounding them.

Allyssa blinked a few times, but then her eyes moved towards the stone obelisk. "What's that?"

"That is a good question," Scarlett replied, looking towards the obelisk. "Perhaps we should wait for the others before we pursue the matter any further, however."

They did not have to wait long, as within a few minutes, Fynn had climbed up and jumped down with the other members of their party. Seeing him carry an old man like Garside—in what almost amounted to a princess carry—was certainly a sight to behold, though Scarlett wasn't quite sure if the amusement she derived from the odd sight was enough to assuage the remaining irritation she felt towards the young man.

"Fynn," she eventually said as their group pressed together in the crevice's opening, with Fynn having placed himself the furthest away from Garside. While the butler had stayed quiet down here, Scarlett had her suspicions that he'd had some choice words to share with Fynn back up at the top. "I believe it might be time for you to demonstrate what it is we must do next."

Fynn threw one look at her, then started walking deeper into the crevice. "It's simple," he said, stopping in front of the obelisk. Raising his hand, he touched it to the center of the stone where the handprint was. A brief flash of light filled the space as he vanished.

The others all stared on.

"Is... Is that a Kilnstone?" Allyssa asked.

"I do not believe so," Scarlett said.

"But it just teleported him somewhere, didn't it?!"

"The Kilnstones are not the only artifacts capable of magical translocation. Have you forgotten the pavilion in Temisbrook Glade?"

"Oh...right."

"So, we're following wolf-boy through that, then?" Rosa gestured towards the obelisk.

Scarlett started walking towards the stone object. "It would appear that is our only avenue."

"Is it safe?" Allyssa asked.

Scarlett stopped in front of it, throwing one last glance back at the others. "I would certainly hope so," she said and raised her hand.

Garside stepped forward. "My Lady, wai—"

Her palm touched the cold stone and everything turned white.

Chapter 72 - Haunts & wolves

When she opened her eyes again, Scarlett found herself at the top of a platform on the side of a mountain. Spread out before her were countless white peaks continuing for miles, jutting up towards the skies with deep, snow-filled canyons between them.

To her right, gazing above some of the lower mountaintops, she saw hints of grey highlands in the far distance. Facing forward, closer than the highlands but still only barely visible on the horizon, she saw a large area of discolored land, best described as a scar. Burnt and desolate, massive fissures ran along the ground for what had to be thousands of meters on end. It struck a stark contrast with the mountain range and its surroundings. She couldn't fault them for calling it the Blasted Lands.

A light appeared next to Scarlett, and Garside materialized from thin air. The old man's eyes darted around for a second before settling on her. "My Lady, please. I ask that you refrain from exposing yourself to unnecessary risk. Please allow me to investigate any dangerous unknowns first."

"I understand your concern," she said, finding his immediate reaction somewhat amusing. "And I dislike needlessly endangering myself as much as you. There was, however, no need for such worries this time. As you can see, it was completely safe."

The butler didn't look exactly pleased by her response, but he seemed to accept her words as he lowered his head. Scarlett turned her attention back to their surroundings. The platform was made of simple stone, but it seemed to have been cut out of the mountain itself somehow, creating a balcony sticking out of the mountainside. At its center stood an obelisk, like the one back in the crevice, with the same symbols carved onto its face.

Another light appeared, and Rosa emerged next to them. The bard opened and closed her eyes, gazing out across the mountain range stretching out before them.

"Wow... That's some view," she said, then hugged her arms close to her body. "But it sure is cold."

Scarlett gestured to Garside. "Give her something warmer."

The butler bowed and stepped up to Rosa, pulling out a thick coat from the [Bag of Juham] and handing it to the woman.

While the winds weren't too bad at the moment, they'd likely grow worse at some point. The air up here was also a lot cooler than where they had been before. Breathing in, Scarlett found herself surprised at how much thinner it felt as well. How high up were they, actually? Now that she thought about it, shouldn't her ears have popped or something along those lines from teleporting this high so suddenly? Or considering the difference in pressure at these heights, it might have been even worse.

…Maybe she should have been a bit more careful about touching that obelisk. Relying on some ancient civilization to always have thought about these things for her might not be the best way of approaching matters.

She accepted a thick coat from Garside as he pulled out another from the bag, pulling it tight around herself. While the cold here wasn't unbearable, she found herself wishing some of the items she'd gathered up till now would have had frost resistance. [Mark of the Gale] was the only such item she'd found yet, so warm clothes were the only way of handling the cold she had at the moment.

Soon enough, two more flashes of light announced the appearance of Shin and Allyssa, who were also given clothes by Garside.

Fynn came walking over from the edge of the platform and pointed to a long stone path that continued up the mountain. "We're going there next," he said and began moving.

"Wait," Allyssa called out. "Where exactly are we?"

He glanced back at her. "My home."

She stared at him. "You live in these mountains?"

"I used to."

Shin looked around. "Judging from the surroundings, I'm guessing we're somewhere close to the center of Whitdown Mountains?"

"Yes. This is Grehazant," Fynn said. "The second largest peak."

Shin raised his eyebrows. "I didn't know there was a name for it."

"It has always had one. It means fang of the gale, or gale's fang. I don't think you in the empire use it, though." Fynn gave them all one last look, then turned around. "Come. We have to go now."

Scarlett and the others followed him as he started walking toward the path he'd pointed out, and soon they were climbing up the mountain. The path was rough, but it wasn't too steep, and they continued for some time. The further they got from the platform, the more the winds began fluctuating in strength, and Scarlett regularly opened and pulled her coat closed to regulate the heat as they moved. Eventually, they reached a wide plateau where the path diverged.

In one direction was a stone staircase, leading into a low canyon too steep to see much from their current vantage point. It was guarded by a stone statue on each side, both depicting wolves howling up at the sky. Both had large cracks running through their fronts, though, and one had lost most of its back half.

Fynn ignored the staircase and followed the other path, that seemed to continue up the mountain.

Scarlett considered the statues as she trailed behind Fynn when she heard Allyssa's voice from behind.

"Rosa? What's wrong?"

Turning around, Scarlett saw Rosa standing completely frozen, staring at the statues.

Allyssa put a hand on the woman's shoulder. "Rosa?"

The woman flinched, turning to Allyssa. For a moment, it didn't seem like she was truly seeing the Shielder. After blinking a few times, Rosa's focus seemed to return, and she shook her head with a smile. "Never mind me. I just thought I saw something over there. My mind's just playing tricks on me."

Allyssa squinted her eyes and looked toward the wolf statues. "What's over there?" she asked, turning to Fynn.

He looked back at them. "…Nothing. Nothing at all. Not anymore."

Allyssa turned quiet, and Fynn started walking again.

Scarlett stayed back for a moment, regarding Rosa. "Is everything okay, Miss Hale?"

"Yeah. 'Course it is. I'm fine." The woman chuckled. "Fit as a fiddle, even. All this mysterious exploring just has me a bit too eager, that's all. It's not every day you get paid for climbing a mountain, you know?"

"...I am glad to hear that."

While she said that, the woman's smile didn't seem as convincing as it usually did.

"I believe we should continue onwards," Scarlett said. "We would not want to keep Fynn waiting."

Rosa performed an exaggerated bow. "After you, my Lady."

Scarlett clicked her tongue as she turned around, continuing after Fynn and the others. Soon they were back to climbing up the side of the mountain once more. The path now was a lot harsher than before, growing more and more irregular the longer they progressed. As did Scarlett's breathing. Compared to before, this part was quickly pushing her limits as the ache in her legs was growing worse.

Even the others were starting to have a hard time—excluding Fynn—and it didn't help that every breath eventually started feeling like it was filling one's lungs with thin ice. Thankfully, Rosa eventually decided it wasn't worth saving the mana and started playing short tunes on her klert that eased the worst of it and filled them all with energy. The magic only worked in bursts, but by spreading it out over longer intervals, and taking short water breaks now and then—during which Scarlett was incredibly thankful for her hydrokinesis—they managed to make good progress without Scarlett feeling like she would topple over and die at any moment.

After a few hours, the path leveled out as they reached a terrace of finely cut stone. It was situated on a large overhang, where a section of the mountain seemed to balance over a sharp precipice. The floor of the terrace was covered in the same markings that had been on the obelisk, cleanly carved into the stone. Furthest in on the terrace, cut into the face of the mountain, were several large stone protrusions. Each bore lifelike illustrations of wolves. Some of a wolf running at the forefront of a storm, while others depicted a giant wolf standing before a group of people. There was even one where a wolf stood atop the peak of a mountain, peering out at another mountain peak that had a humongous dragon nestled atop it.

"Wow..." a sound of awe left Allyssa's mouth.

The quality of the carvings certainly was impressive. That, coupled with the view of the mountain range afforded to them, gave everything a certain grandeur to it. It had the makings of an epic fairytale.

Allyssa pointed at one of the other mountain peaks that towered above all of its neighbors. While their mountain also dwarfed most of the others nearby, this one stretched even higher. "Is that the same mountain as on that carving?" she asked.

Fynn stopped to look at where she was pointing. "It is. That is Haetrach," he said.

"And what does that mean?" Shin asked. "If Grehazant was gale's fang."

Fynn's expression distorted. "…It means grand dragon. But that's not important now. We have to start the trial."

Allyssa looked around. "Is this where the trial is?"

"No." Fynn walked towards the middle of the stone protrusions, where there was an indentation in the stone, shaped like an arched door.

Scarlett looked on as he stopped in front of it and raised his right hand. The white ring on his finger took on a bright glow, and the frigid air around them surged up. The stone in front of Fynn started glowing to match his ring, growing brighter by the second. Finally, an explosion of light engulfed them as the stone disappeared and a torrent of wind rushed past them into the gap.

Fynn looked back at them. "It's open."

Garside stared into the entrance behind Fynn with a knitted forehead. His mustache trembled as he turned to look at Scarlett. "My Lady, are you certain continuing here is wise? This is all very…unusual."

"I am certain, yes." She understood that, from his perspective, all of this would seem incredibly strange. "There are few other alternatives at this point."

Besides, wasn't this a bit too late to start complaining about the unusualness of the situation?

Scarlett started walking, following Fynn as he went inside. They entered a spacious, unlit passage. She conjured a fire for some light. The space shared a lot of similarities with the old ruins she'd explored with Kat outside of Whistlecreek. Murals covered the walls with the same kind of symbols and illustrations as outside. It all spoke a lot of the people who'd gone to so much effort to create this place. Insane fools they were, creating trials like these.

At least there shouldn't be any traps here, as far as Scarlett was aware.

"This place feels a little eerie," Allyssa mumbled as she came in behind them.

Shin stepped in after her. "Who built it?" he asked, examining the murals.

"The ancestors," Fynn said, his voice echoing off the walls as he moved ahead.

Shin ran his gauntleted hand over a picture of a wolf running through a field of grass. "And whose ancestors is that?"

"Mine?" Fynn answered. The young man stopped for a moment, looking back at them. "They're getting impatient. We have to move faster."

"I get that they're antsy, being dead and all that, but a short rest couldn't hurt, could it?" Rosa said. The woman wore an uncharacteristically tense face, as she seemed to avoid looking anywhere but straight ahead. "I'm in some real need of it, after using all that mana earlier."

"We can't." Fynn continued forward.

"Alright then." Rosa's murmur was barely audible. "Happy thoughts it is..."

"Would you care for a mana potion?" Scarlett asked.

The bard turned to her with a surprised look. "You have any?"

Scarlett nodded. "Allyssa prepared two of them." She pulled out a dark vial from her [Pouch of Holding], handing it to the woman. A [Mana Potion].

She'd originally intended to have Allyssa prioritize making health potions in case something unexpected happened, but considering Fynn's awakening, she had judged it good to have some mana potions as well. Unfortunately, Allyssa only had time to make two of them, one of which was a [Minor Mana Potion]. In addition, Scarlett didn't know how much mana they restored, since she couldn't afford to test them out before going here.

Rosa shook the vial delicately as she studied its contents. She pulled the cork off and sniffed it. "There's no smell." She took a short sip. A grimace formed on her face, but she still turned the vial upside down to drink the rest. "Tastes like sour cranberries."

Allyssa reached out a hand to receive the empty vial from Rosa, putting it inside a pocket in her cloak. "I don't know how to change the taste that much."

"...Feels good though," Rosa added after a moment. "You wouldn't happen to be able to spare the last one?"

Scarlett glanced down at her pouch. She pulled out the other potion and handed it to Rosa as well. The second one was something she'd preferred to keep for herself, but Rosa's abilities were more important for the group. Scarlett was also worried about what might happen otherwise, considering the signs the bard was showing.

Rosa downed the second mana potion quickly, and their group continued their delve deeper inside. It didn't take long for them to reach a large oval chamber that split off into two different paths. One to the right, and one to the left.

Unlike many of the other dungeons in 'Chronicle of Realms', the Howling Gale's Haunt was divided into three separate sections, and it was impossible to clear them all at the same time. Each section could only be unlocked if you both had Fynn with you, and he had reached a high enough level to have the relevant awakening. This also meant that the sections themselves were relatively short and lacked any real trash mobs like other dungeons might have.

Scarlett shifted her gaze from one path to the other, then pointed to the left one. "I believe it is best if we begin with that passage."

"Is the other one wrong?" Allyssa asked.

"Not exactly, no. We will have to traverse both paths, but it is safer to begin with one."

In the game, both passages had a mini-boss at their end, and you had to defeat both of them to unlock the way to the last boss.

Scarlett started moving towards the left opening.

"Wait," Fynn called out. "They're saying we should split up."

Scarlett stopped, turning to him. "…What?"

"They're saying one group should go to the left, and the other to the right."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "We will not be doing that."

His brows deepened into a frown. "But they're saying we should."

Allyssa gave him a strange look. "You keep mentioning they. Who's they?"

"The ancestors," Fynn said.

"Wait, you mean they're actually talking to you? Like, literally?"

"Yes." Fynn nodded. "And they want us to split up."

Scarlett crossed her arms. "What they want does not matter. We will not be separating."

Fynn gave her a bewildered look. "But I have to pass the trial."

"That is not part of the trial," she said. "If we were to divide ourselves into two groups, it is unlikely that both groups will survive."

Fynn's expression deepened even further. He looked to the side as if he was listening to someone. "They're...saying we're too many. If you want to help with the trial, they want you to prove yourselves. So we have to split up."

Scarlett scowled.

That didn't even make sense. If they were too many, why would it be acceptable just because they proved themselves? That just meant things would be even easier during the boss itself. This couldn't actually be a part of the trial, could it? Even if it was, she couldn't accept it. It was far too dangerous. Failing the trial would be preferable to accepting such an enormous risk.

"We will move as a group, no matter what nonsensical thoughts they have regarding it."

Things went quiet. Then Fynn's eyes widened. "T-They say they can't accept that."

"That may be so," Scarlett began. "But th—"

The wind swelled up around them and she froze as a cold aura filled the chamber.

She locked her gaze on Fynn. "What are you doing?"

He shook his head. "I-It's not me."

The ring on his finger turned a bright white and the wind suddenly intensified, rising into a violent tempest. Scarlett rushed to activate [Sidhe's Flowing Garbs] just as a torrent of wind crashed into her. The cries of the others rang out as she slammed into the ground, and a terrifying cracking sound reverberated throughout the room. She stared up as several fractures formed on the ceiling above. The wind continued pressing against her, stopping her from getting up. A moment later, the entire chamber rumbled as the middle section of the ceiling tore off, a cascade of stone following.

Everything shook as a cloud of dust and darkness spread around her. She coughed heavily as the wind settled, hurrying to take out her enchanted glasses from the pouch and put them on. She saw Shin and Rosa lying near her, but there were no signs of the others. A mountain of stone now blocked the center of the room, closing off both the other end of the chamber and the exit.

They were stuck.

Chapter 73 - Between a rock and a hard place

Scarlett's eyes were locked on the wall of stone, blocking them off. A groan escaped from beside her, where Rosa was slowly raising herself from the ground.

"H-Hello?" the woman's voice called out quietly.

Shin grunted in response. "I'm here. Anyone else?"

The sound of stone grinding against stone sounded out. Scarlett looked back as Shin pushed aside a large stone that had landed on him. The side of his chest piece was bent inward.

"…There are only the three of us," she said after a moment. She conjured a fire to clear away some of the darkness for the two of them.

The young man pushed himself to his feet, walking over to where his shield had landed on the ground. "I'm guessing whatever happened was because of those ancestors Fynn was talking about?" he asked as he picked the shield up, giving it a quick inspection.

"…Presumably." Scarlett forced herself up as well. The fall had been violent, but [Sidhe's Flowing Garbs] had done a good job protecting her. Getting her hands on the [Lifeblood's Eternal Circuit] was really proving itself to have been a wise choice. But it wouldn't do anything to help them in their current situation. She pointed to the mountain of stone at the center of the room. "Can you open a path?"

Shin studied the barrier. "I doubt it. Fynn is the only one who could move some of these stones, and I think it'd be too much even for him, from what I've seen. We also can't trust in him being able to try, if these 'ancestors' can intervene like this."

Scarlett clenched her teeth. That was true. But what the hell were they supposed to do now then? Would they have to beat the mini-boss by themselves? Her eyes roamed across the walls of the chamber, but she couldn't spot any other way out, nor did she know of any from the game.

Damn it. She didn't even know if the others were safe. Could the cave-in have hit any of them? Fynn was bound to be safe, but she wasn't sure about Allyssa and Garside.

"What happens if we're too slow with clearing the trial?" Shin asked.

Scarlett turned to him. "…Fynn could lose control once more. But I fear it would not be as tame this time."

"That's tame?" Shin frowned. "Then Allyssa and the others would all be in danger."

"...Yes."

Right, there was no point in jumping to conclusions when they couldn't do anything about it. They had to assume the others were safe, which meant they couldn't take it slow and try to find another way out. Judging from how Fynn had acted when making their way here, they were pressed for time.

She looked towards the passage that continued further inside the dungeon. "It appears as if we are left with only one alternative…"

Shin walked over to the opening. "What's at the end of this path?"

"A powerful foe. There should be another one on the opposing side. If both were to be defeated, I believe we could meet with the others again."

He looked at her. "Are you sure?"

"It does not matter how confident I am. It is the only route I can think of under our current circumstances."

"Does Fynn know about this as well?"

Scarlett knitted her brows. "I am…uncertain. Regardless, it does not matter. He will attempt to defeat it, nonetheless."

"But can they do it?"

"Most likely, yes." At least if they had Garside with them.

Shin tapped his foot against the stone, peering down the dark passage. "So it's up to us then. Do you think we have a chance?"

She walked up beside him, pulling out her [Wand of Fireball] from her pouch, along with two [Health Potions] that she held out. "I cannot say. And I was not willing to venture our safety on such an unknown."

He accepted the potions, placing them in a thick pouch on his waist. "But you know what kind of opponent it is?"

"To a certain degree." She tried to recall the features of these mini-bosses. "As far as I am aware, it is a type of warg, with no particular weaknesses. It should not be overly fast, but its strength will be too much for you to beat on your lonesome. Its howl can shake the spirits of those who hear it."

In the game, it had been level 55. Garside might be able to take one by himself—depending on how strong he was compared to A-ranked Shielders—but for the rest of them, it was highly unlikely.

"With this shield, and Rosa's support, I might be able to withstand it," Shin said, holding up the shield taken from Temisbrook Glade. "That means it'll be up to you to wear it down."

Scarlett pressed her lips together. She wasn't sure if she could wear it down. She hadn't tried her magic out against anything of that level yet. And the effect of her [Charms of Apperception] likely wouldn't work against it, since it was above level 50. This meant one of her main avenues of dealing damage was severely hampered. She had never expected she would fight opponents of this level this early to begin with.

She turned back to look at Rosa, who had been unusually quiet for a while now. "Miss Hale?"

Rosa's back was turned to them, and she wasn't moving.

"Miss Hale?" Scarlett called again, slowly walking up to the woman. She reached out a hand and touched the bard's shoulder.

Rosa startled, spinning around to stare at her. "W-What?"

Scarlett's eyes narrowed, focusing on the area under the woman's eyes. It had turned a pitch darker. She'd been afraid of this. She met Rosa's eyes. "Are you okay?"

Rosa blinked slowly, twice, her gaze refocusing. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit shaken. Almost had the ceiling fall on my old noggin, after all." She glanced at the center of the chamber, then looked around them. "Where are the others?"

Scarlett forced her expression to remain neutral. "They are trapped on the other side. If we are to continue, we will have to traverse down that passage and defeat a beast waiting there."

"I see." Rosa peeked over her shoulder. "Is that all? Why don't we get moving then?"

Scarlett took a step in front of the woman before she could move anywhere. "This will be dangerous. Truly dangerous. And while I do not wish to be crass, you do not appear to be in your best state."

Rosa paused. She gave Scarlett a long look, before smiling weakly. "I'm a bit tired, yeah. Those mana potions must not have been enough. If we could rest for an hour or two, I'm sure I'd be right as rain again."

"Unfortunately, that is not an alternative. We do not know how much time we have, but we cannot dawdle."

"Is that right?" Rosa let out a light chuckle. "Then I guess I'll just have to grit my teeth for a bit."

"...Will you be alright?"

The woman leaned down and picked up her klert from the ground. She patted it on the side. "Of course. I've fought through hangovers worse than this. And from the sounds of it, we don't have much other choice, do we? Besides, I've gotta live up to my name, don't I?"

Scarlett eyed her. She knew Rosa was far from 'well' right now. But the woman might be able to fight through it for the time being. And the fact was that they wouldn't stand a chance without her. Waiting was also too risky. In fact, it was likely to make Rosa's situation even worse.

"Take this," Scarlett said, pulling off her [Ring of Umbral Defiance] and handing it to Rosa. The dark-type resistance it gave helped defend against most types of mental attacks, which could prove helpful in the upcoming fight. It might be a relatively low-level item, but it was better than nothing. And right now, it looked like Rosa had more need of it than her.

She turned away from the bard and walked up to Shin. They would just have to hope that Rosa could make it through the fight. As long as they survived that, Scarlett had a couple of emergency measures she could take to deal with whatever situation might emerge.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then set her sights down the passage. "Let us move."

Shin went at the front, with Scarlett and Rosa following a few steps behind. They relied on Scarlett's magic to light the way, but she kept her enchanted glasses on in case something happened.

The passage continued for a short while, eventually opening up into a wide, circular room. Unlike the rest of the dungeon, which had clearly been built by somebody, this looked more like a natural cave. The walls were damp and uneven, with jagged rocks jutting out here and there, and sunlight shone in through a hole in the ceiling. It was concentrated in the center of the room, where a large, curled-up shape with jet-black fur lay, tail in front. Behind the figure, at the far end of the room, was a set of closed stone doors.

The wolf—or rather, the warg—looked up as Shin stepped into the room. The young man raised his shield as he readied his sword.

The beast climbed up on all fours and bared its fangs, letting out a low growl. It stood at roughly the same height as him.

Shin threw one last glance back at them. Scarlett nodded at him, and he took off towards the warg.

Scarlett conjured four Aqua Mines in front of the boss, aiming for its eyes. The warg ran straight through the mines with its head lowered before she could detonate them. Notes rang out from beside her, forming a discordant unity as they reached the warg. Scarlett saw how a grey luster attached itself to the boss, its movements slowing just as it bore down upon Shin.

He held up his shield, catching its teeth on the edges of the metal. The warg's legs kicked off from the ground as it tried to reach past the shield, forcing him several steps back. Scarlett summoned more Aqua Mines, all larger than usual, and detonated them as soon as she could. Waves of steaming water crashed into the beast's sides, but it didn't show any reaction as it continued pushing against Shin.

As she'd feared, she couldn't see through its defense at all with her [Charms of Apperception], so all of her attacks were essentially a shot in the dark. As Shin tried to force the warg's head aside with the shield, Scarlett felt a rush of power stream through her body as another of Rosa's tunes played out. A moment later, Shin knocked the beast's head away just long enough for him to cut forward with his sword. The warg leaped back, passing right through the wall of high-intensity fire Scarlett had conjured behind it.

A loud yelp echoed out across the room as Scarlett let the flames dissipate. Parts of the boss' fur had been singed by the attack, but it was much less than she'd hoped, and using her fire like that was incredibly costly. But at least this meant she could hurt it.

A silver light gradually began forming around Shin's sword. Scarlett recognized it and hurried to form another wall of fire between him and the boss to buy him an extra second. A moment later, the warg came running around the wall. Now, however, its sights seemed to be set on her instead. As she dispelled her firewall, she raised her [Wand of Fireball].

"No you don't!" Shin shouted as he cut in from the side, the light around his sword spread out before him like a brilliant lance. The weapon slashed straight into the warg's midriff, but it was only enough to create a gash as the silvery lance dissolved in the air. The beast spun towards him with a growl, its mouth shooting out to bite into the young man's outstretched arm. He let out a scream as its teeth tore through the metal on his bracers.

Scarlett cast two fireballs in immediate succession, aiming at the side of the warg to avoid hitting Shin. Fiery explosions burst forth, and the warg released its grip on the young Shielder. Unfortunately, the spells didn't seem to cause any actual damage. Was the spell too low level? Or was it her pyromancy that was too low?

She pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind as she raised her hand to conjure a low-intensity wall of fire between Shin and the warg, hoping it'd be enough to hold it off for a moment. The warg gave the flames a wary look as Rosa ran forward, stopping a few steps in front of Scarlett. A mellow tune sounded out from the woman's instrument as a purple light soon enveloped Shin.

The boss' attention turned away from the fire, to where they stood.

Shit.

Scarlett pushed her hand into her pouch as the warg started running towards them. She quickly detonated as many Aqua Mines as she could to block its path as she tried to delay the warg, but it effortlessly dodged past most of them, charging through the rest. Rosa ran to the side, but the warg kept its eyes locked on Scarlett.

She hadn't thought she could outrun this for even a second. She pulled out her hand from the pouch, holding a small glass bauble in her palm, and willed the object into the air. A small connection formed with the water at the center of the object, enough for her to steer it straight towards the warg as it came at her. Then, at the last second, she formed another high-intensity wall of fire between them and threw herself to the side.

A crack rang out, and something tore into her side. She could feel how [Sidhe's Flowing Garb] fought against the blow and a burst of pain shot out from her abdomen. Landing roughly on the stone, she heard loud whimpering from behind her. She looked back at the warg to see it throwing its head back and forth, as several large spots on its face were beset by dark flames.

While Scarlett had focused on having Allyssa make health potions, that didn't mean the young Shielder only made those. Scarlett had wanted to experiment, and Allyssa just happened to know several concoctions that were both highly flammable and hard to extinguish.

A purple light enveloped her and the pain from her side lessened considerably as she felt Rosa's magic suffuse her. Her injury closed itself within moments.

At the same time, Shin came running with sword raised, cutting down towards the distracted warg. The blade cut into its behind, leaving a wound and removing some singed fur, but it was hardly enough to bring the boss down. It snarled, its head spinning like a mallet and slamming into Shin's shield with enough force to knock him back several steps. One of its eyes had been completely burnt by the flames. The other appeared to remain intact, but was closed. Despite that, it seemed to pinpoint Shin without issue as it leaped at him once again.

Scarlett crawled away and hurried to her feet as Shin exchanged more blows with the warg, aided by more of Rosa's boosting magic. She stopped when the warg jumped back several meters, lowering down onto its haunches. It let out a low howl that quickly rose in strength. She covered her ears as the noise grew louder, an inkling of dread rising from within, before suddenly spluttering out into nothingness.

The warg she'd fought back in Whistlecreek had a similar attack, but it had been equally ineffective against her. Still, this one was much louder. She clenched her teeth as she looked to Shin and Rosa, who were both frozen from the attack. So much for lending Rosa that ring.

While mental attacks in general had proved relatively fruitless against Scarlett—for reasons she wasn't entirely sure of yet—she had no good way of protecting others from them.

She fought through the pain in her ears until the warg finally stopped howling, then immediately lowered her hands and created scores of Aqua Mines in front of it. Torrents of water blasted into its face and the warg snarled as it jumped back. It growled in her direction, eye still closed as the fur on its snout burned. The damage from her mines was minimal compared to what the alchemical concoction did, but she certainly got its attention.

"Rosa! Shin!" she called out, but neither of her allies stirred.

She conjured another wall of fire when she saw the warg move, this time encasing it entirely to buy as much time as possible. She used her wand to cast two fireballs for good measure before running up to Shin. He was staring straight ahead, eyes filled with a strange haze.

She shook his shoulder.

"This is no time to idle!" she snapped. There was no reaction. She threw a look back towards the boss. Her cage of fire was consuming massive amounts of mana, but at least the warg seemed to be afraid of her magic. But it wouldn't matter if she couldn't wake up the others. She turned back to Shin with a scowl. How strong was this effect? The debilitating howl of wargs in the game had usually just been a debuff or a short stun, but this was much more than that. Was it because they were all so much weaker than the warg?

Not knowing what else to do, she threw her hand up and slapped Shin across the face. "Focus!" she yelled as she did it again, noticing a small response. She shook him even more, and his eyes slowly regained their clarity.

He turned to her with a disoriented expression.

Scarlett pointed behind her. The warg had finally had enough, it seemed, and jumped straight through her flames to escape from its temporary confinement. She quickly dispelled her flames to save what little mana she had left. She glanced to the side.

[Mana: 467/4474]

Maybe she should have saved some of those mana potions for herself. Rosa was still out of the fight.

The warg let out another howl, this one without any magic behind it, as it ran towards them. Shin shook his head and pushed Scarlett back as he stepped forward to meet the attack. The warg dove into him with all its strength and the two of them flew back. It landed on top of Shin and he let out a scream as claws tore into his sides, its jaws repeatedly trying to get past his shield.

Scarlett pulled out a second of those glass baubles from her pouch. It was the last one she had. Raising it up, she used this opening to crash it into the warg, where Shin had caused the first wound. The glass splattered and a transparent liquid spread over the injury. A small mental effort on Scarlett's part was all it took to light it up with a flame.

The warg roared at the sudden fire tearing into its side and got off of Shin. The young Shielder was covered in blood as he shakily pushed himself off the ground, left hand now limp to the side as he held up just his sword.

The warg bounced around like mad now, trying to put out the fires across its body, but all it succeeded in was spreading smoke around the room. Scarlett could actually see how parts of its face were beginning to pull off where the flames were touching. While she couldn't be completely sure about it, the defenses around that area must be weakening. "Target its face!" she cried out.

The wolf kept jumping around. Suddenly, it just stopped, freezing completely for several seconds. As Shin righted himself, the warg turned its attention neither to him nor to Scarlett, instead shifting its snout towards the unmoving Rosa.

Scarlett's eyes widened as it started moving. She created another firewall with what remained of her mana, but the warg didn't even seem to care about that now, continuing straight through the flames.

Shin wasn't about to let it have its way, though. He came running from the side, putting his entire weight into it as he slammed into the warg. Both of them were knocked to the stone once more. The warg frenziedly bit into Shin's shoulder as it tried to throw him off. Shin continued to resist though, putting his whole body up against the beast as he raised his right arm. His sword started glowing again, a miniature variant of his previous silver lance forming.

Scarlett stretched whatever reserves she had left to create one last sphere of high-intensity fire in front of the warg's face as it struggled with the Shielder. Just as what remained of Scarlett's mana petered out, Shin sunk his dazzling weapon straight into its face, digging into the skull. The boss stilled, and Shin's sword clinked to the ground as he went limp on top of it.

A sharp pain pushed against the sides of Scarlett's temple as the exhaustion that came from using all of her mana hit her. She panted as she stepped forward, eyes focused on Shin's now limp body. Mana depletion was no joke, but she had to help him. She wasn't sure if Rosa was in any condition to heal him right now. Moving her hands unsteadily, she reached down to her pouch of holding to pull out a health potion. She froze when she looked up again, finding Rosa staring at her.

And the woman's eyes were completely black.

Chapter 74 - A deal once struck

An eerie smile covered Rosa's face.

Scarlett stared at the woman. Some instincts hidden deep down were screaming to run away, but her gaze was locked inside Rosa's pitch-black eye sockets. They were like a void of nothingness, yet it felt as if they were hiding something terrible just beneath the surface.

Scarlett pulled herself out of whatever trance-like state they lured her into, and Rosa stepped forward with an almost unnatural grace. Scarlett had to stop herself from backing away.

"Oh, this is delightful~" a dangerously charming voice rang out from the woman. It sent shivers down Scarlett's spine. "I had my suspicions…but you already knew I was here, didn't you? How interesting. How quaint."

There was a devouring sense of terror that bore down upon her as the woman approached, unlike anything she'd ever experienced. It pushed against all her mental defenses, and even with the entirety of her being rebelling against it, all her effort was needed just to maintain a mask of calm.

"Baroness Scarlett Hartford," Rosa hummed. "You are an interesting one. It's been quite entertaining, watching you frolic about with little dear Rosalina on your adventures. A pleasant diversion from my usual leisure."

Scarlett grit her teeth. She had hoped it wouldn't come to this anytime soon. This wasn't a being one could frivolously deal with and hope for getting out unharmed. Even stuck in Rosa's body, it was clear this being could end Scarlett in a heartbeat. And it wouldn't hesitate to do so either. She couldn't reveal even an ounce of weakness here. Showing confidence was vital.

"…Is that so?" she pressed out.

"Very much so. I especially enjoyed that forest you visited a while back. The Wandering Realm is ever so exciting. Even insignificant hovels like that." Rosa stopped, then looked down at Shin's still body, lying on top of the dead warg. "Oh? He doesn't seem in good shape. Don't you think he needs some help?"

Scarlett glanced down at the bloody and beaten Shin.

"Yes…" she said slowly. "But I suppose you would not care to be the one to lend it?"

Rosa placed a finger against her chin, a contemplative look on her face. "Ah, but our dear Rosalina is the one who's obsessed with those healing songs of hers. It is oh so endearing, seeing all of her fruitless efforts. But I'm afraid you wouldn't like the result if I were to help instead."

"…I see." How long did Shin have? Would the health potions even be enough? "I am certain Miss Hale could resolve this situation," Scarlett said. "If you were to allow her to return."

A short, chilling laugh left Rosa's mouth. "No, I don't think so. I haven't quite had my fun yet, you see. And he still has a few minutes to enjoy what remains of his pitiful existence."

Scarlett scowled as she studied the woman. It was doubtful she would let her give Shin health potions to buy more time. Judging from the atmosphere radiating from Rosa, even asking could mean death.

But letting Shin bleed out wasn't an option either.

She had to deal with it in another way.

"I wonder…" Rosa stepped away from Shin and closer to Scarlett. "How did you know about me? Seldom can a human face me and remain this calm, even when in one of these dainty flesh-toys. What little secrets is that tiny head of yours hiding?"

Scarlett met her dark eyes. "…Surely you do not expect me to tell you?"

Rosa smiled. "No, that wouldn't be very fun, would it? Besides, I can't depart without leaving a gift for Rosalina." The smile morphed into a frightening grin, and she started drifting around Scarlett. "I wonder what face she'll make this time?"

Scarlett froze at the inexplicable picture that arose with those words, one which threatened to cause bile to rise into her mouth. A silent premonition, and a promise. One that bore no objection.

Still, Rosa wouldn't be able to hurt her. If it came to it, Scarlett knew a surefire way to banish the being possessing the bard's body. But that was only a temporary measure — one which she'd much rather save for the future.

However, what she knew rationally didn't matter right now. Because this wasn't a rational being, nor were the emotions it evoked. They were almost primal, in the way they tried to ignore her logic and threatened to cloud her thoughts. It was a testament to the original's imperious personality that she was still standing right now.

Rosa stopped behind her, and Scarlett had to force herself not to turn around and look.

"…I suggest you forsake whatever vile thoughts you are envisaging. They would serve neither of us in our current situation."

Rosa chuckled, and a hand brushed up against Scarlett's hair. "Vile? I dare say that's an apt description." Scarlett locked up, readying herself for anything. But Rosa soon backed off, continuing to circle her. "What is it that has you so confident? Do you have someone protecting you? Could that perhaps be the source of all that knowledge you've so generously shown around?"

The woman paused, gaze roaming down towards Scarlett's left hand. "I can smell traces of a deal once struck. Is that it? If so, I would be disappointed. It'd be naive of you to think it'll be of any help now." She waved her hand.

Scarlett stared as the shadow of a crest revealed itself on her skin.

"Nothing but a lowly demon." Rosa's voice had a hint of derision to it, but after a moment her eyes narrowed, the dark emptiness sucking in Scarlett's gaze once more. It was as if she was trying to forcefully peer into her very being. "Or was that to hide another crest? Are you one of the others' thralls?"

For a brief second, it felt as if Scarlett was forced out of her own body, unable to move or speak as the being observed her. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, she regained control of herself again. Like it had just been in her imagination.

"…I am no one's thrall," Scarlett said. "Nor will I ever be. The deal I struck then was a transactional affair, nothing more. I dismissed the demon when it attempted to renege on its end of the bargain."

"Renege? Dismiss?" Rosa arched a brow. "I would either say that you're completely oblivious to the nature of demons, or that you are far too familiar with it."

"I will leave deciding which is true to you," Scarlett answered, her attention wandering back to Shin. "You will have to excuse my impatience, but I am sure that you understand why I cannot allow this conversation to continue much longer."

"Oh, now that is cute." Rosa laughed. "You won't allow it, you say? I can't wait to hear what you'll do about it."

"That would depend… I presume you will not leave Miss Hale be simply because of my request?"

"No, I think not. I am quite fond of this one."

"Then, perhaps we can come to an agreement." Scarlett looked up at her, holding the being's gaze. "In return for you leaving Miss Hale alone, I will refrain from revealing your involvement with Count Soames."

"Oh?" Rosa gave her a curious look. "So you even know who I am? And about that little pawn of mine?" She leaned her head to the side. "True, it would be inconvenient if he were to be caught. But that won't be an issue if I carve you up right here."

Scarlett drew her lips together. The words were said in such a casual manner, but she could still feel the grisly intent behind them, clear as day. "Then I will have to disappoint. I always endeavour to prepare proper precautions, and this is no exception. My sudden absence would only work to expedite his downfall."

That was mostly a lie. There were, in fact, several reasons for her not to act out against Count Soames. One was that she didn't quite know how to without causing a mess.

"My, oh my. Quite the schemer." Rosa leaned closer to her. "This only makes me want to get my hands on you even more. I love the arrogant ones."

Scarlett held her expression neutral. "Do not waste more of my time. We both know you cannot afford to lose Count Soames yet."

Rosa stopped a hairbreadth away from her face, gazing into her eyes. A snort left the woman's mouth. "Oh, I do like you." She spun around and stepped over to Shin, hands clasped behind her back as she tapped the young man's body with her toe. "But that dull man's death is far from enough to get me to leave this body. It is a one of a kind." She smirked as she looked back at Scarlett. "But I'm sure you were already aware."

"I presumed as much," Scarlett said. "Then I propose a concession. I will swear not to reveal your involvement with Count Soames, nor infringe upon any matters of his that involve you. In exchange, you will retire whence you came for now, allowing Miss Hale to return so that she can heal Mister Thornthon."

"You'd strike a deal just for that?"

"I would also ask that you swear not to cause any further dangerous disturbances. Both for me, and in my immediate surroundings or related to them. If you would agree to that, you would have my word that I will in no way try to interfere with you, nor your current connection with Miss Hale, for as long as the agreement stands."

"How considerate," Rosa said. "Yet, I can scarcely remember when the last time was that someone tried putting restrictions on me."

"I believe the terms are fair, taking the current circumstances into consideration."

"You would, wouldn't you?" Rosa studied her for several seconds. "I suppose you've garnered enough of my interest to live a bit longer. It would be fun to see what other exploits you've got planned. I'll agree to this little plea of yours, but only until the next time I can come out and play. I can't very well let someone like you slip out of my hands."

"If that is what it takes."

Scarlett didn't know exactly how much time that gave her, but in the game, Rosa's possessions didn't occur often. This should at least buy them a few months. And it was much better than wasting something as powerful as a demon's name just to get them to leave temporarily. Next time, she could be more prepared.

"Then." A vicious grin grew across Rosa's face. "I believe we have a deal."

Scarlett nodded. "It appears so."

As the words left her mouth, a flare of pain shot out from her left hand, and she looked down to see smoke billowing out of her skin. She suppressed the desire to voice the pain as a dark purple crest, interlined with thorns, formed.

"I'll keep my eyes on you," a fading whisper echoed out across the room. "I'm sure our next meeting will be a much more momentous occasion."

Scarlett raised her head as Rosa's body fell with a thump. She hurried over to the woman, grabbing hold of her arms to prop her up. The bard seemed to rouse, looking up at Scarlett through tousled brown locks, the violet irises in her eyes having returned. Trails of sweat ran down her forehead.

"W-Who…" she mumbled, then her eyes widened as she frantically looked around. "W-What happened?!"

"I am not entirely certain." Scarlett said. She glanced down at her hand, relieved to see that the crest had disappeared. "We succeeded in felling the warg, but its howl bound you under a spell. Shin was similarly affected; however, not to this degree."

"You—" Rosa looked at her, a distraught and bewildered expression on her face. "T-That's all?"

"It is." Scarlett gave a short nod. "Now, I am afraid there is no time for you to gather yourself. Shin is in dire need of your help."

Rosa turned. Her mouth opened as she saw Shin and the dead warg next to him. "Ittar's light. What happened to him?!"

"He fought the warg, in order to protect you."

A pained look passed over the bard's eyes, and she pushed herself to her feet, scanning around for a moment. She darted off to where her klert lay a few steps away, picking it up and cranking the wheel at its base. A short set of notes sprang out from the instrument, covering Shin in a purple light. Scarlett watched on as the wounds on his shoulder and other parts of his body very slowly closed up, the blood drying around them. His state was severe enough that Rosa continued for several minutes, only stopping when she looked as if she was about to keel over.

"That's as much as I can do," Rosa let out in a mumble, stumbling over and leaning against the nearby cavern wall. She sank down on her behind, eyes closed as she stayed quiet for a while. "…I didn't do anything weird while I was out, did I?" she eventually asked.

Scarlett had moved over to check on Shin when she looked at the woman. "…You did not, no." She felt the presence of the invisible crest on her hand, a silent compulsion preventing her from saying too much. A mucky, vile feeler, grasping at her with sharp thorns. She might have been able to fight it, but she chose not to. "Is that something I should expect? Your earlier behaviour was unusual as well."

"No, well… I was just curious. It's true that I felt a bit out of sorts earlier, but I'm fine now." Rosa smiled.

Scarlett eyed her. That was perhaps the fakest smile yet.

The silence returned as Rosa closed her eyes again. Scarlett tried to remove the warg from Shin, its upper body lying on top of one of his legs, but it was too heavy, and she herself felt like she could collapse if she tried any further. Eventually, she had to give up. It looked like he would survive for now, at least, and his pulse was stable.

She let him and the exhausted bard be for now, instead turning her attention to the set of stone doors on the far end of the room.

They had beaten their mini-boss. If the other group had made it and beaten the other mini-boss, the exit should be unlocked. Right now, the priority was meeting up with them. She walked over to the doors, slowly raising her hand and touching it to the handprint carved into the middle of the stone. A breath of relief left her when a click sounded out and the doors began sliding to the side.

Right. Now they only had the real boss remaining.

Chapter 75 - Old dogs don't need new tricks

Like the mini-boss room, the true boss room looked more like a cave than a man-made construct, with uneven walls and sharp edges here and there. A shallow pool of water took up the center of the space, with a pedestal holding a large orb in its middle. The orb gave off a pale blue light that, coupled with several large braziers that hung off the walls and lit up as Scarlett entered, lent the cave an oddly calm, but mysterious atmosphere.

There was no boss to be seen. Though that was to be expected. Scarlett looked to her right, where there was another entrance like hers. A moment later, Fynn appeared in it. His head turned towards her, a relieved but hesitant expression appearing on his face. Soon, Garside and Allyssa exited beside him.

Garside closed his eyes for a second, hand pressed to his chest. "My Lady…I am relieved to see that you are well," he said, and the three of them began making their way to her. The butler froze a few steps from her, staring down at her side.

While the injury Scarlett had gotten from the warg had been healed almost immediately after, the blood still remained.

"Miss Hale's healing has already dealt with it," she said as the man looked up at her. "There is no need to worry."

She glanced back into the room she'd just exited. "Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the others. Shin, especially, might require further aid."

Allyssa immediately stepped forward. "What happened? Is he okay?"

"For now, yes. Miss Hale saw to that. But I do not know when he will regain consciousness." Scarlett examined Allyssa and the two others. "It appears you fared far better than us."

She felt like she'd just run an Olympic marathon, but none of them had even the slightest cut.

Allyssa leaned over, peering into the room behind Scarlett. "There was a big wolf on our end, but Garside handled it quickly. We were worried about you guys."

Scarlett blinked, looking at the butler.

So even a level 55 mini-boss didn't stand a chance against him? That probably put him somewhere along the upper echelons of A-ranked Shielders. Much higher than she would've dared hope. Especially with how ridiculously humble the man was at times. Maybe she didn't have to worry as much about the upcoming boss fight as she'd feared.

She noticed Fynn looking between her and the orb at the center of the room.

"Fynn," she said.

He instantly focused his attention on her.

"I will not disparage you for what happened." She turned an eye towards Garside. She suspected Fynn had already received a thorough interrogation on the subject, and she wasn't interested in delving further into the subject at the moment. There wasn't any point in trying to argue with those deranged ancestors of his right now, either. "The matter of why it happened can be saved for another time. I understand you need to start the trial soon; however, I ask that you wait a short while longer, if possible."

He fiddled with the ring on his finger. "I'm not sure. They're telling me to…" he trailed off.

His eyes went to Scarlett's side. After a few seconds, a determined look appeared on his face. "I'll try my best," he said with a serious nod.

"Good. It will not take long."

Scarlett led them inside the mini-boss room behind her. Allyssa gasped as she got closer to Shin, finding him bloody and half-pinned under the warg's body. Scarlett ordered Fynn to lift it off him, as Allyssa picked up Shin's sword and shield. Together, they then brought the young man into the main boss room at Scarlett's command and leaned him against a wall. They couldn't leave him back there, even if he was unconscious.

They tried prodding Rosa awake too, but the spent woman only roused for a few seconds before falling asleep again, so Fynn ended up carrying her out as well. The bard was drained even more than Scarlett, it seemed. A mix of mana exhaustion and getting possessed was the most likely cause. Honestly, Scarlett would have loved to lie down and rest as well, but she didn't have that option.

After they'd ensured those two were taken care of, everyone's attention turned to the boss room itself.

"Do we still have to take this…trial?" Allyssa asked, staring at the glowing orb at the center. "If it's as dangerous as you said, and we only have the four of us…" She looked back at Shin and Rosa. "Would we even be able to keep them safe?"

"We do not have much choice, at this point," Scarlett answered. "It is our only means of leaving. And ignoring it risks another incident like the one in the chamber before."

Who knows what Fynn's ancestors would do if they just stopped here?

"If that is the case." Garside stepped in front of Scarlett. "I ask that you do not take part in the coming battle, my Lady."

She arched an eyebrow at him. "You do not even know the level of danger we will face. Yet you believe it wise to lower our fighting capability in a situation such as ours?"

"That is why I am asking this, my Lady." He lowered his head. "You may seek to hide it, but this last clash has exhausted you. Were you to take part in your current state, I fear that an even worse fate would befall you. I will exercise all my efforts so that you do not have to worry, so I beg you, my Lady. Please rest."

She stared at the man.

Her mana was depleted, yes. She was pushing herself to remain standing, yes. And there wasn't any more of Rosa's magic to keep her full of energy, like on their trek here. She was, in essence, dead weight. But just staying back and doing nothing wasn't an alternative when their lives were at stake. She had, at the very least, planned on trying to push her limits and assist with the odd Aqua Mine or two. It felt wrong, in more ways than one, to just leave it all up to others.

Was that why the thought of him being right annoyed her so?

In hindsight, maybe planning to take part was a monumentally poor idea. She was more liable to annoy the boss and put herself in danger than anything else. Simple Aqua Mines certainly wouldn't do any damage. And Garside was strong. Maybe they stood a chance, even without her.

It might have been the mental fatigue at work, thinking she could do much to help now. That felt like a better excuse than blaming it on the system traits this time.

…She didn't always have to be in control, did she? Maybe she could view it as delegating.

"Very well," she said and stepped over to the back wall. Lowering herself to the ground, she placed her hands on her lap as she took in the three others. "I pray that you will overcome this trial."

Allyssa suddenly looked nervous at her words, but Garside gave a clean bow. "I will not disappoint, my Lady."

Fynn started moving towards the pool at the center of the room. Water splattered around his feet as he walked up to the orb, stretching out his right hand. The ring on his finger took on a bright blue glow, matching the light of the orb. Above, a translucent figure began forming, soon taking the shape of a wolf made of the same blue light. It looked majestic, its radiance scattering across the cave in thin trails, illuminating the entire space. Standing still in the air, the wolf's head turned down at Fynn, and a powerful howl echoed out.

The trial had started.

Perhaps it was because of the exhaustion, but Scarlett could barely keep up with what happened. Fynn leaped at the boss, the wind around the room soaring with him, yet the boss sprang through the air and effortlessly eluded him. The two began a game of cat and mouse, darting around the space faster than Scarlett would have thought possible.

What was most shocking, however, was that the boss was almost entirely on the defensive. Every time it stopped for even a moment to retaliate, it was met by a blast of searing hot flames. Scarlett could practically see the heat coming off them, even from where she sat.

She wasn't sure if Garside was using a spell or if it was just pure pyrokinesis—if she were to guess, it was a manifest spell of some sort—but the precision of his attacks was impeccable, even when he kept watch of the battle from a good distance away. And while his magic didn't appear to deal heavy damage to the wolf, it was as if he was using it to direct the movements of both the boss and Fynn, keeping strict control of the battlefield.

Occasionally, the boss paused for brief moments to let out short howls—often incurring more injuries from both Fynn and Garside—which caused several smaller light wolves to come into being around the room. But Allyssa, who seemed to have trouble keeping up with the boss itself, distracted many of them with her crossbow, before slowly picking them off with the help of Garside's magic and her alchemical concoctions.

This was a level of coordination that Scarlett and her party had never even come close to. And it was all because of Garside's constant direction of events, as he let the others make perfect use of their skills. He seemed to have an even better understanding of their capabilities than Scarlett did, and this would only have been the second time he fought alongside either of the two.

He really had underplayed his skill.

She watched on as the fight continued. The light of the wolf boss gradually faded as Fynn and Garside wore it down with their attacks, and Fynn's control of his surroundings seemed to develop as the fighting progressed. He also made more and more frequent use of the [Claws of Tempest] ability that he'd learned, along with [Gale of Blades] — an ability that creates blades of wind that tears through enemies. Yet another example of an ability Scarlett recognized, but hadn't been aware he knew. And it was clear, even to her untrained eyes, that his mastery of the abilities was improving dramatically right now. It was as if he was in a trance, hunting after the boss.

After about fifteen minutes, it had reached a point where the boss had faded to be not much more than a shadow of its former self. Fynn was the one to strike the last blow. Caging it in an array of intensive flames, Garside locked the boss in so that Fynn could leap up, winds howling with him, and slash at the neck of the wolf. His claws tore straight through its body, and it disappeared into a mote of lights that surged into Fynn as he landed in the shallow water beneath.

Scarlett stared at the sight, taking it all in. A problem she'd spent almost a whole week worrying herself to death over had been solved just like that. In a long battle of attrition, with minimal fanfare. If it hadn't been for the situation with Rosa, she would almost have felt ridiculous calling this a real dungeon run.

To think Garside was that strong.

Honestly, if it just came to power, she'd gauge him to be somewhere in the low 60s or high 50s range, level-wise. That's the same level this boss had been, but it was originally expected to be fought by a team of level 50s. And even then, it was supposed to be a hard fight.

But being around the same level in the game wouldn't have translated into a curb stomping this big. While Garside himself hadn't looked overwhelmingly more powerful than the boss, it was clear that his experience more than made up for that. He was used to fighting in groups like this.

Scarlett thought she'd been pretty clever with how she used her magic in some of her fights, but this made her realize that fighting was about a lot more than just pure power and some simple tricks. Now that Kat was gone, she trained all by herself. But if possible, she had to get Garside to teach her. Even if she could only get a basic grasp of how he controlled the battlefield as he did, it might still be worth more than any other practice she could do.

Despite her tiredness, she pushed herself off the ground and closed in on the butler. "An impressive display, Garside. I am glad you came with on this venture."

He looked back at her and bowed. "Of course, my Lady."

Walking past him, Scarlett trailed around the edge of the pool of water. She passed by Fynn, who'd fallen to his knees with glowing eyes now, after the light entered him. He'd just cleared the trial, so he would probably stay like that for a while longer.

She continued around the water until reaching the far end of the room, where she stopped before an illustration of a wolf that was carved into the wall. Raising her arms, she pressed her hand against the palm print at the illustration's center. The wall began moving. Slowly but surely, stone creaking against stone, the wall split and opened into a dark room.

The enchanted glasses allowed her to see fine without having to use her magic, so she entered the small, unlit hollow, and looked around. Lying on a bed of cut stone in front of her was an array of items. Her gaze passed over them from left to right.

[Mark of the Staunch (Epic)]

{This ring, fashioned in the likeness of an ancient artifact, bears an air of frigidness and vigor}

It was a ring that looked similar to [Mark of the Gale], yet instead of the pure bone-white of Fynn's ring, it was grey. Like [Mark of the Gale], however, this ring gave a boost to HP and stamina, as well as some frost resistance. In fact, the boosts from this ring were better than the original, but it had none of the other effects.

It would have been a nice item to have on the way here.

[Garment of Form (Epic)]

{Forms of movements once made are engraved into this fabric, begging to flow once more}

This was a set of interwoven, pale green shirts, with lines of black sewn onto it in curious patterns. Scarlett couldn't quite remember the specific details of this item, but she was sure it had increased agility in the game.

[Fang of Remembrance (Unique)]

{This fang once recalled the verses of old, yet now it sits divided and vacant. It longs to become whole, and to once more sing the songs embedded in it}

Her eyes stayed on the fang. It was a dull silver, about the length of her hand, and bent at the top like a wolf's canine. There were several cracks near its base, as if it had been torn off of what held it before, and running along its sides were a multitude of tiny carvings, symbols, and etchings that were indecipherable to her. This was what Scarlett wanted the most, out of all the things here. Unfortunately, it was useless without its other half.

Evil game design distilled into its purest form. What was even the point of placing it here if you couldn't get the other half until later?

Still, at least she had one part now.

The next item on the stone was an enormous bow of bent, spiraling bone, as well as a spear of similar make.

[Bow of Ends (Epic)]

{The essence of those beings felled by this bow rests within it, awaiting more brethren}

[Spear of Ends (Epic)]

{The essence of those beings felled by this spear rests within it, awaiting more brethren}

Frankly, Scarlett had no idea what these did. She'd never used a bow or a spear in the game. If she were to guess, she'd sold them both immediately after getting them in her original playthrough. The descriptions also didn't help much when it came to giving her details.

She turned to the next item.

[Clasps of the Storm (Epic)]

{Blessed by the spirit of winds, these simple accessories hide the fury of the storm}

A pair of round, white marbles with clamps at their ends. It didn't look like much, but they hefted a pretty considerable boost to aeromancy magic. She had been planning on getting something like it for Fynn before, but these were definitely more powerful than what she'd had in mind.

She examined the rest of the small space. There was a set of stairs that led up a tight stone passage to her left—the only way of getting out of here, now that the boss room had been closed off—but there were no more items. Still, this was a pretty hefty haul.

She looked back into the boss room. Garside stood right outside the opening, and Allyssa was kneeling over Shin and Rosa at the other end of the cave. Scarlett's gaze shifted to Fynn in his trance.

She supposed that, technically, all of this loot belonged to him. But she was pretty sure he wouldn't complain even if she were to take it all. Still, she'd talk it over with him later. At the very least, she needed the [Fang of Remembrance]. The rest would all just be a pleasant bonus. But for now, she should gather them up. All the effects would have to be verified as well when they got back to Freybrook.

The next matter should probably be getting out of this dungeon.

Chapter 76 - The trek back

[Quest completed: Cleared The Howling Gale's Haunt (1/3)]

{Skill points awarded: 7}

Scarlett skimmed over the quest completion window before her. It hadn't appeared until after they'd exited the dungeon this time. She'd long since given up on figuring out the mechanics behind this particular facet of the system. The timing seemed entirely arbitrary to her. Even if it wasn't, she had a hard time discerning anything from it.

Her eyes returned to roam over the vast vista in front of her. The entrances to the boss room had been closed off, so instead, they'd exited through the passage at the back. It had led up to a small hollow near the edge of the mountain, sheltered by a thick snow overhang. Here, the spires of the Whitdown Mountains stretched out before them, the last rays of the setting sun glittering across the white sheets that covered much of the mountain tops. Haetrach—she believed that was what Fynn called the tallest of the peaks—in particular, towered above the rest.

Her gaze lingered for a moment on the gargantuan mountain, as she wondered what the easiest way of ascending it might be. Though it was still some time before she had to bother with all that. She looked back at the others behind her.

"How are you faring?" she asked Fynn. The young man was carrying Shin over his shoulders.

"I'm fine," he answered, moving his hand to push away some locks from his eyes. "He's not heavy."

Scarlett raised an eyebrow. While she didn't doubt Fynn's strength, Shin was almost as tall as him and wore armor. No matter how 'light', it looked like an awkward way of carrying the young Shielder. Couldn't be especially comfortable either, having metal pressing against your back like that.

Still, someone had to carry Shin, and if Fynn wasn't complaining…

She sized up the rest of the group. They'd taken a few hours to rest up after beating the boss, but some of the exhaustion still remained with them all. She certainly didn't feel ready to climb down a mountain. Thankfully, Rosa was up and about again, and while the woman looked about as tired as Scarlett felt, she appeared to be in a much better condition than before. No haunted looks left and right all the time, at least. She was even back to cracking jokes and telling odd stories, none of which seemed especially forced.

That was a true godsend. Without Rosa's magic, Fynn was probably the only one who could make the trek back down by himself right now. The young man in question didn't look like he'd just been in a trance for over two hours, or a boss fight before that. Things were relatively calm on his end, and apparently the ancestors had stopped speaking to him now that the trial was completed as well.

They probably wouldn't show their presence much for a while, which was all well and good as far as Scarlett was concerned. She had no real way of getting back at them for what they did, so for now, it was best if she just didn't have to bother with them at all.

The fact that Shin hadn't woken up yet was a bit disconcerting, though. But according to Rosa, that was to be expected, considering his injuries. It seemed healing worked differently here than in the game, putting a lot more stress on the body.

"Will we be returning to the village now?" Allyssa asked, stepping away from where she'd been studying a long icicle hanging down from the tightly packed snow ceiling. After being reassured that Shin was safe, the girl had been the most energetic among them, if you discounted Fynn.

"Soon," Scarlett replied. "But first, there is one more site we need to visit."

She gestured to Garside, who took out the sets of warm clothing from the [Bag of Juham]. Everybody—except Fynn—took a moment to put them on.

"Fynn. Will you guide the way to the place we spoke of before?" Scarlett asked.

"Alright." Fynn started moving towards the mouth of the hollow, where a thin path ran along the side of the mountain face.

Following behind him, Scarlett wondered whether [Sidhe's Flowing Garbs] would be of any help at all if she were to fall down the craggy slope. She traced her hand along the cliff side as they moved, trying not to look down at what was more than likely certain doom. After some time, they reached the platform where the entrance to the dungeon was. She doubted it would have been possible—especially with the ancestors watching—but it would have been nice if they could just have taken this path to begin with.

They continued past the dungeon's entrance, and down the path they'd taken up the mountain.

Now and then, they took brief rests—a lot more intermittently than when they'd been climbing the mountain—and their general pace was slower than before, but with the help of the bursts of energy that Rosa's magic gave them, they reached the part of the mountain where the two ruined wolf statues stood within a few hours. The others were once again giving the two guardian statues curious looks, but Fynn continued past without showing much of a reaction. Instead of following the trail that led back to the platform where the stone obelisk was, however, he steered off and trekked down a steep cliff side in the opposite direction.

The rest of them had little choice but to follow. The sun had gone down by now, so they had to rely on the light from two lanterns carried by Garside and Allyssa to make their way down. Fynn was waiting for them as they reached the bottom of a low gorge on the mountainside. The snow was piled thick here, every step sinking down to the knees. In front of them was what could be described as a forest of stone. Broken, dilapidated pillars of stone stuck out of the snow-covered ground in an area the size of a small sports field, all of them of a familiar style.

Fynn looked at Scarlett. "This is the place you were talking about, right?"

Her eyes scanned over the place, settling on a section near the center where large mounds of snow and ice created several ridges.

"It's always been like this," he added.

"I imagine that it would have," she said. "It has been quite some time since it was abandoned, after all."

She began trailing ahead, gradually making her way through the snow. This was why she'd made sure to wear a pair of thick and sturdy boots.

When she reached the center, her attention passed to a sizeable chunk of ice that grew out the side of one of the snow mounds. Trudging up to it, she removed some of the snow covering the ice with her hand and leaned close. It was hazy, but there were signs of something grey inside.

She stepped back a fair distance, mentally prodding at the system.

[Mana: 1043/4474]

This probably wouldn't be enough. Her mana recovery rate was pretty abysmal.

She glanced back at Garside. Asking him to refill her [Depraved Solitude's Choker] earlier would probably have been a good idea. She could do it now, but there was probably a better use for his mana stores.

"Garside," she said. The butler looked to her with a serious gaze. "I will be requiring your assistance. I presume you have regained some of your mana?"

He lowered his head. "Yes, my Lady. What is it you wish for me to do?"

She turned back to the block of ice. Raising her hand—the gesture helped with maintaining focus sometimes—she used her pyrokinesis to begin heating the ice. Water formed at the top of the block as it slowly started melting.

She wasn't sure whether this direct use of her pyrokinesis was effective, or if it would be better to just conjure a high-intensity flame instead, but common sense dictated that this should at least be more cost-effective.

Thankfully, she wouldn't have to melt all of this by herself. A few seconds passed before several large fires appeared around the ice, drastically speeding up the process. After about a minute a quarter of the outer layer, along with much of the snow surrounding the block of ice, was gone. The object inside the ice grew more and more clear.

Eventually, Allyssa let out a gasp. "Is that?!—"

The young woman stared on as the outline of the object took shape.

"Indeed it is," Scarlett said.

It was an obelisk, but not one of stone like before. The surface of this obelisk was a clear grey, with a metallic sheen that took on exotic patterns as it reflected the flames through the ice.

This was a Kilnstone.

"This doesn't make sense. What's one of those doing here?"

Scarlett smiled. "I see no issue with it. This was once a Zuverian outpost, after all."

"Really?" Allyssa turned to look at Fynn. "Did you know about this?"

He shook his head, looking just as confused as her. "We used to play here when we were kids, but I didn't know it was Zuverian."

"There are some records that speak of it," Scarlett said. "But it appears to be mostly forgotten."

Of course, she only knew it was an outpost because it had been called Olarion Outpost on the map in 'Chronicle of Realms'.

"Zuverian records?" Allyssa asked, looking at Scarlett.

"Amongst others, yes."

"Ah, good ol' Zuverian records." Rosa nodded her head with a confident expression. "Classic mistake, forgetting to check those first. That's why it's forgotten, see?"

Allyssa's gaze turned to Shin, spread over Fynn's shoulders. "Shin will go crazy when he hears what he missed."

"Remember what we spoke of before." Scarlett turned her attention away from the obelisk for a moment. "None of this should be disclosed to others. The reasons why are many, not least of which is Fynn's current precarious situation."

Allyssa's excitement lessened somewhat, but she soon grew a determined expression. "We won't tell anyone."

Scarlett looked to Rosa, who mimed sewing her mouth shut, then to Fynn, who still seemed surprised about this new discovery so close to his ancestral home.

It took a minute more, but eventually Scarlett and Garside had removed almost all the ice surrounding the Kilnstone, leaving it floating in the air by itself, surrounded by an area of wet slush and water on pale stone. Scarlett walked up to the ancient artifact and held her hand up to it. As she touched the clear, reflective surface, a surge of faint light moved through the object, from the bottom up. She felt some kind of connection form inside her, similar to familiarizing oneself with the effect of an enchanted item. But that was all there was to it. She searched around mentally and inside herself, but couldn't find anything else that she could do.

Maybe it was because this was the only Kilnstone she'd interacted directly with. If she wanted to use it, she also needed to have visited other Kilnstones as well.

Well, it wasn't as if she had been intending on using it now, anyway. That would have been bound to cause all sorts of issues, considering how regulated Kilnstone travel was across the empire. But she knew several of these artifacts that weren't part of the current Kilnstone network employed by the empire, so she still wanted to find as many of them as possible.

And who knows? Maybe she could strike some kind of deal with those authorities in charge of the Kilnstones in the future, so that she could be allowed to use those in the cities as well. It'd certainly be convenient for the next time they had to get here.

She took a step back. "We are finished here. Let us return."

"That's all?" Rosa asked, giving her a disappointed look. "I expected a bit more. Where's all the flair? The great reveal?"

"There is none. This is a Kilnstone, an ancient means of spatial travel. Not a trinket meant for entertainment."

Rosa smirked. "Why can't it be both?"

"The ancient Zuver were lauded for their ingenuity, Miss Hale," Garside said. "Not their sense of humor."

"Sounds like their loss to me."

"We can save frivolous conversations such as this for later." Scarlett looked up at the bright moon that now shone in the night sky. "For now, we should make our way to Dimfrost and see if we cannot find accommodations for the night."

"I am certain that we can arrange something with the local reeve or village head, my Lady," Garside said.

Fynn shook his head. "They don't have one of those."

Garside furrowed his thick brows. "They do not?"

"The last village head died seven years ago when Olgolz—" Fynn paused. "During the Dragon Rampage. Since then there's just an elder. But he's old. He forgets things."

"Have they not appointed another in the time since then? Who is the lord?"

"There is no lord? They all died."

"…I see." Garside looked thoughtful for a second. "Then I shall have to inquire if there are any households that have lodging we may use."

"They'll all be asleep by now," Fynn said.

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

Fynn blinked. "…We could stay where I lived?"

"Will it accommodate all of us?" Scarlett asked.

"…Maybe?" Fynn frowned for a moment. "But we'll probably wake them up."

Allyssa leaned in curiously. "Who's they?"

Fynn looked at her. "My brothers and sisters."

Chapter 77 - Blood ties

"You're back!"

"Bro!"

A group of children came bolting towards Scarlett and the others, jumping at Fynn like a gaggle of monkeys. Scarlett watched as he tried to hold them back, placing the unconscious Shin down at the hallway's entrance.

They'd just arrived at Fynn's old home in the village of Dimfrost.

"Calm down, we've got guests," the young man in question said, picking up a boy—who couldn't have been over eight—around the neck. The boy waved his arms around fruitlessly in the air, pouting as he was placed down on the floorboards a short distance away.

"Who are they?" A girl now hanging around Fynn's elbow stared at Scarlett and the others waiting by the entrance. The girl sniffed the air, then grimaced. "They're dirty."

Scarlett's eye twitched, but she held herself back from saying anything. She was just a kid. Ten at most. Besides, they'd literally just climbed up and down a mountain. Some sweat was to be expected. Though she personally thought she'd sweated relatively little with how cold it had been.

"They're my companions," Fynn said, then gestured towards Scarlett. "And she's my employer. You can't say that she smells. It's rude."

The girl gave him a confused look. "What? Why?"

Fynn's forehead knitted together, as if he actually had to think about it.

Inwardly bemoaning her choice of companions, Scarlett decided to save him the trouble.

"Will you introduce us to your siblings?" she asked, taking a step forward.

His focused expression quickly disappeared, and he pointed to the group of kids around him in order. "These are Velryrth, Themyar, Inayra, and Kelnorin."

The first among them was a long-haired girl somewhere in her middle teens. Second was a boy, maybe a couple of years younger, sharing a lot of resemblance with Fynn. Third was the girl who'd already spoken, who had her hair cropped short above her ears. Lastly was the young boy Fynn had picked up earlier—with a bed of hair that looked like it'd been through a storm, sticking in all directions—who was now hanging off Fynn's other elbow.

All the kids shared the same white hair and yellow eyes as Fynn, and were dressed in simple white nightclothes.

Fynn looked to his siblings, then pointed to Scarlett and the others. "She's Baroness Hartford. Those two are Allyssa and Shin. The brown-haired one is Rosa, and the old—" He paused, peeking at Garside. "That one is a butler. He works for the Baroness."

"The brown-haired one, eh?" Rosa's mumbling was heard from the side.

Personally, Scarlett was surprised Fynn had introduced her with her noble title.

Maybe he could learn these things after all.

"Hello," Allyssa greeted the kids with a cheery voice, waving her hand. She earned a couple of waves back by Velryrth, the oldest of the sisters, and Themyar, the middle brother.

"What's a baroness?" the youngest boy—Kelnorin—asked, ignoring their greetings completely.

"It's one of the empire's rulers," Inayra answered, holding her head high.

The young boy went wide-eyed, and he stared at Scarlett. "She's their queen?!"

Scarlett lowered her gaze to him. "I am not. The empire has no queen, nor would I have been one if we did."

"…I like your hair," the boy said.

Scarlett blinked. "I apprecia—"

"You smell weird though. It's not good to lie." He turned away from her and pulled at Fynn's arm. "Come! I want to show you the statue I made!"

Her eyes stayed on the boy as he tried to drag his older brother away, not quite sure what to say to that.

Could it be that she did actually smell? Even so, hadn't Fynn just said it was rude to speak like that?

A dark-haired woman came walking out from a back room, rubbing her eyes as she exited into the hallway. There were traces of grey in her hair, and like the kids, she also wore nightclothes.

"Fyntrarth?" she asked, pausing as she looked at Fynn. "You're back? Who are these people?"

"Franka! Bro has a queen!" Kelnorin yelled, the boy's arm pulling taut behind him as he failed towing Fynn with him.

"She's not a queen!" Inayra cried out.

Velryrth put her arms around the excited boy's shoulders and drew him back, holding the lump of energy in place as she looked towards the dark-haired woman. "Fyntrarth said they're his companions. And his employer."

"Employer?" The older lady's eyes turned to them. "You mentioned it in your letter," she muttered, then her eyes stopped on Scarlett. "T-Then are you the Baroness? W-What is someone like you doing here?"

"I am indeed the baroness," Scarlett said. "And as Fynn had matters to deal with in this area, I chose to accompany him and lend my aid."

Franka's attention turned to Fynn. "I-I see. Then you're not staying for long?"

"What? You're leaving again?" Themyar, the middle brother, stared at Fynn.

Fynn glanced back at Scarlett.

She met his gaze, then looked to the rest. "We will only stay as long as is required in order to secure a means of return."

Fynn nodded at her words. "What she said. They'll be staying here tonight at least." He stepped forward and lifted his youngest brother up with both arms. "You should be sleeping, though. The rest of you as well."

"Kelnorin woke up when he smelled your scent." Velryrth smiled. "We couldn't calm him down."

"Scent…?" Allyssa studied the family of white-haired children. "Ehm, Fynn… Are all of your siblings…like you?"

Fynn looked at her for a moment, then glanced towards Scarlett.

Scarlett arched an eyebrow at him. "I believe we are well past trying to conceal your background."

He turned back to Allyssa. "Yes. We are of the Grehaldrael."

Allyssa gave him a confused look. "I…don't recognize that name."

"Nor do I," Garside said.

Rosa grinned. "A secret tribe of wolves then, is it? How romantic."

Fynn looked at the woman. "You know of us?"

"No." Rosa gesticulated to herself. "But I do have these things called eyes."

Fynn furrowed his brows. "What?"

"Let us save these conversations for another time," Scarlett cut in before things derailed any further. "I would prefer if we could have our rest before the night has passed."

Fynn, still holding his younger brother up in the air, turned around. "Franka, can you help prepare a place for them to sleep?"

The woman still looked a bit overwhelmed by the whole situation, but at Fynn's words, she seemed to regain some of her focus. She fiercely nodded her head. "We don't have anything fitting a noblewoman, but I'll find the best that we have."

She disappeared into one of the rooms, and Fynn started pushing his siblings down the hallway, as the rest of them followed.

The next day, Scarlett was sitting on a wide porch at the back of the house, reading a thick leather-bound book.

She had tried to find a few books on linguistics, the history of how Modern Imperial developed, and how the language of the old Zuver tied into it, but the general knowledge on the subject appeared pretty scant from what she could tell. There might be more to find if you knew where to look, but unfortunately, she did not at the moment.

Instead, she had been reading up on the general history of the Zuver people—or at least what was known about them—and what some of the current theories were about what led up to The Severance — the event that caused the annihilation of the Zuverian civilization.

Because this was a fantasy world and there always had to have been some sort of major catastrophic event in the past.

While she was familiar with the subject because of her game knowledge, she was lacking when it came to minor details and what the people here actually knew. As she was often dealing with Zuverian artifacts and ruins—and would undoubtedly garner even more attention related to it in the future—she'd thought it wise to educate herself further on the subject.

This particular book also happened to have been written by the same author that Princess Regina had once mentioned to her when they spoke. Myerscough appeared to be one of the most prolific authors on the subject.

A loud cry rang out from in front of Scarlett, and she glanced up from her pages to see Fynn's youngest brother flying through the air. The young boy landed on the back of a 'statue' composed of a pile of stones, vaguely arranged in the shape of a wolf. A few meters away stood Fynn with his arms raised.

Scarlett could only shake her head at the sight. If there was anything she'd learned lately, it was that Fynn's people were on another level when it came to some of their games.

The house they'd stayed in for the night was near one of the edges of the valley that Dimfrost was in, with a porch facing the rocky cliffside. The area between that created a backyard of sorts, where Fynn had spent much of the morning catching up with his siblings, romping about, and telling stories of his "adventures" in the lands outside. Scarlett had overheard him sharing the fact that he'd had his first awakening and gone through with the trial, which had earned quite the intense reaction from the youngest of the siblings who apparently wanted to come with. She hadn't bothered paying attention to the ensuing scrap after that, though.

Right now, Fynn was playing with only the three youngest of his siblings. Rosa sat on the sidelines, chiming in with small tidbits of songs at times. The bard seemed to enjoy the exaggerated reactions from the youngest siblings.

The older of the siblings, Velryrth, had been sitting at the corner of the house along with Allyssa for a while now, apparently quite fascinated by whatever they were speaking about.

Shin had woken up for a brief time, earlier in the morning, but he was still recuperating from all the healing, so he was resting inside right now.

Garside was the only one who wasn't around at the moment. He had been out for a few hours now, busy at work as usual.

Fynn had informed them that there was usually a small ship that passed by the village with wares once a week or so, but according to Franka, it'd been here three days prior. The chances of it coming again soon were low, so Garside was currently going around the village, trying to arrange another way for them to get back to Freybrook. It wasn't as if going north through the Blasted Lands was an alternative, so the Three Streams river was their only option.

Scarlett had considered joining him on his mission, but this was a relatively isolated village. There wasn't much point in scaring all its villagers with a sudden visit from a noblewoman.

Still, she was hoping he would find a way. It might have just been best to pay a few thousand extra solars to have those men that originally brought them here return with their ship. It was exorbitantly expensive, yes, but that was growing to be less and less of a problem for her. And she had to be back in Freybrook in a couple of days, when she was expecting Gaven Ripley to have returned.

If she hadn't been so caught up in getting here and how to deal with Fynn's awakening situation, she might have spent more time thinking about the trip back. She hadn't even booked a trip through the Kilnstone to Freybrook.

Well, sometimes even the most basic of things didn't become obvious until in hindsight. It'd definitely be annoying if they didn't make it back in time, but it wasn't life-threatening. Her intentions regarding Gaven didn't have any strict deadline. There was even a part of her that was hoping they wouldn't make it back in time, so she would have to delay going through with some of her plans.

Wanting to sigh just thinking about it all, she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind for now and returned her attention to the book in her hands.

After some time, footsteps prompted her to look up again, and she saw Fynn sit down in a chair next to her. Rosa was entertaining the children by herself now.

Scarlett studied the young man for a moment. "You appear unusually fatigued," she said, noting the drops of sweat on his forehead.

"Mm. It's because of the trial. Still haven't recovered completely."

"Is that so?" She didn't know it was something he would have to recover from. "And what did you learn?"

Fynn gave her a curious look. "You don't know?"

"I do not," she said.

His eyes lingered on her. "I thought you would."

"I am not omniscient. Despite what some might say."

He scratched the side of his head. "…I don't think I can tell you."

Scarlett closed the book in her hands. "Understandable. However, I presume what you received was at least worth the effort?"

"Yeah. The ancestors told me a lot," he said. "I'll have to return later, though."

She nodded her head. "That is within expectations. If you so wish, I will aid you then as well."

Fynn looked at her for a moment, and it seemed like he wanted to ask something. Eventually, though, he turned away.

Scarlett held back a smirk. He was curious about her reasons probably, but still didn't ask. He could be surprisingly good at holding himself back, sometimes. Though maybe not quite enough to make up for all those other times.

"I had been meaning to bring it up," she said, deciding to change the subject. "There were several artifacts found after clearing the trial. I have several thoughts of what to do with them, but I was curious whether you held any interest in them first."

"Artifacts?"

"Yes. Were you not aware of them?"

They had looted them while he was still in a trance.

"No. But I don't really care. You can take them."

He might have cared if she told him what the artifacts were worth. But she reckoned it was okay, as long as she continued providing for him, and ensured he could continue to grow. Some might call it exploitation, but she was doing it for his own good. Honest.

Besides, she had risked a lot in this venture. This much seemed reasonable.

"Very well. I will ensure they are put to good use."

They lapsed into silence.

Fynn's gaze was focused on his siblings.

"I wanted to thank you," he said after a while. "Before…I didn't really understand it. But I wouldn't have been able to beat the trial without you. I think I would've died."

"There is no need for gratitude," she said. "My intentions were far from altruistic. You are a valuable asset. It would have been a waste to allow you to be squandered in a futile endeavour."

Fynn cocked his head to the side as he looked at her, wrinkling his forehead as if he was having a hard time judging the truthfulness of her words. Surprising, considering who he was.

Eventually, he seemed to give up and returned his gaze to the space in front of them. Rosa was now teaching Inayra how to play the klert.

"I don't know what would happen to them if I died," he said.

Scarlett's eyes stayed on the children for a moment. "You seem to care about them deeply."

"Of course. We're family. Isn't that natural?"

She slowly looked back at him. "…I suppose it is."

He turned to her. "Aren't you the same?"

"The relationship between my sister and me is complicated," she said.

"Is that why you yelled at each other in Elystead?"

"That was in due because of it, yes."

Fynn peered at her. "Why are you two like that? She's your sister."

Scarlett met his eyes for a moment, then shifted her gaze to Fynn's youngest sister turning the crank of Rosa's instrument with a wide grin.

"…You have never felt anger at your siblings?" she asked. "Frustration over them holding you back, restraining your freedom, completely ignorant of the demanding position they put you in?"

"No," he answered without any hesitation.

She let out a low laugh. "I suppose you would not. That is laudable in its own right."

For a short while, she stayed quiet.

"I will not claim to be a good sister," she eventually said. "Nor will I claim to have suffered through the same grief as you. But our circumstances do bear some resemblances."

She ran her hand over the book in her lap, trailing her fingertips over the cover. "When our parents passed away, I was barely an adult, with no other family to rely upon. However, I still strove to uphold my responsibilities as the older sibling, despite the hardships it entailed.

"At first, I would like to think that I fulfilled my role befittingly. I have never been an emotional person, so I had no issue overlooking the grief I felt in order to care for my sister, who was still at a very vulnerable age when what must have been almost her whole world fell apart. But as the responsibilities on me grew, so did the distance between us."

She looked down at the book cover, eyes passing over the words in the title.

"Eventually, my sister grew more rebellious, and began associating herself with people I did not approve of. I am still uncertain whether I overreacted at the time, but she had already started listening less to my words. As the stress mounted, I took it out on her occasionally. Not physically, but arguments were common, and I often wondered what it was all for. In my eyes, it seemed as if my sister had no appreciation for what I did for her, nor cared whether her actions helped or made matters worse."

A rueful smile grew on Scarlett's face. "I am ashamed to say that not once did I try to see it from her point of view. If I had done so earlier, perhaps we could have talked about it. Come to understand each other. By the point I started having such thoughts, however, the time had long since passed for that to be an option."

"…What happened?" Fynn asked.

She looked up at him. "Not much. Things continued as they were for years, until she reached an age where she could take care of herself."

He frowned. "And you regret it?"

Scarlett slowly shook her head. "Things are what they are. I regret the way I dealt with things, not realizing how many of my words and actions were smothering her and aggravating the situation. But I do not regret the woman she grew up to be. She was always more capable than I, and there are many things I am proud of as her elder sister."

Not that she'd often told her that. After her sister had left for college their relationship had improved a lot compared to before, but they still rarely spoke. Despite their rocky relationship though, Scarlett still missed her. She hoped that whatever happened to her body back in her old world wasn't something horrible. While she had never been able to empathize with her sister's grief in the same way, she still didn't want to put her through any more of it.

Perhaps the relationship between the original Scarlett and Evelyne had been similar. The original most definitely had a worse personality than herself, but their circumstances were at least similar, with the previous Lord Hartford having died when Scarlett was close to Fynn's age.

In fact, wasn't it odd that their situations were so alike?

She frowned. Was that just another coincidence? Or was it another clue as to why she'd been put into Scarlett's body specifically?

"I don't really get it," Fynn said after a moment. "But I do think I understand."

He looked at her. "You want what's best for Miss Evelyne, don't you?"

Scarlett blinked. Both because he referred to Evelyne as 'miss', and because that wasn't who she'd really been talking about. "…In a sense, perhaps," she said. "But it would be a lie to say that I would prioritize Evelyne's needs before mine, in our current circumstances."

Fynn's furrow deepened. "Why?"

"There are many reasons. The simplest is that doing so could very well lead to both my demise and the demise of an untold number of others."

She still didn't know what her purpose in this world was, but she did know that some force wanted her to be involved in its happenings. And not involving herself risked causing disaster, depending on how you interpreted the vague terms used in the main quest.

"I'll stop it then," Fynn said.

Scarlett stared at him. "…What?"

The young man had a determined look on his face. "I'll stop whatever you're afraid of. I owe you a debt, so I'll help you."

She kept her eyes on him for several seconds. If it weren't for the traits holding her back, she was pretty sure she would have broken into laughter right here and now. He had no idea what he was promising her, yet he still resolved to do it. Words held a lot of meaning to his people too, so it wasn't as if this was something easy to back out of later.

She smiled. "Are you aware of the consequences your words might have?"

He shook his head. "No. But I'll help you."

Just how trusting could you be?

"What if that involves committing wicked acts?" she asked.

"I don't think it will. You're not bad."

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow. "You are not the first to say something of the sort to me. I presume you are unaware of my reputation amongst certain groups?"

"I don't trust rumors."

"What is said about me is not always completely unwarranted, however." She tapped her finger against the book's cover. "But I suppose it does not matter. Much of it is with regard to a person of the past. I am not bound by such things." She fixed her eyes on his. "That is not to say I will not do what I believe necessary to achieve my goals."

He held her gaze, staying silent.

Eventually, she tore her eyes away from his and opened her book again. "I hope you do not forget your words today. If there is one thing I have learned about myself these last few months, it is that I am a greedy woman. It might be that I come to rely on you more than you expect."

"Alright," Fynn said. "If that's what you need."

She gently shook her head. Really, there should be a limit to how thoughtless one could be.

Still…maybe she should reward him some extra from now on. She needed him as strong as possible.

And if that improved his impression of her in the process…

Then that was nice as well.

Besides, he had a family to take care of.

Chapter 78 - A wizard's prospects

A woman sat by her lonesome behind an ornate, black wooden desk, peering down at an array of thick, text-laden papers. Bookshelves lined the room, lit up by the enchanted candles that hung from bronze chains connecting to the ceiling. Clothed in a long, white dress that reached the floor, the woman had sharp features and tanned skin, along with smooth black hair that fell to her lower back. A focused look was drawn upon her face as she jotted down notes in a book beside her, occasionally referencing the texts in front of her.

A knock sounded out from the door. "Master Docent? Are you preoccupied?" a youthful voice asked.

Adalicia Mendenhall looked up from her work, a slight frown on her brow. "I was, until just a moment ago," she said. "And I would have liked to be for some time further. But it's too late now. Was there something you wanted?"

"I'm sorry, Master Docent. I was asked to go see you," the voice answered.

Adalicia sat up in her seat and placed her pen on the desk before moving some of her hair back over her shoulder. "It's alright. Come in."

The door opened and a short man with glasses entered. He wore robes of a clear blue, with hints of gold lining the edges.

Adalicia eyed him. If she was remembering correctly, he was Proctor Mage Fiske. One of the younger mages that had joined on the expedition, and not someone she had any special business with.

"What was this about?" she asked.

"Master Docent Berkeley sent me. He said there was an important letter sent to you from the mainland."

Was that all?

"…Could you not have reported this to me via message?"

The young man shook his head. "We tried. But there was no response."

Adalicia looked down at the desk, towards the heavy, leather-bound tome that was placed in the corner. The gold tracery on the cover depicted a radiant circle with several spears through it. She pinched the bridge of her nose as she let out a sigh. "Of course. I'm sorry."

She had blocked all incoming magics so that she wouldn't get distracted during her testing earlier, but she'd forgotten to disable the crest when she was finished.

Leaning over and opening the tome, she turned to a certain page where a glowing sigil was engraved. The glow faded away as she moved her hand over the crest.

Having disabled the effect, she looked up at Fiske. "What was the letter about for you to be sent here?"

He seemed to hesitate for a moment. "I'm not sure, Master Docent. I was only told that it was important."

Adalicia creased her brows. That was odd. It was unlikely the letter was addressed directly to her, if that was the case. Unless there was some sort of emergency. But if something were to have happened in the empire again, so soon after the last event… The thought brought an unpleasant taste to her mouth.

She rose from her chair. Her work was mostly finished for the day, and it was best to confirm something like this in person. "I'll see with Master Docent Berkeley myself then. Thank you for informing me, Proctor Fiske."

The man straightened his back a little. "O-Of course."

Adalicia circled the desk and started walking towards the exit.

"If you want," she said, pausing as she passed by the young man. "You can read over the reports on my desk while I am away. They're the current status of the collaborative efforts between me, Master Docent Ainsworth, and Grand Wizard Hartford."

His eyes went wide. "I-Is that okay?" he asked, the eagerness clear in his tone.

Understandable enough. It wasn't often that mages from the Elystead Tower, the Ustrum Assembly, and the Rising Isle worked together on a project like this. Especially with an Arch Wizard like Ainsworth taking part. But this was quite a unique project, after all. The paper on it would no doubt shake much of academia when it was finished.

"Of course. It's an open collaboration." Despite the Assembly's—and certain members of the Elystead Tower—best efforts for the opposite.

"Just make sure not to jumble any of my papers," she added with a small smile.

"I swear I won't!"

"Good. Then I'll be back later."

She left the room, exiting into the intricate hallway outside. The grand, arched windows lent a glorious view of the waterways outside, and the multitude of structures built on top of them, each tracing back further into history than any of the mage towers in the empire.

Walking down the hallway, Adalicia couldn't stop herself from marveling at the sights outside the windows as sunlight glittered across the small waterfalls and weirs that connected the different levels of the city.

The architecture of the Rising Isle never ceased to astound her. So reminiscent of the Mausoleum and other buildings in the Ascendant Court, yet so fresh and unique all the same. Instead of simply copying and reusing some of the ancient Zuverian structures like all others had, the mages of the Isle had succeeded in restoring and enriching what already was. It brought to mind the dreams she'd had as a child — of joining the Isle and becoming a mage like no other.

Things hadn't quite played out as she had dreamed, but she was here nonetheless.

She had her regrets, but the Elystead Tower was impressive in its own right.

And things were what they were.

Leaving the residence and office halls that had been provided for those in their expedition behind, Adalicia walked through the stately foreign dignitary quarter of the Rising Isle, passing by multitudes of mages on her way. Many were visitors, but even more called this place their home. Those were the ones that afforded this place the proud reputation it held as a holy land for all mages.

Still, one could walk across most of the Isle in under an hour, and it could not compare to the populations of even some of the smaller cities in the empire. But that did not make it any less of a power on the international level.

Soon enough, Adalicia reached the Chamber of Conjunction, where much of the Rising Isle's traffic moved through. The large, hemispherical building almost dwarfed the Ustrum Assembly in Elystead and was the only place on the entire Isle where magic from the outside could pass through, as well as where its Kilnstones were located.

Finding one of the resident mages working here, she had them guide her through the structure's involved layout to the large office that had been offered to their expedition for their stay. Inside waited two of the Proctor Mages that had joined the expedition, one Adjunct Mage, and Master Docent Berkeley, who sat behind a large stone desk at the back of the room. Several books and large stacks of papers were neatly ordered in front of him.

The man looked up as she approached, what remained of his greying hair swaying as he did. He pushed a book to the side.

"Hmph. You sure took your time, Adalicia," he grunted, screwing up his mouth as he righted his glasses with his finger. "I sent the boy ages ago."

"Not more than twenty minutes have passed since he came to me, Kinnard." She pulled up a white chair, pressing down on her dress as she sat opposite him. "Why don't you stop being a grouch and tell me what this letter was about?"

"A grouch? A grouch!?" The man's disgruntled stare met her eyes. "You young people have it easy these days! Exalted opportunities—as if handed down by Ittar himself!—seem to fall down on your laps if you so much as breathe correctly, yet none of you ever show any respect. Hmph."

Adalicia restrained from rolling her eyes. Kinnard considered anyone under sixty 'young people'. And despite his age, he had yet to understand that his own behavior was what prompted this apparent disrespect towards him.

Still, his words did make her curious. "What do you mean by exalted opportunities?"

Judging from how calm they were here, it didn't appear to be bad news, as she'd feared.

Kinnard picked up a piece of paper from his desk and handed it over to her. His overly neat handwriting dotted its face. "There you have it. Apparently that noble has been trying to contact you for a while, but no one bothered forwarding it here." He shook his head. "This latest message was supposed to only be for you, but I doubt it'll stay quiet for long. Those fools at Relations don't know how to shut their mouths."

Adalicia glossed over the text.

Greetings, Emeritus Master Docent Grand Wizard Mendenhall.

My name is Evelyne Hartford. I am contacting you on the behalf of my sister, Baroness Scarlett Hartford. As you might be aware, our family recently uncovered a set of undiscovered Zuverian ruins outside of Freybrook, and has for the past month been in talks with the Elystead Tower regarding the management and transfer of ownership of some of the findings.

Adalicia's eyebrows rose.

Hartford?

Was there a noble family with that name in the empire?

Were they related to Grand Wizard Hartford here on the Rising Isle? As far as she was aware, though, he had no ties to nobility. But matters of the aristocracy were far from her expertise.

Now that she thought about it, she did recall another, somewhat prominent mage, with the same name. While she had never met him herself, the Vice-Dean had been acquainted with the man. Him being a noble would have made sense.

Of course, although she wasn't familiar with this noble in particular, she had heard about the recently uncovered ruins. There had been much talk about it between the mages here on the Isle after it was announced, though Adalicia had later heard that there didn't seem to be anything of note amongst what was discovered. She had assumed the towers and the Assembly would still bicker over the findings, but the Isle mages already had more than enough Zuverian relics to care about smaller discoveries like this.

She continued reading.

My sister has expressed the desire to meet with you—as an individual, not a mage of Elystead Tower—regarding matters related to our recent discovery, as well as other subjects that are more confidential and cannot be disclosed over letter. I have, however, been informed you are currently in the middle of an exchange expedition to the Rising Isle, and I do not know when this message will reach you. This is not the first time I have tried to contact you, but I do hope it will be the last.

To this end, I have conferred with my sister, who wished to inform you that the revelation of the Zuverian ruins near Freybrook was no fluke, and that there remains much more to discover. She is willing to negotiate the future application of her research on the matter with you in person, in the hopes that it might help both parties to achieve goals that may be considered beneficial to them.

If you were to be interested in further talks on the subject, my sister has invited you to visit her at our family's mansion in Freybrook, where you will be greeted as a welcome guest at the nearest time that suits you.

Cordially,

Evelyne Hartford, in lieu of Baroness Scarlett Hartford, Lady of Stagmond Keep.

Adalicia spent several seconds looking down at the letter.

She didn't quite understand the point behind this. Assuming this baroness was telling the truth—and did in fact have research that spoke of the location of more Zuverian ruins and the like—it was of course huge news for most of the towers. But why would she contact her specifically? The two of them had no prior relationship, and the number of people who would have an interest in this couldn't be understated. Adalicia knew nothing in particular about herself that would attract a noble of the empire.

Still, the proposal itself was, without a doubt, appealing. While some Zuverian artifacts held little research value to the community at large anymore, the ones that did meant that each Zuverian ruin was still a potential treasure trove. She could definitely understand Kinnard's envy, and why the others at the Elystead Tower would hold interest. If it meant forging good relations with this noblewoman, they would probably want her to accept this offer before the Baroness started looking towards any of the other mage towers.

Adalicia looked up at Kinnard. "Were there any letters other than this?"

He shook his head. "They probably didn't bother saving any of the other ones before this one caught their attention. That bunch is as lazy as they come."

She glanced down at the paper again. It was true that certain sections of the tower had grown more closed and complacent over the last few years, a fact that had only exacerbated since the Dean began spending less attention on tower matters and disappearing more and more frequently. But it wasn't something she could change on her own, unfortunately.

Still, she was at the very least curious about whatever this Baroness knew. It would truly be a waste to let an opportunity like this go. Sadly, her current work took priority. And while they were nearing the end of what they could achieve here through practical efforts alone, there were at minimum a few weeks left before she could leave. And travel through the Kilnstone back and forth to a city like Freybrook couldn't be done on such short measure.

Adalicia held her hand up to her chin.

There were other ways, however.

A certain Arch Wizard, for example, owed her a favor or two.

Chapter 79 - Conspirators with potential

"My Lady. A Mister Smith is here." Molly stood at the entrance of Scarlett's office in the Freybrook mansion. "He said he had prior plans to meet with you?"

Scarlett put down the letter from Evelyne that she'd been reading. "Very well. Lead him to the small guest parlor. I will be there shortly."

"As you wish, my Lady."

Scarlett started arranging the papers on her desk as Molly left the room.

She glanced at the silver clock piece standing at the corner of the desk. It was nearing three in the afternoon, and she was supposed to have a session with Garside later in the evening. But this likely wouldn't take too long.

Their group had returned from Dimfrost earlier in the morning, so things had been somewhat hectic with just getting things in order. Unfortunately, they hadn't been so lucky as to have a ship stop by the isolated village as Scarlett had hoped, but thanks to Garside's efforts, they'd still made it back in time. While she had only heard about it afterward, the butler had apparently gone around the village, harrying its residents until he found some who had a small rowboat that they'd helped bring out into the water. The river was heavily trafficked by ships, which Garside had somehow contacted.

She hadn't been present to witness it, but imagined it had to have been difficult getting any of the ships to lower their sails and negotiate like that. It had all sounded like a pretty ramshackle solution to her, but clearly, it worked. Perhaps he used magic of some kind. Whatever the case, Garside had successfully chartered room on a merchant ship that had been carrying timber upriver from the southwestern part of the empire and was on its way back.

It ended up costing more than the trip to Dimfrost itself—the ship had essentially been forced to lower its sails and slow its travel to a halt for several hours as Scarlett and the others prepared and rowed out to it—but now that they'd retrieved some new loot from the Howling Gale's Haunt that wasn't too much of an issue.

Fynn's siblings hadn't been happy over their leaving before even a full day had passed. The youngest two of the siblings, especially, had simply adored Rosa, and Allyssa had apparently made friends with Fynn's eldest sister as well. Kelnorin and Inayra had been adamant about wanting to come with, but after some convincing on Fynn's part—and a promise that he'd come see them for a longer duration later on—they'd calmed down and let their group leave with only a few complaints.

It must be difficult for those kids, with their eldest brother out in the world, just trying to ensure they would have a future. While she couldn't truly understand what they would feel, Scarlett could sympathize with their situation. She was thinking she might help Fynn find a place for his siblings in the future, though she wasn't sure if he wanted that. While Dimfrost wasn't his original home, it was the closest to it that remained. Both he and his siblings might have attachments to the place.

It was a matter she was planning on asking him about later on.

Ensuring she wasn't forgetting anything, she soon rose from her desk and left the office behind, making her way to the smaller guest parlor that was located here in the mansion's east wing. Inside, sitting on one of the red leather couches at the center of the room, was a man with a thick blond beard covering half of his face and a large brown cap that hid his head.

"Ridley."

Scarlett moved over and sat down on the couch opposite the man.

"You may remove those now."

Gaven reached up to the cap and beard, pulling both off and placing them on the table in front of him. It surprised Scarlett how realistic that beard looked.

"I was having fun being 'Mister Smith' for a while, you know." He smiled at her. "Not often people treat me all nice like that. Maybe I'll pay a visit here more often."

"How people treat you is a consequence of your own choices and vocation," Scarlett said. "Do not expect my staff to cater to your every need."

She had been the one to decide on the—perhaps somewhat uncreative—name he used for this visit, and to ensure that the guards knew what to do if he were to arrive. But she didn't want those working under her to interact too much with the man. It was best if the matters related to him were left separate from the normal proceedings of her household, to as far an extent as possible.

"I presume you have carried out the tasks I assigned you?"

"I did, yeah," Gaven answered as he leaned back on the couch. "I gotta say, though, that place sure was odd. There were these messed up dolls everywhere, and these disgusting slimes kept trying to get inside my clothes." He shivered. "A warning beforehand would have been nice."

Scarlett scoffed. She hadn't been terribly thrilled over the prospect of visiting Abelard's Doll Orchard, either. It was nice she could send him to that creepy place instead. "A warning would not have made any difference. Now, show me the item."

"Hey now." He raised his hands. "Before we get to that, shouldn't we talk about payment?"

"I believe we discussed this at our previous meeting. You could keep that which you found in those ruins."

He waved a finger. "Ah, but you said you'd compensate me further if that wasn't enough. Not sure what you thought would be there, but I found the thing you wanted and that was about it."

Scarlett studied him closely. "…I make it a habit to always properly reimburse those working for me. If a task reveals itself to be more difficult than I initially thought, or less fruitful than expected, I endeavour to provide reasonable compensation for such a scenario as well. What I do not do, however, is allow people to exploit me or those under me for more than what they are owed." She locked eyes with the man. "I will only ask this once. Are you certain your words now were the truth?"

He raked his hand through his hair. "Well—"

"If you yourself are uncertain, then I can have that young man you fought with last time brought up here. He has several useful talents, one of which pertains to detecting falsehoods. I am sure he can aid in determining whether your statement reliably reflects the situation."

Gaven paused, eyeing her for several seconds. Then he grinned. "Now that I think about it, maybe there were a few decent things there. I must've forgotten about them in all the excitement."

"…I imagine you did."

One had to be careful when dealing with this guy.

She signaled with her hand. "Show me the item."

"As you wish." He performed an exaggerated flourish, putting his hand inside his clothes as he pulled out a large key. It was completely black, its end looking more like the wired grooves of a comb than the teeth of a key. Towards its head, the shaft was encrusted with tiny sapphires and bent in on itself like a question mark.

"This is it, right?" he asked.

Scarlett studied the key for a moment. It definitely fit with what she remembered.

[Abelard's Doll Mansion Key (1/2) (Unique)]

{Half of a pair of keys leading to Abelard the Doll Maker's home}

That confirmed it.

"That is indeed it, yes."

Gaven put it down on the table between them, and Scarlett reached forth to put it inside her [Pouch of Holding]. The man's eyes traveled down to the pouch on her waist as she did. She looked up at him. "Do not get any ideas."

He chuckled. "I would never."

"And I hope it continues as such. Now, have you prepared what is needed to travel to Bridgespell?"

"Sure have. I am ready to leave right this minute, if you tell me what it is you want me to do. And you're ready to pay for it, of course."

"Before we proceed to those parts, I want to know how much you already know. I am aware you grew up in the Lower Ward, but left and spent time in Wildscar with the Vanguards."

"Heh." Gaven let out a low chuckle. "Spot on. One'd think you grew up right there with me."

"I count myself fortunate that I did not." Scarlett crossed her arms. "How acquainted are you with the current affairs of Bridgespell's underworld?"

He shrugged his shoulders with a smile. "I know enough. I still have a few friends left in the area. And sometimes I take a little trip there myself for business and old times' sake."

"Then are you familiar with 'the Countess'?"

His smile disappeared. "I've heard of her, yeah. She's a bit after my time, but most around the Lower Ward know to avoid her."

He paused. "Don't tell me whatever business you have involves her?"

Scarlett nodded. "It does."

"Then I recommend you give up."

She furrowed her brows. "Why is that?"

"Because she's bad news."

"And you are not?"

"A different kind."

"I was not aware there were more than one," Scarlett said.

"There is. And she's the dangerous kind." He looked at her for a second. "Have you heard of the Red Gloves?"

"I have not."

Gaven scratched his beard, then leaned forward with both hands clasped in front of him. "Let's just say that they were a group of unscrupulous fellas who had a bit of influence in the Lower Ward. One day, one of them got a bit annoyed at the Countess loitering around on their turf, and it ended with him riling her up. Day after, not a single one of them remained. Word has it even their base was ground to dust."

Scarlett held her expression neutral. "Then it is fortunate that I do not intend to 'rile her up', as you say."

While that description fit with what she knew of the character from the game, she couldn't ignore things just because there was a bit of risk.

Gaven shook his head. "No, I don't think you get it. She's not right in the head. There's no telling what'll make her go off. People avoid her for a reason."

"That may be so, but my business still involves her."

"What, you want me to kill her?"

Scarlett narrowed her eyes. "No. Your task is to go to Bridgespell and bring her to me. Without causing a disturbance."

"…You can't be serious."

"I am."

"How do you expect me to do that?"

She smiled. "I suspect it will be less difficult than you think. You simply have to locate and tell her that Baroness Hartford has heard of her plight and sympathizes with the injustices wrought upon her. If she seeks vindication and retribution for those wrongs, I am willing to aid her, and would like her to visit me here in Freybrook."

Gaven stared at her. "You know she's not a real countess, right?"

"What her real identity is does not matter in relation to the task I am giving you. You only need to bring her to me."

"That's easier said than done. I've seen her kind before. You can't predict what they'll do."

"You can trust my word on this. There will be no issue in convincing her, as long as you tell her what I said and do not provoke her yourself."

"Here's the issue, see. I don't trust people that well. Occupational hazard."

Scarlett tapped her finger against the armrest to her left, considering the man before her. "You will be paid five thousand solars for this task."

Gaven turned silent.

That was a decent amount of money for something this simple, but she needed to have both Gaven and the Countess for what came later. If she needed to pay extra here at the start for that, then that is what she had to do.

"…So I bring her to you," he said. "What then?"

"It will depend. You will be assigned another task from there, and I will judge how cooperative she will be with my plans."

"Exactly what kind of job would my next one be?"

"You will have to wait and see."

"I think I'd prefer hearing it now."

"You have yet to prove you can carry out the current task. It would be foolish of me to share the next one already."

He looked at her for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders. "Guess I can't argue with that logic." Unclasping his hands, he crossed his legs and once again leaned back against the couch. "Alright, I'll play along one more time. I wouldn't put much hope into your little plan here, though. Just telling someone you're nice and wanna help usually doesn't go far."

"As I said, providing you do not provoke her, there should be no issue."

He pushed away a lock of hair that fell in front of his eyes and shot her a smile. "Lady, I haven't scared away a woman since the day I was born. Mind you, I've tried."

Scarlett raised a brow. "How fortunate for you. I do not care to hear about it, however. Simply carry out the task as assigned, and you will be paid as agreed upon."

He chuckled and scratched his cheek. "Alright. If you say so."

"Passage through the Kilnstone here in Freybrook has been arranged for you in the morning. The trip back is by the end of the week. I trust you have prepared transport and all the other requirements already."

"Yeah, I've got it covered."

"Next time you return here, make certain that as few people as possible notice you. I will ensure that the same arrangements will be ready for our meeting then."

"Don't you think a week is a bit much for a job like this, though?"

"Perhaps," Scarlett said. "But without being certain of how long it will take, I have chosen to err on the side of caution. It is too late to change it now, so you will have to make do as is."

"Say I get the job done faster, or only need a day to find the woman and convince her. You wouldn't mind me going about some other business on the side then, would you?"

"…As long as it does not jeopardize any of my plans, you are free to do as you see fit with the remaining time."

"Sounds good."

"Are there any further questions?"

"Oh, plenty. None I wager you'd answer though."

"Then I believe we are finished here," she said.

Gaven smiled at her. "I'll see you in a week, then."

Interlude - Smile

Rosa woke up skin clammy with sweat, breath caught in her throat. The air was pressing down on her chest, as if the room itself was closing in around her. The shadows lurking on the ceiling crawled out from beneath the beams, drawing her gaze to—

She shot up from the bed and sucked in a mouthful of air, palm pressed against her chest.

…Stupid.

Why had she fallen asleep?

Placing herself on the bed's brim, she stared at the empty floorboards next to her feet as she breathed. The terror she'd felt in the dream lingered in her mind, but the details were already fading. Counting down from eleven, she lifted her hand to brush away some of the hair stuck to her temple. She would have to change clothes. The thin white shirt she'd worn earlier in the day was drenched.

Slowly, she turned her eyes up and out the window next to the bed. The sun was still fighting strong up in the sky, illuminating the beautiful garden as the wind blew away the fallen leaves on the ground. The plain sight looked almost idyllic with how pure it was. A completely unsoiled picture. A false promise.

Tears started running down the inside of the windowpanes. The smog started inching closer at the corner of her eyes. Everything was pushing in, smothering the world.

Today was a worse day than usual.

She stood up and walked over to the tall wardrobe at the edge of the room, gaze locked straight ahead. It stood open a crack, the slit of darkness staring back at her as she reached for the handle. The eyes of a hundred tiny creatures hid in that blackness, glaring. Her hand hesitated at the clattering of a thousand legs, tearing at the back of her head, singing the songs of a horde of wailing souls, crying out at her, judging her, condemning her. She threw the door open and pulled out the first thing she found. A blood-red dress with bones lining the collar. The bones were cold to the touch as her fingers traced the cut along its neck.

Looking away, she moved over to the dressing table and laid the dress over the back of a chair before picking up a white towel. She removed her damp shirt but paused as she was about to put the towel into the water basin on the table. The thick, dark-red liquid in the basin reflected her eyes, catching the light of the nearby lamp on the wall. She regarded them for a moment, then dipped the towel in. It returned wet and still as white as before. She let out a small, relieved sigh as she began cleaning herself off, then put on the dress. It looked different now. A deep lavender, with gold trimmings along the neck. It went well with the purple bead necklace and silver-ringed earrings she put on as well.

She looked up at the mirror above the dresser, where violet eyes met her own, standing amidst a black void.

All she had to do was smile.

She grabbed a comb to rein back her disarrayed locks, eyes stuck on the reflection. The tips of its mouth were curved upward as it smiled back at her. Her hands stilled as the smile turned into a sneer, the edges of its mouth continuing up into a macabre facsimile of a smile as the reflection started cackling, surrounded by darkness with dozens of staring eyeballs that wanted to—

Rosa shut her eyes.

She bent over and splashed her face with the liquid in the water basin. The cold water ran down her cheeks, sticking to her skin as it dribbled down. She counted down from eleven. Everything was fine. She was fine. It wanted her pain, but it couldn't do anything as long as she smiled. She was fine.

She took a deep breath, then looked up. The reflection had turned back to normal.

Smile.

The likeness smiled back. It stood in front of a completely normal room, just like her. Everything was fine.

She glanced over at her klert that was leaning against the wall by the exit. They had returned in the morning, so there had been nothing special planned for the day. But the whole evening remained. She could do with something to take her mind off things. Maybe the courtyard?

She froze as something caressed her shoulder, a nauseating odor reaching her nose. She spun around, but there was nothing there. A creeping sensation traveled up her back, and the shadows near the dresser started growing outwards, taking the shapes of hands and limbs. Fingers latched onto the edges, crawling towards her. Heavy breaths touched the nape of her neck. Rosa closed her eyes.

Peace. She just needed some peace. Just for today. Then it'd all be fine.

She walked towards the door and hurried outside.

There, she found a young woman cleaning the hallway.

"Oh, Miss Rosa!" The woman jerked back the bloodstained leg she'd been sweeping the floor with.

Rosa smiled, ignoring the pool of blood under the woman.

"Why, if it isn't Harriet? Teaching all that dust a lesson it won't forget, I hope?"

The woman laughed, raising the leg in her hands. "As always, Miss Rosa. I won't rest until all the dust on this floor has drawn its last breath!"

Soul-crushing howls rang out from under the woman's dark dress, yet Harriet's cheerful expression stayed the same.

"I'm sure the dust rats sleep with one eye open when you're around."

"Of course. I was born for this." The charming little servant gave a sagacious nod. "How are you, Miss Rosa? You all just got back from that trip, so you must have been tired. You've been in your room all afternoon."

"Got me in one." Rosa pulled at her dress. "I ended up taking a quick nap and changing into something a bit more snazzy. Now I feel fit as a fiddle."

"I'm glad. Where are you heading?"

"Hmm." Rosa swayed her neck as she peered down the hallway. "Who knows? Maybe I'll go explore some. See where my feet take me. It'll be a nice little eventide adventure."

"Sounds lovely." Harriet smiled. "Then I wish you the best on your trip, Miss Rosa."

"And I you, oh mighty vanquisher of dust."

With a quick goodbye, Rosa left, fleeing the tortured screams that chased her down the hallway.

She let her feet carry her through the mansion, passing by endless displays of blood-filled vases, paintings depicting horror-filled vistas, and windows staring out at the luring illusion that was the sunny outside.

It didn't matter where she fled to, though. There was no escaping it. All she could do was bear—

Rosa blinked, staring at the dark mahogany door before her. Darkness drifted around it, clamoring to its rim like thousands of tiny feelers.

When had she gotten here? This wasn't where she'd wanted to go, right?

…Or was it?

She stared forward, eyes fixed on the shadows. They weren't writhing toward her, or inviting her to peer into and get lost in their depths. Instead, it was as if they were screaming at her. As if they didn't want her here. As if they didn't want her inside this room. Her gaze went to the elaborate silver handle.

No, maybe she did want to go here. Maybe her own weakness had brought her. And she couldn't resist the temptation.

She pulled at the handle, and the door drifted open. A large office opened up before her. A completely normal office, with completely normal bookcases and paintings. And a completely abnormal woman, sitting behind a desk at the end of the room. Scarlett looked up from a pile of papers, a small frown on her face. "Miss Hale? Was there something you wanted?"

Rosa's eyes stayed on her. The normality of the space around the red-haired noblewoman was almost breathtaking. No hair-raising apparitions or shrieking horrors. No severed limbs or sobbing heads. No blood-soaked dresses or open eye sockets. Just the world as it was. As it always was around Scarlett, ever since Rosa had woken up in that cave back then.

"Miss Hale?"

Rosa refocused her gaze. "Oh, I was just dawdling around. Thought I'd drop by and say hi."

Scarlett studied her for a second, with that typical glint in her eyes. The one that said the woman was reading deeper into Rosa's words than she wanted.

"...Is that so?" the Baroness eventually said. "I believe we spoke just earlier this day. Nonetheless, the gesture is appreciated."

"You know what they say." Rosa smiled. "Greetings are like the feathers in your cap. You can never have enough of them."

"I cannot say I have heard that expression before."

"Well, now you have."

Rosa glanced around her, stepping deeper into the room. A painting hanging above a small table next to the entrance caught her attention. It depicted a picturesque summer valley, with a tall stag drinking from a tranquil river at its center. The sun's rays glittered off the stag's silver antlers, drawing the onlooker's eye.

"Was there something else you wanted?" Scarlett's voice brought her thoughts back to the present.

She turned back to the baroness. "…I don't really have much to do right now, so maybe I'll stay here and keep you company, if you don't mind. Haven't read a book in ages either, so that could be fun." She pressed her finger towards her mouth. "I'll be as quiet as a mouse, so you can keep doing whatever you're doing. And whenever you feel like taking a break, you can just look up at this pretty face. I'm sure that'll give you some motivation."

Scarlett arched an eyebrow, giving her what she was pretty sure was the woman's equivalent to a look of incredulity.

"If you want, I can go and get my klert as well." Rosa grinned. "What's the point of having a personal bard if they don't give you a show now and then?"

The baroness held up her hand. "No, that will not be necessary." She signaled to a chair in the room's corner. "If you absolutely must stay, you may sit there. Expect little conversation from me, however."

Rosa tried to push down the relief that welled up from inside. "Such a grouch," she said, walking over to the first bookcase with a smile.

She really was pathetic.

"Mind if I borrow one?" She pointed at the books.

"Feel free."

She ran her hand over the spines. "Imperial Codes & Statutes. Heirs of the People. The Unresting Steppes: A Delineation of the Undead Council." She counted off some titles. "I can practically smell the dreariness spilling out of these. Isn't there anything with a bit more oomph to it?"

Scarlett looked at her for a moment, then gestured to another section of the bookcase. "There might be something more closely aligned to your tastes there," she said, then turned back to her papers.

Rosa moved over to where the woman pointed. "Hmm. What have we got here? Sights of Zovivios. Maybe if there are illustrations," she murmured. "Women of Magic. That's something. Ah, and what's this? The Red Witch of Destruction: Catastrophe Incarnate. How dramatic." Her finger paused when she noticed the other woman's eyes turn up at the last one. "Oh? That one caught your attention. Sounds lively. Should I pick it?"

Scarlett shook her head. "I was simply unaware it was there. You do not recognize the name?"

"Can't say I know of any witch like that. Might be an interesting read, though. Don't you think?"

The woman gave her that curious look that she got sometimes.

"…I would not recommend it. Those events would have taken place generations back, and no longer bear any importance. In addition, the contents are unlikely to be particularly pleasant."

"If you say so," Rosa hummed, before continuing to browse through the titles. Eventually, she settled on a book titled Tales of the Realm of Wanderers and sat down in her seat.

Before she'd even made it more than a few pages in, she noticed Scarlett glancing at her.

"Oh, you're already feeling like taking a break?"

The woman arrested her work for a moment, then returned to writing something on the papers in front of her. "No. I simply meant to ask how you are," she answered coolly.

Rosa paused. She opened her mouth, and for just a brief moment, she caught herself almost giving in to the false promise behind those words.

She shook her head and smiled. "Fine, as always. I'm glad to be off that boat. What about you?"

She was letting the uniqueness of the woman in front of her trick her. But she'd been down that road before. 'How are you' was a courtesy, not a question.

"I am well," Scarlett said, then motioned her pen towards the book in Rosa's hands. "But will that truly be enough to satisfy you?"

Rosa batted her eyelashes. "I'm sure I don't know what you're implying?"

"You mean to say you came here merely to read?"

She smirked. "I'm starting to think you do want me to get my klert. Wasn't it you who said not to expect much conversation?"

The woman gave her a long look, before turning back to her papers one last time. "Very well. You may read as you wish. I will not hinder you."

Rosa's smile disappeared as she watched Scarlett focus on her work, any interest she'd had in her book vanished. Instead, she leaned back in her chair and let her gaze move upward. For now, she just wanted to enjoy this peace, temporary as it might be. But tomorrow would eventually come, and so would the day after that. As long as she kept smiling, she was sure of it.

She just wished the day would come when that was enough.

Chapter 80 - Paperwork and teachings

As was becoming more and more common when back in Freybrook, Scarlett was spending her afternoon in the office, looking over some documents Evelyne had sent over. Most of them were regarding the business they'd talked about acquiring back in Elystead. Evelyne had been in talks with the owner for a while now and, apparently, come to an agreement. Most of the equipment and preparations of the locale were already in place, so things were moving along quickly. According to the younger woman's reports, they were currently scrounging for some employees, as most of the people who'd been working there had taken off for other ventures, leaving only the owner.

All of this had required Scarlett's sign-off, as the head of the Hartford house, and while she couldn't say that she enjoyed going through all these things, she did want to stay somewhat informed of the general happenings. There had been some surprising news she'd learned while apprising herself of the situation like this. For example, Evelyne had somehow managed to rope in another investor for this first business venture, lowering costs for their family. Scarlett had given her full authority on this matter, so she wasn't going to complain about how Evelyne went about things. She just wasn't expecting others to get involved in this.

Including the documents relating to the business side of things, it was also starting to look like they were getting some returns on all the loot Scarlett had sent over to Evelyne over the past month. Right now, it was only a small percentage that had been sold off—Scarlett had probably sent upwards of thirty low-level items altogether—but it was just a matter of time. The day before, she'd also sent over the [Bow of Ends] and [Spear of Ends], and she was hoping the two epic-tier weapons would give them a good influx of wealth.

She hadn't figured out the exact effects of the two items before she sent them off. She had considered getting them to an appraiser here in Freybrook, but she really had no need for either a bow or a spear, so there had been little point in keeping them any longer. Evelyne would ensure they were better evaluated in the capital before being sold off, and that was all that was needed.

It was almost easier like this, with Scarlett not having to learn exactly what the two items did. She felt like she had to sell at least some of the loot from the Howling Gale's Haunt, considering how much it would be worth, but all the other items were too valuable to sell.

Fynn had ended up getting the [Clasps of the Storm], for example, which boosted aeromancy magic. And Scarlett had taken the [Mark of the Staunch] for herself. The added stamina boost the item gave was amazing. She'd felt like a kid with how she was brimming with energy the last couple of days. With it and [Lifeblood's Eternal Circuit] on, she was probably wearing the equivalent of several houses just on her right hand. Both an amusing and a scary thought.

The [Ring of Umbral Defiance] that she had been using up till recently had been transferred to Rosa permanently, after what had happened in the dungeon. Scarlett wasn't sure how helpful it would actually prove for the bard, but she'd grown to realize there wasn't much point to herself keeping it. It gave resistance to all dark-type damage—most of which was mental—and by now, it had been made abundantly clear that Scarlett's resistance against mental attacks was far above average. A fact she was very thankful for, even though she didn't quite know the reason behind it.

The remaining two items taken from the dungeon were [Garment of Form] and [Fang of Remembrance]. The latter would not be of any use until she got its other half, so for now, Scarlett would just be hiding it away somewhere. [Garment of Form], however, she was still contemplating what to do with.

She knew that, in the game, it was a decent item for Fynn. Most of the items in the Howling Gale's Haunt were. But she was also pretty sure that, with a few simple adjustments that likely wouldn't affect the enchantment on it, she could use it herself. Considering how much stronger than her Fynn was, she would prefer to get some good equipment for herself first. The things found around Freybrook wouldn't cut it in any mid-level area or higher.

She would have to decide after having the piece appraised. She knew it increased agility, and if that was all, it might not be the best for her after all.

[Name: Scarlett Hartford]

[Skills:

[Mana Control]

[Pyromancy]

[Greater Pyrokinesis]

[Minor Hydromancy]

[Greater Hydrokinesis]]

[Traits:

[Dignified August]

[Supercilious]

[Cavalier]

[Callous]

[Overbearing]

[Conceited]

[Third-rate Mana Veins]]

[Mana: 487/4516]

[Points: 20]

[Skills Menu:

Upgrades

[Greater Pyromancy] (10 points)

[Superior Pyrokinesis] (25 points)

[Hydromancy] (5 points)

[Superior Hydrokinesis] (25 points)

[Greater Mana Control] (10 points)

New skills

[LOCKED]]

She would also have to decide how to spend her skill points soon. She'd been saving them up for some time now while clearing dungeons here in Freybrook. With the addition of points from clearing the Howling Gale's Haunt, she almost had enough to upgrade either her pyrokinesis or hydrokinesis to the 'Superior' tier. Of them, she would probably upgrade pyrokinesis first, as that fit best with her upcoming plans and with what she was being taught by Garside.

But she didn't need those upgraded immediately. Instead, she was thinking about finally upgrading her [Minor Hydromancy] and [Pyromancy]. Up till now, she'd been heavily focused on increasing her damage capabilities as quickly as possible. But now she'd been in this world for two months, and things were currently in somewhat of a lull. If any time was best for upgrading her supporting skills, it was now. If they truly were supporting skills.

She had already established that the pyromancy and hydromancy skills themselves didn't let her literally use spells, and she doubted upgrading them would change that. She was also pretty sure they wouldn't affect the strength of her pyrokinesis and hydrokinesis skills. Or at least not to the same level that upgrading the skills themselves did. But they would probably lower her mana costs for the corresponding element—as they did in the game—which had always been a second priority of hers.

Upgrading [Mana Control] did much the same thing. Although that skill also made controlling her magic easier in general, as she had learned the last time she upgraded it.

Honestly, even though she'd been disappointed about not being able to cast spells when she first came to this world, she'd grown to realize that hydrokinesis and pyrokinesis were far more flexible than they appeared at first glance. And she felt like she was only grasping the bare minimum of what they were capable of. Like a caveman finding a hammer and not realizing there was a back of the head as well. And unlike actual spells, which would take ages to learn at even a novice degree, they were still relatively easy to use and could be upgraded through a point system that was essentially designed to make her stronger. One could even argue that, in a lot of ways, the two skills gave her more freedom than being able to cast spells would have done.

Garside's new instructing had also been helpful in that regard, and getting more used to how she should use her pyrokinesis in an actual fight. She had confirmed that, unlike her, and despite his apparent skill in pyrokinesis, he had indeed been using spells during the fight with the boss in the Howling Gale's Haunt. Even at his level, spells seemed preferable to just using pyrokinesis for things. Perhaps that didn't speak too strongly for her own aspirations and prospects, but she wasn't planning on letting that stop her. And Garside had still been able to teach her a lot.

Though his teaching methods were somewhat… Unique.

What he taught her wasn't related to magic itself—apparently the man didn't consider himself a skilled enough mage to actually teach her anything about pyrokinesis that she didn't already 'know'—but rather, had been more focused on the strategic side of things. Their first session had been over in the training grounds—which were in a state of half-repair, missing a good number of dummies—a couple of days earlier, and they'd had another this morning. The old man had appeared surprisingly excited over the prospect of teaching Scarlett his ways, but the problem was in the manner he described topics.

One of the first things he'd told Scarlett was that, when acting as a battlemage, she needed to "open her mind's eye to the field before her".

To her, that was nothing more than clichéd, esoteric nonsense. For a moment, she had wondered whether he was talking about a literal "mind's eye", trying to recall if there were any similar skills in the game. He'd eventually informed her that wasn't it, though, and what he meant was that one had to get a feel for the flow of the battlefield, though those weren't the exact words he'd used.

Scarlett didn't consider herself stupid. She understood what he was getting at. But there was a difference between using flowery language to describe abstract concepts and experiencing them yourself. She'd always preferred learning things through experience. And after listening to him go on about these things for maybe a little too long, she had simply told him as much.

It was the first time she had seen him showcase any hint of embarrassment. After that, he had instead tried to simulate battles for her, so that she could learn what he was saying through practice. Though that hadn't stopped him from occasionally presenting an odd piece of advice here and there.

Scarlett was brought out of her thoughts as a knock sounded out from the door, and she looked up as the man in question entered the room.

"My Lady," Garside said. "Madame Livvi has arrived. She is waiting in the parlor."

"Livvi?" Scarlett glanced at the clock on her desk. More time had passed by than she thought. "I will be there soon."

"She appeared with another guest. A Master Abraham."

"Abraham?"

As in Raimond Abram? What was he doing here?

Livvi had sent word the previous day asking if she could pay a visit, but Scarlett had heard nothing of the sort regarding Raimond. And he was still going under his alias. She was curious, though. Was he here on Follower business, or was this something else?

"I will be there shortly. Arrange some refreshments for them while they wait."

Garside bowed. "As you wish, my Lady," he said before leaving the room.

Scarlett looked down at the documents she had left on the desk. This world had a surprising amount of paperwork in it. Having Evelyne around to handle most of it was a godsend. She still wanted to read through the rest, though, even if some of the specifics in them escaped her. But she would have to do that later.

She signed her name on the last few of the papers she'd read through—the original Scarlett's signature was easy to recreate with the body's instincts—and placed them in one of the drawers. Then she stood up and crossed the room to leave. When she opened the door, however, she found Rosa standing there in the hallway, an uncertain expression on the woman's face.

"Oh, hi there." Rosa's expression quickly changed into that of a smile as she raised her hand and fluttered her fingers in a greeting.

"Miss Hale? Was there something you wanted?"

"Nothing in particular, no." Rosa shook her head. "Just thought I'd come by and say hello. Maybe read some more of that book I left off."

Scarlett knitted her forehead. Rosa had spent a lot more time than usual hanging around her lately. At first, she thought nothing of it, writing it off as the woman's usual antics. But there was definitely something off. She didn't know what, though.

From what she recalled from the game, Rosa shouldn't be at risk of possession anytime in the immediate future, nor should she know about Scarlett's deal with the being hidden inside her. But Rosa had always been the character whose real thoughts were the hardest to discern, and there were still details about her that Scarlett had never learned during the first playthrough.

And these details stood out a lot more now that she knew the woman in real life, rather than just in the game. For example, Scarlett was relatively certain that possession wasn't the only thing that plagued Rosa, as she'd originally thought in the game. Sometimes Rosa acted off in a way that couldn't be explained only by the occasional possession. Although potential trauma was also a factor that had to be taken into consideration.

Scarlett didn't terribly mind the woman's increased presence, though. It was distracting, at times, and some of Rosa's antics irked the Scarlett part of her, but having a laid-back person like that close by was also relaxing in its own way. Perhaps that was part of why she enjoyed spending time with Kat as well.

Though the Shielder definitely came with less baggage.

Scarlett looked over Rosa. "I am afraid your reading will have to wait for another time. There are guests I must attend to."

She paused, eyes passing over the woman's attire. It was a green dress, and it looked presentable enough. Not to say that Rosa usually didn't wear fashionable clothes.

"…If you wish, you may join me," she continued after a moment. "One of the guests is an individual we might work with in the future, so it would not be bad for you to be introduced to them."

The bard's eyebrows rose. "You sure? I wouldn't want to intrude on your little meet and greet."

"They brought another guest without my knowledge. I see no reason I cannot do the same."

Rosa smirked. "Catty. I like it."

Scarlett gave her a look. "I ask that you refrain from describing me in such terms."

"As you wish, my Ladyship!"

She shook her head as she started walking down the hallway.

No, perhaps she had been too hasty. There was nothing relaxing about this.

Chapter 81 - Visits all day long

Livvi Knottley and Raimond Abram—or rather, 'Ray Abraham'—were waiting for them when they arrived in the parlor. The two were sitting opposite each other on the room's couches, partaking in the refreshments and drinks arranged by the staff, and turned to look in unison as Scarlett and Rosa entered.

"Scarlett," Livvi said, putting down a cup of tea on the table.

"Ah, Baroness Hartford. It's been some time." Raimond gave a dashing smile. "I can't even begin to express my apologies for intruding on this gathering between you fair ladies. And to even be provided these delightful desserts."

He held a small confection that looked a lot like an alfajor. The blond man had his hair tied up in a long ponytail, wearing a long red coat with the usual sun-crested Follower motif along the sleeves. Livvi, in comparison, only wore a simple blue-white dress, a pair of white-rimmed glasses, and had part of her light-brown hair tied up with a bow.

"There is no need for the pleasantries." Scarlett walked over to sit down in an armchair that faced the two, gesturing towards Rosa. "This is my retainer. Rosalina Hale."

The woman gave a small wave. "Hello there."

"Nice to meet you. I am Livvi Knottley. Scarlett and I have known each other since we were young," Livvi said.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Hale." Raimond actually stood up as he greeted Rosa. He bent over and planted a kiss on the woman's hand, his eyes seeming to study her for a moment. "I am Ray Abraham, a traveling priest spreading the grace of Ittar wherever I can. If you ever are in need of his aid, feel free to just say the word."

Scarlett felt like rolling her eyes at his theatrics.

"A traveling priest, eh? I'm flattered." A smirk grew across Rosa's face. "But you can just call me Rosa. And I appreciate the offer. It's good to know where to go if I ever need the big guy's help."

Raimond flashed an innocent smile to meet hers. "If so, I would be delighted to help."

"Before we begin," Scarlett said, as the two sat down on the same couch. "While you are more than welcome, Father Abraham, I am curious as to why you are here. I was not expecting you."

"Ah, how terribly rude of me." The man held his hand to his chest. "As you know, fair lady, I am a wanderer. I go where my legs take me. And as it just so happened that my travels this time brought me to these fine parts, it would have been remiss of me not to pay a visit to my dear friend Miss Livvi here. When I heard she had plans to meet with the Baroness—while impolite of me—I could not ignore this opportunity and asked to accompany her. I hope my inconsiderate actions have not caused undue trouble."

"As I said, there is no issue," Scarlett repeated. "I was merely perplexed over why you wished to meet with me to such a degree."

Raimond raised his eyebrows. "Is it that surprising? While the Followers of Ittar have been preoccupied with relief efforts after the terrible events that occurred last month, you were still the person to return one of the Chalices of Canon. Many have been curious about how you accomplished such a feat. It has caught the attention of even some deacons of the Quorum."

So that was how it was. She'd been wondering why the Followers of Ittar had been relatively quiet on that front. After the Providing Ceremony, they'd promised to record her name in the Hall of Providence, but other than that there had been no contact at all.

Perhaps they really had been busy with everything that had happened. Or they were just considering how to best confront her about the matter. Still, it was amusing that one of the deacons themselves would tell her as much face-to-face like this, while hiding his identity.

Maybe that was part of how they'd decided to approach her in the end. To build good relations, in case she had any more interesting information.

"One could say it was a mixture of good luck and laborious research," she said.

The small smile on Rosa's face at her words did not escape her attention.

She was pretty sure most of her companions were convinced she was bullshitting when she said things like that, though she would argue it was at least partly true.

"If I were to find more relics of the sort in the future, I can assure you that the Followers of Ittar would be amongst the first I notified."

"Of course. I would expect no less from a magnanimous and righteous lady such as you," Raimond said with admiration. "I happen to consider myself rather learned in studies of doctrine and its related histories, and was actually hoping to discuss the topic with you for a bit, if you have the time to spare."

"Is that so?" Scarlett nodded along. She had read up some, and knew enough from the game, that she felt she could probably satiate part of his curiosity without revealing too much. "Perhaps we can converse on the topic for a short while, then."

She also didn't mind improving her relationship with the man, now that an opportunity showed itself.

Leaning forward, she picked up a cup of tea that had been prepared for her on the table. Using her pyrokinesis, she made it reach the perfect temperature as she took a sip. Her attention then turned to her left, where Livvi was giving her a somewhat intense look.

"…Is there something you wish to say?"

The woman stared at her for a few more seconds, then seemed to realize herself. She pushed up her glasses as she glanced down. "No, never mind."

Scarlett frowned. "Very well."

"…How is Evelyne?" the woman asked. "You mentioned she was overworked when we last met. I hope she's better now?"

"She is, yes." Scarlett took another sip of her tea. "She is currently staying in the capital, dealing with some business ventures we are exploring there. But from the correspondences I have been exchanging with her, there appear to be no further issues."

Livvi blinked. "You've been in regular contact with her?"

"Of course."

The woman gave her an odd look, as if not entirely believing her words, but soon a light smile appeared on her face.

"I'm glad," she said, looking down at her lap. "I was actually planning on visiting a few days ago, but you were out then. Your servants wouldn't tell me where, so I was almost starting to think it was just you avoiding me."

"No, I was indeed away at the time. Some urgent business arose that I had to deal with personally, although I cannot share any of the details."

"That's fine. I understand." Livvi held up a hand. "It's been rather chaotic for everyone this last month. I spent almost two weeks working without rest after what happened. Ever since I got back to Freybrook, my father's been nagging me to quit the guild because he's so afraid of what'll happen in the future."

"I see…" Scarlett didn't really know what more to say, considering the woman was essentially a complete stranger to her. "And will you?"

Livvi let out a small laugh as she picked up her tea from the table, pausing as she drank some. "No. I love it there. All my colleagues are great, and I actually enjoy the work itself. Besides, I only deal with administrative matters. The only risk to me is being overworked."

Scarlett eyed the diminutive woman. So Livvi wasn't a Shielder? Then what sort of position did she have in the Guild? It didn't feel like a noble lady would be working as a simple clerk, so perhaps she was in charge of one of the branches, or something like that.

"Actually, I visited the Shields Guild's Freybrook branch the other day," Livvi said. "I was surprised to learn that you'd been there recently as well. I had heard about that awful affair with those criminals before, and father mentioned it again now that I got back, but apparently you're currently hiring two Shielders to work for you?"

"I am, yes. They hail from the Elystead branch."

"I didn't think you liked Shielders?"

"Whether I liked them or not is irrelevant. I had need of their services. It is as simple as that." Scarlett motioned towards Rosa. "Miss Hale has also been of great help in these matters."

Livvi's eyes turned to the bard.

"I'm curious." Raimond cut into the conversation, examining Rosa as well. "As one of the Baroness' retainers, what is it you do?"

"Oh, I do whatever she wants me to. Sing a song. Dance a waltz. Charm some kids…" Rosa showed a sly smile. "Of course, she's asked none of that from me yet," the woman added after a glare from Scarlett. "So I improvise a bit. Whatever fits the situation, really."

"And what sort of situations are these?" Raimond asked. "If you don't mind me asking."

The bard glanced at Scarlett.

"For the time being, it involves aiding me with some of my current research," Scarlett explained. "If you have not heard, I uncovered a set of Zuverian ruins some weeks back. Much of my work goes into finding more sites of similar nature."

"I heard about that," Livvi said. "The Guild was involved as well, weren't they?"

"They were, yes."

"Zuverian ruins, you say?" Raimond gave Scarlett a curious look, though she doubted he hadn't heard about it. "That is an interesting find. May I ask how you accomplished such a feat?"

"It is a rather involved matter. I do not think now is the time to explain all the research and events that led up to it." Scarlett paused to finish her tea. "Perhaps another time," she said, placing the cup back on the table.

"You appear to be quite the learned lady in general, Baroness. I'm impressed."

"I believe I have been prudent in choosing what it is I should focus my attention on, and which individuals could prove helpful. That is all."

"There is no need for modesty. I am sure there are many who would like to be in your position."

Scarlett let out a huff. "I would gladly invite them to."

"Excuse me," Livvi said.

Scarlett turned to the woman, whose eyes passed over Raimond and Rosa as she cradled her teacup in her hands. "I know it's a bit ridiculous, considering I'm the one who brought Ray along, but would it be ok if we talked by ourselves for a moment, Scarlett?"

Scarlett eyed her. What was this about?

"Miss Rosa," Raimond said, turning to look at the bard next to him with a smile. "Perhaps we should leave these two fine ladies to themselves for a while. I would love to hear more about what a woman such as yourself has seen of the world."

Rosa grinned. "I don't mind trading a few stories. You'll have to tell me how the life of a traveling priest is."

"But of course. I shall recount some of my most exciting encounters, providing you do the same."

"Sounds fun. Maybe I'll tell you about the time I herded a pack of cockatrices through the streets of Silverborough with nothing but a drum."

Raimond chuckled. "Now I'm quite intrigued."

Scarlett watched on as the two hit it off and left the room, leaving the space oddly silent. She turned towards Livvi. "What was it you wished to speak about?"

The woman gazed at her quietly for several seconds.

"…What's wrong with you?"

"Pardon?"

"You've been acting weird ever since we met back in Elystead. Then you've also participated in the Providing Ceremony, started doing these strange things with the Guild, and I even heard you did something ridiculous at the Elysian Proclamation. Father couldn't stop raving about it when I asked him for details."

Scarlett stared at the woman for a moment. The sudden change in behavior was surprising.

"…While I will not deny that my actions may appear unusual, they are all a consequence of extenuating events and circumstances that forced me to act as I did. That my conduct comes off as strange is merely an unfortunate byproduct of that."

"That's what I thought as well. I thought there had to be another explanation for it all." Livvi looked at her like one might a classmate you hadn't seen since high school. "But then I saw you now."

Scarlett creased her forehead. "What is it you are trying to say?"

"I almost want to ask you who you are."

"…What?"

"You're so different from the Scarlett I used to know. What happened?"

Not even Evelyne had seemed to notice something was off about her this quickly, and most people didn't even notice much of a difference at all when Scarlett spoke with them. But this woman had realized it after they'd only had two brief conversations with each other?

"I am afraid I do not understand what you mean."

This could be bad.

Livvi readjusted her glasses, some of the light coming in from the windows reflecting in them as she locked eyes with Scarlett. "But you do, don't you? It's like you're an entirely different person."

Scarlett stilled.

"…I fail to see the relevance of that assertion, or why my apparent change would be of any interest to you."

First, she would have to try and convince her. Otherwise, she might have to kick her out. But she was the daughter of Count Knottley, so that could cause even more—

"It's because I'm relieved."

Scarlett paused. "You are…relieved?"

A somber smile grew on Livvi's face. "Did you know that, even since we were kids, I've almost never seen you speak more than a few sentences to your sister?" she asked. "I used to feel so uncomfortable when your father told us to play with her, and never knew how to act, not to make you mad. I don't think I ever saw you two in the same room after his death."

She let out a short, sentimental laugh. "You just grew so cold to everyone after that. It hurt to watch. I used to believe you hated me as well, and I'm still not sure you didn't. I always hoped that would change, but eventually, I think I just started avoiding you instead. But I've always regretted that. So hearing you like this, and that you're talking with Evelyne, even if it's only by letter, it genuinely makes me happy."

Livvi went quiet, her eyes turning towards the door. "Rosalina, was it? I've never seen you let someone act like that around you before. It almost feels like a miracle."

"…I was unaware these were your thoughts."

She turned back with a bittersweet expression. "That doesn't surprise me. I think I've always known you better than you've known me."

"And what did you hope to gain by admitting all of this?" Scarlett asked. "I presume you were prepared for a negative response?"

"That's why I wanted to talk alone. I also didn't want to ruin Ray's relationship with you just because of my own problems."

"I see…" Scarlett considered the woman for a time.

"I suppose there is no denying that I have indeed changed. The reasons behind it are not something I will share, but I can tell you they have caused me to reconsider my priorities, and the manner in which I approach things."

"I'm glad."

"How fortunate for you. But was that all you wished to say?"

"No, but…" Livvi turned quiet. "Never mind. That's enough for now."

"Then perhaps we should invite the others inside once again," Scarlett said. "Your companion appeared quite eager to discuss certain topics."

"Yes…you're right. Let's not waste more time on this."

That night, Scarlett's eyes shot open as a loud thump sounded out outside her room. She sat up in her bed, scanning the dark room in front of her. The light coming through the curtains was just enough to see the outline of the furniture, but there seemed to be nothing out of place.

Another crash rang out in the hallway.

She shot to her feet and snatched the [Depraved Solitude's Choker] from the bedstand, hurrying to put it on. Her rings were already on her hand, and she'd activated [Sidhe's Flowing Garbs] the moment she'd heard the noise.

Dressed in a flowing white nightgown, she also picked up the [Pouch of Holding], clasping it in her left hand as she crept towards the door. Taking a deep breath, she tore the door open and peered out into the hallway.

There was Fynn, standing over four still bodies, all dressed in black. The young man was shirtless, with a large gash running across his right arm.

He looked up at her. "Intruders."

She stared at the bodies. All of them had gold masks covering their faces.

The Hallowed Cabal was back.

Chapter 82 - Cabalic visits

Scarlett stared down at the motionless bodies on the hallway floor. The Hallowed Cabal had made their move.

"There are more of them," Fynn said, sniffing the air. He paused. "…They're not guests, right?"

Scarlett shook her head. "They are not. There is no need to restrain yourself."

It was them or her. She'd accepted that the last time the Cabal ambushed them. She wasn't going to pull any punches.

But to think they'd actually attack the mansion itself this time. Even if it was temporary, this was still her freaking home.

A loud cry rang out further down the hallway.

Crap. Would they touch the staff? Most of them were in the mansion's west wing, but that had sounded a lot like Molly…

"Come with me." She started down the hallway in her nightgown. The cool night air flowed against her exposed legs as her bare feet touched the carpeted floor. But there wasn't much to be done about that. This was no time for a wardrobe change.

They soon reached the corridor where Scarlett's office was located. There they found Molly, the woman's hand pressed against her chest as she stared at another black-clad body lying on the floor. The servant was one of the few who had a room in the mansion's east wing, so that she could be of service when Scarlett needed it.

"M-My Lady!" Molly cried out when they approached. "I-I heard a loud sound! A-and then there was a b-body!"

"I took care of him on the way," Fynn cut in from the side.

Scarlett glanced at him. Thank god she had recruited him. And thought of giving him a room close to hers.

She turned her attention to Molly. "Return to your quarters and conceal yourself as well as you can. The intruders are unlikely to search all the rooms thoroughly, so you will be safe there. Do not leave until either I or one of the other servants tell you to."

"Y-Yes, my Lady." The woman trembled as she tried not to look down at the body.

They accompanied her to her room.

"Are there any others in this wing?" Scarlett asked Fynn as they left her and continued deeper into the mansion.

"There were, but I think the old man took care of them," he replied, rubbing the bare skin on his arm. Scarlett had given him one of her health potions to heal the large gash that had been there, so now there was mostly just dried blood left. She needed him in prime condition to deal with things.

"How many?"

"Four, I think."

She frowned. That meant there had been at least nine Cabal Adepts just in this wing. Considering they often came in groups of four, there had to be more of them left.

"Can you sense any more of them anywhere else?"

He seemed to focus for a moment, a scowl appearing on his face. "I can't. But there's something weird outside."

Damn. That meant there were other variants among these Adepts. Probably some specifically meant for stealth. It probably wouldn't have much effect against Fynn close up, but they had larger spells that made it hard to sense things at range. That fact alone might raise suspicions, but it was good for stopping the enemy from telling your position.

Soon enough, the two of them made it to the mansion foyer. Scarlett stopped upon seeing a burned body close to the entrance. Another Cabal Adept. It seemed like Garside had indeed grasped the situation quickly, and was cleaning up.

Steps sounded out from the stairs, and Shin and Allyssa came running into the foyer. Shin was dressed in a simple set of clothing with sword and shield in hand, and Allyssa had her bandolier and brown goggles on, along with her hand crossbow. The two young Shielders sent Scarlett questioning looks.

Allyssa's attention turned to the Adept's body. "Ittar's light… What's happening?"

"Who is that?" Shin asked, staring at the gold mask that covered the body's face.

"Intruders," Scarlett said. "There might still be more of them around. Do not lower your guard."

She wasn't certain either of the two was much stronger than a Cabal Adept. They worked best as support for Fynn in these kinds of situations.

A bright light lit up parts of the room as a loud explosion crashed out from the courtyard. Scarlett spun her eyes towards the doors, where red shadows played across the high-facing windows peering outside.

She turned back to Shin and Allyssa. "Ensure that all members of the staff are safe, then join us in the courtyard. Have Rosa accompany you if you encounter her."

Allyssa stared at her. "What? What about you?!"

"Fynn and I will find Garside, as well as whoever is responsible for this attack. It is imperative that we do not waste time, so go!"

The two gave her hesitant looks, but soon yielded and turned around to carry out her orders.

Scarlett briefly glanced at Fynn, then moved towards the front doors. Another explosion of light and crashing sounded out.

As she opened the doors, she was met by the sight of a half-dressed Garside standing at the foot of the entrance stone stairs leading up to the entrance, a gathering of black-clad bodies spread around the courtyard before him.

A tall woman with braided dark hair, dressed in clothes that might have belonged in an old pirate movie, jumped to the side at the other end of the courtyard as a trail of ear-piercing ignitions followed her, blasting aside another Cabal Adept in the process. An array of daggers and weapons hung off her belt, and after nimbly rolling away from another sudden blast of air tearing into and burning up on itself, she hoisted up two small axes into her hands. A moment later, they shot off like bullets towards Garside. The old butler moved his hands and two small explosions erupted in the path of both axes, just barely knocking them off course so that they cut into the steps behind him.

Scarlett blanched. The axes cut into the stone. Like butter.

She froze at the axe handle that dug into Garside's shoulder. His left arm was hanging limp to the side.

Fynn let out a low growl as he jumped off the stairs, the wind soaring with him. He landed in front of Garside, near the center of the courtyard, where the fountain and the grass mounds around it had all been ruined beyond recognition.

The black-haired woman's attention turned to Fynn, and she pulled up another axe.

Scarlett blinked. Crap. She couldn't let this fight go on.

"Stop!"

She summoned a blinding sphere of fire above the courtyard, like a miniature sun lighting up the night. Everybody's heads turned away, and Garside spun around to look at her.

"My Lady! Return to the mansion!"

"I will not." She hurried down the stairs, looking towards the woman at the other end of the courtyard. "Stay your hand! I wish to parley!"

She dispelled her fire, letting the moon's pale light return over the space. Thankfully, the woman actually seemed to listen to her words, judging from the fact that an axe wasn't sent flying immediately after. The same went for the three Adepts that were still standing.

Fynn looked ready to pounce any second, in case they moved.

Garside held out his remaining arm as Scarlett passed him. She stopped for a moment, turning to look at the old man. His skin had grown pale and covered in sweat, the upper half of his shoulder covered in blood that poured down his side.

God. That axe had cut deep. How was he still standing?

A blistering rage of emotion loomed as she stared at the wound.

She took a deep breath before it escalated any further. "…Words cannot describe how much I appreciate your concern," she forced out, meeting his eyes. "But I will deal with this."

She pulled out another health potion from the pouch in her hand. It was the last normal [Health Potion] she had, but even that was unlikely to be enough to deal with an injury like that. Hopefully, it'd do enough for them to be able to treat him later on.

The man looked like he wasn't going to accept it, but after a glare from Scarlett, he reached out and took the potion with a pained expression.

Scarlett walked past him, towards the center of the courtyard. The black-haired woman lowered her axe.

Scarlett raced through the situation in her head, trying to think of the best resolution. The woman before her wasn't just your ordinary member of the Hallowed Cabal. Technically, she wasn't a member at all. She was a part of the Tribe of Sin. But the distinction between the two wasn't large in this case. It was surprising to see her on what was clearly a Cabal mission, but perhaps that was a sign of how busy they were at the moment. Whatever the reason, this woman was far from weak. If they all teamed up against her, Rosa and the others included, they might stand a chance. But none of them were prepared for such a fight currently.

And beating her would cause several other issues to arise. The fact that she was here to begin with meant that Scarlett's place on the Hallowed Cabal's list of priorities had risen a lot higher than she wanted. Defeating this woman meant her threat level would rise even higher, and next time, they would definitely send someone Scarlett couldn't deal with. This situation had to be nipped in the bud before it escalated.

"Well, this makes things easier for me," the woman announced. "It's no wonder the last batch never made it back. You guys are stronger than expected."

Scarlett stopped beside Fynn, meeting the eyes of Riya, the Tribe's mad dog.

"I take it you were the ones who sent people to ambush me before?" Some of her anger slipped into her voice. "I had hoped their subsequent failure would be enough to deter you from barging into my affairs again."

"Wish the world worked like that, love." Riya placed her hand against her hip. "I'll give you a choice. Either you make that old man back there stand down all nice and quiet so that I can chop it off cleanly, or I'll tear it off and gather up all the people in this mansion in front of you and get those clothes of yours bloody."

Scarlett stared at her. The nerve of this woman.

She glanced back at Garside. He had a beaten expression on his face, but still looked ready to get back into it at the slightest hint of danger.

She couldn't imagine herself ordering him to give himself up like that, even for a second. The mere thought brought a taste of bile to her mouth.

And there was no way the Hallowed Cabal would just leave all these witnesses be, anyway.

She turned back to Riya. It took all her effort not to yell at the woman.

"…Let us discuss this. Privately."

Riya raised her brows. "Discuss? Love, you look like you're ready to slit my throat." She smiled, waving her hand. "But sure."

Scarlett bit back her reply, giving Garside and Fynn one last look before walking up to Riya. Her heart beat in her ears as she glanced down at the weapons hanging off the woman's side.

"I believe I have already ascertained which group you belong to," she spoke in a lower voice, aware that Fynn would still hear everything. "I will simply say this: let us strike a deal."

The woman stared back at her. "That's not exactly on the table, love."

"That is because you are not aware of what you stand to gain from it. I can assure you, what I have to offer is worth far more than you realize."

Riya considered her for a while. Then she pulled out a reflective piece of grey metal from one of her pockets.

Scarlett only barely stopped herself from drawing in a breath as the mirror-like object took on a darker hue, a black fog spreading over its surface. A moment later, a sharp voice sounded out from the [Mirror of Communion].

"What is it?"

A sense of relief filled Scarlett. That wasn't The Angler Man.

If it had been, her hand would have been forced.

"The target wants to strike a deal," Riya said, looking down at the mirror.

"We do not negotiate with those blind to the truth."

The woman turned back to Scarlett. "You heard 'em."

She reached for an axe.

"Wait." Scarlett raised a hand. "I suspect I know what it is you are after."

Riya held still. Only silence followed from the mirror.

"Well. Go on," the woman said.

Scarlett looked between her and the [Mirror of Communion]. She had a hunch about who was on the other side of the mirror.

"Am I correct in assuming my dealing with the Grey Dog Gang two months ago was what caught your attention?" she asked. "My investigations at that point revealed their involvement with you, and at first I believed the following ambush on my carriage to be in retaliation for that. Judging from today's attack, however, I can tell that is not all."

Riya didn't look like she had a care in the world about what she was saying, but the voice in the mirror stayed silent, so Scarlett continued.

"From your earlier words, I presume you do not wish for me dead. As such, I can only conclude you are interested in what artifact I used to resist the mental prying I encountered when I discovered that artifact in the Grey Dog Gang's base." She paused, taking a long breath. "In exchange for leaving me and my people be, I can share information about this artifact."

The [Mirror of Communion] was silent for a moment. Eventually, the answer came.

"No."

Scarlett clenched her jaw. Of course that wouldn't be enough. They could literally just tear any information she had out of her mind. She had to convince them she'd told them everything she knew, and that there was nothing to gain from getting rid of her. It couldn't reach the state where she spoke with The Angler Man. This was one occasion where showcasing all her knowledge was more of a threat to her than anything.

"…I am willing to compromise," she said. "There must be something more you want. Perhaps you are not aware exactly of who I am, of the influence I can bring to bear, or the connections I have. There is not much either party stands to gain from us opposing each other here."

"Riya," the voice on the other end said.

"Yeah?" the black-haired woman looked down.

"Kill everybody but her."

"Got it."

"Wait!" Scarlett stepped back as Riya reached for an axe. "I know the location of the Seal of Thainnith!"

"Hold." Riya stopped immediately after the voice spoke.

A gush of air blew past Scarlett as Fynn appeared beside her, glowing claws floating above his fists as he glared at Riya.

No one moved.

"Speak," the voice said.

Scarlett had her eyes fixed on Riya. A mix of panic and rage made her want nothing more than to blow these people away, but she had to hold herself back.

She'd just taken a giant gamble.

There was literally no way for her to cleanly get out of this situation if The Angler Man were to arrive on the other end of the [Mirror of Communion]. And for something this serious, they would definitely call him, even if he was busy. But there was a chance—just a chance—that the reason he wasn't here right now wasn't just because he was occupied, but rather that he couldn't.

And if that was true, there was an avenue she could take.

"Rimepeak. Northrest. Brinewick. Cloudmoor." Scarlett counted off several names. "I am not the only one that realizes the significance behind the places you attacked last month. But it is likely that no other individual knows the location of the Seal."

She met Riya's eyes. "I, however, do. But I will not share this information if you harm me or any of the people under me."

Once again, silence followed from the other end of the mirror.

Scarlett held her breath.

"…We'll speak."

[Quest completed: Survive the Hallowed Cabal's assault]

{Skill points awarded: 8}

Oh, thank god.

Chapter 83 - Visits²

The day after the Cabal's attack, Scarlett was once more walking down the mansion's hallways to receive another sudden guest.

There were a lot of them lately.

And while this wasn't exactly the best time for receiving visitors, she couldn't just ignore this person, either.

Things around the mansion were a complete mess right now. Scarlett was thankful she turned out to be the Cabal Adepts' primary target, and that most of the staff had made it through relatively unharmed. Two guards had gotten some nasty head injuries, but Rosa had managed to fix them up to a level where they would recover after a week's rest.

In comparison, Garside's injury from fighting Riya was pretty severe. Rosa had done what she could during the night, and now during the morning, but apparently the healing took even more than usual out of the old man, and the injury had reached all the way down to the bones. He would still make it, but for now, his left arm was out of commission and he would have to spend some time recovering. Scarlett was going to look into if there were any other forms of treatment available as well later on.

The mansion itself also hadn't fared well from the assault. The chief victim had been the courtyard, where the fountain and surrounding stonework had been wrecked, and all the flowerbeds either burnt or trampled down. In addition, the building faces facing the courtyard sustained a good amount of damage, as well as some hallways in the east wing where Garside and Fynn had fought the Cabal Adepts.

Frankly, just the thought of the costs of repairing all this in a mansion like this sent shivers down her spine. This place was bound to be more valuable than anything else the Hartford family had in its possession. Evelyne was sure to have a fit when she learned of it as well.

Scarlett would have to double down on her efforts to make up for the costs.

It wasn't as if she could send a receipt to the Hallowed Cabal for the damages.

Though she should probably count herself lucky that she was still walking around like this. In order to get the Hallowed Cabal to agree to a deal with her, she'd made a pretty large gamble. Namely, that The Angler Man was currently in his slumber.

The Angler Man was old. Far too old to still be breathing. As a consequence of how he was maintaining his life, he sometimes had to go into slumbers for extended periods. In the game, this would sometimes happen at the start or end of certain questlines and usually lasted a month or so. Scarlett had heard he sometimes slumbered for much longer periods, though that was probably before the game started.

One thing she hadn't known was that he would be in one of his slumbers this early in the timeline. That was why it had been a gamble. But it would fit with what she'd seen, and was the alternative that was most advantageous to her current situation. The Hallowed Cabal usually wouldn't hesitate in acting against people like her, because they could always get any information they wanted with The Angler Man's help. But if he was in a slumber, they couldn't rely on that option. So if a situation were to appear where they needed certain information from her, they would either have to kidnap her and bank on being able to force the information out of her, or compromise and make a deal to guarantee that they got what they wanted.

In this case, the Seal of Thainnith was tied to what the Hallowed Cabal was up to with their attacks across the empire. The seal itself was split into three pieces. The Cabal should already have one of those pieces, but the remaining two wouldn't be found until later. In the game, the second was found by the player and then handed over to different groups depending on who they sided with. The third one, however, was a bit different. While it could be found by the player, the truth was that it was technically already in the hands of a certain individual whose goals went directly opposite of The Angler Man's. The Cabal wasn't aware of this, however, and would only know that this person was also looking for the other pieces. For them, it was a race against time to find the pieces as soon as they could, which was why there'd been an opening for Scarlett to force them to accept her offer.

Of course, in order to even get them to talk with her to begin with, she'd had to tell them the location of the second piece. But that much was acceptable, as long as it bought her more time. She had also assured them she would bring them the third piece, in return for them making a deal with her, and promising to leave her alone. After that, they'd left with what essentially boiled down to threatening her not to try anything, and a promise that they'd meet again soon.

At least they'd had the decency to take their dead companions away with them. Though she wouldn't have minded a chance to keep the equipment.

Honestly, the whole affair had been a mess. Scarlett had at several points been an inch from losing it, both because of how angry she had been at the whole situation, and because of how nerve-wracking it was, taking part in negotiations where she knew a misstep could lead to the death of herself and of all those around her. She imagined she'd cut quite the figure, standing in a ruined courtyard in the middle of the night, in nothing but her nightgown.

And the only thing she'd managed to buy was maybe a few weeks of peace. Either until The Angler Man returned, or the Cabal retrieved the second piece of the seal—which was all the way over in the Unresting Steppes—and expected her to deliver the third.

And she wasn't expecting for a second for them to actually keep their promise to her after they had the pieces. They literally had no reason to.

Well, jokes on them. They'd attacked her in her own home. Did they really think she had been planning to just let things go that easily?

She had wanted none of this. But now that they had forced her into this situation, they would have to deal with the consequences. Things wouldn't go quite as they wished.

When Scarlett reached the parlor room where the guest had been led, a woman waited for her on one of the couches. She wore a long white dress that curled up around the neck, with a thick tome hanging off a gold ring that was fastened to her waist, and had straight dark hair that reached down her back, along with tanned skin which you rarely saw on the people here in the western parts of the empire. And while she looked to be somewhere in her late thirties—with only vague signs of wrinkles growing around her eyes—Scarlett knew the woman was about a decade older than that.

"You must be Baroness Scarlett Hartford." The woman looked up at Scarlett with a pair of clear hazel eyes.

Scarlett walked over and sat down opposite her. "I am. And I presume you are Emeritus Master Docent Grand Wizard Adalicia Mendenhall?"

A small smile played on the woman's face. "Yes, but Adalicia is enough. Obstinate old mages are the only ones who focus on the titles these days."

"…I see."

Well, that was a wasted fifteen minutes spent memorizing that whole thing then.

Scarlett glanced at the empty table in front of Adalicia. "I apologize. It appears my servants have lapsed in their accommodations. Would you like for tea or any other refreshments?"

"No, that's quite alright. And I'm the one who should apologize." Adalicia gently shook her head. "I realize my visit was rather sudden, and it looks like something serious must have happened recently. I almost thought I was passing through a battlefield when I was outside."

"Unfortunately, there was an incident last night where some belligerent individuals saw fit to assault my home. It appears to have been in retaliation for an event where I aided Count Knottley in dealing with a local criminal network. Thankfully, we succeeded in repelling them, and the injuries sustained were treatable to a large degree. It will take some time to repair the damage to the estate, however."

"I'm glad to hear no one died." Adalicia held a sympathetic expression. "If I could, I would have visited at another time, but unfortunately I am still in the middle of some important work on the Rising Isle. In fact, I borrowed the help of an acquaintance of mine to travel here temporarily, but both of us will have to return as soon as possible."

Scarlett arched a brow. "An acquaintance of yours? Capable of bringing you to Freybrook from the Rising Isle that easily?"

Adalicia let out a chuckle. "I wouldn't necessarily call it easy, but yes. He is a member of the Ustrum Assembly, and an arch wizard. He was rather curious about what business I had that warranted my visit here. I don't think he appreciated my silence on the matter too much."

"If they are one of the Ustrum Assembly's arch wizards, could they be Arch Wizard Ainsworth?" Scarlett asked.

The Ustrum Assembly would only have two arch wizards at this point in time. And considering that teleportation fell under the aeromancy school of magic, there was only one alternative for who it could be. In the game, Ainsworth had been one of the less assholey characters among the Assembly, and you could get several quests from him if you were doing the Ustrum Assembly questline.

Adalicia nodded. "Yes. Are you well acquainted with mage society?"

"I am familiar with some of the more influential names. However, I would not call myself an authority on the subject."

"You knew who I was, at the very least. I wouldn't have expected most nobles to care about someone like me." Adalicia smiled. "Why did you seek for me in particular? I know many people who would have been interested in an offer like yours, several of whom would probably have been more suited for it."

"There are many reasons," Scarlett said. "For one, from what I have heard, both of your character and capabilities align well with what I have been searching for. And while I do not doubt there are many who could be of similar usefulness, there are few who have as respectable a reputation."

The woman was probably the closest to a 'pure-good' aligned person you could find among the more powerful mages in the game. And considering she was planning for this cooperation to last for some time, Adalicia was the best fit.

"I also did not wish to excessively involve myself with the Assembly's matters, for personal reasons," Scarlett continued. "And as I am sure you are aware, the mages of the Rising Isle can be difficult to interact with for a noble of the empire such as I."

While the empire and the Rising Isle weren't hostile towards each other—and hadn't been for over a century—there was still a certain amount of competitiveness between the two powers. They were both influential players on an international level, in addition to being in close proximity to each other. She knew Evelyne had been trying to get in contact with members of the Rising Isle regarding the Zuverian ruins, but wasn't sure how that had panned out.

"Of the mage towers, the Elystead Tower was the best alternative. Even though I cannot say that my last interaction with them ended well."

Adalicia gave her a confused look. "Your last interaction?"

"Yes." Scarlett frowned as she recalled the event. "I met with Vice-Dean Rowley several weeks ago, intending to propose a similar agreement with him. But it culminated in him barring me from the premises before we could have any true discussion of the matter."

The woman blinked at her a few times. "…What?"

"He banned me from the premises. And from personally interacting any further with the Elystead Tower."

Adalicia stared at her. "Can I ask why?"

Scarlett crossed her arms. "I wish I could say. Unfortunately, he did not bother to provide an explanation. In return for part of the information I held, I had asked for his assistance in a certain matter. Instead of simply declining, he seemed to see it fit that I could no longer even speak of the topic anywhere near his vicinity."

"What exactly was this matter about?"

"I cannot say." She eyed the woman for a moment. "Nor does it hold any significance now. I have already resolved it through other means."

There was no point in risking getting a similar reaction from Adalicia now.

The wizard had knitted her forehead. "He didn't offer any explanation at all for his actions? Rowley can be rash, but he rarely does things without reason."

"He did not, no. He only promised he would pretend our conversation never happened, and that was all. But as I said, it no longer matters. I require his aid no more. Although I could still make use of yours."

Adalicia gave her a long look, as if she was considering her words.

Scarlett was unsure what the woman would think. Depending on what she knew about her, she could feel anything from distrust to sympathy. Adalicia was a kind person, and the original Scarlett hadn't been.

But the original had also been pretty decent at maintaining a good reputation with certain groups, so it was entirely possible there wasn't anything bad for Adalicia to have heard. Scarlett herself had no idea how far-reaching the worst rumors about her were.

"I'll investigate more closely what might have been the reason when I return to the tower," Adalicia eventually said. "For now, should we move on to the heart of the matter?"

Scarlett gave a short nod. "Very well then. I will be blunt. What I require is a dependable ally for the near future, who is knowledgeable on matters of magic and has some say in the Ustrum Assembly. One who can protect me from the rapacity of the Assembly's members and those of the various mage towers, and can aid me in my continued research. In return, as I believe my sister described in her letters, I will share part of the knowledge I have gathered on the Zuverian ruins and other notable sites. Eventually, this might also include the locations of primordial spells."

Adalicia showed slight surprise at the mention of primordial spells, but mostly maintained a cool expression. Scarlett got the sense the woman was doubting her words somewhat. "Spells. Not spell. You're saying you know of more than one?"

"That is correct."

The woman studied her for several seconds. "Baroness. I hope I'm not breaching some convention I'm not aware of, but that sounds preposterous."

"I imagine it would. Yet it is the truth. If you find it difficult to believe my word, I could provide further evidence if you were to allow me the time. I can assure you that I do not take any of this lightly."

"…Did you tell the Vice-Dean the same thing?"

"I informed him I knew the location of one primordial spell, but that was all. I saw no point in sharing more than that before negotiations had begun."

"And he believed you?"

"He appeared to entertain the notion. Enough to begin talks. Of course, that was before he kicked me out." Scarlett couldn't stop a hint of annoyance from seeping in towards the end.

"I'm not sure what could have possibly made him act like that, if he truly believed you."

"It is largely a mystery to me as well," Scarlett said. "To clarify, however: while my research has informed me of the locations of several primordial spells, none of them are easy to obtain. Each would require much preparation, and one might have to risk their life. Nonetheless, I imagine that mages such as you would not let that hinder you. In particular, I can share that at least one spell whose location I know appears to belong to the lumomancy school. There are also several promising artifacts mentioned in some of the records I have found, which I imagine would interest you as well."

An almost motherly smile appeared on Adalicia's face. "That certainly is interesting, I'll say. Even if your words do sound somewhat ridiculous, it's clear you know how to intrigue me."

"I endeavor to always be prepared before going into negotiations such as this," Scarlett said. "It would not do for me not to be familiar with those I intend to collaborate with."

"That's a wise outlook to have in life." Adalicia met her eyes for a moment. "But before I say anything about the offer itself, would you mind if I asked a few questions of you first?"

"Feel free."

"You've referenced your research a few times. I'd like to know exactly what sort of research that is. Is it work you've carried out yourself? And is that what then led to your discovery of the Zuverian ruins outside of Freybrook?"

"It is, in part, my own work, yes. But it is built upon notes passed down by some of my ancestors, who appeared to have had a great interest in the subject. Originally, it was largely a gathering of old legends and tales, with some references to previous ruins that had been discovered. This aided in finding the ruins near here, which were concealed beneath an old stone formation, and had a hidden puzzle that opened the entrance."

Adalicia nodded. "That is common for Zuverian ruins."

"I have also cross-referenced much of what I found in those ruins with other sources I have access to in order to determine the location of more hidden ruins. As of now, I have a sufficient enough grasp on this network of ruins to determine the exact location of several, and the general area of many others."

"Would I be able to take a look at this material?"

Scarlett shook her head. "I am afraid not. None other than I may see it. That is a point I will not negotiate on."

"But it will be hard to determine how reliable it is otherwise. Finding one set of ruins is far from a revolutionary achievement."

"That may be so, but I am well aware of the worth of this research." Scarlett considered Adalicia for a moment. "And I have already visited more of these sites."

"You have?"

"Yes. While I have not announced it publicly, I visited a forgotten Zuverian outpost last week. It will not be long before I visit more of them."

"An outpost? Similar to the one near the Resting Eye?"

"Indeed."

The Resting Eye was a massive volcano to the east, which was situated in the middle of a large lake. Like the Whitdown Mountains, it also had a Zuverian outpost near it.

"…That means there was a Kilnstone as well."

"Correct. However, I will not share the location of this particular Kilnstone."

Adalicia's eyes widened slightly. "Why not? It would be a tremendous discovery."

"Because this one does not belong to the empire. And if people were to begin visiting this place, it could spell disaster for many."

Well, it probably wouldn't. It'd be inconvenient for Scarlett, though. And there was legitimately a slight risk of catastrophe if people started walking around that area of the Whitdown Mountains and ended up stumbling into the wrong place.

"So profit isn't your only goal with this, then?" Adalicia asked.

Scarlett paused. Was that how she interpreted it?

"It is, to a certain degree. But there are other factors that take priority over such things."

Adalicia went quiet, and Scarlett allowed her time to think.

Her gaze wandered across the room as she took in the different paintings and the embroidered tapestry that hung above some of the windows. She should probably consider herself lucky that this room and the others like it didn't receive any damage during the night. Some of the things in here had to be worth a fortune.

…Actually, how much were these things worth? Could you sell it? Or maybe that would be a bit too tasteless, considering how old some of it might be.

"It's an interesting opportunity," Adalicia said. "If your words are true."

Scarlett turned back to the woman.

"I wouldn't be here if I thought it was all nonsense. But despite what I might believe personally, I am still a mage of Elystead Tower. It's inevitable that they'll get involved in some manner if I were to work with you. If that creates difficulties because of Vice-Dean Rowley, there isn't much I can do. I am not above him in authority when it comes to tower matters."

"I presume the Dean of the tower is away at the moment?"

Adalicia let out a sigh. "He is. There is no telling when he will return."

"Then I will simply have to proceed with the requisite caution. I do not believe Rowley will cause issue as long as Elystead Tower stands to gain from their affiliation with my house. There is no intention of meeting with him personally on my end anyhow."

"Does that mean you intend to give Elystead Tower priority when it cames to artifacts and discoveries made from the results of our collaborations?"

"I would give you priority, since this is a partnership between the two of us." Scarlett looked the woman in the eyes. "How the distribution of what remains is decided I will leave to my younger sister. If your cooperation is contingent on allowing the Elystead Tower precedence, I am sure we can arrange something along those lines as well."

Adalicia smiled. "It would be foolish for me not to take an opportunity like that."

"Then am I to understand that you are keen on accepting my proposal?"

"I think it will still depend on how things proceed from here, but yes."

The ends of Scarlett's lips rose in a smile, and she leaned forward in her seat. "If so, let me elaborate on what exactly this proposal would entail."

An hour later, Adalicia had left, and Scarlett was walking back toward her office. The two of them had ended up discussing a surprising amount of things related to Scarlett's "research", and what further information she held regarding the ancient Zuver. Scarlett had been careful not to divulge too much, but there had still been a lot to talk about. Adalicia's interest in the subject appeared to be a bit more intense than Scarlett had originally thought.

She found herself glad she'd read up on it lately. While it was clear she wasn't as knowledgeable on the topic as the wizard had been, with a mix of what Scarlett knew from the game and what she'd learned during the past few weeks, she felt certain that she had presented a reliable enough image.

Adalicia's enthusiasm had probably spiked when the conversation had passed on to some of the different artifacts and enchantments that Scarlett knew the Zuver had. Adalicia was a wizard who specialized in both lumomancy and unschooled magic, the latter of which was the most common when it came to magical items and enchantments.

Eventually, though, the woman had announced she couldn't delay any longer. Considering an arch wizard was waiting for her, Scarlett couldn't really protest, even if there were a few more specifics she wanted to go through. The fact that an individual that powerful had helped Adalicia with something this minor spoke of the woman's connections, despite not being an arch wizard herself.

Before leaving, however, Adalicia had presented an unexpected question, wondering if Scarlett was related to any of the mages on the Rising Isle. Apparently, there was a grand wizard of that name who held some repute there.

Scarlett had no idea who this person was. The Rising Isle had over a dozen mages who had reached the 'grand' level, and even when playing the game there hadn't been any point in learning all their names. She couldn't remember anything about there being a branch family like that, though, from what she'd seen of the Hartford family tree in the mansion's library. So she couldn't even answer if they were related or not, which is roughly what she ended up telling Adalicia.

She'd have to ask Evelyne about it later on. If their family had such powerful connections within the Rising Isle, it felt as if the younger Hartford sister wouldn't have been so engrossed in forging connections with the towers and other mage factions earlier. Maybe it was just a coincidence. Or perhaps it was just a very distant branch.

Though it felt odd that they would have kept the name if that was the case. Scarlett had learned that most branches of noble houses here often ended up creating cadet branches with new names. And from what she'd seen of the family tree, the Hartford family had no such cadet branches in the current generation. Scarlett and Evelyne were the only still-living members of the family, unless you went back over two generations.

It was an odd piece of information, hearing about this other Hartford, but nothing that directly mattered to her at the moment. Now that she had Adalicia's preliminary support as a patron on Zuverian matters, she wouldn't have to worry as much about those particular things. Adding Adalicia to the mix would bring an air of legitimacy to her findings, and put less attention directly on her and her methods. Not to mention how it would make reaching certain ruins a lot easier.

Now she just had a mountain of other problems looming on the horizon instead.

Scarlett paused in her thoughts as she reached the hallway outside her office. Molly stood next to one of the windows facing the courtyard, bent over as she seemed to interact with something in front of the window.

Earlier this morning, Molly had looked like she was about to keel over with how pale she'd been, the events of the night still fresh in the servant's mind. Which was understandable enough. Scarlett had learned that the woman was a mother—of all things—and when she wasn't working here in the mansion, she would return to her home in the city and take care of her two young children. The woman couldn't have much time left for all of that though, considering how often she was here at the mansion, and now she might very well have lost her life the night before if Fynn hadn't been there.

What was Scarlett paying the woman?

Molly looked up as she approached. "Oh, my Lady."

She curtsied.

Scarlett's gaze went past her, freezing as she laid eyes on a small shape on the windowsill.

It was a cat. With pure, jet-black fur and clear amethyst eyes.

Molly turned to the animal. "I-I found her walking the hallways here, my Lady. I'm not sure where she came from or who she belongs to, but I thought it might have been that guest from the mage tower…"

The woman looked up at Scarlett with a hesitant expression. "Should I get Gilbert so that he can remove her?"

The cat's wide eyes were affixed on Scarlett, as if it was appraising her.

"…No. That will not be necessary. Leave it be and return to your post. I will call you if you are needed."

"As you wish, my Lady." Molly threw one last glance at the cat, then padded down the hallway to where her quarters were located.

Scarlett's eyes stayed on the cat. To think that the time had already arrived.

The cat meowed and jumped down on the floor, striding up to the office door. Scarlett slowly followed, stopping in front of the entrance for a moment. The cat meowed again, as if it was impatient at her slight delay.

She glanced down at it, then reached out to open the door. The cat quickly slinked inside, and she followed.

At the far end of the office, behind her large desk, stood a man with his back turned toward her. On the wall in front of him hung a massive painting depicting a vast, unfamiliar battlefield. A long dark cape was draped over the man's shoulder, and a top hat sat on his head. His right arm was stretched out beside him, resting atop a tall black cane.

The cat crossed the room and disappeared behind the desk, soon appearing on the other end as it jumped up and laid down next to some documents Scarlett had gone through earlier in the day.

"Greetings, Baroness." A dignified voice rang out across the room as the man tapped a finger against the crown of his cane. "I heard you wanted to meet with me."

The Gentleman had come to visit.

Chapter 84 - A Gentleman's visit

"The Field of Broken Pacts." The man's voice drifted across the room as he regarded the painting in front of him. "That is its name."

A brief silence hung over the room.

"It was a battle that ended the life of countless thousands, and decided the fate of untold more. Accounts say even the very skies tore open that day, when the promises of those that came before dwindled into nothingness. It was a time when the hubris of man brought the gods low, yet all the same, when the character of man shone brightest."

Scarlett moved her gaze to the unfamiliar painting hanging on the wall. It depicted a vast field with several armies on it; tiny figures in armor, spread across a large canvas of interconnected conflict, all pressing forward toward the basin of a deep valley.

"I make it a habit to always bring a gift when a guest in another's home." The man turned around, his eyes meeting hers. He held a surprisingly common appearance, with short black hair and dull brown eyes. If Scarlett were pressed to describe him, she'd say he looked much like your average middle-aged man. Exactly why he fit that description, she wasn't quite sure. But it felt right, nonetheless.

"I hope it pleases you."

She shot one last look at the painting. "…I was not expecting a gift. It looks to have been made by a master."

The Gentleman smiled, leaning his cane against the desk. "The artist was famed for his unique work process. He would put months into each piece, working tirelessly for days on end until it was finished. All else was secondary; his only goal being breathing life into his creations. It was quite a sight to behold."

The man sat down in front of the desk and gestured towards the seat across from him.

Scarlett watched him wordlessly for a moment, before walking over and sitting down in the chair. This was her own office, yet she still felt like the guest here.

"You are already aware of who I am. Nevertheless, an introduction is always in order." The Gentleman brought up a hand as he tilted the front of his hat. "I am often referred to as The Gentleman. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

She placed her hands on the table. "The sentiment is mutual. I am Baroness Scarlett Hartford. I have heard much about you."

"I am sure you have." The man gave a gentle nod, briefly looking around the room. "I hope you do not mind the sudden visit. I happened to be in the vicinity and there was no set date on the invite, so I took it upon myself to decide the occasion."

"That is quite alright," Scarlett said. "Although I will admit that I was not entirely certain you would accept."

"It is not often that someone extends an invitation to me these days. I felt I had to repay the courtesy."

The black-furred cat that lay on the desk in front of them let out a long meow.

"Oh my, you're right," The Gentleman responded. He looked up at Scarlett. "You'll have to excuse my discourteousness. I almost forgot to introduce my fair companion here. This is Her Royal Highness Tazu'Ivhra D'lhemra Azidazcha Ma'hri Khinzanda, Sovereign over the Endless Jungles of Najjera, the Realm of Ji'Var, the Eternal Dominion of Za'gh, the Sands of Baajirr, and all of the sunbathed lands between."

The cat let out another meow.

"Ah, and it appears she has approved of the windowsill outside. She will extend you the honor of it being added to her domain for all hours of the day that it's graced by the light of the sun."

Scarlett turned to look down at the cat as it seemed to straighten its back, preening with pridefulness.

"…How very magnanimous of you, Your Highness."

The cat meowed once more.

"You can call her Empress."

"…I see. Thank you, Empress, for this honor."

Empress gave Scarlett a long look, then put her head down on the desk and started licking her paw.

"Now, then," The Gentleman continued. Scarlett turned her attention back to him. "With the introductions concluded, shall we proceed to more pertinent matters?"

She inclined her head. "Very well."

"As you were the one to summon me, I can only assume there was something in particular you wished to discuss? The fellows who approached me weren't particularly forthcoming on that front."

"I hope they did not affront. I had no other methods of contacting you."

"Hmm, yes, they were rather suspicious, weren't they? But it is quite alright. I am not one to judge others' practices, and I understand it can sometimes be difficult to reach an itinerant man such as myself."

"I am glad there were no problems," Scarlett said, then paused, eyeing him for a moment. "…I did confer with the Vice-Dean of Elystead Tower at first, in the hopes that they could afford me their aid with the matter. But mentioning your name only seemed to aggravate the man."

"Oh, you asked him first?" The Gentleman's brows rose, and he showed a small smile. "No, I suppose the idea wouldn't enthuse him much."

"May I ask why that is? If you do not mind."

The man brought his hand up to his chin, eyes drifting. "It was some years ago now, when certain members of that tower ended up holding an interest in some matters related to me. I do believe Rowley was among their numbers as well. Unfortunately they did not appear to be especially familiar with the concept of courtesy at the time, and their interest grew to be somewhat of an annoyance to me. If I recall correctly, it all resulted in me giving them a rather brusque admonishment. I imagine the circumstances would have to be rather dire for him or any of the others to try and contact me again."

"I…see."

Scarlett didn't know what to say beyond that.

So that was the reason behind how Rowley had reacted? She hadn't heard of anything like it in the game, but that didn't mean it never happened. And the questline for contacting The Gentleman had been a pretty unique situation, so it wasn't outside of the realm of reasonability that Rowley would have felt forced to act despite previous experiences with the man.

Still, even though she didn't know exactly what counted as a "brusque admonishment", Rowley's actions felt like an overreaction. There were a million better ways to handle the situation. For crying out loud, just a simple no would have been better.

Suddenly, Empress let out another loud meow. The Gentleman's forehead creased as he looked down at the cat. "Mind your manners, Empress. We're guests here." His eyes turned back to Scarlett. "You will have to excuse her. She hasn't had her milk this morning."

Scarlett eyed the dark-furred cat. Empress looked back at her with those large, amethyst eyes.

After a few seconds, Scarlett returned her attention to The Gentleman. "Would you kindly open the second drawer on your left?"

The man arched an eyebrow at her, before opening the drawer and pulling out the gold bell inside. Scarlett held out a hand, and he handed it to her.

Its sound echoed out across the room as she rang the bell, then waited quietly for a while. The Gentleman's and Empress' curious gazes were fixed on her.

Eventually, the office doors opened and Molly stepped inside. "You called for me, my Lad—"

The woman stopped, eyes wide open as she stared at their end of the room.

"You know the Kindle spell, do you not?" Scarlett asked.

Molly blinked a few times, her focus turning to Scarlett. "Y-Yes, my Lady."

"Good. Then have a bowl of fresh milk brought from the kitchen. Ensure that it is of a suitable temperature, and make haste."

The servant held a confused look on her face, glancing at the cat resting on the table.

"…As you wish, my Lady," she said and left the office.

Scarlett turned back to Empress and The Gentleman. The cat was giving her what seemed like a look of acknowledgment.

"I see you are a rather accommodating host," The Gentleman said.

"You are my guests. It is only right that I take your wants and needs into consideration. Are there perhaps any refreshments you want, as well?"

The man held up a hand. "I am quite satisfied, thank you."

Scarlett gave a low nod. "Then let us continue on. There are two topics I wished to discuss."

"Ah, yes. Let us hear it. Empress here believed you were going to demand my backing in some temerarious pursuit or other, though I myself found that somewhat improbable."

Empress let out a harsh cry, glaring at The Gentleman.

"I only say it as it is, dear. There is nothing wrong with reevaluating one's opinion after meeting an individual."

The cat turned away from him with what Scarlett could have sworn was an indignant expression.

She cleared her throat. "I presume you are aware that Beld Thylelion will open within a year?"

"I am." The Gentleman nodded. There was no look of surprise—or anything like it—over Scarlett knowing the fact. "There are bound to be many who are interested in what is hidden there. As you're bringing it up, I can only assume the same goes for you. It would be hard for you to accomplish much there, however, considering the other players that will be involved."

"That is indeed true."

"Were you hoping I would help you gain an edge over the others when it opens?" The tone he spoke in was the exact same cordial one as before, but somehow it caused the hairs on Scarlett's neck to rise.

"…Yes. But not in the manner which you might think."

She was in no position to make major demands of him. He would never help her with something like fighting the others to begin with, even if he could.

"What I want your help with is relatively modest. I want you to deliver a single article of mine, that is all. There would be no need for you to personally involve yourself beyond that."

He seemed to consider her for a moment, his fingers touching the head of the cane resting against the desk next to him. "Whether or not that is simple depends on the article, does it not? I'm curious. May I see it?"

She shook her head. "Unfortunately, it is not yet in my possession. When I acquire it, I would ensure it is provided to you immediately."

He slowly nodded along. "I understand. You do not have to tell me more than that. I'll refrain from promising anything until I have seen the item with my own eyes, but if I were to accept your proposal, what is it you would offer me in return?"

"That will depend." Scarlett met his eyes. "What would it take for you to agree to this arrangement?"

This was the first time she'd been in a situation like this. Even with all of her game knowledge, she had no idea what she could use to convince him. None of the information she held would work as payment—as far as she knew—and there were no items she could get that would interest him. When it came to her current plans, this part was without a doubt the biggest unknown. She was solely relying on the possibility that there would be something he wanted.

The deal with the Hallowed Cabal had been a gamble as well, but there she had at least been aware of the cards in the opponent's deck. Here, it wasn't much different from going in blind.

The Gentleman studied her for several seconds. Finally, he reached up to remove his top hat, placing it on the desk in front of him. "A favor."

Scarlett's eyes followed his hands as he dusted off some nonexistent dust from the rim.

"A…favor?" she asked.

"The request itself is not difficult, as you said. A favor will be enough of a payment, if I do indeed judge the request acceptable. Sometime in the future, if I ask you to repay this favor, I would simply like for you to uphold your end." He smiled. "Don't fret. I doubt I'll ask for anything absurd, if that is what you're thinking."

"I was thinking nothing of the sort. In fact, I believe this is more than a satisfactory arrangement for me."

Truth was, she had little choice in the matter. Not knowing exactly what his request would be made her a bit disconcerted, but it wasn't as if she was making a pact with a demon this time. And she had to get his help here, no matter what.

"You have my word that, when the time comes, I will uphold my part of the bargain."

A knock sounded out from the door as Molly returned, pushing in a serving cart with a single bowl on it. The woman moved quietly as she passed Scarlett—stopping only for a moment to glance down at Empress—and placed the bowl down in front of the cat.

Empress gave it a look, let out a long meow at the woman, then moved over and happily started licking the milk inside the bowl.

Molly watched on for a while until Scarlett waved her away.

Empress let out another meow after the woman had left the room.

"Oh? Is it that good?" The Gentleman looked down at his feline companion. "Then perhaps I should leave you here. That way, you can keep enjoying their milk until next time I come here."

The cat stopped for a moment to hiss at him, then returned to her meal.

He chuckled, turning his attention back to Scarlett. "If an accord has been reached, then shall we move on? I believe you said there were two points to discuss, yes?"

"That is correct." Scarlett folded her hands. "I will be blunt. I wish to enter Freymeadow."

"Ah." A look of understanding appeared in his eyes. "Now I see."

Freymeadow was a small village that was related to a certain questline in the game. It wasn't actually too far away from Freybrook, so reaching the place wasn't difficult. But entering it was a completely different matter. There was a set way of doing it—requiring a specific item that could only be found in a side room inside a dungeon that was locked behind several other questlines—but reaching that point would take a long time, even with Scarlett's knowledge. Those questlines were also a tad too high-level for her party. With Garside's help, they might have been able to clear some of them, but it would still take far too long.

That's why she'd thought of seeing if she couldn't simply skip all of that and just ask The Gentleman for help. If there was anyone who could help in this situation, it was him.

The person in question tapped his finger against the top of the hat on the desk. "I would like to rescind my previous words. I suspect I know what it is you want me to deliver, and I can tell you now that it won't be an issue."

Scarlett looked at him. "Truly?"

"Indeed." He showed her a cunning smile. "It's rather clever of you, Baroness. Your plan will in all likelihood work, as well. Although I cannot say I envy the path you will have to take to reach that point."

His attention seemed to shift as his eyes wandered away from Scarlett, and he gazed at the wall behind her with a thoughtful expression.

Then he let out a short laugh. "How serendipitous. It makes one wonder…"

Smile still on his face, he caressed Empress' back with his hand. "Dear, could you go and fetch it for us?"

The cat turned away from the bowl of milk to shoot him a dirty look.

"Now, now, don't be like that. The milk will still be here when you return. And I'm sure the Baroness here won't mind heating it up again if it were to turn cold."

Empress meowed.

"That is no way for a lady to speak. Especially when our host has been so gracious."

The cat glanced at Scarlett, then back at The Gentleman. After a few seconds, she strode over to the desk's edge and leaped down onto the floorboards in a single, graceful motion. Scarlett watched on as Empress crossed the room towards the door—which silently opened before the cat—and disappeared out into the hallway.

"She can be quite the feisty one," The Gentleman said.

Scarlett turned back to him. "It would appear so."

A silence fell over the room as the two of them looked each other over.

For some reason, the stillness made her feel uncomfortable.

"Would a favor suffice as payment for this as well?" she asked.

The Gentleman gently shook his head. "There is no need for any reimbursement this time."

Scarlett blinked. "Are you certain?"

What, so she was getting this for free?

"I believe in equal transactions, and it would be unfair of me to demand payment for this. I am only ensuring that an heirloom is returned to its rightful owner. That is hardly deserving of compensation, wouldn't you say?"

She couldn't help the frown that grew on her face. "I am afraid I do not quite understand."

He massaged his chin. "No, I suppose you would not. Let us put it like this instead." He held up a finger. "When your business in Freymeadow is concluded, present the item to the person you meet at the end there. That will work, as well. You could even consider this the payment, if you so wish."

"And that would suffice?"

"That would be more than enough."

"Very well. Then I will do so."

That much shouldn't be too hard.

"I am glad we seem to have resolved that." The Gentleman nodded. "I am eager to see where you will bring things in the future. I'm certain there will be lots of interesting events unfolding around you."

Scarlett stilled. "…You appear to know a lot about me."

"Quite the opposite, in fact. I know frighteningly little about you. But that alone tells me much."

She stared at him.

What could he discern from only that? Might he actually have information about her situation?

"Perhaps, do you—"

"Well, let us not dwell on those matters," he said before she could continue. "I could not help but notice the clutter outside."

He gestured towards the right wall, though there was no window to the courtyard. "Are you perhaps renovating?"

Scarlett reined back the annoyance that arose at his interruption. She wasn't going to tell The Gentleman—of all people—off. He had been completely aware he was cutting her short. If he didn't want to continue a topic, there was nothing she could do about it.

"We had an unfortunate encounter with some contentious individuals last night. The situation was resolved, but regrettably, not all damage to the estate could be prevented."

"That is a shame. This is a beautiful home you have here."

"Thank you."

"I can tell there is much history here, and that it has seen many owners throughout the years. I am sure you won't be the last."

"One can only hope."

He let out a calm chuckle. "Yes, hope is always good to have."

She held her eyes on him, wondering what to say next. Suddenly Empress jumped up on the desk beside her, the cat now holding something in her mouth.

She hadn't even heard the door open.

"Thank you dear," The Gentleman said as Empress placed the item on the desk and went back to her bowl of milk.

Scarlett looked at the object. It was an old hairpin made of silver. Several rubies were affixed to its head, where the metal had been twisted in the shape of a leaf. There appeared to have once been letters carved onto its side, but those had long since faded away. Even the silver itself hadn't escaped the passage of time, marred on several spots by a dark, orangy tin.

[Forgotten Hairpin (Unique)]

{This hairpin once belonged to a noble young lady. Both have long since been buried by the sands of time}

She carefully picked it up, examining the hairpin in her hand. In the game you found a bracelet, but considering The Gentleman was the one who gave it to her, this would most likely work just as well.

It did make her wonder where Empress had gone, though. Scarlett didn't know the limits of the strange cat, but even The Gentleman would probably have had to spend a bit more time than that if it was the bracelet he'd gone to get instead.

The man put a hand into his black suit jacket, pulling out a grey pocket watch. "I think that is about all the time I have for today." He picked up his hat, placing it on his head, then shot Scarlett another smile. "It has been a pleasure meeting you, Baroness. I'll make sure to visit and pick up that item of yours when I have the time, so don't worry about contacting me."

"It has been a pleasure meeting you as well."

As he stood from his chair, Empress turned back to him and let out a short meow.

"Let's not bother the Baroness any further, dear. I'm sure we can find something for you later."

The cat's response was an annoyed flick of the head as she walked up to the edge of the desk and leaped down onto the floor.

"Thank you, dear." The Gentleman looked back at Scarlett, tipping his hat. "Till next time, my Lady."

"Farewell."

With that, The Gentleman picked up his cane and rounded the desk, walking towards the room's exit along with Empress. Scarlett remained in her seat as the door opened and closed behind her, staring at the large painting that now hung across the back wall of her office.

Unlike a lot of other things she had encountered lately, that had gone surprisingly well.

Chapter 85 - Unwelcome drop-ins

Scarlett wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead, looking out across the training grounds. Some of the items she used for her training were lined up next to the wooden shed towards the edge, but the grounds themselves had been mostly cleaned up since the Fynn incident. The shed's roof still had to be replaced though, as well as some of the ruined stonework. But the focus amongst the staff was currently on the wrecked courtyard, so things like these would have to wait. That included finding replacements for the enchanted training dummies that had been destroyed by the incident. That'd probably cost a buck.

Thankfully, she didn't need those things to carry out her training. She'd mostly been practicing her hydrokinesis lately, with Garside not being in a good state to instruct her in his methods at the moment. Her proficiency with the skill was still far off from what she would call 'combat ready'—other than the occasional Aqua Mine and controlling alchemy bombs as she'd done in the Howling Gale's Haunt—but she was making progress. Just the other day, she'd been able to cut through a sheet of metal with just her hydrokinesis. Though it had been a relatively thin sheet, and taken some time. It had also looked more like she'd been pushing down a blunt knife through a piece of hard butter.

Still, it was better than what she'd been able to do when she first started.

And while the past week had been a flurry of things happening, she'd finally spent those skill points she had been saving up.

[Name: Scarlett Hartford]

[Skills:

[Greater Mana Control]

[Greater Pyromancy]

[Greater Pyrokinesis]

[Hydromancy]

[Greater Hydrokinesis]]

[Traits:

[Dignified August]

[Supercilious]

[Cavalier]

[Callous]

[Overbearing]

[Conceited]

[Third-rate Mana Veins]]

[Mana: 456/4537]

[Points: 9]

[Skills Menu:

Upgrades

[Superior Pyromancy] (25 points)

[Superior Pyrokinesis] (25 points)

[Greater Hydromancy] (10 points)

[Superior Hydrokinesis] (25 points)

[Superior Mana Control] (25 points)

New skills

[LOCKED]]

Her [Minor Hydromancy] had been upgraded to [Hydromancy], [Pyromancy] to [Greater Pyromancy], and [Mana Control] to [Greater Mana Control]. She had performed the upgrades some time from each other, to ascertain for certain what each skill actually did.

As expected—as far as she could tell—upgrading mana control had lessened her total mana costs, as well as made it easier to work and control her magic in general. Meanwhile, neither [Greater Pyromancy] nor [Hydromancy] seemed to have had any effect on the 'control' or 'power' front. They did, however, lessen her mana costs for the respective element, or perhaps it was better to say they made her mana use more efficient.

As for how they did that, she wasn't completely sure. With [Greater Mana Control], she'd quite clearly felt the change in how she used her magic, and her connection with it. With [Greater Pyromancy] and [Hydromancy], however, it wasn't as clear-cut.

The best way to put it was perhaps in how she actually interacted with her magic. She would simply focus on wanting to create a ball of fire, and through some unconscious process, the flames would just appear. She could pull on and adjust the connection to those flames, to either increase the intensity or shape them however she wished. Like she was drawing from a well somewhere.

Now, after upgrading those two skills, it was still very much the same thing, but maybe the 'well' was closer? It was hard to put the abstract sensation into words. All she knew for certain was that it lowered her mana costs, though exactly how much was hard to tell. It seemed to at least have been more effective for the respective element than just upgrading [Mana Control] to [Greater Mana Control].

How she was conceptualizing it in her mind at the moment was that her magic was the water flow to a kitchen sink in a normal residential apartment. [Mana Control] affected the size of the faucet head and how much she could move it. Continuing with the analogy, the [Hydromancy] and [Pyromancy] skills affected which floor she was on, with lower pressure on the higher floors being equivalent to the lower skill levels.

There were a couple of issues with the analogy, but it didn't really matter much. It was just a way of structuring things in her mind as she tried to figure matters out. What was most important with this was actually just that it was another way of increasing how much magic she could do, other than just increasing her mana pool. It meant more time for her to spend practicing as well.

Though her limit still didn't go much further than maybe a dozen minutes before needing to rest, even when being frugal with her mana use.

But progress was progress. She was all about taking things step by step where she could.

Although she wasn't sure how long she could continue like that.

The Gentleman's visit a couple days earlier signaled the start of things. Many of her plans were being brought into motion. Soon, she would be up to her neck with things that needed doing. Just the day before, they'd cleared the last—or, well, almost the last—of the dungeons Scarlett thought she had any chance of finding near Freybrook. Now she would have to set her sights on new horizons for further loot and skill points. Clearing more of these low-level dungeons wouldn't be enough to keep up with what was going to happen from now on.

That was not to mention the arrangement she'd made with Adalicia or the Hallowed Cabal. And they still had to rebuild the courtyard and parts of the mansion that had been damaged.

Evelyne had been in contact regarding that last part. The younger woman had seemed to think the account of an attack was a bad joke of some kind, and it hadn't been entirely clear whether she was livid over the news or worried. The letter Scarlett had written to the woman had only vaguely recounted the events, leaving out details about the Cabal and her deal with them. There was no point in telling Evelyne any of that at the moment. She might, in the future. When things were stabler in that regard.

That wasn't the only correspondence she had received lately, though. Scarlett had received a letter from the Delmon family as well this morning. At first, it had taken her a moment to remember that was the name of Leon's family, and that his father was the Marquis of Steepmond.

While their words had been courteous and flowery, the actual intent behind the letter was relatively straightforward. They were basically implying that they wanted the engagement between Scarlett and Leon to be dissolved.

Scarlett hadn't been surprised. The only astonishing thing was that it'd taken this long after the Elysian Proclamation for them to contact her. Judging from what she'd heard from Leon, she had thought they couldn't wait to rid themselves of any affiliations with her after that incident.

Maybe her showing during the Providing Ceremony had made them hesitate for a while? While she had put herself on the bad side of some of the empire's nobles, she had also gained some favor with the Followers of Ittar. Maybe that counted for more than she'd thought?

Whatever the reason, it wasn't as if it mattered much. She hadn't been planning on marrying Leon anyway. She barely knew the man. And while she'd heard that the original Scarlett apparently made good use of her connections to the marquisate, that didn't interest her much. She didn't even know how to use those connections to begin with. She was far too ignorant about how these nobles did things to try and play their games.

After taking some time to cool down, Scarlett walked over to the corner of the training grounds, where a small table and a chair had been set up for her. There was a carafe of water on the table. She sat down and picked up an already-filled glass. Leaning back in the chair, she looked out at the trees jutting up above the estate walls. The branches were wafting in the wind, leaves having lost their green color as summer passed.

Other than practicing her magic as she had done now, she still took time to perform some traditional exercises now and then as well. The [Mark of the Staunch] had made these sessions a lot easier, with its stamina-boosting effect. Though she was starting to wonder whether it was a smart idea to use an item like that when exercising. Perhaps relying on enhancement magic was detrimental to her efforts. She would have to look into the matter when she had the time.

It shouldn't be an issue keeping the ring on when training her magic, though. It didn't appear to have any effect on how tired depleting her mana made her. Mana exhaustion made both body and mind tired, no matter what artifacts she wore. It seemed to work on some different principle than the exhaustion you got from physical exercise.

She was interrupted in her thoughts as Nichol—one of the younger female servants working at the mansion, with blonde hair—came walking up to her.

"My Lady, there is a visitor."

Scarlett frowned. Another one?

It was starting to feel like the mansion's gates were just one large revolving door. She was also expecting Gaven to visit again in a couple of days.

"Who is it?"

The woman's eyes turned down a bit. "A Mister Cullen, my Lady."

Cullen? That wasn't a name she'd ever heard before.

"Was it important?"

Nichol hesitated slightly. "I-I'm not sure. He insisted on seeing you, saying you were acquainted. We didn't want to disturb you during your training, so he's been waiting for an hour. Shall we send him away?"

"No." Scarlett shook her head. She had the time to spare, and it was best to not leave these kinds of things alone. You never knew who these people could be. "Inform him I will be with him shortly. I will return to my chambers first."

"Understood, my Lady." The woman performed a deep curtsy and started walking back towards the mansion.

Scarlett stayed for a moment longer, downing another glass of water before she rose and began returning as well.

Soon enough, Scarlett had taken a quick bath and made herself ready. She wore a dark-red dress as she walked down the mansion's hallways towards the room where the visitor was.

As she reached her destination, she entered to see a man sitting on one of the couches. He was perhaps a few years her senior, with a thin beard and short black hair that was balding at some spots, and wore a brown vest over a white shirt. The getup looked a bit simple for someone paying a visit to a noble if she was going to be honest.

"Mister Cullen." She walked over to the armchair opposite him. "What business do you have with me?"

The man met her eyes with a thinly veiled look of irritation. She let it go for now, considering how long he had waited.

"You should know, Lady Hartford. Mister Cheek sent me because you haven't been in contact for a while."

She raised a brow. Mister Cheek? The name sounded familiar. "I have been preoccupied these past months."

Where had she heard that name? Was it an NPC from the game? No, she couldn't recall reading the name at any point. She was pretty sure she'd heard it somewhere.

"Busy with what, exactly?"

"That does not concern you."

The man's look turned even more annoyed. "Mister Cheek has been worried. He's afraid you're having second-thoughts about our cooperation."

Scarlett studied him closely. This all felt very familiar.

Hadn't she been visited by that slimy guy, the one from the Grey Dog Gang, in a similar manner when she first got here?

This man in front of her didn't quite have the same feeling of 'ickiness' to him, but the situation still rang the same bells.

Ah. Now she remembered.

Vern Cheek.

It was one of the names Beldon Tyndall had mentioned when she met him. Vern Cheek had been mentioned in the same breath as the Grey Dog Gang, which most likely meant it was another one of the original's criminal associates.

"Now," the man continued. "Mister Cheek was sure you wouldn't think of doing something as extreme as going back on your word with us, but he still wanted me to go just to make sure. In case you didn't know, we wouldn't be the only ones hurt from something like that." He locked eyes with her. "We know a lot of things I'm sure you don't want your other noble friends to learn of."

A scowl grew on Scarlett's face as the anger rose from inside. Why did she have to deal with more of this crap? Wasn't the Grey Dog Gang enough?

"Mister Cullen," she said in a firm voice. "Is your boss looking down on me?"

The man paused, apparently just now realizing where he was. "No, I was just—"

"Mister Cheek has deemed it right to send someone such as you to my estate. To question me, threaten me, in my own home. Someone who has the audacity to act with such disrespect, even while doing so." She stared him down. "How am I to interpret this, if not as your boss looking down on me?"

"That's not what he meant—"

"Is it not? Then are you saying he did not even realize the significance behind his actions, or yours?"

"That's…" The man turned quiet as he took a moment to gather himself. "Look here, Lady Hartford. We heard about you helping the count here in Freybrook to deal with one of the local gangs. Anyone would get unsettled by you turning silent after that. I'm only here to make sure there aren't any problems."

"Did you have connections to the Grey Dog Gang?"

"No, but—"

"Then you have no reason to be concerned. The Grey Dog Gang proved to be an untrustworthy factor which caused several headaches for me, and so they paid the price for their actions. As long as you and your boss do not do the same, there is no issue."

He turned silent.

Scarlett didn't know who Vern Cheek actually was, or what business he'd done with the original, but she could wager a guess. Still, considering that the original had been a minor villain in the game, any associates of hers likely weren't going to be the largest fish in the pond. But if this Cheek guy actually had knowledge of the original's criminal activities—which he probably had—it could still cause serious trouble for her if he were to leak the information. It could literally ruin all of her plans and cost her life if it was serious enough.

"Of course, the boss doesn't want any trouble as long as you don't." The man seemed to have gathered himself again. "We just had to know we're on the same page, and that things can continue as usual in the future."

She crossed her arms. "And what, perchance, do you consider 'as usual'?"

"Well… I'm not exactly privy to the details."

She glared at him. This Cheek guy didn't even send a person who knew what their dealings were? Was he an idiot? Lazy? Or did he just not have anyone else to send?

She could tell that the man was growing uncomfortable under her gaze.

"…Very well." She relaxed her gaze. "I will be in contact when I have concluded my current matters. We can discuss further details at that time. Until then, you can inform Mister Cheek he has nothing to be worried over. And that he should be more cautious about sending people to my home."

"I'll…tell him that." The man gave a slow nod.

He remained where he was, sitting there quietly.

"…Do you intend to remain the whole day?"

His eyes widened, and he hurried out of his seat. "N-No, 'course not. I'm glad we could get things straightened out. I'll take my leave then. Excuse me."

Scarlett eyed him as he left the room, spotting a servant waiting in the hallway, ready to guide the man out.

She clicked her tongue when the door closed behind him.

What would she do about this mess now? Last time she'd had knowledge from the game. Things had been easy to handle because of that. Now, she wasn't that lucky. She barely knew anything at all about whatever happenings the original was involved with here, or what consequences it could have.

She gazed at one of the bookshelves lining the wall ahead of her.

Maybe Gaven could help somehow? But how? She barely knew more than these people's names, so what could she expect from him?

Beldon Tyndall had information on the original Scarlett's past associates, so perhaps she could get some information from Mirage? Beldon liked to be vague and all that, so she could probably write up a letter that was enigmatic enough that it wouldn't be a problem even if someone else read it first. She knew enough hidden intel from the game that would be appealing to them—but essentially worthless to her—so she could probably convince them to help her out with minor things like this a few more times, at least.

The question would be how to handle things after getting information from them.

But that could be decided later. First, she needed to learn what she was dealing with. Whatever it was, she wouldn't let herself be brought low easily.

Chapter 86 - Noble decisions

Scarlett sipped a cup of warm tea as she waited in the east wing's guest parlor. It was nearing late afternoon. She had spent much of the morning training, dealing with paperwork and reports sent over by Evelyne, and reviewing her current strategies after receiving new information from Mirage.

After that Cullen fellow had visited her two days earlier, she'd sent out a letter to Beldon Tyndall the day after, asking about as much information on her different 'associates' as she could get. The reply arrived this morning. The letter itself had been filled with vague pleasantries and Beldon wishing her well, saying he hoped they would have the chance to meet again soon, which had confused her at first. She was embarrassed to admit it had taken her a while to realize there was a hidden message. In a nutshell, some of the words hinted at her using magic to heat the letter up, after which the actual contents had revealed themselves on the paper.

And what she learned had left an unpleasant taste in her mouth. In full, the letter had described some of the known dealings of Vern Cheek, Bodil Pudges, and the Blue Skulls, all of who were supposedly tied to the original Scarlett. None of it had been quite as bad as the child trafficking the Grey Dog Gang had been involved with, but it was still far from good. The cleanest was probably Bodil Pudges, who 'only' ran several illegal gambling dens and similar in Elystead.

Things were a bit vague regarding the Blue Skulls. They were a group that was said to raid specific ships moving outside the empire's waters, mostly to the west and south, but there wasn't much more beyond that, other than that they were wanted on several charges over in Voneia. Why Mirage thought Scarlett was related to them wasn't entirely clear.

As for Vern Cheek, it appeared he acted as a loan shark of sorts over in Kilsfell, and was linked to several deaths in the region. From what Scarlett gathered, Mirage seemed to suspect the original of having cooperated with him to get rid of certain individuals, as well as moving money around in what essentially boiled down to some kind of money laundering. Though they didn't say as such in so many words.

There was more info, of course. For example, who Vern Cheek was believed to work with, and some of his close subordinates' names, as well as the names of some of the ships the Blue Skulls targeted and Bodil Pudges' places of business. But suffice it to say, none of these were groups you wanted deep ties to if you had goals of being an upstanding citizen. Or just not getting thrown into jail.

A knock sounded out from the door.

Scarlett looked up as it opened, revealing Gaven in the same blond disguise as last time. Skulking in the hallway behind him was a slightly hunched figure covered in dark brown robes. There was no servant with them. Scarlett had arranged it so that a guard would lead Gaven to the wing's side entrance, from where he'd find his own way. No other people should be present in this part of the mansion at the moment.

The man entered the room. The robed figure followed soon after, their head fretfully moving back and forth as if they were watching every corner.

"Welcome," Scarlett said to the two. "I am glad no issues appear to have arisen, despite the demand for subterfuge."

Gaven pulled off his disguise, revealing his thick, dark-brown hair and well-kept beard. "No difficulties is one way of putting it," he said with a small scoff. "But we're here at least."

Scarlett chose to ignore the small complaint as she turned to the other individual, studying them closely. "I take it you are the Countess?"

The person froze, their head slowly shifting towards her. Beneath the hood was the face of a woman, dirty and partially covered by loose-hanging bandages. Grimy, soot-colored locks with hints of gold hung down messily over a pair of bright blue eyes that had an almost crazed look to them.

A sense of revulsion filled Scarlett as they stared at her, and she fought to maintain a neutral expression.

After a few seconds, the woman blinked.

"Ah, ah."

She performed a clumsy curtsy where she stood. Scarlett's hair stood on end from the mere sight. "Good morning, Baroness. I-I'm so…thankful. I-It's an…honor to meet you."

"…The sentiment is mutual."

The response this woman provoked in Scarlett wasn't quite on the same level of disgust as Evelyne, but it was still difficult to control her tone. She pointed towards the leather couch opposite her. "Take a seat."

The Countess walked over, then stopped to stare at the piece of furniture. She furtively glanced around the room for a moment, before eventually sitting down with an awkward movement, head turned downwards.

Scarlett scrunched up her nose as the stench reached her, a mix of wet alley and stale bread.

Gaven circled the couch to sit down on the other end, his eyes meeting hers. She could tell his annoyance at the situation.

She turned back to the Countess. "Do you wish for some tea? Or something to eat?"

The woman stilled, looking up at her. "…Tea?"

Scarlett gestured towards two silver trays with lids that stood on the table between them.

After a few seconds passed without a reply, Gaven leaned forward and removed the lids, revealing plates filled with steaming soup, bread, and three cups with tea in them.

The Countess' eyes widened as she stared at the food, then turned to Scarlett. "I-Is…it ok?"

Scarlett nodded. "By all means."

"So…kind." The woman's words were almost a whisper. Two bandaged hands appeared from beneath her robes and snatched up a piece of white bread. The woman immediately began scarfing it down.

What had remained of Scarlett's appetite faded as she saw the woman's filthy fingers grasping the bread, with half-broken nails that looked to have been chewed down to size, yet were still too long. Within seconds, the Countess was licking the crumbs from her fingers.

"…You may eat as much as you wish," Scarlett said. "There is no need to fret."

The woman paused with her hands in the air, gaping at her. "Y-You're truly kind… Thank you for your…generosity."

She picked up another loaf of bread.

Scarlett looked away as the woman started gorging on this piece as well, turning her attention to Gaven. "It would seem as if you have accomplished the task I assigned you, Ridley. Well done."

"Yeah, well, you were right. Turned out to be surprisingly simple." The man shrugged his shoulders. "Ain't been easy, though. Just glad it's over now."

"As agreed upon, your performance will be rewarded," Scarlett said. "Can I also assume you are willing to continue your work for me?"

He let out a short laugh. "Lady, I'd be willing to kill for what you're paying, as long as it doesn't get me killed."

Scarlett scowled at him.

He raised his arms. "Sorry, sorry. My Lady."

"Good." Scarlett nodded her head. "There is still much that I have in store for you, after all."

She turned back to the Countess, who was in the process of devouring her fourth loaf of bread. "If you are starved, you can also try the soup. I believe it will be more appetizing and filling than mere bread. You may use the cutlery on the tray."

Gold and silver spoons were lying next to the plates.

The woman looked at them uncertainly, but soon picked up a plate and an engraved silver spoon that she held gingerly in her hand.

"Perhaps I should formally introduce myself," Scarlett continued, after ensuring the woman actually seemed to know how to use a spoon. "I am Baroness Scarlett Hartford, the holder of this estate and Lady of Stagmond Keep. As Ridley here might have informed you, I heard of the plight wrought upon you and could not sit idly still while such injustices were allowed to stand. That is why I have invited you to my home. I wished to meet with you, and aid you in seeking retribution for these wrongs."

"Ah…" Small tears formed at the edge of the Countess' eyes. "You're right… You're right," she said in a frenzied tone. "I've fallen to this state. They took all from me… They took it all. They'll pay. I want them to pay…" She stared at Scarlett from beneath the hood. "…You'll really help me? Thank you! Thank you…so much! I can tell… You're a true noble. You won't allow them to do this… Thank you."

The woman's words continued, soon trailing off into an unintelligible ramble as her head turned downwards, towards the soup plate before her.

Scarlett noticed Gaven rolling his eyes. It appeared he'd already grown used to this during the short time he had spent with the woman. He pulled at his ear like he was waiting for it to end.

A loud crash sounded out as the table in front of Scarlett suddenly split in two and caved in on itself.

The Countess was leaning over where her soup had been, a half-broken and bent spoon in her hand as she stared down at the chaos. "Ah, ah, n-no, no."

She threw herself to her knees, right on top of the destroyed table and shattered plates, crawling towards Scarlett. "Ple-Please forgive me! I di-didn't want to—please, please, I'm sorry. I'll replace—I'll replace it!"

"Stop," Scarlett commanded before the woman could clamber over the whole table. "There is no need for you to beg forgiveness. It is evident it was not your intent to damage the table, nor do I intend to hold it against you. Do not lower yourself so."

The Countess froze, gaping up at her with a beholden expression. "Ah… You're truly…a kind woman. A…saint. Thank you. So generous… Thank you… I will repay you."

The look in the hysterical woman's eyes told Scarlett enough. Those words were filled with nothing but honesty. Like a child who trusted everything the adults said unequivocally.

She turned away, gauging the damage to the room. It wasn't too bad, thankfully. There was a tear at the bottom of the couch Gaven and the Countess were on, where a piece of the table had hit, and clear indentations on the floorboards, but the table had taken the brunt of the damage.

"Ju-Just wait," the Countess continued. "I will definitely repay your kindness… I look like this now, but… I am actually a countess." She nodded her head slowly. "Once I return to my land… Once I regain everything… I will definitely repay you."

"There is no need for repayment," Scarlett said. "My aim is to aid you, but there are also certain matters where I might require your help as well. Some of these are related to your restitution, and are worth well more than this table."

"…R-Really?" the Countess asked.

"Yes." Scarlett nodded. "Now, raise yourself from the floor. That is no way for a noblewoman to carry herself."

The Countess stared at her for a moment longer. Then she put her palms on the broken remains on the table, ignoring the splinters and shards of plate, and pushed herself up. Glancing around fitfully for another second, she lightly touched the bandages on her hands and sat down on the couch again.

After the woman seemed to have settled herself, Scarlett turned to Gaven.

"Ridley. Do you recall the key you brought me previously?"

The man's eyes narrowed at her. "Yeah…"

"I wish for you to procure the other one."

"…There's one more?"

"There is."

"…Is it in a similar place to the last one?"

"The locations are of a comparable nature, yes."

The unenthusiastic expression on his face spoke volumes.

"I can assure you that your reward will be more than satisfactory this time as well." Scarlett met his eyes for a moment, then turned back to the Countess. "This is also part of why I wished for you to come here, Countess. Would you be willing to accompany him on this assignment? Your aid would be greatly appreciated, and I believe it would be vital in securing other conditions required for restoring your title."

Gaven wouldn't be able to clear Abelard's Doll Pavilion by himself. But with the Countess helping him, it shouldn't be an issue.

"You want…my…help?" A strange smile grew on the woman's face. "Ah, ah, I'll help. Of course…I'll help the Baroness. Yes…I am a countess, so of course I'll help…" She trailed off into an incoherent ramble once more.

Scarlett waited for the woman to calm down again. "Thank you. I must warn you, however, that this location has some discomforting elements present. It is best that you be careful when there. Although I am certain Ridley will be able to provide any further guidance when necessary."

"Ah, thank you, thank you. So kind." The Countess fervently began nodding her head, some of the bandages on her face swaying with the movement.

Scarlett's eyes passed to the woman's clothes. While the robes appeared relatively new, the lower half was now covered with crumbs and soup from crawling over the table earlier. Not to mention how the woman herself looked like she'd just been picked up out of a dark alleyway somewhere.

Maybe they should get her cleaned up. And either get rid of or replace some of the bandages.

"If you wish, you may remove your robes," Scarlett said. "They are no longer necessary."

The Countess froze, an agitated glint appearing in her eyes. "No…No…Nononono." She pulled the robes closer around her, hiding her hands and much of her face. Whispering escaped her mouth. "…hideous… Scars… It's hideous… I can't…"

Scarlett frowned. The woman had always worn the same garbs in the game as well, but so did most of the characters. It was a game, after all. She hadn't known there was another reason behind it. Just from looking at her, however, the Countess didn't look 'hideous'. Her appearance was certainly filthy, yes—to the level where it made Scarlett's skin crawl—but she didn't look much older than Scarlett herself, and the parts under the bandage that were visible looked normal. But the bandages were also haphazardly applied, so there was no telling which parts they were actually intended to cover.

"…Very well. I will not force you if you do not wish to," Scarlett said. "But there is no need for you to remain in such an unwashed state. I have taken the liberty of having a warm bath drawn in the connecting room, so that you may at the very least clean yourself and take some time to relax."

The Countess stared at her. "A…bath?"

"Yes." Scarlett gestured towards a door in the room's corner. "It is through there. Everything has already been prepared, so there is no need to worry. You can take as much time as you require."

The woman remained still for several seconds, before glancing towards the door.

"If you do not wish to take it right now, I can have another bath prepared later."

"Ah, ah. No." The Countess shook her head. Her hands emerged from beneath the robes, clamped over her lap. "…A bath," she mumbled and stood. "I'll…become clean…"

It was as if their existence had been completely forgotten by the woman now. Rambling to herself, she drifted past Gaven and across the room towards the door. Soon, she disappeared into the next room without leaving another word to them.

A few seconds of silence passed.

"Blasted crazy woman…" Gaven muttered.

"…Watch your words," Scarlett said.

"What? She's insane. Don't act like you weren't put off by her either."

She met his eyes for a moment.

It wasn't as if he was wrong. Even discounting the original's traits, that was an uncomfortable experience. It was the first time she'd ever interacted with a person like that. In either world. Even knowing exactly what she needed to say to convince the Countess, there was still a certain sense of unease one got from interacting with the woman, feeling like you couldn't be sure what she'd do next. Or whether it was okay to get irritated at a person who clearly wasn't entirely…'there'.

Scarlett shifted her gaze towards the door the Countess had left through.

"…I am expecting you to cooperate with her regularly from now on, so I would recommend that you refrain from using such language. It serves no one."

"You're really expecting me to work with her?"

"I do, yes."

"Why? I'll just do the work by myself, like last time."

"You would fail. Her aiding you will make matters easier for all parties."

"Seriously?"

"Yes. This is what I am paying you for. I expect you to be able to tolerate some inconveniences."

And the Countess was needed for a lot more than just muscle. If it was just pure strength, Scarlett probably wouldn't have risked it with the woman.

She leaned back on the couch, resting her arm against the armrest to her left. "In addition to acquiring the second key, there is one more task that I have for you."

"Does this one also include 'the Countess'?"

She tapped her finger against the soft leather. "…No. This is to be carried out by you alone. No other person should learn of it." She shifted her eyes to him. "Have you heard the name Vern Cheek?"

Gaven shook his head. "Can't say that I have."

"He is a moneylender, among other things, residing in Kilsfell," Scarlett said. "One that seemingly does not understand his place."

She paused for a moment.

Was this really ok? It wasn't too late to turn back. She could try to find another way. Or just let things play out and go into hiding.

She didn't need her position as a baroness. And with her knowledge, she'd probably be able to find a few safe spots where people wouldn't be able to find her. It'd probably make things easier with the Cabal as well.

So saying she didn't have much choice would be nothing but an overindulgent lie.

What scared her wasn't that she was going to have regrets, but that she wouldn't have any.

…But no. She had already decided how she would progress with things. It didn't matter how she felt about it. Or her lack of feelings on the matter. She would go through it and not look back. That was what she was going to promise herself.

She eyed Gaven for a moment, steeling herself.

"I want you to deal with him."

Chapter 87 - The smaller things

"My Lady." Garside lay on his bed, back propped up against the wall behind him. "This servant is humbled that you would take time out of your day to come visit."

"Think nothing of it," Scarlett said after having entered the room, eyeing him for a moment. She'd been somewhat worried about his condition, which is why she decided to pay a brief visit just to check things. The aged butler's face appeared pale as he looked back at her, the upper half of his left shoulder supported by a thick layer of bandaging.

At Scarlett's request, Rosa had visited the man a few times since the assault by the Cabal to see what she could help with, but the bard said there wasn't much more healing magic could do for his recovery at the moment. Apparently, there was a limit to how much healing one's body could handle all at once, and the longer you waited, the less you could do with magic alone. Age was also a factor, it seemed. And while Scarlett would consider Garside to be quite vigorous for his age—considering he had less issue than her climbing a freaking mountain—it appeared stamina didn't equate to better recovery in this context.

Rosa had done what she could, so it was all left up to Garside himself to recover the last bit. Scarlett had also had what was supposedly the family physician pay a visit from the city, but the man had said much the same. He hadn't even been entirely certain whether Garside would regain the use of his arm.

When she'd first heard that, it had surprised her how livid it made her. It was to the point where she'd ended up using a practice session as an excuse to let out some of the anger. She still occasionally found her mind wandering back to the matter. And to the Hallowed Cabal. Especially Riya. Unbidden thoughts of anger directed at the woman had popped up more than once.

In general, she tried ignoring the matter as much as possible. Letting her irritation slip around others was almost as annoying as the irritation itself.

It was astounding this was what it took for her to realize she was this attached to the old butler. Of course, that affinity was bound to be a vestige left by the original Scarlett. But up till now, it had been a lot subtler than many of the other emotions left behind by the woman. It made one wonder if Scarlett herself had even been aware of how much she seemed to have cared about Garside.

To her, to Amy, it was a new sensation. Feeling this strongly about another person's well-being. She couldn't recall feeling this strongly even about her own parents or sister. Should she laugh or cry at the fact that even a twisted person like Scarlett seemed to have stronger emotional attachments to others than herself?

Her eyes passed to the bed table next to Garside's bed, and the papers filled with text that lay there.

"I see you have deemed it fit not to abandon your duties while you convalesce."

"I am this household's sole butler, my Lady," the man said with a look of certainty that belied his pale appearance. "It is only right that I maintain those duties that I can still, as long as I draw breath."

She frowned. The way he put that didn't sit well with her. "I am sure there are other people in this household who are capable enough to assume those responsibilities for the time being," she said. "Yet Marlon informed me you left your quarters this morning to oversee the efforts of the masons clearing the courtyard." She met his eyes. "You have served this family faithfully for a long time. Do not forget that your continued well-being is necessary if you are to continue to do so in the future."

Garside gave her a long look, an undecipherable expression on his face. She was uncertain what he was thinking behind those wizened eyes. Eventually, he lowered his head. "You are correct, my Lady. I have been imprudent in my actions and shown disrespect towards both you and the barony. Henceforth, I will be more heedful of my condition."

"See that you are." Scarlett nodded her head before glancing around the room.

This wasn't the first time she'd visited this place, but she was always somewhat shocked by the decor. From his character, one would expect Garside's room to be spartan in its furbishing. Yet instead, it was filled to the brim with vases and different ceramics, some of which looked like they had been made by true masters. Considering he was just a mere butler, it made one wonder how he could afford all this. He must have been saving for a long time. Or maybe he'd gotten some as a gift.

Whatever the reason, it was curious to see that the old man held such an interest.

Her eyes stopped on a vase that had strange floral patterns surrounding several intricate murals on its side. The murals seemed to tell the tale of a fisherman, fighting against a large, three-headed beaver-like creature.

A curious sight indeed.

She turned back to Garside. "I came here because I wished to inform you that I and the others will be venturing out once more tomorrow morning. We will be travelling northeast of Freybrook."

"Again, my Lady?" The butler's expression turned troubled. "What if something were to happen?"

"We will be fine. For the time being, there are none who have reason to cause me issue, nor any whom I would allow the opportunity."

The Hallowed Cabal would have already done something if they were planning on reneging on their end of the deal this early. She doubted they would. Not until she had either handed them the third part of the Seal of Thainnith or The Angler Man had woken up.

And considering they were the only real threat to her at the moment, she wasn't afraid of leaving the mansion. They'd left to clear the last dungeon in the Freybrook area a few days earlier without issue, for example. Though Garside and the others had been against that as well.

"How long will you be gone?"

"I do not know. It is unlikely to take longer than a day. Even if it were to take longer, there is no need for excessive worry," Scarlett said.

This wouldn't be the only such trip in the coming weeks. With no other dungeons remaining near Freybrook, they would have to start traveling more and more, booking more trips through the Kilnstone network.

"I see…" Garside muttered. "Then I pray you will return in good health, my Lady."

"I will."

Scarlett exchanged a few more words with the butler, extracting a promise that he wouldn't leave his quarters to go out and work himself to death or something stupid like that, before eventually leaving the room behind.

Her mind shifted to tomorrow's trip as she made her way towards the library in the mansion's central section. Like she'd told Garside, she wasn't expecting this trip to take more than a day — as long as everything lined up with her game knowledge. But it could take far longer if things differed for some reason. That's why she had delayed leaving until now, so that she could receive Gaven and the Countess when they'd visited the day before.

The two of them hadn't stayed for long after their visit, leaving during the night, after Scarlett had spoken further with Gaven about his tasks and forced herself to interact a bit more with the Countess. It might be up to a week before they returned. Scarlett couldn't say she was particularly excited about it. Both the next meeting itself, and the news it'd bring. Either good or bad.

Still, she couldn't complain too much. Everything had gone almost exactly as planned yesterday. The Countess had been alarmingly easy to persuade to her side. The woman had essentially asked for nothing at all in return for working with Scarlett. Of course, she had also accidentally destroyed a table. It wasn't completely perfect.

Scarlett would have to come up with an explanation for that. She hadn't had the servants enter the room yet, but someone would have to clean up the mess there. After finishing in the library, she would need to find Marlon and instruct her to send some servants to clean things up.

Upon reaching the library, Scarlett paused as she saw both Shin and Allyssa exiting the place together. The two young Shielders stopped and greeted her.

She glanced at the door behind them. "Were the two of you perusing the library together?"

"Well, Shin was," Allyssa answered. "I mostly just tagged along."

"I see." Scarlett turned to the young man in question. "I hope you found something that caught your interest."

"I did." He held up a thick, leather-bound book in his hands.

"What are you doing right now?" Allyssa asked.

Scarlett looked at her. "I am preparing for our excursion tomorrow."

"Oh…" The young woman's expression grew hesitant. "Where are we going this time?"

"To a small village northeast of Freybrook. The trip itself is not overly long, so most of our time will be occupied with what we will be doing there. I recommend you bring enough material so that you are ready for any unforeseen circumstances."

Shin raised both eyebrows. "Will we be gone for long?"

"Not necessarily," Scarlett said. "But it is best if you prepare as if we will."

He simply nodded at her words. "Alright."

Allyssa gave her a hesitant look, though.

"Is there something you wish to say?"

The girl cringed. "No, it's just… Should we really be leaving again, considering things?"

Scarlett studied her for a moment. Although it wasn't serious, she felt like Allyssa had been acting somewhat awkward around her ever since the Hallowed Cabal's attack. When they left to clear the dungeon, she seemed against the idea as well.

"Are you perhaps afraid that we will be attacked once more during our excursion?" she asked.

Allyssa's face suggested she'd hit the nail on the head.

"I'm not…afraid," the girl said. "It's just that… It doesn't seem like the best idea, if people are out to kill you, right?"

She turned to Shin, hitting him on the back. "He thinks so as well, even if he's too afraid to say it."

He just gave her a cool look. "I never said it's a bad idea."

"But you were thinking it! Don't pretend you weren't!"

Scarlett observed the two of them.

She had been pretty vague when she'd described the events of the Cabal attack, chalking it up to a criminal organization having it out for her. And while she felt these two usually accepted most of her words without too much issue, Allyssa in particular had seemed uncomfortable with not knowing more about what happened this time. Especially after the attackers had both been allowed to leave without more of a fight and pick up all their dead.

Still, both Shielders had agreed to only report the part about a criminal attack to the Shields Guild, which Scarlett was thankful for.

She supposed she couldn't really fault them for wondering about some of her actions at this point.

"Where we are going, you will not have to worry about any further attacks," she said. "It is also unlikely that any fighting will occur, so if you wish to stay here at the estate, you may do so."

That might actually be better, considering the circumstances at this place.

"W-What?" Allyssa's eyes widened. "No, no, I'm not saying I won't go. I was just wondering if what we're doing is really necessary right now."

"Being cautious is good when one can afford to be so. Unfortunately, I lack the freedom to postpone these matters to a later time, so excessive wariness would not serve me well."

"Oh…" Allyssa pulled lightly at the blonde locks that hung over her shoulders. "So, I guess we're going then?"

"We are."

"When are we leaving?" Shin asked.

"As early as possible. Ensure that you do not forget anything."

"We'll prepare everything tonight, then." Allyssa grabbed hold of Shin's arm and began pulling him along. "We'll stop holding you up. See you later."

Scarlett bid a brief goodbye as she watched the two disappear down the corridor, then turned to the library door.

It was time to see if she couldn't find a really old map.

Chapter 88 - A quaint meadow

Scarlett pushed aside a branch with annoyance as she sidestepped a root jutting out from the ground, avoiding the soggy pool of mud next to it. She hated wet forests.

It just had to rain the night before they were supposed to go out into the woods like this.

They had only been at this for about an hour, but she was already getting tired of it. Unfortunately, there were no roads or actual paths through the forest around these parts. And when everything you had to go off of was a yellowed old map—maybe even older than the trees currently surrounding them—the conditions weren't exactly prime for finding your way.

Thankfully, they had Fynn with them. He could scout ahead much faster than the rest. Ten minutes ago he'd said he found a place that fit Scarlett's descriptions, and they were following him in that direction now. She was hoping this wouldn't have to go on for much further.

As they pushed through the damp underbrush, finally, the trees opened up into a small clearing. The ground was covered with the fallen leaves of the nearby trees, bearing shades of orange, red, and yellow. They were a few weeks into October in this world, and the fall colors had made a strong appearance here in the southwestern parts of the empire. Strong winds had probably carried most of the leaves here, considering many of the trees in the immediate surroundings still retained much of their foliage.

"Is this the place?" Fynn asked as Scarlett approached him where he stood at the center of the clearing.

She looked around as she took the area in. The place didn't look particularly special, so it was hard to tell. "I am uncertain, although I believe it may be."

There was only one way to find out.

She put a hand into the [Pouch of Holding] at her waist, pulling out the [Forgotten Hairpin] she received from The Gentleman. The red rubies affixed to its head reflected the quiet sunlight peeking through the clouds that covered today's sky.

"What exactly are we expecting to find here?" Allyssa asked, the young Shielder exiting out of the forest a short distance behind Scarlett. Rosa followed not long after, ducking beneath a twig drooping from a nearby oak. "Don't tell me… Is it another secret fairy place?"

"It is not." Scarlett looked to the side, where Shin also appeared from out of the thicket. With everyone gathered, she then turned her eyes back to the hairpin and held it up in the air.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, a weak light stirred inside the hairpin's rubies. The air in front of Scarlett rippled with faint waves. It looked almost like the refraction above a campfire, in the vague outline of a gate.

She smiled. This was indeed the right place.

"Hmmm… I give it a six." Rosa had walked up next to her, one hand cradling her elbow as she caressed her chin with the other. "The fairy entrance was much more dramatic."

"Is this another example of a gate that will transport us to another realm?" Shin asked, stepping up and examining the odd phenomenon in the air.

"Not exactly," Scarlett answered. She eyed the strange 'gate' for a moment, then looked over at the others. "For this, I believe it best if some of us remain here."

All of their gazes turned to her.

"…Is that really a good idea?" Allyssa questioned.

"In truth, there is no need for anyone other than I entering," Scarlett said. "There is nothing that would pose a threat on the other side."

Even if there were to be danger there, it wasn't something any of them could handle. Even if they all worked together.

"Are you sure?" Shin asked.

"Yes."

Scarlett noticed Fynn studying her closely. She was uncertain whether he would consider that a lie.

He surprised her by shrugging his shoulders. "…Then I'll stay."

He was volunteering?

"I'll keep watch if there's anything suspicious around here when you get back," he continued.

"I will stay behind with him then," Allyssa said after a moment.

Scarlett turned to the girl. She as well?

That made things easier. The truth was that she would have preferred if none of the others came with, but Allyssa was the one that those concerns held the strongest for.

She glanced over at the remaining two. Shin and Rosa looked determined enough to come along, though. She supposed she could bring them along for now, so that she could show it wasn't dangerous, if that's what they were worried about. And she might actually need Rosa's help. At least at first.

"Very well. You two will stay here for now," she told Allyssa and Fynn. "We will most likely not be gone for long, but do not fret if we are."

Both nodded their heads at her words.

She then turned back to the strange space in front of them. "Let us move," she said and stepped through. Her surroundings warped, like a ripple spreading across a canvas, and a moment later she exited into the same clearing. But now, she was surrounded by green.

Glaring sunlight shone down from a clear blue sky, not a hint of clouds in sight. The trees were swarming with young, vibrant leaves that danced in the wind. And the soft, pleasant smell of fresh grass lay thick in the air around her, the fallen leaves that had covered the ground completely absent.

Rosa and Shin appeared beside her soon after, both stopping and turning around as they took the change in.

"Is this…?"

"We're still in the same place," Shin said.

Scarlett put away the [Forgotten Hairpin]. "That is correct."

"…But it's summer," Rosa pointed out.

"Astute observation, Miss Hale."

The bard shot her a boorish look.

Scarlett pointed towards the edge of the clearing, straight ahead of them. There was a path there now, leading further into the forest. It was slightly overgrown, and didn't seem to see much traffic, but it was better than the dense undergrowth that had been there before. "Shall we continue?"

"Why, of course." Rosa stepped forward, gesturing for Scarlett to walk ahead with an exaggerated flourish. "Whatever the Lady says."

Scarlett decided to ignore it as she strode past the woman, proceeding onto the forest path. Though perhaps calling it a trail was more accurate, as it was barely wide enough for them to walk side by side. And the footing was pretty uneven as well. But at least she didn't have to bother about tripping on a branch or stepping in a pool of muck now.

They followed it deeper into the forest, the trail eventually widening slightly as the surrounding trees started growing less dense. After a few minutes, they spotted signs of another opening ahead of them, and Scarlett could hear faint sounds of running water. Soon, they exited into a large glade with a thin river running around its outskirts. The river passed by near them, disappearing into the forest further north. Close to where it disappeared, at the other end of the glade, stood a small village, with simple wooden-roofed buildings and a low stone wall encircling it. A small herd of sheep moved around in an enclosure next to the village, with a couple of human figures walking among the animals.

"How quaint," Rosa said, looking out over the clearing.

Shin mostly seemed to be puzzled by the sight. "Where are we?"

"This is the village of Freymeadow," Scarlett said.

"Why is it hidden away like this?"

She turned to him, eyeing him for a moment. "…Perhaps you will learn later on."

Preferably not, if she had anything to say about it.

She didn't wait for him to ask any more questions as she started walking deeper into the clearing. A simple dirt road began near the river and continued towards the village, and following that road, it only took them a short few minutes to reach the settlement. The path trailed the stone walls around the village until it reached a small opening that could only generously be called a gate.

As they entered Freymeadow, the heads of two middle-aged women sitting outside a nearby house turned towards them. Both women had baskets filled with wool next to them, with wooden tools that looked a bit like large brushes in their laps. Scarlett felt like she recognized the tools, though she couldn't remember their names.

Rosa gave the two women a gentle wave and a smile. The two women just returned surprised looks, mixed with what looked like curiosity and wariness.

Scarlett continued down the dirt road and further into the village. On the way, they passed by even more people, each giving them similar looks as the women had. They clearly weren't used to outsiders. In spite of that, there wasn't anything that stood out as odd about the people here. Their clothes were simple, and so were most of the activities they were carrying out. They looked just like any of the other people Scarlett had seen in this world. If she were to compare this place to Whistlecreek or Dimfrost, there really wasn't much to point out.

Soon, they reached an open area that had a raised wooden platform in the middle—perhaps used for larger gatherings and celebrations—and served much as the center of the village. A group of kids stood near the platform, playing some sort of game with sticks and stones on the ground.

Scarlett's eyes turned towards the edge of what was essentially the village square, where one of the larger homes had a small porch that looked out over the space. A woman was sitting on a chair there.

From here, one could see that the woman had straight, raven-black hair that reached down to rest on her shoulders, with a streak of white running through it just above the left temple. As Scarlett crossed the square and approached her, she could see that the woman's eyes were a pale green, with hints of wrinkles and darkened skin beneath, as well as two beauty marks under the right eye. Her clothes were a dark set of loose robes, with simple decorations around the fringes.

She held an almost vacant gaze as she peered out over the square, seemingly watching the playing children.

Scarlett stopped in front of the porch, and the woman's head turned to them.

"Oh? Visitors?"

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Scarlett Hartford."

The woman's eyebrow rose. "Scarlett Hartford?" She studied her for a few seconds. "That's a new name."

"These are my retainers, Rosalina Hale and Shin Thornthon." Scarlett gestured towards the two beside her. "We hail from Freybrook, and have come here to meet with you."

"Is that so?" The woman's gaze lingered on her for a moment longer, before passing over to Rosa and Shin. Finally, she turned her attention back to the square. "I'll have to disappoint then, I'm afraid. I'm not much to meet."

"I beg to differ," Scarlett said. Her eyes drifted to the space behind the woman, where there was a red-tinted wooden casket with gold latticework standing on a stool.

[Locked Jewellery Casket]

{A woman's jewellery casket. There appears to be no way of opening it}

Studying the object for a short while, she eventually looked back at the woman. "I wish to be taken in under your tutelage."

The woman stilled, slowly turning to her. "What?"

"I wish to be taught under your counsel."

The woman stared at her. "You're here to learn from me?"

"That is correct," Scarlett replied.

The woman narrowed her eyes, as if she was trying to peer through her words, to see if there was a meaning behind them. After a moment, she relaxed her gaze and pointed to the empty air beside Scarlett. "Show me what you can do."

Scarlett looked to where she was pointing. "You wish for me to showcase my abilities?"

"What else is there to do? Now, hurry up."

She glanced back at Shin and Rosa, signaling for them to step back. Then she raised both arms, holding her hands up in front of her. Taking a deep breath, she summoned all of her focus.

A giant sphere of fire blazed into existence a dozen meters ahead. A wave of heat blasted into her. This was the highest intensity she could muster with her pyrokinesis, and with a diameter of well over two meters, it was gorging through her mana stores even with her recent skill upgrades. Still, she managed to maintain it for almost twenty seconds before she dismissed it, drops of sweat forming on her temple.

[Mana: 1435/4575]

Loud cries sounded out from the children near the center of the square, who were staring over at her with wide eyes. Scarlett ignored them, turning back to the raven-haired woman.

"Does that satisfy you?"

The woman seemed thoughtful for a moment, then shook her head. "I'm sorry, but the answer is no."

Scarlett held back from showing her disappointment. She really had been hoping it'd be that easy.

"Then is there something I can do to convince you?"

"I'm afraid I'm not that generous."

"I am not asking for your generosity. Only that you teach me, in exchange for whatever it is you may want."

"And I'm saying no. You don't have what it takes."

Scarlett studied the woman's expression. It didn't look like she was going to let herself be persuaded.

"…Very well." Scarlett reached up to her neck, pulling off her [Depraved Solitude's Choker] and holding it out towards Rosa. "Take this and refill it."

[Mana: 495/1575]

Rosa blinked a few times, before slowly accepting the necklace and putting her hand over the violet crystal that hung at the center of its thin black band. A pale light appeared over the crystal's surface as the bard started filling it with her own mana.

If Rosa hadn't come with, Scarlett would have been stuck just relying on her own mana.

She did this sometimes when she trained with Garside as well, though only on days that she had nothing else to do afterward. While she could technically keep having the necklace's mana recharged in order to stock up her mana, it was unfortunately impossible to only use the mana stored in the artifact. At least from the experiments she had run. Using this method more than once also wasn't much different from mana exhaustion.

Still, it was useful on occasion. Especially when she had lots of time to spare.

She waited quietly for the few minutes it took for Rosa to do her work, then happily received the now-full necklace. Briefly stepping up onto the porch, she picked up an empty wooden chair standing next to the raven-haired woman before walking back to where she'd been, placing the chair on the ground in front of the building.

She took a seat.

The woman looked down at her. "What are you doing?"

Scarlett met her eyes. "You said I am not fit to be under your tutelage, yes?" She snapped her fingers as two small spheres of fire and water appeared in the air before her, spinning around each other in a cyclical formation. "Then I have no other alternative than to continue practicing, do I not?"

Chapter 89 - Practice, practice, practice

Scarlett knitted her forehead as she compressed the two fire spheres in front of her further and further, trying to focus on, and grasp, the strands of mana that made the magic up. It was like trying to clasp a piece of clay in your hands. Forming and shaping it was as easy as clenching your fist, but trying to separate the clay into its different constituting parts was as good as impossible. Or at least it felt like it was.

After a while, she finally succeeded in grabbing hold of a handful of 'strands'. She pulled at them gently. Immediately, they slipped out of her grasp. All the other strands came loose along with them, like a bundle of rubber bands. The fire whose strands she had pulled dissipated into nothingness, leaving her with only one sphere left. She let it disappear as well, picking up a small towel from her lap to wipe away the sweat from her temple.

This was hard.

It was only recently she'd realized that her magic was more complex than she had originally thought. It wasn't simply just a clump of mana moving according to her will, but rather an immense gathering of tinier strands working together in ways she didn't quite understand. Her upgrade to [Greater Mana Control] might have been part of what helped her notice this. She didn't have any skill to see the mana per se, so the vague connection she had to her magic was the only way to gauge these things, and mana control appeared to be the only skill that affected that weird sense.

[Mana: 843/4575]

She would have to recharge the [Depraved Solitude's Choker] again soon. Though it would probably be best if she rested for half an hour first. She had recharged the necklace twice today, and it was already stretching the limits of what could be considered 'comfortable'. Her arms and legs were starting to feel like spaghetti, and she would be lying limp on the ground if it weren't for the chair she was in. And this was with her taking things slow.

She wasn't looking forward to how she would be feeling later today.

Taking some time to regain her breath, she turned to look at the porch beside her. The raven-haired woman sitting there hadn't moved an inch, gaze affixed on the book on her lap for the past two hours Scarlett had been spending practicing her magic. At times she'd glanced up, watching the kids who had been playing on the village square earlier, but she didn't seem to care much about Scarlett.

Right now, things weren't looking that promising.

This whole tutelage thing was Scarlett's own idea and not something you did in the game. As such, she had no idea if it would work. Still, there wasn't much else for her to do here at the moment, and she felt like it was the best alternative. Considering the woman didn't seem to think she was strong enough, it wasn't likely she'd be able to unlock any of the 'quests' that were related to this questline.

But that was exactly why she had to make the best use of her time here, while she could.

After resting for a while, she returned to her training.

It was getting late. The intense sun, which had started high in the sky when they got here, was now closing in on the horizon.

Scarlett breathed heavily as she forced her arm up, wiping away more of the sweat on her face. It bothered her, being seen in this condition in such a public space, but she had to fight through that discomfort.

Rosa had continued refilling her necklace as the day passed. Scarlett had taken longer and longer rests between the training sessions, forcing herself close to mana exhaustion every time as she pushed her magic further. And it all led to her feeling like she was going to die. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she was more tired now than she'd ever been before. Perhaps the sensation could be compared to studying for ten exams at the same time for twenty-four hours straight, all the while running a marathon.

She wasn't even aware one could feel this tired. She would have thought one would have fainted hours ago. It really wasn't a pleasant experience.

But as long as there was even a morsel of benefit she stood to gain from this, she was willing to continue.

Leaning back in her chair, she glanced up at the descending sun. Would it be possible to force out one more session if she rested for long enough?

"I'm surprised you're still moving," the voice said from the side.

Scarlett closed her eyes for a brief moment, then slowly turned to look at the woman on the porch.

"It's getting late," the woman said. "You should probably leave."

Scarlett lingered on her for a while, then gave a soft nod. "Very well." She turned to Shin, who was sitting on the ground in front of the porch. He looked up from the book in his hands. "Call for Rosa."

The young man put away the book as he stood and called over to the bard. Rosa looked up from where she sat on the edge of the platform at the center of the square, klert resting on her legs as they dangled in the air. She jumped down and started moving towards them.

While Scarlett had been focusing on her training, both Shin and Rosa had seemed to find their own ways to pass the time. Unsurprisingly, Rosa had entertained the kids—after they'd tired of watching Scarlett's magic—until they had been picked up by some of the wary parents when it started getting late. After that, the bard had spent most of her time just strumming away on her klert.

After spending so much mana refilling Scarlett's necklace repeatedly, even Rosa was looking a bit tired as she approached them. Still, the fact that she was still standing showed how lacking Scarlett was when it came to her mana. Rosa had at least five times as much as her, not to mention a much better recovery rate.

"What's up?" the bard asked as she reached them, holding her instrument by its neck in her right hand. "Need me to share some more of my youthful vigor? Or maybe a song to cheer you up this time?"

"While I am loath to admit so, the latter is more fitting," Scarlett said. She gestured to her legs. "We are leaving; however, I am in no condition to move on my own. I would appreciate your aid."

Rosa blinked a few times, then looked over at Shin and the woman on the porch. "What, are we finished here?"

"We are," Scarlett confirmed.

The bard eyed her for a moment, then shrugged her shoulders. "Alright then." She brandished her klert. A smooth tune rang out from the instrument, and with it, Scarlett felt a wellspring of energy rise from inside her.

It was far from enough for her to recover completely, but now she didn't feel as much as a dead fish. Gradually rising from her chair, she turned to the raven-haired woman on the porch and gave a nod. "We will take our leave. I believe we will see each other again soon."

"I'm sure we will," the woman said.

Scarlett turned around and, somewhat unsteadily, started walking. Rosa and Shin followed.

Soon after they'd left the village, as they were walking along the dirt road towards the part of the forest where they had originally arrived from, she noticed both of the other two giving her curious looks.

"So, what was all that about?" Rosa asked after a while.

Scarlett kept her attention forward. "To what are you referring?"

"I was expecting a bit more after all that buildup. Especially after you spent the whole day with your fancy displays. What was the point behind that, if we're already leaving?"

"It is exactly what it looked like. I was practicing. And the 'point' is for me to be taught by that woman."

"She didn't seem that enthusiastic about the prospect," Shin said.

"Perhaps not. But we will see how matters proceed." This much was within Scarlett's expectations, anyway. The truth was that she was probably still too 'low-leveled' for this place. Considering the rather unique circumstances of this place, though, it was still worth a try.

"Who was she?" Shin asked.

"If you were curious, you could have inquired about it with the woman herself. Although I am not certain she would have given an answer."

Even Scarlett didn't know the woman's name, after all. It had never come up in the game. She had always been referred to rather vaguely, like 'Unknown Woman' or 'Dark-haired Woman'. Whether there was a reason behind that wasn't entirely clear. In the game, at least, her name hadn't been necessary for the player to know. She was supposed to be mysterious like that.

Scarlett had avoided asking today, however, in case there actually had been a hidden reason. She was planning on asking later, though. It would make things a whole lot easier when interacting with the woman, having a name to refer to her with.

Forgoing any further conversation—Scarlett felt a bit too tired, and Rosa's magic was beginning to lose its effect—they soon reached the edge of the forest. Treading along the same path that brought them here to Freymeadow, they trekked through the woods until they reached the clearing where they had originally entered this place. The bright orange of the setting sun was drawing its last streaks across the sky, painting a rather intimate scene over the silent glade.

At the center of the space, the strange gate still remained. A pocket of air with strange ripples to it.

Scarlett continued up to the gate, then stepped through. The world morphed around her, with her surroundings taking on the colors of fall as the clearing returned to how it was before they left. At the same time, she felt refreshed, as if all the tiredness and mental exhaustion she'd piled up over the past hours was nothing but a dream, floating away with the passing breeze.

[Mana: 4575/4575]

A small smile grew on her lips. It seems like her suspicions were correct.

"You're back?" Allyssa's voice called out to the side.

She turned to look at the young Shielder, who was sitting on the ground a short distance away along with Fynn.

"Whoa—" Rosa suddenly appeared beside Scarlett, the bard placing a hand against her chest as she blinked.

Shin stepped out next to her, his brows furrowed as he turned his eyes up to the cloudy sky.

"Was there nothing there?" Allyssa asked. She was studying the three of them curiously.

Shin paused, looking down at her. "What do you mean?"

She gave him a confused stare. "I was expecting you to be gone longer. Was it just a dead end?"

"…There was a village there."

"Wait, really?"

Shin sent a glance Scarlett's way. "How long were we gone?" he asked Allyssa.

The girl cocked her head. "I don't know. I didn't count." She turned to Fynn.

"Seven and a half minutes," the white-haired young man said.

"Oh, okay. Wow." Allyssa blinked at him, then looked back at Shin. "There you have it."

Rosa laughed. Everyone's eyes turned to the bard as she showed a wide smile. "Well, time sure flies by when you're having a blast, doesn't it?"

The sun stood high in the sky once more as Scarlett walked down the dirt streets of Freymeadow with Rosa and Shin in tow.

Just like it had in the game, the time of this place passed differently than in the real world. You could only enter while it was 'day', and after you left, the next time you returned it would automatically be day again, no matter what time it was outside.

It was exactly because of this quirk that Scarlett had wanted to visit this place as early as she could, to make use of the opportunity it afforded. The caveat was that the number of times you could enter 'in a row' had been randomized in the game. As such, she wasn't expecting to be able to spend an infinite amount of time. After this place closed, one would have to wait at least a few days before returning.

Another unfortunate detail was that, while any exhaustion she piled up while here seemed to disappear when she left, that also seemed to go for any other physical—or metaphysical, if you wanted to call it that—changes, like increasing her mana. But the ability to train here and be able to push herself to her limit with no real drawback more than made up for this.

Although, if she actually had a choice in the matter… She probably wouldn't have come to this place if it wasn't completely necessary.

For now, the best she could do was to keep some of the others in her group away as best she could. Allyssa had been excited about coming with and exploring this "mysterious" village after hearing about it from Shin and Rosa, but Scarlett had ordered her to stay behind.

She was thinking about doing the same for Rosa and Shin, now that she had demonstrated that it was safe. But she needed at least one of them in order to refill her mana. Rosa was the better option of the two, considering Shin was a fighter. He wouldn't have much more mana than your average person. Though, apparently, that was still more than Scarlett had.

But she was honestly hesitant about keeping both of them around.

The longer she waited, the worse it was bound to get. She didn't know what she was supposed to tell them, though. If she could convince the woman in the village first, it could solve the issue of not having another person to refill her mana. But she wasn't banking on that.

As they continued deeper into the village, they eventually reached the village square from the day before. It was roughly the same time of day now as then, but there were no kids playing around now. Scarlett had spotted a few of them helping their parents with different tasks as they walked through the village. Maybe the children would come around again later. They'd all looked excited when Rosa had given them a wave.

Crossing the square, Scarlett stopped before the building where the raven-haired woman was sitting on the porch. "Good afternoon. I hope the day finds you well."

"That's yet to be seen," the woman said, looking up from the book in her lap. Her eyes stayed on Scarlett for a moment. "I see you're the persistent type."

"When the circumstances demand it of me." Scarlett walked over and picked up the chair she'd used the day before, placing it on the ground in front of the porch. "Unfortunately, lately, I often encounter many situations where they do."

She raised her hand, conjuring a mix of water and fire before her.

It was time to return to her practice.

Chapter 90 - Bottlenecks

"Would you stop treating it like a bundle of yarn made of glass?" the voice complained from the side.

Scarlett flinched. The tiny clump of fire magic she'd spent the last ten minutes trying to carefully untangle bundled up again. All those hundreds of mana strands she had only barely managed to separate into clusters were yet again blended into a dense throng where she could scarcely tell one part from the other.

She closed her eyes, letting out a long breath as she let the fire dissipate. So much for that attempt.

She turned to her right and the porch there, where the raven-haired woman was looking at her. "I was under the impression that you did not intend to give me any directions."

"I wasn't," the woman said. "Nor am I planning on taking in an apprentice, or teaching you spells. But there's a difference between that, and sitting here watching you make a mockery of my craft for two days. The least I can do is point out the basics. Things even a beginner mage should know."

Scarlett arched an eyebrow. Neither Garside nor Kat had ever had anything to say about these 'basics' when witnessing her magic. They had seemed more impressed with her skills than anything. And both were pretty proficient with their corresponding schools of magic, so it wasn't as if they were beginners.

"Then what is it you would suggest that I adjust?"

"I'm not 'suggesting' anything." The woman shook her head. With the flick of her hand, a flame appeared beside Scarlett. "I'm saying that the way you are using your mana is fundamentally flawed if improving your control is what you're aiming for. It's the equivalent of tying a rope by first separating all its individual threads and then trying to tie them together all at once. No matter what you do, another hundred hands won't grow out of your back just like that."

Scarlett glanced at the flame that danced next to her head. Was she supposed to notice anything special about it? The flame faded in and out of existence in cycles, as though a glimmering light. But that was all.

"If you want more control, then learn to use the tools you have properly." The flame disappeared completely with the woman's words.

Scarlett turned back to her. "…I am not certain I entirely understand."

"Then think about it for a minute." The raven-haired woman turned away from her, returning her attention to the book lying on her lap.

Scarlett knitted her forehead. She felt like she'd been making progress, though? She had definitely gotten better at differentiating the different strands of mana that made up her magic. And she hadn't even been working at it for that long. Although, she would admit that individually controlling a large number of those strands felt impossible. Still, she imagined it would become easier with practice. She was curious about how her magic actually worked, and this seemed like the most reasonable avenue for figuring that out.

But was this way of approaching things wrong, then? What was she supposed to do instead? Give up on understanding it and simply rely on her instincts as she had before? That felt lacking in its own way. Surely there had to be a better way of doing it. What she had been doing until now felt more like using a sledgehammer to strike a nail in. Her hydrokinesis in particular felt like it needed something more if she wanted to reach the degrees of control she was aiming for.

Then, what was the alternative the woman was referring to? What tools did Scarlett have, other than simply 'shaping' the mana under her control, with the instincts afforded by her skills? Was she supposed to go the middle way? Instead of trying to focus on the strands of mana that made up her magic, perhaps she should focus on the clusters that they seemed to create naturally? That felt more manageable, at the very least. But wasn't it the same as trying to control the mana strands, just on another order of magnitude?

She studied the woman sitting on the porch. It would have been nice if she had given her a bit more to go off of.

As Scarlett was about to turn back to her magic, she recalled the other thing she had been meaning to ask. "May I pose another question?"

The woman glanced up at her. "Yes?"

"What is your name? I have yet to have had the opportunity to learn it, after greeting you yesterday."

She seemed to consider her for a moment. "You can call me Arlene."

"Arlene?"

"Yes."

"I see…" To think it was that simple to get her name. Maybe Scarlett had overthought it. Though one would think something like this would've been brought up in the game.

…It couldn't be a fake, could it?

Well, whether it was didn't matter much at the moment. She turned her attention back to her magic, ready to begin her dutiful training again, just like she had for the past one and a half days.

Following Arlene's words, she gave up on trying to separate the individual strands of mana, for now, instead trying to figure out what the woman had insinuated she do instead. Unfortunately, she didn't make much progress. Even with Rosa continuously recharging her necklace, and when pushing her magic to the limits, by the time the sun had started setting, she didn't feel as if she had discovered anything new. Arlene also hadn't shared any more words on the subject.

"It's getting late," the woman eventually announced. "You should probably leave."

Scarlett stopped what she was doing, dissolving the remainder of her magic as she fell back in her chair. If she'd felt tired yesterday, then she felt like dying today.

Like yesterday, leaving this place would make all the tiredness and mental exhaustion disappear. But perhaps that wasn't exactly the same as it not having happened at all. She did feel like she had been awake for several days in a row now, even though this was only the second day. Doing this again tomorrow might not be entirely feasible. Maybe she would have to take some proper rest if they could return the next day.

She waited for Rosa to come over. After the woman had shared some of her reinvigorating bardic magic with her, Scarlett forced herself out of the chair and turned to Arlene. She eyed the woman for a moment, then looked at Rosa and Shin. "Leave us. I wish to speak with her in private."

Rosa gave her a curious look, but neither of them complained as they started walking over towards the center of the village square.

"Was there something else you wanted?" Arlene asked.

Scarlett held her gaze on the backs of the two leaving for a moment longer, before returning her focus to the older woman.

From what she'd seen, Arlene hadn't left that chair for even a second since they had arrived. She spent almost all of her time reading that book lying in her lap. As for which book it was, Scarlett had no idea. It was of dark grey leather and had no title on the cover. A minor detail like that also hadn't ever been expounded upon in the game.

"…Are you not curious as to why I wish to be taken in under your tutelage?" she eventually asked.

"I'm sure you have a good reason. But that's none of my concern." The woman's tone made it sound like it was a matter entirely unrelated to her. Perhaps that was reasonable enough, but…

"I can fulfill your deepest desire," Scarlett said.

Arlene's expression froze.

Scarlett met her eyes. "If you were to teach me, it would be possible for me to reach a state where I can carry out your wish."

The woman stared at her with a heavy gaze. It was as if her words had brought up something that had long since been discarded.

Several seconds passed, with neither of them saying anything. Eventually, Arlene shook her head. "You're overestimating your own abilities. I've watched you enough these past two days. Your magic speaks of extraordinary talent, but there's nothing more to it. It's all going to waste. You should be careful with those ambitions of yours, so that you don't end up getting yourself burnt."

"I say this wholly aware of the limitations and barriers that stand in my way," Scarlett said. "And I am well acquainted with my faults. Yet I am still telling you this: I can carry out your wish."

"Then show me that with your skill."

She frowned. She had already tried that. And the woman had no way of knowing about the system, or that she could upgrade her skills. Nor could she tell her about it. So convincing her here and now would be difficult.

"…Then I will do so," she said. "Until then, wait. Watch and wait, and I promise that I will show you what it is you want to see. I promise that I will bring about that which you wish for. Of this, you have my word."

The look in the woman's eyes as she listened to her words wasn't one Scarlett could decipher. Perhaps she was annoyed. Or sad. Maybe she was pitying Scarlett's apparent naivety. Whatever it was that was hidden behind that look, however, it didn't speak much for her trust in Scarlett.

She studied the woman for a few seconds longer before turning around. "Then I will take my leave. We will meet again."

She'd prove her words with action. Even if it may take its time.

Arlene didn't say much to Scarlett when they returned the next day, other than a short greeting. There had been little to say, anyway, since Scarlett had ended up spending almost the whole day fast asleep. Rosa had propositioned one of the villagers, who'd been kind enough to let Scarlett rest in their home for a time. Though what she had planned to be only a brief rest somehow ended up becoming over twelve hours. The sun had almost set by the time she woke up, and she barely got any training in before they had to leave.

At that point, she'd been worried that was the last opportunity to enter Freymeadow for a while, but thankfully the gate turned out to still be open for the next day. Arlene hadn't been especially talkative when they returned this time either, but that didn't stop Scarlett from spending numerous hours practicing her magic in front of the woman, trying to make sense of what it was the woman had hinted at with her previous words.

By evening, she was starting to think she was onto something.

While she had originally been under the impression that an efficient way of looking at her magic was to try and focus on the specifics and 'micromanage' things, the more she explored that avenue, the more it dawned on her that Arlene was probably right about the futility of that approach.

Or perhaps 'futility' was the wrong way of putting it. But, while there was nothing stopping Scarlett from trying to control every single strand of mana, there was an issue with it, other than the inherent difficulty in trying to manipulate so many elements at once. It was a problem that felt somewhat obvious at second glance.

She had no idea what to actually do with those strands.

When she was just using [Greater Pyrokinesis] or [Greater Hydrokinesis] respectively, things looked so simple. After all, she already instinctually knew what she had to do to create these phenomena, and the mana just moved according to her wishes in order to realize her desire.

But after spending so much time identifying and separating some of these strands of mana—a tiny number, compared to what it took to create even a basic Aqua Mine—she still couldn't figure out how they actually worked. Even after completely removing some from their source, maintaining control as the strands just 'floated' in the air, there wasn't anything more. Unlike when she normally used her skills, there was no instinctive knowledge or intuition that helped her understand these strands or how to shape them.

She had tried comparing them with the ones she could observe in her own, functioning magic, in order to figure out exactly what they did to produce the effect they did. But she couldn't determine any pattern. Of course, it was very hard to tell with just her limited ability to 'observe' these things—relying on the somewhat ambiguous connection she had to her magic—but it all just appeared completely random to her. Almost like it wasn't how the strands were arranged that mattered.

At this point, she had really started to think it might be stupid to spend so much time on what Arlene had already warned against. But Scarlett would be damned if she couldn't understand at least why these things didn't work.

So to test things, she had ended up spending upwards of five hours repeatedly recharging the [Depraved Solitude's Choker] as she experimented on the topic. Her tests had basically been to create a normal fire sphere, filled with naturally formed clusters of mana strands which she didn't quite understand, then gradually—and incredibly vexingly—siphon some of its mana into the air beside it until it reached a size where it should be able to create a flame of its own. But no matter how many times she tried, or how she 'configured' the strands, it didn't work. Not until she started letting the strands coalesce into clusters.

Which meant there was something inherent in clustering the mana strands that even allowed her magic to work to begin with. And it didn't seem to have anything to do with how the mana was arranged in the clusters, because it worked even when she tried forcing them into disarray.

Truly, there didn't appear to be any logical way behind how this worked. Or at least not one she could decipher. She didn't know what the reason behind this clustering was, nor what it meant for her magic in general. If it even meant something.

Perhaps there was no point in even trying to figure these things out. This was probably the point where she should just return to how she had been practicing earlier. It wasn't as if it hadn't been working. And upgrading her skills in the future would no doubt make up for at least part of her ignorance when it came to her magic.

But... She had already dived this deep into the rabbit hole.

Mages had existed in this world for literal millennia. As a craft, it was almost guaranteed that countless numbers of people had studied magic and figured out how it worked. Or parts of it, at the very least. And that had to include ways of improving one's magic. Even if pyrokinesis and hydrokinesis as skills were relatively difficult compared to normal spells, there were bound to be people who'd figured out how to more efficiently make use of them. And judging from Arlene's words, the woman was one of them.

It was only normal that Scarlett would want to make as good a use of her skills as possible. To improve as quickly as possible. That was one of the reasons she was here to begin with, even if it wasn't necessarily the main one.

Although if things continued like this, she would eventually have to cut her losses and just give up on figuring these things out until she could convince Arlene to actually help her. While she had a lot of time in this place, it wasn't infinite.

Eventually, the time came for Arlene to announce it was time for them to leave this day as well.

Hearing the words, all thoughts concerning her magic disappeared from Scarlett's mind as she turned to the woman.

…Right. It was already the fourth day here.

Her eyes lingered on Arlene as the woman returned her attention to her book. Soon Rosa and Shin came walking over from the center of the village square. The bard used her magic so that Scarlett had the energy to move again, and Shin helped carry the chair back to the porch.

Both of the two retainers had spent the last four days with Scarlett in this village without a single complaint. And while most of the villagers seemed to keep away from the square when Scarlett was practicing her magic, the two of them had started getting to know the kids and some of the parents.

She had given them a brief warning at the start, but she really should have put an immediate stop to it the second they arrived. Hadn't she been the one to tell herself she wouldn't even let both continue coming with her? Yet in the end, she hadn't done much at all. Because it had been easier that way when she was already exhausting herself so much these last few days. She'd also delayed coming up with a good excuse for why they shouldn't come. She really shouldn't have put so much focus on her training. That had been negligent of her. It had been lazy.

If the portal to this place didn't lock this time either, she would be left with coming up with something on the spot. Not that she could come up with anything that would be particularly believable in the long run.

…Screw it. She would just have to do things the forceful way. She was the boss, so it wasn't as if it mattered much. A lesson for the future.

Both Rosa and Shin gave her expectant looks as they made ready to leave. Scarlett turned back to Arlene. "Then we will take our leave." She paused for a moment. "…We will see each other again."

The raven-haired woman glanced up from her book at her. "I'm sure we will."

The same response as every other time.

Scarlett locked eyes with the woman, but her expression was as unreadable as ever.

She turned to leave. Rosa and Shin joined her in silence as they left Freymeadow, following the dirt road leading out to the border of the forest that enveloped the peaceful glade the village was nestled in. Perhaps the two noticed that her exhaustion wasn't the only reason for her unresponsiveness this time.

Eventually, they reached the clearing where the entrance to this place was. As usual, a shade of red enveloped the place at this time of day, as the sun set over the horizon.

"So, how many times are we going to do this?" Rosa asked as they approached the center of the clearing.

Scarlett stopped in front of the rippling gate that led back to the real world. "…I do not know."

It was up to chance whether they would be able to enter again immediately or not. Even if they were, Scarlett wouldn't be spending any time training this time.

"However many times it may be, though," she said, "neither of you will be joining the next time."

She stepped through the gate. As always, all the piled-up tiredness and exhaustion disappeared as things returned to normal, autumn once again claiming its rule over the world. But now, in addition to the usual wet forest smell, there was a faint, ashen scent in the air.

Allyssa and Fynn were sitting on the ground a few steps away, where they had spread out a large blanket to protect from the damp leaves and grass. Fynn creased his forehead as he looked up, sniffing the air. He turned to look at the space behind Scarlett.

She looked back. The air still rippled with faint waves as it had before, but now there was a dim red tinge to it as well. It almost seemed like there were traces of smoke on the other side.

"Huh? What's wrong, Fynn?" Allyssa asked.

A moment later, Both Rosa and Shin stepped out from the gate.

Scarlett watched the rippling air closely. It didn't disappear. Which meant there was at least one use left.

"Hey, what did you mean earlier?" Rosa asked, looking at Scarlett. The woman paused, scrunching her nose together. "What's that smell?"

Rosa frowned. Both she and Shin turned back to look at the gate behind them. "…What's happening?"

"Nothing you have to concern yourself with," Scarlett said. "And I meant exactly what I said earlier. Neither of you will join me when I return to Freymeadow this time."

Shin turned back to her. "Why not?"

"Because there is no longer a need for it. As you have seen, it is perfectly safe. There is nothing more for you to do there."

The looks she received from Rosa and Shin looked doubtful.

"I don't really know what you guys are doing on the other side all the time," Allyssa spoke up. Scarlett looked back at her. "But are you really going to go back right now?"

"I am, yes."

The young woman pointed at the gate. "Okay, but is it supposed to look like that?"

"…It is." Scarlett gave a slow nod. Then she turned around, making to move through the rippling gate. Before she could, however, both Rosa and Shin stepped forward.

She stared at the two, a hint of irritation rising up. "Move."

Rosa eyed her. "…I think it's best if we accompany the ol' Baroness after all."

"This is not a matter that is up for debate. You will both be staying here."

The bard shared a look with Shin. "Sorry, but that doesn't exactly lend us the most confidence."

"That is irreleva—"

"I'll go," Fynn declared.

Scarlett turned around to look at him. He had a determined look on his face.

"You will not."

Him joining was almost as bad as Allyssa coming with.

"Why can't we join, if it's safe?" Shin asked.

Scarlett looked back at him. "Because I say so. You will stay. That is an order."

The others fell silent at her words.

Eventually, Rosa let out a low cough. "You're sure there's not suddenly anything dangerous there this time?" she asked, sounding more serious than usual.

Scarlett met her eyes. "…I am certain, yes."

The bard's gaze turned back to Fynn.

"She's lying."

Scarlett glared at him. "I am not," she said. "There is a risk of danger, but it is miniscule, and unlikely to affect me if I do not actively seek it out."

At that, he turned quiet.

"Then, how about this?" Rosa said. As Scarlett shifted her attention back to the woman, she paused. The bard had a heavy, but somewhat familiar, look on her face. It was as if she was saying she'd seen through part of Scarlett's reasoning. "I'll come with you, and the rest'll stay here. If there's no danger, then great! We'll whistle a few tunes and shake a few tushies, just us old ladies. Then there's no issue. And if there's suddenly a fire-breathing dragon waiting to gobble us up on the other end, well, then we'll at least go out together, yeah?"

The bard showed a smile that belied the atmosphere. "With this, the others won't feel like they're completely abandoning you, you know. 'Course, you can trust me not to go tattling about whatever priceless treasures you're actually trying to keep a secret over there."

Her words were said in a playful manner, but Scarlett could tell she didn't think that was her real reason for keeping them away.

She looked at the woman for a long while. "…Are you certain?"

"When am I not?" Rosa grinned. "I am the most certainest person there is. Certainty is my middle name, right after heart-stirring."

"And will that be acceptable to you?" Scarlett looked at the others.

All of them gave slow nods, though Fynn didn't seem fond of the idea.

Scarlett turned back to Rosa. "Then let us proceed."

The woman nodded. "Let's."

Shin stepped to the side to let her through, and Scarlett walked past him through the gate. Her surroundings warped, spreading out and morphing as she exited into the other version of the clearing again. But things had changed. Now it was dark, and the scent of burning clung to the air. In the distance, above the trees in front of her, thick clouds hung low in the sky, reflecting a deep red as smoke trailed up towards them.

"What's happening?" Rosa's worried voice appeared beside her.

Scarlett turned to look at the woman.

"A nightmare."

Chapter 91 - A grisly meadow

Rosa stared up at the reddened sky. "A nightmare…?"

"Remaining here is still an option," Scarlett said.

The woman turned to her. She shook her head. "No. I'm coming with."

"…Very well."

They walked forward towards the forest ahead of them. Scarlett created a pair of small flames to lend them some light, though even with that, she had a much harder time finding her footing compared to during the day.

The deeper they got, the thicker the scent of charcoal hanging in the air got. When they reached the other end of the forest, exiting out into the glade where Freymeadow lay, a gasp left Rosa beside her.

The entire village was on fire.

Smoke trailed up from many of the houses, some of them nothing more but charred skeletons of their original frames, flames licking at their remains. Even the stone wall sheltering the village had been toppled over and scorched beyond recognition in spots, surrounded by sleets of seared, dead grass. The enclosure for the sheep had also burnt down, nothing left but a smoldering piece of rubble spread out over the field. The animals themselves were nowhere to be seen.

Rosa wore a horrified expression. "W-What the Blazes happened here?" She blinked, then turned to Scarlett. "We have to get the others. There could be people that need help!"

Scarlett gave her a long look. "There are none to help."

The woman stared back at her. "…You knew this was going to happen."

Scarlett stayed quiet.

"All those people…!"

"Their fate had already been decided." Scarlett shifted her gaze towards the village, searching across the ruined homes. "I cautioned you against joining. There is nothing we can do." There was no movement amongst the buildings other than the fires themselves. "I will only say it once more." She looked back at Rosa. "You may still stay here, if you so wish."

"…You're going over there, aren't you?"

"I am." Things wouldn't progress from here unless she did.

The bard remained silent for a while, a dark expression on her face. Eventually, though, she took a step forward. "…I said I'm coming with," she said, raising her klert in the air. "And I am. Let's do this."

Scarlett eyed the woman. Though her countenance was a far reach from her usual merry one, the sparkle of determination in her gaze spoke volumes.

They started moving, walking past the narrow river that ran around the open glade as they stepped onto the dirt road leading up to Freymeadow. The closer to the village they got, the heavier the scent of burnt wood mixed with another; putrid and tanned blended into one. When they reached the gates, it was almost to where Scarlett could taste it. Breathing in through the mouth just made it worse.

The first thing they saw was a corpse. Lying on the ground outside one of the ravaged buildings, the body had been burnt to the point beyond recognition.

Scarlett regarded the display.

Without question, it was horrible. Beyond horrible. It wasn't something any person should ever have to see. The sort of sight that traumatized. That normal people, actual normal people, had nightmares about.

Yet she felt nothing other than revulsion at the scene. Not abhorrence, horror, or frightfulness. Just revulsion at how it looked. And annoyance at the stench.

She wished she could at least say she felt terrified by her lack of reaction. But there wasn't even that. What she knew one should logically feel at a time like this didn't matter at all.

"Who… Who would do something like this?" Rosa's voice trailed off next to her.

Scarlett turned to the bard. There was a quiet rage behind the woman's eyes, mixed with dread. Yet Rosa was taking the sight far better than most others would.

Scarlett left the body behind, continuing further down the street. Rosa silently followed along. They passed by more displays like the first, with scorched remains lying on the dirt, or stuck among the burning buildings. Some smaller than others. Perhaps it would not have been an exaggeration to call this place hell, had that been a term used by the people of this world. To them, maybe this was how they imagined the six Blazes.

Eventually, they reached the center of the village. There, they were met with even more of the same, with groups of burnt corpses spread out across the square, clustered around the still-burning platform in the middle. There was a strange stand on top of the platform, made of a deep black stone that was melting into the wood beneath it.

At the focus of all this chaos was a lone figure, kneeling on the ground next to the platform, with their back turned to them. Dark, raven-colored hair hung over the person.

Arlene.

"There's still someone alive!"

Scarlett put her arm out, blocking Rosa from running off. The woman gave her a bewildered look, but Scarlett continued walking ahead gradually. She crossed the square with her gaze held forward, carefully striding past the bodies of those that had once lived in this village. Her focus was on Arlene.

The raven-haired woman's shoulders were moving. Like she was sobbing.

She didn't appear to notice them as they got closer. Scarlett stopped in front of her. The woman was staring down at the ground.

Rosa stepped up next to Scarlett, pausing at the sight. "…Are you injured? What happened here?" she asked the woman.

Arlene stilled. Slowly, she looked up at them. Tears were streaming down her face.

"I-Is there anyone else left?" Rosa asked again.

The woman didn't answer. Her eyes moved to Scarlett. Her gaze was like none Scarlett had ever seen before. As if the woman's existence was just pure anguish.

Rosa kneeled on the ground, placing a hand on Arlene's shoulder. "Please, if there's someone… Anyone…"

The woman stayed quiet, eyes fixed on Scarlett.

Red embers bloomed into existence around the three of them, floating gently through the air. A faint haze started spreading across the square. Rosa paused, looking around in confusion. The haze quickly enveloped them, turning into a dense cloud as their surroundings suddenly morphed. It was like a giant brushstroke was drawn over the world, replacing it with a mishmash of colors and shapes.

Arlene was the last of the grisly scene that remained, her now-empty gaze staring at Scarlett as everything around them changed. Then she too gradually became a part of the kaleidoscope of colors that was closing in, leaving only Scarlett and Rosa. Scarlett looked at the bard, who held a dazed expression on her face. The woman's mouth formed words, but no sound seemed to escape.

Things remained like that for a brief while, as the colors around them became clearer, taking on brown, red, orange, and yellow hues, transforming into trees and a forest. Some of the colors became people, and the faces of Shin, Allyssa, and Fynn slowly crystallized in front of them. Finally, as if the last jigsaw piece of a puzzle was locked into place, everything manifested as one, and Scarlett and Rosa found themselves in the clearing once more.

Allyssa gaped at them. "What… What just happened?"

Scarlett glanced at Rosa, who was staring at their surroundings with wide eyes.

"We have returned," she said.

"No, but…" Allyssa waved her hands around. "That wasn't how it looked when you came back before."

Shin held a deep frown. "You just materialised from thin air."

"We chose another means of exit this time. That is all."

Allyssa gave her a skeptical look. "What happened over there?"

"Nothing of note," Scarlett said.

Rosa seemed to pause at her words, finally turning around to meet her eyes. They looked at each other for a few seconds.

"…That was one strange exit," the bard eventually said, letting out a small laugh as she looked at the others. "I'll have a hard time topping that in the future."

It was at times like this that Scarlett appreciated the woman's talents as an actor. "I do not see why you would have to," she said, shifting her attention to the center of the clearing.

She stopped, staring at the space. The gate was still there, faint ripples moving across the air, just like when they had first arrived. There was at least one more use left.

She turned back to Rosa. "It appears things are not yet over. Will you accompany me once more?"

The woman blinked, then looked at the gate. "Again…?"

"Yes. The choice is up to you; however, I believe you may want to."

"…Alright. Let's go."

"Wait, what about us?" Allyssa asked. "Should we just stay here again, or can we actually come with this time?"

Scarlett considered the girl for a moment. "It is as before. You will remain here, along with Fynn. As will Shin."

The expression on Allyssa's face suggested she wasn't especially fond of that answer, but she didn't voice any complaint. Nor did Shin or Fynn.

"Follow me," Scarlett told Rosa, before once again stepping through the portal. Her surroundings warped as she exited into the other side of the clearing.

It was day once more, the sun hanging high in the clear blue sky as the bright green leaves on the trees wafted with the wind. The air was fresh, the smell from before completely gone.

Rosa appeared behind her a moment later. The woman looked around carefully. Scarlett let the woman take things in for a few seconds before she started moving towards the forest path ahead of them.

She could explain things to the bard, but it would be easier to just show her.

They traversed quietly through the forest until the trees thinned as they neared the clearing where Freymeadow was nestled. Scarlett could tell Rosa was preparing herself for the sight. But the woman's expression completely froze when they made it out into the bright clearing.

There stood Freymeadow, completely intact. The houses were as they were when they first arrived here, the wall and grass encircling the village untouched. Sheep were moving around in the enclosure next to the village, with a couple human figures walking amongst them.

"What…" Rosa trailed off, then looked at Scarlett. "How is this possible?"

"As I said, their fates have already been sealed. There is nothing any of us can do."

Scarlett started walking off towards the village. Rosa stayed where she was for a moment, before hurrying after. They passed by the river and stepped onto the nearby dirt road, continuing along it until they reached the village's gates. Inside, the heads of two middle-aged women sitting in front of one of the nearby buildings turned towards them. They were the same women they'd seen on the first day they arrived here in Freymeadow, and they held the same looks of curiosity mixed with wariness as they had then.

As Rosa gawked at the two, Scarlett continued deeper into the village. Every person she passed by gave her the same look. There was no recognition in their eyes.

Finally, she reached the village square, where the children who'd been playing there the first day were gathered next to the wooden platform at the center.

Rosa caught up once more, her gaze now lingering on the children instead as Scarlett began crossing towards the large building on the other end. Sitting on a chair on its porch, staring out at the square with a vacant gaze, was Arlene. Her current quiet image painted a stark difference compared to the tortured appearance Scarlett had observed just a short while earlier.

The woman's head turned as Scarlett stopped in front of the porch.

"Oh?" Arlene said, eyes locking onto her. "A visitor?"

Scarlett looked at the woman for a moment, then she spoke. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Scarlett Hartford. I have come to be taken in under your tutelage."

Chapter 92 - Dark new shores

Scarlett watched the passing houses in silence as their carriage moved through the cobbled streets of central Freybrook. She wasn't paying much attention to the buildings themselves—she'd long since started growing used to the novelty of this medieval-like world—but rather the scenery of it.

It had been two days since they returned from Freymeadow. The experience there was a strange one, that was for sure. Many might even describe it as haunting. She hadn't lost any sleep over it, but she understood the sentiment.

After witnessing the destruction of the village, they had only been able to enter once more. Scarlett would have liked it if she had more time there, but six entries were still more than what she had originally expected. She should probably consider herself lucky she got that much. If 'lucky' was the way to put it.

The hidden little settlement had been a unique one, even in 'Chronicle of Realms', and the same held true in this world. From an outsider's perspective, the loop Freymeadow experienced every five days was hard to describe in words; both in how it worked and in the dreadful end that awaited at its conclusion.

She hadn't wanted any of the others to witness that sight, or the factors that were behind it. Yet she had still allowed Rosa to join, even revealing the repetitious nature of the place to her. The woman had taken it surprisingly well, though perhaps that was to be expected. Scarlett didn't know exactly what Rosa had gone through in the past, but some of it was bound to have been similarly gruesome, even if not necessarily on the same scale.

After they had entered the village again, Rosa had realized pretty quickly that none of the villagers remembered the events from the previous loop. This included Arlene, the older woman acting much the same as the first time Scarlett had introduced herself to her. The second attempt at convincing her to train Scarlett had also ended similarly terribly.

Not that it had stopped Scarlett from going back to her practice at the time. She wouldn't quit just because things didn't go her way at first. If there was one thing that Freymeadow afforded, it was time. If the system was what let her increase the power she had at her disposal, then Freymeadow was going to be what she used to hone that power so that she could achieve her goals.

For now, though, things would have to continue as they were. Outside of Freymeadow, there were still a lot of things that had to be done.

The previous day since returning had mostly been spent doing some preparations for the coming days, with just a bit of training in the morning and late evening. One thing that had needed doing was to ensure Evelyne had a room ready in the mansion when she visited. The younger Hartford sister was supposed to return from the capital in a few days. While Scarlett wasn't exactly looking forward to interacting more with the woman, it was a necessity for her to continue operating as a baroness. She didn't exactly have the time or opportunity to learn how to be a real noble by herself at the moment.

Other than that, though, most of her preparations had been related to their current undertaking. The destination of their ride this time was the city of Darkshore, closer to the eastern parts of the empire.

It was finally time for Scarlett to get the third piece of the Seal of Thainnith.

She had arranged this trip a while back, not long after making the deal with the Hallowed Cabal. She hadn't wanted to retrieve the third piece too early, in case the Cabal would just use that as an opportunity to attack her immediately after. It was best if she found the piece as near their next meeting as possible.

Although that was still technically over a week away. But since she couldn't exactly be sure how long it would take to find the seal, and had other things she needed to deal with, it was the best she could do.

For their time spent in Darkshore, she was expecting anywhere from one to three days. The act of procuring the seal itself shouldn't be too troublesome. You could retrieve it relatively early in the game after all, around level 40. In comparison, the second piece was much harder. But that is also why that's the one she sent the Cabal after. The thought of traveling out into the Unresting Steppes and messing with the Undead Council didn't exactly excite.

However, even though getting the third piece was easier, locating it could still be a bit tricky. It depended on how much the region has changed from the game. She was hoping it wouldn't take too long, though. There were a few other dungeons in the Darkshore area that had decent enough items, and it'd be nice if she had the time to find and clear those. Further expanding her repertoire of artifacts and equipment never hurt.

She glanced down at her current clothes. The outer layer was the same dark travel attire she usually wore for these excursions. Beneath that, though, hidden by her shirt, was a set of interwoven green shirts. The [Garment of Form], looted from the Howling Gale's Haunt.

After having had the item's effects confirmed, Scarlett had it delivered to a tailor here in Freybrook who had experience working with enchanted equipment. The man had been able to perform some minor alterations so that it fit her snugly. It was a bit hot at times, wearing it as an underlayer under her normal clothes, but it was bearable. And while she wouldn't exactly call the piece of clothing ugly—it was actually rather elegant, in its own way—it was far too garish for her to bring herself to openly wear it when there was another option. She wasn't even sure that was just the original's fashion sensibilities speaking, either.

In the end, though, what mattered was that she got the item's effects. The effects in question included a boost to one's agility, as well as what essentially amounted to a short-range teleport. Being an enchanted item of epic tier, its defenses were also a notch higher than anything else Scarlett could bring to bear at the moment. She wasn't quite sure where its limit lay—she somewhat doubted the cloth would stop a sword going straight for her heart—but it was at least to the level where she couldn't tear the material apart with her hands.

Although, to be honest, its defensive qualities weren't the most important part. That was only the last line of defense. An emergency measure, if everything else had failed. If it ever reached that point, she was probably already screwed. The magical defense afforded to her by [Sidhe's Flowing Garbs] was much more important in that regard. The effects of the [Garment of Form] had been the main focus to begin with.

The increase in agility, for example, would probably be quite helpful in several situations. She hadn't quite tested it out yet, but the change was definitely noticeable when wearing it. In addition, the short-range teleportation would probably be worth far more for saving her life than the ability to tank another strike or two. The best thing was that there was no upper limit on how many times she could use it per day. Instead, the [Garment of Form] had three charges, each taking roughly five minutes to recharge.

It definitely blew items like her [Wand of Fireball] out of the park. Granted, the [Wand of Fireball] was an early game item, but still. She was quite satisfied with the [Garment of Form]. It was nice to have nice things. And she wanted more.

Her eyes glanced over to the side where Fynn sat. The young man's gaze was fixed out the other window, absently tracking the people outside.

…She did want more, but maybe she wouldn't steal it from one of her companion's ancestral sites next time.

She turned her attention back to her window and the houses passing by. Eventually, their carriage reached the large square where Freybrook's Kilnstone was located. As usual, there were two lines on both sides of the marble structure at the center. A long one filled more with people and wagons of different kinds, and a shorter one with mostly carriages in it.

Their carriage moved over to the shorter of the lines, where they only had to wait for about fifteen minutes before it was their turn. The coachman steered the carriage onto the marked area in front of the floating Kilnstone, exchanged a few words with uniformed people in charge, and soon the ancient artifact's reflective grey turned completely black as their time to teleport came.

All the surrounding light flowed into the floating obelisk, leaving them in a black void for a brief moment, before color was once more spat out into the world and a new view appeared before them.

The city of Darkshore was one of the larger ones in the empire, built on the bank of a vast lake with a large volcano at its center. The volcano was known as the Resting Eye and was—despite what one might expect with a large settlement right next to it—not dormant. As far as Scarlett was aware, much of the lake surrounding it was also uninhabitable for wildlife. The city itself relied on trade and produce from other nearby cities. Silverborough, for example, which was apparently referred to as the 'Sterling Breadbasket of the Empire', was only a day's travel away.

Their carriage slowly made its way out of the busy square where Darkshore's Kilnstone was. As they got further away from the throng of people and wagons that inundated the area, cresting the height of a street leading out of the place, it became increasingly clear where the city had gotten its name from as more of the volcano itself got into view in the distance. It didn't actually look much different from a normal mountain, a massive mass of grey jutting out from the ground, but the thick smoke trailing from its tip was almost pure black, painting great clouds in the sky.

Scarlett took in the sight.

That being considered normal was weird. What did they do on days when the wind blew in the city's direction? That had to be a safety hazard, even if most of it was up high in the sky. Maybe they had some way of managing it she didn't know of. Or maybe the wind just didn't move east in this region. What did she know? It wouldn't be the weirdest thing in this world. The Forgotten Tower and the Unresting Steppes were prime examples of weather phenomena that didn't play by the rules.

Whatever the situation was, she couldn't imagine herself feeling comfortable living so close to a volcano like this. The people here had long since gotten used to its existence, though, and probably weren't ever expecting for it to erupt. Supposedly, it had been mostly quiet for centuries. Since before the empire was founded, at least. There were also plenty of valuable resources that could be gathered from it and its surroundings. The way Scarlett understood it, much of the city's economy was based around the gathering of those resources.

Still, that didn't change the fact that it was a ticking time bomb.

Allyssa, Shin, and the others seemed enraptured by the view of the volcano in the distance, but Scarlett soon turned her attention to the city around them. Eventually, they reached what looked to be its commercial district, with wider streets and several storefronts visible. They also passed by some larger markets and other scenery that caught the eye, like small parks and wooden stages with small troupes on them. In general, there was a lot to see, and the architecture of the city had mostly shorter and wider buildings that didn't block much of the view.

Scarlett kept a close eye especially on the storefronts as they went past. In truth, she wasn't that familiar with Darkshore. Even in the game, she hadn't visited here as much as some of the other cities. Now that it was all in real life, she was essentially a stranger to the place, only having vague memories of what store went where. She had a much better recollection of the surrounding region and its dungeons.

None of the coachmen that were employed in her service—there were two of them: the older man who'd driven around Ambercrest and Elystead, and the young man who often drove them around the Freybrook area—had been here before either. So, she had to be on the lookout.

As they traveled down a long street where there seemed to be a lot of smaller stores and the like, Scarlett called out for the carriage to stop. The older coachman pulled up near a smaller alley, whispering some words to the horse as Scarlett exited. She told everyone but Shin to stay put for now, before walking up to a store she'd spotted that had a couple of books and maps visible through its window.

A bell above the door rang as they entered. Scarlett sent a few glances around the establishment. It was a relatively simple shop, with most of the wares arranged on wooden shelves hanging from the walls, showing a somewhat meager assortment of common-day items. A table stood in one of the corners, with a few books and rolled-up parchments on top of it.

Walking over with Shin, she picked up one of the parchments and unfurled the paper. It looked to be an old nautical chart of the nearby lake, though the detail of the work surprised her. It even included the depth and features of sections of the lakebed, marking points of interest. Did they perhaps mine things underwater here? Or something along those lines? She doubted they saw much mercantile traffic on the lake, considering ships would have to travel through hundreds of kilometers of wetlands and rivers to reach the ocean.

"Is there something I can help you with?" a voice sounded out from the side.

Scarlett turned to look at the counter to her left, where a man had exited from a back room. He had a bald head and wore a simple brown vest over a white shirt. His chin was ill-shaven, with slightly chubby skin and stubble covering a small mole, but the man's demeanor had a friendly air.

Scarlett narrowed her eyes. He looked familiar.

He smiled as his gaze met hers.

"…Yes," she said, shifting her attention back to the parchment she was holding. "I am searching for a map of the nearby region. Preferably one as detailed as this chart."

"A map, you say?" The man glanced at the nautical chart in her hands, then at the table next to her. "Well, you have a couple there, but most of those are for traversing near the Eye." He rubbed his chin. "I might have something in the back, though. Wait just a minute." He disappeared into the back room he'd entered from.

Shin stepped up next to Scarlett, picking up one of the books on the table and looking it over. "Where are we going?"

"The mountainous regions to the east," she said.

"For?"

"We will be searching for ruins."

"As usual, then?"

"Indeed."

Soon, the shopkeeper returned with a large piece of furled parchment in his hand. He chuckled as he held it out towards Scarlett. "Used this one myself when I was younger, exploring the wide world. I was quite the daredevil, you know."

"I am certain you were." She received the paper, stepping closer to roll it out on the counter. Like the nautical chart, this map was also of high quality. It even beat most of the maps she had back in Freybrook. The surrounding regions were all depicted in high detail, with names of all the notable landmarks and places. She studied it for a while, tracing her finger along a small hilly region that moved to the northeast, stopping when she found what she was looking for. A small illustration of a statue.

If this map was as correct as it seemed, then they might not even have to waste any time trying to locate their destination.

She looked up at the shopkeeper. "What do you ask for this map?"

He seemed to consider it for a moment, arms crossed. "I think two hundred solars is fair."

Scarlett arched a brow. Last time she bought a map, it had been for ten solars.

Granted, that one had been of significantly lower quality than this one, and quite old as well. But it wasn't as if she would have problems affording things like this. Their finances might have taken a bit of a beating because of the recent damages to the mansion and the costs involved just in cleaning things up, but two hundred solars were chump change in comparison. Evelyne had sent over enough of the profits from the sold loot to buy this map a hundred times over.

She pulled out the coins from her [Pouch of Holding]. After placing it on the counter in front of the man, she rolled up the map and handed it to Shin.

"Glad to do business with you," the shopkeeper said with a wide smile.

Scarlett merely nodded at him and turned around to leave. She stopped as she noticed the words on the cover of the book in Shin's hands.

Tales and Accords of Darkshore — The Old Ways

She furrowed her brows. That sounded a lot like it could have been a book from the game. In fact, the name felt familiar. She held out her hand. "May I see that?"

The young Shielder gave her a surprised look but handed it over without a word. She quickly flipped through its pages, skimming through the contents until she stopped at a particular page. Studying its contents for a moment, she then closed the book and turned back to the shopkeeper. "I will be purchasing this book as well."

"Ah, fond of old fairytales and folktales, are you?" The man sagely nodded his head. "My daughter was the same, before she decided she got too old for those sorts of things." He held up two fingers. "It's yours for twenty solars."

She pulled out the coins and placed them on the counter. The man swiftly snatched them up.

Placing the book into her pouch, Scarlett paused for another moment before leaving. She glanced at the shopkeeper, that familiar feeling still lingering at the back of her mind.

Had he perhaps been an NPC in the game? If she'd visited this place in one of her playthroughs…

"You would not happen to have a certain problem that you require help to deal with?" she asked. "From one who is acquainted with exploration and danger."

The man blinked. His smile turned even wider as he rubbed his hands together. "Hah, what a coincidence. Actually, I do have a slight issue right now. You see, I recently ran out of Sprig Floret, and my back isn't what it used to be, so I can't go and fetch more myself, but if you could—"

"I see. That is all I wanted to know." Scarlett turned around for the exit. Fetch quests were annoying enough in games.

"How'd it go?" Allyssa asked after they had returned outside and climbed into the carriage again.

"Good," Scarlett said, sitting down in her seat. "It appears as if our timetable has been moved forward."

Chapter 93 - Cryptic crypts

"That's one large statue~" Rosa sang as their group crested the last ridge, treading along the craggy path that trailed the hillside.

Before them stood a tall rock statue of some kind of knight—at least thirty meters in height—that held up a giant shield in front of it. The head had broken off and there were several large nicks and gashes in the bare stone that made the statue's age apparent, but it was an impressive sight nonetheless. This place probably didn't see much traffic, considering how out of the way it was, but it was at least notable enough to be marked as a minor point of interest on the map that Scarlett had bought.

She gazed across the nearby landscape. It was nothing but rolling hills, covered with clusters of rock and yellowing grass. Even with the statue being as tall as it was, trying to find it would have taken a while if they'd had to search through the entire region. She was lucky they found as good a map as they did. Following its directions, they had been able to cover at least three-quarters of the way on the carriage. The rest had only taken about two hours on foot. With the stamina boost afforded by the [Mark of the Staunch], a trek like that wasn't an issue for Scarlett anymore.

As they made their way to the foot of the statue—which sported several haphazardly spread stones that might have once been part of the statue itself—the others in the group stopped. All of them looked around.

"What now?" Allyssa asked.

Scarlett turned to the girl.

Right. Discounting the Zuverian outpost near Fynn's old home, none of them had actually been there the last time she found a Zuverian ruin. They wouldn't know what to expect.

She threw one last look at their surroundings, searching for any movement. Not that she was expecting to spot any. If anyone were following them, she'd be the last to notice. Fynn had already checked if there were others nearby, though, and she was confident enough in his abilities. Whatever tail the Cabal was bound to have placed on her probably wasn't around at the moment.

The fact that they'd traveled through the Kilnstone from Freybrook to Darkshore so suddenly might have helped with that. Then they'd immediately left Darkshore to find this place, so it was highly unlikely anyone would catch up to them.

And, well, even if someone was hiding nearby, they probably wouldn't stay an issue for long.

Scarlett walked closer to the statue, stopping slightly in front and beneath the large stone shield it was holding. The shield had eight circular designs etched into its face, arranged in a rupee-like shape. Lines connected all the shapes, but it didn't look like much more than decoration on the stone.

Let's see if she could remember this correctly or not.

She raised her hand and conjured five small Aqua Mines in front of the etched circles. She detonated them in a set order, then waited a few seconds.

Nothing happened.

Okay, that wasn't right.

She pulled up her notebook from the [Pouch of Holding], tracing her finger over the page as she used her pyrokinesis to strike out the first of the sketches she'd made. Then she looked over the sketch next to it.

She repeated the process, conjuring more Aqua Mines and detonating them in another order.

Once more, nothing happened.

"You having fun?" Rosa's voice rang out from behind her.

Scarlett glanced back at the woman, then back at the statue. "I ask that you do not disturb me while I am occupied with this. It is uncertain how much time this will require."

She looked down at her notebook and the third illustration on it. Worst-case scenario, it would take a few thousand tries to figure out the correct order. She couldn't remember much of high school maths, but with eight different 'buttons' and a five-step sequence, there were a lot of potential combinations.

She had thought she remembered the right one—or at least something close to it—but she hadn't known for sure.

Continuing onto the next sketch, she struck them out one after one as she moved down the list of alternatives. She had filled a few pages with the combinations that aligned closest with her memories.

After trying out about a dozen of them, she shook her head and put the notebook back into the pouch with a frown.

Clearly, she had overestimated her memory. There wasn't any point in spending any more time on this. There was another alternative open to her now.

It just wasn't as satisfying.

She pulled out the book she bought from the shopkeeper in Darkshore earlier.

Tales and Accords of Darkshore — The Old Ways.

It was a gathering of old tales from the region, mostly told to children from the looks of it. Scarlett had been rather surprised to see it in the store, considering it was a book in the game. One of many minor lore records that could be found here and there. In the game, they served both to further flesh out the world and to—on occasion—reward those players devoted enough to read through them.

She flipped through its pages until she found the one relevant to her.

The Warden of the Vale and his sentinels, read the text at the top. Beneath was a short story about a great warrior who was once said to watch over the region around Darkshore along with five of his sentinels. It recounted how, together, they had beaten back a vast army of giants coming from the northeast, ensuring peace in the land. Along with the story were a few simple illustrations, where each sentinel had a sign linked to them.

Scarlett had no idea if the story actually held much truth to it. It was an old folk tale, after all. But there was, without doubt, one part that wasn't taken out of thin air.

She raised her eyes, examining the circular symbols present on the statue's stone shield. Some of them resembled the signs in the book. She held up her hand once more, conjuring another set of five Aqua Mines. Each was positioned in front of the symbols shown in the book. Then she detonated the mines in the order in which the sentinels had been introduced in the story.

There was a brief lull, then a loud grinding sounded out. Scarlett took a quick step back as the shield suddenly slammed down into the ground, sending pockets of dirt and grass into the air. Allyssa coughed to her side, spitting out some dirt that seemed to have gotten into her mouth. Shin stood next to her, dusting away some from her cape.

"What was that!?" Allyssa shouted with a grimace.

"I'd call that flair." Rosa smiled as she stepped out from behind Fynn where she had been hiding. The young man's white hair had a large patch of soil stuck in it. "These symbols… Zuverian, right?"

"That is correct," Scarlett said, patting away some of the dirt that had gotten on her with a frown. She hadn't been expecting that.

"And I thought those old coots didn't have it in them." Rosa walked up and trailed her hands over the shield that was now cutting into the ground, examining it for a few seconds. Then she turned back to Scarlett, gesturing at the statue with her thumb. "Now all that's missing is him bursting into dance."

"I doubt the Zuver would have added such a feature." Scarlett paused as she noticed Fynn raise his right hand. The [Mark of the Gale] on it lit up a soft green as the wind around him soared. His hair rippled as the dirt suddenly blew away, and Scarlett blinked as the same happened to her.

That was convenient.

"Thank you, Fynn," she said, then walked up next to Rosa to study the shield.

It really wasn't as satisfying to solve puzzles like these if you could just check what the right answer was. Still, she wasn't about to waste several hours just because of her stubbornness. Finding this book should be considered a stroke of luck, and it meant they had so much more time to spend on other things. Besides, she couldn't even imagine how annoying it would have been if she actually had to trial-and-error her way through it.

She moved around to the other side of the shield. There, carved into its inside, was a rectangular gateway with a deep black surface that seemed to absorb all the surrounding light. It looked much like the Kilnstones did as they prepared to teleport people.

"There is our entrance," she said, and pointed at the gateway.

Allyssa followed her behind the shield and eyed the entrance closely. "…A bit elaborate, isn't it?"

"Not if it's not supposed to be found," Shin said. "I imagine this place was hidden for a reason."

"Astute observation, Mister Thornthon." Scarlett watched as Fynn came around and was the first to walk up to the gate. The young man glanced back at her, and she gave him a nod. He placed his hand against the black surface and disappeared.

Scarlett waited for a few seconds, then followed. As she touched the gateway, her surroundings warped. A moment later, she found herself at the top of a stone staircase. Small sconces with dark green crystals hung from the walls, illuminating the space with a dim light. Fynn stood a few steps down from her, and the rest of the party joined them soon after.

"So this is a Zuverian ruin…" Allyssa mumbled after she arrived, looking around.

Shin had stepped closer to examine one of the Zuver faces that were carved into the stone walls.

Scarlett started walking down the stairs. "While one could call this a ruin, it is in actuality a crypt."

Well, technically, the last ruin she'd visited had been a crypt as well. But this one had it in the name.

"What's the difference?" Shin asked.

"I suppose it would be the location. We are currently underground."

When Scarlett reached the bottom of the stairs, they opened up into a wide chamber. She held up an arm to block the others from entering as they moved up beside her.

At the center of the chamber was a hulking construct of a dull grey steel with faintly luminescent blue lines running along it like veins. Its limbs were an interconnected set of large, bulky blocks, with its fists resting on the ground and the protruding knob that passed as its head turned downwards. The blue lines that ran along its body followed it all the way to the floor, where they ran from the construct to the walls of the chamber. There, they connected to four different crystals at each end of the room.

She raised a hand and conjured four Aqua Mines next to each crystal. Cracks formed in them as she detonated her mines, and the blue light passing to the construct immediately faded. She creased her brows. She couldn't for the life of her figure out why such an obvious design flaw would exist outside of the game. Still, it saved them a lot of trouble.

"Ehm, did you just turn that thing off?" Allyssa asked.

"It would appear so, yes." Scarlett looked at Fynn. "Would you care to confirm?"

The young man stepped forward without hesitation. The unmoving mountain of steel didn't move an inch as he walked up to it, reaching out a hand to touch its surface.

Satisfied with that much, Scarlett walked out into the chamber as well. She quickly went past the construct, towards the other end of the room. There, on top of an elevated platform, was a small stone altar. Scarlett climbed a set of stairs to the altar, where a small hand-sized object shaped like a rounded triangle rested. It had several intricate lines and symbols across its face and looked like it might have fit together with two other pieces.

[Seal of Thainnith (1/3) (Unique)]

{A third of a whole. A seal upon that which cowered}

She paused. That was an…odd description. She wasn't sure what it meant with "cowered" in this context. That didn't really fit in with what she knew from the game. Or maybe it did, in some way she wasn't aware of?

She shook her head. Being confused by the system wasn't exactly something new.

Turning her gaze upward, she took in the wall behind the altar. It was absolutely lined with the same kind of symbols as the seal, the language of the old Zuver. Beyond that, however, was also a large map that seemed to have been etched into the center of the wall. It looked like a topographical map of the empire and its surrounding regions, with several locations marked on it.

Eyeing it for another moment, she soon shifted her attention back to the altar. She didn't really care about what the map was saying. That was for megalomaniacs and crazies.

She picked up the seal, placing it inside her pouch of holding.

[Quest completed: Assemble the Seal of Thainnith (1/3)]

{Skill points awarded: 4}

Oh? She got points for getting just one piece of the seal? That was nice.

"We are done here," she said, turning back to the others.

They gave her surprised looks.

"That's all?" Rosa asked.

"It is, yes." Scarlett walked down from the altar.

"I was expecting a bit more after that grand entrance."

"The purpose of this place did not extend beyond safeguarding its prize. It does not need to have more than this."

Rosa looked a bit disappointed at that, but it wasn't as if there was much to do about it.

Scarlett was about to cross the room to leave, but stopped as she passed the magical construct at the center. She eyed it for a short while.

Certain mages and wizards would, without a doubt, go crazy over the possibility of getting their hands on something like this. Unfortunately, she couldn't exactly bring it with her. And revealing this place to outsiders might not be the best of ideas. While it wasn't a certainty, such an action could provoke the Hallowed Cabal.

She glanced around the room and at the sconces that were spread around the walls. The same couldn't be said for all of those, though.

"On second thought," she said. "Before we leave, I want you all to collect those crystals and place them inside the storage bag."

Those sold for a pretty penny, if she was remembering it right.

Only after having ensured all the lights were gathered—which included the magical crystals that had powered the construct—did Scarlett leave with the others.

Exiting through the same gateway they had entered through, all of them stepped out beneath the large stone statue.

[Quest completed: Cleared the Crypt of Osen Allanar]

{Skill points awarded: 5}

Scarlett read through the quest completion message. It was more than she had been expecting. Maybe it was because it was a dungeon related to the game's main questline?

"Oh?" a refined, mature voice suddenly spoke from nearby. "Not quite who I was expecting. That's disappointing."

All of them turned around.

A short distance away, next to the stone foot of the statue, stood a woman. She was tall and had a lithe figure that was mostly covered by a golden yellow robe with a stark red showing on its inside. Its hood wrapped around her head, with the upper half of her face hidden by a white marble mask that had thick golden inlays tracing along the edges and the front, with scarlet rubies obscuring the eyes. Her skin under the mask was pale, almost white, and a small smile played across her deep-red lips.

Fynn let out a low growl as he lowered into a fighting stance.

"Now, now," the woman said. In her right hand, she held a long grey staff, its head a winding arrangement of curled bronze with a small azure gem in its crown. "Down, boy."

As she spoke the words, the gem lit up a light blue. Fynn froze, his teeth bared as he was locked into place.

Allyssa stared at Fynn's unmoving figure. "What…!?"

"Those Grehaldraels really are all the same, aren't they?" The woman shook her head. "All that thin air. It must be doing something to their heads."

Shin pulled out his sword and stepped up next to Fynn. He held his shield up to cover the rest of them.

The robed woman gave him an amused look. "Oh, what do we have here? Next is the Kereq. I'm sure that'll go much better than for your little friend."

The crystal on her staff lit up once more. A moment later, a pale white sheen enveloped Shin's shield as the young man was pulled to the ground like a sack of stones.

"Shin!" Allyssa exclaimed.

Scarlett held the girl back with a hand on her shoulder. Kneeling on the ground, Shin tried—and failed—to pry his hands loose from the shield.

"Anyone else feel like testing their brilliant ideas?" the woman asked. "I'm more than happy to oblige, really. Perhaps I'll even throw in a surprise or two this time."

Both Rosa and Allyssa had their attention fixed on the woman, but neither spoke.

"No? Shame. I was starting to hope I didn't get out of bed this morning for nothing." The woman turned her attention towards Scarlett. "Now, who might you be?" There was an almost alluring undertone to her voice as she appeared to look over Scarlett. "I was expecting someone a bit… More. Not a…" She moved her free hand in the air. "Well, maybe I'll keep that to myself. I have a modicum of decency, at least. I'm sure."

Scarlett held an impassive expression. Look at this woman, acting like she had no idea who she was and as if this was the first time she'd seen her. But that's about what one could expect.

"I am Baroness Scarlett Hartford." She gestured to the others. "And these are my retainers."

"A noble, hmm? Wasn't expecting one of those around here. Especially not meddling with my plans."

Scarlett pulled out the Seal of Thainnith from her pouch. "I presume you are referring to me acquiring this?"

"Yes, yes. That." The woman waved her hand. "Not that there's much else left in that dreary old cellar, other than that sorry excuse for a guardian and its afterlife tagalongs."

Scarlett frowned. Afterlife…? Oh, right. There had been ghosts present when you fought that boss in the game. She'd completely forgotten about that part.

"Now, be a good little noble and hand me that seal so I can erase your memories and return it to where it belongs." The woman held out her hand. "I'll promise I won't jumble things about too much. I'll try, at the very least."

…She wasn't sure if the woman was serious or not.

"I have another proposal." Scarlett returned the seal to the pouch.

"I'm sure you have. And I happen to have a craving for poached dragon egg with a side of grask. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of that flying around."

"I believe this proposal is something you will welcome."

The robed woman studied her for a few seconds. "Why, aren't you a confident one? I'm sure it'd be terribly fun, and usually I love myself a woman with a bit of aplomb, but I'm far too stingy for charity. Now, will you give it to me? I'd prefer it if you didn't make me do all the work."

"You have the Essence of Zenthas, do you not?"

The woman paused. A smirk grew across her lips. "I take it back. Maybe I can afford a smidge of generosity, just this once. Consider yourself honored."

Scarlett glanced at Fynn and Shin. "Before we proceed… Is it truly necessary to treat my retainers in this manner?"

"They're spry young men. I'm sure they'll be fine. Don't leave a girl hanging and go changing subjects," the woman said. "You've got at least a finger's worth of my curiosity raised, you know. That's more than about any other noble I've met in this dreary place." She turned quiet, eyeing her for a moment. "You're not one of that old miscreant's people, are you? I wouldn't take a Grehaldrael to join up with them, though. And I'd be disappointed now if you were."

"I am no one's person."

"Mmm, yes. It's dreadfully drab, isn't it?" The woman gestured at Scarlett with her hand. "Now, out with it. Tell me whatever trifling ploy you've got cooked up here. Don't worry, it can't be much more banal and crude than what I am accustomed to."

Scarlett stared at her. In the game, this woman had been an entertaining character. She wasn't quite as charming when you were at the receiving end of her personality, though.

"It is simple. You will hand me the Essence of Zenthas, and in return, I will give you the seal."

"Ah, I spoke too soon." The woman's tone turned flat. "And here I was, going around catching expectations. One would think I'd know better at my age." She raised her staff. "Now, I'll take a quick look into that dimensional bag of yours. I won't pry too much, though. A lady's privy to her secrets."

"I believe you misunderstand." Scarlett looked into the rubies that hid the woman's eyes. "I did not say I would give you a piece of the Seal of Thainnith. I said I would give you the seal."

The staff paused, held aloft above the ground. "…That is one large claim you are making. Surely you should know better than you make promises you can't keep?"

"That is true. Perhaps I should clarify." Scarlett pulled out the seal piece once again. "In truth, this is the only piece I can give you. But what I am offering is not the seal itself. Rather, I am offering the location of another piece, and the possibility of retrieving the third. This should not differ much from your own plans, no?"

The woman slowly lowered her staff. "You do seem to know a lot, don't you?"

"I make it a priority to be informed before I undertake any meaningful pursuits."

"Oh, I'm sure you do. And I do so love working with competent people." The woman stayed quiet for a while. The crystal on her staff lit up as Fynn was suddenly released from his stasis.

He stilled for a moment, then growled at the woman.

"Say, poodle-boy, what do you say of this master of yours' words?"

He blinked, gawking at her.

"Well?" She placed a hand against her hip. "I don't have all day. Some of us have matters to tend to. Or at least pretend to tend to."

Fynn glanced at Scarlett, who gave him a nod.

"…She's telling the truth," he said.

"Is that so?" The masked woman returned her attention to Scarlett. "Hmm. Well, I suppose that'll do for now. Fortunately for you, I've always had a penchant for striking deals that would be better left alone."

"So you will hand me the Essence?" Scarlett asked.

"Not like I have much more use for that rotten thing anymore. But that will have to wait for a while." The woman seemed to grimace under her mask. "If I knew I'd need it, I wouldn't have thrown it into that place."

Scarlett wasn't sure where 'that place' was, but she suspected she didn't want to know. "After you have retrieved it, I will fulfill my end of the bargain. Until then, I presume you will not oppose me keeping the seal? It should not pose an issue for you to retrieve it, should you so wish."

The smile returned to the woman's face. "You know just what to say to pique my interest, don't you? I'm dying to pick your brain." She turned quiet, looking to the side for a moment. "That will have to wait until another time, unfortunately. The chicken coop is calling."

She tapped her staff on the ground, and a shimmering gate appeared in the air beside her. She threw one last glance at Scarlett and the others. "Until next time."

As she stepped through the portal, it disappeared along with her. The next moment, Shin fell onto his back as his shield clattered to the ground.

The others stared at the space where the woman had been.

"…Who was that?" Allyssa eventually asked.

Scarlett returned the seal to the pouch. "My contingency."

Chapter 94 - Loot and chill

[Quest completed: Cleared The Decayed Catacombs]

{Skill points awarded: 3}

"Well done, everyone," Scarlett said as they climbed up a set of mossy stone stairs, exiting into a dilapidated, ruined temple. What had once been its main gallery and the aisles running alongside it were barricaded by broken-off fragments of the ceiling and the altar at the end of the hall could only barely be recognized as one. Behind what had presumedly been a statue of whatever deity was worshiped here, the light of the midday sun made its way in. "This will be the last excursion of this trip. Soon, we will return to Freybrook."

"Already? And here I thought we were on a roll," Rosa said. The bard went over to sit down on a piece of rubble next to what might have once been part of a wooden bleacher. "Sure you don't have any more strange places you want to show us?"

"We do not have the time," Scarlett answered, observing the woman strum her instrument for a moment. "Passage through the Kilnstone has already been arranged for the evening."

She shifted her attention to a large opening in the wall near them, through which the sprawling hills outside were visible. This temple was about an hour away from where there had once been a minor village settlement. Both had apparently been abandoned a few generations back when there had been rampant monster issues in the region. The catacombs beneath the temple had turned into a dwelling space for the undead after a while, but it was nothing their group couldn't handle. It had also been an easy find, with the map Scarlett bought in Darkshore.

All in all, they had stayed in this region for four days now. This was the third dungeon they'd cleared in that time if you discounted the Zuverian crypt where they picked up the seal piece. The gains from these dungeons were a lot better than the ones in the Freybrook area, so it was worth the time spent traveling around Darkshore's countryside.

[Name: Scarlett Hartford]

[Skills:

[Greater Mana Control]

[Greater Pyromancy]

[Greater Pyrokinesis]

[Hydromancy]

[Greater Hydrokinesis]]

[Traits:

[Dignified August]

[Supercilious]

[Cavalier]

[Callous]

[Overbearing]

[Conceited]

[Third-rate Mana Veins]]

[Mana: 4635/4635]

[Points: 27]

She had gotten a good amount of skill points these last few days. Now, she had enough to upgrade either her pyrokinesis or hydrokinesis. She was leaning heavily towards the former, considering her current priorities.

She glanced down at her left hand, where there was a thin silver bracelet around the wrist.

[Prayer of Salvation (Epic)]

{The prayers of old linger in this bracelet, bolstering its wearer}

In addition to the skill points, they had of course collected a decent number of artifacts as well. This item in particular was one that improved your magical defense in the game. Since she relied on the skill [Sidhe's Flowing Garbs]—which she got from [Lifeblood's Eternal Circuit]—the strength of her defense had a set limit. She couldn't level it up because the effect came from an item, and while it did take mana to maintain, increasing her total mana also didn't help. But as far as she was aware, items like this bypassed those restrictions.

The dungeon they'd cleared yesterday also had a rusty old dagger called [Fireguard Knife (Rare)] that she was thinking of keeping. It slightly empowered pyromancy spells, which could be useful for her if it worked with her pyrokinesis. She was planning on trying it out after returning to Freybrook. If it did work, she would have it brought to a blacksmith to be restored to a better state.

Those were the only two items found that had any worth to her, but that didn't mean there wasn't anything for the others.

Fynn was wearing a new necklace made of deep black bone, known as the [Dark Wolf Pendant (Rare)], which boosted strength. It had been found in the first dungeon they cleared, a den belonging to a pack of wolves who lived in the nearby hills.

Rosa had gotten a bracelet that matched Scarlett's. [Prayer of Devotion (Epic)] was its name, and it strengthened healing spells. It had been found along with the [Prayer of Salvation], the two bracelets coming as a set. A fact that Scarlett was quickly starting to lament. They had found them just half an hour ago, but it had already prompted several jokes from the bard that Scarlett could have done without.

As for Allyssa and Shin, Scarlett hadn't outright given them anything. Like she had previously with Shin, however, she had let Allyssa borrow an old metal crossbow called the [Willow Bolter (Rare)] that was found the day before. The young Shielder had noted that it was slightly larger than the normal hand crossbow she was used to, but she was giving it a try, anyway. It had an interesting effect where each bolt would build up a sense of vertigo in the victim, which was especially useful for someone relying on a lot of alchemy like Allyssa.

There was more than this, of course. Both other artifacts and a bunch of useful materials and resources. But nothing that was a good fit for anyone in their group, so the rest would just be sold off.

Scarlett spent a short while longer resting with the others in the temple before finally getting ready to leave. For now, all their business in the Darkshore area was finished.

The carriage traveled along the gravel path leading up to the Freybrook mansion's front, stopping before the archway that led into the courtyard. Marlon and another servant greeted Scarlett and the others as they exited.

"Welcome back, my Lady. I hope your trip has gone well."

"It has," Scarlett said. She looked to the side, where there stood two parked carriages. She gestured at the vehicles. "Are there guests?"

"Madame Evelyne and Madame Livvi are currently staying in the guest parlor, my Lady."

"I see…" She eyed the carriages. She knew Evelyne was supposed to have returned by now, but she wasn't expecting the woman to visit the mansion this soon. Especially not with Livvi in tow. Had they just coincidentally visited at the same time?

"I suppose I should greet them." She walked past the two servants. "Have someone catalogue the items that we have brought back from the excursions, then bring the bag to my office."

Behind her, Shin handed the [Bag of Juham] over to the servant next to Marlon.

Scarlett passed under the archway that connected the mansion's two wings and into the courtyard, taking in its current state. Most of the damage caused by the Hallowed Cabal's assault had been cleaned up by now, though it had taken surprisingly long to have the ruined and scorched stonework removed. Most of the flower beds had been pulled up—even the ones that made it through unharmed—leaving just bare dirt lining the edges and much of the space at the center of the courtyard. The broken fountain had also been completely removed. It was much like a clean slate, ready to be rebuilt once more.

The real restorations would have to wait, though. They probably couldn't postpone them forever—she supposed nobles had an image to maintain, in the end—but she at least wanted to have a better idea of how much it'd cost before they started anything. Also, it would be best if they were as financially stable as possible when they got to it. She was still considering if it was worth restoring the fountain, for example. It had been nice, sure, but it wasn't exactly the simplest feat of engineering. Well, at least not the ones back in her world. Didn't those rely on gravity, before electricity became a thing? Maybe they had a better method here, considering magic was a thing.

As she crossed the courtyard and entered the mansion foyer, she turned back to the others who had followed her. "This will be all for today. Feel free to do with the remaining time as you wish. We will most likely leave on a brief trip tomorrow as well, although not all of you are required to join."

"Are we going back to Freymeadow?" Shin asked.

"Yes, we are."

The young man shrugged his shoulder. "Then I don't see why we all wouldn't join this time as well."

"That will be up to you," Scarlett said. "Simply be aware that I will be entering by myself or with Miss Hale."

"…Alright."

"Then I will see all of you later." She turned around and made for the stairs that led to the second floor, where she then started making her way towards the guest parlor. There, she stopped before its dark wooden door for a moment, taking a deep breath as she mentally prepared herself before opening the door.

The evening sun entered the room through the large windows facing north, reflecting off the marble floor and highlighting the two women sitting opposite each other at the room's center. Both Livvi and Evelyne turned to look at her.

The familiar feeling of veiled disgust reared its head inside Scarlett. It had been over a month since she and Evelyne had last met and the intensity of the emotion almost caught her off-guard despite expecting it. Still, she was relatively certain she managed to maintain a somewhat neutral expression as she walked over to them.

"Scarlett?" Evelyne said, looking down at the travel attire she was wearing. "I wasn't expecting you to return today. You never said where you went, so I thought it would take a while."

"I was in Darkshore," Scarlett answered. She sat down in an armchair that faced both of the women, glancing at Livvi. "Although I could say the same of you, Evelyne. I was not expecting either of you to be here."

Livvi showed a small smile as she cradled a cup of tea in her hands. "Evelyne mentioned that she would be returning from the capital today, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to meet up. It's been a while since we last spoke."

"And you said I could stay here," Evelyne said, wearing a slightly peeved expression.

Scarlett raised a brow. "My words now were not meant as a disparagement. I was merely surprised that the both of you would be here at the same time." Perhaps she'd sounded a bit more annoyed than she had thought.

Evelyne's expression softened.

"I trust you two had an enjoyable discussion?" Scarlett asked.

"…Yes. There's been a lot to talk about." Evelyne looked over at Livvi. "We were reminiscing a bit, just before you entered."

"That's true," Livvi said. "We were talking about that time our fathers held that small competition for the local nobles on the grounds of this estate. I still remember that day fondly." The bespectacled women looked out the windows overseeing the back of the estate. "Do you recall when my brother challenged your father for a chance to sit next to you at the celebrations, Scarlett? I think that was the first time I ever saw him so forlorn."

"…I do not recall that, no."

Evelyne glanced at Scarlett. "I remember that day, but mostly just the duel our fathers had at the end. It was the first time I really felt like I wanted to be a mage over a knight."

Livvi let out a soft laugh. "Don't let my father hear you say that. He'd be heartbroken if he learned his showing that day discouraged a budding new knight in their ambitions."

"I don't think it was his fault." Evelyne shook her head. "It was just the first time I'd seen father in actual combat."

"Yes, he was a very impressive man." Livvi threw a small look Scarlett's way, though Scarlett wasn't sure of the meaning behind it. The woman shifted her attention down to the teacup in her hands, staying quiet for a few seconds as she brought it up to take a sip. "I have a surprising number of wonderful memories from this place. It broke my heart to see what had happened, both to the courtyard and the grounds at the back."

Evelyne's face turned ugly at that. The younger woman looked at Scarlett. "I was informed of the courtyard through letter, but the training grounds came as a surprise to me as well."

Scarlett stilled.

Oh.

She had completely forgotten to mention that to the woman, hadn't she? She'd been so focused on the Fynn issue at the time.

Evelyne regarded her. "I wish you had at least told me about Garside's condition."

"Garside?" A worried expression appeared on Livvi's face. "What happened to him? Is he alright?"

Scarlett looked between the two. It had been Garside's own wish that she didn't tell Evelyne about it, but she couldn't very well say that now. It would just sound like an excuse.

"He is alright, yes. There is no need to fret," she said. "He was injured during the assault on the mansion, but we had a capable healer present that treated him soon after. Since then, he has been convalescing inside his quarters. There do not appear to be any major complications with his recovery."

"Really?" Livvi released a breath. "I'm glad. He always used to keep an eye on us when we were younger, but I feel like it's been so long since I last saw him."

"You may visit him, if you wish. I do not believe he will take offense." Scarlett turned to Evelyne. "That goes for you as well, if you have not yet seen him."

"I did when I first heard the details earlier today, but he was sleeping at the time. I was planning on checking in later."

"Very well." Scarlett gave a curt nod, then rose from her seat. "I will leave you to continue your discussion for now. As you can see, I am not currently in the most presentable of states."

She gestured to her attire. They'd stayed at a relatively large inn in Darkshore these past nights, so it wasn't as if she had spent days out in the wilderness. But she hadn't cleaned herself since before they cleared the last dungeon, so it would be nice to take a proper bath. She'd just wanted to check what brought these two here first, but thankfully, it didn't appear to be anything important.

"Wait," Evelyne said, "before you leave."

Scarlett looked down at her. "Yes?"

"It's about the Delmons…" The younger woman paused for a moment, then shook her head. "Actually, never mind. It can wait till later."

"…If you say so. Then I will take my leave." Scarlett sent one last look towards Livvi. "Until next time."

"It looks like I'll be staying here in Freybrook for a while longer, so I might pay more visits if that is alright."

"I am certain something can be arranged," Scarlett answered coolly, turning around to exit the room.

Chapter 95 - Back to the grind

"Were you hiding your abilities yesterday?" Arlene's voice sounded out from the side.

Scarlett smothered the two large spheres of fire she'd been focusing on, turning to look at the nearby porch. The woman was eyeing her closely.

"I was not. Since then, however, I have had a realization of sorts."

[Name: Scarlett Hartford]

[Skills:

[Greater Mana Control]

[Greater Pyromancy]

[Superior Pyrokinesis]

[Hydromancy]

[Greater Hydrokinesis]]

[Traits:

[Dignified August]

[Supercilious]

[Cavalier]

[Callous]

[Overbearing]

[Conceited]

[Third-rate Mana Veins]]

[Mana: 3453/4646]

[Points: 2]

[Skills Menu:

Upgrades

[Superior Pyromancy] (25 points)

[Major Pyrokinesis] (50 points)

[Greater Hydromancy] (10 points)

[Superior Hydrokinesis] (25 points)

[Superior Mana Control] (25 points)

New skills

[LOCKED]]

After getting back to the mansion yesterday, Scarlett had upgraded her pyrokinesis. She had to admit, the boost it gave was somewhat intoxicating. The upgraded skill felt several times more powerful than before. And while she didn't know exactly what the growth rate between these skills was, she was at the very least certain it wasn't linear. Previously, she'd been going around with what was essentially a level 30 skill in the game—from her admittedly rough estimation—but now it'd probably be somewhere closer to level 50.

Not that things translated that neatly into this world. For one thing, all her other 'attributes' were significantly lower in comparison. Actual skill was also an important factor — that is, her proficiency with the magic. Her Aqua Mines were a good example of how one could get a lot more out of these skills than one would think at first glance.

As for where the limits of [Superior Pyrokinesis] lay, she wasn't sure yet. All she knew was that judging from what the skill was currently capable of in her hands, she certainly wouldn't want to stand at the receiving end of its power.

"I've seen many go through breakthroughs in my life," Arlene said. "But none this extreme."

The woman studied her for several seconds. "It must have been one profound realization you had."

Scarlett met her eyes. All of this must look incredibly odd to her. The last time they'd been here in Freymeadow was before they left for Darkshore. For Scarlett, days had passed since. But for Arlene, it must have seemed like she had left the evening before and come back several times stronger in the morning.

"This is what you should come to expect of me," Scarlett said. "I am far from your common practitioner."

Arlene raised both eyebrows, a disbelieving look on her face. After a moment, she returned her attention to the book in her lap without a response.

Scarlett kept her gaze on her for a while longer before returning to her own training.

[Mana: 187/4646]

Scarlett heaved the warm summer air, glancing at the mana that remained. She'd been at it for several hours now, cycling from ever-shortening training sessions to increasingly long periods of rest. For the time being, her focus was on familiarising herself with [Superior Pyrokinesis]. She had barely touched hydrokinesis except for the occasional wetting of the towel she had on her lap.

She peered up at the bright blue sky. The scorching afternoon sun blared down on her and the wide dirt square around her. The perpetual summertime in this place was nice at first when compared to the rather chilly winds that were starting to go around Freybrook, but she really could do without the extra heat when she was already experimenting with so much fire.

She had taken this into consideration, bringing along a lighter set of clothes comprised of a loose white shirt and black cotton pants, but it was sweltering even with just that. If possible she would've preferred wearing just enough to protect her modesty, but there was no way she could bring herself to wear something like that in a public setting. The original's sensibilities inside her cried out at the mere idea.

Bringing up the towel to clean her face, she released a sigh as the relative coolness of the fabric touched her skin. She would need to take a good long rest before she could get back to training again. What she did during these resting sessions varied. If she had the energy, she would often read some book or other to further familiarise herself with this world. At other times, she would try to find a place with shade and relax there. When she was well and truly exhausted, she'd sometimes just stay in the chair and do nothing. It wasn't the most comfortable of positions, but sometimes you just didn't want to bother.

She had never realized it before, but subjecting herself to this endless cycle of training to collapse had taught her how nice it could be to sometimes just do nothing. It was amusing to think that the spoiled modern person in her would have balked at the idea a few months back.

She wasn't quite at that level of tiredness yet, though. For now, she would be satisfied if she could find a suitably refreshing spot in the shade before she started resting.

Her gaze moved to the porch where Arlene sat.

Actually, why couldn't she just move there? There was plenty of space, and a low wooden ceiling jutted out from the building behind the porch to afford nice protection from the sun. She had avoided the space before because she didn't know where Arlene's boundaries were, and she didn't want to annoy the woman more than necessary. But was there any real point to that this early? She would have several more tries to convince the woman in the future, and it wasn't as if Arlene would remember it after things reset in a few days.

Standing from her seat on weak legs, Scarlett picked up her chair with an inward groan. It felt heavier than she thought it would. Still, she maintained as steady a poise as she could, walking up to the porch.

This is where it would have been helpful if she had allowed Shin to join. The Shielder didn't seem to mind dealing with minor inconveniences like this. But things would turn into a pain if that were the case, considering she would have to figure out how to explain things in a suitable manner. And calling Rosa over for something this small felt unnecessary.

Arlene glanced up at her for a second as she stepped up on the porch and placed the chair on the floorboards, but the woman said nothing against it.

Okay, Scarlett had definitely been overthinking things.

She sat down, relishing in the coolness that came with the shade here on the porch. In fact, this was a lot cooler than she had expected. It was almost unnatural how perfect the temperature was here. She'd only been up here for brief moments, so she had failed to notice it before.

She looked at Arlene. Was the woman doing something?

Whatever the cause, she had no complaints.

Leaning back in her seat, Scarlett closed her eyes, enjoying the relative peace. She might have dozed off for a while because the next time she opened her eyes, it was to several cheerful cries ringing out from the village square in front of her.

Near the platform at the center of the square was a gathering of the village kids. Rosa was among them, and the bard seemed to be in the middle of sharing some tale or other as she taught them how to tie wreaths out of a pile of grass and sticks lying on the ground. Scarlett hadn't seen the kids earlier when she had been practicing, so they must have been out gathering all the materials for some time.

She kept her eyes on Rosa as the woman looked over a green wreath a short blonde girl had made.

It still surprised her how willing the woman was to interact with the people of Freymeadow, even after what they witnessed. Rosa hadn't even questioned Scarlett when she said there wasn't anything they could do to help these people. She just accepted the situation as it was, still keeping up a smile around the kids in spite of the reality before her.

Did the woman have that much trust in Scarlett? Or maybe she was thinking there was some way to save the village? One that Scarlett either hadn't told her about or found yet?

Scarlett was hoping it wasn't anything like the latter. She had no intention of truly 'saving' Freymeadow, nor any inkling of how it could be done. What happened to this place was terrible, yes, but as far as she was concerned, it was already history.

Suddenly, Rosa placed a hand on the little girl's shoulder and turned her around, pointing over towards her.

Scarlett frowned as the girl started padding in her direction, wreath in hand. Soon, the girl reached the porch and climbed up on it, stopping a step away from her. She held out the wreath with a timid expression.

Over by the platform, Scarlett could tell Rosa was enjoying the situation. That blasted woman.

She eyed the girl for a moment, trying to relax her harsh expression. "You have made this for me?"

The girl slowly nodded her head.

"I see." Scarlett reached out to receive the wreath, examining it in her hands. It wasn't well-made, much of the grass hanging loosely around the branch frame underneath. But the girl looked proud as she inspected it.

What was she supposed to say here?

"…Thank you."

Was that enough? Or should she lie and say it was beautiful?

The answer seemed to satisfy the maker at least, as a smile grew on the girl's face. She remained standing where she was, though. Scarlett was uncertain what else to say as the girl looked at her intently. Was she expecting more?

"Your gift has made her embarrassed. That means she likes it." Arlene's soft voice reached them from the side. "But she's probably tired from all her work. You shouldn't bother her for too long. Go back and continue playing with your friends and the nice lady."

The girl turned to look at the woman. She stared at her for a few seconds. Then she spun around and started trotting back towards Rosa and the others.

Scarlett glanced over at Arlene. "It appears as if you get along well with the residents."

"I make do." The woman had turned back to her book, turning a page. "I could say the same of you. The kids seem to enjoy your little performances."

"I do not believe my relationship with them is anything of note. This was most likely a result of a ploy concocted by my retainer. Her proficiency at socializing and ingratiating herself with the young is commendable, although she also bears certain predispositions that I do not always approve of."

Arlene looked up, gazing out at the children gathered around the bard. "I can see what you mean." The woman's eyes stayed on them for a while. There was a tenderness in that look, one that felt out of odds with the woman's harsher exterior.

"…You seem fond of them," Scarlett said. "The children, that is. This is not the first occasion I have seen you watching over them."

Arlene responded with a light chuckle. "Who doesn't like children? Could you say you don't, after receiving that gift just now?"

Scarlett looked down at the wreath in her lap. "I can, yes." She didn't really know what to do with it. It wasn't as if she had any use for it. And most items you brought with you outside this place would just disappear. For now, she placed the wreath on the floorboards next to her chair. "In general, I am not especially fond of children. I do not mind them; I simply have never been proficient in their handling."

Arlene let out another short laugh, one that felt slightly more genuine. "You remind me a lot of another noblewoman I knew. She was terrible with kids, never minced words, no matter the occasion, and expected competence above all else." The small smile on her face weakened. "There also wasn't anything she would let stand in her way."

Scarlett raised a brow. She couldn't recall ever telling the woman that she was a noblewoman. Although she wasn't exactly hiding it, either. Both with how she spoke and with the fact that she was walking around with a literal 'retainer'.

"But these are good kids," Arlene continued. "The more time you spend around them, the more you'll be able to tell that. They have bright futures ahead of them."

Scarlett stilled at those last words. Her gaze wandered over Arlene as the woman looked at the children with a wistful face.

"…You say that, yet you are the one who does not intend to allow them the possibilities within that future."

The woman's expression froze.

…Scarlett wasn't sure what had prompted her to say that. But now it was too late to take it back.

"You're right." Arlene wore a dark smile, head turned downward as she traced her hand over the book in her lap. "If you know that much, then… I must seem like a monster to you, don't I?"

"…Yes. I cannot deny that."

"Then why don't you stop me?"

"I would if it were within my ability. However, I believe we are both acutely aware of what would happen were I to try."

"Then there's not much to say, is there?" Arlene's smile turned solemn.

Scarlett stared at her for several seconds. She then shifted her gaze towards the square. "Perhaps you are right."

Neither of them exchanged any further words after that.

Scarlett continued observing Rosa's merrymaking with the children until she felt she had recovered enough to get some more training in. At that point, she picked up her chair again and moved to step down from the porch.

"What's the reasoning behind you wanting to learn magic?" Arlene suddenly asked.

Scarlett stopped, looking back at the woman. "I suppose necessity is the prime culprit."

"I can see that. What is it you're trying to run away from?"

She frowned. "I am not running away from anything. I am preparing myself in order to face it."

"Often the two are the same."

"What is the reason you are asking me this?"

"I want to know the reason you sought me out," Arlene said.

"I was under the notion that you did not intend to help me."

"I'm free to do whatever I wish." The woman eyed her for a moment. "At the moment, I felt curious. Who knows how long that'll last. But it's clear you're having a hard time grasping your new abilities."

Hard time? Scarlett hadn't noticed any real problems with her upgraded pyrokinesis. She was getting used to it pretty quickly, in fact. But what if there was an issue she was overlooking?

"…Are you referring to anything in particular?"

"What do you think?" Arlene asked.

The woman didn't elaborate, even after Scarlett's eyes stayed on her for several seconds. Eventually, Scarlett turned back to the square. "I will take your words into consideration. If that is all, I will return to my activities."

Hopefully, she would figure out whatever this was about.

Chapter 96 - Teachings

When Scarlett and Rosa returned to Freymeadow the next day, they were surprised to see Arlene standing from her chair and stepping down from the porch as they neared.

"Follow me," the woman told Scarlett before turning around and walking away.

Scarlett shared a look with Rosa. "I will see what this is about. You remain here."

The bard glanced after the departing woman. "…If you say so, boss."

Scarlett began walking after Arlene, who had exited the village square. She caught up with her as they passed the simple wood and stone buildings that made up these people's homes and proceeded towards the wall that surrounded the settlement. Eventually, they reached a section in the wall where a small gate led out into a spot near where the villagers kept their livestock. Arlene continued past the enclosure where the sheep grazed, and Scarlett upped her pace to keep up. Two men tending to the animals watched as they walked by, but neither seemed to offer any greetings.

Soon they reached the edge of the forest, where Arlene continued into the thick underbrush without an ounce of hesitation. Scarlett followed, trying her best to avoid the errant thorn branch and other bothersome vegetation. They trekked through the thicket for several minutes until they reached a small clearing where rocks and dead trees littered much of the ground.

Arlene stopped near the mouth of the open space, turning back to Scarlett. "Alright. Show me what you've got once more. Give it your all this time."

Scarlett eyed the raven-haired woman for a moment. This wasn't exactly the best place to test her abilities… But if this was what she thought it was, she couldn't very well say no.

"Don't worry about the forest," Arlene said. "Just focus on your own work."

…Alright then.

Scarlett looked down at her waist for a moment, where the [Pouch of Holding] was. She had tested the [Fireguard Knife] the day before, and its empowering effect seemed to work with her pyrokinesis as she'd hoped. The effect wasn't massive, but it was better than nothing. Though perhaps it was better to do this without the aid of an artifact like that.

She raised both hands. With a reasonable amount of mental effort, she summoned a dozen medium-sized Aqua Mines; the limit of what her current hydrokinesis would allow her. Centered on a large tree trunk nearby, each Mine blazed like a tiny miniature star. She detonated them in order, and splinters blasted away with each impact as pockets of steam burst forth. When she was finished, the trunk was left with several large chunks missing.

She glanced at Arlene, who held an impassive expression at the display.

Taking a deep breath, Scarlett gathered even more of her focus. A wave of heat drowned the clearing as four large spheres of fire flared into existence, each enough to swallow a person whole. If she hadn't activated [Sidhe's Flowing Garbs] before starting, she probably wouldn't have been able to handle the increase in temperature.

The flames were a dark red at first. As she concentrated, their color turned lighter and lighter. Soon, they passed a whitish orange into an almost bright white. Scarlett kept them as they were for a few seconds, narrowing her eyes as the image threatened to burn itself into her retinas. Finally, she moved all the spheres together, morphing them into a behemoth of a fire that would have engulfed even an elephant with no trace.

She paused as Arlene started walking towards the flames.

"Keep it up," the woman said.

Scarlett blinked, then returned her focus to the magic. Sweat had started running down her brow. This was eating through her mana stores quickly, but she could maintain it for at least a bit longer.

Arlene stopped to study the giant mass of fire, apparently not bothered by the heat at all. Scarlett blanched as the woman then stepped into the flames.

But she didn't let her magic dissipate.

After a few seconds, the woman reappeared with a calm expression from where she had entered.

"That's enough," she said.

Scarlett immediately dismissed her fire.

A warm gust blew across the clearing as the temperature dropped. Her gaze passed over the surroundings, but none of the nearby vegetation seemed to have been affected by the flames, save for a small segment precisely under where her spheres had been.

Arlene walked towards her, not a hair out of place after walking into a literal fire.

Scarlett hadn't been expecting her magic to be at a level where it could do much to the woman. That much was true. But that it would be completely worthless point-blank like this? When she was giving it her all? That was insane.

It was also a good showing of how powerful Arlene truly was.

Not that Scarlett actually knew her level. In the game, certain characters had question marks instead of numbers for levels when you first met them. Arlene had been one of them. The question mark didn't necessarily mean they were incredibly high level, though. Just that the game simply wouldn't tell you their actual level at the time. Often it was revealed at some later point. But there were instances—like with Arlene—where you never learned their real level even after completing the relevant questlines. As such, much of what Scarlett had to go off when it came to the woman's strength was from context clues. There was just one occasion where you actually saw a level for Arlene, but she was pretty sure it was artificially lowered for that specific quest.

"You've got some drive behind your flames, but there's too much flair." Arlene stopped in front of her. She held up a hand and a small fire appeared above it. "What do you see?"

Scarlett inspected the flame dance in the air for a few seconds. "I see nothing beyond a fire."

A frown grew across Arlene's face. "You haven't learned to perceive mana?"

"I have not learned spells of any kind. That includes ones that would aid me in observing mana."

"…That shouldn't be possible," the woman said. She went quiet, brows furrowing even further. After a moment, she lowered her hand—her fire dissipating into the air—and waved her hand to the side. "Alright. You conjure a flame."

Scarlett summoned a simple ball of fire.

"You seem fond of spheres," Arlene noted. She pointed at the fire. "What do you see?"

Scarlett turned an eye to her. The woman had realized she had a way of perceiving her own mana, at the very least. Turning back to her magic, Scarlett scrutinized it closely. What was she supposed to see? "Beyond the fire, what I see is an accumulation of mana."

"And what does that consist of?"

"…It is gathered in clusters of mana."

"And those?"

She stayed silent for a bit. Next would be the strands of mana that made up those clusters, but was that was the woman was asking? "…Are you perhaps referring to the mana itself?"

"Yes. What does it consist of?"

"…I do not know," Scarlett said. "If I were to speculate, I would say it is some form of energy. At least I would gather that much to be obvious."

"Energy?" Arlene raised her eyebrows, seeming to consider the answer. She nodded her head. "That's about as good an answer as any, I suppose. Then, how would you say that mana—or energy—creates fire?"

Scarlett turned to her. "I will admit that I am at a loss in that regard."

Arlene gave her a long look. "…You aren't much of a mage, are you?"

"I have never claimed to be."

The woman shook her head. "It's a miracle you can do as much as you can. You can release your mana for now."

Scarlett did as she said.

"What do you think the difference is between this—" Arlene raised her hand again and performed a simple motion. A small flame appeared in the air. "—and this?" Another flame appeared beside it.

Scarlett eyed the two flames. She couldn't see a difference, but that didn't say much. "One is evanescent magic, and the other is manifest?"

"Wrong. One is evanescent, and the other is true pyrokinesis. The same thing you are doing."

Both flames disappeared.

"The difference between manifest magic and pyrokinesis is miniscule. They could even be said to be variations of the same technique, depending on which mage you ask. What they aren't, however, are true manifestations of their elements."

Arlene looked over at Scarlett. "Have you heard of the term 'true pyrokinesis' before?"

Scarlett shook her head. "I have not."

"What do you think it means?"

"…From your previous words, I would imagine it refers to pyrokinesis which creates actual flames?"

"The opposite." Arlene's lips curled upward slightly. "The nomenclature among mages isn't always the most descriptive. In truth, manifest magic and normal pyrokinesis are the closest thing you can get to actually recreating the elements they draw upon. A flame created through normal pyrokinesis will bear almost no difference compared to a real flame. It also shares the same limitations. True pyrokinesis, however, isn't bound by those laws. It draws from the root of the element itself. It's the hallmark of a true beginner to believe that the element of fire is the same thing as actual fire. True pyrokinesis is shaped more by the will and skill of the user than anything else."

Scarlett considered the woman's words. She did not mind being referred to as a 'true beginner' as much as she would have thought. It was the truth, anyhow. "If I am understanding you correctly, does this not mean that true pyrokinesis is a superior variant of pyrokinesis?"

"Not necessarily. It's more difficult to use, yes. I've only known a handful of people capable of it. But it could be compared to using a great sword to cut bread, when a knife would both be more precise and efficient. Still, it has its uses. Mainly when it comes to the development and application of some higher-level spells that require bending the laws of the world to even work."

"Such as primordial spells?"

"Exactly like primordial spells."

Scarlett nodded slowly. "If so, why have I not heard of true pyrokinesis before this?"

"Have you ever spoken with a mage about it before?" Arlene asked.

"Of course."

"Then they likely didn't know the difference. Some mages never learn the correct theory. Just look at yourself."

"…Very well. Let us say that is the case." Scarlett looked Arlene in the eyes. "What does this mean for the application of my magic?"

Arlene regarded her for a few seconds. "It means you're holding yourself back trying to learn unnecessary things."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's like I said. There's a difference between pyrokinesis and true pyrokinesis."

Arlene turned to the side. Another bright-red flame appeared in the air, this time without any movement from the woman's end. "This is normal pyrokinesis," she said and gestured at the fire. The color intensified, shifting towards a bright white before finally reaching a bright blue. "What do you think this color means?"

Scarlett eyed the flame. "It has reached a higher temperature, has it not?"

Although she was far from an expert on the subject—she only remembered minor details—she at least knew that temperature was one of the main things that affected a flame's color. Blue equals hotter. Other factors was the fuel that was burning and different kinds of chemicals, she was pretty sure.

"You're…mostly correct. Though I suspect not for the right reason. It is hotter. But more importantly, when mana is the source for the magic, this color shows you're utilizing it more efficiently, cycling the mana as you need to, and ensuring it gets the air it requires to breathe properly. You're taking these factors, and several more, into consideration, in order to make sure there is less waste."

Another flame appeared beside the first, bearing an orangish, bright white color.

"This one is the same temperature as your fire was earlier. So, which one is hotter?"

Scarlett eyed the flames. "The blue one, no?"

Arlene shook her head. "The other one is twice as hot."

Scarlett raised a brow.

The white flame suddenly changed color, turning a clear yellow. "Now, which one do you think is hotter?"

"…I presume it is still the yellow flame. Although I cannot claim to know why."

"It's three times as hot as the blue one right now."

Arlene dismissed both fires and turned back to Scarlett. "Like I said, true pyrokinesis isn't bound by the same laws as manifest magic and normal pyrokinesis. The problem is that you're treating yours like it is. That's no different from tying your hands behind your back when riding a horse and trying to steer with your legs. This is the most fundamental of mistakes you're making, but there are many others."

Scarlett eyed the woman for a few seconds. "Can I take this to mean that you have decided to teach me, despite your previous stance on the subject?"

"You're asking if I'm willing to take you in as a disciple?"

"Yes."

"I don't know. But after seeing the change between the you two days ago and the you today, I decided it would be a sin to let all that potential be wasted on basic mistakes such as this." Arlene's face turned darker. "But I think we both know that having me as your master wouldn't bring anyone much good."

"I disagree. I believe it would be beneficial for the both of us," Scarlett said.

"You'll most definitely want to take those words back one day."

"We will see."

The woman gave her a long look. "Yes. We'll see. Regarding both things."

Scarlett gave a short nod and glanced to the side.

[Mana: 343/4646]

Her earlier display of her magic had been a bit wasteful. But now that they were here, she didn't want to go back just yet.

She turned to the center of the clearing and conjured another small flame. "For now, perhaps you can tell me what it is I can do to improve. I would not want to have my hands remain bound forever, after all."

Chapter 97 - Noble visits

Scarlett spent two more days in Freymeadow being instructed by Arlene about the difference between normal pyrokinesis and true pyrokinesis. Those days had been used refining what the woman had told her, trying to gauge the difference between the two 'skills'. Unfortunately, beyond explaining that there was a difference, and showcasing a couple of examples, Arlene hadn't actually deigned to provide much further explanation, so Scarlett was still in the process of actually trying to figure out how to implement the new knowledge with her magic.

Right now, however, they had returned to Freybrook, and she had other matters to prepare for. Evelyne had left shortly after she and Livvi visited a few days earlier, and the woman had left some documents regarding the fiefs for her to go over. Scarlett didn't really know much about noble duties, tax laws, fief management, or even the land that belonged to the Hartford family, so much of the contents went over her head. It seemed Evelyne had suspected as much, though, since there had been written outlines summarizing much of the material, which was helpful.

As far as Scarlett understood things, the majority of the Hartford family's revenues and assets didn't actually originate from their fief. They had an old keep—Stagmond Keep—to the northwest of Freybrook, which had a small number of staff ensuring its upkeep, but it didn't appear to serve any real purpose other than being the family's ancestral home. In the region near Stagmond Keep, there were a few villages that belonged to the barony, but none of them seemed to have any major exports. Their populations didn't even surpass a few hundred. All in all, the Hartford barony probably didn't encompass more than a thousand people, which was nothing when compared to just some of the towns that bordered it, not to mention Freybrook itself.

Despite that, the Hartford family had been a relatively prestigious house throughout the empire's history. They owned several mansions, had several notable mages in their family tree, and were even at the level where the emperor himself would acknowledge them. It was somewhat of a conundrum to Scarlett how the family was as prestigious as it was, considering its 'humble' origins. She'd learned enough about the empire's aristocracy to know that there were a dozen other baronies of similar size just around the Freybrook area.

Unfortunately, there wasn't exactly an encyclopedia for these kinds of things. Not to her knowledge, at least. There were probably family chronicles and the like detailing most, if not all, of the empire's noble houses, but she doubted any of them had a simple answer written in plain text. From what she could gather, though, it was a mixture of the Hartford mage-producing endeavours and them just making good business decisions.

Or at least it had been before the original Scarlett became the head. She was neither a skilled mage nor a talented businesswoman, if any of what she knew was true. Noble politics seemed about the only thing the original had been truly skilled at—maybe—but that was so far out of Scarlett's area of expertise that she still couldn't be entirely sure. All she had to go off of was other people's reactions to her actions.

She wasn't sure whether things started getting worse for the Hartfords before or after the original became the baroness, but she doubted the woman's actions had helped the situation any, at least. Over the last few weeks, she'd gone through past financial accounts on more than one occasion and seen some of the costs the original Scarlett had racked up. Even for minor things, like clothes and jewellery, the numbers had astonished her. It was figures in the six digits. Probably enough to buy an entire neighborhood in this world.

Still, all of that was in the past. Things were on the upswing in those regards now. The money Evelyne had been bringing in from selling all the loot was slowly mounting up. Scarlett had also made sure to sell some of the more expensive jewellery pieces she found. Even with the expected costs for repairing the mansion—when that time came—she wasn't expecting any actual issues on the financial front, as long as they weren't pressed for time.

Although that was assuming no other sudden costs popped up out of nowhere. Their current expenditures ranged everywhere from salaries for the employees spread out across their different homes and fiefs, to costs for the new orphanage that was now up and running or the business investments Evelyne was in charge of, as well as a few miscellaneous costs here and there that included a few different stipends and the like that the family had been financing since previous generations.

Honestly, all this management and economy stuff was a bit much for Scarlett. Even with her already delegating the majority of the work to Evelyne and others, she didn't enjoy having to look over what still ended up at her desk. In fact, it annoyed her even having to bother with most of it. Sometimes she felt like she would die of boredom from some of the documents. But she also didn't feel comfortable just ignoring all of it.

…Actually, that was a lie. She was pretty sure she could ignore all of it without feeling an ounce of regret. In general, she'd always felt a sense of ambivalence to most matters that didn't directly affect her. That went doubly now that her personality had been affected so by the original Scarlett's. There were a lot of things she just didn't care enough about.

But she felt like she should. Or rather, she thought that she should. Which was all the reason she needed to force herself to do it anyway.

Besides, she was in a position of power now, even if she hadn't asked for it. That meant that it was only right she performed some minor sacrifices herself where she could—like spending time reading through boring documents—in order to ensure that those under her had it good. Or at least decent.

She didn't feel that empathy was a necessity when it came to taking other people's circumstances into consideration.

When she finished going through the last of the documents Evelyne had left, she placed them on the side of her desk for now. She was planning on returning them to Evelyne in the evening. The younger Hartford sister had informed her she'd be staying at the mansion for a few days, apparently still concerned about Garside's condition, even though the butler had been recovering without issue lately. There were even signs that the butler's injured arm might heal to the point where he could use it again, despite what the physician had said about its prospects.

Scarlett stood from her chair.

But all that was for a later occasion. Right now, she had other things to deal with. It should be about time. This morning she had received a message from Gaven Ridley that he was back. He and the Countess should be here shortly.

Scarlett was waiting inside the east wing's parlor when a knock sounded out from the door. It opened a moment later.

Gaven entered, wearing the same disguise as usual. He was followed by the robed figure of the Countess. The woman's head nervously moved back and forth, taking the room in as if this wasn't the second time she came here.

"Welcome," Scarlett said, gesturing to the seat across from her. "Take a seat."

The table that had been destroyed last time had been replaced, this time by a thick stone countertop Scarlett had brought up from the cellar. It wasn't as ostentatious as the rest of the room, but she thought it might be best not to risk losing another piece of furniture quite so soon.

"I trust that things have gone well?" she asked.

Gaven sat down on the couch as he removed his disguise.

"There were some minor complications," he said, glancing at the Countess as the hooded woman carefully moved to sit next to him. "But we got the job done."

He put a hand inside his vest, pulling out a black key. It was almost a carbon copy of the key the man had retrieved from Abelard's Doll Orchard. A sapphire-encrusted shaft that bent in on itself like a question mark, with a comb-like end.

[Abelard's Doll Mansion Key (1/2) (Unique)]

{Half of a pair of keys leading to Abelard the Doll Maker's Home}

Scarlett reached and received the key, placing it inside the pouch of holding that lay next to her. This made two in her possession. With this, she had exactly what she needed in order to enter Abelard's Doll Mansion. Now she just needed to wait until the right opportunity.

"Well done." She looked up at the Gaven. "…And the second task? Did you carry it out as well?"

A smirk appeared on his face. "There's nothing to worry about on that front. I did exactly as you instructed. Everything, including potential loose ends, was taken care of."

"I see…" Scarlett gave a slow nod as she let the meaning of his words actually sink in.

How messed up was it that she felt relieved at them? Hearing that, what was essentially a hit ordered by her, had been successful? No matter if the targets had been bastards or not, it was, objectively, pretty terrible.

She closed her eyes.

…Whatever. What point was there in overthinking the matter? This was another world. She was essentially another person. This wasn't the first death she'd been involved in here. Despite the cliché of the situation, she wasn't going to cling to all of her old morals. As long as she wasn't crossing any lines she didn't want to cross, she would continue as she was.

She had never been a saint, anyway.

"I will ensure that you are properly compensated for your services." She opened her eyes and looked at Gaven, then turned her attention to the Countess. The bandaged woman had been sitting quietly in her seat, a distant expression on her face. "It is a pleasure to see you once more, Countess. I hope things have been well since our last meeting?"

The woman blinked. "Ah, ah. Y-Yes. Yes… Thank you…thank you. I have been well."

"I am glad. I feared Abelard's Doll Pavilion would prove an unpleasant experience for you, but it appears there was no need for concern."

She fervently shook her head. "No need. No need. I… Did as Mister Ripley said… There were no problems."

A snort left Gaven beside her. "Yeah, tell that to what remains of that place's roof."

The woman stilled. Her wrapped hands clasped tighter around the robe's fabric across her lap.

"As long as you fulfilled the goal, nothing else matters," Scarlett said. "You have done well, Countess. Thank you for your assistance with this task."

The woman looked up at her with wide eyes. An unsettling smile grew across her face. "So kind… Yes. Yes. You're welcome. Yes."

"…Let us proceed on to other matters." Scarlett shifted her eyes away from the woman. Even if the Countess' appearance was in a better 'state' than last time, it still raised the hairs on her neck. She was pretty sure the woman hadn't bathed since then, as well. The smell told her as much. It was a good thing she was paying Gaven as much as she was. Otherwise, she wasn't sure he would accept working with someone like that.

"Don't tell me," the man in question said as Scarlett looked at him. "There are more of those creepy pavilions or whatever that we need to rob, aren't there?"

"No, there are not," she said.

She would have preferred sending Gaven to the next place in that questline if that was an option. But he wouldn't be able to clear Abelard's Doll Mansion by himself with just the Countess helping him. It required more than two people to get through that place. Or at least more than the one-and-a-half self-sufficient people she had here. Besides, there was another thing that she needed him to get done in the meantime. Abelard's Doll Mansion would be left to herself and her group to deal with. There were at least two important items that she needed there. It was her second priority at the moment, right after dealing with the Hallowed Cabal.

The only problem right now was that she wasn't certain her current party could clear the place either, with Garside being out of the picture. They would either have to wait until he fully recovered, or find someone else to help. Maybe if Kat was available sometime soon? Or perhaps they could hire another powerful Shielder? Convincing Adalicia to join was also an option if the wizard returned from the Rising Isle soon. Scarlett wasn't sure when that would be, however.

"Your next task involves procuring an old artifact that will be of vital importance to our plans. Regrettably, it is currently in the possession of another, one who neither realizes its worth nor its potential. It will be up to you to ensure that it finds a new, more suitable owner."

The man smirked. "Yeah, I bet. What's the item?"

"It is a small dagger, known as the Memory of the Covenant," Scarlett said.

He stared at her for several seconds. "…You're pulling my leg."

"It would appear you know of it. That is good. I can assure you, however, that this is not something said in jest."

"I've heard a couple of things about it, yeah…" Gaven scratched his beard. "But those are just old superstitions among senile swindlers. Guys more likely to pluck out a gold tooth from their mam's mouth than spout an honest word from their own."

"The artifact's existence is no superstition," Scarlett said. She crossed her arms. "Although I will admit that the dagger does not hold much value on its own and, as such, may seem useless. However, I know how to bring out its full potential. As I said, we will also have need of it in our plans, so it is fortunate that you are an individual that is well suited for these sorts of tasks."

Gaven eyed her for a moment, as if he was trying to really make sure he wasn't the butt of some joke right now. "…Alright. Sure. Sounds interesting. If it can really do what those old tales say, I wouldn't mind getting the chance to try my hands at it."

"You seem convinced that I would allow you the opportunity. Remember, you are procuring this for my use. Not yours."

"Lady, I've dealt with enough idiots in my time to know when I'm talking to the opposite. You wouldn't give someone like me the job of getting this thing if you weren't intending for me to use it as well." He let out a chuckle. "Though if you would, I suppose I should tell you that you'd do best to rethink who you do business with in the future."

"…No. You are correct. It is indeed my intention to have you make use of this artifact. But ultimately, even that will still be on my behalf, so I recommend that you do not develop any absurd ideas."

"What can I say?" Gaven brushed away some imaginary dirt from his arm. "I've got a talent for telling this kind of thing."

"I am sure that you do." Scarlett shook her head at the man's theatrics. "Returning back to the job in question, know that, this time, carrying it out surreptitiously is of vital import. You are not to be caught, nor are you to interact with the current holders of the artifact or their staff in any way."

The people currently in possession of the [Memory of the Covenant] were just some old, rich, noble couple. They had done nothing wrong, and as far as Scarlett could remember, they'd actually been pretty decent people in the few dialogues they had in the game. While she would technically be stealing from them, there was no point in causing unnecessary harm in the process.

"Got it." Gaven nodded his head, then sent a look towards the Countess. "Something like this, though… I'd have to do it by myself."

Scarlett furrowed her brow. "Are you certain?"

"Yeah. I can't be busy being a nanny while doing a job like this."

The Countess gave him a confused look. "…Nanny…?" she mumbled.

Scarlett glared at him. "Ridley."

He held up both hands. "Sorry, sorry. A chaperone, then. Better? You know what I'm getting at."

Scarlett's eyes shifted to the Countess. It was true that it might be difficult to bring the woman along if she wouldn't be of any help to the mission itself. But what would they do with her in the meantime? She wasn't exactly the sort of person Scarlett felt comfortable leaving on her lonesome until they needed her again. That's one of the reasons why she'd wanted to team her up with Gaven like this to begin with.

"How long do you believe this task would take?"

"Depends." Gaven leaned forward. "You sure you want it done all sneaky-like?"

"Yes."

"Alright. Then where is it right now?"

"In Fayrun," Scarlett said. "The current holder is a baron by the name of Branson. He lives in a mansion in the city. The artifact should be kept in their gallery."

Gaven seemed to think about it for a moment, scratching at his beard again. He held up two fingers. "Give me two weeks."

"Two weeks?" she asked.

That was more than she had expected.

"Getting inside a noble's mansion without causing a ruckus is far harder than just robbing some old, abandoned ruin for a key or whatever. You're not expecting this to be a cakewalk, are you?"

"You did not appear to have much issue infiltrating mine."

He grinned. "Yeah, but that didn't exactly end well, did it?"

"I doubt they will have the same level of detection available as I have," she said.

"Still." The man shrugged his shoulders. "There's a lot to prepare if it's in Fayrun. I didn't go prancing into this place without a plan, you know."

Scarlett considered him for a moment. "I have already arranged passage to the city. You will arrive as early as tomorrow morning, so that will not be an issue."

"Took that much for granted." Gaven held up his fingers again. "Still the same deal. Two weeks, to be on the safe side. And you wanna be on the safe side for something like this."

"…Very well," she said. She turned to look at the Countess sitting next to him.

What was she supposed to do with this woman for that long a period?

"D-Dagger…" the woman suddenly muttered. Her eyes focused on Scarlett. "What…what is the dagger…for?"

"It will serve to help you in the future," Scarlett said.

"M-Me…?"

"Yes."

An odd expression grew on the woman's face, a thin smile on her lips as she stared down at the table.

"Until then, would you agree to staying at this mansion as my guest?"

The Countess stilled. She blinked, looking up at her again. "Me… Stay here?"

"That is what I asked, yes."

"I-Is…that alright?"

"Of course." Scarlett nodded. "You are an associate of mine. I see no reason as to why you should not be allowed to reside here."

A snort left Gaven.

Scarlett shot him a look. She didn't especially like solving things like this either, but he could at least try to keep up appearances a bit.

"T-Thank you… Thank you." The Countess lowered her head again, and again, repeating the same phrase. After doing that for several seconds, though, she suddenly stopped. She slowly glanced up at Scarlett, words coming out in a whisper. "…h-help me…?"

"Excuse me?"

The woman froze, bandaged hands clasped tightly together. "Dagger… You said…dagger…the dagger will help me… How?"

Scarlett stared at her for a moment, unsure exactly what to answer. She hadn't been expecting the woman to actually ask any questions about what they would be doing, considering how she had been acting up till now.

"…You have a sister, do you not?"

The Countess' eyes widened, and a frenzied look entered them.

"S-Sister?" She gawked wordlessly at Scarlett for a while, pulling at her robes. Her eyes started shifting around the room as if she was looking for something. "T-That's right… M-My sister… My sister… My poor sister… T-They took her… My sister…sister…"

Scarlett scowled as the woman's words continued. She hadn't thought bringing the subject up would lead to this kind of reaction. As the Countess' ramblings turned more and more incoherent, the woman's eyes locked onto Scarlett once more.

"M-My sister! They…they took her…! They killed her—no, they took my sweet sister! They came…into our home… They took her…from my grasp…they want to use her…injure her…those evil people… They killed everyone… N-No, they took everyone…? Everyone gone? They have to pay! Yes… The Baroness is kind…! Make them pay…! P-Please…m-my sister…"

Scarlett schooled her expression as much as she could as she listened to the woman's ravings. In the Countess' mind, what did those events look like? How had things become so twisted that the woman herself didn't even seem sure of what happened?

It might have been better if Scarlett hadn't brought up the sister at all yet.

"…That is right," she told the woman, mustering the closest thing she could to a soothing voice. "The depraved people who took your sister will see justice. I will ensure that you get to meet her again. This I swear upon my name."

The Countess stopped in the middle of her rambling. She stared at Scarlett. The crazed look in the woman's eyes was still there, but it looked like her words had some effect. The woman lowered her head, her raving turning into a quiet mumble that was barely discernable from a whisper.

Scarlett turned to Gaven. "…Then it would seem the Countess will be staying here, for now. I am expecting you to return in two weeks, with the Memory of the Covenant in your possession."

The man shot her a smile as he leaned back in his seat. "Have I failed you yet?"

"No, you have not. And I would like for it to continue that way in the future."

"Sure. 'Course it will." He glanced at the mumbling woman beside him. "I might have gotten the easy job, though. Having been on that end for the last week or so, I can't say I envy your side of things."

"Ridley."

"Just saying. Sounds hard. Nothing more to it."

Scarlett shook her head. "Let us proceed on to the specifics, so that you know what will be required of you."

For now, she would leave the Countess alone. She would figure out how to deal with all of that later.

Chapter 98 - Sisterly talk

Later, after Gaven and the Countess' visit, Scarlett was waiting in front of her desk in the office. A knock came from the door and Molly entered the room, performing a low curtsy.

"My Lady called?"

"Yes." Scarlett put aside an old ledger she'd been going through that detailed the room and chambers in the mansion. She had asked Marlon for it earlier since it bore accounts of what they were currently used for, and consequently, what they weren't used for. "There is something important I wish to discuss with you."

She fixed her eyes on the woman before her. "Know that this is a very sensitive matter. It is imperative that you do not speak of this to anyone else. That includes Garside, Marlon, or any of the other staff here in the mansion. Is that understood?"

The look on Molly's face grew uncertain, but she slowly nodded her head. "I understand, my Lady. I won't say a word of it to anyone."

Scarlett studied her for a few seconds. Her previous experiences with the servant were positive enough, so she didn't feel it likely that the woman would break her word. Just to be safe, though, she'd get Fynn's help later on to confirm the woman wasn't lying. She had done the same thing for all the staff after the Hallowed Cabal attacked the mansion, to ensure there were no spies or the like among them.

"For the time being, there will be a guest residing here in the east wing. Their circumstances, however, do not allow for much interaction with others. They are particularly sensitive to their environment, so during their stay I will have you aid them and ensure their needs are met with no further complications. You are being assigned this task because you have proved yourself both attentive and capable, and I do not wish to leave this individual's handling to someone unqualified."

Molly looked at her for a time, as if she was digesting the meaning behind those words. "…Are they dangerous, my Lady?"

"As long as you do not agitate or excessively bother them, there should be no issue," Scarlett replied. "I will hand you a list of what to do and what to avoid in their presence. For most of their stay, I believe they can be left to their own devices, so this should not occupy too much of your time. I would also ensure that you receive appropriate compensation if you were to shoulder this responsibility."

"That won't be necessary, my Lady, but thank you for the consideration." The woman performed another short curtsy. "I am your faithful servant, so it is only right that I carry out your commands. I will take care of this guest for as long as they remain here in the mansion."

"The compensation was not up for discussion, but good. I will introduce you to the guest later today. Until then, you may return to your normal duties."

"As you wish," the woman said and left the room.

Scarlett looked back at the papers on her desk. She'd spent the last few hours trying to figure out exactly how to go about things after realizing she would have to take care of the Countess herself. One issue had been just finding suitable accommodations.

There was plenty of room in the mansion, but considering the Countess' unique situation, Scarlett didn't exactly want other people running into the woman. That meant the west wing—where most of the staff stayed—wasn't an option, nor was the central part of the mansion where the reception hall and most other public spaces were. Which left only the east wing.

There was less traffic here in this part of the mansion, but it wasn't as if she could keep the place empty all of the time. Fynn, for example, would definitely notice the Countess' presence. He probably already had the first time Gaven had arrived with the woman. Luckily, a few words would probably be enough for Fynn to leave her alone, so he in particular shouldn't be an issue. Other people still were, though.

Scarlett had narrowed down the feasible options to either the cellar, where there wasn't much happening to begin with, or an older guest chamber on the top floor. The Countess probably wouldn't complain about staying in the cellar—and it would definitely make it easier to keep her hidden—but it wasn't exactly the most humane of accommodations. Which meant Scarlett would need to have the guest chamber prepared as quickly as possible instead. Hopefully Molly could manage that on her own. Or perhaps Fynn could help.

What was most important, however, was that the woman would be able to take care of the Countess without any problems occurring. It'd be a pain if there was an incident where someone got injured or more of the mansion got destroyed.

Of course, if the woman's presence here wasn't going to cause other issues further down the line, there were also other things to take into consideration. The most important one, though, was simply keeping it as much of a secret as possible. Any other issues could hopefully be dealt with as they happened.

Returning to the other subject Scarlett was focusing on at the moment, she continued for a while until another knock suddenly sounded out from the other end of the office.

"Enter," she said as she looked up from a couple of legal papers she'd been taking notes from.

Evelyne stepped into the room, closing the door behind her.

"Oh?" Scarlett placed the papers on the side of her desk. "I thought you would not arrive until evening."

"I finished my business in the city earlier than expected," Evelyne said. She walked over and took a seat in front of Scarlett's desk.

"I see. Have you had the opportunity to inspect the accommodations I had prepared for you, then? I hope they are satisfactory."

"Well, they're my old rooms, so I don't know if it's much to see. Things have changed, but it's enough just being able to stay there for now."

Evelyne trailed off, and Scarlett studied her for a moment. She felt like she'd grown out her hair lately. The light-brown locks, with shades of red to them, had previously reached the woman's nape—and were only just about the right length to partially cover her right eye—but now they were starting to reach down towards her shoulders. Was she too busy to even have it cut at the moment? Things had been calmer around the barony lately, though, hadn't they? Maybe she just wanted to grow it out?

"…Scarlett," the woman began.

Scarlett was pulled out of her ruminations, waiting for Evelyne to continue. A hint of annoyance bubbled up seeing the woman hesitate with her words, but she forcefully pushed those feelings down. There wasn't anything wrong with being uncertain about things now and then.

She shook her head as she tried to move her mind onto another track of thought. "Was there anything in particular you wanted to discuss with me?"

Evelyne eyed her for a few seconds longer, then nodded. "Yes, there are a couple of things."

"Then please, elaborate."

"First of all…" Evelyne leaned her arms on the desk in front of her. "Did you know Leon Delmon visited me while I was in the capital?"

Scarlett raised an eyebrow. "No, I did not. When exactly was this?"

"A few weeks back, not too long after you left."

"What was this visit about?"

"I'm not sure. He said he wanted to meet you, but he didn't stay long after I told him you had already left for Freybrook."

Scarlett leaned back in her chair. "And was there a reason as to why you chose to not inform me of this over letter?"

"He didn't leave any message to pass on," Evelyne said. She met Scarlett's eyes. "And I didn't think we needed to damage our relationship with the Delmons more than we already have."

"…You have grown quite bold, haven't you? Declaring that in front of me." Oddly enough, it only made Scarlett slightly more annoyed than she already was.

"Am I wrong?" Evelyne asked.

Scarlett rested an elbow on her armrest. "I do not know what further relationships there are to damage with them."

The woman gave her a long look, then let out a sigh. "That's true. You know they recently backed out of a business deal we had with them over in Steepmond regarding the transportation and exchange of the coming years' harvests? I don't think we'll have much luck over there in the future, but Windgrove is too far away by carriage and we'll never find a suitable partner that's available here in Freybrook. We might have to start looking at some of the trade routes further inlands if we want to make sure we've got somewhere to sell Stillshire's and the other villages' produce."

"I suppose that is to be expected." Scarlett nodded along. Stillshire was one of the villages that were part of the barony, that much she knew. What she didn't know was how much this would affect their house. "Do you deem this to be an issue we need to prioritize?"

"No, I think we'll be fine." Evelyne brushed away some of the hair from her face, revealing part of her amber eyes. "Prices had already been declining on that front for a while, after Voneia started increasing tariffs across the border. We might even be able to find a better deal because of this. It's just that it'll take a lot of work, and the margins are already low on what the villages produce. But if we don't do anything about it, our tenants won't have anywhere to sell their harvest. Worst-case scenario, we would have to buy it off them directly. It probably wouldn't affect us too much at first, considering the money we're starting to make at the moment, but it would still be a waste. And definitely not sustainable in the long run."

"That does sound bothersome," Scarlett said. And she wasn't just being facile. That actually did sound annoying.

"It's not like it'll be you doing it," Evelyne said, a hint of exasperation in her voice.

Scarlett let the remark go, giving a quick shrug of her shoulder. It was true enough. "Returning to the previous topic, did Leon not give any hint whatsoever as to what he wished to speak with me about?"

"No, not from what I can remember. But I think he might have plans to visit again."

"Hmm. Then I suppose it has something do to with the annulment."

Evelyne stared at her. "The what?"

Scarlett met her eyes. "The annulment of the engagement between Leon and me."

The woman blinked. "Since when has this been a thing? Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"I assumed you were aware. Were you not talking about the Delmons cutting their ties with us mere seconds ago?"

"I never heard about this, though! How am I supposed to, if you don't tell me about it?" Evelyne shook her head. "I'm not saying I wasn't expecting for the engagement to be annulled, but these are the sorts of things it would be good if I knew about… And why are you so calm about it? I thought you would be livid when this happened."

"I do not see why I would care," Scarlett said. "I am not losing much under the current circumstances. The Delmons would not be of much aid to my goals, and there have never been any strong feelings between Leon and me. In fact, them raising the matter first makes things easier for me."

Now she wasn't the one 'offending' the other family by pulling out of the engagement. Although, it would be a lie to say she didn't care at all. There was a speck of irritation at being shown this kind of disrespect by the Delmons. But she could ignore this level of pettiness, at the very least.

"Are you sure?" Evelyne asked.

It seemed her composure in this situation still surprised the woman.

"I would not say so if I was not."

"…Alright."

Scarlett eyed the woman for a moment. "What more was there you wished to discuss?"

"Oh, right." Evelyne's expression turned more focused. "You know that the Tyndalls are holding their annual ball in Windgrove next month, don't you?"

"I was not aware, no."

"Really? Then, you haven't received an invite?"

"Not to my knowledge."

Evelyne leaned forward in her seat, hands clasped on the desk. "I was expecting that, in a way. Duke Tyndall might still feel offended by your actions during the Elysian Proclamation."

Scarlett thought back to the man in question. If she remembered correctly, he had been just before her in pledging his fealty during the Proclamation. Having her follow him up would leave an impression.

"Did you receive an invitation?" she asked Evelyne.

The woman showed an awkward smile. "I did. Not sure why, even. It could be that they're trying to denigrate your name even further by showing that they're favoring your technical heir. Our poor relationship isn't exactly a secret."

Scarlett frowned. "That seems like an excessive amount of effort for a duke against a mere baroness."

"You used to do the same thing, didn't you? Spend weeks just deciding who and what people to invite when you held your banquets?"

She paused. "…Perhaps I did."

"…You don't remember?" Evelyne asked.

"No, my recollections on the topic are faint. It does indeed sound like something I would do, however."

The woman gave her a long look, then shook her head. "Alright. Regardless, that's not what I wanted to ask."

"I suppose you are curious whether I would allow you to go or not?"

"Allow?" Evelyne shot her a look. "I don't think you speak for whether I decide to go."

Scarlett observed her for a few seconds. "…I misspoke. What I meant was if you were curious if I wished for you to go, or if it would conflict with any of my aims in some manner."

The woman's gaze calmed down, a hint of embarrassment showing on her face. "Yes…That's what I wanted to ask. If you have those…revelations. Memories, or whatever… You should know if it's worth for me to go or not, right?"

"That is not how it works. The knowledge I possess is far from detailed regarding matters like this, nor is it particularly reliable when it comes to events I have already affected with my previous actions. You would most likely be more suited to determine that in this situation. I have not kept myself informed of the current state of affairs in those circles due to other priorities."

"Really…?" The younger woman seemed to think about it for a moment. "Then… It would definitely be bad for your image if I attended. It might affect your legitimacy in other people's eyes, though I'm not sure how much you even care about that anymore. I can say that it would probably be better for the barony as a whole, at the very least. There are a lot of powerful people attending that I can try to foster connections with, and they might be more willing to work with me if they think I'm in a better standing than you."

"There you have it," Scarlett said. "If you believe it to be better for the barony if you go, then do so. I do not mind what others think of me, as long as it does not cause disproportionate harm to the affairs of me or those around me."

Even if she had been invited, she didn't feel especially inclined to go herself. Attending another large ball for the empire's nobility just sounded like a pain. The last one had been far from an enjoyable experience, even discounting the fact that everybody had purposefully snubbed her all evening.

"Are you serious?" Evelyne asked.

"I am. Could it be that you do not wish to go as well?"

"No, it's not that." The woman shook her head. "It's just that, if things continue like this, it might affect how people treat you more than you think in the future. I know you've been focusing on other things, but…even if the barony is fine, are you really okay with that?"

Scarlett studied her. "Do you think it would be better if I attended as well, then?"

Evelyne knitted her brows. "Well, yes, of course. That would be the best solution. It would show people that your situation isn't as bad as it appears if you're still getting invited to events like this one. But that's not an option at the moment."

Scarlett lowered her arm, tapping a finger against the armrest. Going would be a pain, but if it really strengthened her position, it might still be worth it. And with Evelyne's help this time, she might manage to avoid offending people again. There was a month of preparation as well.

"…It is possible that I might be able to procure an invitation, if that is the case."

"What?"

"I am acquainted with Beldon Tyndall, the second son of Duke Tyndall. Recently I exchanged letters with him and he has mentioned wishing to meet with me again more than once. If it would be beneficial for us, I could most likely convince him to arrange another invitation for me."

Beldon didn't strike her as the kind of man that feared his father's ire, so persuading him shouldn't be a problem. If he said no, she still had a few tidbits of information she could trade in for a favor.

Evelyne was giving her a disbelieving look. "You actually know Beldon Tyndall?"

She nodded. "I became familiar with him during our stay in Elystead."

Evelyne seemed to consider her words for a moment. "Would he really be able to get you an invitation, though? If his father specifically chose not to invite you, it might be hard for him to do anything."

"I do not believe that will pose an issue for Beldon."

"…Alright. Then, sure. Do that."

"Very well. I shall." Scarlett lowered her gaze to the papers on the desk. "With that out of the way, was there anything else you wished to discuss?"

"No, that was it."

She reached out to pick up a pile of documents that had been put on the edge of the desk. She held them out towards Evelyne. "These are the documents you left with me. I have read through them and there was nothing to call attention to. You may continue as you have with the fiefs' management."

The woman received the papers with an uncertain look. "You read through these in the past two days?"

"I did, yes."

"Why?"

Scarlett tilted her head to the side. "Was that not your intention in handing them to me?"

"Well, yes, but…" Evelyne eyed her for a moment. "…Nevermind. I don't know why I'm still surprised. As long as you don't have any complaints, it's fine."

She placed the documents on her lap.

"Before you leave," Scarlett said, "There was something I wanted to bring up with you. It might be pertinent, considering you will be staying here at the mansion for a period."

"What is it?"

"It is nothing especially notable, but for the coming weeks, I will be hosting a guest on the upper floor here in the east wing. I merely wished to inform you of that, and make you aware that their presence is not to be disclosed to anyone, nor are they to be disturbed in any way."

Evelyne narrowed her eyes. "Who is it?"

"I cannot say."

"…Don't tell me you're up to the same kinds of things as with the Grey Dog Gang again."

"I am not. However, the circumstances of this guest are rather unique, and I have to take this into consideration while allowing them to stay here."

Evelyne gave her a long look. "You promised you would be honest about things like this to me."

"That is true. But I am afraid this is an exception. It is a complicated matter and the details are not mine to share, nor does it pertain to our house or any of our affairs. You knowing of it would not make a difference."

"…If you say so." Evelyne seemed to let out a small sigh. "I'll make sure to avoid that part of the mansion, then. Not that I usually move about there, anyway."

"Thank you." Scarlett gave a short nod.

Even telling Evelyne this much wasn't necessary. But considering she had been pretty bad at sharing things with the woman lately, she thought it prudent to try and better herself on that front where she could. It'd be detrimental to their relationship if Evelyne accidentally found out about the Countess by herself and then proceeded to question Scarlett on the subject.

Of course, it was also for the sake of the Countess. Considering the woman's state, Scarlett wanted to ensure there weren't any unexpected events during her stay here, and Evelyne was the only person who wasn't directly under Scarlett's authority who ran a risk of running into her. Removing minor hazards like these was the least thing she could do for the Countess, given how much the woman would be helping.

Although…

Scarlett observed Evelyne for a moment. This reminded her of something she had been curious about.

"Perhaps…" she began, trying to think of how to put this. "No, rather… There is one more thing I wish to inquire about."

"What's that?" Evelyne asked.

"Say I were to grow less…stable," Scarlett said. "If my mental faculties were to be…compromised, to a state where I would no longer be fit to remain as the head of the house… Moreso than I currently am." The words left an unpleasant taste in her mouth. "What would you do then?"

Evelyne met her eyes. "…You mean what I would do with you?"

"Assuming you were placed at the head of the house instead and had to choose what to make of me, yes. What would be the common way of handling such a scenario?"

The woman frowned. "…It probably varies a lot. Some families would probably try to cover it up, sequestering away a family member like that in a residence somewhere. Others might try to take care of them…maybe find some way to help them… I'm not sure what I would do, though."

"How would those that do not belong to noble families act?"

"I don't know. I imagine most wouldn't have the resources to take care of someone like that, so it's likely the person in question would end up on the street."

"Are there no facilities whose goal is caring for such individuals?"

Evelyne gave her an odd look. "Maybe? I suppose there might be wards that focus on taking care of manic patients at some of the Followers' hospices."

Scarlett furrowed her brow. "I see…"

That…wasn't exactly an option when it come to the Countess. Not least because there weren't many places that could keep the woman against her will. The Countess' situation was also a complicated one, as well as a tragic one.

In the game, there was no 'happy ending' for her. There was a whole questline with her as the focus, and even though it wasn't as if she died by the end of it, she wasn't miraculously 'cured' either. Her mental state wasn't the consequence of some curse or anything like that. Presumably, she had just ended up like that as a result of her experiences. Even Scarlett didn't know all the details leading up to it. But, considering how much she would be using the woman—she didn't quite want to call it exploitation—she'd at least been wanting to find a way to help her after their business with each other was finished.

But what was there to be done? She'd been hoping there might be some form of experts in this world that could help, or maybe mental hospitals that had experience with these kinds of things. Proper hospitals. Not just asylums where people were 'hidden away' from the world at large.

But it might be that that was too much to ask for in a world like this. It'd be sad if the common way of dealing with problems like these was pretending like they didn't exist, but that was much how things had used to be back in her world, too. It might be worth looking into those hospices, at least. Maybe there was something to be found there, despite how it seemed.

Still, the chances weren't exactly high. But Scarlett had no idea what else could be done. She had never dealt with this kind of problem, so figuring out a solution felt far outside of her capabilities.

Should she just give up on it, maybe? The Countess had been able to survive as she was until now. It wasn't as if she was likely to die, at the very least. Scarlett didn't have any real emotional attachments to the woman, either.

She pinched the bridge of her nose as she closed her eyes.

Whatever. It was annoying to think about. Maybe something would show up in the future. Or things would work themselves out and she wouldn't have to bother. It wasn't as if she could fix every problem in the world. She could choose for herself what to care and not care about.

She turned her attention back to Evelyne. The woman held her gaze down at her hands, a thoughtful expression.

Soon, she looked up and locked eyes with Scarlett. "…Does this have anything to do with those revelations you have?" she asked. "You told me they've been affecting your memory, but that it could have been worse than that. Like with the Augur. You said she's not entirely sane because of her connection with Ittar."

Scarlett blinked. "…It might be somewhat related, yes. But there is no need to worry about that happening to me. I was merely asking on a whim."

"I didn't say I was worried."

"Then there is even less cause for concern."

Evelyne stared at her for a long while. "…You're sure there's no risk of that happening to you?"

"I am certain."

"…Okay. I'll trust that you're not lying," the woman almost muttered.

Scarlett shifted her attention to the clock on the desk as she felt that the air around them turned slightly awkward. She hadn't been meaning to actually bring up concerns regarding her mental health here. "If there is nothing more you wish to bring up, then I believe we are finished here."

Evelyne clasped her hands around the documents on her lap, then gave a slow nod. "Yeah, you're right. I'll come over later and give you a report I wrote up of who I think will attend the ball this time. It might be good for you if you want to prepare."

"That would be helpful," Scarlett said as the woman stood to leave.

"I'll see you later, then." Evelyne gave her one last look before leaving the room.

"Goodbye."

The door to the office closed.

Chapter 99 - Hospitality and scheming go hand in hand

Scarlett idly took in some of the wall decorations—paintings of landscapes, people, buildings—as she climbed the stairs to the top floor of the mansion's east wing. This floor felt more like an attic than the rest did, with no windows and a lower ceiling, but it was far from 'lacking', if you asked her. Especially if you compared it to a normal person's home in this world.

She made her way down the hallway, stopping to gently knock on the thick door at its end. There was no response. She waited for a bit before slowly reaching to open the door.

Inside was a bedchamber roughly the size of Scarlett's office, with a large, canopied bed near the center and a table placed between the bed and a mostly empty bookcase. The robed figure of the Countess sat hunched over the table, back turned to the entrance.

Scarlett lightly cleared her throat.

The woman's shoulders stirred.

"I hope I am not disturbing you," Scarlett said, glancing around the room. It was surprisingly tidy. She had half been expecting to see broken furniture spread around the place. The smell also wasn't that bad. Maybe Molly had done more than she needed to and helped the Countess in keeping things clean. The servant would only have had one day to prepare the room, so it was impressive that she had managed it.

At the table, the Countess slowly turned around to reveal her bandaged face hidden beneath her robe. A strange smile formed on the woman's lips. "Ah, ah. Baroness. No need for apology, no need… Welcome."

Scarlett approached the woman. "At present, I am preoccupied with other matters, but I wished to pay a brief visit in order to ascertain how things are. Are the accommodations to your satisfaction? Do you lack anything?"

The Countess pulled her arms closer to her body, seemingly trying to cover whatever had been on the table that she'd been focusing on. Scarlett caught a glimpse of what looked like a decorated napkin of some kind right before it disappeared beneath the woman's robes. Did she do embroidery? That was surprising. Perhaps Molly had given her the materials.

"Everything…" The Countess seemed to think for a moment. "Everything… Everything is good."

"Excellent." Scarlett nodded slowly, choosing not to pry into the question of what the woman had been doing. "Despite that, however, I wish to offer you my apologies. Having to conceal yourself in a room like this is not ideal, no matter the circumstances. I will endeavor to ensure that the secluded location is made up for, where possible."

"There is no problem… No problem." The Countess shook her head vigorously. "I am…grateful. So grateful… It is just…unfamiliar." The woman grew quieter, mumbling to herself as she seemed to carry on the conversation by herself.

Scarlett watched as the Countess appeared to become lost in her own mind. She'd learned that there wasn't much to do in these situations. After a while, the woman's attention finally returned to Scarlett, a look of confusion on her face. Then a flash of recognition appeared in her eyes. "Ah, ah… Sister…where is my sister?"

Scarlett fought back the frown that almost wormed its way onto her brow. She really shouldn't have brought up the sister back then.

"Your sister is not here. But you will have the opportunity to meet her again eventually. This I promise."

"Right… Yes…" The woman nodded several times. "I-I am grateful… To the Baroness…"

"There is no need for that," Scarlett said, waving her hand. "Have you had the opportunity to grow more acquainted with the servant I tasked with helping you?"

It was best to change the topic before the woman lost herself again.

The Countess gave her a puzzled look. "…Servant?"

"Molly. The woman that has been visiting you lately. She has black hair."

A look of realization passed over the woman's face. "Ah… Yes…she brought me food… Very kind… Very kind."

"I am glad to hear that. If there is anything else that you feel you lack, you can simply request it from her and she will arrange whatever it may be."

"I understand…yes…"

Scarlett's eyes shifted to the Countess' hands which were wrapped in loose bandages. The woman was fiddling with the fabric of her robe, close to where she had hidden away what she'd been working on.

"…That was all I wanted," she said and began turning around. It might be best to leave her alone for now. "I will take my leave. If you wish to meet with me again later, you can tell Molly such whenever you have the need."

"Yes…yes…" The Countess' attention seemed to have dispersed somewhat again. Her head nodded absentmindedly, her gaze fixed on the wall in front of her.

Scarlett sent one last, long look at the woman, ensuring there was nothing strange, then left the room. Her visit really was just to make sure things were in order before she returned to the business at hand. While the woman's mental state hadn't exactly gotten better since their first meeting, the Countess appeared to be mostly harmless, for now at least. That was about as much as Scarlett could ask at the moment.

Returning to the stairs, she descended two floors and moved down the hallways until she reached her office. There, she sat down at her desk and straightened herself, ready to get back to the work she'd abandoned before dinner and her quick visit to the Countess. There were various documents and bulky, legal books spread out on the desk, along with several maps detailing the empire's different regions.

She pulled out her notes from the [Pouch of Holding] where she usually kept them safe.

Much of today and the previous day had been spent going over the current matter. Over and over again, she'd thought things through in her head, to make sure she wasn't missing something glaringly obvious. To ensure things would go exactly the way she wanted.

Tonight was when she was meeting the Hallowed Cabal again. Tonight was when she was supposed to provide them with the third piece of the Seal of Thainnith.

She put her hand into the pouch on the desk, pulling out the artifact in question.

[Seal of Thainnith (1/3) (Unique)]

{A third of a whole. A seal upon that which cowered}

If the Hallowed Cabal got their hands on this, things would change for the worse for everyone. The Cabal already had the first piece, and with the information she'd given them before, they had probably found the second piece as well. With the third piece, the empire would probably be the one most affected by the Cabal's following moves. But she held no illusions that she would get away unharmed. They had no real reason to leave her alone, even after getting the third piece, after all.

Besides the seal, she was also technically supposed to deliver the 'artifact' that let her resist The Angler Man's mental probing. When she'd originally made that promise, she had actually been planning on giving them an old diadem that existed in the game. She knew for a fact that it countered his abilities, so it would have been a decent enough excuse. The thing with that particular item, though, was that it was in a problematic spot. Even attempting to get it would cost her both a lot of time and resources.

Which is why she'd decided just not to bother. Her current plan didn't involve giving the Cabal anything at all to begin with. Everything she needed was already prepared. She had been in contact with the guest of honor for tonight's proceedings, scouted the meeting place, and gone through a list of the most likely Cabal members that might show up. Any surprises that could occur were within her expectations. Even if The Angler Man himself woke up from his slumber now, it should still be possible to keep things under control.

It might get a bit problematic if someone like Vail came with, yes, but that was unlikely. The woman would consider something like this a waste of time, and the Cabal didn't have any reason to force her to join.

No, Scarlett had thought through this a lot. She knew who she was dealing with. Things were in her favor.

She was actually starting to grow a bit excited.

At first, after the Hallowed Cabal originally attacked the mansion, anger had been the prime emotion she felt regarding things. It diminished somewhat over time, and she had channeled some of it into her efforts of coming up with her current plan of action, but it hadn't exactly ever passed. Until now. Now, as she was getting closer and closer to actually carrying things out, the anger had almost been entirely replaced by a self-assuredness around the situation. It wasn't the normal haughtiness that came with the original Scarlett's personality, nor would she call it arrogance. But she also wouldn't go as far as to call it deserved quite yet, either.

What she was planning was pretty bold, after all. Not to mention incredibly risky.

To the Cabal, it probably looked like they were dealing with a minor, mostly harmless, but well-informed, factor. One which they clearly didn't see as an actual threat. And they were right. She was nowhere near being able to go against them or harm them by herself, nor were there many people who had the power—or inclination—to protect her from them to the degree that would be needed if she antagonised the Cabal. But she had the advantage, in that she knew a lot more about those she was dealing with than they did her. The current shot-callers in the Hallowed Cabal were exactly the kind of clever, calculating people her plan had a good chance of working against.

She wouldn't have to go against them, nor would she need the protection of someone powerful enough to keep the Cabal away. Because the Cabal would do that for her. As long as her plan worked out as intended—and she was feeling pretty certain about that part—then they wouldn't have much choice in the matter.

Of course, it would have been ideal if they had never turned their attention towards her to begin with. But now that they had, this was the best way she could think of to get them off her back permanently. Or at least semi-permanently.

After this, she would have a lot more freedom to focus on other things. Sure, she would have to be more careful about eyes on her than before, but that was a necessary sacrifice, considering things. She would just have to learn to cope with it. Fynn might have to work overtime from now on, as well. Thankfully, the young man wasn't one to complain about such things. Scarlett would make sure to pay him well.

He would be joining tonight's meeting. She'd already told him exactly what would be required of him, since he was the only one she was bringing along. Having any of the others come with would just cause trouble. Fynn, however, was a necessity.

Although, considering how his backstory tied into the Cabal in the game, bringing him along came with its own risk. But, for the time being, he didn't know all the details there. If a problem were to pop up, it wouldn't be this early. Scarlett would have to be a bit careful in the future, though. But for now, it would work fine. That was what mattered.

She stayed in her office for the remainder of the evening, reviewing things a few more times as she completed the last of the preparations. Finally, not long after the clock on her desk struck ten, a knock sounded out from the door.

Fynn stepped into the office.

It was time.

Chapter 100 - Old grudges

Scarlett walked through the dark forests outside Freybrook, along with Fynn. The moon lent little light that penetrated through the dense canopy above, but with her enchanted glasses on, she could see the opening among the trees ahead of them clearly.

"Are they still maintaining their distance?" she asked Fynn in a lowered voice.

The young man looked around for a moment, then nodded his head. "They are. There are more in front of us, as well."

"I trust that you have not forgotten what to do."

"I haven't."

He had a determined expression on his face.

Scarlett returned her attention forward. Soon, they entered a small glade. Arranged in a half-circle on the end opposite them were dozens of Cabal Adepts, each of the black-robed figures standing completely still. Their ornate, gold masks were aimed at her and Fynn, and at their center stood two other figures.

One was short, like a child, and concealed by a crimson robe that revealed only a white mask. Pale, blonde hair stuck out from under a hood, running down and covering the sides of the mask. The mask itself only held three large eyes, each a bright lavender. The third eye, sitting vertically on the forehead, blinked as it appeared to take Scarlett and Fynn in.

Next to this figure stood a veritable giant, standing well over all others in the glade and looking much like a knight of old — if that knight was cursed and lived in an old abandoned swamp. Their frayed black vestments reached down towards the ground like wrangled threads and their head was entirely hidden by a cylindrical black helm that lacked slits. In their hands, they were grasping the hilt of a tall sword whose tip rested on the ground.

Scarlett's eyes were locked on the figure for a few seconds. She knew he would be big, but it was a different thing seeing it in real life like this. They weren't even close yet, and it already felt like he was looming over her with his stature. The only person she knew that was of a similar size was Holdger 'The Mammoth' of the Royal Guard, and even that was uncertain.

To add to this knight's imposing presence, there was also a large crow perched on his shoulder. The bird looked almost like a statue, staring straight at Scarlett with an unnatural fixation from across the glade. If she hadn't known better, she would almost have thought it was taxidermied with how still it was.

She removed her glasses as she and Fynn continued forward. Placing them inside her [Pouch of Holding], she raised her hand and snapped her fingers. A huge sphere of fire appeared above them all, bathing the space in its warm light.

None of the Cabal members showed any reaction at the display, at least not physically. She could practically feel the tension in the air as dozens of eyes followed their movements. Beside her, Fynn was practically oozing with alertness in return, though he wasn't taking any overtly threatening actions.

Scarlett stopped a few meters away from the two figures at the center of the Cabal Adepts, examining the two a bit closer. These were Nol'viz and Carnwedain. Both important members of the Hallowed Cabal, though not shot-callers per se.

"How many are there?" she asked out loud.

"Thirty-six," Fynn answered.

She looked around. There was about half that number in the glade. "I see. Shall we begin?"

In front of them, the hooded figure—Nol'viz—tilted her head curiously at Fynn, while the dark knight next to her removed a hand from his sword's hilt. The wind stirred behind Scarlett as Fynn stepped forward, glaring at the two. He didn't seem to mind the fact that the knight stood several heads above his height.

Carnwedain showed no signs of noticing Fynn's action, simply pulling out something from beneath his frayed clothing, a reflective piece of grey metal appeared in his hand. The [Mirror of Communion] took on a darker hue as a fog grew across its surface.

"Do you have it?" a sharp voice sounded out from the mirror a moment later. The same voice that had spoken with Scarlett the last time, when the Cabal attacked her mansion.

"A pleasure hearing from you, as well," she answered.

"Do you have the last piece?"

Wow. They sure were eager to get down to business.

"From your reply, I presume you have already located the second piece of the seal. Just as I promised you would if you heeded my words."

"Bring it out."

"It would do you well to entertain some patience," she said, eyeing the two in front of her. "Before we proceed to the matter of the seal, I think it would be prudent to first revisit what our original deal was. It would not do for one party to have forgotten the details regarding how to uphold their end, no?"

Carnwedain showed no reaction to her words, standing like a statue with one hand around the hilt of his sword and the other holding the [Mirror of Communion]. The crow on his shoulders was similarly stationary, though its head was now cocked to the side as it stared at Scarlett.

Nol'viz was still studying Fynn, now with an almost transfixed gaze. Up close like this, it was even more clear that the eyes on her mask weren't just decorations. Tiny black pupils—surrounded by unnaturally large and almost transparent irises—moved in unison as they roamed over the young man.

It seemed like neither of the two Cabal members cared much about interfering with the negotiation itself, at least. And if any of the Adepts were to try something, Fynn could hold them off for at least a moment, which would be enough.

"…What is it you want to confirm?" the voice on the other end of the mirror asked.

Scarlett returned her attention to the artifact. "I believe your promise was that your organization would leave me and my people alone, in exchange for the two pieces of the seal that I would assist you in procuring."

"That was not all."

"Ah, yes. There was also the artifact I spoke of. The artifact which protected me from the mental prying of your other affiliate." Scarlett nodded along. "In exchange for the seals and that item, you agreed to leave me be. These were the terms of our agreement, were they not?"

"Yes."

"Then, before I hand you the last piece of the seal and that item, I have simply one question. I wish to know what is stopping you from reneging on your word after our business has been concluded."

"…We will keep our word. Stop wasting time. Give us the seal."

"You say as much, but what would happen if you were to break your word?" she asked. "Know that I am only asking so that I can have a sense of reassurance for me and my people, not because I doubt your trustworthiness."

The voice turned silent. It stretched out over several seconds as both ends stared each other down.

"Carnwedain, Nol'viz," the voice finally said, its tone implying it had already grown tired of this. "See if she has the seal on her."

A growl escaped Fynn as he moved in front of Scarlett with hands raised. The large knight in front of them lifted his sword from the ground with his one free hand. At the same time, something moved under Nol'viz's robes.

"That will not be necessary," Scarlett declared and held up a hand. She moved her other hand towards her waist. "I will hand over the seal, exactly as promised."

"Halt," the voice commanded.

Both Carnwedain and Nol'viz stopped, almost immediately returning to their original positions.

"I had wanted to see what reactions that might engender, though I suppose there was nothing in particular I wanted to gauge," Scarlett said as she brought a hand into the pouch of holding. "Call it a whim, if you will. I already knew the answer, after all."

She pulled out the seal.

[Seal of Thainnith (1/3) (Unique)]

{A third of a whole. A seal upon that which cowered}

"With that in mind, I find it fortunate that I do not actually have to acquiesce to your demands." She showed a small smile. "Is that not—"

"Take the seal," the voice said immediately.

"—so, Mistress?" Scarlett finished.

"You are a dramatic one, aren't you?" a soft laugh sounded out as an ethereal, yet strangely mature, voice seeped into the glade. Both Carnwedain and Nol'viz froze in place just as they were about to move, as did all the Adepts around them.

The air shimmered next to Scarlett as a gate formed in the empty space. A moment later, a woman in gold-red robes garbs stepped out, the upper half of her face hidden by a decorated marble mask. She looked out over the Cabal members, the azure gem at the top of her staff glowing a light blue. Her gaze then turned to Scarlett, the tips of her mouth rising in a smile. "I can't say I don't enjoy it, though."

"…Theilenna." The voice on the other end of the [Mirror of Communion] spoke slowly.

The masked woman turned to the artifact, which was still held in the hand of the large knight. "Vior, is that you? I see you're still the same bore, slaving away for that decrepit old reprobate. One would think you'd grow tired of it eventually." She shook her head. "And haven't I told you? I go by Mistress now. Do try to remember it. We wouldn't want something awful to happen because you can't adjust to a name change or two, would we, dear? I've only had so many."

Her words were met by silence.

The woman, Mistress—the game had really had a thing for its descriptive sobriquets—tapped her staff on the ground and the light from the gem on top faded. At the same time, all of the Cabal members seemed to be released from whatever spell had been holding them. The Adepts all raised their khopeshes, while Nol'viz and Carnwedain had their attention fixed on the woman. Yet, no one moved.

She let out a small laugh, turning her head as she appeared to consider them all. "If I'm not mistaken, it looks like you were in the middle of something. I do hope I'm not disturbing." Her tone took on an excessively friendly tone. "It would be a shame if I were to be a nuisance—" The woman stopped in the middle of her sentence, letting out a short cough.

"Ahem, one moment please." Another couple of coughs followed before she wiped her mouth with her sleeve. "Haaah. No, enough of that." Her voice turned derisive. "Any more and I might develop a rash. Shows me to try and add a little spice to things."

Her focus shifted towards the seal in Scarlett's hand before turning back to the [Mirror of Communion]. "Well, I detest speaking with that miscreant's lackeys about as much as you do me, so I won't draw this out longer than necessary. Yes, it's me. Yes, I'm actually here. Yes, I'm taking the seal. No, I don't care what godforsaken, anathematized pit you're threatening to throw me into because of it. Yes, more than I can count. And no, it wasn't me, though I'm sure I wish it had been."

Finishing, the woman took a deep breath. "There. I just had that whole conversation for the both of us. Aren't I nice?"

"…You will regret this, Baroness," the voice from the mirror said.

"Perhaps. We will see." Scarlett looked to Mistress. "Did you bring what we agreed to?"

"Why, of course. Although I almost wish I hadn't." The woman's mouth contorted. "Viles know why I thought it a good idea to leave it in that place."

Scarlett reached down to her waist and pulled out a thin pile of furled papers from her pouch, holding them out towards the woman. "What I promised is in there."

These were a gathering of maps and notes she had prepared in the previous days. They detailed the location of the first piece of the Seal of Thainnith—currently in the possession of the Hallowed Cabal—along with places where the second piece could be.

She was pretty sure of the first piece's location because there was a questline to steal it in the game, but the second piece would only just now have been found by the Cabal. She couldn't be certain they would have moved it to the same place. They probably wouldn't, so she had tried recalling the general locations of other relevant Cabal bases instead. From there, Mistress would most likely be able to pinpoint the exact position herself.

To be honest, though, Scarlett wasn't exactly hoping for the woman to find the second piece, nor did she think the odds were that high either. She'd decided to give Mistress what information she had, yes, but that was only because the woman wasn't the kind of person one doublecrossed. Scarlett wouldn't actually benefit from Mistress getting all three pieces, though. It just wasn't as bad as if the Cabal got them.

Of course, she also used this as a chance to have the woman sow some chaos among the Cabal ranks. There were only a couple of members in the Cabal that could stand up to Mistress, after all.

As the woman received the papers she didn't even bother looking them over as they disappeared into thin air. She then reached out and grabbed the empty space in front of her, and her fingers grasped hold of something that hadn't been there the moment before. It looked reminiscent of a heart, but with the lower half being made of some red-wine-colored bone material that had a slight sheen to it. At the top were several thick blood vessels that bore a sickly, sallow color.

[Essence of Zenthas]

{The still heart of one who abandoned impermanence, grasping for truth}

From the corner of her eyes, Scarlett noticed several of the Adepts flinch at the sight.

"I'll be kind and fill you in on what's happening, Vior," Mistress said out loud, shaking the object in her hand. "See, I've finally found something useful to do with that rotten coot's heart. Namely, trading it for that nice seal of yours."

"…You dare—"

"Oh, I do." Mistress smiled. "You should take notes, darling. This is how you get things done. It's all about give and take. You just have to make sure you're giving less than you take."

She held out the heart towards Scarlett, who looked back at Fynn and gave him a nod. The young man walked up. Just as he was about to take the heart, however, Mistress pulled her hand back and raised a finger. "Ah-ah-ah. Don't go expecting much if this little trade of yours turns out to not live up to my expectations."

"There will be no such problem," Scarlett said. "As long as you are capable enough to make use of what I have disclosed to you."

She was giving away exactly what she had promised.

The masked woman looked at her with a smirk. "Well, then we won't have an issue, will we?" She handed the heart over to Fynn, who stepped back behind Scarlett.

He knew what to do from here.

"I think that's it for me, then," Mistress announced. "I've got things to do and people to bother. After that, maybe I'll relax; treat myself to some wine as I think of that codger's face when he hears of this. I'd say I've earned it."

The woman tapped her staff on the ground. Another shimmering gate appeared in front of her. She turned to look at Scarlett. "Best of luck dealing with these eyesores. It'll be fun seeing if you're still alive for our next meeting. I hope you have something interesting prepared for me then as well. I'd say you owe me, but why state the obvious?"

With that, she stepped through the gate and disappeared without another word.

"Fynn," Scarlett said. The wind flared behind her with the command.

If any of the others moved even a single step towards them, he was to move to stab straight through the heart. No hesitation. Something that wouldn't completely destroy it. For something like that, Fynn was the prime candidate. Not even these powerful people would be able to stop him in time.

Scarlett turned her eyes to the tall figure of Carnwedain. The [Mirror of Communion] was still in his hand.

"It appears as if your subordinates have correctly understood the situation at hand," she said. "But for the sake of clarity, I shall elucidate. The article currently in my retainer's hands is the Essence of Zenthas, which had previously been in the possession of the woman known as Mistress. If any of your men were to act out of line, my retainer will destroy the Essence instantly, with no consideration for his or my own fate."

What Fynn was holding was the heart of The Angler Man. If it was damaged, so too would The Angler Man be.

Mistress had kept this in her possession for a long time in order to keep the Hallowed Cabal from annoying her too much. But they had always been locked in an odd stalemate where neither party could truly deal with the other for various reasons. Now, though, Mistress didn't have any real need for the Essence anymore, and she was more than willing to trade it off. Which is why Scarlett had decided to act on the opportunity this afforded.

Like the Cabal, Mistress also wanted the Seal of Thainnith. Both parties were in a race to get it before the other. But the Cabal didn't know that Mistress had always been aware of where the third piece was. In the game, if you picked up the third piece of the seal while playing as a member of the Cabal, the woman would use that piece to track you down after a while and try to find the other piece that was in the Cabal's possession.

All Scarlett had to do was offer Mistress what she had originally been aiming for, just making things easier. And in exchange, she got a powerful bargaining chip against the Hallowed Cabal.

A long silence had followed Scarlett's previous words, but eventually, the voice from the mirror spoke. "…Don't act unless on my command."

The Cabal Adepts all lowered their weapons.

Scarlett smiled. "I believe it is time for the actual negotiations to begin. You all acted quite conceited during our previous talks. Do not think I have forgotten about it."

"…What is it you want?" the voice asked.

"Hmm." Scarlett hummed, eyeing all of the Cabal members for a moment. She was feeling a bit too much satisfaction from this situation. She wasn't sure if she'd ever felt this self-assured before. It was, without a doubt, not at a healthy level, considering the circumstances.

There was an inherent risk behind this plan of hers. While it was true that she now had in her possession one of the Hallowed Cabal's largest weaknesses, they still had the power to obliterate her and everything connected to her without any real opposition. So, with both parties able to so easily hurt the other, but neither willing to receive that damage, it made it hard to know exactly where the line would be drawn.

How far could she push them before she crossed it? Because when she did, it wouldn't matter if she had the Essence of Zenthas. She would be crushed all the same. But the same went for the Hallowed Cabal. If they went too far, The Angler Man would die, which would cause irreparable damage to their organization and cause.

Scarlett's greatest advantage in this situation was that she was a mostly unknown factor. The Cabal didn't know how far she was willing to go, while she at least had a rough sense of their side.

"My wish in itself is quite simple," she said. "However, I will not say the same for its implementation. We will strike a deal, but unlike before, it will be a true contract. One in which, among other things, you will agree to not disturb me in any way, and I will agree to not destroy the Essence of Zenthas. This time, however, I suggest that you do not attempt to fool me with those empty 'promises' of yours. I am not, nor have I ever been, that naïve."

"…Alright." The voice did not sound happy. "You will be left alone."

She shook her head. "Do you think that will suffice? It appears you fail to completely comprehend the current circumstances. This is not a matter where such vague terms will be enough." She pulled out an additional pile of papers that she had prepared from her pouch. "I said it will be a contract. That includes all that such a recourse entails."

The contracts in her hand had been fashioned after the legal documents of this world. Although the Hallowed Cabal wasn't a group that would recognize the authority of any judicial organs in the empire, these documents and the way they were structured still served as a good framework for Scarlett to build upon. After all, she was now essentially in a state of mutually assured destruction with the Cabal. What's worse, she was a mere individual, and they were a large and powerful organization. What she stood to lose, were relations to break down, was literally everything.

Of course, there was also the fact that she wasn't actually willing to give her life just to off The Angler Man.

She would be damned if she didn't make the terms extremely clear now, when she had the upper hand and the Cabal was still unsure about her. If the terms were too vague and the Cabal did something she didn't like in the future, she wouldn't be able to say much in complaint. Her only option for retaliation was killing The Angler Man, after all. And considering she wanted to live, that wasn't a real option.

No, it was best to tie the Cabal's hands and feet as early as possible. They would regret the day they messed with Amy Bernal, Scarlett Hartford, or whatever one would call her.

She pulled out the first of the documents. "Then, let us begin with the terms and conditions concerning any activities conducted by the Hallowed Cabal or any of its affiliates that pertain to or affect the Hartford barony."

Chapter 101 - Morning afters

[Quest completed: Conclude negotiations with the Hallowed Cabal]

{Skill points awarded: 5}

[Quest completed: Broker a truce with the Hallowed Cabal]

{Skill points awarded: 8}

Scarlett eyed the quest completion messages. The words floated in the air next to her as she walked through the darkened forest.

She glanced at Fynn, who was moving beside her. The young man had been on constant guard of their surroundings ever since they left the mansion, but now, after the negotiations, he was clasping the [Essence of Zenthas] in his hands as well, ready to act any second.

"Are there any eyes on us?" she asked him.

He shook his head. "No."

That was good. That meant the Cabal was actually keeping to their word. Not that she was expecting them not to. In the current situation, it wouldn't be wise of them to act that bold.

A period of silence followed as the two of them continued making their way back towards Freybrook, where a carriage would be waiting for them near the gates. She was looking forward to getting some proper rest when they returned. Even if the [Mark of the Staunch] afforded her a boost in stamina, it did little for mental exhaustion. She had spent the majority of the past two days focused on and preparing for this meeting. Things had gone according to her expectations, but the effort still took its toll.

As they neared the forest border further ahead, Scarlett shifted her attention back to Fynn.

"Remember," she said. "You are not to speak of this with any of the others. Is that understood?"

He turned to her, then gave a nod. "Yes."

"Good."

His gaze stayed on her for a moment longer. "…Why does it have to be a secret, though?"

Scarlett looked ahead. "Why, you ask?"

Shin and Allyssa couldn't know because they were Shielders, that much was obvious. Nothing good could come out of the Shields Guild knowing she had dealings with the Cabal, no matter how innocuous.

It was better to leave Rosa in the dark when it came to this kind of thing, as well. Everything the woman learned would also be leaked to the being possessing her. And while Scarlett wasn't exactly scared about letting it know some of her plans, matters related to the Cabal were best kept secret.

"Simply be aware that telling them could pose a danger, both to me and them," she said. "It is not within anyone's interest that tonight's dealings are shared with anyone not directly involved."

"If you say so." Fynn seemed to think for a bit. "But who were those people? They were the ones who attacked us before at the mansion. Then, they looked down on you. Now they listened to you."

"They are an organization known as the Hallowed Cabal. They are also immensely powerful, which is why they did not believe it necessary for them to show me any true respect during our first encounter. As you might have ascertained, however, the object in your hands is something that they deeply value. So this time, they had little choice but to heed my words."

The young man scowled, looking down at the strange, half-petrified heart he was holding. "I don't understand why they care. It doesn't feel special. What is it?"

"Precisely what it appears to be," Scarlett answered. "A heart."

"But half of it is hardened… And it's missing its owner."

"You, of all people, should be aware that there are more than simply physical connections that matter in this world."

Fynn glanced up at her, then eyed the heart. "What would happen if I actually crushed it?"

"It would mostly likely injure the owner quite severely."

To be exact, it would kill him. But while she couldn't exactly lie to Fynn, it also might not be wise to outright share all the details in this particular situation. While he wasn't aware of his grudge against the Cabal yet, it was better to play it a little safe.

"And the owner is part of that group?" Fynn asked.

"Yes, he is."

"And he's bad."

"Quite."

"Okay." The young man nodded his head as if he understood, although his brows soon creased once again. "How is he alive without his heart, though?"

"I am afraid I do not have an adequate answer for that," Scarlett said. "It is not something I entirely understand myself."

Magic nonsense. That was all she could say.

"With this, though, you forced those Cabal people to agree to that contract thing," Fynn said.

She nodded. "That is correct."

"Why?"

"Because if I had not, they would have continued to persecute the life of myself and those around me."

"But was a contract necessary? Couldn't you just have told them what to do directly? Instead, now you agreed to some of their demands as well."

Scarlett shook her head. "Let us say that I did as you say, attempting to enforce my will upon them with no concessions. What do you think would happen if one of their number were to break their word and act against me in that situation?"

"That would force you to break this heart, wouldn't it? And they don't want that, so they wouldn't do something like that?"

"They do not want that, no. But that is not a guarantee that nothing will happen. And if I were to indeed break the heart, I would not live for much longer. This leaves us in a precarious situation where both parties stand to lose from provoking the other. As such, it is imperative that the balance is always maintained. One minor transgression from either side could incite a chain of events that leads to one side being forced to act or otherwise jeopardize their own position. This, in turn, would force the other side to retaliate, and we will be left with both parties having caused irreparable damage to the other."

Scarlett examined Fynn for a few seconds. "Do you understand what I am trying to say?"

He stayed quiet for a moment, a serious expression on his face. "…Maybe."

"Had I not set forward clear and understandable terms as to what both parties are allowed to do, it would have given the Cabal more freedom to interpret or bend the words of the agreement to their benefit after having gained a better understanding of me and my limitations. And I am in a position where I lack the power to properly respond to any of their actions without endangering myself. With this contract, any such action from their end now carries considerably more risk, since it would be a direct breach of the agreement."

"…So because they're much stronger, you wanted to tie both them and yourself down under as many promises as possible." Fynn glanced back to where they came from, deeper into the forest. "And you wanted to do it before they have time to find out how far they could push you?"

"That is an apt way of describing it, yes. Although I would not say that I am as burdened by this agreement as they are. As an individual, I simultaneously have the most to lose, as well as the least, if one side were to break their word. Because of this, and the relative insignificance a single person plays to a group as large as theirs, the terms of the contract benefit me far more than it benefits them."

One of the head clauses that Scarlett had pushed through, for example, had been that the Hallowed Cabal was not to interfere with any of her matters. Of course, in return, she wouldn't interfere directly with their affairs either. But a subclause of that had been that it didn't count 'retroactively', so to speak. That is, if the Cabal were to interfere in something she was planning to do before she did it, then it was fine. This was to prevent either side from accidentally breaking the agreement. But the Cabal stood to lose a lot more on an organizational level if she were to impede their major projects in ways that the clause allowed for.

And unlike them, she already knew a lot of their plans, which gave her a lot more freedom. This meant that, according to their contract, she could snatch things from right under their noses and they couldn't do anything but accept it. Or breach the agreement, of course. But it would have to take something pretty serious for them to go that far, with the life of The Angler Man on the line. He was vital both to their organization and their goals, after all.

In general, the Cabal hadn't had much leeway in these negotiations. She'd had the lead on all of this, and because of the circumstances, the Cabal didn't have the opportunity to postpone discussions. And most of her terms had been things that, at face value, seemed reasonable when it came to maintaining a sense of non-interfering neutrality between two parties. They'd almost definitely been aware of which terms favored her, though. But she'd allowed them some renegotiation on certain parts. It was important that she didn't tempt them too much to act out against her. Upholding their agreement with her had to seem like the less risky alternative.

But in the end, they would only push things so far when such an integral part of their organization was at stake. Especially when they didn't know enough about their enemy.

So even though she had in some regards tied her own hands with this contract, she was very satisfied with how it had all turned out. She'd even managed to potentially solve some of the problems she'd been worrying about a lot for in the future. The major one had been what she would do if she succeeded with the main quest and reached Beld Thylelion before the Cabal and they found out about it. With this contract, they technically couldn't do anything in response. There was some uncertainty in that particular regard, considering how important the Tribute of Dominion resting in that place was, but it was definitely better than what she had before.

The only actual threat at the moment was if the Cabal were to somehow try to get back the heart from her. She didn't think they would, considering the risk involved, and had showcased part of Fynn's perception abilities to drive that part home. If they were to send an assassin to her home or anything like that, they would have to succeed in taking the heart from Fynn without even giving him the chance of reacting. Even for the most powerful of the Cabal members, doing something like that would be hard. It was much more likely they'd fail or get detected long before they even got the chance to try.

To be safe, she and the others would probably have to keep their eyes open from now on. Other than that, though, things were definitely looking up.

Scarlett sat in the dining hall for supper the next day. After returning from the negotiations in the dead of night, she'd spent much of the morning and earlier parts of the day sleeping in, at Fynn's prompting. The young man in question had decided not to rest at all, instead standing watch outside her room until she woke up. She had wanted to tell him it wasn't necessary, but that wasn't entirely true. She also knew he could go several days without sleep if he needed to, so in the end, she'd allow it until they established some other means of maintaining their guard. There were already some plans she had made in that regard, related to the next dungeon she was hoping for them to visit.

For now, though, Fynn was choosing to stay close to her, to the best of his ability. Currently, he was seated to her right, his attention fixed on the food in front of him. Shin, Allyssa, Rosa, and Evelyne were also present in the hall. It was rare that all of them were gathered in one place like this. The last time had been the morning before they left Elystead, when the news of the Tribe of Sin's attacks across the empire first broke.

At the moment, Evelyne was in a conversation about famous alchemists with Allyssa. Sitting opposite them at the table, Rosa and Shin were discussing the local history of the Freybrook area, of all things. Scarlett was content just listening in on some of their discussions as she concentrated on her meal. Today, it was steamed mussels with grilled sausage. Apparently, mussels were starting to get into season, and the chef here at the mansion had done a sublime job as usual. She hadn't even known mussels could taste this good.

She would have to send the man her regards again. Something she felt she'd done more than a few times, really, ever since arriving at this place.

"Scarlett."

She was brought out of her thoughts by Evelyne's voice. The woman seemed to have finished her conversation and was now looking at her.

"Yes?"

"I had been meaning to ask… I heard you left with one of the carriages last night. What was that about?"

Scarlett paused, a frown appearing on her brow. It seems like either the coachman or one of the guards had a loose tongue. She had specifically told them to keep things quiet…

Well, that would have to be dealt with later. Figuring out who was responsible wouldn't be hard, with Fynn's help.

"…There was a matter that I had to tend to, along with Fynn," she said. "It was not something that could be performed within the city walls, however, which is why we made use of the carriage."

"What 'matter' was this?"

"The specifics of it do not concern you. Simply know that we needed a suitable location to assess some of Fynn's capabilities."

"Capabilities, eh?" Rosa asked. The carefree woman smiled at Fynn. "That sure sounds on the up-and-up. What sort of things did you have our youngling pup get up to? Are travelers going to run into what remains of the local critter wildlife for the coming months, perhaps?"

The white-haired young man looked up as everybody's questioning gazes turned to him. He adopted what was probably supposed to be an aloof expression and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't remember."

Scarlett groaned inwardly.

…At least he tried.

"Haven't we already seen enough of Fynn's weirdness?" Allyssa asked. "We don't mind it, so wouldn't it have been best to bring us along as well? What if something had happened?"

Next to her, Evelyne furrowed her brows. "There were people after you, Scarlett, weren't there? Leaving the city like that in the middle of the night with only one person accompanying you was an enormous risk."

Scarlett shook her head. "There was no such threat this time. I took the proper precautions. And while I am loath to withhold information from all of you, I also have an obligation to Fynn as his employer to protect his secrets."

Everybody turned to look at him again. The young man in question now wore an impartial expression as he was busy trying to pull out the meat from one mussel with his fork.

"…I feel like I am lacking a lot of information about this retainer of yours, Scarlett," Evelyne said. She turned back to her own plate. "But alright. I'll let it be."

The others also seemed to leave it at that, as a momentary silence descended upon the dining hall for a short while before the previous conversations picked up again. Scarlett remained outside the discussions, continuing her own meal.

'Pushing' the blame onto Fynn might not be the best of excuses, but it was effective enough. People usually accepted her keeping things hidden if she claimed it was someone else's secret, funnily enough. There was also no point in claiming anything that would force Fynn himself to try lying for real.

It wasn't exactly optimal that she had to lie to Evelyne and the others like this, though. Especially considering she'd decided to try to be a bit more open with Evelyne in general recently. But there was an exception to everything, and having dealings with the Hallowed Cabal was likely to be a crime against the empire. That was definitely the sort of thing that was best kept secret from the woman. For both of their sakes.

The supper continued like that for a while longer, until one of the female servants entered the dining hall. A short, blonde woman, who Scarlett recognized as one of the younger servants among the staff.

The woman performed a small curtsy. "My Lady. There is a visitor."

"A visitor?" Scarlett asked. "Who?"

"He introduced himself as Leon Delmon."

She blinked. Leon? He was here? In Freybrook? She turned to Evelyne, sharing a look with the woman. "Were you aware he would come?"

Evelyne shook her head. "No. He mentioned nothing of the sort when I last met him."

Scarlett frowned. Then why was he here? Was it still about the whole engagement thing? That shouldn't require him to visit Freybrook personally like this, though, right? He was the vice-captain of the Solar Knights. It wasn't as if he could just leave the capital whenever he wanted.

"Who's that?" Fynn asked, looking up from his food.

"He is an acquaintance of mine," Scarlett said. "One which I did not expect would visit personally."

"…Nichol." Allyssa turned to the young servant standing at the room's entrance. "Did you say his name was Leon Delmon?"

The woman lowered her head. "That's right, Miss Astrey."

"You know him?" Fynn asked.

Allyssa shook her head. "I've only heard of him."

Scarlett put down her cutlery on the table and picked up a white napkin to clean her mouth. "Have him brought over to the guest parlor. I will be there shortly."

"Yes, my Lady." The servant woman performed another curtsy and left the hall.

Scarlett pushed her seat back as she stood.

"You're meeting with him right away?" Evelyne asked.

"I am, yes." It was best to get this over with quickly. "Do you wish to join?"

The younger woman shook her head. "I don't think that's a good idea. I barely know him, anyway."

"Very well. I will share what he had to say later."

"Alright. I appreciate it."

With that, Scarlett left the dining hall behind.

Chapter 102 - Dealing with a knight

Scarlett moved through the mansion's hallways in the direction of the guest parlor.

Of all people, she hadn't been expecting Leon to suddenly show up like this. It'd been almost two months since they last met, so she thought he wouldn't bother with her anymore now that talks of the annulment were in progress. That's the impression she'd gotten through interacting with him, at least. It was clear he wasn't a fan of the original Scarlett.

Not to mention how he hadn't even cared about sending word before his visit. Wasn't that common practice around here, most of the time?

Maybe it wasn't. There were a lot of people that visited her unannounced, actually.

She took a moment to smooth her clothes as she arrived before the parlor, then opened the doors. Entering the room, she saw Leon sitting on one of the couches situated at the center. The dark-haired man was dressed in the same black uniform she had seen him wear during the wedding back in Ambercrest, with gold trimmings running along the chest and collar. Or it could just have been a similar uniform. This one did look a bit more casual, missing the medals and a couple of other minor details.

"Scarlett," he said, turning his head towards her.

"Sir Leon." She walked over to take a seat opposite him. "I was not expecting you to pay me a visit. To what do I owe the pleasure? Does the vice-captain of an imperial knight order not have more important matters to tend to in the capital?"

The man examined her for a couple of seconds. "We'll be moving out on an important mission soon. It's expected to take some time, so the captain recommended we take care of any business we have left before then."

"I see. And I presume this 'business' involves me or my household," Scarlett said. "Was there a reason you refrained from informing me of your visit beforehand, however?"

She noticed a small wince on his part. "…I only have a few days, and there was a fellow member of the order who already had passage here to Freybrook. I didn't have the time to wait just to send you a letter in advance."

"Is that so?" She eyed him for a moment. "And what, exactly, is it that you are here for? Could it be related to the reason behind your visit to my mansion in Elystead last month? My sister informed me she met with you at the time."

"You know why I'm here."

"I can surmise that it is related to the voiding of our betrothal, but I will not claim to know the specifics. Is that truly something that warrants inconveniencing yourself merely to come here?"

"You…" Leon narrowed his eyes, then closed them and sighed. "What is it you want, Scarlett?"

She cocked her head to the side. "There are a great number of things that I wish for, although I do not think that is what you are asking. You will have to be more specific."

"You can quit acting ignorant. I don't feel like playing your mind games." He pressed a hand against his forehead. "You're already aware my family wants to end the engagement, but that they'll never be the ones to initiate it. That doesn't mean they won't try to make things harder for you in other ways, however. We both know this betrothal isn't going anywhere now, and I don't want to be caught in the barrage between you and my family, so that's why I'm here. I'm just going to ask: what do you want from me to end things cleanly?"

Scarlett stared at him.

She'd been under the belief that his family was already in the process of getting the engagement annulled. They hadn't said so outright in the letter they sent previously, but it seemed like the reasonable conclusion. She had just been waiting for more news on that front, honestly.

From the sounds of it, though, it seemed like ending the engagement required her agreement as well? Or perhaps being the party that initiated the annulment was frowned upon in this case, for some reason? Could the original have made some sort of contract with the Delmons that they didn't want to break?

Whatever the case was, it didn't seem Evelyne was aware of it, judging from their earlier talks. She would have to speak with the woman about it later just to make sure, though.

"To clarify," she said. "You have come here hoping to convince me to be the one to break the engagement, rather than your family?"

She assumed that, if she didn't break it, there was a good chance the Delmons would continue to be on her back about it. Like how Evelyne had told her they stopped their business with their barony over in Steepmond and blocked their other routes in the city.

"Yes." Leon nodded.

Scarlett scowled. "I would have expected more from the family of a marquis. If they are displeased with the current arrangement, then they should move to resolve it themselves. I did not expect for them to hide away from the situation in this manner."

Whatever deal they had with the original, they still were a freaking marquisate. It was definitely within their power to have the engagement annulled, even if there were some consequences. And considering they had agreed to things to begin with, one would think they should be ready to deal with those consequences.

"They don't know I'm here," Leon said. He didn't look perturbed at all at how she spoke of his family.

"I would argue that makes it worse."

He just shook his head. "So, what do you want, Scarlett? As I said, I don't care about the politicking between you and my family. I've earned enough as a member of the Solar Knights to pay you, if that's what you want. If it's something else, then tell me what and I'll consider it. I won't allow anything illegal or that might hurt the citizens of the empire, though."

She schooled her expression, putting the matter of what she was starting to suspect was a family of assholes—Leon excluded, for now—at the back of her mind. "I am not certain what I would want from you. It is not a topic I have paid much thought to."

"I'm not convinced this wasn't part of your plan from the beginning," Leon said with a disbelieving expression. "Regardless, neither you nor I stand to gain anything from this engagement anymore. There's no point in having it continue."

Scarlett tapped her finger against the armrest next to her as she thought over his words. She was very curious about exactly what the original had done in the past to make this guy so paranoid around her.

"That may be," she said after a while. "However, I will still have to give the matter more thought. It is not something one decides on the spur of the moment, after all." She turned her eyes towards the room's exit. "I will also have to confer with my sister. For now, I ask that you return at a later date."

"…I won't be staying in Freybrook for long. I can return tomorrow, at the latest."

"I am afraid I will not be available tomorrow. I will be leaving early in the morning for other affairs."

Leon's forehead creased. "When are you free, then?"

"Perhaps in a few days. Although that will depend."

Well, she already knew when she would return, but what her schedule would look like from there wasn't set in stone. And she didn't exactly feel pressured to deal with this immediately. Not before she knew the specifics of the situation, and what the arrangement with the Delmons actually was.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Autumnwell."

"What are you doing in Autumnwell?"

Scarlett fixed her gaze on him. "We may currently be in an engagement," she said, "but do not presume that to mean I hold the obligation to share all of my affairs with you. My business in Autumnwell is mine alone."

The city was where the next dungeon she wanted to clear was. Abelard's Doll Mansion.

Unfortunately, it wasn't guaranteed that she would be clearing the place. Neither Kat nor Adalicia were available at the moment, and Garside was still recovering. Bringing the Countess wasn't exactly an option, either, so clearing the whole dungeon would probably be too difficult with Scarlett's current party.

Still, she didn't want to delay doing it too much. That's why she had booked passage to Autumnwell anyway, just in case any of the people that could help were to become available. If she didn't find anyone—as was appearing to be the case—she was planning on visiting the Shields Guild there to see if there were any strong Shielders free that she could hire for the time being. If there wasn't, she'd been thinking of just spending the time clearing some of the other dungeons in the area and returning at a later date.

Leon glared at her. "Then why—" He paused, then he shook his head with another long sigh. "…Sure. Have it your way, Scarlett. I grew tired of all this political maneuvering years ago. Just tell me if it's money or something else that you want."

She frowned. Hadn't she just told him she would have to think about it? Did he believe she was being purposefully circumlocutory? She understood he didn't have much time, but she wasn't going to rush things just because of that, no matter how much he annoyed her about it. He would just have to deal with it. He was strong enough to—

She paused, an idea coming to her.

…Actually, if he was going to hound her like this, then who was she to turn away his efforts? He was one of the strongest knights in the empire, after all. Her ties to the man weren't going to exist for much longer, so why not make good use of him while she could?

She studied him closely for a moment. He seemed to be waiting for her reply.

"You are curious what it is you can do to convince me, yes? While I cannot give a full answer yet, there is something you could provide aid with that might affect my view on the matter somewhat." The tips of her mouth rose in a small smile. "It is something that the skill set of a Solar Knight would be especially suitable for."

Leon eyed her. "And what's that?"

"Before that, I would have to ask whether it is possible for you to delay your other plans and join me in Autumnwell for one or two days."

"Join you?" He gave her a wary look. "…Depends on what it is."

"I will interpret that as a yes, then. If so, I can inform you that I am traveling to Autumnwell in order to help fulfill the request of an acquaintance in the region. The request itself involves the exorcising of a certain estate, and it is a task where I believe your aid would help to greatly expedite matters."

"Exorcising?"

"That is what I said, yes."

"…You're talking about removing ghosts or undead from a location?"

"Mostly revenants, to be precise. As well as some specter variants, though I do not expect those to pose much danger to me."

Leon furrowed his brow. "Since when have you known anything about things like that? Or cared, for that matter."

"Since it became relevant for me to do so." Scarlett placed her hands on her lap as she met his eyes. "So, what is your answer? Will you lend your aid with this?"

He seemed to consider it for a moment. "You said you're leaving tomorrow?"

"That is correct."

"And you'll agree to ending the engagement yourself?"

"I did not say it would be enough to make me agree to that, no. However, I will take it into consideration when deliberating the matter."

"That doesn't mean anything."

"On the contrary, it holds quite a lot of meaning," she said. "I do not take my word lightly when I see fit to give it. I would recommend you seize this opportunity while it is still available to you. Know that the only thing you will save me is time, which I now have plenty of. For someone of your ability, I believe this is a rather generous offer."

He observed her for a few seconds, seemingly mulling her words over. "Tell me more precisely what's involved with this job."

Scarlett smiled. This would make things easier.

Chapter 103 - Joyride

A long silence reigned over the carriage cabin as the vehicle set off from the mansion, venturing out into the wide and mostly open spaces of Freybrook's northern district. Scarlett's gaze was focused on the small forests that separated many of the estates in this district, mindlessly observing the passing trees. It was ridiculous how large the northern district was, really. The nearest home to the Hartford mansion was a few hundred meters away, so it would be a stretch to even call them a neighbor.

After they had been traveling for a while, Rosa's voice finally rang out from the seat next to Scarlett. "So, the two of you are acquaintances, I take it? How acquainted are we talking, exactly?"

Scarlett turned to look at the woman, who, in turn, was looking at the seat opposite them where Leon was sitting. The dark-haired man wore the same uniform as yesterday, and he seemed to hesitate before answering. "We're…betrothed."

Silence fell upon the cabin again.

Allyssa turned to stare at Scarlett from where she sat to Leon's left. "You had a fiancé?!"

Rosa also looked at her, an impish grin on the bard's face. "Oh? I didn't know the usually cold Baroness had a special someone. Here I thought that prickly exterior of yours would have strangled the very notion of romance in its cradle before it even had the chance to rear its head in your presence."

Scarlett gave her a pointed look, but Rosa's smile didn't disappear. Across from them, Leon frowned at the interaction, but remained quiet. Scarlett shook her head and returned her attention out the window. Rosa had without a doubt already realized that Leon's and her relationship wasn't like that.

"The air is stifling with this many people here," she said after a moment, just as silence was about to descend over the carriage once more. "I find it difficult to think that you did not have your own means of travel, Sir Leon."

When she'd asked him to join them on their trip to Autumnwell, she hadn't been expecting him to literally join like this. He was the son of a marquis, as well as the vice-captain of the Imperial Solar Knights. One would expect him to have his own transport. A horse, at the very least.

"You were the one that asked for my help, Scarlett. If you're regretting it, I can step off right here."

"That is not what I am saying. I merely find the reasoning behind you having to travel with us puzzling. Did you not arrive in a carriage at the mansion earlier?"

"That belongs to the family of a comrade of mine," Leon said. "He's the son of Baron Acton. I can't use it for a personal trip to Autumnwell."

"I see."

She decided to let things be at that. It wasn't as if it mattered much. They would have to get a larger carriage in the future, though, in case there were more situations like this. Six people barely fit in their cabin. Allyssa and Shin were packed together next to Leon's tall frame in their row, and it didn't look especially comfortable. Scarlett herself also wasn't overly fond of having to press into Rosa, even if she didn't mind the woman herself.

Their ride continued southwards, deeper into the city. The morning sun was rising on the horizon by the time they left the northern district and entered the more trafficked streets of Freybrook. They'd left early in the morning because Scarlett knew it might take some time to finish the preparations in Autumnwell, and she wanted them to reach their final destination before it turned dark. With the end of October approaching, evening had started setting a lot earlier in the day, even though they were in one of the more southern parts of the empire.

She had said her goodbyes to Garside and Evelyne the day before, as well as informed the Countess of her trip so that the woman would be aware of the situation. She'd also spoken a bit with Evelyne regarding the details of the original's engagement with Leon, but unfortunately, the younger woman hadn't seemed to know much more than Scarlett herself on the matter.

She would have to spend some time looking through records when she came back to the mansion. If the original really had some sort of contract with the Delmons, then there had to be documentation of it in some form. Hopefully, it wasn't in a place where it couldn't be found.

"It feels a bit surreal, sitting next to you like this, Sir Leon," Allyssa said as their carriage entered the heart of the city.

Scarlett shifted her eyes to the girl as Leon turned to her with a small smile. He seemed to appreciate someone finally starting up a conversation.

"I suppose you've heard of me?" he asked.

"Of course I have. Who hasn't?"

"I think most people, actually."

The girl looked at him with both eyebrows raised. "You're famous in the Shields Guild, though."

"You're a Shielder, then? From the Elystead Branch, I presume? I've heard they've been spreading some rather exaggerated stories about me ever since the order cooperated with them to drive away that adolescent dragon last year." He eyed her for a moment. "Earlier, you said your name was Allyssa Astrey, yes?"

"That's right."

"Then, are you related to Arnaud Astrey, by any chance?"

An awkward smile grew on Allyssa's face. "Yes. He's my dad."

"Really?" Leon nodded along slowly. "I've heard a lot of good things about him. He's an impressive man, if even a fraction is true."

Next to him, the young Shielder fidgeted with a lock of blonde hair while looking down at the floorboards. "People often say that, yeah. But to me, he's just 'dad'." She paused, then looked back up at Leon. "Ehm, not to say I don't appreciate it. I'm genuinely glad that someone like you would think that about him, really."

"Is he that special?" Fynn suddenly asked. The young man was studying Leon closely.

"Do you mean Arnaud Astrey?" the knight asked.

Fynn shook his head. "No. You."

Allyssa sent him a look that said a lot about what she thought of Fynn's rudeness, though she didn't seem annoyed. "I told you yesterday, didn't I? He's the vice-captain of the Imperial Solar Knights. They're the strongest knights in the empire, so yes. He is someone special."

"I'm not that special," Leon cut in. "My purpose is simply to serve the Imperial Family and the citizens of the Empire. There are many others like me that deserve much more respect, and not only among the Solar Knights. The five Swords of the Royal Guard are especially impressive individuals."

Scarlett studied the man. It seemed like he was both humble and polite, as long as he wasn't interacting with her. She'd say his humbleness might go a bit too far, though. While she wasn't sure what level he could be considered this early in the game's timeline, he would still be one of the strongest knights in the empire in the not-too-far-away future. A few members of the Royal Guard were probably the only ones that were on a similar level, if you were talking pure knights. Carnwedain and one of the other companions were the only other two exceptions.

"The Imperial Order of the Solar Knights only accepts fifty of the most talented swordsmen in the empire. Every single one of their members is generally considered to be at least equivalent to an A-ranked Shielder," Shin spoke up next to Allyssa. "Being one of the youngest vice-captains in the order's history is something most would consider enough to be called 'special'."

Leon's attention shifted to study the young man for a moment, eyes seemingly lingering on the scar across Shin's right eye. "You were Shin Thornthon, correct?" He gestured with his head towards the back of the carriage. "I apologize for changing the subject, but I noticed your sword before we got in. Was that a pran?"

"It was."

"Are you from the Steppes?"

"My parents were," Shin said. "They moved to Wildscar when I was still young, so I've spent most of my life in the empire."

Leon gave a short nod at that. "I've always found the Kereq's weapons intriguing. It would be interesting to see it used."

"I wouldn't mind showing you in a sparring session later if we have the time."

The man glanced at Scarlett. She met his eyes briefly. "…If we find the time, then."

Scarlett looked to Allyssa, who had leaned over to Shin. The girl stared intensely at the side of the young man's face, though Shin himself seemed to ignore her.

"…You must be thrilled now, am I right?" she said. "Don't try to hide it. You weren't even sneaky there. I know getting the chance to spar with the vice-captain of the Solar Knights is sending you over the moon."

"It's a good opportunity," Shin answered remotely. "Any swordsman that wants to improve their skills would take it."

"Suuuure."

"Can I fight you as well, then?" Fynn asked from his seat opposite them, staring at Leon.

Scarlett turned to look at the white-haired young man. Why was it starting to feel like her retainers were about to start a fight club with her temporary fiance?

Allyssa seemed similarly surprised by Fynn's question, gaping at him before shaking her head. "Boys…" she muttered.

"I don't think you should be the one saying that," Shin said.

"I'm not the one asking to fight a solar knight the first time I meet him."

"But you did tell him straight to his face how amazing it was to meet him."

Allyssa scrunched her eyes up at Shin. "Quiet, you. It's rare to meet famous people."

"Isn't your dad strong as well?" Fynn asked, a confused look on his face.

"No, well, that's different. And there's also a difference between strong and famous. Not that my dad isn't strong, but that's not the point."

Fynn knitted his forehead as he seemed to consider her words. He pointed at Leon. "Then, is he more important than that princess you met before?"

Allyssa blinked. "No, that's not at all what I meant. There's a difference between imperial important and other important, you know?"

Leon gave her a curious look. "You met one of the princesses?"

She looked back at him. "Ah, y-yeah, that was…"

"If I'm not mistaken, weren't there two princesses?" Rosa smiled at Allyssa. "Like something out of a fairy tale."

The girl's face grew redder. "You're making it sound much more impressive than it was. And I didn't even know she was a princess at first. Besides, it's unlikely they would even remember me."

"When was this?" Leon asked.

"Ehm, it was when I joined Scarlett during the Providing Ceremony. We were in Hamet Garden, and I ran into Princess Hilde in one of the enclosed patios. The first princess arrived not long after that as well. I'm not sure what I would have done if Scarlett wasn't there." Allyssa paused, then shook her head. "Ah, but what am I saying? You must have met the princesses plenty of times, so this wouldn't be anything special to you."

"I have met both of them on several occasions, that's true. But there's nothing wrong with you sharing your encounter, as well," Leon said. His expression turned into a slight frown as he looked at Scarlett, though. "…You didn't say anything to the princesses, did you?"

She gave him a long look in return. "Are you perhaps suggesting I should have disregarded the Imperial Family and ignored them? If so, I am sorry to inform you that I did no such thing."

"You know what I mean. You didn't try any of your schemes with the princesses, did you?"

"I have no such 'schemes' to attempt, nor would I ever act to disparage the imperial family, even if I had."

Leon let out a small scoff. "You say that after what you did during the Elysian Proclamation?"

"Did His Majesty himself not acknowledge my vow that day?" Scarlett asked. "As a knight acting in the faithful service of His Majesty and the Imperial Family, I would expect that to be enough for you."

"…It's hard to forget all of your history, Scarlett. As a knight, it is also my duty to ensure there are no threats or nuisances bothering the princesses."

"Our meeting with them was pure happenstance, in case you are thinking I somehow precipitated the event."

He eyed her for a while. "If you say so."

The others in the carriage were looking on silently during their conversation, and an awkward atmosphere fell over the cabin now.

"So, can I fight you or not?" Fynn asked.

Scarlett glanced at the young man, having to fight down a small smile. Sometimes, his overly sincere nature wasn't so bad after all.

"If we have the time, I don't mind sparring with you as well," Leon said. "Are you also a Shielder? I never knew Scarlett to keep too many people around her."

Fynn shook his head. "I'm her enforcer," he said.

Scarlett stilled, and Leon's expression grew darker. Next to Scarlett, Rosa was trying to hide a laugh as she coughed into her hand.

"Miss Hale." Scarlett glared at the bard.

"Eh, Fynn." Allyssa looked at the young man. "Who told you that you were an enforcer?"

He pointed to Rosa next to him. "She did."

The woman in question held up her hand to her chest in an affronted manner. "Wha—me?! I would never lead a young, innocent lamb like our sweet Fynn astray. Ahem." She cleared her throat. "I might have told him, at one point or another, that he seemed particularly talented at helping our dear employer out with her problems, and it's possible that the word 'enforce' might have been brought up somewhere around there, but that's just pure coincidence, I tell you."

"That's not what you sai—"

Rosa covered Fynn's mouth. "Look at him. Now he's all confused." She shook her head. "Poor boy."

Fynn furrowed his brows, staring down at the hand covering his mouth.

"Miss Hale," Scarlett said.

Rosa let her arm down and turned to Scarlett. "Yes, dear employer? What can I do for you? Would you like me to play a song?"

"I hope you are not going around, causing unwelcome rumors to spread about me."

"Oh, no. Definitely not." The woman shook her head fervently. "Only the good kind, I assure you."

"…I am uncertain whether I should be relieved or even more troubled."

Rosa smiled. "I find that the best balance is always a smidge of both."

Scarlett studied the woman for a moment, then turned back to the carriage window with a small sigh. "Sir Leon, I expect you to be discerning enough to surmise which words to believe and which not to. It would be a shame if this were to cause any unfortunate misunderstandings, yes?"

"…Sure, Scarlett."

"Good." She nodded her head, eyeing some of the people moving about on the streets outside. She was starting to suspect this might be a longer ride than first expected.

Chapter 104 - Provoking accommodations

The city of Autumnwell was situated at the end of one of the distributaries that fed into the main body of the Three Streams River, northwest of Elystead and east of Windgrove. The settlement was nestled in a natural canyon, surrounded on both sides by low, verdant cliffs covered in fields and small forests. A large fort overlooked the city from atop a tall hill to the north, acting as a natural barrier of sorts. This meant that, unlike many of the empire's other cities, Autumnwell wasn't enclosed by walls built by previous generations to shield them from the dangers outside.

As for the city itself, there remained plenty of room in the canyon for it to expand. The ground held a gentle incline from the harbor to the south towards the hill to the north, with lots of open space surrounding the inhabited sections filled with smaller pastures and woodlands.

Scarlett and the others were afforded a magnificent view of it all as the buildings sprawled out before them as their carriage left the harbor area where the Kilnstone was, traveling towards the heart of the city. Most of the structures here were made of brick, with additions of wood here and there, though some of the homes closer to the edge of the city had more simple wattle and daub structures.

"Where are we heading now?" Leon asked after they veered off one of the more well-traveled thoroughfares onto a long road that carried off eastwards.

Scarlett turned her attention from the window she'd been looking out of, watching the man for a second. "First, we will be visiting members of the local nobility."

"The acquaintances you spoke of yesterday?"

She nodded. "That is correct."

"Who are they?"

"Are you familiar with the Withersworths?"

His eyebrows rose. "Lord Withersworth was the previous Lord Marshal, if I'm not mistaken. I've also heard tell that Lady Withersworth was rather influential among the nobles of the capital."

"Lord Withersworth holds a barony northwest of Autumnwell, which just so happens to be where our final destination is. Before journeying there, however, we will have to speak with him regarding the matters related to this venture."

"They retired from high society years ago, didn't they?" Leon eyed her closely. "How do you know them?"

"I suppose that, technically, I do not." Scarlett returned her gaze back out the window. "But that is hardly relevant for today's proceedings."

"What?"

She stayed silent after that, and after realizing the conversation wouldn't be going much further than that, Leon also remained quiet. It wasn't long before another discussion was sparked among the other inhabitants of the carriage cabin, however, which the knight occasionally chimed in on.

As they entered the more affluent parts of the city, their transport making its way towards a large mansion with a modest garden surrounding it, Scarlett began preparing herself mentally. Her eyes passed over the others, listening in on their conversation that had somehow turned into a bet on what they would be doing for this excursion.

"It's a dragon, I'm telling you," Rosa announced, a confident look on the woman's face. "We have three fair maidens and a knight, so it's a must by this point."

Opposite her, Allyssa sent an uncertain glance at Leon. "I don't think we're going to fight a dragon…"

"We would not be able to survive against anything but the youngest of dragons," Shin said, only momentarily looking up from a book he had been reading for much of the trip. "And I have heard nothing of a dragon being sighted anywhere in the empire for over a year."

"Of course you haven't. If you were a giant, fire-breathing lizard living for millennia, would you like it if a rabble of puny humans came around to your lair and poked their little spears into your belly just because you kidnapped a maiden or two?" Rosa held up a finger to her lips. "They do it on the hush-hush, clearly."

"I don't think those tales about them kidnapping maidens are true," Allyssa said.

Rosa gave a sage-like nod. "That's what they want you to think."

"Dragons do whatever they want, whenever they want," Fynn declared from the side.

Allyssa gave him a long look, as if trying to determine whether his words were supporting Rosa's claims or refuting them. Eventually, the girl shook her head. "Whatever. I'm telling you, it's not dragons. I've been preparing a bunch of Philters of Dawnlight and Brews of Fireworks lately. It has to be undead of some kind."

"Hmm." Rosa knitted her forehead. "I see… Undead dragons. Does that mean they prefer undead maidens, as well? A unique choice, for sure, but who am I to knock on people's tastes…"

Leon seemed to be watching this with a look of consternation, seemingly unsure of what to say of the conversation.

Shaking her head at it all, Scarlett turned her eyes back to the gate in front of the estate that they were approaching. She hadn't told the others where they were going this time because she hadn't been certain they would be going until the day before. Still, she'd had Allyssa prepare some of the relevant concoctions, in addition to more health and mana potions than she usually had the young Shielder make.

A footman at the front of the estate's gates walked up to their carriage before it stopped. He wore a simple brown uniform, the emblem of a white pine emblazoned on the chest, and glanced briefly at the coachman before shifting his eyes towards Scarlett through the window. "May I ask who you are, my Lady?"

"I am Baroness Scarlett Hartford, Lady of Stagmond Keep."

The man's forehead creased at that. "Do you have business here?"

"I am here to meet with Lord Withersworth."

He studied her for a moment, looking back towards the mansion behind him. "Sorry to say, but I don't think he's available right now."

Scarlett frowned. She'd been unsure whether or not they would be expected, but she had sent a message about her potential visit beforehand. There hadn't been a reply, which she supposed was an answer in and of itself.

Eyeing him for a while longer, she then turned to Leon, sitting opposite her. "Inform your masters that Vice-Captain Leon Delmon of the Imperial Solar Knights is here to pay a visit as well."

The footman's eyes widened. Even if he wouldn't necessarily recognize Leon's name, the order of the Solar Knights was famous enough. The man appeared to hesitate for another moment, however, glancing at the side of Leon's face through the window before eventually clearing his throat. "Please wait here for a bit, my Lady. I'll go and see if the Lord and Lady are free."

He walked back to the gate, opening a small side door next to it before disappearing over to the mansion beyond.

"You're using me to get inside?" Leon asked, a furrow on his brow.

"Is there a reason I should not? You are here alongside with me, and I presume you will be joining in on my meeting with Lord Withersworth or his wife."

He narrowed his eyes at her, but stayed quiet. Soon, the footman returned and opened the large metal gates for them. "The head butler will receive you in the foyer, my Lady. You can park the carriage in the courtyard."

They rode past the gates and into the estate, stopping at the side of a small, circular courtyard surrounded by low hedges. Scarlett exited onto the gravel footpath leading up to the mansion along with the others and started walking up to the doors. An older woman in servants' clothing stood there to open them for her. Inside, a gentleman in a neat brown uniform with wavy, flaxen-blond hair and a thick, well-trimmed mustache greeted them.

"Baroness Hartford, I presume?" the man said in a dapper manner, sending a watchful look across Scarlett and her company. "My word, there are quite a lot of you. The mansion will be practically overrun with visitors at this rate."

She studied him for a moment. This guy… She definitely remembered him from the game.

"Yes, I am Baroness Hartford. These are my retainers, and this is my fiancé, Sir Leon Delmon, Vice-Captain of the Imperial Solar Knights. We have come to meet with your Lord and Lady."

The butler's gaze stayed on Leon for a few seconds, seemingly examining the knight's black-and-gold uniform. "Yes… I heard as much. I do apologise if I came across as impertinent just now, and I hope you'll forgive my unabating boldness, but I assume the Baroness has arrived without arranging a meeting with milord or milady in advance? I certainly do not recall seeing any correspondence confirming any conclave of the sorts lately, and I dare say there isn't much in this household that goes past me."

"Is that so?" Scarlett showed a cold smile. "No, I suppose there was no such arrangement, that is true. But if you are indeed informed of what communications pass through this household, you should be aware that I have sent several letters in the past week trying to arrange exactly that. Unless those letters were ignored, for some reason."

The butler paused. His eyes met hers for a moment before shifting away. "Hmm, yes, perhaps… After further reflection, there might indeed have been something of the sort arriving at the estate these last few days. However, it was ever so unfortunate that neither milord nor milady had the time to reciprocate your requests. I, the dutiful and steadfast butler that I am, chose to delay the response until a later juncture more favorable for all parties. I was certain that an educated and respectable lady such as the Baroness would understand this particular quandary of mine, but as you appear to have found yourself here in this mansion in spite of that, I can only surmise that there has been some confusion on the end of the Hartford household."

"There was nothing of the sort," Scarlett said. "I simply judged that Lord Withersworth and his wife appeared uninformed of the offer I had prepared for them, and the benefits they stood to receive from associating with me on this occasion. As such, I decided it would be best for both parties if I expedited matters by visiting in person."

The man clasped both hands behind his back. "You have my unending gratitude for so generously taking milord's and milady's interest into consideration; however, I'm afraid I can't accommodate you with the opportunity to have a word with either of them at this precise moment. Being pervicacious on the matter will not help whatsoever, my Lady. Milord is currently in his study dealing with affairs of vital importance, and milady left early in the morning in pursuit of business and has yet to return."

"That will not be an issue." Scarlett looked back at the others. "We will wait here until either of them is available."

"Pardon, my Lady?"

"We are not lacking in time, so if waiting is all that we must do, then we will do so." She turned back to the butler and gestured towards Leon. "While Sir Leon may be my betrothed, I would not have brought along an imperial knight today if my business with Lord Withersworth did not warrant it. We will wait for as long as it takes."

The butler looked at Leon, a somewhat miffed expression on his face. "…Of course, you're all too right, my Lady. I'm ashamed not to have taken this into consideration. Having heard this, I wouldn't dare question the rationale behind your unheralded visit. I will…inquire into when milord is next available. In the meantime, would you like me to guide you to the drawing room? I'm sure that a party as well-travelled as yours appear to be would have no problem drifting in that general direction by yourselves should you deem it fit to do so, but I would be remiss not to offer the hospitality one such as yourself deserves."

"That will do perfectly." Scarlett stepped in line behind the man as he began leading them down one of the decorated hallways in the foyer.

"What affairs did you say Lord Withersworth was currently preoccupied with?" she asked after a while.

"I did not say, my Lady," he replied. "I gather that it pertains to a certain plot of land that has proved rather troublesome for milord's domain and the denizens within it lately, and I am sure he is working endlessly to ensure everyone's peace of mind on the matter. A most noble task, if I do say so myself."

"Troublesome in what manner?"

"For that, you would have to speak with the Lord himself. I am not privy to the specifics of milord's ventures, and on the remote possibility that I were, it would, of course, not be something that I could share so freely with outsiders, even if they were to be what I'm sure are eminently esteemed members of our empire's vaunted nobility."

The butler looked back at her, and Scarlett could swear he was waiting for a reaction on her end. His mustache moved in ever-so-slight disappointment as she kept her composure, and he turned his attention forward again. "Unless I'm quite mistaken, in which case I apologize profusely, as a noble lady you would be far more well-equipped to gauge the type of complications that are wont to occur when managing one's people and lands than a far-removed house butler. Otherwise, that would be a truly tragic affair. Truly."

Scarlett held back an annoyed sigh. "Yes, that would be tragic, would it not? Fortunately, that is not the case. I have a fair notion of what it is that might be troubling Lord Withersworth."

There was no point in getting into an argument with the butler here just because he was an asshole. She expected him to be when she chose to come here. Though she did wonder why anyone would ever hire this guy. It just felt like asking for trouble when you were dealing with a class of people as conservative and self-important as nobles.

"I'm sure that you do, my Lady," the man said. When they neared the end of a hallway, he looked back at her again. "I will have to inform milord about your visit. What do you want me to state as the reason for your stay?"

"I suspect it is related to the very problems you spoke of earlier," she answered. "But as not to cause confusion, you may inform the lord that I am here regarding what Abelard Withersworth left behind."

The butler gestured his hand towards one of the doors. "I am sure milord will be overjoyed at the news," he said in a dry tone as he opened the door for her.

They were led into a wide room with two leather couches placed in front of an adorned fireplace. The pelt of some unknown beast covered the floor between the couches. Lining the walls were several bookcases, and hanging low from the center of the room was a bronze chandelier with faint, magical candles on it that lit up the room. It all had a very rustic feel to it.

"Feel free to do whatever you may so wish while you wait here," the butler said. "I only ask that you avoid frolicking, excessive revelry, inappropriate dalliances, or other behavior deemed uncouth by civilized people." He paused to look at the klert that Rosa had brought along with her. "Also, no music."

He performed a curt bow before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

"No inappropriate dalliances…?" Allyssa muttered, staring back at the door.

"It comes from a place of jealousy, I'm sure," Rosa said, shaking her head forlornly. "It must be hard, living life while using words like 'pervicacious' so naturally."

"What does that even mean?"

"Who knows?" Rosa smiled. "I'm not stubborn enough to try and find out."

The bard traipsed over to one of the couches and sat down with a low thud. She immediately placed her instrument on her lap and started cranking the wheel at its bottom. A soft tune filled the room, one that fit well with the atmosphere. It almost felt like they were in a cabin out in the woods. All that was missing was the live fire.

Scarlett walked over to sit down next to Rosa. She looked up as Leon sat down on the couch opposite her, giving her an intense look.

"Is there something you wish to say?" she asked.

"Other than how you breached a dozen protocols just now and practically forced your way into a lord's home by using my name?" He stared at her. "What in Ittar's name are you up to, Scarlett?"

"Wait, how was Scarlett the one breaching protocol?" Allyssa asked, sitting down on the same couch as Leon. Behind her, Shin had started looking through one of the bookshelves, and Fynn was walking around the room doing who-knows-what as he stared at the walls. "Wasn't the butler the rude one?"

"That's true," Leon said. "But there are certain customs to uphold among nobility. Scarlett showing up without an invitation in a context like this would be considered unacceptable by most in high society."

"He is not wrong." Scarlett nodded her head. "Just like when a certain person did so at my home, it is generally not considered proper to arrive unannounced."

Even though people kept doing it all the time at her place. However, she supposed people like Livvi and Adalicia had decent enough reasons for their visits, and some of the others weren't exactly 'upstanding' citizens of the empire to begin with.

Leon frowned at her. "There's a difference between the two situations, and you know it. We're already familiar with each other, for one, and only you are the head of a house. But a Baroness visiting another Baron like this is an entirely different thing. Frankly, I never thought I would see you of all people do something like this."

"Then you may consider yourself fortunate," she said. "You have witnessed something you previously thought inconceivable."

"I'm not sure it's something I wanted to see. If people start talking about this, it'll be my name that is dragged through the mud along with yours again."

"That would be regrettable, I suppose." Scarlett brought out a book from her [Pouch of Holding], opening it up as she leaned back on the couch. "We are fortunate that you have no interest in any of that 'politicking' then, yes?"

A short snicker left Rosa next to her. The bard paused her music for a moment, looking up from her instrument and at Leon. "Oh, don't mind little old me, Mister Knight Sir. Not very often you get to witness a lover's spat quite like this one first hand, that's all. They're usually not this interesting."

Leon's expression darkened somewhat. "This isn't a lover's spat."

Rosa held up a hand in a gratifying gesture. "Oh, I'm sure it isn't."

"She is sure," Fynn said from where he now stood, at the center of the room, staring down at the floor for some reason.

Scarlett looked up at the young man.

"Fynn," Rosa called out. "What have we said about white lies?"

"That they're for people's own good," he answered casually, kneeling down to run a hand over the floorboards. "But you were lying back then, so I wasn't sure if I could trust it."

"Is there something that has caught your attention?" Scarlett asked as she watched his strange actions.

He looked up at her. "There's something weird about this place. Especially down there."

She looked down at the floor where he was pointing. "As perceptive as ever, it would seem. You do not have to concern yourself with that for now, however. We will discuss exactly what it pertains to later."

The young man sent one last look downwards, then shrugged and stood to sit down along with the rest. Rosa and Allyssa sent curious glances Scarlett's way after the brief exchange, but both appeared patient enough not to ask more at the moment. Leon, however, held a confused expression.

"What is he talking about?" he asked.

Scarlett observed the man silently for a good while, then turned her attention back to the book in her hands. "I wonder. I suppose we will have to wait and see."

Chapter 105 - Noble negotiations

Scarlett and the others were still waiting in the drawing room when the butler returned, stopping by the room's entrance.

"Baroness Hartford," he said in a mild tone. "Milord still finds himself preoccupied with the duties of his office; however…it would appear milady has returned from her previous ventures and has expressed an interest in meeting with the guests that saw fit to visit her abode."

Scarlett put down the book she'd been reading and looked up at Leon. "Shall we?" she asked, rising from the couch.

He stood up as well.

Grabbing her [Pouch of Holding], she pushed it into the man's hands and turned to the others. "I think it best if the rest of you remain here for now. We will return when the talks are concluded."

"Sounds good to me," Rosa said. The woman patted the instrument on her lap. "I'm sure we'll survive by ourselves for a bit, at least. What's the worst that can happen?"

The butler cleared his throat. "I hope the Miss has not forgotten my earlier words regarding music, and the prohibition of said act. While it is all well and good for those of the common masses to have something to distract them while they squander away their time in their backstreet taverns and the likes, this is a distinguished and respectable household belonging to esteemed members of the city's nobility. We cannot allow just any minstrel from the street to ply their 'trade' here, so to speak. Of course, I do not mean to imply you are one such minstrel. As an associate of Baroness Hartford, I'm sure that you're a well-experienced lyricist who only employs the most poignant of balladry, but understand that we can only be so careful."

"But of course," Rosa replied in a wholly serious tone. The fact that the woman had been playing away on her klert up till a minute earlier—when Fynn had noted the butler's approach—wasn't apparent in her expression at all. "What sort of butler would you be if you did not work to ensure that none but the most fantabalous of serenades reach your noble masters' ears? A humble bard such as I could only dream of performing in a room as exquisite as this. A drawing room, no less." She shook her head dramatically. "Perhaps, one day. For now, I will have to satisfy with merely having had the exhilarating opportunity of having witnessed this place."

"Yes… Quite." The butler looked back at Scarlett. "Come with me, my Lady. Sir Leon."

Scarlett and Leon followed him out of the room. Neither of them spoke as they moved through the mansion's carpeted hallways, eventually reaching one of the outer wings, where they stopped in front of a door. The butler turned back to them. "Milady is waiting inside the parlor."

He opened the door and gestured for them to enter. Scarlett passed him by.

The parlor was furnished in a similar style to the drawing room, with fine leather couches and animal pelts spread on the floor. Next to one of the walls was a lit fireplace, with two windows on either side overlooking a small garden. A long oak table stood at the center of the room, with an older lady in a dark dress sitting next to it with a steaming cup of tea in her hands. Her greying hair was arranged in a neat bun at the back, and her eyes held a cool bearing as she looked over at Scarlett.

"Good afternoon, Lady Withersworth," Scarlett said. "I am Baroness Scarlett Hartford."

"A pleasure meeting you, Baroness," the woman answered. Her gaze turned towards Leon behind Scarlett. "And I presume you are Sir Leon Delmon?"

He stepped up next to Scarlett and gave a polite nod. "That's right. I've heard a lot about you, my Lady."

"Only good things, I hope." Lady Withersworth gave a gentle smile and gestured towards the couch opposite her. "Please, have a seat. Make yourselves at home."

They walked over to sit down. Scarlett picked up a cup that had been prepared, while Leon left his alone.

Lady Withersworth looked at the butler at the door. "Henley, will you be a dear and close the door?"

"Of course, milady." The man stepped out and pulled the door shut behind him.

The old woman shook her head for a brief moment. "I'll have to speak with him later. That man is such a rapscallion, yet it is also what I like about him. I'm afraid I'm becoming more and more like my husband the older I get." She turned her attention back to Scarlett and Leon. "Now, it's been a while since my husband and I retired from the capital and all of its doings, but that doesn't mean I am entirely ignorant of the latest gossip. To think I would have the young new Vice-Captain of the Solar Knights and his notorious fiancée visit personally."

Scarlett raised a brow. "Notorious?"

The woman smirked. "Dear, one doesn't cause a ruckus at the Elysian Proclamation in front of all the nobles in the empire without ruffling a few feathers. If anything, I find it impressive that 'notorious' is the worst description I have for you."

"…I suppose there is truth in your words." Scarlett didn't really have any reliable way of knowing what others said about her, though she didn't doubt the woman's words. Fortunately, the rumors surrounding her didn't matter that much, as long as they weren't taken too far.

"Baroness Hartford's reputation notwithstanding, I have been Vice-Captain for over two years now, my Lady," Leon said from beside her. "I am unsure whether 'new' is an apt way of describing me at this point."

Scarlett turned to look at him. The man sure knew how to change his tune in front of other nobles, it seemed. Wasn't he the one that said he didn't care about things like that?

"The previous Vice-Captain served for more than ten years, if I'm not mistaken." Lady Withersworth glanced up at him from her tea. "I was acquainted with her personally, in fact. I think that, in honor of her service, the least you can do is accept an inconvenient descriptor or two, don't you think?"

The polite smile on Leon's face grew a bit stiffer. "…Of course. I did not mean to make light of Dame Rosanna's achievements."

"I'm sure you didn't."

Scarlett wasn't sure if Leon noticed the small smile that was hidden behind the woman's teacup.

"So, what was it you two wanted to discuss with my husband?" Lady Withersworth expression turned more serious, and she seemed to study Scarlett closer.

"As I explained to your butler, I am here regarding that which Abelard Withersworth left behind."

"He did tell me that, yes. But I am afraid you will have to be a bit more specific as to what exactly you mean by that. Abelard Withersworth was the head of this house generations ago. Listing everything that he might have left behind would prove a formidable task indeed."

Scarlett raised her cup to take a sip of the tea. It was lavender, and the taste suggested whoever had steeped it was relatively proficient at what they did. Better than she herself had ever managed to get, at least. It was slightly too hot for her taste, though, so she used her pyrokinesis to lower the temperature to a more comfortable level.

"From what I have heard, your husband's family has been enduring adversities caused by Abelard's old estate for some time. It has gone on for long enough that it would almost appear to be a tradition for the head of the Withersworth house to deal with it, albeit an unwanted one. I have also come to be aware that the conditions in the regions near the mansion have worsened considerably lately, and that Lord Withersworth is currently in the process of trying to locate measures with which to mitigate these issues."

Lady Withersworth's countenance darkened slightly at her words, but the woman nodded her head slowly. "It would seem my husband's efforts at stopping news from spreading haven't gone quite as well as he hoped. Yes, what you say is true."

"I am here to provide you with aid on the matter."

"And how, exactly, would you do that?"

"By removing the root of the issue that is within the mansion."

Lady Withersworth gave her a doubting look.

Scarlett gestured towards Leon. "It is not for nothing that I have brought a Solar Knight with me. I can assure you that it is well within my power to handle this task."

The woman gave Leon an estimating look. "Does this mean that the Imperial Solar Knights are endorsing this endeavour?"

The man shook his head. "No. I'm doing this as a favor to the Baroness. I'm not entirely sure what sort of threats we would be facing, but you have my word that I will give my all into taking care of things."

She studied him for a few seconds more, then turned her eyes back to Scarlett. "The reputation ascribed to members of the Solar Knights is not something I can argue against, so who am I to say anything regarding the qualifications of their current Vice-Captain? Unfortunately, however, this is not a problem that can be solved through pure strength alone. Otherwise it would have been dealt with ages ago."

"I am aware," Scarlett said. She settled her teacup on the table and reached for the pouch of holding Leon had placed next to him, bringing out two items. She placed both on the table between them.

[Abelard's Doll Mansion Key (1/2) (Unique)]

{Half of a pair of keys leading to Abelard the Doll Maker's home}

[Abelard's Doll Mansion Key (1/2) (Unique)]

{Half of a pair of keys leading to Abelard the Doll Maker's Home}

Lady Withersworth stared at the two keys.

After some time, she leaned forward, picking up one and inspecting it close. Eventually, she returned it to the table.

"Henley," she called out.

The door to the room opened and the butler stepped inside. "Yes, milady?"

"Fetch my husband right this moment."

The man's brows furrowed, his mustache wobbling as he seemed to process her words. "But, milady, milord is still in the middle of his work. I'm sure that whatever business Baroness Hartford is here for can wait until a more opportune time."

"I'm sure it can," the woman said. "But this is something I am asking you to do. This is not something that can be verified by my eyes, so that husband of mine will have to get his head out of that stuffy study of his and do it himself. Now, go." She waved her hand at him.

The butler sent an uncertain look Scarlett's way before turning around and exiting the room.

Lady Withersworth turned back to them. "If you do not mind me asking, Baroness, where exactly did you find these?"

"That is not something I am at liberty to share," Scarlett said. "What matters is that I am currently in possession of them, and that I intend to use them in contribution to your household, no?"

The woman gave her a long look, then showed another small smile. "Right you are. I will just have to be satisfied with that much, won't I? Judging from that perplexed look of his, there doesn't appear to be any point in inquiring with your companion for further information."

Scarlett glanced at Leon, who was staring at the keys as if he was trying to decipher exactly what they were. "I only had need of him for his strength, so it was unnecessary to share any other details with him," she said.

The man blinked, turning to look at her.

"Hmm…" Lady Withersworth picked up her teacup again, tapping a finger against its side as she observed the two of them. "Yes, I know what you mean. Sometimes it's best to leave the men ignorant, isn't it? Leaves less of a mess to clean up and makes things easier for everyone involved."

Leon's frown was met by another smile from the woman.

They waited in the parlor for a while longer until the door opened once again and an older man in a black suit entered, with thinning silvery hair and a thin mustache on his upper lip. He only looked over at Scarlett and Leon for a moment before turning to Lady Withersworth. "What was this about something urgent, woman? I was in the middle of something important, dagnabbit!"

The woman clicked her tongue. "You're always 'in the middle of something important', you daft old man. Do you think I would have called you if this wasn't more important? Can't you see what this is?" She motioned at the table, then gave him a disapproving look. "Where are your glasses? You didn't leave them behind, did you? Is that memory of yours already starting to go?"

Lord Withersworth's focus shifted to the keys lying on the table. He paused, his eyes narrowing as he took a step closer. "If I needed my glasses, you should have said so…" he muttered as he stopped and picked up the closest of the keys. Holding it in front of his face, he squinted as he scrutinized the object. "Ittar's light…"

"You will have to excuse my fool of a husband." Lady Withersworth looked at Scarlett and Leon. "Ever since he retired from his previous office, he's grown more and more lax in his hospitality. A fact I'm saddened to say he appears to relish in."

"Why don't you wait until I'm in the grave before you start smearing my name in front of me," her husband grumbled. Eventually, he placed the key back on the table, turning his attention to Scarlett and Leon with furrowed brows. "Baroness Hartford and Sir Leon, was it? You brought these items?"

Scarlett nodded. "That is correct."

"Where did you find them?"

"I have already discussed this with her, dear," Lady Withersworth said.

"Does that mean I can't discuss it with her again? The girl still has a mouth, doesn't she?"

"The 'girl' is perfectly able to speak on her own behalf, yes." Scarlett met the older man's eyes. "If you wish for me to repeat myself, I can inform you that the location from which I procured these items is not something I can share. That fact will not change, no matter what opinion you might have on the matter."

"See?" Lady Withersworth said. "Now calm down and listen to what she has to say. She claims to be here to deal with that wretched curse of a mansion your ancestor left us."

"Deal with it?" Lord Withersworth looked between his wife and Scarlett. "You mean she's here to help us?"

"I am, yes," Scarlett said. "To be more precise, I am here to discuss the terms of my help."

The man eyed her for a moment, his expression quickly turning more calculative. "What is it you ask?"

She leaned forward to pick the two keys up and returned them to the pouch of holding. "First and foremost, I ask that you renounce all claims to any items or artifacts found within the mansion and relinquish the rights to me."

He raised a hand up the end of his mustache, twining it as he seemed to think it over. "That's not a problem. I have no idea what would be in there to begin with, in truth. I just want to be rid of the place."

"I am glad to hear that there will be no contention there, then," Scarlett said. "The second term is related to monetary recompense. In dealing with this matter, I am placing that of my own safety and of my people at risk, and as such, it would only be expected that proper compensation is paid. I am sure that you agree?"

The older man narrowed his eyes at her. "If I had the keys, I could pay to have it dealt with myself."

"I have no doubt that you could; however, I have no intention of parting ways with them, considering the effort that went into procuring the items."

"Hmph." The man rubbed at his mustache. "Putting it straight and getting to the point, I see. Fitting for a Hartford."

"You are familiar with my family?"

"I am familiar with all the houses of the empire," he answered with a huff. "I served His Majesty and the Imperial Court as Lord Marshal for over two decades."

Scarlett arched an eyebrow. While she had been reading up a lot on the nobility and hierarchal structure of the empire, she wasn't too familiar with all the different offices of state yet. She knew that the Lord Marshal was a chivalric title, as well as an office that oversaw the tasks and duties related to the Heraldic Council. The Heraldic Council itself was a bit more of a mystery to her. Other than that they held jurisdiction over heraldic matter—which was obvious enough—and the granting of Coats of Arms, she wasn't too sure about what they actually did.

"I see…" She just nodded along slowly, not wanting to sound disinterested in what clearly was something he held great pride in. "Returning to the matter at hand, however, what say you of the proposal?"

"Are the Hartfords in such dire straits that they need to deal with the lesser plights of others to make do?" Lord Withersworth asked.

"Not as of now, no. But I would be remiss if I did not take advantage of the opportunities presented before me. And I think we are both aware that this is no longer a mere 'lesser plight' to your territory, is that not so?"

"Hmph." He crossed his arms. "How much are you asking for?"

"What value would you personally accredit to the task?"

The man went quiet for a moment, looking to his wife. The woman in question appeared to have decided to leave the discussion to her husband, however, as she drank her tea with a refined expression. He turned back to Scarlett. "We can do forty—"

"Ahem." Porcelain clinked against wood as Lady Withersworth put her cup down on the table. She looked up at Scarlett with a smile. "We wouldn't want to cause offense by extending an offer that doesn't accurately represent our vested interest in the matter. Would it be okay if we gave you a reply after we have looked over the specifics and determined the effects it would have on our fief?"

Scarlett met the woman's eyes for a moment, then gave a short nod. "That is acceptable, yes. However, I will be proceeding with the task forthwith, so your decision will have to be reached after I am finished."

Getting paid for this wasn't her priority, so it didn't really matter to her whether they decided now or later. As a noble house with an image to maintain, she doubted they would outright try to scam her just because she gave them a chance to decide on the pay retroactively.

Besides, to her, it sounded like Lady Withersworth had just stopped her husband from proposing an offer the woman thought was too small. Scarlett was all for giving them more time if it also meant she might get more out of it without trying.

"You will be doing it immediately?" Lord Withersworth creased his forehead.

"Correct." Scarlett turned her gaze to him. "In fact, that brings us on to the third condition. I will be requiring access to your basement."

Chapter 106 - That which lies buried

Leon glanced at Scarlett's back as she and her retainers walked down the cold stone hallways of the Withersworth mansion's underground cellars. The woman walked forward as if the master of this place, despite its real master being right beside Leon.

"You appear well-informed of the layout of my home, Baroness," Lord Withersworth said as their group passed by a set of doors with signs next to them. They looked like storage rooms, some of them marked for furniture and the sort.

"I would say it is not as much me being well-informed as me ensuring I have the correct people by my side," Scarlett replied. She gestured towards the white-haired person walking next to her. Fynn—a young man that Leon could only describe as 'odd'—had his gaze fixed forward. "He is accustomed to detecting that which does not belong."

The Lord didn't seem to object, though he did send a look towards Fynn, letting out a short harrumph as the young man turned a corner and began moving down another corridor.

The Withersworth's cellar network was surprisingly extensive for something that was built in a large, populated city. Just from how far they had already walked, Leon judged that it spanned at least the entire estate, maybe even a bit beyond. It was old as well.

He wasn't sure what all the space was for, to begin with. His own family's home back in Steepmond had a much smaller cellar area. One only needed so much storage.

As they continued forward, soon turning around yet another corner, Leon turned his eyes towards the man next to him. "Lord Withersworth. Could you tell me what exactly it is that we can expect here? I'd prefer as many details as possible regarding potential threats and the related circumstances, to be suitably prepared."

The older man looked between him and Scarlett walking at the front. "Has Baroness Hartford not already told you what you need to know? She seems perhaps even more familiar with the specific circumstances than even I, though I would very much like to know how."

Leon shook his head. "Unfortunately, she hasn't seen fit to share much with me yet."

He wasn't sure if it was out of some petty sense of revenge or if she just enjoyed keeping him in the dark. Whatever the reason, he'd accept it for now. At least if it helped convince the woman to put the whole betrothal mess to a rest. If she took things too far though and tried to use him in other ways…

He wouldn't stay still.

Not that he had seen signs of that yet. From the looks of it, Scarlett legitimately needed his help with whatever it was that troubled the Withersworths. He'd been curious about her underlying motives at first, but the previous meeting with Lord and Lady Withersworth had made things clear enough. She needed money. And she was willing to use a favor from him to get it.

Maybe she was also trying to create a connection with the Withersworths at the same time?

While the couple had retired from most high society matters, it wouldn't surprise Leon if they still held some influence in certain parts. Lord Withersworth was the previous Lord Marshal, so it was possible Scarlett somehow wanted to use that to advance the position of her house. It'd take a lot more than that to achieve anything major, but it made sense considering her actions at the Elysian Proclamation.

Scarlett wasn't satisfied with being a 'mere' baroness.

He had no idea exactly what was going through her head, but she was, without a doubt, up to something. That he was certain of. Her movements these last few months had been too strange. It bothered him that he couldn't tell how much of it was part of some calculations of hers and how much was just because of pure arrogance.

"I don't envy you," Lord Withersworth spoke in a lower voice, peering ahead at Scarlett. "That one is difficult to handle."

"You are not wrong," Leon replied, looking back at him. "I will say, Lady Withersworth seemed like a headstrong woman as well, though."

The man let out a huff. "I'm half-convinced that woman's goal is simply to drive me to a premature death. That way, she can berate me even further for not fulfilling my duties. She is a beast unto herself, that wife of mine. Although I suppose that is why I married her to begin with." His gaze turned cloudy for a moment, then he shook his head. "But that is not what you originally asked. You were wondering about the mansion, were you not?"

"By mansion, I'm assuming you're not talking about our current location? If that's what our final destination is, then yes, I'd like to learn more about it. But first, I would like to know where we're going right now."

Lord Withersworth held up a hand, stroking the thin mustache above his lip. "I suppose there is no point in keeping mum if you are the one supposed to handle the matter in question. They are connected, in a way; the mansion and this place." He gestured around them. "However, I'm uncertain why the Baroness would ever want to visit this place in particular. My family has had dozens of priests and mages examine it over the generations. None have succeeded in removing whatever foul magic that haunts it. They all agree that the cause is somewhere else, presumably inside the aforementioned mansion, and without dealing with the source, there is nothing we can do."

"What kind of place is it, exactly?"

"It used to be a storage room, like all the others you see down here. Just so that you are aware, you do not want to enter the ones that are lacking signs. They are like that place, though not quite as forgiving."

The man gestured to an old wooden door that they passed by, missing a sign describing its contents.

"Roughly one hundred and fifty so years ago, the head of the house was a man known as Abelard Withersworth. Supposedly, he was a genius like no other when it came to the study of magical artisanship. It was never clear exactly what happened, but at some point, he went mad. Accounts say he started eating less, arguing with those close to him, and placing less of his attention on house matters and more on his magical artisanship. It became an obsession, one that he eventually took a step too far. In his insanity, he delved into topics that should never be touched by the hands of man. The results of his misdeeds still remain here and in the old mansion that used to be his home, located in the northern part of my fief, and it has haunted us ever since."

Leon narrowed his eyes. "What did he 'delve' into?"

"I cannot know for certain," Lord Withersworth said. "Much of the details surrounding the circumstances back then have, perhaps unsurprisingly, been lost to time. I do not even know if the things that inhabit this place are a result of it, but one of the few things we know that he did was to combine the teachings of necromancy with his own craft. In pursuit of what, exactly, is unclear."

A scowl grew on Leon's face.

Necromancy. A banned school of magic, separate from the other schools commonly practiced in the empire.

He had suspected necromancy would be involved, considering Scarlett had mentioned specters and revenants before. But naturally occurring ghosts and undead had also been a possibility.

"I find it difficult to believe something like this could have gone unnoticed by officials or the Followers of Ittar for so long," he said.

Lord Withersworth's expression turned darker. "To say it has gone unnoticed would be a lie. The Imperial Family were well aware of this when it originally happened, and I can only assume the same was true for the Followers. After Abelard's death, his name was removed from both the Followers' registers, the Imperial Register, and the Heraldic House Register. This could only have been allowed through the grace of the Imperial Family, as they forgave our house for his actions after we helped ensure he paid for his crimes."

The man ran a hand through his thinning, silvery hair as he let out a low sigh.

"Yet after this, any ambitions we might ever have held to grow past being a simple barony were crushed there and then. It is only through diligence and hard work that we have reached the state we are in today, where I could atone for some of the shame brought upon our house by my ancestor's foolish actions by dutifully serving His Majesty in one of the Empire's offices of state."

Leon considered the man's words. "If the consequences of Abelard's actions still remain today, what kind of effects do they have?"

"Hmm." The man turned to look at him for a moment. "Are you aware of what House Withersworth's prime export is, Sir Leon?"

"It's Wilerion Wine, is it not? I recall my father often bringing it out for our family dinners."

"Right enough, my boy." Lord Withersworth nodded his head. "And do you know what the principal ingredient in Wilerion Wine is?"

"I don't."

"It is Wilerion Grapes," the man said. "Named, of course, after Wilerion Valley, situated east of Ruofield Ridge and south of the Dominating Mountains. They are quite sweet, as far as grapes go, and serve as a great and varied product for our territory. Grapes usually do not grow in the soil this far north, so the land of the Wilerion Valley is really quite special. Unfortunately, however, it is also situated next to the forest where Abelard's old home was made. This means we have to deal with the errant…outcast now and then."

"Outcast?"

"Yes. The entire forest directly surrounding the mansion is overflowing with some sort of nefarious aura. It is always night, and the area is packed with undead and other cursed inhabitants that boggle the common mind. What nefarious deeds Abelard must have performed to create such a place, I cannot even imagine. Our only saving grace is that they largely remain near the mansion, so you are safe as long as you do not approach too near. However, on occasion, some of these inhabitants, outcasts, if you will, escape into the nearby lands and wreak havoc. Attempts have been made to deal with the problem directly, but entering the mansion has proved impossible without the keys that Abelard himself was recorded to have created."

"It seems like you've done a decent enough job up till now," Leon said. "As I understand it, the Withersworth house is one of the most prosperous baronies in the empire."

"That is true." There was a hint of pride in Lord Withersworth's voice at the reply, though it quickly disappeared as his eyes moved over another unmarked door that they passed by. "We try to locate any outcasts before they cause too much damage, and always endeavour to ensure suitable reparations are made to those affected by any such incidents. As you might have heard, however, things have taken a turn for the worse during this last year."

"How so?"

"More and more of that accursed mansion's inhabitants are leaving the forest, entering our plantations and villages in Wilerion Valley. The majority appear to be ghosts of some kind, attacking people on sight and causing misgrowth in the areas where they linger. There have also been reports of sudden bouts of insanity among villagers; people attacking their friends and family without warning and acting out in delirious ways. Yet they remember none of it when—and if—they return to normal. The rates of these occurrences have increased at a frightening pace, especially these last few months. I fear what it might mean for the future of my territory."

"Do you know what type of ghosts these are?"

Lord Withersworth shook his head. "I am afraid I do not. I have been in many talks with people more knowledgeable about the issue, but my expertise lies in other subjects. What I do know is that our previous measures have proved insufficient. It is difficult to properly deal with threats when they can appear from almost anywhere, and when they move in silent and erratic ways. The only permanent solution that has been proposed is, as I said before, dealing with whatever the source of everything is inside the mansion."

Leon furrowed his brows. The ghosts mentioned could be of many different types. Most ghosts visible to the normal person were hostile to people, and auras of decay that could affect the local plant life weren't unusual. The bouts of insanity suggested the involvement of specters, at least, which fit with what Scarlett had told him.

If he had a choice, he would have postponed any further action until they could speak with someone more informed about the specifics of this threat. Hopefully, they would get an opportunity to do that after they dealt with whatever was in this cellar and left for the mansion in Lord Withersworth's territory that he spoke of.

"The unmarked rooms here." Leon looked at another old door that was close by. "They're also home to these ghosts, then?"

If the Withersworths truly had large groups of undead or ghosts hiding in their cellars it could be a threat to the entire city. The fact that something like that was allowed by those aware sounded strange. Even if they couldn't figure out how to permanently deal with the issue, he would have expected barriers of some kind to be erected at the very least. But he couldn't detect anything of the sort from these doors. There had been one at the entrance to the underground area, but would that be enough if something happened?

Lord Withersworth cleared his throat. "Not exactly, no. I'm not sure exactly what they are, but the things that are left here are more…docile, so to speak." He seemed to hesitate for a moment. "They are…dolls."

Leon blinked. "Dolls?"

"Yes. Dolls."

"…You'll have to elaborate."

"I was coming to that, but I suppose it would be simpler to show you," the man said as he looked forward at Scarlett, who had stopped in front of one door in particular. He walked up to stand next to her. "So you have found your destination then, Baroness?"

Scarlett gave a curt nod. "It would appear so."

"I should warn you," Lord Withersworth said. "What you might see on the other side of this door is not for the faint of heart. You also must not touch anything in there, so you can bring nothing outside. Do you still wish to enter?"

The woman eyed the man closely for several seconds. "Your warning is appreciated, but know that none of that will deter me."

The older man met her gaze with a quiet stare. "Hmph. If you say so."

Scarlett turned back to the door. "Fynn, if you would?"

The young man stepped up and placed a hand against the door. Then he pushed it open.

A surprised gasp left Allyssa—the blonde girl with protective goggles on her head—as their group walked inside.

What light that was present came from a magical lamp held aloft by Shin—the other Shielder hired by Scarlett—and illuminated rows of dusty old crates that were haphazardly spread out around the large room. Dark tarps covered other articles of furniture, mostly situated towards the back, with the legs of stools and tables visible in some places.

Nestled in between all of these items were the dolls Lord Withersworth had mentioned. There were dozens upon dozens of them, ranging in size from shin height to some that might even reach Leon's waist. Their appearances differed wildly, some seeming to mimic a person with detailed dresses and hairstyles, as well as disturbingly accurate faces. Others were unsettling in how unlike people they were, with stiff, emotionless marble faces that held strange smiles or lacked features like the eyes or nose.

Most of the dolls were lying on the floor or leaning against the side of the various crates, their impassive faces turned towards the center of the room.

Leon's hand went to the hilt of his sword attached to his belt. Normally, he would not pause even at a sight like this. Dolls were inanimate. Even if they could look strange, with their human-like appearances, they were nothing more but simple toys. At first glance, these dolls looked to be much like that, spread around the room like odd decorations. Yet his instincts told him that there was indeed something more to these dolls. That their dull eyes weren't entirely empty. Coupled with Lord Withersworth's warning, it was clear appearances were deceiving.

Another gasp left Allyssa, and the girl pointed to a section hidden between two crates in a nearby corner. The magical lamp turned to light the spot up.

A skeletal foot was sticking out from behind the crates.

"Is that a body?"

Leon's eyes narrowed. He searched across the rest of the room. Now that he was paying closer attention, he saw even more signs of what might be skeletons, hidden among the disorder and darkness of the dreary cellar room.

He turned to Lord Withersworth. "What's the meaning of this?"

The man shot a look at the remains Allyssa had pointed out. "These are what is left of the people who visited here before and made the mistake of touching any of the items here. A similar fate would befall you if you did the same."

Leon pulled his sword out of its sheath, inspecting the nearby dolls as he stepped closer to the body.

"Sir Leon." Scarlett's voice rang out from behind him.

He stopped, turning to look at her.

"Surely you do not intend on touching that body, after the Lord's words just now?" she asked. "I will remind you that, while you may be strong enough to fend off any threat to your person, you are not the only one here."

He frowned. "I wasn't going to touch it. Just examine if I could tell the cause."

"Is that much not already evident?" Scarlett sent him a questioning look, then gestured to the dolls around the room. "I would hope you are not blind to the truth in front of you merely because it does not appear possible at first glance."

He eyed her for a moment. He could tell the dolls were probably responsible as much as she could; however, he wanted to know how they did it. But it was true that the people with him right now weren't his fellow knights. He would need to pay more attention to their safety until he had a good grasp of their abilities.

He kept his sword unsheathed, lowering it to his side as he stepped back over to the others.

Scarlett turned around and began moving down a thin aisle that was open between the dolls and all of the crates, cutting deeper into the room. The rest of them followed, with Leon near the back and Lord Withersworth after him. Behind Scarlett, her retainers were careful not to accidentally touch anything as they moved, though the lady with the curly hair and klert in her hand often stopped to examine some of the dolls.

"You know," the woman said from in front of Leon as she bent over to inspect a doll that was leaning against the leg of a half-covered chair. "I've always wondered what sort of person would get excited about dolls, of all things. I imagined it'd be some old noble in a mansion somewhere, with just the right level of cuckoo-ness and wealth to buy an army of the things whenever he wished. It doesn't seem like I was too far off with that guess, but I never knew they would be so creepy. Just look at this little cutie." She rested her klert over her knees as she stared into the doll's eyes. It had a white marble face with a small child's dress on. "You can tell that it's just itching to jump at me and slit my youthful, dainty little throat to shreds."

Leon reached out to grab the woman's hand as it moved to touch the doll.

She looked up at him, her amethyst eyes holding a slight smile. "Easy there, tall-lanky-and-handsome. I know better than to touch. I was just going to give it a bit of amusement."

He released her hand with a scowl. What was that supposed to mean? What was this woman thinking? "How can you be certain whatever you were intending to do won't have the same effect?"

She stood up, wiping away some dust from her legs. "I can just tell. Besides, the ol' Baroness over there would have said if we had to be extra careful."

Leon's eyes went over to Scarlett. How did that make any sense? What had Scarlett done to earn that kind of trust? "Surely you don't agree with this, Scarlett?"

"I trust the judgement of Miss Hale, if that is what you are asking." The woman turned back to look at them for a moment, then shifted her attention to Rosa. "That being said, perhaps it is best if you do not try to purposefully antagonize everything that you see, Miss Hale."

"It's not antagonizing," the woman replied. "I just felt bad for it, that's all. Felt that, considering my gruesome death was out of the picture, the least I could do was let it have some fun. Maybe imagine what it'd be like if it could murderize me, you know? But you're the boss. From now on, I'll aim to be nothing but heartlessness and coldness personified, by your command!"

Scarlett seemed to dismiss the woman's words with little thought and turned around to continue forward again.

"I can't believe we're talking about dolls as if they're cold-blooded murderers," Allyssa said. The girl shook her head as she looked at the doll in question for a moment before she started following Scarlett again.

"…But…" she spoke again soon after, looking back over her shoulder at Rosa. "If they're actually…you know…alive…, and the ones that killed all these people, then they're monsters, aren't they? Why would you feel bad for it?"

The woman shrugged. "Even monsters can be sad. And I don't think being one means you don't deserve pity. Isn't their very nature a tragedy?"

"But they kill people. Isn't that just disrespectful to their victims?" Allyssa shivered. "And just look at how creepy they are. I don't understand how you can be so calm about it."

"I guess I've seen worse."

That made Allyssa pause, and the conversation died down.

Leon studied Rosa for a while as they proceeded forward. Perhaps he had misjudged her. The way she talked didn't sound like someone ignorant of the dangers around her. Just someone that wasn't afraid of them. Or good at hiding that fear.

And her words about monsters…

There was a truth to it that he couldn't deny.

In his time as a knight, he had faced many different kinds of threats. Both towards the empire and its citizens. Most were beasts and savage monsters. Openly hostile towards anything human, moving out of instinct and lacking intelligence to assess or truly understand their actions. Then there were those dangers that were intelligent but outright evil, like the few demonic presences he had encountered in his career. True monsters that only wished to inflict suffering on all that they could.

However, there were other categories. Some were monsters only by slim definition, more so forced by nature or circumstances to stand in opposition to humanity or the empire, but not necessarily as instinctual or primitive as animals were. Beings that, in any other situation, might have been considered harmless or even able to coexist with people. Beings with an intelligence or demeanor not necessarily at odds with what humans were.

The Ancient Dragon that ravaged the land southwest of Autumnwell seven years ago was probably considered a monster by most. As were many of the other dragons that made their homes across the world. Yet, it most likely wasn't as clear-cut as that.

Leon had helped drive away and severely injure an adolescent dragon the year before, after it had injured many of the merchants and travelers on the roads near Chillburg. It had been called a monster by many of the residents, and their joy at seeing members of the Shields Guild work together with the Imperial Solar Knights had been a sight to behold.

Yet dragons didn't act without reason.

The issue was only ever investigated more thoroughly after the dragon had been driven away. Its territory had been encroached upon by a suit of mercenary poachers, who had erroneously thought they could find the legendary dragon eggs in its nest. The people responsible had been charged with the damage and deaths brought about by their actions, but by then, it was too late. Both the dead people and the dragon could be said to be victims of that situation.

But that didn't mean Leon would have acted any differently, even had he known all the details from the start. The reality of the world was that some things would always be in opposition, and the only response one could have was to prioritize between them.

Eventually, their group—with Scarlett at the front—reached an open space that was surrounded by crates and dolls spread out in a half-circle. At the far end stood a large rectangular shape, taller and wider than Leon, and hidden beneath a dusty black canvas.

Scarlett gestured at it, and Fynn walked up to remove the sheet. Next to Leon, he heard how Lord Withersworth was about to let out a shout in protest as a cloud of dust flew away from the object.

Leon's eyes scanned their surroundings, keeping watch on the dolls and the other dark spaces in the room. There wasn't any movement.

"W-What…?" Lord Withersworth's voice trailed off.

A wooden door frame now stood in front of Scarlett, isolated from any wall. It had two keyholes above and beneath a spot where it looked like a door handle might have once been.

A large frown had appeared on Lord Withersworth's face. "…From what I have read, this action of yours just now should have brought about all of our deaths, Baroness."

"And yet it has not." Scarlett looked back at him. "Ah, but do not mistake this for your knowledge being faulty. This is simply an exception to the rule. It would still be unwise to touch anything else down here." She held out a hand towards the man. "You brought the item I spoke of, did you not?"

He sent a confused look between the door and the surrounding dolls. Finally, he shook his head and pulled out something from inside his clothes. It was a round door knob, made of polished clear bronze. "Ahem, yes, of course. I had always wondered what this was for, but I did not know its purpose was for something within my own home."

He stepped forward and handed it over to Scarlett. She took it and put it in the door. Then she pulled out the two keys she had shown during their meeting earlier.

Lord Withersworth stared at the keys as if he had just had a realization. "W-Wait just a moment! The keys as well? Dagnabbit all! Are you saying the keys are not for that accursed mansion, but for this door?! This is not at all what the records said!"

Scarlett placed both keys into their respective keyholes before turning them at the same time. A soft click sounded out from the door. "I do not see why they cannot be for both. It is common to have more than one way of exiting and entering one's home, no?"

It opened with a creak, revealing a curtain of pure blackness.

Leon narrowed his eyes.

So it was a portal of some kind.

He stared at Scarlett. Not even Lord Withersworth seemed aware of its existence, so how did she know?

"This is where we will be parting ways, Lord Withersworth," she said, looking back at the older man. "Unless you wish to accompany us inside Abelard's mansion?"

The man's eyes widened at that. He looked between Scarlett and the dark curtain within the door. Understanding seemed to dawn on him. "I see. So that is how it is."

He let out a low chuckle and shook his head. "No, I do not think I will be joining you, Baroness. I am far too old and inexperienced with these matters to be of much aid, and it appears you are more well-informed than me besides. I am afraid I would only hold you young folks back."

"Very well." Scarlett seemed to have expected as much. "Then I suggest you begin making your way back now, before you are left here on your lonesome."

She turned to the others. "As for the rest of you, I hope you are prepared for what comes next."

Chapter 107 - A dance at the mansion

Leon found himself in what looked to be a large ballroom, with old yet burnished decorations running along the walls and silver chandeliers dangling from the ceiling. Chairs and long tables lined the edges of the room with an old piano in the corner, its fallboard and lid propped up as if waiting to be used.

There was almost no dust to be seen, and the space had an air of expectation to it that belied the apparent dereliction. Leon didn't know why he felt like it, but it was as if the emptiness was only temporary, and any second now a suite of guests would stream in through the wide entrance at the end as a quartet started playing.

It was also strange how there were no visible lights here, the chandeliers empty of any candles, yet it was still bright enough for him to make out so many details. He had encountered similar phenomena in places with a lot of dormant magic in them before, but it wasn't common.

Behind him, Scarlett appeared as she stepped through the same black curtain that he had. On this end, the portal leading here was also camouflaged as a simple wooden door, standing on its own at the center of the room. A strange sight if one didn't know what it was.

Scarlett's retainers soon arrived as well, and the woman seemed to look them over for a moment before proceeding to move past Leon.

His eyes followed her as she pulled out a strange knife from the pouch at her waist and raised her other hand.

"What are you doin—" he began.

A large sphere of fire suddenly formed above one of the chandeliers further down the room, enveloping the crown completely.

A shrieking wail sounded out.

Leon raised his sword as a transparent shape in a flowing blue dress flitted down from the chandelier to escape the flames.

A face twisted in rage turned towards Scarlett.

Several smaller spheres appeared, swarming around the ghost's figure and reflecting the flames' light in a strange way.

Leon frowned. Was the outer layer of those spheres water? What spell was that?

The spheres exploded in bursts of steam that tore through the ghost's dress, each attack removing parts of its body and causing more shrieking to fill the room. The ghost started flying straight towards Scarlett when, suddenly, a wall of fire bore into existence in front of it. One last wail sounded out as it ran through the flames, its form quickly reduced to nothingness.

The fire died out soon after, and Scarlett lowered her hand.

Leon relaxed the grip around his sword's hilt and turned his attention to her. "What was that?"

She looked back at him. "I believe that was a Malignant Apparition," she answered matter-of-factly. "I have read that they are quite common in places such as this. One would have thought you would notice it before I did."

"I meant whatever spells those were. Since when could you do that?"

As far as he knew—despite coming from a famed family of magic casters—Scarlett could barely be called a mage. The display he just saw shouldn't have been possible for someone at her level.

His eyes shifted to the knife in her hand. It had a bronze cavalier hilt and a short iron blade that had rusted over on most parts. Was that some sort of artifact?

Now that he thought about it, Scarlett seemed to be wearing several items that looked like they could be enchanted in some way. The most obvious were the two rings on her fingers and the necklace around her neck. The necklace, at least, was an odd choice of attire for a place like this if it wasn't magical in some way.

"It has been some time since I learned those 'spells', as you describe them." Scarlett seemed to have noticed his gaze on the dagger in her hand, though she didn't make any further note of it as she returned it to the pouch hanging from her waist. "But if you must know, they were applications of pyrokinesis and hydrokinesis. Not spells in and of themselves. They have their limits, but prove quite effective against opponents of this sort."

She turned away from him and walked deeper into the ballroom, looking around for Ittar-knows-what. "That should be all for this chamber," she announced after a moment. "If you would all gather here. Soon, we will proceed onto the other sections of this mansion."

The other members of Scarlett's little group walked past Leon. The curly-haired woman, Rosa, gave him a small smile as she went by. "You're not going to get far here if you get stumped by even the smaller things. Here's a tip: when you don't know what's going on, just smile and nod."

He watched her as she walked up with the others and gathered around Scarlett, like this was something they were used to.

…Was that in reference to what Scarlett just did? If so, should he expect more?

The last couple of days with Scarlett had been filled with more questions that he lacked answers for than he cared to admit, but what he had just seen was perhaps the farthest from the truth he thought he had known. Forget about Scarlett being a mage or not; she wasn't a fighter. That much he had been certain of. Yet the ease with which she moved here showed at least some familiarity in the area.

The woman in question turned to look at him. They were waiting for him.

Leon walked up to their group, stopping behind Allyssa and Rosa, keeping a close eye on Scarlett over their shoulders.

She didn't look out of place at all. Just like in Lord Withersworth's cellar, her air was that of someone in complete control of the situation, despite being in a place that could be filled with even more ghosts, undead, and Ittar knows what else. The ballroom aside, it was an environment far removed from anything Leon had ever associated with Scarlett.

How much of her composure was an act?

"As you may all be aware," the woman said, looking over the group as a whole, "we are currently in a separate location from the Withersworth's home in Autumnwell. This is an old mansion on the northern ends of the Withersworth Barony. Once, it belonged to an artificer and wizard named Abelard, but that was long ago. As you might have surmised from the cellar we were in before, and the apparition I just dealt with, Abelard was a man that dabbled in some rather esoteric and dangerous subjects."

Rosa raised a hand. "This Abelard fellow wouldn't have happened to be a dragon of any kind, would he?"

Scarlett gave her a long look. "No, he was not."

Allyssa leaned close to the woman. "What did I tell you?" she whispered.

Scarlett continued. "Our primary aim while here will be to remove the root of the curse that is haunting this place and its immediate area, as agreed upon with Lord Withersworth. Beyond that, however, the usual priorities for these excursions apply. Lord Withersworth has agreed to relinquish any artifacts or other valuables to me, so if you find anything that you believe to be valuable and safe to bring with, you may do so."

All of the others' heads nodded along with her words. Leon wasn't sure what these 'usual priorities' were, but it seemed they were, at least. How many times had Scarlett done this before?

"This estate houses many secrets, as well as dangers, so take caution as you proceed. To achieve our first objective, we will divide into two groups. Fynn and Mister Thornthon will move with me while Miss Hale and Miss Astrey will be joining Sir Leon."

"We're splitting up?" Allyssa asked. "We've almost never done that before, except when, you know…" The girl looked over at Fynn for some reason.

"It has never been necessary before," Scarlett answered. "Under the current circumstances, however, it is the best course of action to take if we are to proceed with things in an orderly and productive manner. From what I have gathered, amongst the many inhabitants of this place, there are two that could be considered the mansion's 'custodians', for lack of a better description. Locating and dealing with them is a prerequisite before we begin addressing any of the other objectives. They also have to be dealt with in a relatively close time-frame of each other, which is why we are taking this approach."

Leon crossed his arms as he considered her words.

How would she know something like that? From what Lord Withersworth had told him, this mansion was supposed to have been closed to all outsiders for over a century. Yet Scarlett was speaking like she already knew everything there was to know about this place. Whatever source of information she had found was unlikely to be that accurate. If priests and mages had already tried investigating the matter before, with little success, it probably meant that any sort of divination magic didn't work.

"How do we find these 'custodians'?" Shin asked. The young man with a scar across his eye looked ready to start moving with his sword and shield in hand.

"One of them should be present somewhere in the east wing, which is where we currently are," Scarlett said. "The other will be wandering around in the west wing, which is where my group will go. As for how we will be locating them, that will be left up to all of you. Their appearance should be conspicuous enough, so I do not think it will be difficult identifying them. Fynn and Sir Leon will hopefully be able to aid in tracking them, as well."

The group's eyes turned to the two of them.

Leon raised his eyebrows, looking at Scarlett. "You're expecting me to find this 'custodian'?"

"That was my hope, yes. Though I will admit they have diminished somewhat, seeing as you did not immediately detect the Malignant Apparition in this room," Scarlett said. "But you are a Solar Knight, no? Sensing the presences of the dead and beings of that nature should be something you are accustomed to."

He drew his mouth together. "It's not our expertise, if that's what you're thinking."

"It may not be, but you are still capable of it to a certain degree. Is that not so?" Scarlett gestured to the others. "That is more than can be said for the rest of us, barring Fynn. But even were you unable to detect it by yourself, I do not believe it will hamper your chances significantly. It simply means the three of you will have to be more observant."

"Did you just choose these groups out of who you thought had the best chance of finding these custodian fellows then?" Rosa asked.

Scarlett shook her head. "It was also based on what I deemed to be the safest compositions available. Sir Leon is more than capable of acting as a front for the two of you by himself, and I can provide sufficient support to Mister Thornthon and Fynn. It should allow both groups to move about relatively unchallenged in this part of the mansion. We have also brought a suitable amount of mana and healing potions, should they be needed. Is there a reason you are asking?"

"No, I was just curious." Rosa fiddled with the neck of her instrument. "Sounds good, though. I'm sure you and your noggin have spent a good amount of time thinking all this through, so there aren't any complaints from me."

"I still feel a bit unsure about this, actually." Allyssa looked between Scarlett, Shin, and Rosa. "Isn't it still dangerous? Splitting up like that, I mean. We'll have Sir Leon with us, but you guys…"

"There is nothing that poses an unsurmountable threat to us in this part of the mansion," Scarlett said. "You have the Philters of Dawnlight that I asked you to brew, do you not?"

"Ehm, yeah." Allyssa walked over to Fynn, who had a green satchel hanging over his shoulders. There, she pulled the satchel over to his front to reveal the strange face that was sewn onto it and put a hand inside. Leon had assumed it was a bag of holding of some kind, and the fact that the girl managed to pull out a number of large bottles with a pale yellow liquid in them proved as much.

"Here they are. I also have the Brews of Fireworks." Allyssa pointed to another line of vials hanging off the bandolier on her chest.

"Good." Scarlett gave a short nod. "There are several variants of specters in this place, so all of you should imbibe these before we leave. Otherwise, you may risk falling under their possession."

Allyssa handed the bottles out to everyone. Leon took his and downed it quickly, grimacing at the taste. If the girl truly was an accomplished enough alchemist to brew these, then it was impressive enough considering her age, but it was clear she hadn't quite learned how to stop her concoctions from tasting like dirt yet. That was common among alchemists still focusing on the efficacy of their potions. He was used to it tasting better when working with the order. Still, what mattered in the end was the effect.

Not that he was at much risk of getting possessed by a specter of any kind. But it wouldn't do for a knight to get complacent. Before an assignment, members of their order strived to always take as many precautions as possible. One could never be too prepared.

"Aren't you taking one as well, Scarlett?" Allyssa had handed the red-haired woman the last bottle, but Scarlett had just placed it into her pouch instead of drinking it.

"I have no need for it," the woman replied. "Perhaps I should have informed you of as much earlier, considering the price for the materials. For now, I will keep it and see if it can be sold at a later time."

Leon blinked at the statement. Exactly how desperate for money was Scarlett at the moment? And where did that self-confidence come from? The woman had never been averse to throwing money around before. If anything, he thought she would be the first to make use of philters like these.

"Any further questions?" she asked, seeing that they were all ready.

He raised a hand. "What sort of threats can we expect from now on? If we're talking specifics."

Whatever was up with Scarlett would have to wait. It was best if he got as good a handle on the situation as he could now. If anything went sideways, it would be up to him to get everybody out of here safely, no matter what she might have to say about it.

"As I mentioned, there will be several variants of ghost and specters here." Scarlett gestured to the chandelier where the ghost had been hiding before. "The Malignant Apparition just now was such an example. Unfortunately, it was also one of the few which I knew the name of. I can tell you that you should expect to see more of the dolls that were in Lord Withersworth's cellar, though they will not be as docile now that we are in their domain. In addition to that, there may also be some undead, such as skeletons and their kin. As far as I am aware, however, we are unlikely to encounter those on the upper floors of the mansion."

"…Alright." He was just going to ignore his growing concern over where she was getting all of this from. For now, he would act under the assumption that she was telling the truth. "Then, these 'custodians' we are looking for. What do they look like? We're going to need more to go off of than them simply being 'conspicuous'."

"I was about to expound on that." Scarlett turned to look around the room for a moment, her eyes stopping at a large painting hanging off one of the walls. "This is quite convenient. Inspect that painting closer, if you would."

Leon looked at the painting. Its canvas had faded to nothing more than a bleak, grey surface, so there wasn't much to see.

Scarlett walked closer to it, however, and so the rest of them followed.

"What do you see?" she asked, pausing in front of it and looking back at him.

"There is nothing—" He stopped right next to her. Suddenly, there was a pale, green sheen around the painting. He looked closer, closing his eyes to make sure he wasn't imagining it. When he opened them again, the painting had changed to show a drawing of a ballroom on it, with masses of people dancing around on the floor.

"Oh, wow," Rosa muttered. "That's…macabre."

"What?" Allyssa peered at the image, stepping a bit closer. "What is? They're just people, right?"

Leon narrowed his eyes. After a while, he realized what the woman was referring to.

The painting most certainly wasn't depicting people. Or rather, not real people. Some of their limbs were in odd or unnatural positions, and there was a strangeness to how they were all arranged. And after looking very closely, one could see that there were strings attached to them. Every single figure in the painting had a thin line drawn from their bodies that led up to somewhere in the ceiling, where some unseen hand was ostensibly directing their movements.

Had this been here since before the mansion was abandoned? It would be a strange piece to have in a ballroom, unless you were trying to make a statement of some kind.

A strange growl left Fynn's throat as the young man glared at the painting.

Wondering what caused the reaction, Leon's attention was brought back to the canvas when all the dolls suddenly moved. Dozens of lifeless eyes turned to stare at them.

"Wait." Allyssa stepped back. "Are they looking at us?"

Shin stepped closer to the painting, and the girl's hand shot out to grab his shoulder. "Don't move closer when you hear that, stupid!"

He looked back at her. "Calm down, I'm not touching it. And besides, it's still a painting."

"Since when can paintings do that?!"

"Since now, it seems."

"Pay attention." Scarlett's voice brought everyone's focus back to the image in the painting.

The figures in the painting had moved again, a step towards all of them. It was as if the dolls wanted to escape out of the frame, clambering to freedom. One second when you looked at them they would be in one position, then you blinked and they were in the next. Yet… Their movements were awkward. Their limbs got caught in one another and they stumbled over their own legs. As they scrambled forward, many of them fell over each other, and soon all the dolls were just lying in piles on the floor.

That was when another figure entered the frame. A transparent man, with an almost palpable gloom hanging over him. He was dressed in an antique black suit, with an arrangement of iron chains dangling off his arms. Floating over to the dolls, he stopped momentarily at each one to cut its string and pull it free from where it was stuck, lobbing the dolls over his shoulder where they disappeared into nothingness. It looked like he was cleaning up just another mess.

Soon, all the dolls were gone, and the man left the ballroom, the canvas returning to the bleak, empty surface it had originally been.

"That," Scarlett said. "Is your first target."

Chapter 108 - Hallway crawling

Leon walked down a dimly lit hallway, with Allyssa and Rosa following close behind. Keeping a close watch on their surroundings, he eyed the different corridors and doors leading deeper into the mansion that they passed by. Occasionally, he glanced back at the other two to make sure everything was fine.

Both of his companions had turned a lot quieter ever since they separated from Scarlett and the rest of the group. Most of Allyssa's attention appeared to be focused on their surroundings as well, a pair of brown leather goggles pulled over her eyes as she held up a strange hand crossbow made of metal with decals running up its side.

From Leon's own experience, he knew it wasn't uncommon for Shielders to be laxer than most others in dangerous environments such as this. This quality had both its good and its bad sides. Allyssa seemed to know there was a time and place for casual nonchalance, though.

The same couldn't be said for the woman walking next to the girl.

Or at least, that was Leon's original impression. From what he'd seen of Rosa up till now, he would have expected her to make jokes and other odd statements as they proceeded with their job. And she had, to a certain degree. But—and this was something he wasn't even completely sure of himself—it felt like something in the woman's demeanor had changed since splitting with Scarlett's group. And unlike Allyssa, she seemed to consciously avoid paying attention to their surroundings.

Leon paused, turning his head as he sensed a presence nearby. A low whisper emanated from the wall to his right, next to a derelict chiffonier where an empty painting was. He narrowed his eyes.

A ghostly hand exited the frame. It was followed by a woman's face, partly hidden by a mound of rippling black hair. The figure tried crawling out of the painting with two slender arms, but Leon didn't let it. He gathered his aura and struck with his sword the second enough of its body was visible, cleaving the woman in two.

A wail left her throat as the ghost was torn apart by the brilliant glow of the sword's edge and dissipated into nothingness.

He turned to look at the other paintings that covered the walls of the hallway. It was impossible to tell which ones were hiding something inside them. For some reason, he couldn't detect anything until whatever was present inside tried to exit as well. It didn't help that all the paintings were supernatural in some way and appeared empty until one got closer to take a look.

"That one looked almost normal compared to the last one," Allyssa muttered.

He looked back at the girl as she gave another painting a wide berth, crossbow raised in one hand as the other clasped the bandolier hanging across her chest.

She glanced at him. "Are all ghosts always this varied?"

"It depends," he said. "Some ghosts are the product of real events. Echoes of the creatures and people who were once alive, you could say. Others are just a natural consequence of places like these, where the boundaries between life and death are thinner. The latter can take the shape of almost anything you can imagine, while the former usually looks more normal, as long as the inciting incident wasn't something too terrible."

"So the ghost we ran into before this one was an example of the latter?"

"…It could have been, yes."

The one before this had appeared as a person with sewing marks all across their body, as if their limbs had been reattached posthumously. It could definitely have been a natural result of a convergence of negative energies in the area, but Leon doubted it. Echoes of people were almost always a result of something that had happened in real life.

He started moving down the hallway again, returning his attention to keeping watch for any other threats.

They'd been roaming around this part of the mansion for almost an hour now, and they still hadn't found any signs of the 'Custodian' Scarlett wanted them to find. These hallways were also strange in that they never seemed to end. Yet, at the same time, they'd passed by several stairs and other corridors that clearly led to other sections and wings of the mansion. More than should have been possible, at least, no matter how large of a mansion this was.

At first, he thought the cause was some sort of spatial magic. But he was growing more and more skeptical of that as time passed.

Whatever the underlying reason, though, it proved annoying enough. Scarlett had told them to leave the Custodian alone for the first hour and a half or so if they found it within that timeframe, so that she and her group could make it to the west wing first. But with how large this place was, and how few traces they'd found this far, he was starting to doubt whether they would even find their target to begin with.

More time passed as they moved throughout the mansion, and eventually, Allyssa spoke again. "What do you think happened here, for this place to become like this?"

Leon looked back at her. "I only heard about this place the first time earlier today, so I don't think I know much more than you."

Allyssa blinked at him. "Scarlett didn't tell you anything?"

"No."

"Oh."

"I'm not sure what kind of relationship you thought I had with her, but our previous interactions should have made it clear that us being betrothed isn't due to any fondness on either of our ends."

"No, well… I could tell that much, I guess. I just thought that…" The girl's words trailed off. She shook her head. "Well, whatever. It doesn't matter."

He eyed her for a moment before returning his attention forward. "I noticed earlier that all of you were used to working with Scarlett in this fashion. Does she usually ignore telling you what's going on when you're in situations like this?"

"I wouldn't say she ignores it." Allyssa's voice came from behind Leon. "It's just that… I think she only tells us what she thinks is necessary? Usually, that's more along the lines of what kind of monsters we can expect, or where traps and such might be. Sometimes she skips even those, though, if she's confident that we can deal with things as they are."

To him, that sounded like a terrible way of leading. If he were to command his knights into the field while only sharing the most essential of intel with them, how could he expect them to react properly if uncertain situations arose? How could he even expect them to trust him if they knew he was hiding things related to their missions?

Honestly, he doubted any Solar Knight would accept those sorts of conditions unless directly ordered to by the captain or His Majesty.

But perhaps the circumstances weren't comparable. The Imperial Solar Knights were some of the most elite and disciplined knights in the empire. At least when it came to their work. Each and every one could be trusted to keep what they learned secret, no matter the circumstances, and he didn't have to worry about them not properly understanding what information was shared with them. They were a prideful bunch as well; a lesson he had learned the hard way when he originally became a member. But like many things in life, one only started to appreciate that fact after spending some time with them.

In comparison, Scarlett was relying on Shielders and people hired to work for her.

For as long as Leon had known her, the noblewoman had never placed all of her trust in another person. Not to his knowledge, at least. Being paranoid about other people's motivations was probably par for the course for someone like her. In her mind, it probably made perfect sense to only share what was absolutely necessary. And there was probably some truth to that, in some way.

Nevertheless, he doubted it was the best way of going about things.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he realized one set of steps had disappeared from behind him.

Spinning around, Allyssa met his eyes with a confused look before looking to her own side and then further back in the hallway.

Rosa had frozen on the spot a dozen steps behind, transfixed in front of one of the paintings.

Bulwark of the Egis.

A pool of light spread out from Leon's sword and formed a shimmering barrier around Allyssa and him. When it had finished forming, he shot up the hallway with eyes locked on to Rosa and the frame in front of her. It took him two seconds to reach the woman and pull her back, placing himself between her and the painting. He readied his aura to deal with whatever might come out.

…Yet nothing came.

As he blinked, the empty canvas changed into a drawing of an abandoned village landscape with dilapidated dirt trails running through it. But there was nothing in particular that stood out about the picture, nor could he sense anything off about it.

Behind him, Rosa seemed to rouse from whatever daze had afflicted her. He glanced back at her with one eye still on the painting. "Are you okay?"

She stared at him for a second, then sent a look at the painting. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Perfectly fine, thank you very much. Must have been something…strange with that painting." A small smile formed on her face. "Funny. I thought those potions we drank would stop mental thingies like this, but guess it got through anyway. Thank Ittar we've got a tall and dependable knight right here, ready to save damsels like me when we need it, right?"

The woman reached up a hand to adjust some of her hair, then looked down the hallway to where Allyssa was half-hidden by the barrier of light. "Think you might have scared the youngling, though."

"I didn't have time to explain things." Leon examined her for a few more seconds, then returned his attention fully to the painting. Still no signs of a specter or anything of the sort hiding inside. He also couldn't detect any sort of bewitchment or charm coming from it. It was just a picture of an abandoned village.

But the look he'd seen on Rosa's face, for just a brief moment… That wasn't the look of someone seeing a simple village.

He would have to be more alert from now on. It was clear that things in this mansion weren't as simple as they appeared.

The two of them returned to Allyssa, who hadn't seemed especially happy about being stuck inside the barrier of light.

"Are you okay?" she asked Rosa as the barrier fell around her.

"Just dandy," the woman replied. "Might have to take a few more safety measures from here on, though."

She held up the instrument in her hands and played a few notes. Leon felt a strange clarity enter his mind as a sense of tranquil peace came over him.

"Haven't used this one much lately, but it always gives me the urge for a warm cup of coffee."

Allyssa grimaced at that for some reason.

"Just make sure not to lose any arms, legs, or other precariously attached limbs," Rosa continued. "This one is a pain to maintain, and it'd be even more of a pain if I ended up having to do it while reattaching errant body parts."

Leon studied her curiously. He'd assumed the woman knew bardic charms from the fact that she was carrying around a klert all the time. That fact alone was rare enough in the empire. But the effect of this charm was what shocked him the most. It was surprisingly powerful for someone not a member of the Velvet Dancers of the Luicean Isles.

"Can you really reattach arms and legs?" Allyssa asked.

Rosa cocked her head to the side. "Who knows? I've never tried it."

She pointed to a thin silver bracelet around her wrist. "With this, it might actually be possible. Maybe. Possibly. I'd prefer not to find out today, though. I can tell you that much." Shooting the two of them a grin, she signaled down the hallway. "Well, we can't be loitering around here forever, can we? I'm sure we have several closets full of ghosts and bed-monsters just waiting to meet us."

Leon kept his eyes on her for a moment longer before finally turning around and resuming his position at the front of their formation, keeping a closer watch ahead and behind. They walked in silence for a while, until finally, a subdued rustling of metal sounded out around the corner.

They stopped.

"That sounded like chains, didn't it?" Allyssa whispered from behind. "Is that our target?"

He looked back to make sure both of them were prepared, then gestured for them to follow him. Soon, they rounded the corner at the end of the hallway to find another hallway that ended in a single door with a painting hanging on either side of it. There were no signs of what had made the noise.

Looking back from where they'd come, Leon found that the hallway they had been walking down now looked slightly different; new furniture and paintings lined the walls, and the carpet on the floor had gone from an intense vermillion with gold trimmings to a dark green, lacking any decorations whatsoever.

Allyssa pointed past him. "Should we try the door?"

He turned back to examine it closer. Most rooms they'd tried up till now had either been locked or empty. But this was the first time they might have heard a sound from one.

"Stay behind me," he told them in a low voice, then crept down the hallway. His eyes were locked onto the empty frames next to the door, which soon changed to display a pair of dark, empty forests where the night sky showed through the dense canopies.

Even after stopping and waiting for several seconds, there were no signs of anything trying to leave the paintings. Waiting for a while longer, just to be safe, he then stepped closer to the door. He tried the handle.

It crept open without making a noise.

He glanced back at the other two, who gave him short nods.

He opened the door fully, revealing a pitch-black room. It didn't harbor the same magical illumination effect that much of the rest of the mansion seemed to have.

A touch came from his arm as Allyssa stepped up beside him and pulled out a thin vial from beneath her cloak, gesturing to cover their eyes.

He readied his sword and raised a hand to shield his eyes. The young Shielder threw the vial. A moment later, an explosion of light spread out. Leon moved in front of Allyssa as the light quickly subsided to a manageable level, a thin pool of illuminating liquid having gathered on the floor at the center of the room.

A gasp sounded out from behind his shoulder as they took in the now lit-up space.

It looked like a playroom, if that was the word to describe it. Miniature rocking horses and several other toys were spread about almost haphazardly. Wide, dull windows that looked out into a gloomy forest were half-hidden behind a set of heavy black curtains, the darkness from outside almost seeming to want to sneak into the room and not shying away from the light.

There was a group of six dolls leaning against the walls of the room. Yet, these weren't the same dolls that they had seen in Lord Withersworth's cellar. These were at least as large as a child, with the looks and clothes of children as well. Their pale marble faces gazed out into empty air—mouths, noses, and eyes painted on with impressive detail—and in their hands, they each held a pair of scissors. Scissors large enough to be mistaken for a short sword.

There was complete silence in the room as Leon observed the dolls. None of them showed any sign of reacting to either the light or the noise.

"That looks expensive," Rosa's voice came from behind him. A hand rested on his shoulder as the woman in question almost leaned over him and pointed at the other end of the room.

There, lying on a carved wooden chest, was a long, curved blade with a silver sheen to it. Hints of red ran along the metal of the blade, and at the base, there was a large hole, as if it attached to something.

"We're not here for artifacts," he whispered back at her.

"Not sure Scarlett would agree."

He held back a groan. She was right. Scarlett had said they should pick up 'valuable' things when they could.

That woman and her greed…

Turning back to the room, he let out a small sigh.

"Stay back," he told the other two before taking one step inside.

All of the dolls' heads spun to look at him.

"Is it time?" A symphony of chilling giggles filled the room. "It's time to cut~"

In the blink of an eye, all of the dolls had stood up.

They were fast.

Divided Blade's Quintessence.

He focused his aura in his sword as he stepped back and shut the door. Barely a second later, a cacophony of slashing noises tore through the door as it shook in front of him.

Rosa and Allyssa moved back even further, the Shielder raising her crossbow and the bard her instrument. Leon waited for a few seconds longer as the sounds of the door being broken down continued, ready to unleash his counterattack at the right time.

Without warning, the noises stopped.

A moment passed, and the rattling of chains rang out from the other side of the door.

He hurried to open it again and was once more met by a pitch-black room.

Sword held at the ready in case of an attack, he peered into the darkness, searching for movement. Nothing came at him.

He looked back at Allyssa, who pulled out another vial and stepped up to him. He covered his eyes once more as light filled the room, then scanned the space. The dolls were back in their original positions, but there was no sign of the origin of the rattling chains.

Another sigh left him.

Playing it safe here clearly wouldn't work. Seemed like he would have to do it the hard way.

Bulwark of the Egis.

A barrier of light formed to cover the three of them near the entrance to the room.

"Let's try this again," he muttered to himself, then looked back at the other two. "Stay back for now. I'll deal with this."

Then he stepped inside the room and closed the door behind him.

All the dolls turned to stare at him.

"Is it time?" Giggles filled the room as they stood up. "It's time to cut~"

A flare of light loomed across the blade of Leon's sword as he raised it in the air in front of him.

Allyssa glanced at Sir Leon's back as the man walked down the eerily lit hallway in front of her.

It still felt strange, being so close to and talking casually with a person she'd only heard of in rumors before.

Leon Delmon seemed to be exactly like he had been described, but at the same time, he wasn't. Allyssa couldn't count the times she'd heard Maggie and the others at the Guild Branch talk about how they'd seen him both fight a dragon and do a number of other impressive things you only heard in tales.

In many ways, she'd expected those impressions to have been exaggerated. But surprisingly, he lived up to the expectations, with his tall and handsome appearance, the friendly way he acted, and the way he seemed both able and wanting to protect those around him.

At the same time, though, he was also a person. This much had been made exceedingly clear to Allyssa. Not even in her wildest dreams had she been thinking that she would one day get to see the Solar Knight's Vice-Captain in a squabble. With Scarlett, of all people. And more than once in the span of just a few hours.

Never had she been expecting Scarlett to squabble with anyone, for that matter. From what she'd learned of the woman, Scarlett didn't as much argue as just roll over everybody around her until she got what she wanted. A fact that was about as impressive as it was somewhat worrying.

The way Allyssa had understood it, the woman just didn't know any other way of going about things. It was almost cute, in an endearing, awkward kind of way. Probably not for the people on the receiving end of the noblewoman's actions, though.

That said, Scarlett usually seemed to have good reasons for what she did, so Allyssa didn't want to seem like the type of person that complained about a lot of things. She wanted to continue working with the woman for as long as she could. And it wasn't only because it gave her so many opportunities to improve her alchemy.

When it came to Scarlett's relationship with Sir Leon, however, things weren't as simple. At the moment, Allyssa was oddly thankful for that, because it made the sudden meeting with the knight a much less jarring experience. She imagined this was similar to how many viewed her father at first, before witnessing how he acted around her. People were always at least slightly different from the stories.

Not that she was glad that Scarlett and Sir Leon seemed to dislike each other. Things like that were never good. Especially if you were supposed to get married.

But she also knew nobles were weird like that. She was curious about exactly what might have happened for their relationship to get to where it currently was, but it wasn't like they were her affairs to pry into. She wasn't like Rosa, who could say the most daring of things right to people's faces. Or Fynn, who could seemingly fail to pick up on the most basic of social cues. Or Shin, who spent all day with his nose in his books and didn't seem to care one bit about what everybody else thought about him.

In fact, was she the only normal person in this group?

The thought had never struck her before, but now that it had… What in Ittar's name had Kat actually gotten her into? She was so going to give that woman an earful the next time they met.

Allyssa's eyes shifted to her left, where Rosa was walking. The usually cheery woman had been quieter than normal lately. She was looking around the hallway as if she was prepared for something to pop out of the walls any second now. Which, fair, was an actual possibility. But Rosa often struck Allyssa as the sort of person who didn't know what fear was, so this level of vigilance felt a bit out of character.

Maybe it was because she was scared of falling under the same kind of spell that she had earlier, back when Sir Leon had helped her. Allyssa wasn't sure what had actually happened back then, but considering where they were, anything was possible. This creepy mansion had all kinds of strange things about it.

A shiver went down her back as her thoughts returned to some of the things they'd encountered up till now. The ghosts were bad enough, but the dolls were the worst if you asked her. She was almost glad that Sir Leon took care of those last ones by himself, even if it did make her feel a bit useless.

Unfortunately, they hadn't found any traces of that Custodian ghost Scarlett wanted them to find. He hadn't returned even after they exited the room with the dolls inside, it seemed. Not immediately, at least. The strange blade that had been there was the only thing they got out of it.

Allyssa was currently carrying it, wrapped in one of the curtains that had been in the room. None in their group had a spatial bag, so there weren't many other alternatives. For some reason, Scarlett always wanted Fynn to carry the larger bag that they'd originally found in the fairy realm nowadays, and the woman never separated from her own spatial pouch.

Allyssa paused in her thoughts as her eyes fell on a door further down the hallway. It seemed different from the others. There was an odd feeling to it, one that she found hard to describe.

She looked at the others. "Wait," she called out.

Both Sir Leon and Rosa stopped to look back at her. Neither of them appeared to have noticed anything in particular.

"I think there's something behind that door. It's different from the others."

"Different?" Sir Leon's forehead creased together. He eyed the door she was pointing at. "I can't sense anything."

"Neither can I," Rosa said.

"…Really?" Allyssa looked back at the door. Wasn't it obvious, though? It screamed 'special'.

"Want to look inside?" Rosa asked, that small grin that the woman usually wore having returned to her face.

"It might be another trap." Sir Leon stepped up to the door before they could. "I'll check first."

He tried to open it, but the door didn't budge.

"You're doing it wrong." Allyssa moved up next to him and reached for the handle. He caught her hand before she could touch it.

She blinked, then looked down at her hand.

…What did she just try?

She looked up at Sir Leon. The tall man was studying her with a serious expression.

"I think we should leave this room alone."

"No, but…" Allyssa turned back to the door.

"It's clearly affecting you in some way. Remember what happened with Miss Rosa earlier."

"I get that, but…" Allyssa eyed the door's handle, a twisting set of bronze threads in the shape of a wing.

She could tell that there was something off about this feeling, but at the same time, she didn't think it was bad. Not necessarily. It was something…familiar? No, not familiar. But not something new.

"I think we should still try it," she said.

Sir Leon watched her for a few seconds longer, then turned to look at Rosa. "Can you try that charm you used earlier?"

"It's called a melody, but sure. Can do." The bard placed both hands on her instrument. "I've been using it quite a bit now, though, so don't go expecting too much of me if there's action later and I haven't had the time to rest."

A short tune sounded out from the klert. A sense of clarity filled Allyssa, along with the same tranquil peace that she had gotten used to from the previous times Rosa used the same magic. Still, it didn't affect the feeling the door gave off to her.

Sir Leon looked back at her. "Is there any difference?"

She shook her head. "I still think we should try it. I can tell that there's something different about this one. Something I should see."

He gave her another long look before finally nodding his head. "Alright. But I'll be going first. You'll stay close to me unless I say otherwise."

"Yes, of course." Allyssa reached out for the door handle again. For some reason, she knew exactly what to do. She began by pulling it outwards. At the same time, she placed her other hand on the door and pushed inwards. Then she pulled the handle downwards. Something clicked, and the door swung open.

Chapter 109 - The chains that bind

A wide bedchamber opened up before Allyssa. Paintings, mirrors, and other decorations hung off the walls, and near the center was an ornate bed with a marble dressing table next to it and a chest placed at its foot. There were no windows, yet an indentation in the ceiling held a panel that lit up the room in a soft, white light. The panel looked like it could have been made of the same material most magical lamps were, but it was massive compared to them. She couldn't even imagine how expensive that would be.

Her eyes passed over the bed and a few bureaus that were placed around the room. There were dolls on them. Not as many as in some of the other rooms they'd seen up till now, but they looked to be the same—or at least a similar type as the ones back in the Withersworth cellar.

"Stay here for now," Sir Leon said and stepped past her into the room, his sword at the ready.

None of the dolls moved.

He continued even further inside, but the dolls remained still.

The knight looked back at Allyssa and Rosa. "You can enter. Stay close to me."

They walked through the door, looking around as they took the rest of the room in. Unlike the other parts of the mansion that they had been in, this room felt a lot calmer. It didn't have that same sense of foreboding that seemed to stick to the rest of this place like a veil of untreated Nettle Tar. There was a tranquility to this room. As well as something else. Something that Allyssa couldn't quite place.

"I can't detect anything in particular here, discounting the dolls," Sir Leon said, eyeing them closely. Then he looked back at her. "But you're still saying it feels special in some way?"

"No." She shook her head. "Or, yes, I guess. But not really. It's obviously different from the rest of what we've seen, with just how calm it is here. But there's something more to it."

"It's lived in. That's what's different." Rosa's somber tone reached Allyssa from the side. "Or it was, once. The feeling just never left."

She turned to look at the bard, then froze when she saw Rosa move to pick up one of the dolls sitting on the marble dresser. "Wait, don't—"

The doll was picked up without issue.

Rosa turned to look at them. "These are just ordinary dolls. Ordinary dolls for an ordinary bedroom. The only one in this place, it seems."

Allyssa blinked, staring at the doll in the woman's hand. "Oh… I-I see."

How was she supposed to know that?! All the dolls looked the same, and it wasn't as if there was a sign saying what was so special about this room in words she could understand!

"How could you tell?" Sir Leon asked, his forehead creased together.

Rosa shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe I've got a knack for this kind of thing? People've got all kinds of talents up their sleeves that they just don't know about yet."

Allyssa eyed the woman. Rosa usually seemed like such a straightforward person, but sometimes she wondered whether Scarlett and the bard had a competition going over who could be the most mysterious and evasive. The woman's answer just now didn't answer much at all.

Rosa returned the doll to the dresser after examining it for a moment longer. She then turned to look at something behind Allyssa, letting out a whistle. "That's not something you see every day."

Allyssa spun around to see what the woman was referring to.

Hanging on the wall was one of the paintings. Like all the others of its kind in this mansion, it showed nothing but an empty canvas as she first laid eyes on it. After a few seconds, it changed to show a portrait. It was of a girl, around Allyssa's age, sitting in front of a picturesque garden with several rare flowers in it. Allyssa could name most of them, but some were types even she didn't recognize. But they weren't the focus of the portrait. It was the girl. And if she were to be described in one word, it would be 'breathtaking'.

She had long, flaxen blonde hair that was tied into a loose braid and reached past her shoulders, as well as smooth, yet graceful, features that might have been at home on a princess from a fairytale. Instead of wearing exquisite and expensive clothing that might have fit with her surroundings, however, the girl was dressed in a simple white dress that you might have found on any other girl walking the streets in Elystead.

Still, her clothing didn't do anything to take away from the beauty of the girl. Even Allyssa could admit that much, although it felt odd to do so.

The girl's beauty was to the point where it could almost be called unnatural. Like the dolls that made this mansion their home, fittingly enough. But it was clear that this girl wasn't a doll. Her face held a blank and emotionless expression in the painting, but there was life behind those eyes. Whoever had painted this portrait had been incredibly talented to be able to capture the likeness of this girl so well.

Allyssa's gaze stayed on the painting for a long while.

That sense of—well, it wasn't familiarity, but perhaps understanding—was present in it. She didn't know this girl, but she felt like she definitely understood her, despite knowing absolutely nothing about her.

A hand was placed on her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Sir Leon asked.

She turned around to meet his eyes, giving a slow nod. "I'm fine. Promise. It's just that…" She glanced back at the painting. "This girl… I guess it would be hard to explain to you so that you understand, considering even I don't, but…I'm pretty sure she's what feels so special about this place for me."

The man examined the portrait. "…Her appearance is striking, I will admit that. But that's also what one might expect from a painting. They're not always accurate representations of reality. As for if there's more to the picture…I'm afraid I can't tell what you mean."

Allyssa shook her head. "This painting caught her exactly as she was. I can tell. And I'm not sure I would say that there's necessarily more to it, other than it just…is."

Sir Leon narrowed his eyes. After a while, he seemed to give up. "I'm sorry, but I can't tell what it is you're seeing. But since it's only affecting you, and we're unsure about what it is… I think it's best if we leave for now. We can return when we have more information."

"You're looking at it the wrong way," Rosa said as the woman stepped up next to him and looked at the painting. "You have to look at it. Get it? Allyssa knows exactly what she's doing right now, so there's no need to worry."

Allyssa gaped at her. Rosa seemed a lot more sure about this than she herself did. But she didn't exactly think the woman was wrong. Whatever strange phenomenon this was, it didn't feel dangerous.

"I don't 'get it', no." Sir Leon eyed Rosa. "But if you're claiming it's safe… Are you prepared to take responsibility for your words?"

The tips of the woman's mouth rose in a smile. "Responsibility and I don't exactly have the warmest of relationships. We ignore the other like the plague, really. Tends to be the best choice for all involved. But…sure. Just this once, me and ol' Responsibility will call it a truce."

Suddenly, the rattling of chains echoed from just right outside the room.

Allyssa's hand reached up to the vials strapped across her chest as she spun to the entrance. Moments later, a man in an old black suit stepped straight through the door. Long iron chains hung off his arms and trailed across the floorboards beneath him as he floated in the air, feet dangling above the floor. There was this gloom surrounding his vaguely transparent body, almost palpable to the touch. And Allyssa could practically taste the resignation coming off him.

This was the 'custodian' Scarlett wanted them to find.

The ghost man stopped in front of the door, his eyes locking onto Allyssa.

Sir Leon moved in front of her with his sword raised. Almost without thinking, she grabbed his arm to stop him, and the knight gave her a wary look.

She didn't know why she did that, but she didn't think attacking this ghost man immediately was a good idea. He wasn't looking at her like some of the other ghosts had; like they wanted to eat her, tear her limbs apart, or do some other equally horrifying thing. He was looking at her as if he was trying to figure out who she was.

Over a dozen seconds of silence passed, with no one doing anything, then a look of recognition appeared on the ghost's face. It soon turned into an expression of relief as he started floating closer to them.

"Ah, so this is where you were." The man's voice came out as a strange echo across the room. The chains hanging off his arms rattled as he moved. Sir Leon took one step back but seemed ready to act at a moment's notice. "We were all wondering where you had gone to, young lady."

Allyssa stared at the ghost. "Young lady? You mean…me?"

That sounded so…weird.

"Who else?" the ghost man responded. "It heartens me to see you in good health, still, young lady."

She looked at him and the portrait on the wall. Was he mistaking her for the girl in that painting? The resemblance wasn't even close if you asked her. The somewhat blonde hair was about the only trait they shared. It shouldn't be enough to confuse the two of them. But, maybe…

"Do you know my name?" she asked, turning her eyes back to him.

The man's voice softened. "The young lady's name, you say? Why, of course. Thinking of it hearkens me back to when young lady Orelia first graced us at this mansion with her appearance. It is not a day easily forgotten."

"Then it's fine for you to just use my name," Allyssa said. "You don't have to call me young lady."

A horrified expression found its way onto the man's face. "I could never! To show such disrespect to your personage?" The chains clattered against the floor as he shook his head. "Unthinkable."

"O-Oh. A-Alright then." She tried to hide her grimace. "Ehm, are the other…servants, also nearby?"

The ghost righted the cuffs on his sleeves, ignoring the chains hanging off them. "I am sure they are all attending to their duties at present, young lady. Although I am certain they would all greatly appreciate your kindness, there is no need to worry about them." His countenance darkened. "But young lady… I must inform you that the Lord wishes to see you."

"The Lord?" Allyssa glanced at the painting. "You mean…my father?"

He gave her a perplexed look. "No…? I apologize, young lady, but none of us have heard anything regarding anyone claiming to be your father sending a message."

The man went quiet for a while, a vacant gaze crossing his face before he returned his attention to her. "Ah, but the Lord wishes to see you. He will be mad if you disobey his orders." He shook his head once again. "Ah, young lady. That you would be forced into such an unfortunate position. All of us lament that something like this would be the fate of someone as compassionate as you. Yet, as the Lord's faithful servants, we are oath sworn to carry all of his burdens as they come, and to continue as such for as long as we can. We are undeserving of your kindness, young lady, but know that you will always have our loyalty and support. That is why I must ask you to not disobey the Lord's command and anger him unnecessarily. It would rack us all with undescribable grief if something were to happen to you."

Allyssa took a moment to process his words, but before she could say anything else, the expression on the ghost's face twisted into a frown.

"Young lady, what is that you have on your face? And what is with the way you speak? Did we not teach you how to speak while in this mansion, as not to anger the Lord excessively?"

Her hand shot up to her alchemist-treated leather goggles. She quickly pulled them off, hiding them behind her back. "Ah, these are just…nothing, really." She tried to remember how Scarlett usually talked. "Then, the Lord…where is he right no—I mean, where is he at the moment?"

"He should be in the conservatory." The ghost's expression calmed for a moment, only for the frown to return immediately after as he seemed to notice Sir Leon and Rosa. "Who are these people, young lady?"

Allyssa looked at the two of them. "Oh, ehm… These are acquaintances of mine. They are here to help me with some…matters."

The ghost man's brow furrowed even further, and he seemed to be eyeing the sword in Sir Leon's hand. "You shouldn't keep such dangerous company, young lady. Strange men cannot be trusted. And the Lord will not like hearing about you meeting with outsiders."

"He's not a strange man. He's a, uh… A knight." Allyssa nodded her head. "Indeed. He is an imperial knight, part of the…" She frowned. Did the Solar Knights exist whenever this ghost lived? How old were they, even? Shin would know, no doubt. Maybe she should have listened to him more…

"I am Leon Delmon," Sir Leon said. "Vice-Captain of the Imperial Solar Knights. I am here on the authority of Captain Grimbald Crowder, serving under the order of the Empire's gilded sun and light, His Majesty the Emperor. As a Solar Knight, it is within my jurisdiction to ensure that no undue proceedings are taking place on this soil or any of the other lands governed by its lord."

The ghost stared at the knight for several seconds. Then he turned back to Allyssa like the man's words hadn't registered at all. "Should I lead you to the lord, young lady?"

"Ah, wait. Before that." Allyssa looked around.

While she did find this room, she still couldn't tell if there was something special she was supposed to do here. The feeling she had here was far too vague. Seeing this 'Lord' was unlikely to be the best choice, though, if he was even still alive. Besides, the task Scarlett had given them related specifically to this ghost in front of them. Nothing else.

Since she couldn't find anything other than the painting of the girl that stood out to her about this room, Allyssa turned back to the ghost. "You…" she began, studying him for a moment. "… What are your duties in this mansion?"

The man raised his hands to straighten the tie around his neck, paying no attention to the rattling of the chains. "I am one of this mansion's custodians, young lady. It is my obligation to tend to the estate, as well as ensuring that everything is kept in order and that nothing strays from its intended purpose."

"Then… All of the dolls that are in this place, you are responsible for them?"

"They are, of course, the creations of the Lord, but I am indeed the one that oversees them."

"Could you perhaps…not do that? For just a few hours?" Allyssa asked.

"Pardon me, young lady?" The man gave her a confused look.

"Ehm, I would appreciate it if you could…" She searched for the words in her head. "If you could refrain from tending to the dolls for some time, while I and my acquaintances move through the mansion, it would be very helpful. With that, I would also be able to go to see the Lord sooner."

"I cannot, young lady. The Lord would be enraged if I were to be negligent in my duties, and it would pain me if that anger would affect you."

"Please?" She gave him a pleading look, the one that always worked on her father.

"Young lady…" He held an uncertain expression. "…Very well. But you must not speak of this to the Lord. When he learns of it, he must not know it was upon your request."

"I won't say a word. I promise. Thank you."

The ghost man looked around for a moment, as if he just remembered something important. "I am afraid I must leave, young lady. It would be seen as odd if I remained here for too long."

"Wait, one last thing." Allyssa raised a hand. Scarlett had asked them to 'take care of' this ghost, which the woman probably figured was enough for whatever their goal here was. What Allyssa had just asked would hopefully be enough, because she didn't actually want to kill this ghost. But there could be something she missed. "Uh, might there perhaps be some doors and other areas in this mansion that I won't be able to reach by myself? Maybe I need a key of some kind if I want to reach the Lord?"

"A key?" The ghost seemed to think about it for a moment, then pulled out a thick key from a pocket on his suit. "Do you mean like this one, young lady?"

She nodded her head. "Yes, exactly like that. Can I borrow that for a while, please?"

"But, young lady…"

"I promise I will give it back when I'm done, okay?"

He looked at her for a few seconds longer, then slowly held it out to her. "You must make sure to not anger the Lord, young lady."

"I will not. You have my word." She received the key, placing it inside one of the pockets in her cape.

"I must leave now. Be safe, young lady, and I will see you later." With that, the ghost man turned around and floated through one of the walls. The sound of chains rattling quickly faded away along with him.

Allyssa stared at the wall where he had exited.

"It would have been better if we dealt with him immediately," Sir Leon said after a while.

She turned to the knight. "What? Why?! This worked just as well."

The man gave her a serious look. "He's dangerous."

"But he didn't hurt us!"

"If he hadn't confused you for this 'young lady', he would have moved to kill us the moment he saw us. Don't mistake the confusion of a ghost for a lack of malice."

She looked back at the wall.

Was that true?

…She felt that it probably was. Or rather, she could instinctually feel that it was. But it wasn't wrong to feel for the ghost despite that, was it?

She glanced back at Rosa. The woman held an unreadable expression on her face, but Allyssa suspected that the bard probably understood her. Because now, she could sort of grasp what Rosa had meant earlier when she said even monsters could deserve pity.

"I still think it was the right choice."

"Even though it wasn't what Scarlett asked you to do?" Sir Leon asked.

"I don't think she'll mind."

"Why are you so certain of that?"

"Because she's a kind person."

The man stared at her. "…You truly believe that?"

Allyssa nodded. "She has her flaws, and I think she has trouble trusting people…which can be annoying, at times. But yes, despite that, I think she's a nice person."

He gave her a long look, then shifted his eyes to Rosa. "And would you happen to think the same?"

The woman was pulled out of whatever thoughts she'd been thinking, turning to look at him. She cocked her head to the side. "That's a difficult one to answer. I suppose I'd say…'yes'. Just don't forget the dozen or so caveats that come with that response."

"And what, exactly, does that mean?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "You're her betrothed. You tell me."

Sir Leon seemed to consider Rosa for a moment, then let out a short sigh as he scanned across the room. "If this is where we're leaving things, then it looks like we're done here for now. Next would be meeting up with Scarlett's group again, but that might take a while. What do we do until then?"

Allyssa also looked around. She was still uncertain about what had brought her here to begin with, but she also didn't feel like there was much more to do in this room specifically. "I guess we do what Scarlett usually asks us to do at this point?" she said.

Sir Leon looked at her. "And what's that?"

Her eyes went to the chest that stood at the foot of the large bed at the other end of the room. "Find all of the 'loot'."

Chapter 110 - Confounding discrepancies

"Well done, both of you," Scarlett told Fynn and Shin after what remained of their target scattered away with one last blast of her pyrokinesis. She walked up to the center of the spacious chamber they were in, kneeling down to pick up a rusty old key that was nestled inside a pile of slightly glowing iron chains.

[Chains of beleaguerment (Rare)]

{The chains shaped by one cursed by the burden of their loyalty}

She looked up at Fynn, gesturing towards the chains. "Place those inside the bag."

The chains weren't an artifact per se, but they had been a crafting component in the game. Not anything she was likely to need, but if it could be sold, it was useful.

The white-haired young man walked over and picked the chains up, corralling them into the [Bag of Juham] hanging over his shoulder.

Scarlett stood up and scanned her eyes across the room. Their fight had left a small mess, but nothing too bad. The [Custodian] they had been hunting down had proven an easier target than expected. Not only had Fynn been able to locate the ghost with relative ease, but the fight itself had also turned out rather anticlimactic. Fynn had—of course—been part of the reason for that, as had Shin, but what had surprised Scarlett the most was how effective her own magic had shown to be against the ghost.

In fact, it had been unexpectedly powerful against most things they'd encountered in this mansion, really. It also helped that none of the enemies up till now seemed to have passed the level 50 breaking point that made her [Charms of Apperception] ineffective—although she imagined they were all close—which meant she could see their weak points.

Still, she supposed that [Superior Pyrokinesis] was the main reason why this time, things differed compared to some of her previous experiences. She thought she'd already gotten a decent handle on the skill's power before coming here, but clearly, that wasn't completely true. Although there might be something else behind it as well. It did seem as if both her hydrokinesis and pyrokinesis were particularly strong against the ghosts in this place—the dolls they'd encountered could take a bit more damage from her—so perhaps it was related to some weakness she was unaware of? While undead were weak against fire in the game, that did not go for ghost and their kin, so maybe it had something to do with the 'true' variants of pyrokinesis and hydrokinesis that she apparently had?

It was hard to know for sure, considering she hadn't had much time to understand that part of her magic yet. It was something she was planning on delving deeper into when she returned to Freymeadow, though.

But whatever the reason was, she wasn't going to complain. She also wasn't going to let it get to her head. The real dangers in this dungeon lurked in the later section.

"What are we doing next?" Shin asked. The young Shielder walked up to her, giving the key in her hand an inspecting look.

"Next, we will track down the others again," she replied. "After that, we will proceed onwards to the next section of the mansion. If things have gone as planned, Sir Leon and the other two should already have dealt with the target on their end or will soon do so."

In the game, the two Custodians would just revive the other if you didn't deal with both of them quickly enough. It didn't matter if you'd already looted them or anything like that.

That's why she wanted them to split up for this part. It was a lot easier than running around the mansion as one did in the game. Especially considering that this place was a lot bigger here than she could remember it being in the game. That had definitely been a wise decision on her part. And with Leon here, even when split up, neither of the groups was likely to be in any real danger as long as they stayed in the middle section of the mansion.

When they were finished with everything else, they would move down to the lower section. That was where you originally entered the dungeon in 'Chronicle of Realms', and while it didn't house any particularly powerful enemies or items, loot was still loot. Normally, she would have started there to begin with, but it was a lot easier entering this place through the Withersworths' mansion in Autumnwell rather than traveling all the way by carriage.

What was the point of knowing the game's shortcuts if you weren't going to use them?

Scarlett ordered the other two along as she left the chamber where they'd cornered the Custodian and resumed traveling through the mansion's winding hallways. The odd ghost or two that tried attacking them from the various paintings spread about the place were promptly dealt with by Fynn.

Scarlett opted to save her mana as much as she could. Their previous fights had taken about a quarter of her stores, which wasn't too bad, really. She'd mostly used variations of her Aqua Mines, since they were one of her most mana-effective attacks at the moment — despite not necessarily being as powerful as just blasting her enemies with pure fire.

As they continued down the hallways, they would stop at some of the rooms now and then, whenever Fynn felt a presence of some kind inside them. Those rooms that weren't locked would quickly be cleared out and any valuables would be gathered before they moved on. Groups of either ghosts or dolls were the most common encounters there, but it was nothing that Fynn and Shin couldn't take care of, with only some basic support from Scarlett in the back.

She made some use of the concoctions prepared by Allyssa in the process—like the [Brew of Fireworks], which stunned undead and ghosts—but since they hadn't run into anything too dangerous yet, she had been able to take things relatively easy. In fact, the smoothness with which they were progressing had provided her ample opportunity to just stand back at times and try to get a read of the situations, putting into practice some of the things she'd learned from Garside during their sessions.

Unfortunately, the loot they found in most of these rooms was disappointing. The majority didn't even have any real items in them—enchanted ones, that is—so instead they ended up simply bringing along whatever other articles looked like they could be worth something.

Scarlett had already lost count of the amount of fine cutlery, jewellery, and the odd silver candelabrum that Fynn was lugging around in the [Bag of Juham] now. In a way, she felt like a graverobber with how they were essentially picking up everything that wasn't nailed down. Not that she was letting that stop her from doing so. She'd already gotten permission from Lord Withersworth. Even though the man himself had never set foot in this place, he was still legally its owner.

As they continued through the hallways, she intermittently checked inside her [Pouch of Holding] to ensure the key she'd picked up from the Custodian hadn't disappeared. The fact that it remained there told her that the others had probably been successful at their end of things, which was good.

It took a little over an hour before they finally reached the eastern wing of the mansion again, mainly due to them stopping to clear so many of the rooms and the fact that the hallways here were as warped and confusing as they were. From there, however, tracking down Leon and the others wasn't too difficult because of Fynn. Within twenty minutes, they turned around a corner to find the three others exiting one of the rooms down the dim hallway, the door creaking shut behind them.

Surprised looks crossed over their faces as Scarlett approached them.

"It appears you are all in good condition," she said, looking them over. Her eyes stopped on Leon, who was studying her cautiously. He'd been doing that a lot today. "Can I take it that things went well on your end?"

"We didn't encounter anything that wasn't manageable, if that is what you mean," the man answered. His attention shifted to Allyssa. "As for how things went, I'm probably not the best to answer that."

Scarlett turned to look at the girl, who seemed to shrink a little under her gaze.

"We, eh, we found that custodian you mentioned," the young Shielder said. "But we didn't as much 'take care of him' as we…eh, made a deal with him?"

…They made a deal with one of the Custodians? How would that work?

"It wasn't exactly clear what you wanted," Allyssa hurried to add. "So I sort of did what felt right at the time."

Scarlett arched a brow at the girl. "That is because I did not expect there to be any other alternatives to handling the Custodian than to remove it. Ghosts and similar apparitions are not the type of beings that would allow for any sort of parley with the living."

This held true for the majority of ghosts she had encountered in the game, barring some very rare exceptions, mostly related to one of the companions in 'Chronicle of Realms'. In addition, she was pretty sure that there was no 'second' option when it came to the Custodians in the game. Either you killed them, or they killed you. The Custodian they'd run into in the west wing had been furious at just seeing them, so she didn't understand how one would even begin attempting to speak with it.

She glanced at Rosa.

Had the woman done something bard-y to the ghost?

"I think he might have been calmer because I found this strange room," Allyssa said. "I can't really explain how, but the room seemed a lot less…haunted, than the rest of this place. There was this painting of a girl in there as well, and when the custodian-ghost-man showed up, he sort of mistook me for her. That's why I could talk to him."

Scarlett frowned. She didn't recognize that from the game. What exactly had they done?

"I convinced him to stop going around reviving dolls and whatever else he was doing, and he also gave me this key." Allyssa took out a key that looked the same as the one Scarlett had found. "That's what you wanted, right? It didn't feel right to just…kill him. Not after hearing what he said."

The girl gave Scarlett an uncertain look, clearly worried about what her reaction would be.

Scarlett considered it for a moment.

The reason she had wanted to take care of the Custodians immediately after getting here was that it unlocked several hidden paths. It also just made the clearing of this place a lot easier in general. Not taking care of them wasn't really an option. Especially in the later section where they would keep reviving the mobs patrolling the hallways, which meant you could quickly become overrun.

She wasn't sure about letting whatever Allyssa had done slide if it could put her plans at risk, but…

Well, it did seem like it had worked this time, considering that the second Custodian hadn't been revived yet. It should be fine. In the future, though, she would have to take things like this into further consideration. Perhaps giving more specific directions when needed would be a good idea.

"Very well then," she said. "As it does not appear to have caused any issues this time, I see no reason to reprimand you for your actions. Henceforth, however, if you feel uncertain about something, do not hesitate to inquire with me for clarification. I will provide you with an answer if it is within my ability, and something that I am at liberty to share."

The girl's expression relaxed a little at her words.

"I will," she said.

Suddenly, she seemed to remember something as she opened her cape and pulled out an object wrapped in black fabric. "We found a few things that might be artifacts, by the way, although I'm not sure exactly what they do."

Allyssa unwrapped the object to reveal a long, curved blade with a silver sheen and streaks of red running through it.

[Life's Limit (1/?) (Unique)]

{A part of a whole, yet it will never be complete}

Scarlett examined the blade.

Right. She had almost forgotten that the first piece of that set was here.

It was useless at the moment, but it could prove useful in the future if she got the other parts. She gestured to Fynn, who took the blade and placed it inside the [Bag of Juham]. After that, Allyssa pulled out three more items, handing two to Fynn and displaying the last to Scarlett.

[Tome of Hopelessness (Rare)]

{An ancient tome carrying secrets that should remain unspoken}

It was a leather-bound tome, gingerly held up by the girl with a piece of cloth. It gave off a dark atmosphere, one that even Scarlett could sense, despite her inexperience with magic and spiritual matters. She couldn't know for certain, but she suspected that this tome boosted necromancy spells in some fashion.

In the game's magic system, necromancy spells had technically been part of the umbramancy school of magic. But in this world, it seemed to be considered a school of its own just because of how taboo it was. The people performing umbramancy magic in this world—which included some of the Followers of Ittar—probably also didn't want to be associated with necromancy in any way whatsoever.

Still, the tome would most likely fetch a high price with the right buyer, just considering how rare it was. But finding that kind of person would be hard without prior connections. Not to mention illegal.

She shot a glance Leon's way. He was scowling as he looked at the tome.

Yeah, fat chance she was going to try something like that. Especially not when a knight literally saw her get the item.

"Sir Leon," she said. "I presume you understand what this is as well? I will admit to some surprise that you would even allow her to show me this."

He silently met her eyes. She stared at him for a short while, then clicked her tongue. She was pretty sure he was testing her.

"This is not something that my household has any experience in handling," she said. "Could I leave it to you to ensure that it is dealt with appropriately?"

He studied her for a moment longer, then gave a slow nod. "I'll do something about it when we're finished here."

"Much appreciated." For now, Scarlett grabbed the tome with her bare hands—it wasn't as if it was contagious—and placed it into her pouch to give him later. She then turned her attention to the other two items that Allyssa had taken out, currently being held by Fynn.

One was a statue that looked much like a miniature gargoyle.

[Statue of Longevity (Rare)]

{A statue filled with the vigor of youth, slowly suffusing its surroundings}

This item wasn't one that she remembered from the game, but that didn't mean much in and of its own. There were hundreds of items in the game — maybe even thousands. She mostly only remembered those that she had at some point made use of in any of her playthroughs, or at least had sold for a decent amount.

Considering that this item was only of the rare-tier, she doubted its effects were especially major. It also had an area-of-effect trait, it appeared, and those were always weaker than others. That didn't mean that the item itself couldn't be useful, though. She might not have need for it in a fight, but perhaps it could be placed in her office? The description made it sound like it could help her out when she was working with paperwork and things like that.

For now, she waved for Fynn to put the statue away and looked towards the last artifact.

[Tablet of Sovegrephor (Epic)]

{Within lies the unbridled power of change, harnessed and controlled}

A smile formed on her face. She'd been hoping they would find this here.

The item was small. A finger-sized metal plate, with its center being made of some sort of glass that had a mess of colors swirling within.

In 'Chronicle of Realms', [Tablets of Sovegrephor] weren't artifacts in the normal sense, but rather items for upgrading your existing artifacts. They were rare and limited in quantity, so you had to use them carefully. They also had their limitations.

A tablet that was epic-tier, for example, would only work on items that were epic-tier or lower. If it was lower, the tablet would upgrade the item to the bottom epic-tier, which was in the 40-50 level range. This included scaling any effects those items had that might have been locked to lower levels. If the tablet was used to upgrade an epic-tier item, however, it would only increase the item's stats, usually not much more than so that it equaled an item of maybe five or so levels higher.

In general, epic-tier items could be found in the 40-65 level range. Because of that, Scarlett had always thought it a waste to use epic-tier [Tablets of Sovegrephor] on those items. Higher stats were nice, but you could always find new items with stronger stats in the future. It was much better using a tablet on low-level items that had rare or unique traits that you wanted.

And it just so happened that Scarlett had an item exactly like that. One that she had been nearing the limits of for a while now. She would have to upgrade her [Charms of Apperception] soon, when they had some more breathing space.

"Well done," she told Allyssa and the others. She took the tablet and placed it into her pouch. "It must have been arduous for you, procuring these artifacts."

It was much better than the junk they'd found on their end. She had known there was a [Tablet of Sovegrephor] in this dungeon, but she hadn't been sure whether they would find it. The rooms in this part were random, after all, and with the size of this place, she couldn't be certain that they could explore all of it. Allyssa and the others managing to find it this quickly was impressive. If she remembered things correctly, there had also been a pretty strong mini-boss guarding that room.

"The experience itself wasn't the best," Allyssa said with a small shudder. "But we had Sir Leon with us, so it wasn't that difficult. Those last two artifacts were also just lying in a chest in the room I told you about, so they were super easy to get."

Scarlett turned to the girl. They didn't fight a mini-boss?

…Was she misremembering things, then? Mixing up items, maybe?

"Where exactly was this room?"

"I…" Allyssa's forehead creased as she looked around the hallway they were in. "I'm not sure? I don't think I could find it again, if that's what you're asking."

Scarlett looked at Leon.

He shook his head. "I'm not the one that found it."

She glanced at Rosa, who just pointed back to Allyssa. "It was all her."

Scarlett furrowed her brow. "Are you certain there was nothing more in that room? No ghost or other threat that revealed itself after you found these items?"

"No," Allyssa said. "But it was like…"

Her expression grew more focused. "Well, it's hard to explain, but there was this…connection that I felt to the room, I guess you could say? To the girl who used to live there. And like I mentioned, the Custodian also mistook me for her for some reason, talking to me about some lord."

"If he mentioned a lord, it was most likely Abelard Withersworth- He was a very powerful mage that made his home here before. But I am afraid I do not know which girl it is that you are talking about."

"Ehm, I think her name was Orelia? Like I said, there was this large, incredibly detailed and fancy painting of her, and the Custodian was calling me 'young lady' and everything."

"Young lady?" Shin asked. He gave Allyssa a somewhat amused look.

She grimaced. "It was weird, okay? I bet you wouldn't like being called 'young lord' by a strange ghost-man either."

Scarlett pushed their conversation to the side of her mind, putting one hand to her chin as she thought over Allyssa's words. She wasn't quite sure what this meant, but clearly, the girl had triggered some kind of event that wasn't in the game. Or at least not in a shape that Scarlett had encountered it. What the consequences of this would be, though… They would just have to wait and see.

It was curious, in a way.

While there had been plenty of things in this world that differed from what she knew previously, all of the dungeons they'd been in had fit the game almost to a tee. At least in all the regards that mattered.

So, was this the first example of something more major that diverged from the game's setting, or simply a natural consequence of real-world factors interacting with the elements that had already been present in the game?

She would have to keep her eyes open, whatever the answer was. At the very least until she had a better grasp of the situation.

Turning away from the others, she looked down the hallway they had come from. For now, though, the next step would be to continue to the next section of the mansion.

Chapter 111 - Disbelief in the study

Scarlett and the others stood before an old wooden door. It was located at the end of a narrow stairway hidden away in the mansion's central wing. In the game, the natural way of progressing to the next section of this dungeon was through the main lobby, but that was the annoying way to go about things.

She pulled out the key she'd taken from the Custodian, placing it into the door's keyhole. The mechanism inside clicked, and the door slid open.

Taking the servants' entrance would save them several unnecessary fights.

Along with the others, she stepped through into a dim hallway that stretched forward a dozen or so meters. A thick wool carpet ran along the floor up to a point where the hallway split in two. What was probably most notable about this place—compared to the part of the mansion they'd just been in—was that there weren't any paintings hanging off the walls. From a game-design perspective, that made sense. There were other threats to deal with here. The reason for it in this world, however, was unclear.

"Where are we going now, Scarlett?" Leon asked as they began moving down the hallway. The knight and Fynn took the lead, with Shin in the rear. "Your knowledge of this place's layout is intimate enough, so I assume you have something in mind."

She studied the man's back. "I have learned enough in my research to have a general idea of the mansion's structure, yes; however, there is still much that I do not know. As for what our current objective is, that would be the study."

"The study?"

"Yes. The workplace of Lord Abelard, the master of this mansion. That would make for a suitable location to investigate, would it not?"

He glanced back at her. "…Sounds like a wise choice, yes. But what are we investigating? What's your goal after that?"

She raised a brow at him. "I will have to ask you to be more specific. Are you inquiring over what my overarching purpose in visiting this mansion is? Because I thought I made that abundantly clear in our conversation with Lord and Lady Withersworth."

For some reason, that earned her a surprised look from the man. "If anything, that made it even more unclear." He shook his head. "But no, I'm talking about what we're doing after we find the study."

She eyed him for a moment. "I suppose you will have to wait and see for yourself."

Leon frowned. "Or you can tell us right now. This isn't the kind of situation where you keep secrets from your allies because of some distorted obsession with keeping secrets."

Next to Scarlett, Allyssa took in a sudden breath, while Fynn turned his head and sent a puzzled look between Leon and Scarlett. Shin and Rosa pretended like they weren't listening.

Scarlett kept her eyes on Leon for several seconds, studying the man.

She supposed that was a…reasonable perspective to have. Though it annoyed her to no end that he would go out and just say it like that.

As for why she didn't just tell him what they'd be doing in the study…

Was that really necessary? For him, it might make things more convenient, yes. But for her, it genuinely felt simpler to let the others see things for themselves rather than having to explain every single detail each time they visited one of these places. She would admit that she might be a bit too reticent at times—like earlier with the Custodians—but it wasn't necessary to share everything. There was just far too much.

Besides, it was easier to pretend like she had learned things through her 'research' if she didn't go around describing locations in detail before they even got there. Although, that particular point might be moot, considering she doubted any of her companions ever bought into those claims to begin with.

But still.

She shook her head, turning her attention from Leon and ahead instead. "I suggest that you return your focus to the matters at hand. This is not the type of place where one can afford to be negligent in one's vigilance."

"And why is that?"

"Because, while this part of the mansion does not appear to house any further haunted paintings in it, from what I have gathered, there will still be other threats patrolling the hallways. Mainly more of those dolls that we have previously encountered, though I suspect that these are not ones you can afford to be as lax in handling."

"…How many of them are there?"

"You expect me to know an exact figure?" She clicked her tongue. "While I understand that it may appear as such, I am, in fact, not omniscient. It would do you well to remember that, and not to allow your thoughts to stray towards useless misconceptions."

"That's not what I—" Leon turned his head and looked back at her, then let out a tired sigh and looked forward again. "Fine. I'll keep my eyes open."

With that, the party descended into silence once more.

Eventually, after they'd been walking for a few minutes, Fynn suddenly stopped and sniffed the air. The rest of them came to a halt as well.

"What is it?" Allyssa whispered, stepping closer to him. "Did you notice something?"

The young man's eyes narrowed, and he shifted to stare down the hallway ahead of them. Moments later, a figure appeared from around the corner.

It looked almost like a person, standing at the same height as a short adult, with long, flowing hair running down to hide its shoulder. Its face was in the image of a delicate girl, with large, pale blue eyes that turned to look at them. Most probably would have mistaken it for a real girl. But at second glance, it was clear that something was off. Most of it was smaller things, like the rigid way it turned its head and the way the eyes didn't actually seem to move or blink. Its smooth, marble-like skin was also a bit too perfect. It definitely belonged in the uncanny-valley region of strange.

The long blades in place for hands were also a pretty big giveaway.

Fynn took off without warning. A gust of wind surged down the hallway as he hurtled towards the doll with a growl. A brief protest left Leon, but by then, Fynn was already nearing his target.

The young man's right hand shot out at the doll like a hammer. A loud thud rang out through the hallway as the doll blocked the attack with its arm, barely budging from where it stood.

That surprised Scarlett. Fynn had been able to beat down every other opponent they'd met in this mansion without issue. She knew the dolls in this section were supposed to be a lot stronger, but this was a pretty major leap in strength.

Fynn's other hand slashed out, a pair of glowing claws forming above it. One of the doll's blades went to intercept the attack. The claws dug a finger's width into the blade, but the doll's other blade moved in response, forcing Fynn to bounce back to avoid getting cut.

"Keep your eyes open." Leon left Scarlett and the others with a warning, then took off towards Fynn and the doll as well.

Scarlett had wanted to observe the man's abilities for a bit, but her attention was soon caught by a noisy clattering coming from behind them. Turning around, she and the others were met by the sight of a small wave of miniature dolls come rushing down the hallway in their direction. The tiny dolls' stiff movements didn't make the sharp blades and scissors in their hands look any less threatening.

"Allyssa." Shin sent one quick look in his companion's direction, then stepped forward to cover the rest of them.

In response, one of Allyssa's hands went up to the bandolier across her chest and pulled out a thin flask. She threw it over Shin's shoulder and down the hallway. The glass shattered in front of the incoming dolls, spreading a black viscous fluid over the carpet and floor. The fluid almost seemed to multiply at first, increasing to cover a lot more area than the size of the flask would have suggested.

"Don't use any fire," the girl said.

Scarlett lowered her hand.

The tide of dolls pushed forward, rushing into the black solution. Almost immediately, the wave turned into a mess as the dolls started clambering over each other when their limbs got stuck in the goo. The ones at the bottom got crushed by the legs and blades of those at the top, who in turn would fall down and get stuck further ahead. Only a handful succeeded in getting past it all, and those were quickly dealt with by Shin's sword.

Scarlett watched with interest as the young man proceeded to deal with the dolls that were stuck, along with Allyssa.

This was a surprisingly effective way of dealing with the dolls, considering things. These assaults were pretty annoying to deal with in the game unless you had powerful area-of-effect abilities. She wasn't completely sure her pyrokinesis could take out the dolls fast enough to stop them from reaching her and the others—her hydrokinesis definitely couldn't—so this made things easier.

She looked back at Leon and Fynn.

In the end, however, these smaller dolls were a relatively minor threat. She could barely keep up with the movements of the two as they fought with the larger doll.

Credit where credit was due, though, Leon had already managed to cut off one of its arms, while Fynn was in the process of trying to get past the blade on its other arm.

She cringed inwardly as one of the doll's—rather sharp—feet struck Fynn in the chest, sending the young man flying into a nearby wall.

The doll was about to follow up on the attack when Leon's sword lit up a bright gold, the light moving to form a circle around him and the doll. Its attention immediately shifted to the knight as it aimed a cut towards his head. Leon managed to grab its elbow, bending it in a move that forced the doll onto the floor, where he used his knees to push it down further. Its legs, however, bent up into unnatural positions and slammed into his sides with enough force that the wind from the blast reached Scarlett.

Leon grimaced at the blow, but soon wrested its legs and remaining arm away and brought down his sword. The fight was cleanly finished off as the grappled doll's head was separated from its body.

Fynn had gotten up, somewhat unsteadily, and walked over to Leon as the golden circle dissipated. The young man's head moved around as he sniffed the air, clearly wary of more enemies. For a moment his eyes turned back to where Shin and Allyssa were dealing with what remained of the smaller dolls before eventually falling back to Leon as the knight stood up, dusting himself off.

With both threats largely handled, Scarlett walked up to the two, along with Rosa. "Are you okay?" she asked, eyeing Fynn.

He blinked, then looked down at his chest, where part of his clothing had been ripped open. There were traces of blood. "It was strong," he muttered, touching the injury with his fingers.

"I surmised as much." Scarlett turned to Rosa. "Miss Hale. Would you care to lend him your aid?"

The bard smiled. "Sure. But if you ask me, it's Sir Leon over here that took the hardest beating."

She nodded towards the man, who held up a hand.

"I'm fine."

"Oh? So you looking as if you ate an unripe orange there earlier was just your normal expression, then? Good to know." Rosa shot him a small grin as she readied her klert and played a short tune. Her magic quickly took effect, and the wound on Fynn's chest started healing.

"I've had worse," Leon replied, shaking his head. The magic seemed to relax him a bit, though. "What Fynn said wasn't wrong, however. That doll was strong. A lot stronger than I thought a construct like that could be."

"I believe that much is to be expected from something created to protect the domain of an archmage," Scarlett said.

"What?" His expression turned heavier as he looked at her. "Abelard Withersworth was an archmage?"

She stared at him. That much wasn't obvious?

"Of course he was. I would like to know what other caliber of mage could fashion a place such as this that still remains in place generations after their death."

The knight's forehead creased together. "…You're not wrong. But to be honest, I'm not sure even an archmage could create something like this mansion by themselves. With the convergence of negative energies present in this place, I was expecting part of the cause to have been a disaster of some sort. Or perhaps some kind of unknown artifact."

"Perhaps." Scarlett turned around to look as Allyssa and Shin approached them. "That might also have been part of it, yes. But I can assure you that those dolls were the work of Abelard, and no one else."

"…If you say so."

"What did we miss?" Allyssa asked as she reached them.

"Nothing of note," Scarlett answered. "We were about finished here, in truth. Come, let us not delay in these halls."

She walked past the limp body of the now headless doll—there was nothing worth looting on it—and started moving down the hallway again. The others hurried to follow.

Soon, they were moving in formation again as they proceeded through the mansion. Within half an hour, they had encountered another two sets of those larger dolls along with waves of the smaller ones. Both times, Leon took on the larger dolls by himself, while Scarlett and Fynn helped Shin and Allyssa in dealing with the other ones, allowing Allyssa to save some of her materials.

Eventually, after having meandered around for quite some time with little in the way of direction—Scarlett's game knowledge didn't help much here—they reached a wide vestibule of sorts that had an arched ceiling and a broad set of doors at one end. The doors were made of a dark oak, with carved adornments running across them.

They all paused to examine the doors.

"Is this our destination, then?" Rosa asked.

Scarlett nodded. "It is."

Shin stepped forward, reaching out to try to pull one of the doors open. It didn't budge. In addition, there was no noticeable way of unlocking them.

"Unfortunately, that is unlikely to work," Scarlett said.

"How are you planning for us to get inside?" Leon looked at her. "We're not beating them down, are we?"

"You are welcome to try, if you so wish. I have my doubts that even you would be successful in such an attempt."

"There's another entrance, then?" Shin turned away from the doors and to her. "Like the servant's entrance earlier."

She gave him a satisfied nod. "Indeed, there is."

She started moving in the direction of a corridor connecting to the vestibule, continuing down it for a while before turning around a corner. There, she stopped before another door. This one had two keyholes in it. She pulled out her key and put it into the first hole, then looked back at Allyssa. "If you would be so kind," she said, gesturing towards the other hole.

The girl looked between her and the door for a moment, a flash of realization passing over her face. She reached into her clothes and took out the other key. After she placed it into the second keyhole, a click sounded out and the door slid open.

Scarlett stepped through first.

She entered into a sizeable study that had a high ceiling. The floor was made of a polished granite, and bookshelves lined the walls, with tall paintings hanging between some of them, depicting various youthful women in different sceneries. There was also a small balcony alcove above a fireplace in the corner, with a wooden railing that hid parts of a chair and a door.

"How old is this place? Like, actually?" Allyssa asked after the rest of them had entered the chamber. The girl ran her finger over a telescope that stood near the wall, then held it up and inspected her clean fingertip.

"This whole mansion has been awfully clean for a place that's supposed to have been abandoned, hasn't it?" Rosa said as the woman also looked around.

"I do not know its exact age," Scarlett said, "but approximately one hundred and fifty years should have passed since the mansion was 'abandoned', at least."

"Wait. That long?" Allyssa spun to gawk at her. "That's ages! Who's going around cleaning this place? The dolls don't have brooms, do they? And other than that custodian, we haven't run into the ghosts of staff or anything like that."

Scarlett met her eyes. "We have run into many of them."

Allyssa blinked, her expression turning gloomier. "Oh."

Scarlett shifted her attention back to the room itself. "Now, there is no rush, so feel free to explore as you wish. Inform me if you find anything of note, however."

She walked over to one of the bookshelves and started looking over the titles on it. "For those that have nothing else to do, you may help me. Abelard was supposed to have a secret entranceway somewhere in his study. I do not know its exact location, but I do know that there is a way to open it hidden somewhere here. That is what we will be searching for."

Her eyes paused on a nearby chiffonier that had a silver carafe on it. She reached out and placed the carafe into her [Pouch of Holding]. Didn't hurt to bag some extra loot while she was at it.

The others spread out around the study. Surprisingly enough, Shin didn't immediately make for the bookshelves, but rather for a wide desk that was located at the other end of the room. There were a few books and documents stacked on it, but not much more. The young Shielder started leafing through the piles.

"Find something interesting?" Allyssa asked him after they'd all been looking around for a few minutes. The girl had mostly been searching through a few drawers here and there.

"Maybe," Shin answered. He held up a thin leather-bound book. "These look like journals of some kind, written by this Lord Abelard. I'm trying to find more detailed information about what happened here."

Allyssa's expression changed as she walked over to the desk, grabbing the book from his hands.

He stared at her, then at the book. "…Are you okay? You didn't get possessed by one of those ghosts earlier, did you?"

"I'm allowed to be interested in books as well, you dunce." She sent him an annoyed look as she began flipping through the pages.

While they were doing that, Scarlett continued to comb over the rest of the room along with the others. At one point, Leon walked up beside Scarlett, pulling out the books from one of the bookshelves and examining the wall behind. "What exactly are you looking for, Scarlett?" he asked, his voice quiet.

"Have we not already had this discussion?"

"I'm not asking about in this room, or whatever other answer you were planning to give. I'm asking what your true end goal is here. At first, I thought it was about money, but things don't add up."

She turned to him, considering him for a moment. "…I will be frank. I see no reason as to why I would be obligated to share that with you. Do not forget that you are merely here to aid me, in return for my consideration in the betrothal matter. You being aware of the reasons behind this excursion holds no importance to me."

"It is important if what you're doing here is something that can affect others in the future. We're dealing with necromancy and Ittar-knows what other magic here. The fact that this place exists to begin with is bad enough, but if what's found here can bring further harm, I can't allow you to just leave with it."

She stared at him.

Right. He was a knight of the empire. His duty was to it and its citizens, and likely held priority over all else in his mind. She didn't doubt for a second that he would turn her in if he genuinely thought he had enough reason to.

"…What is it that you see when you look at me?" she found herself asking.

He frowned. "What?"

She shook her head. "Never mind. It is nothing that you have to concern yourself with. As for your worries… What I want from this mansion presents no risk to others' lives. I am not planning on doing anything that might threaten the empire, if that is your concern."

That wasn't entirely true. Her primary objective here was to get an item that was needed for her plans with Gaven and the Countess. Those plans weren't exactly 'legal' or 'virtuous'—and depending on who you asked, they could very well be considered a national threat—but she would at the very least try to ensure that no innocents were harmed. She also didn't have much choice in the matter.

Leon's eyes stayed on her for a few seconds. Then he turned back to sifting through the bookshelf. "…I wasn't implying that you were."

Scarlett couldn't stop the scoff that she let out at that. "Are you certain?"

The man remained silent in response.

Soon, she left and walked over to another part of the study to search through a bureau and its drawers.

After a while, Rosa passed by closer to her. "Hey, mind sharing exactly what we're searching for? I've been looking around like a miller in Silverborough but haven't found anything but a bunch of far-too-clean books. With a secret entrance being, you know, secret, it'd be helpful if you knew what that secret looked like."

"Unfortunately, I do not have an answer for you," Scarlett said.

It'd been a while since she had been here in the game, and this was such a minor puzzle that she couldn't remember exactly what it had been like.

"Most likely, we are searching for hidden levers or buttons of some sort. Two or three of them."

The bard let out a thoughtful hum, then shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I suppose that's better than nothing."

They continued for a while longer. Eventually, Fynn found a small lever hidden inside the fireplace, and not long after, Leon found another one in one of the bookshelves.

Even after they pulled both, however, nothing happened. Which meant that there was probably at least one more that they had to find. After looking around for another ten minutes without finding traces of it, though, Scarlett pressed her lips together in thought. They had already scoured most of the study.

"What about up there?" Rosa asked.

Scarlett looked to where the woman was pointing, up at the alcove above the fireplace.

"That does seem like the only place we have yet to look," Leon said.

"How about it?" Rosa turned to Scarlett. "Feel like going for a climb?"

"I'll do it," Fynn said, stepping towards the fireplace.

"No, that is quite alright." Scarlett met Rosa's mirthful gaze. "I would not want to disappoint Miss Hale, after all."

The woman gave her a surprised look. "Yeah, really? What are you planning on doing?"

In response, Scarlett walked over to stand in front of the fireplace, looking up at the alcove. After a second's focus, a thin mist sprung up around her. The moment after, she was standing on the alcove. The others stared up at her as she looked around for a lever. She quickly found it. A thin metal rod sitting on the wall next to the door that was up here.

She pulled it down.

A collection of clicks and grinding sounded out as one of the bookshelves shifted, sliding inwards and dissipating away like an illusion. It revealed a stairway that led down into complete darkness.

Mist formed around Scarlett once more as she teleported back down to the others, affording Rosa a small smile. "Does that satisfy you, Miss Hale?"

The woman chuckled. "I guess it does, yeah. That'll teach me not to expect the unexpected."

"What was that?" Leon asked, studying Scarlett.

"It was merely the effect of an artifact of mine," she said.

Up till now, they hadn't encountered any actual situations where she had to use the short-range teleportation ability that came with the [Garments of Form], so this was the first time she was using it outside of her training sessions. Considering it had three charges, and each charge only took five minutes to recharge, it wasn't exactly a waste to use it on something like this.

"Now then," she continued and looked towards the new entrance in the study. "Shall we proceed to the next part?"

Chapter 112 - Hidden laboratory? Check

"Is everyone ready?" Scarlett asked, her gaze moving over the others beside her, stopping on Allyssa. The girl blinked, looking up from the book she had been reading, her eyes then darting between Scarlett and the entrance that had opened up in the wall.

"Oh, eh, kinda?" she said.

"Find anything interesting in there?" Rosa asked, pointing at the book.

Allyssa looked down at it, running a finger over its half-yellowed pages. For some reason, it didn't seem to be in as good condition as the other books here. "I'm still reading through it. It seems to be a journal mostly containing this Lord Abelard guy's daily musings. Some of his thoughts, though, they're a bit…strange."

"Strange as in scaring-servants-by-walking-around-in-undies-strange, or as in lives-in-a-mansion-filled-with-homicidal-dolls-strange?"

"Both?" Allyssa sounded uncertain. "I don't quite understand all of it yet. I'm hoping it'll start making sense soon."

Rosa turned to Scarlett. "You know something about that?"

"Not much more than Miss Astrey will learn from that journal, I would venture," Scarlett answered. "However, Abelard was a deranged man. That much I can tell you."

"Really?" The bard held up a hand to her mouth. "Who would have thought?"

Scarlett eyed the woman for a moment before turning back to the others. "If that is all, then I propose we continue."

"Is it fine if we bring some of the books here?" Shin asked, gesturing to the bookshelves around them. "There's no telling what could be in them."

She considered it for a couple of seconds. Books could be worth a pretty penny. And all these were at minimum 150 years old. That either meant they were totally worthless, or worth more than your average book, so it might indeed be worth gathering some of them up.

"Very well," she said. "Bring as many as you wish."

Shin began moving around the study, picking out books with Fynn's help and putting them into the [Bag of Juham]. Leon was observing this with an odd expression, but Scarlett didn't pay him too much mind. Instead, she walked along the bookshelves to see if there weren't any titles that might interest her, placing a few inside her [Pouch of Holding] for later perusal.

Eventually, they all prepared to enter the secret entrance. Scarlett started walking down the dark stone stairway, conjuring a small fireball above her head to light the way. It was longer than one might expect, so it took her at least a minute or two, but finally, she reached the bottom. There, a worn wooden door blocked her path.

Leon, who'd been moving just behind her, reached out an arm past her. "It's best if I go first," he said, grabbing hold of the door handle.

She glanced back at him. "…Feel free."

She stepped closer to the wall, allowing him to pass. The man gripped the hilt of his sword with one hand and pushed the door open with the other. Scarlett waited a few seconds before following.

Waiting on the other side was a wide stone chamber, though it was so dark that one could barely make out most of it. She gestured for Fynn and Shin to bring out a pair of lamps, then conjured another set of fireballs that she dispersed around the chamber. Their light revealed a low, vaulted ceiling, with various chests, shelves, and tables with different tools spread around the place. Lining the walls were several variants of the dolls they'd seen throughout the mansion, hanging off of wooden racks of sorts. Most looked to be unfinished in some way, missing arms, legs, or other parts, with their metal frame skeleton visible beneath.

While the half-finished dolls certainly gave the place an eerie feeling, it wasn't quite as horrible a sight one might have feared from what was ostensibly a madman's hidden laboratory.

Leon was eyeing the dolls closely, clearly expecting them to start moving any second now. Scarlett didn't bother telling him that they weren't even alive. She doubted he would let his guard down, anyway.

As the others entered behind them, Allyssa looked around the chamber. "Actually." She spoke in a quiet voice. "We won't run into the ghost of Lord Abelard down here or something, will we?"

"I do not think that is especially likely, no," Scarlett answered. "There is a much higher likelihood that he is in the mansion's conservatory, from what I have gathered."

The girl paused, head turning to look at her. "Wait, so he is actually still around?"

Scarlett met her eyes. "Why would he not be? Have we not already encountered the ghosts of this mansion's other residents?"

Allyssa frowned. "Yes, well, but… I don't know. I just thought he'd be long dead."

"Technically, he is," Shin said. "He's a ghost."

She shot him a look. "You know what I meant."

"Yes. That's why I corrected you."

The girl shook her head, looking back at Scarlett. "Are we looking for anything special here?" she asked.

"I am, yes. You may once more do whatsoever you wish, for the time being."

"Oh… Okay." Allyssa returned her attention to the journal she had carried down with her.

Scarlett turned to take in the rest of the chamber. Leon had made his way to the center, having already checked those of the dolls that were closest. Near her, Rosa walked past a doll whose face was half marble—without any other features yet—while the other half had been replaced by what looked like some sort of leathery skin that might have once belonged to an animal.

"Okay, that's a little disturbing," the woman said, though that didn't stop her from poking the face.

Scarlett looked away at the sight. "In that, we are in agreement."

Rosa turned back to her. "So, you're looking for something down here, am I right? When you find whatever that is, what then? What are we doing after that?"

Scarlett pointed to a pair of doors at the other end of the chamber. "There should be paths connecting from here to other parts of the mansion. We will have to locate the correct one, but from there we can proceed on to wherever we may wish to go. But as you said, before that…"

She stopped next to a nearby shelf, looking over some of the old papers and books on it. The items down here seemed to have aged much worse than in the rest of the mansion, but she still found a couple of documents where the words and illustrations were somewhat legible. She read through them for a moment, then walked back over to where Allyssa was, leaning against a wall next to the entrance.

The girl looked up from the journal in her hands as Scarlett held the papers out to her.

"What are these?" she asked.

"Alchemical notes and recipes, it would appear."

Allyssa's eyes widened. She reached out with her hand but paused, shooting a hesitant look around the chamber and down at the journal in her other hand. "Actually… I'm not sure I want them."

Scarlett studied her for a few seconds. Then she put the papers into the pouch on her own waist instead. "I will hold on to them for you to look at later, if you are to change your mind. The origin of the knowledge does not diminish the value it holds or the good it might do, if that is what worries you."

Allyssa blinked at her words, but soon gave a quick nod as Scarlett left her and walked over to the other end of the chamber. By now, Shin and Fynn had placed out a couple of lamps to light the place up, so she dispelled her own fires to save mana.

Passing by Leon where he stood near the center of the chamber, she gestured for him to follow. "Sir Leon. Would you lend me a hand?"

He gave her a wary look. "…Sure."

The two of them walked over to a corner at the far end of the chamber where a set of worktables was spread out in a square. The man's eyes turned to the three almost-completed doll frames that hung from racks at the middle of the tables.

Scarlett's own attention passed over the instruments that were strewn across the worktables. She had no idea what most of them were. There was a mix between glass receptacles of some kind—with odd gauges and tubes attached to the sides—and different tools, like chisels and files. Some of the tools looked a lot sharper than one would expect, with carved lines running along their blades and handles.

She moved to one table in particular. It was circular and smaller than the others, placed at the edge of the space like it held a different purpose. The other tables were also made out of wood, while this one was made of a deep black stone with grooves etched into its face in strange shapes. At its top was a human skull with a strange, violet gem set into its forehead. The gem had more facets cut into it than Scarlett could count, and it looked slightly different from each angle she viewed it from.

She turned back to Leon. "Help me remove this gem."

The man's eyes narrowed as he saw the skull, though that didn't stop him from stepping over and reaching out to pick it up. The skull was affixed to the table, however. It took a moment for Leon to tear it off, the sound of the skull cracking in two echoing out across the room.

An awkward expression appeared on his face as he glanced at Scarlett, but she simply waved for him to continue.

With the upper section of the skull in his hand, he then tried pulling the gem out, but that seemed to be even trickier. After a few attempts, he pulled out a small dagger from somewhere on his body—she wasn't sure where—and used the blade's tip to carefully pry the gem off.

She held out a palm with a small smile as he finally placed the gem in her hand. That looked like it might have taken a little bit of strength, yes, but she mostly just hadn't wanted to touch a dirty old skull herself.

"Do you actually know what that is?" Leon asked her.

She held the gem up in front of her.

[Gem of Athanasia (Unique)]

{The impermanence of death lies in the connections that bind us, embodied in this gem}

"I do, yes."

"…And?"

She looked at him. "You would not have an interest in genealogy?"

"In what?"

"I suppose not. Or perhaps you would consider it part of heraldry. To put it in a way that you might understand, this is an artifact that remembers that which runs within our blood."

The connections the description was speaking of were probably a reference to the blood relations between people. Perhaps there was more to it as well, but what she knew from the game was that this gem theoretically held the power to 'remember' the identities of those connected to a person by blood.

Although 'remember' probably wasn't the best word to describe it, considering the item somehow knew about people that both it and the person themself might never have met. It also wouldn't work unless you also had the [Memory of the Covenant], which she had sent Gaven to collect.

Abelard had clearly been able to make use of the gem for his own purposes without it, though, but she didn't know exactly how. She wasn't an archmage, after all. It didn't matter to her, either. As long as it worked as it should later when she tried it, she'd be content.

"That explanation doesn't make things much clearer," Leon said.

Scarlett placed the gem into her pouch. "That is regrettable. Unfortunately, it is the extent to which my understanding of the artifact goes."

She wasn't lying. She didn't know how the [Gem of Athanasia] could know who your relatives were just from looking at your blood. To be honest, she thought the whole concept was complete bull. But that was just magic in general, wasn't it? She wouldn't complain more than necessary. If it worked, it worked.

Leon stared at her for several seconds. "Is it dangerous?"

"Only about as dangerous as that sword you are holding." She pointed down at the blade in question. "Any further questions?"

He met her eyes for a moment, then shook his head.

"Good." She turned away and walked over to the other tables. Finding the [Gem of Athanasia] was her main objective here, so she would have been satisfied with this much, but there were a lot of old potions and magical instruments that did god-knows-what here. It would be a waste not to bring those along as well. Who knows what all of this might be worth? And sure, this wasn't a game, so drinking a 150-year-old potion might not be the brightest of ideas, but that didn't necessarily mean they were worthless.

Calling Fynn over, they spent a while just moving around the lab, pocketing anything that wasn't broken or too large to fit in the [Bag of Juham]. She didn't know what the storage limit of the spatial bag actually was, but until they reached it, she wouldn't hesitate to throw more stuff in. They could always toss out the least valuable items later on if it was filled. That was the classic way of inventory management, passed down through generations of games.

As they were finishing things up, Allyssa walked up to the rest of them with a somber expression on her face. It seemed she had finished reading through that journal.

Scarlett put away another alchemical document that she'd been looking over as she watched the girl pause and move over to one of the doll frames.

For a moment, Allyssa just stood there, seemingly looking into the unfinished doll's empty eyes. "Rosa," she said out loud. "Before, you said that even monsters deserved pity. You also said that the dolls looked…bored, or something, right? How could you tell that?"

The bard, who wasn't standing too far away, turned to look at her. "…I just knew."

The young Shielder reached out to touch the doll. "…I found out how he created these. Abelard, I mean. He described it towards the end of the journal."

Shin and the others also stopped in what they were doing, looking over at Allyssa.

"Apparently, they're made from the souls of captured fey. Like those fairies we met outside of Temisbrook." Allyssa stayed quiet for a moment. "He captured them, killed them, and then somehow brought them back again. But when he brought them back, he warped their souls so that he could place them into these dolls, forcing a single purpose on to them that ruled their being. It would be like an obsession to them. Their entire existence revolved around it." The girl's voice held a bleak tone now. "How sad is that? To have a purpose imposed on you. And there's nothing you can do about it. They weren't even released when he died. Instead, they must have been forced to just sit still for over a century, not even able to fulfill the only desire that they now had."

She looked at Rosa. "How could you tell something like that from just seeing them one time?"

The bard met the girl's eyes, then shrugged. "I didn't. I only knew what I knew."

Allyssa turned back to the doll. "…Despite what he did to them, Abelard wasn't satisfied with what he had created. He wanted more. Something perfect. That's when he found his 'muse'." There was a distaste for the word hidden in the girl's voice. "I'm not sure what happened, but his writings from this point on turned even…freakier, than before. He already seemed to have this weird fixation on creating some new living thing, but after this, it almost seemed like he became as obsessed with this as the dolls he'd created were with their own purposes."

She paused for a moment, looking back down at the journal in her hand and opening one of its pages. "'Hair like the fabled golden shores of Zovivios. Eyes like the jewels of the sea. Perfection in the shape of living flesh.'"

A grimace appeared on her face at the description.

"'A character that charms all those around. The entire staff is already enamored with her. Only an act of divine will could have brought her to me. The sheer serendipity behind these facts proves as much.' That's how he described the girl from that painting earlier. It was like she was a doll, created only for him."

Scarlett studied Allyssa for a few seconds.

All of that was a bit more than she knew herself. She was aware the dolls were fey in origin since they shared some resistances, but the details hadn't been described in the game, to her knowledge. This 'muse'—the Orelia girl Allyssa had described—was also a bit of an unknown. It was possible she had been present in the game. It almost seemed likely. But she hadn't been a major presence, if so.

Allyssa turned to Scarlett. "You said the ghost of Lord Abelard might be in the conservatory?"

"That is correct."

A serious expression had appeared on the Shielder's face. "Then I think I know what it is that I'm supposed to do now."

Chapter 113 - A conservatory melee

Along with the others, Scarlett made her way through the hidden paths of Abelard's Doll mansion that had connected to the secret laboratory. They'd climbed dark stone stairways, squeezed past tight passageways running behind the mansion walls, and now, they eventually found themselves exiting out from behind a large painting frame into a long lobby with painted walls and bright, magical lights hanging from the ceiling. There was a tall set of doors at the end of the lobby, with a doll guarding either side. Both dolls turned to them, but neither moved from their position.

Scarlett looked around. They were before the conservatory—or rather, the boss room—and had skipped most of this section of the dungeon. It wasn't exactly optimal, at least not when looking at it from a loot-gathering perspective, but that wasn't an actual issue. They could always backtrack through the mansion later, after they dealt with things here. It was easier doing things in that order, really.

She shifted her eyes to the two dolls, studying them for a moment.

To her artifact-empowered sight, the telltale signs of their weak points showed as small whirlwinds of movement in their magical defenses.

It seemed the [Tablet of Sovegrephor] had done its job. She'd used it on her [Charms of Apperception] before they left the laboratory since it could be useful to see these things in the upcoming fight. The new 'level limit' for the charms was unknown, but considering the tablet had been epic-tier, she wagered that the [Charms of Apperception] would now work against enemies somewhere in the 65-70 range if you went by the game's power levels.

That should be enough for this place.

She gestured towards the dolls. "Sir Leon. If you would take the lead."

The tall man gave her a brief look before readying his sword and moving down the lobby. Both dolls remained motionless until he was within a few meters of the doors behind them. Then, as if on command, both raised their blade-like arms and lashed out at the knight.

Leon's sword lit up as he blocked one set of arms, the other doll being pushed back by a burst of light from the blade. A moment after, Fynn came rushing in like a truck, leaping at the second doll with both arms raised and glowing claws above his knuckles.

It shifted its focus to him just in time to block the attack. Then its head was knocked back as a small bolt struck beneath its eye, creating a thin crack in its marble face.

Beside Scarlett, Allyssa quickly got to reloading her crossbow.

Fynn jumped on the opportunity and slashed his claws through the doll's left arm, almost tearing half of it off. Scarlett conjured a wall of fire to block its sight to the left, and Shin came striking with his sword from the right. The doll blocked the man's attack without issue, and it didn't appear afraid of Scarlett's flames. That was its mistake though, as a second later, Leon's sword came soaring through the firewall and separated the doll's head from its body in one fell swoop.

Fynn quickly moved on to break apart what remained of the doll, as the rest of them shifted their attention to the second doll to distract it for long enough that Leon could finish it off as well. A dozen or so seconds after the fight had started, both dolls lay unmoving on the floor.

Leon turned back to Scarlett with a surprised look on his face as she and the others approached him. "Did you do that intentionally?"

"I presume you are referring to the wall of fire that I created? If so, then yes. It seemed a suitable way of handling things without wasting too much mana."

He stared at her for a moment, then sheathed his sword and turned to the doors behind him. "I didn't know you had experience with things like this."

"I have had my butler tutor me on the subject recently," Scarlett said. "While I am yet far from 'proficient', the understanding and knowledge his teachings have given me has proven indispensable."

She glanced to the side, prompting the system to show her current mana stores.

[Mana: 3386/4698]

Up till now, she had afforded to be frugal with her mana, but this was where things would get serious. Placing a hand into her [Pouch of Holding], she pulled out the rusty [Fireguard Knife] and put it into her belt. She was still planning on having the item restored, but its effect of boosting her pyromancy—pyrokinesis included, it turned out—worked despite that. Her experiments had shown that the boost wasn't that strong. Maybe a bit under 10%? But it was better than nothing.

It went without saying that she already had her other items equipped as well. [Sidhe's Flowing Garbs] was activated and amplified by the [Prayer of Salvation] bracelet, in addition to several health potions that she had at the ready.

She also pulled out two mana potions. The others waited as she drank both. The taste was far from pleasant, but it refilled enough of her mana.

[Mana: 4434/4698]

There were only two more where those came from, unfortunately. Not only were the materials rarer for these than for the health potions, but there was also a limit to how many mana potions you could drink before suffering some side effects similar to mana exhaustion.

She turned to look at the others. "Are you all prepared for what comes next?"

They all nodded their heads.

"Good. Then let us proceed."

She gestured for Leon to go first. He walked over to the doors and leaned forward as he pressed his hands against them. Loud grating filled the lobby as the doors slid open to reveal what lay beyond.

The boss room was a large, circular chamber with a vaulted glass ceiling that showed the night sky and the stars above. Lining the walls was a veritable army of the dolls they'd been dealing with throughout this section of the mansion. At the center, jutting up from the floor, was a small glass dome with a green liquid inside, and attached to the top of the glass was a large emerald.

In front of the dome, seated on a chair facing the entrance, was yet another doll. Where the other dolls were human-like in their appearances, yet still clearly artificial, this one was almost indistinguishable from an actual person. It had long, blonde hair and a youthful appearance that would make most men—and probably some women—turn their heads. Scarlett really wouldn't have thought it to be a doll if she didn't already know of it from before.

The others in her party sent wary glances across the room, most of their attention focused on the doll in the chair.

After all of them had stepped inside the room, the space above the glass dome shimmered as a figure started taking shape. A billowing black robe was the first thing that formed, draped over a tall, bony, and half-translucent frame. Seeping out of the robes was a faint green glow, which eventually coalesced to create a gaunt face with a pair of intense eyes that stared right at them. Or rather, right at Allyssa.

The ghost of Abelard Withersworth had appeared.

Behind them, the doors to the conservatory closed shut.

Allyssa looked back at Scarlett and the others with a light nod.

Scarlett could guess the meaning behind it, signaling for her to go ahead. The girl had wanted a chance to do things by herself first, before they began for real.

As Allyssa took a few steps forward, the ghost of Abelard started floating down towards her.

Both Leon and Shin moved forward as well, seemingly ready to act within a moment's notice if necessary, but Abelard didn't even appear to notice them.

"Hmm. Orelia, is that you?" the ghost spoke as he approached Allyssa, studying her. His brows furrowed into a frown. "Why are you late? I sent word for you ages ago. Ages."

"I… I came as soon as I could, Lord Abelard."

His frown deepened.

"…Fine, fine. It matters no more. You are here now. Come. Sit." He turned, gesturing towards the chair where the blonde doll sat. "We do not have any time to waste. Those fools do not understand the majesty of my work here, but that will not stop their meddling. They will be here any moment now, but I will not allow them to interfere with my work! Quick. Move your feet."

Allyssa stayed where she was. "What are you going to do?"

Abelard stopped, slowly rotating in the air to look at her. "…What was that? Why are you dallying? This is no time for your nonsense, girl. Come, hurry."

"But there aren't any people coming here. They're all dead. Can't you tell me what this is first?"

He went quiet, his gaze turning steelier. Then his eyes narrowed. "…You think to trick me?"

"What? No." Allyssa stepped back and raised her arms. "I'm not trying to—"

"Silence." Abelard moved his hand.

Allyssa froze, then jolted forward as something escaped from her body. Behind her, a vague, barely perceptible shape of a girl in a flowing white dress took form.

Scarlett narrowed her eyes. That looked familiar…

Leon and Shin both hurried up to help Allyssa, and Abelard's attention finally shifted to them.

The atmosphere around him took on a much heavier presence. "Intruders? In my home?"

He uttered a phrase Scarlett recognized.

"You fools. You have come to seek your own doom. This is my domain!"

Allyssa seemed to recover from whatever happened just in time as Abelard floated back to the center of the room, stopping to hover above the glass dome.

"Come, my dears," he cried out and raised his arms into the air. "Show these intruders their folly!"

The blonde doll came alive, rising from its seat with a gracefulness that the other dolls had lacked. Its eyes focused on Leon as the knight moved in front of the others.

At the same time, three of the dolls spread around the room also took a step forward.

Rosa's soft voice enveloped Scarlett as the bard started performing her magic. Three different tunes quickly replaced each other, and Fynn and the others all seemed to lean forward slightly, as if filled with energy.

Scarlett felt as if a state of pure focus washed over her. Not only Abelard, but all of the dolls around the room suddenly stood out like beacons to her, including the location of each of their weak points. Their presence almost called for her mind to notice them, and she only had to exert the bare minimum of effort to comply.

It was also immediately discernable to her that the movements of the three normal dolls had become slightly slower.

Next to her, Rosa let out a long breath. "Wasn't sure that one'd work. Never tried so many at once before, but suppose there's a first for everything."

Scarlett glanced at her for a second, then turned her attention back to the dolls. The boss doll, the blonde one, was staring at Leon as its sisters approached from the sides of the room.

All at once, they sprang forward.

"Back!" Leon shouted as his sword lit up to meet the boss doll's advance. A boom rang out as blade met limb. The shockwave from the blow was enough to send Scarlett's hair flying.

It was best to leave that doll to him.

Instead, she focused her attention on the other dolls that were rushing towards them.

Fynn's clothes shook as the wind soared up around him, and he ran ahead to face the two dolls that were coming from the right side of the room. Shin made to meet the last one coming from the left, which Allyssa had already started firing her crossbow at.

Scarlett took a few steps back, getting an overlook of the battlefield.

She was in no rush to strike at the dolls herself. While her magic could probably injure them if she struck their weak points, in the end, these dolls were too strong for most of what she could bring to bear without getting too wasteful with her mana. They weren't much weaker than the last boss had been in the Howling Gale's Haunt. As for the boss doll, it had been level 65 in the game. Leon should be stronger than that, theoretically, but it was still unlikely that he could afford to split his attention between it and the other dolls.

Raising a hand, she conjured a high-intensity Aqua Mine next to one of the dolls that Fynn was fighting. With its attention focused on him, the Mine blasted through part of its defense and destabilised it just enough for Fynn to avoid the twin attacks that came from both his opponents.

Scarlett then turned her attention to the left, creating a film of water around the head of the doll that Shin was fighting. It quickly heated up and created a cloud of steam around the doll, which afforded Shin a short opportunity to retreat from its assault. The moment after, one of Allyssa's vials came flying and landed at its feet, spreading a black goo over the floor.

Scarlett lit the substance on fire, and the doll's legs lit up like a bonfire as it made to follow Shin.

Continuing to split her attention between Fynn and Shin, she gave her support wherever needed. Shin was by far the one at the largest disadvantage, having neither the strength nor the speed to stop the doll's advances, but with her help, Rosa's magic, as well as Allyssa's concoctions and crossbow attacks, they managed to keep him on his feet for the time being.

Their side did suffer injuries a couple of times—especially Fynn, who wasn't wearing any real armor, and whose own defense wasn't quite at the level where it could stop these dolls—but Rosa was quick to heal them with her songs. Any time she did, however, she had to halt one of her other effects for the duration.

Eventually, with Scarlett's help, Fynn succeeded in separating one of his opponents' arms from its body, but it had taken too much time. At least a few minutes had passed since the start of the fight, and they weren't making any real progress.

Leon was still keeping the boss doll busy, their fight literally causing her ears to hurt with its intensity, but it didn't look like it was ending soon either.

Everything about this fight had followed the formula she was familiar with from the game, including Abelard not joining the fight himself yet. That meant that, if things continued at this current pace—

"Go, my dears! Teach these fools the consequences of their actions!" Abelard shouted across the room.

Another two dolls standing by the walls started moving.

—it was only a matter of time before more enemies joined in.

Scarlett looked at Fynn and Shin. Neither could deal with any more enemies.

Leon seemed to have noticed this new threat as well. He turned away from his fight for just a moment, looking back at them. "Come over here!" he yelled and a shimmer of light left him, trailing across the floor to form a circular barrier between him and them.

Scarlett narrowed her eyes at it.

That might be able to keep them safe for a bit, but it wasn't a sustainable way of continuing this fight.

She looked up at Abelard, who still showed no signs of entering the fight. She wasn't even sure he could. Not actually. The real man might have been an archmage in life, but that didn't necessarily mean he'd know how to fight. And what remained was only his ghost.

She turned to Rosa and Allyssa. "Go to the barrier, then close your eyes."

Neither of them questioned her as they hurried forward to enter the barrier of light, sending worried glances at the two new dolls that were approaching. Both had been standing on the left side of the room and were moving to overwhelm Shin.

Scarlett raised a hand. A moment later, a conflagration of flames enveloped Abelard.

The intensity and brightness of the attack almost blinded her even though she looked away, and it nearly drowned out the echoing scream that left the ghost.

She only maintained the magic for a few seconds before dispelling it.

A slightly more translucent Abelard was revealed, now staring straight at her.

"You dare!" He waved his arms in a wide movement. A dark, green light escaped from one of the dolls Fynn was fighting and the one Shin had been dealing with, flying across the room and towards the ghost.

Both dolls fell to the floor, like puppets with their strings cut, and the lights formed into a ball before Abelard. He thrust his arms forward, and the ball shot out towards Scarlett, followed by the wails of a hundred souls.

A thin mist sprung up around her, and she reappeared several meters behind where the attack slammed into the ground. The green light roiled and clung to the floor like a thick miasma, with dozens of specter-like shapes taking form in it.

She ignored the surprised expression on Abelard's face as she raised her hand. Identifying the weak spots of the specters that were about to join the fight, she summoned dozens of Aqua Mines. A moment later, a barrage of steam and flames embroiled the shapes before they could fully manifest, their incorporeal forms disappearing back into nothingness.

Her magic really was a good counter against these things. It also helped that Rosa's buff made it a lot easier to handle so many Aqua Mines at once.

Not wasting any more time, she turned her attention to the two dolls that were about to reach Shin, creating a pair of firewalls just in time to distract them from bisecting the young Shielder. Then Fynn came running, leaping through the air and punching one of the dolls' heads straight into the ground as he and Shin switched sides.

Once more, Scarlett began supporting the two of them against their opponents until a certain equilibrium was reached.

She then returned her attention to Abelard. He had moved away from the center of the room, but it wasn't as if he could escape her range. She wasn't sure if this would work more than one time, but…

Another sphere of fire swallowed the ghost as he let out another violent shriek. When the flames died down once more, the man was glaring at her with death in his gaze.

He moved his hands again and two more dolls fell to the floor, this time the two that Fynn was fighting.

Scarlett readied herself to dodge the ghost's attack once more. But this time, Abelard wasn't looking at her.

For a brief moment, her breath caught in her throat as he launched the next blast towards Allyssa and Rosa. The magic crashed into Leon's barrier, pushing against and forming cracks in it. The barrier completely shattered to the sound of a thousand crashing windows, but thankfully, the magic dissipated along with it.

A scowl appeared on Abelard's face.

"Go, my dears! Teach these fools the consequences of their actions!" he declared yet again, with the exact same cadence as the previous time. Two more dolls started moving.

"Go, my dears! Teach these fools the consequences of their actions!"

Another pair of dolls came to life.

A caustic smile found its way onto Scarlett's face. It seemed this ghost was stuck in his ways, to a certain degree. That meant she could at least partially control the flow of what happened and when, which was exactly what she was planning.

A battle of attrition it was…

Chapter 114 - Friction

Scarlett downed her last mana potion and let the empty flask fall to the floor.

[Mana: 1668/4698]

That was all she had left to work with.

She looked across the room to where the ghost of Abelard Withersworth was floating. His form had turned more and more transparent as she'd continued her attacks, but he wasn't out of play yet. Nor had he stopped bringing more and more of his dolls alive, forcing her to expend more and more mana to attack him so that he would sacrifice the dolls with his counterattacks.

For the time being, they had reached a strange balance of sorts. The dolls were being removed at roughly the same pace that they joined the fight, though Scarlett's attack had also become less aggressive in order to save mana. She was relying on Leon's barriers blocking Abelard's attack where possible. The knight was still in the middle of his own fight with the blonde doll. He had dealt a decent amount of damage to one of its arms, but with him having to focus on protecting the others in addition to the doll, Scarlett feared he was stretched too thin.

It was better than the alternative, though.

And if she removed Abelard from the fight, it would put things to an end quickly.

She conjured a set of three Aqua Mines in front of one of the newly awakened dolls that was dashing towards Fynn. The mines burst just in time to strike two of its weak points. It barely lost balance for the blink of an eye, but it was enough for Fynn to step forward, dodging under its attack, and then slam a powerful fist right into its midriff.

The blow sent the doll skidding across the floor, but the next moment, another doll came leaping at the young man. He ducked back, preparing himself to deal with it along with a third doll that he had been fighting just before.

"Go, my dears! Teach these fools the consequences of their actions!" Abelard's voice echoed across the chamber once more, and another pair of dolls came alive. There were a little less than half of them left now, lining the walls. Scarlett had tried preemptively dealing with a couple of them, but that had just led to Abelard animating even more of them in response, so it was best to let things pass as they should.

She looked at Leon for a brief moment, waiting for him to erect another barrier. Unfortunately, he seemed especially preoccupied dodging the doll's attacks as its arms moved in a flurry of blows that seemingly had no end.

She pressed her lips together. She needed to cut down the dolls' numbers before the others were overrun.

Raising her hand, she conjured two Aqua Mines to help Shin, just in time for him to avoid an attack from the doll he was facing. Then she pulled up her [Wand of Fireball] from the pouch fastened to her waist, conjuring another set of Mines around Abelard to catch his attention.

The ghost let out an enraged scream as the barrage of steam struck him a moment later, though the damage was noticeably inferior to some of her previous attacks.

Abelard waved his hand again, and two of the battling dolls fell down, joining the dozen or so of their brethren already on the floor. Before he had the chance to gather the two dolls' souls—or whatever it was—and send his next attack, Scarlett flicked her wand and sent off four fireballs in quick succession. Four explosions crashed right into the ghost.

"You dare!" He sent her a glare as the flames faded, barely any worse for wear.

But he didn't seem to notice the array of Aqua Mines that were hovering around him. Each was the size of his head, and even with [Superior Pyrokinesis] going at full power, it took Scarlett a few seconds to prepare them. But that was what distractions were for.

She detonated the mines all at once. The blasts perforated Abelard's form, as well as the green magic that had been coalescing before him. His body grew slightly more see-through and souls in front of him dissipated away.

Scarlett smiled as she saw the wrath on his face. This was the first time she'd succeeded in doing that.

A loud crack sounded out in front of her. One of the boss doll's arms was sent flying by Leon's sword, landing on the floor beside the limp body of another doll.

"Finally." Scarlett heard a tired sigh escape the knight as a brief silence descended on the room. "I've never encountered anything this tough outside of dragon scales."

Abelard's expression widened in horror. "No! No! No! What have you done?!"

The ghost started floating down towards the doll, but Scarlett summoned several walls of fire in front of him. He didn't even seem to notice, however, flying straight ahead towards his precious 'masterpiece', even as the flames licked at his form.

All the other dolls' attention shifted from their opponents, fixating on Leon.

"Fynn," Scarlett called out, pointing towards the hysterical Abelard.

The young man seemed to understand her intent as he immediately dashed off. The others made to help Leon, as the knight tried to push his advantage and overwhelm the now one-armed doll with his steadfast attacks, even as several others were converging on his position.

Scarlett breathed in for a moment, mustering her focus, then looked straight at Abelard. She aimed her hands at him. A moment later, a blazing sun tore its way into existence and engulfed the ghost. The scorching flames drowned out his screams, and she continued maintaining her magic even as it devoured through what remained of her mana.

With sweat forming on her brow, she finally let the fire fade away as her mana reached dangerous levels. Abelard's beaten, weakened shape was revealed, the hatred clear in his eyes as he stared both at her and at Leon.

Before he could act, however, a hair-raising howl echoed out from under him. The air around them almost visibly shook as Fynn jumped up at Abelard with a speed that dwarfed any that the dolls—barring the boss doll—had displayed. With claws bared, the white-haired young man soared up, aided by unseen winds, and struck right at the ghost.

For a brief moment, a look of bewilderment flashed over Abelard's face. Then a tiny, muffled scream left him just as the claws tore through his neck. A bright luster spread from the wound before his entire body suddenly turned a blazing white and burst into motes of light.

All at once, the dolls that had surrounded Leon stopped in their tracks.

The knight paused, looking around him for a moment. A brilliant, golden light covered him like a suit of armor, and he had seemingly been prepared to take them all on at the same time, if necessary. Scarlett doubted that even he would have been able to survive that, though.

"Is… Is it over?" Allyssa asked after a few moments of silence. The girl's eyes seemed to turn to the blonde boss doll that was standing in front of Leon, an empty expression on its face as it just stood still.

"It would appear so," Scarlett replied, taking the chance to bring out a towel from her [Pouch of Holding] and wipe the sweat from her face as she took several deep breaths. Her mana was almost exhausted, and she'd used four mana potions in relatively close succession. Neither of the two factors helped in staving off the tiredness that was setting in. Still, this was nowhere near as bad as her training sessions in Freymeadow.

She looked at Allyssa as the girl started walking towards the blonde doll.

That spirit—or whatever it had been—that had appeared behind Allyssa at the start of the fight was gone, but there were still a couple of questions left regarding that.

Scarlett assumed it was some remnant of this Orelia girl that had been living in this mansion, but what did its presence mean? Should they be worried about Allyssa's safety, or was whatever the spirit had done harmless? It shouldn't be possession of any kind. At least not if the potions everybody had drunk earlier worked as they were supposed to. Although considering the circumstances, it might not be good to make any assumptions.

"Wait," she called out, stopping Allyssa just as she had stopped in front of the doll and was about to reach out and touch it. The girl's absorbed expression faded away, and she turned to look at her with a questioning gaze.

"Before you continue, what exactly is it that you are doing?" Scarlett asked. "If you are unable to give me an answer, perhaps it would be wise to defer any rash actions for which we do not know the true causes until a later time."

Allyssa blinked, looking between Scarlett and her own outstretched hand. "I… I don't think it's dangerous."

"You don't think," Shin suddenly said. The young man walked up to her and leaned his sword on the floor with a tired movement. "To me, that sounds like a recipe for disaster."

Scarlett studied Allyssa's expression closely. She was inclined to agree.

"I say let her," Rosa chimed in from the side. The bard had gotten down on the floor, klert lying next to her as she drank water from a flask that had been attached to her waist. She had maintained her bardic magic for almost the entire fight, which probably took a lot more mana than Scarlett could even recover in a day, so it was understandable that she was tired as well.

Giving Rosa a long look, Scarlett then turned back to Allyssa and gave a short nod. "Do as you wish, then. I will not stop you."

The woman was rarely mistaken about things like this.

Allyssa returned the nod and looked at Shin. "I'll be fine. Promise."

He eyed her for a few seconds, then let out a sigh as he shook his head. "Sure. That's what you always say before things go wrong. But I'll trust your word."

A small smile formed on the girl's face, and she turned back to the doll. Her hand reached out and touched its cheek, and a bright blue light shone from where contact was made. The moment after, the same spirit from before appeared in front of Allyssa. Now, though, the spirit looked more defined and tangible, with its flowing white dress catching the light in the chamber.

With wide eyes, Allyssa stared at the spirit and blinked a few times. Then she stayed silent for several seconds, before giving an uncertain nod. "Wow… Okay, yeah. I think I understand."

She turned her head, appearing to look around at all the other dolls that were spread about the place, before focusing on the glass dome at the center of the chamber that had the large emerald on top.

She pointed at the emerald, turning back to Scarlett. "What is that?"

Scarlett looked at the emerald, stealing a glance at the spirit floating in the air as well. "…Is that a question asked by her?"

Allyssa shook her head. "No, not exactly. She's not really speaking with me. I'm not even sure if she can speak. She doesn't seem to be entirely here. Not like a normal person. She's more like…a fragment of some kind, maybe? I can just…feel what she wants, and I can tell that the gem over there is somehow connected to it all."

"I see…" Scarlett eyed the spirit, then started moving towards the glass dome and once more looking at the emerald.

[Obedience's Solitude Loci (Unique)]

{Strange powers of an itinerant realm dwell within this stone, creating something more than what was there before}

The [Gem of Athanasia] was the item she needed most from this dungeon, but this was what she wanted most.

It wasn't particularly strong or anything like that. In fact, it wasn't even equippable, as far as she was aware. It was a bit of an odd item compared to most of the other stuff she'd found until now. The only other item that was even remotely similar might be the [Statue of Longevity] that they found earlier. But what interested her about the [Obedience's Solitude Loci] wasn't the effects she knew it had from the game, but rather the potential it might have in this world.

In 'Chronicle of Realms', the [Obedience's Solitude Loci] was nothing more than an item you could place in your player house. It was mostly limited to giving some recovery boosts and other minor effects that worked within the confines of what the game's framework would allow, but the flavor text and context around the item in the game suggested a lot more was possible. Like, for example, using it to stop intruders from sneaking into your home unnoticed.

She looked back at the others. "I suppose that, if I were to explain it in simple terms, then this item—this Loci—is the center of this mansion," she said. "It is from this Loci that all the magic suffusing this mansion originates, facilitating its further operation. Consequently, if it were to be removed, much of the phenomena plaguing this mansion would cease as well."

Allyssa turned to stare at the emerald. "So, that means it's also what's keeping all these souls from passing on?"

"…That is correct, yes."

"Then…" The girl looked between the spirit floating beside her and the Loci. "If it was removed, wouldn't all of their souls still remain here? They would just be unable to do anything. Stuck, forever."

She turned to Scarlett. "But if we destroyed it, they would all be released, wouldn't they? Both the people that used to work here and what remains of their ghosts, as well as the fey creatures inhabiting the dolls."

Scarlett narrowed her eyes. "I am afraid I cannot allow that."

Allyssa gave her a dazed look. "What?"

"I said that I cannot allow that." Scarlett shook her head. "I have need of that Loci, so I cannot have it be destroyed at this juncture."

Destroying it had been an option in the game as well if you wanted to let all the souls pass on. There was even a small quest related to it if you went down that path. But the reward was very lacklustre compared to keeping the gem, if you asked her. There was also the fact that releasing all the wayward souls in this place had literally no practical value to anyone that wasn't already dead.

"But…" Allyssa looked back and forth between Scarlett and the spirit, a conflicted expression on her face.

"Their fate is neither my nor your responsibility, Miss Astrey. And as you yourself have observed, they are not truly complete, sentient beings. They are nothing more than remnants of those that once lived. Leftover emotions and desires."

"But they still feel pain. And sadness!"

Scarlett looked at the girl for several seconds.

"Scarlett—"

"Do not involve yourself with this," she cut Leon off as he was about to speak.

She then let out a short sigh, considering Allyssa for a moment longer.

"…Miss Astrey, there will always be injustices in the world. This is a simple truth; one that cannot be altered by anyone besides the gods, and I strongly suspect even they lack that power. It is commendable to attempt righting the wrongs you witness before you, but it is also important to understand that the ability to do this is in itself a privilege, one that often requires sacrifice — be it from those righting the wrong or those indirectly affected. Often, it becomes a question of prioritization. Who can you afford to help, and what must others endure in turn?"

She steeled her voice as she met Allyssa's eyes. "I have need for that Loci, and I have neither the freedom nor the inclination to put the needs of these incomplete souls still haunting this place above those of myself and the people serving under me."

Allyssa's expression faltered, and she turned back to the silent spirit. It didn't show any sign of reaction to what was being said.

"If you understand that, then…" Scarlett walked over towards the glass dome to take the [Obedience's Solitude Loci]. In addition to that, there should also be a side room connecting to the conservatory where there was some more boss loot. If she wasn't misremembering things, there was even a legendary there.

"Wait."

She stopped, turning to look back at Allyssa.

"What if there's a way to free all of them and for you to keep the Loci?" the girl asked.

Scarlett frowned. There wasn't, as far as she was aware. "What is it that you are trying to say?"

Allyssa looked over at the spirit for a moment, then met Scarlett's gaze. "The Loci. It's fey in nature, isn't it?"

"…It is, yes."

Could she tell because of the spirit, somehow?

"Didn't you get that gift from the fairies that we met last time?" Allyssa asked. "Back in Temisbrook, when they showed you their gratitude. Would that be enough to make other fey listen to us if we wanted their help?"

Scarlett knitted her forehead as she studied the girl. "Perhaps, yes. Although I cannot be certain. And finding fey who could lend their aid with something like this would prove difficult."

"It's worth a shot, isn't it? Besides, we don't have to go far. Abelard mentioned how he captured the fey in his notes, and it wasn't far from here."

She raised a brow. That was news to her.

She looked between Allyssa and the Loci for a few seconds, before eventually giving a slow nod. "Very well. Tell me what it is you are planning."

Chapter 115 - Strange encounters

After dealing with Abelard and his dolls in the conservatory, Scarlett and the others soon located the room that held the boss loot. It was a storage room of sorts, housing trunks and shelves that held different magical tools and equipment on them, similar to some of what they found in the laboratory. It had all been put into the [Bag of Juham] for future sorting.

As for what items they found, there were five of them.

[Tiara of Lost Benediction (Legendary)]

{A tiara made for a forgotten muse, it holds the prayers that were lost to the world}

[Ring of the Soul Harvest (Epic)]

{Sustaining the life of one always sacrifices the life of another. Be it wheat from the field or animal for the slaughter, all eat from the reaper's platter}

[Death's Shadow (Epic)]

{This black garnet amulet hungers for dark magic, devouring any that approaches it into depths unknown}

[Alchemist's Potion Belt (Epic)]

{An enchanted belt for an experienced alchemist, with advanced magic woven into it}

[Charm of Expeditious Change (Unique)]

{An artisan's work requires dexterous fingers and sharp eyes, yet even they like to save time on occasion}

Scarlett looked over all of them one by one before placing them into the [Bag of Juham] along with the rest of the loot. She was going to have to tally everything together when she returned to Freybrook anyhow, so she would decide what to do with it all then. The legendary item interested her, of course, along with the [Charm of Expeditious Change], but she wasn't in a hurry at the moment.

After they finished gathering all that, they returned to the boss room and removed the [Obedience's Solitude Loci] from where it was affixed to the top of the glass dome at the center of the room. They would still need it for what Allyssa was planning.

They then left the conservatory behind in order to clear the rest of the mansion.

Scarlett was a bit surprised that she had gotten no quest completion messages yet, but the trigger for those things was far from predictable to begin with. She was expecting it to show up eventually.

Of the three sections that Abelard's Doll Mansion was divided into, the last section—which ostensibly comprised the higher floors—was large enough that it took them a good amount of time to search it through.

Since they had defeated Abelard and taken the Loci, they didn't run into any opposition at least. They passed by several dolls that were standing frozen in the hallways and rooms, and the maze-like qualities that had been present before were now mostly gone. There were no more occasions where they walked down a hallway, only to turn around and see that things had changed behind them, or that opening a door would lead to different rooms each time.

Scarlett wasn't entirely sure if this particular fact was because of the removal of the Loci or because they'd defeated Abelard's ghost. She was hoping it was the first. That would mean the Loci held even more potential than one might expect.

As they passed through the last section, they collected a few more valuable items in some of the rooms, but there was nothing that stood out too much compared to what had already been found. Most of it would just be sold off later.

After finishing there, they moved on to the middle section of the mansion, which was where they had originally started. Much of that area had already been explored, but they still spent a decent amount of time there—with all the ghosts and dolls now either missing or completely docile—before proceeding to the first section of the mansion.

Unlike the two later sections, the first section actually still held some enemies that were still up and about. They were simpler undead and skeletons—presumably people who had walked into and died in this place and the surrounding forest over the years—who weren't 'powered' by the magic suffusing and spread throughout the mansion by the Loci.

Leon had suggested that the nature of this place had collected enough negative energy that natural ghosts and undead—which were apparently different from the kind they had mostly run into in the other parts of the mansion—popping up was to be expected. He also said that Abelard's magic had probably, in fact, kept their numbers relatively low and 'harmless'.

But this implied that more of them would emerge now that Abelard's magic was removed, which wasn't exactly part of Scarlett's plan. However, Leon had assured her that Lord Withersworth could now employ priests and mages who could deal with this before things grew too bad, and would hopefully be able to clear the entire area from the negative influence eventually.

Considering the relative weakness of the undead they ran into on the first floors, she didn't doubt that he was right. None in their group had much issue taking care of the enemies they faced there, and searching through the section to find all the loot and valuables was effortless enough, if you discounted all the walking about they had to do.

There was a slight issue when the [Bag of Juham] apparently reached full capacity. That had annoyed Scarlett somewhat, since there were still more things she wanted to bring with her. But what could she do?

She ended up replacing the more useless items, as well as putting some of the more valuable-looking stuff that they found from thereon in her [Pouch of Holding]. Other than that, there wasn't much more to do. Things were what they were. If she had the time in the future, she could probably return to get what was left, though she doubted it would be worth it.

After having cleaned out most of the lower floors, they finally exited onto the grounds outside the mansion. There, more of the undead were walking around among neglected gardens and hedge bushes. Dealing with them was easy enough. From there, Allyssa guided them down an old pathway leading away from the central parts of the estate to an old meadow, nestled into a section of the grounds that was surrounded by a dense thicket of trees that loomed over them.

At the center of the meadow, there was a dilapidated old gazebo. Once, it had probably been an idyllic white, but now it was flaking and overgrown with vines and the surrounding underbrush. As they neared, Scarlett stopped in front of it and noted that the inside of the gazebo's ceiling was covered in an intricate framework of bronze and mirrors with incomprehensible symbols etched into them.

She wasn't one hundred percent sure, but she couldn't recall any of this being in the game. Although one possibility was that she just hadn't found it.

"This is where you claim Abelard captured the fey whose souls he used to create his dolls?" She turned to look at Allyssa.

"I think so, yes," the girl answered. "It stands out enough that it has to be something special at least, right?" She pointed up at the ceiling.

Scarlett observed the gazebo for a moment. "And what is it that you suggest we do now?"

The girl paused, blinking a few times as she looked between her and the structure. "I-I'm not sure? Aren't you more familiar with fey and the…interstitial spaces? Whatever they're called. Do you have any idea what we could do from here?"

Scarlett focused her attention on the complex workings of metal and mirrors. "I am afraid this is outside my expertise. I myself do not understand what it is Abelard has created here. Especially not if it involved forcefully creating a connection to the Wandering Realm, which I suspect is the case."

The likelihood that the Withersworth's ancestral mansion would just so happen to be right next to a permanent portal to the Wandering Realm wasn't exactly high.

Her forehead knitted together in thought. She supposed she could just try whatever might have stood a chance of working in the game when faced with a situation like this.

Stepping up on the gazebo's aged wooden floorboards, she walked to its center and pulled out the small blue crystal that she had been gifted by the [Eupherbia Wildshimmer] in Temisbrook Glade.

[Mark of the Fey (Rare)]

{A mark of gratitude from a being of the Wandering Realm}

Holding it up in the air, she looked up at a circular mirror that was placed directly above her. It reflected the light given off from the lanterns that Fynn and Shin were carrying to stave off the constant darkness that engulfed the forest around Abelard's Doll Mansion.

She squinted her eyes as what she thought was a small mote of light appeared to escape from the center of the crystal, but nothing happened.

Waiting for a while, she eventually lowered her hand.

Well, that wasn't too surprising. Whatever mechanism Abelard had created here probably wasn't designed to work with just any random item.

She pulled out the [Obedience's Solitude Loci] instead. Palming the large emerald, she eyed it for a moment. Holding it in just one hand like this was almost unwieldy. That fact alone probably meant it would have been worth a fortune back in her old world. Add on the fact that it was magical and she wouldn't be surprised if she could buy a whole mansion with the money she could get from selling it.

But, while money was nice, it wasn't exactly where her priorities lay. Not always, at least.

Turning the hefty gemstone around, she gazed at its uncut surface. There was a pale green light emanating from it. While she wasn't certain, she half-suspected that the Loci had some form of sentience to it. Not to the degree where it could think, but at least to a level where it could probably sense intent of some sort. The Loci had also likely been part of what originally powered this gazebo, which was why it was her second choice for things to try.

She concentrated on it, focusing her thoughts and wishing for whatever this mechanism around them was to work.

Several seconds passed with nothing happening.

"Going well for you, over there?" Rosa's voice rang out from behind her.

Suddenly, a flicker of light flashed into existence in the air before Scarlett. A moment later, the light widened into a portal narrowly larger than her midriff, though pushing her way through might have proven difficult. On the other side was a glade filled with blue-tinted grass and ringed by an ethereal forest beneath an endless blue sky. She watched the sight with raptness for a few seconds as the treetops seemed to move according to some hidden pattern.

Eventually, she caught herself and stepped back from the portal. She was honestly surprised that it had worked exactly as she'd wanted it to.

"Wait, what did you do?" Allyssa asked, and Scarlett heard the others move up behind her.

She looked back at them. "I opened the gateway, just as you wished."

Allyssa stepped closer to the portal, staring at the view on the other side. "It's…empty."

"That it is."

"I was thinking, hoping…that there would be something there."

"We do not know how this device works," Scarlett said. "It could be that it simply creates a portal to a random location in the Wandering Realm, or perhaps to an interstitial space like the one in Temisbrook. If so, the likelihood is higher that it would be empty, considering the vastness of realms such as these. If I were to make a conjecture, it is probable that Abelard himself used some method to lure beings here, rather than enter through the portal himself."

While Scarlett might be able to force her way through the portal, that certainly wasn't true for those with wider builds like Leon and Shin. It's possible that Abelard could make it larger than this, since he would have been more familiar with the workings of this mechanism, but there was no way to know for sure.

"What do we do now?" Allyssa turned to look at her.

She met the girl's eyes.

How would she know?

"This was your suggestion, so I suggest you think of the answer."

"Then…" Allyssa held an uncertain expression as she looked back at the portal. "We wait?"

"…We wait?" Shin asked.

"Yeah. Something might pass by eventually."

"…If that is what you think we should do, then very well," Scarlett said. She sent one last look at the glade on the other side of the portal, then turned around and walked over to the edge of the gazebo. She placed the [Mark of the Fey] and the [Obedience's Solitude Loci] aside for now and leaned against the wooden railing.

The others looked around at each other for a moment, then went and did the same.

And so they waited.

The portal remained open even as half an hour had passed with nothing happening. Allyssa's expression was growing more anxious as time went by, but they weren't pressed for time, so Scarlett decided to continue waiting.

At one point, as Rosa suppressed a yawn nearby, Scarlett turned her attention to the dark sky. Some of the stars were peeking through the heavy canopy above, though there weren't any constellations that she recognized.

What time would it be outside right now? It was hard to know since it was always dark here.

They had left the Withersworth estate in Autumnwell around noon, and since then, a pretty good chunk of time had passed. She wasn't sure exactly how much, but it wouldn't surprise her if it was morning in the outside world at the moment. She felt spent enough for that to be true, at least.

The [Mark of the Staunch] was enough to stave off some of that weariness, and it wasn't as if she couldn't go without sleep for a day—even without magical assistance—but they had also fought several battles. She wouldn't be running any marathons right about now, that much was for sure.

Even more time passed as they waited, enough that Rosa had dozed off, lying with her back against the railings. Scarlett was thinking of giving it maybe half an hour more before giving up on this approach.

A gasp left Allyssa.

Everyone—excluding Rosa—turned their attention towards the center of the gazebo.

Scarlett froze.

Where there previously had been the scene of a magical glade with otherworldly sights, there was now just an eye.

One. Eye.

Its deep blue iris was great enough to take up the entire opening and more, with small lustres spread throughout it as if it was hiding the stars of the night sky. The large, elongated pupil at the center of the eye had strands of white like lightning that flowed through the black viscera, and it moved around slowly as it peered through the portal and at them.

Several seconds had passed when Scarlett remembered to move.

Leon was the first to step forward, a golden light surging up around him like armor.

Fynn growled as he glared at the eye, moving closer to Scarlett.

She simply continued staring at this being. She had no idea what this was.

"E-Ehm, hello," Allyssa's thin voice sounded out from beside her.

The pupil shifted to the girl.

"Can you understand me?" she asked.

Silence followed as it observed her for a short while, then turned to Scarlett. Or rather, what was behind her.

She looked back at the [Mark of the Fey] and the [Obedience's Solitude Loci], both of which were placed on the railing. Then she turned back to the giant eye, searching for any sign of hostility.

Even though they were separated by a gateway between realms, there was a weight to its gaze that unnerved her. She didn't know whether it could reach them through the small portal; was it dangerous, or perhaps just curious? But it might be best if she didn't risk finding out. The Loci was what opened the portal to begin with, so it should be possible to close it as well.

Taking a small step back, she watched as Allyssa moved closer to the portal.

"We wanted to talk with someone from your…realm," the girl said, the hesitance clear in her voice. "There's something we wanted help with, and we thought someone from where you are might know what to do about it."

The words yielded no response as the eye examined the young Shielder.

"I don't know if you're aware, but the magic that formed this portal was created by a very bad man who used it to capture many fey a long time ago. He hurt them, as well as a lot of people. That's…I mean, people are humans like us." Allyssa pointed at herself and the rest of them. "We wanted to help all of them move on."

The eye blinked. A slow, deliberate movement, where several thick, incandescent tendrils that might have been eyelashes briefly showed.

Allyssa seemed to swallow at the sight. "That's, uh…" She pointed back behind Scarlett. "That large emerald over there is what's keeping those people and fey from moving on, and we don't know how we can help them other than to destroy it, and that's not something we can do because we really need it. I-Is this something you could help with? Or maybe you know someone who can do something about it and you can help us contact them?"

Once again, there was no response.

The girl squirmed on the spot for a moment, then seemed to remember something. This time, she gestured towards Scarlett and the [Mark of the Fey]. "We're not here to hurt anyone. We've met others like you before. Or, well, not exactly like you, but fairies who were in danger. And the woman over there helped them."

The eye shifted to Scarlett again, and she could feel the pressure bearing down on her.

She didn't know if the being completely understood Allyssa's words, but it appeared to be probing her in some manner at least. After a while, it blinked once more, and the pressure faded.

Suddenly, the Loci and the [Mark of the Fey] floated through the air and past her, towards the portal. She didn't have the time to speak before the two items stopped before the being, its tall pupil focusing on them.

Scarlett's eyes widened as a light burst forth from both, followed by a symphony of shattering glass and gleeful chittering that echoed out around the clearing.

A moment later, both items fell to the ground. The being turned to Allyssa and Scarlett, and then it blinked. The portal closed without warning.

[Quest completed: Cleared Abelard's Doll Mansion]

{Skill points awarded: 8}

[Side-Quest completed: Help Lady Orelia and the other souls of Abelard's Doll Mansion move on]

{Skill points awarded: 6}

The messages appeared in front of Scarlett at the same time as sounds of surprise left the others.

She cursorily read the words over before turning to the gems lying on the floorboards, walking over to pick them up.

The Loci was emitting a faint, almost serene green light, and the blue crystal beside it had tiny, almost imperceptible sparks of lightning running through sections of it now.

[Obedience's Solitude Loci (Unique)]

{Strange powers of an itinerant realm dwell within this stone, creating something more than what was there before. The souls that were once tied to it have been severed and freed from their torment}

[Mark of the Fey (Epic)]

{Originally a mark of gratitude from a being of the Wandering Realms, it has now been touched by the powers of an idol, remembering a debt owed and a debt due}

She stared at the descriptions.

An idol.

That had been an idol?!

Her throat tightened at the implications.

Idols were like the deities of the Wandering Realm. Not quite gods in the normal sense, and vastly more numerous, but some of them were on par with beings like the Viles in how powerful they were in their domains. The [Bag of Juham] was supposedly connected to one such idol, for example.

But that wasn't what frightened her. What scared her was whatever this 'a debt owed and a debt due' meant. Did the idol expect her to owe it a favor now, and vice versa?

She had no idea what a being like this would ask of her. And since she didn't actually know what idol it had been—if it even had been present in the game, which she couldn't be sure of since she didn't recognize the eye—she also had no idea what she could even ask of it.

What was even the point of them owing each other debts? Couldn't it just have been satisfied with neither of them owing the other one anything at all, then?

She let out a tired sigh.

This could either be a massive boon, a terrible curse, or anything in between. The problem was that she didn't know which. The six skill points she got from completing the side-quest didn't quite make up for that uncertainty.

"—arlett."

She looked up as Leon called her name. All the others were giving her worried looks. Was her expression that bad?

Schooling her face as much as she could, she turned back to Allyssa, who held an uneasy look.

"Did it work?" she asked the girl.

Some of the worry on Allyssa's face faded at the question, and she showed a weak smile. "Yes, I think it did. She's gone now, the spirit. And I have a feeling the same goes for the rest of the people and fey who were stuck here."

Scarlett gave a slow nod. "That is good. If so, we are finished here. It is time that we make our return."

"To Autumnwell?" Rosa asked. The bard had woken up at some point during the previous proceedings.

"Yes," Scarlett said, though she paused for a moment and turned to Leon as the man seemed to study her. "Is there something you wish to say, Sir Leon?"

He frowned. "Are you alright, Scarlett?"

She gave him a long look. "I am perfectly fine, thank you."

"…Do you know what that was?"

"A being of the Wandering Realm," she replied in a dry tone, arching a brow at the man. "Although I supposed you were expecting more of an answer than that. Unfortunately, there is not much more that I know, other than that it might have had the power to effortlessly erase all of our existences if it so desired."

His expression darkened at that. "It didn't appear to be hostile towards us, at least. But you didn't look happy even after it seemed to help with exactly what you asked."

"Quite the opposite, actually. I am very pleased with the aid it provided. I am simply uncertain about the price it might ask," she said.

"The price?" A worried look entered Allyssa's eyes. "We were asking for it to help us save other fey. Would it really ask a price for that?"

Scarlett turned to the girl.

Was there a point in placing the responsibility on her, when Scarlett had been the one who chose to go through with things in the end?

"…No, I suppose it would not. It did not provide a proper response, so perhaps it is only me being overly apprehensive."

That didn't seem to relax the girl any.

Scarlett turned away from the others, peering down the path leading from the gazebo. "There is no point in continuing to waste time thinking about it at the moment. We can discuss things further on a later occasion. For now, I think we should return to Autumnwell and rest. It has been an eventful day."

Chapter 116 - Aftermath tea party

Scarlett sat in the Withersworths' parlor room, sipping out of a cup of tea that had been provided for her. Leon sat beside her, and opposite them were Lady and Lord Withersworth. The older couple was observing them with some interest.

"I heard that you and your group returned looking quite ragged early in the morning, Baroness," Lady Withersworth said as she took a sip from her own cup of tea. "I also heard that this fool of a husband of mine tried to meet with you immediately after, to hear how things went. You will have to excuse his rudeness. He doesn't quite know when to take others into consideration. Nonetheless, I hope you have had the time to get a proper rest since then."

"That we have." Scarlett gave a slight nod. "I am thankful for the accommodation you have showed me and my party in offering us to stay here for the time being as well."

"It's the least we could do. My husband might have forgotten what hospitality means—" A grumbling expression appeared on Lord Withersworth's face. "—but that does not mean that I have."

"Hmph. I was simply surprised," the man muttered from beside his wife. "I was not expecting them to return so early, if at all."

"Oh, I am aware, dear." Lady Withersworth smirked at her husband. "It was quite amusing, seeing you run around the mansion like a headless chicken after our talks with the Baroness yesterday. Though I will admit to some disappointment that it took you so long to register what you had agreed to."

He sent her an annoyed glare in return. "If you realized it back then you should have warned me, woman. Dagnabbit all! What would we have done if a noblewoman and the vice-captain of the Imperial Solar Knights went missing after visiting our estate? It would have been chaos if news got out! Ittar knows the commotion that Edita Delmon would have caused if she had heard about it as well…"

"But they did return, didn't they?" His wife nudged his arm. "So stop with your fretting. It is because you always worry yourself like this that your hair is thinning."

The man's expression went stiff for a moment of a second, but he soon harrumphed as he tidied the collar of his suit.

"As you can see." Scarlett gestured to herself and Leon in an attempt to get the conversation back on track. "We are all in good health."

"I can see that, yes. Although I am still dubious whether I believe it." Lord Withersworth eyed her. "…Are you certain that everything has been dealt with? This is a curse that has been plaguing my family for generations, so you will have to excuse my skepticism about it being resolved within twenty-four hours of our original discussion."

"I am certain, yes. If you find it difficult to trust in my words, you can feel free to once more descend into this mansion's cellar and ascertain the truth for yourself."

The man scoffed. "I think not. I have been told I still have a few decades left in me, and I am most definitely not planning on doing anything that expedites the process of my death. My wife is already doing a fine job of achieving that by herself."

"What Baroness Hartford says is true," Leon cut in. "You have my word as a member of the Imperial Solar Knights, if that makes you feel more relaxed, my Lord."

Lord Withersworth crossed his arms as he turned to look at Leon. "Hmph. Well, I suppose that will have to do until I have had the opportunity to perform some more thorough investigations."

"What remains in the mansion now are simple undead," Scarlett said. "They are a consequence of the negative energy that has been gathering in the region, but they will not propagate in the same fashion as before now that the root of Abelard's curse has been removed. There is also nothing hindering you from entering the grounds any longer, so dealing with what is left should not pose an issue. If you are interested, I am sure that Sir Leon is open to discussing the matter in further detail. He has more experience related to the topic."

One of Lord Withersworth's hands moved up to the end of his mustache as he studied the knight. "Perhaps I will do that, then. We can speak after this, if that works for you."

Leon gave the man a nod.

"With that settled." Scarlett placed her teacup on the table and placed one hand on top of the other in her lap. "Perhaps we should proceed on to the subject of reimbursement. Not much time has passed, so I do not expect a decisive answer, but have you reached a conclusion yet?"

"Unfortunately, my husband has been preoccupied with other things," Lady Withersworth said. "The fief's finances aren't my area of expertise, but in light of the sincerity you have shown us, I took the time to make some cursory assessments related to the service you have performed. Does four hundred thousand solars sound reasonable?"

Next to the woman, her husband almost blanched.

"Of course, that is only preliminary. The figure might change somewhat after further assessment," she added.

Scarlett observed Lord Withersworth's expression.

She didn't trust for a second that Lady Withersworth didn't know what she was talking about. While it was probably true that they hadn't had the chance to make a proper estimation of things, the woman wouldn't have given a number if she wasn't sure that they would pay at least that much.

And 400 000 Solars was a lot.

"I see no reason to question your evaluation of your own affairs," she eventually said. While she hadn't exactly been aiming to get that much from what was essentially a side-quest to her, she wouldn't say no to it. "When you are more sure of the exact figure, you can contact my household in Freybrook and we can handle the specifics at that point."

She was expecting to earn perhaps even more from all the loot they took from the mansion, but this was a pretty pleasant bonus on top of that. It also went to show how wealthy some of the other noble households in the empire were if a mere barony—even if it was one of the more prominent ones—could afford to give away amounts like this, just like that.

In comparison, the Hartfords might even have had issues paying all of their staffs' salaries—which probably didn't exceed 40 000 solars yearly—if things had continued as they were.

Lady Withersworth smiled. "I'll have our people contact your household when everything has been dealt with."

[Side-Quest completed: Complete the Withersworth's request to clear Abelard's Doll Mansion]

{Skill points awarded: 6}

Scarlett read over the quest completion message that appeared before her with a bit of satisfaction. Yet another reason it was better to do this through the Withersworths instead of trying to clear Abelard's mansion on her own.

When she returned her attention to Lady Withersworth and her husband, the woman held a curious expression on as she studied Leon and her.

"I must say," Lady Withersworth said as she put down her cup. "This really is quite the sight. Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected for this matter to be dealt with in this way. A baroness, of all people, comes whishing in like the wind, along with her fiancé-knight, and successfully takes on a curse that has persisted for generations. It is the sort of tale minstrels sing songs about and that ladies gossip over at their gatherings. I can only imagine how excited the young women of the empire would get if word were to spread."

Scarlett looked at her. "Are these events something you intend to share with those outside of this room?"

The older woman eyed her for a moment. "Is that something you wish for me to do?"

Scarlett knitted her forehead together. Did she? It probably wouldn't hurt if rumors like that started spreading about her. It might even work to improve her image a bit. Maybe.

She glanced over at Leon.

"…For the time being, I would prefer if you could keep quiet about these proceedings," she said.

Lady Withersworth raised her eyebrows. "Truly? And why is that, might I ask?"

"I believe Sir Leon would prefer if his apparent dealings with me were kept to a minimum to the world at large. As you are aware, at present, there are many who do not view me in the most positive of lights. This also goes for those associated with me, to a certain extent. I see no reason as to why he should be forced to bear more of that burden than necessary."

The corner of the woman's mouth rose. "Not the answer I was expecting."

Scarlett didn't respond to that.

The truth was that, considering her inexperience with the workings of the empire's nobility, she didn't feel certain enough about what people's reactions would actually be. She couldn't be sure that any rumors that surfaced would truly be beneficial to her. She was also set to annul the betrothal with Leon in the future, so deepening her ties with him might also not be the best of ideas. At least if she wanted to avoid complications in the future.

"And what do you think of that?" Lady Withersworth asked Leon.

The man had a furrow on his brows, though Scarlett doubted he actually thought she was telling the truth. "What others think of me isn't important as long as it doesn't interfere with my duties as a knight, but if Baroness Hartford wants to keep quiet about things, then I won't stop her."

"What a distant response, coming from her betrothed," Lady Withersworth said. Then she let out a sigh. "Yet I'm sure it's still more romantic than anything my husband has said about me ever since we had our youngest."

"Wha—" Lord Withersworth turned to her. "Is your only purpose to besmirch my name, woman?"

"Are you going to say that I am wrong?" she stared daggers at him. "Don't think I'm not aware of you referring to me as 'that old hag' behind my back, you dolt!"

"That was only once!" The man shook his head, muttering. "By Ittar, sometimes…"

The woman glared at her husband for a moment longer, then a small laugh left her as she turned back to Scarlett. "You will have to excuse me. Nowadays, with our children only visiting on occasion, an aging lady only has so many joys left to appreciate. Unlike my husband, I try not to take pleasure in harassing our guests."

"I…see." Scarlet didn't know how else to reply to that.

Lord Withersworth was grumbling next to his wife.

Was this how they usually acted in front of others, then?

"I'm curious," Lady Withersworth continued. "What will you be doing from now on? While you youth certainly tend to be more ambitious than us old fossils, it is rare to encounter a young noblewoman with such zeal in her eyes. One would almost think helping our house was only a minor stopgap for you before you move on to grander things."

"I do not think 'stopgap' is a fitting description," Scarlett said. "But I do indeed have other goals that I am working towards. Some of my current ventures involves a collaboration with members of the Elystead Tower in researching the Zuver."

"The Zuver?" Lady Withersworth looked genuinely surprised by that.

"So the news that you'd found a Zuverian ruin was true?" Leon asked.

Scarlett turned to look at him. "Yes, that was the truth. I will admit I am surprised that you had heard of it, however."

"Your sister mentioned it when I last met her." He frowned, staying silent for a couple of seconds. "Since when have you had an interest in…" He trailed off, then shook his head. "So you're working with the Elystead Tower now? Which of their members are you working with?"

"A wizard named Adalicia Mendenhall," she answered. "Do you know of her?"

"I think I've heard the name, at least."

"Mendenhall, you say?" Lord Withersworth asked.

Scarlett turned to look at the man, who held a thoughtful expression.

"I recall meeting with that woman once or twice, some years ago," he said. "If I'm not mistaken, Dean Godwin told me she was quite dependable. Although knowing him as I do, I was never certain whether he meant as a wizard or as a gopher to clean up his messes."

"You are acquainted with the Dean of Elystead Tower?" she asked.

"I am familiar with most of the empire's prominent figures, Baroness." The man only let some of the pride in his voice show through. "Dean Godwin happens to be an old lounge companion of mine, even."

"'Lounge companion', he says." Lady Withersworth scoffed. "That is too tasteful a word to describe those rendezvous you always used to have. All you did was drink and gamble on your stupid games."

Her husband let out a long sigh, as if this wasn't a new complaint, and the conversation entered a brief lull.

Soon, however, Lady Withersworth turned her attention back to Scarlett with a scrutinizing gaze. "I have met all sorts of people throughout my life," she said. "However, if I am to be frank, I am having a hard time placing you, Baroness. Although I am not too involved in those circles anymore, I had heard enough mentions of you from other ladies to think I had a decent grasp of your character, yet what I learned does not even come near to paying you justice. You are very different from what the rumors say."

"…Do I truly differ that considerably from your expectations?" Scarlett asked.

"Oh, to be sure, I can see why you garnered the sort of reputation that you did." The woman nodded as if evaluating a piece of art. "But there is a very notable distinction between outward appearances and a person's character, one I expect anyone with enough experience to notice."

"I will have to defer to your judgement on the question. I am far from as distinguished or reputable as you in these matters."

Lady Withersworth smiled. "The pleasantry isn't necessary with me. No, I just felt like it was something I should mention. I find it rather curious that reality would differ so much from the rumors, that is all. While many noblewomen do love their gossip, one shouldn't underestimate how much can be discerned from just that alone."

"…I will take that into consideration."

The woman nodded her head once more. "See that you do."

Another few seconds of silence followed as she picked up her cup from the table again.

"While we are on the topic," she continued. "There has been quite some talk about you suddenly ceasing to attend gatherings lately. I believe the last time this much attention was placed on the actions of a single baroness was back when the late Lady Hildom absconded with a Luciean commoner, leaving a nine-year-old relative to take the reins of the barony. The speculations on your unexpected hiatus have turned rather creative, though I imagine no one would have expected the truth to be that you were occupied with dealing with cursed mansions and researching old ruins."

Scarlett blinked at that. She supposed she hadn't really considered what those kinds of people would think about her sudden change.

The original Scarlett had been pretty active in noble society, hadn't she? At least in the same cliques that Lady Withersworth might be familiar with. There was no telling what those groups were saying about her now. Especially after what happened at the Elysian Proclamation and the Providing Ceremony. Even if they had heard about Scarlett finding those Zuverian ruins, there wasn't much to go on about what she was doing at the moment.

"It is an amusing thought to contemplate that you are almost certainly amassing more attention and interest now, when you apparently do not even care for it much, than you ever did before when you regularly took part in these gatherings," Lady Withersworth said. "Is it your intention to continue ignoring such matters forever, or are you planning on making a return at some point? If you want, I could arrange an invitation to some of the upcoming functions for you, if that is what's stopping you."

Scarlett stared at the woman. She wanted to help her?

That was…unexpected?

She certainly wouldn't have thought that to be where this conversation was going. Still…

"While I appreciate your kindness, that will not be necessary."

Involving herself in the same cliques as the original wasn't part of Scarlett's plans. She had neither the experience nor the time to deal with all that. She didn't even know if what she could gain from it would be worth investing any effort.

"Truly? A shame, that. But you know your interests best." Lady Withersworth tapped her finger against the porcelain in her hands before returning the cup to the table. "Do you have no plans to make any significant appearances at all in the future, then?"

"I will be attending the Tyndall Ball held in Windgrove next month, but that is all."

The woman arched a brow. "You will be attending, you say?" A glimmer of amusement showed in her eyes. "Well, you wouldn't say so without reason, would you?"

She turned to her husband. "Doesn't that sound exciting? What do you say, dear?"

He looked back at her with a look of disgruntled confusion. "You're saying you want to attend as well?"

"Why, of course."

"Hmph. Why should we? We haven't bothered with that for years."

"Then now would be a fitting time, would it not?"

"What are you on about, woman? Don't tell me you have taken a liking to the girl this quickly? She's a grown adult! I would expect her to be able to go by herself without you holding her hand."

"I am sure that she can, but that is not what I am asking, is it?" Lady Withersworth sent her husband a sharp look, but her expression quickly mellowed out into a smile. "So, what do you say, dear? It'll be a great opportunity to surprise our children. I'm sure they will be delighted to see you leaving that study of yours as well."

Lord Withersworth met her eyes only for a moment before turning away, sending an accusing glare Scarlett's way.

"…As you wish, my dear," he eventually let out in a defeated sigh.

Scarlett simply watched all of this with an uncertain expression. She glanced over at Leon, who was also wisely choosing not to interfere. Yes, perhaps it was best to just smile and nod.

Chapter 117 - Home sweet home

After having concluded matters with the Withersworths, Scarlett and the others stayed in Autumnwell for three more days. The old couple was generous enough to let them stay as guests during that period, and surprisingly, Leon had also asked to remain with them for that time. That was despite what he'd previously said about having other things to deal with before he was sent off on whatever assignment his order had gotten.

She suspected he had been looking for more opportunities to figure out what was up with her and why she seemed to have changed so much.

Or maybe he just enjoyed going around dungeons.

Whatever his motives, Scarlett had little reason to deny him at the moment.

With his aid, they had cleared two more dungeons in the Autumnwell area these past days. She had been hoping they would have time for more than that—there were at least four dungeons relatively close to the city which she had been aiming for—but the others had been harder to find than expected.

Considering the gains they got from just Abelard's Doll Mansion, though, she wasn't complaining too much.

In addition to assisting them on their excursions, Leon had also kept his promise to spar with both Fynn and Shin the previous day. That event had caused a bit of fuss among the group. Scarlett hadn't seen it herself, but from what she'd heard, both of the young men had impressed the knight after they fought him together.

Of course, they hadn't actually beaten Leon. Neither was close to that level yet.

But it was good that they were developing, and spending some of their free time on things like this, even if Scarlett didn't have much interest in the particulars of how those things went.

At the moment, she was sitting in a small guest office in one of the Withersworth mansion's wings. The [Bag of Juham] and [Pouch of Holding] were placed on the side of the desk in front of her as she had been recording their contents. For the last three days, whenever she had nothing else to do, she had been going through these items.

She could just leave it to the servants when they returned to Freybrook, but it felt like a decent idea to get a grasp of what they had actually gained from all this.

That being said, there was a lot of it. The [Bag of Juham] had an impressive amount of storage space, and they had ransacked a whole mansion, so that was about what one would expect. There were also a couple of crates on the floor that they had bought here in Autumnwell, which carried some of the extra loot taken from the latest two dungeons. The carriage's trunk would be cramped on the way back.

She really had to get a larger carriage in the near future. With the money that was about to roll in, they could definitely afford it.

By now, she had gone through roughly seventy percent of all the loot, but that was only a basic register of things. Most of which she had no clue as to the worth, like old vases and jewellery of different sorts. Actually evaluating everything would have to wait till another day. The same went for many of the artifacts.

While she had written down the name and description of each game item—as well as some personal notes regarding what effects she knew of or suspected—she would leave the actual deciding of what to keep and sell until she had more detailed information.

As the time neared noon, she put down her pen and stretched her shoulders. Then she looked over everything one last time before returning it to its place. Their trip back to Freybrook was scheduled in two hours. She would have to call Fynn over to carry the crates back out to the carriage, then pay a last visit to Lady and Lord Withersworth to say goodbye. After that, all of her business here in Autumnwell would be finished.

Now that they had a large influx of money coming in, and the Hallowed Cabal issue handled for the time being, things were looking to be somewhat calm upon her return this time. No fires to put out any longer.

The thought of it made a small smile creep onto her face.

Leon gazed out the carriage window as it approached the large mansion in the distance. The vehicle rolled up to the low stone wall that surrounded the place—he could never understand why almost all the nobles in Freybrook had those things around their estates when they served no real purpose other than to deter onlookers, of which there were none—and was soon let through the gates by the two guards keeping watch.

His eyes passed over the two men as the carriage rolled past, noting the swords at their sides. He hadn't thought much of it before, but was there a reason Scarlett had her guards be armed with swords when there were barely any threats in this district of the city? Most nobles would satisfy themselves with having footmen with cudgels, if even that. Most of the time, they weren't there for more than scaring away any daredevils.

Shaking his head at it all, he leaned back in his seat as they traveled up a gravel road towards the Hartford mansion. There was no telling what went through Scarlett's mind with these things. It could be she genuinely feared some threat he wasn't aware of. He had noted that the 'restructuring' that the mansion's courtyard was going through looked suspiciously like it might have covered over the scars of a conflict of some kind.

It could also simply be her acting overly paranoid, being concerned about her people's safety, or actually just wanting to scare others away. There was no telling what the truth was.

If these past few days had taught Leon anything, it was that he didn't know this current Scarlett nearly as well as he thought he did.

The carriage soon reached the mansion, stopping in front of the archway that led into the courtyard. Scarlett and the other members of her group exited the carriage, and Leon followed shortly behind.

A pair of servants had already hurried out to greet their mistress, and Leon watched as the red-haired noblewoman started giving out orders for how the materials that she had rounded up during their time in Autumnwell should be handled. After that, all of them moved into the courtyard and entered the mansion's foyer.

There, Scarlett looked back at Leon. "Now that we have returned, my first order of business will be to meet with my sister and apprise her of the happenings while I was gone. I suppose you will be leaving soon, now that matters have been concluded. Before that, do you care to join me and my sister for some refreshments?"

"Alright. There is still some time before I have to return to the capital." He turned to the others, giving them all a nod. "It has been interesting meeting all of you. I never would have expected Scarlett to move around with company like this, but I have both been surprised and genuinely impressed with what all of you were capable of. I hope that we all get the opportunity to meet again in the future."

"It's been an honor meeting you, Sir Leon," Allyssa replied with a smile.

Shin nodded alongside her. "It has. And I am thankful for the pointers you gave me."

"Yes, I enjoyed fighting you," Fynn said in that blunt, almost casual manner that Leon had learned was just how the strange young man was. "Bye."

With that, Fynn sent a brief look Scarlett's way before turning around and climbing up the set of stairs behind him, disappearing around a corner on the second floor. A couple of sighs left the others.

Rosa turned to Leon with a smirk. "If you ever feel like the life of a celebrated and respected knight doesn't cut it for you anymore, I'm sure you can ask Scarlett and she'll let you join our ragtag little band without ado. You gave our group that extra little zest which can be hard to find, you know?"

He glanced at Scarlett. "…I'll keep that in mind."

He doubted she felt the same.

"Then we will take our leave for now," the woman in question said. "As for the rest of you, we will go over everyone's performance on this excursion later, as well as arrange it so that you have the opportunity to try some of the new equipment that I will provide. Until then, you may all do as you wish with your time."

With that, Scarlett left the foyer, evidently expecting Leon to follow her. He sent a look towards the others, giving them one last goodbye, before moving to catch up.

Soon enough, they reached the reception room he had been led to the last time he visited. There, Evelyne—Scarlett's younger sister—was already sitting on a red leather sofa. A table filled with refreshments stood in front of her, with another sofa opposite her.

The auburn-haired woman looked up at their entrance, a brief look of surprise visible as she spotted him.

"Uh, Sir Leon? You're still here?" Evelyne's gaze moved between him and Scarlett, seemingly trying to figure out what was happening.

Leon could understand her confusion. He had felt it several times lately.

He moved over to sit on the sofa opposite the young woman, and Scarlett sat down in an armchair to his right.

"I thought you would only be joining my sister in Autumnwell for a day or so," Evelyne said as they had gotten themselves settled. She leaned forward to pick up a small confection from the table. "Is there a reason why you're still here?"

"I judged I could afford to stay with Scarlett and her group for a while longer," he answered. "And considering the nature of what we encountered in Autumnwell, it seemed like a wise choice to do so."

A mansion cursed by a long-since dead archmage wasn't the kind of thing you overlooked. It also gave him a chance to see what Scarlett was up to, so in the end, he thought it was the correct decision to make. After they had exorcised the old mansion, they had moved on to explore both an abandoned mining system that was overflowing with Glass Basilisks and a hidden forest copse that had been home to an undead coven of witches. It seriously put into question exactly how Scarlett learned of these places, as well as her motivations in clearing them out.

From what he could tell, the answer to the latter appeared to be simple greed. Scarlett had taken enough materials from these places to support a small noble household. Which, he supposed, was exactly what she intended to do.

"Doesn't that conflict with your other responsibilities?" Evelyne asked, pulling Leon out of his thoughts.

He shook his head. "My other plans weren't anything that couldn't be delayed. And the order won't be sent out on our assignment until tomorrow, so I still have some time remaining. I will be accompanying one of my comrades who's traveling back to Elystead this evening."

"Oh, well, that's good to hear," the young woman said. She seemed to study him for a moment before glancing at Scarlett. "Actually, since you brought it up, what exactly did you encounter in Autumnwell? I was pretty shocked just to hear you would join my sister on the trip, but I didn't know much more than that you'd help her clear away 'pests' from some place?"

"We ended up visiting more than one location," Scarlett said. "However, our primary goal was acquiring an artifact present in what was once the residence of an old mage who dealt in artificing and necromancy. Sir Leon was helpful in dealing with the threats that we faced in that place, as well as in the other undertakings that we carried out after that."

The red-haired woman's hands moved to her waist, where she pulled out a stack of papers from the small spatial bag she always seemed to carry. She handed the papers to her younger sister.

"This is an incomplete compendium of the items procured during these past days, as well as a brief summary of each location they were found at in case that will prove relevant."

Evelyne eyed the papers in Scarlett's hands for a moment, then reached out to accept them.

"You said necromancy was involved?" she asked as she started looking through the papers. She stopped, eyes widening, before hurriedly flipping through the rest of the sheets.

"Wait, wait, hang on a second." She turned her head up to stare at Scarlett. "You're saying this is just some of what you've found?"

The woman gave a nod in response. "That is correct."

Evelyne looked down at the papers again, searching through all of them once more as she read Scarlett's writings. "…You can't be serious. It almost looks like you looted someone's mansion."

"That is not too far from the truth," Scarlett said.

The younger woman froze at the words, slowly looking up at her sister, then at Leon. "Tell me she's lying."

"She's not," he said, "but—"

"What?"

Leon paused for a moment, eyeing Evelyne. The expression on her face made it seem like she was legitimately afraid Scarlett had gone to Autumnwell and robbed someone's mansion, which told him about as much as he needed to know about the two sisters' relationship. He'd thought it odd how cooperative the two of them had appeared just now, but clearly, not everything in the world surrounding Scarlett had turned upside down.

"Wait, wait, no." Evelyne creased her brows. "You're an imperial knight, aren't you? There's no way you would have helped my sister loot a mansion."

"You would expect me to, if not for his presence?" Scarlett asked.

Evelyne blinked, furtively looking away from her sister. "I've been by myself in this mansion for a couple of days now, and the way everybody's acting differently made me feel weird. I might have been thinking up some strange things lately and overreacted. Forget I said anything. Please."

"It was an abandoned mansion," Leon said. The embarrassed expression on Evelyne's face surprised him a bit. "One belonging to the Withersworth family. They had lost access to it generations ago because of the actions of one of their ancestors, and Scarlett convinced them to leave what was inside to her if she removed the cause of the curse that plagued the place."

He wasn't sure, but he felt like he saw Evelyne let out a small sigh of relief at his words.

"I see. That makes sense. I'm sorry for getting a bit…heated." The young woman sent a mild glare Scarlett's way. "But you could have been more clear to start with."

Scarlett met her sister's eyes for a few seconds, then gave a slow nod. "I suppose I could."

Her tone implied she didn't actually mean it, but that she allowed a comment like that to slide at all was the most shocking to Leon.

He observed the two for a moment. Perhaps he'd been too hasty with his earlier judgement. He had never interacted much with Scarlett's younger sister before, nor had he seen the two of them in the same place on more than a few occasions, but he did know their relationship wasn't supposed to be this close. And while there certainly was a distance between them here, the interaction just now was not something the Scarlett he knew would ever allow.

Or at least the Scarlett he thought he knew.

But just like everything else he'd seen lately had shown, Scarlett had clearly changed. Or he had never known her as well as he thought he had.

…That, or this was another of her ploys, and he was once more falling for her calculating schemes.

He shook his head. Even for Scarlett, that would be too much. All of her recent actions couldn't be part of one large scheme. They were all too sudden, disjointed, and unpredictable to be because of something like that.

He hoped.

"Do the two of you usually work together in matters like these?" he found himself asking.

The two of them turned to him, then glanced at each other.

"I think it would surprise a lot of people if they saw this," he said.

"…Appearances can often be deceiving," Scarlett said. She studied him, giving him that same sharp look he remembered hating. The one that made it seem like everything was a transaction to her. "Whatever people might believe, Evelyne and I remain sisters and members of the same house. There are many topics where our interests align. It is only natural that we cooperate and share information when possible."

Leon looked at Evelyne, who seemed slightly surprised by her older sister's words.

"But what people think of us shares no relevance to our current matters." Scarlett turned back to Evelyne. "As Sir Leon described, the mansion we provided help in clearing belonged to the Withersworth family. It was with them that we resided during our stay in Autumnwell."

"Did you know them from before?" Evelyne asked.

"I did not," Scarlett answered. "One could say I have forged a connection with them through these events. At least with Lady Withersworth, it would appear. They have also agreed to provide payment for the assistance our house provided."

"Really? How much?"

"The exact figure has yet to be decided; however, I do not believe it will be any less than four hundred thousand solars."

Evelyne stared at Scarlet. "…Four hundred thousand?"

"That is what I said, yes."

The woman reached up a hand to pull at her ear. "Could you repeat that one more time, please? I want to be sure I didn't hear it wrong."

Scarlett arched a brow at her sister. "Four hundred thousand Solars."

Evelyne blinked several times. "…What the Blazes could get them to pay that much?! Was there some treasure or something in this mansion?"

"There was plenty of treasure, but none that they cared for," Scarlett said. "They simply needed it dealt with. If you want further details, I can ensure that they are provided to you at a later time."

Evelyne touched her forehead as if she was getting a headache. "That's a massive amount of money to pay for something like this, though. That, along with this…" She waved the papers in her hand. "If things continue in this manner, we'll have more funds in a couple of months than father ever had during his time as head."

"That is a good thing, no?"

"It's insane, that's what it is. Just a few months ago, we were at risk of not affording to pay our staffs, and now we're suddenly like this…?"

Leon observed Scarlett.

This was the first actual confirmation he got that they'd been having financial issues. She had been hiding it well up till recently, so it seemed strange to him that she didn't mind him hearing about it now. This was exactly the kind of thing the old Scarlett would have liked to sweep under the rug, so no one ever learned about it.

"I will introduce you to the Withersworths when the opportunity arises," Scarlett said.

Evelyne gave a slow nod of appreciation to her sister. "That would be helpful, thank you. But I'm not sure when I would even have the time to go over to Autumnwell for anything like that."

"They will be attending the Tyndal Ball, so it might be appropriate to do it there."

"Really? Alright then."

"So you're actually attending the Tyndall Ball, Scarlett?" Leon asked.

She turned to him. "I am, yes. Is it that surprising to you?"

"I wouldn't even have thought you were invited. Even I know most people are trying to distance themselves from you at the moment. The amount of jabs I've had to ignore this last month just for being your fiance numbers higher than I can count."

"I have other ways of ensuring my attendance."

He furrowed his brows as he considered her words. If there was anyone he knew that might have connections like that, it wouldn't surprise him if it was Scarlett. Perhaps she was close to one of Duke Tyndall's daughters?

The woman gave him a curious look — or what counted as one for Scarlett, at least. "Will you be attending as well, Sir Leon?"

"We'll see when the time comes," he said. "Things aren't looking good across the empire right now, so there's no guarantee that I won't be busy when the ball is held."

His mother would probably try every trick up her sleeve to get him to go, but he would prefer not to. And with the Tribe of Sin's worrying movements around the empire, he doubted he would have the chance, anyway. Not to mention that there were reports of those behind the Tribe finally rearing their heads…

They would know more after this upcoming assignment was finished.

But none of that was anything he could share with Scarlett or her sister. While he knew their father had fought both the Tribe of Sin and the Undead Council back when those groups last made their moves—and that Scarlett was a surprisingly capable fighter, with access to magic he hadn't seen before—this wasn't something the two of them should get involved with.

"What I do know," he continued, "is that—"

He interrupted himself as a strange presence appeared somewhere in the mansion.

Frowning, he turned his attention towards the ceiling.

What in Ittar's name was that? It was unfamiliar, yet familiar at the same time. Like an icy blade pressed against his neck.

Suddenly, it intensified. The hairs on his neck stood as all of his instincts screamed at him. Before he knew it, he was standing up, his aura having exploded forth to cover him in its golden light to protect from threats.

Whatever this was, it was in opposition to what he knew. It was dangerous.

He turned to Evelyne and Scarlett, both of who were giving him confused looks. Ignoring that, he forced his clenched teeth open as he fixed his gaze on the only person who could be responsible for this. He had gotten too lax around her.

"What the Blazes have you been hiding here, Scarlett?"

Chapter 118 - Unwanted face offs

Scarlett frowned as she looked at Leon. The bright golden light that had risen to surround him writhed, almost like a beast confronting a threat, and the man was staring at her with an intense expression.

"…I am afraid I do not know what you are referring to," she said after a moment of silence.

What had caused this sudden reaction of his? Neither she nor Evelyne had said anything in particular, and there had been no sounds from outside the room either. Him asking what she's hiding could refer to a number of different things.

"Wait, what's happening? What is he talking about?" Evelyne asked.

Leon once more turned his head upward, staring at a specific spot on the ceiling. The scowl on his face deepened as he completely seemed to forget where he was.

Was there something happening in another part of the mansion that he was sensing?

Suddenly, he started moving towards the door.

"Sir Leon, what do you think you are doing?" she asked, but her words were ignored as he left the room. She hurried to stand and follow him. "Sir Leon!"

What the hell was this man up to?

Evelyne accompanied her out of the parlor as she tried catching up to Leon, but the knight had already made it to the end of the corridor and disappeared around the corner.

Clenching her teeth, Scarlett quickened her pace, passing by a confused servant girl.

The man himself didn't seem to quite know where he was going, since even after they lost him while moving through the mansion, they encountered several other servants who'd seen him and pointed them in different directions each time. Eventually, though, Scarlett spotted the back of his black uniform once again after they had entered the east wing.

"Leon! Stop right this moment!" she called out.

The man disappeared down another corner and, along with Evelyne, Scarlett rushed forward. She paused as she rounded the corner and saw him take a left, where there was a set of stairs leading up to the other floors.

She realized where he was going.

A moment later, she spotted a confused Fynn appear further down the hallway. The young man must have been wondering about the noise.

"Fynn!" she called out as he approached them. "Follow Sir Leon and ensure that he does not reach the top floor. And do not destroy anything!"

Without a word, he took off.

Scarlett turned around to the disoriented Evelyne behind her. "You will stay here for now."

"What—?" The woman gave her an incredulous look. "Why?"

"Because the identity of the person living on the top floor is something that I have vowed to keep secret. Do you recall?"

"Yes, but—"

"This is not up for discussion, Evelyne. You will remain here or return to your quarters. Is that understood?"

There was a hint of defiance in the younger woman's eyes for a second, but then she lowered her gaze and nodded. "Yes. But we're talking about this later."

"Good." Scarlett turned around and started moving down the hallway. "I will come and see you again after this has been resolved."

She quickened her steps as she reached the stairs, annoyed at having to rush like this. She was wearing a dress instead of her usual exploration attire, and it hampered both her movements and made hurrying like this a lot more embarrassing. If she'd at least worn the [Garments of Form] underneath, she might have been able to make use of its teleportation ability, but it was far too conspicuous when she was only wearing a dress.

Noises sounded out from above, and when she reached the second highest floor, she encountered a ruffled Fynn that was beating his fists against a barrier of light that encased him. Cracks shot through it with each blow, but it looked like it would be a while longer before he broke free.

She gave him a quick nod of acknowledgment before continuing up the next set of stairs.

As she reached the top floor—where the Countess' accommodations were—she saw Leon near the end of the single corridor here.

"Leon! Stop right this moment!"

The man continued ignoring her as he stopped before the door to the Countess' room and reached for the handle. As the door opened, Scarlett spotted parts of the woman's robed figure inside as a surprised scream left the room.

She hurried down the hallway, grabbing hold of Leon's arm as the knight seemed to have frozen at the entrance.

Then she paused as well when she caught sight of more of the room's insides.

The curtains were pulled together, leaving the place shrouded in darkness. Floating near the ceiling were over a dozen stars; gold and silvery shapes embroidered onto thin white napkins. At their center was a large moon, decorating the face of a round pillow that Scarlett recalled having seen on the Countess' bed before. It hovered gently in the air, surrounded by a strange, glittery haze that almost looked to support its flight.

It was like gazing up at a night sky projected onto a kid's bedroom ceiling.

"Ah, ah, ah, no-no-no," a distressed cry sounded out.

The Countess was standing at the room's center, her body and face hidden by her bandages and robes as she shied away from the door. She accidentally bumped into the side of the four-poster behind her and reached out to grab one of its pillars. The wood cracked in from her grasp and the entire top part of the bed came crashing down.

A moment later, the stars and moon floating beneath the ceiling also fell to the floor.

"Ah, ah, ah, no, I-I did not…no-no." The anxiety in the Countess' voice grew as she turned to stare at the ruined bed and the embroidery pieces now spread around the room. Her words turned into an incoherent rambling as she looked back at Leon and Scarlett.

The golden light from before appeared once more around Leon—like a protective armor—as he took a step forward, staring at the woman with a mix of uncertainty and apprehension on his face.

The Countess froze.

Suddenly, a disorderly mass of silvery light burst forth from the woman like dozens of messy tendrils, engulfing half of the room and shooting towards Leon. The knight raised his arms—Scarlett losing her grip on the one she was holding—and a golden shield appeared in front of him.

"STOP!" Scarlett yelled.

The tendrils halted barely a finger's width from Leon's shield.

The Countess stood still like a statue, her mouth opening and closing as she stared at the man.

Scarlett turned to glare at him as well. "This is my home, Leon." She didn't even bother hiding the chill in her voice. "I will not allow you to assault my guests in this manner, no matter what wild misconception is running through your head, or whatever unfounded reasons you believe you might have. Have you forgotten that it is your duty as a knight to protect people? Not to scare unfamiliar women witless by acting like an impertinent brute."

A brief look of realization passed over the man's face, as if he just now recognised what he had been doing. Was the fool just acting out of instinct?

Whatever. It didn't matter. She had to get him away from the Countess.

Neither of the two had dispelled their magic—or auras, she supposed it would technically be in their case—so Scarlett turned to the Countess with the best impression of a calming expression she could muster. "You can relax now. No harm will befall you. You have my word."

The woman didn't seem to hear her words, simply continuing to stare at Leon.

Scarlett turned to the knight instead. "Lower your aura."

He eyed the Countess for a moment, giving Scarlett an uncertain look. The edges of the golden shield in front of him coiled and almost seemed to seethe at the silvery tendrils near it.

Eventually, he lowered his hands. The light surrounding him dissipated.

The tendrils extending from the Countess also petered out following that, losing their cohesion as if their reason for existing was gone. The woman herself still didn't move, however, standing frozen in the same state of alarm as before.

Leon leaned closer to Scarlet. "Who is that?" he asked, the wariness and suspicion clear in his voice.

"You will wait with your questions," she snapped. She pointed further back in the hallway. "Do not presume to act however you wish in my home when unaware of the situation. In case you are too blind to notice, you are not the one most agitated by the current circumstances."

He looked at the Countess, a conflicted expression on his face.

"Leave," Scarlett said. "I will speak with you after I have dealt with this."

It took a while longer, but eventually, the man acquiesced and backed away from the entrance, shooting Scarlett one last look as he did. She ignored it and stepped into the room, closing the door behind her as she focused her attention on the Countess.

"It is okay," she said, in what she hoped was a soothing voice, though it did not come out easily. She slowly started walking over to the woman. "He will not prove a bother to you anymore."

The Countess' eyes shifted from the closed door to Scarlett, and she almost stumbled over the broken door behind her as she finally seemed to unfreeze, trying to move back. "Ah, ah, they're here… They're here… They will take me…like my poor sister… No, no—they'll kill me… H-Help…Baroness?"

"No one is here to take you," Scarlett said, stopping an arm's length from the woman. "That man was not one of those people. He was a Solar Knight, and he was solely acting under a preconceived misconception. There is nothing for you to worry about."

The Countess almost appeared to curl into herself, casting her gaze to the floor. "T-They're here…here…here… My poor sister…why…They'll hurt me as well…"

Scarlett moved her hand forward, hesitating for a moment as she was about to place it on the woman's shoulder. Pushing through the aversion to doing so—bordering on revulsion of the action—she rested it on the woman and pulled out a handkerchief from [Pouch of Holding] at her waist with her other hand.

"No one will come for you or hurt you, and you will meet your sister again. Of this, you have my word. I will speak with that man, so you do not have to concern yourself with this any further."

The Countess' shoulders trembled, but the woman's rambling soon calmed down as she looked up at Scarlett and the handkerchief in her hand. After a moment, she hesitatingly reached out for the piece of cloth and started dabbing it on her face.

Scarlett chose not to point out that that wasn't her intended purpose for the handkerchief.

After a few seconds, the Countess stilled once more as she noticed the ruined bed behind her. Her eyes widened as she almost started rambling sorrys again.

"Be assured that I do not consider you to be at fault for the damages wrought just now," Scarlett hurried to say. "I will ensure that the man just now takes responsibility, so do not worry yourself over it."

The woman blinked several times, but thankfully, the words seemed to calm her down and she went quiet.

Scarlett turned her head slightly to peek at all the embroidered stars and the moon spread around the room.

So this is what the Countess had been doing with her time? She was curious what the purpose was behind it all, if there even was one. Maybe the woman was just doing whatever came to mind? The magic she'd been using to keep them afloat didn't seem to have much more effect than that, but Scarlett assumed it was what had caused Leon's sudden reaction.

"These…decorations," she asked. "You made them?"

The Countess jolted, her eyes moving back and forth as she stared at all the items. "Ah, ah, ah, I-I'm sorry… Please…forgive me… Ugly…wasting your precious resources… Sorry…sorry…"

"That is not at all what I meant," Scarlett said. "I was simply surprised you had this sort of skill set. They are all quite masterfully crafted. I presume Molly provided you with the materials?"

The woman looked at her with surprise. "Ah, yes…yes… She was very kind… Helped a lot."

"That is good." Scarlett gave a nod. "If I may ask, is there a reason why you created these items in particular?"

The Countess shook her head. "…They are beautiful… Like in my dreams…and the Baroness…"

"…I see. Thank you for the compliment. You may create as many as you wish while you stay in this mansion, so do not be afraid to ask Molly for more materials if needed."

The woman nodded along to Scarlett's words, though it wasn't completely clear whether she actually paid attention as her gaze went a little vacant again.

Sending one last look around the room, Scarlett looked to the door and then back to the Countess. "I will have to deal with that knight now. Will you be all right on your lonesome for a while? I can have Molly sent up later to aid you in cleaning up."

The woman nodded her head even more, not exactly filling Scarlett with confidence about how much she was listening. But it was unlikely that the Countess would destroy anything more for the time being, and Scarlett didn't know what more she could do right now, so she let it be.

As soon as she was finished with Leon, she would have Molly sent up to get a better grasp of the situation.

"Then I will return later." With those words, she let go of the Countess' shoulder—the woman barely noticed—and made to leave the room. As she reached the exit, she sent one last look back at the woman before entering the hallway outside and closing the door behind her.

There, Leon met her eyes with a serious expression, arms crossed. "What in Ittar's name are you up to here, Scarlett?"

She stopped for a moment, the anger from earlier rising up once more. "I could ask you the same, Sir Leon. For what reason did you think it acceptable to act out like this inside my home, and towards my guests?"

"I couldn't just ignore whatever this is." He waved his hand at the door behind her. "Who was that? What was that?"

"That was a person, just like you and me. One whose life was just threatened by your ignorance. As for who she is, that is none of your concern."

A flash of shame crossed over the man's expression. Her words clearly struck a nerve.

Despite that, he didn't back down. "There was something wrong with that power of hers. It wasn't necromancy, or any other dangerous energy that I have encountered before, yet it clashed more with my aura than anything I've ever experienced." He stared at her for several seconds. "What is it that you're hiding?"

"That, as well, is none of your concern." She held his gaze. "I will ask you this. What exactly about her power is it that was 'wrong', as you put it?"

His expression hardened. "…I'm not sure."

She couldn't help the scoff that escaped her. "So you admit to not even understanding it, yet you insist that it is wrong. Do you not see the inanity in that? Since when has it been illegal to practice something in the empire simply because it is not something that conforms to a Solar Knight's preferences?"

"It's not about me not liking it. Whatever that was, it directly opposed my aura. It directly opposed the techniques and methods taught by the Imperial Solar Knight's order, and Ittar's own power. If the Followers were the ones to notice this, they wouldn't simply sit still either."

Scarlett frowned. If that was true, she would have to be careful about not letting Raimond or anyone that might sense the Countess' aura be around when the woman was using her powers in the future, then.

"I fail to see your point," she told Leon, shaking her head. "I would be more surprised if her power did not clash with what you are familiar with, but that has no bearing on the intrinsic 'wrongness' of it. Water clashes with fire, but that does not mean that either is inherently bad, nor that they cannot work together. I would say that my own magic is an incontrovertible demonstration of this."

The man went quiet.

"Ittar may be the patron deity of the empire, but as far as I am aware, the worshipping or observing of other faiths is not prohibited, no matter if they might superficially appear to clash with what you ascribe to him. Your behaviour just now has severely agitated an innocent woman completely unconnected to you, and the only justification you have is flimsy at best. You yourself have pointed out that the power she demonstrated is neither related to necromancy nor any other energy you know of, banned or otherwise."

She stared at him, studying his expression. She wasn't even completely sure herself what she was saying, but it seemed to legitimately trouble him.

"This woman is a guest of mine," she continued. "One which has helped me several times and whom I have promised to aid in return. I will not allow you to cause her any further discomfort, no matter what you might think of the power she wields."

"I…" Leon looked unsure how to respond, which, surprisingly enough, filled Scarlett with a small amount of satisfaction. She quickly pushed the feeling down for now. "You're…right, Scarlett. I acted without thinking, and I'm sorry. I'm not even sure what came over me…" He sent her one last, earnest look. "…But I have to know what that was."

"You do not. You are not entitled to that information, and I will most certainly not share it with you after the way you just acted."

It was bad enough that he had seen the Countess. Scarlett might be able to salvage things if she made sure he didn't speak of it to anyone, and he did not recognize what the Countess' power was, but even allowing him to know this much was risky. Especially if he decided to share it with any of the Followers of Ittar.

"You will not be allowed to meet with her again, if that is what you are hoping," she said. "Even if you were to wish to beg forgiveness for your behaviour. I will also ask that you show understanding of her situation and remain silent about her presence here. Do not speak of it to anyone."

Leon's expression changed, suspicion once again entering his eyes as he looked at her.

"There is nothing unlawful or illicit taking place here," she said. "And she is of no threat to those that do not themselves threaten her first."

The man cringed at that.

"But she has lived through very unfortunate circumstances not of her own making, and in order to stay safe, she has to remain hidden from a certain group of people that I cannot name. If you were to share your knowledge of her existence, no matter how safe you believe it might be, you may very well place her life into danger. As long as she is a guest in my home, I have a responsbility to ensure her safety, and as such, I will not allow you to leave here without first having your word that you will stay your tongue."

His forehead creased together.

"Leon." She gave him a serious look. "Do I have your word?"

"I don't even know what I would be swearing to."

"You would be swearing to keep the life of an innocent woman safe."

"I can't be certain about that."

"Are you saying that your uncertainty is enough reason to endanger her life? Even when you were the one that forced your way through my home and nearly assaulted my guest?"

"I see what you're trying to do, Scarlett."

"I do not care if you see it or not. Do I have your oath?"

He went quiet again, the air between them heavy. Finally, he let out a long sigh.

"…I promise not to speak of this to anyone. As long as doing so does not expressly endanger the safety of someone's life or that of the empire."

She clicked her tongue. That was close enough.

"Good. Now, if you do not mind, I will have to ask that you return to the parlor while I clean up the mess you have brought about. I will be sending you an invoice for the bed later."

Chapter 119 - Cooling off

Eventually, Scarlett was sitting in the parlor with Evelyne and Leon once again.

Cleaning up after Leon's barging through the mansion hadn't taken too much time, but it had been annoying to do nonetheless. Not only did she have to go find Molly and give the servant woman a vague summary of what happened so she could go check up on the Countess, but she also had to figure out what to do about the destroyed bed and the fact that a lot of people saw Leon running around like a madman with a mission.

For the time being, she'd had Molly bring the Countess to an empty room in the east wing and instructed Marlon to have a couple of servants go up to the woman's room to tidy things up. She would also need to come up with a decent excuse for everything, though that could be left for a later occasion.

One thing she was thankful for was that Fynn hadn't caused more of a mess after everything had been resolved. Contrary to what she might have expected of the young man, he hadn't immediately rushed off to fight Leon again after escaping the man's barrier. Instead, it seemed that when Scarlett had been appeasing the Countess, Fynn had noticed that the situation had calmed down somewhat and chosen to stay back, which was what allowed her to then talk things out with Leon.

It showed that Fynn was learning how to read situations, after all. Just…slowly. And perhaps a bit arbitrarily.

Scarlett turned her head, glancing at Evelyne, who was sitting on her right, before shifting her focus to Leon on the sofa to her left. She had already chewed him out enough about what had happened, but that didn't mean her irritation had completely faded. Originally, she had invited him to come with her and meet Evelyne because she wanted to say a proper goodbye. It didn't hurt to be a little polite to a powerful imperial knight, after all. Now, though, she didn't feel quite as up to it.

"So, Sir Leon," she said, some of the steeliness lingering in her voice. "Before you leave, is there anything more you wish to say?"

The man at least had the dignity to look embarrassed at her words. "No, there isn't."

She eyed him for a few seconds.

If she was going to be honest with herself… Rationally, she couldn't blame him for his earlier behavior. At least not too much. She knew he had apprehensions about her even before they started working together, and she was also aware that the knight techniques he practiced directly opposed those of the Countess. They were directly tied to the empire's patron deity of the sun, Ittar, after all. It was like mixing oil and water, and she imagined it must have come as a very sudden surprise to encounter something like that here.

It also seemed like the reaction itself was a lot more instinctual than Scarlett thought it would have been. If anyone could sympathise with the difficulties of fighting against your instincts, it was her.

That did not mean she would just forgive and forget. Like hell she was that generous. She would only go as far as to ensure he didn't spread the information around.

"Then," she began, "I will offer you one last expression of appreciation for the assistance you lent me in Autumnwell, as well as for the advice that you deigned to provide my retainers. That was outside of what was demanded of you by our agreement. As promised, I will take all of your actions into consideration when I inquire into how to handle the subject of our betrothal in the near future."

He held an unreadable expression as he looked at her, then gave a slow nod. "Thank you."

To the side, Evelyne was giving both of them probing looks and had been doing so since Scarlett returned. Still, she ignored it for now.

Leon stood from his seat and rearranged his clothes. "I'll be taking my leave, then. Evelyne, it was a pleasure meeting you again, even though only briefly. And Scarlett…" He seemed to hesitate before shaking his head. "I regret my showing earlier, but I hope I won't regret giving you my word. Contact me when you've reached a decision regarding the betrothal. I'd appreciate if you informed me before my family, as well."

She gave him a nod. "I will."

He made to leave, but Scarlett stopped him as he passed her by.

"There is one more thing. It had almost slipped my mind." She reached for her [Pouch of Holding] and pulled out a leather-bound tome that gave off a dark aura.

[Tome of Hopelessness (Rare)]

{An ancient tome carrying secrets that should remain unspoken}

She held it out towards the man.

Leon gave her a surprised look, staring down at it.

She raised an eyebrow at him. He was the one that said he'd take care of it to begin with. Seems like both of them had forgotten. Maybe she should have kept it after all.

The man reached out to receive the tome. "I'll make sure it's dealt with properly. Thank you, Scarlett."

"It was my pleasure."

With that, he sent the two of them one last nod before leaving the room. As the door closed behind him, Scarlett turned back to Evelyne.

The younger woman was looking at her intensely. "I have a lot of things to ask."

"I would imagine so."

"First of all, what was that book?"

"A tome on matters of necromancy."

For a moment, Evelyne was quiet. Then, as if doing a double take, she turned to stare at the door with wide eyes.

"Do not forget that Sir Leon is a Solar Knight," Scarlett said. "I gave the tome to him so that he could ensure its removal."

The younger woman blinked. "That…makes sense." She shook her head. "I feel like I'm starting to assume the craziest scenarios because of all the strange things you do all the time. But nevermind that. What was that whole mess earlier? Why did Leon rush through the whole mansion, and why did you just let him go after something like that?"

"I did not simply 'let him go'." Scarlett clicked her tongue as she tapped her finger against the armrest of her seat. "I made sure he will not repeat such behaviour ever again, but there is a limit to how much I can do. Surely you do not think I can actually do anything to punish an imperial knight?"

"Honestly, I'm never sure what to think with you nowadays."

Scarlett studied her.

Actually, what did Evelyne think of her at the moment? Most of their recent interactions had been relatively peaceful—even though Scarlett often had to push down the disgust and irritation that threatened to rise up around the younger Hartford sister—but she didn't know what kind of image Evelyne had of her inside her mind. Was it still that of an overbearing and scheming villainess? Just one that also happened to be very knowledgeable about certain things, and cooperative for now? Or had that changed?

"…So, what was the reason?" Evelyne asked.

Scarlett left those ponderings behind for now as she turned her attention back to the woman. "The reason?"

"The reason Sir Leon acted like he did." Evelyne gave her a pointed look. "I stayed quiet and tried not to pry, just like you asked me before, but not only did your fiancé barge through the whole mansion because of whatever you're hiding here, but a Solar Knight. I can't just ignore this anymore, Scarlett. Especially not if you're doing something that you really shouldn't be doing."

The ever-familiar annoyance and anger bubbled to the surface at Evelyne's words, but Scarlett kept it down as best she could. The woman's reaction was completely reasonable, considering things.

But what should she say in response?

She let out a soft sigh, turning her gaze to the short table in front of her, before eventually speaking. "It is not anything illicit in nature, if that is what worries you."

Simply housing the Countess technically wasn't illegal, and nothing Scarlett had sent her to do specifically was against the law.

"If it had been, do you truly believe Leon would have left without taking further action?" she asked. "The simple truth of the matter is that the guest that I am currently housing in the east wing practices a rare type of magic, one that had an adverse reaction when faced with Leon's aura. That was the cause for his outburst earlier, as well as his…excessive response."

"Exactly what kind of magic are we talking?"

"I cannot tell you. Partly because I myself am not too familiar with it, and partly because it is best if you remain unaware. I can, however, inform you that it is related to a deity separate from Ittar. One that the Followers of Ittar might not look too favorably upon, despite no wrongdoings having been performed by its adherents. This is also why I endeavour to ensure complete secrecy surrounding my guest, so as to spare them from any undue harassment from overly zealous members of the Followers."

That was technically true, though far from the main reason behind keeping the Countess hidden. The Followers probably weren't aware of her existence specifically.

Evelyne furrowed her brows, appearing to mull over Scarlett's words. "Is this guest from outside the empire, then? The Luciean Isles, Voneia, or some other place where they worship the other gods?"

"No. They hail from the empire, just as we do. One could say that their 'worship' of this deity is more because of happenstance rather than true worship. It is exactly due to this that it is best to maintain their anonymity."

The younger woman went silent for a short while, holding a serious expression. Finally, she nodded her head as if to accept what Scarlett said. "Alright. I can at least understand what you're doing then. But I hope you're being careful and aren't about to get us into a mess with the Followers because of this, so soon after you got us into their good graces."

Scarlett wanted to laugh at that. If Evelyne knew what she was planning, the woman might literally faint from shock. That, or simply try to strangle her to death and call her insane.

That's why it was imperative that no one ever found out.

"By the way," Evelyne began. Her countenance had relaxed a bit now. "While you were gone, we received another letter from Livvi. She asked whether we wanted to come over for a dinner gathering."

"Dinner?"

"Yes. Count Knottley and his son will be there as well."

Scarlett frowned. Didn't that mean it was basically a meeting with the ruling noble family of Freybrook? She had only met Count Knottley once, but from that time, and from what Livvi had told her, it didn't seem like the man was particularly fond of her.

"I think we should go," Evelyne said. "The Count is the most powerful person in the region, and it would be a good idea to improve your relationship with him now that you have the opportunity. Especially after what happened in Elystead. I know he doesn't like you much, but he doesn't mind me, and showing that we have a working relationship could be good for both of us."

Scarlett eyed her. It wasn't as if she was wrong. If they did go, it could also be a good chance to get some more experience in mingling with other nobles. This was probably the closest she would come to an informal noble gathering.

That didn't mean she was looking forward to it, though.

"When is this dinner?" she asked.

"The day after tomorrow."

That would mean she had time to visit Freymeadow tomorrow and to start tallying up the artifacts they had gathered in Autumnwell to get a grasp of what to keep. She was also planning on looking over the [Obedience's Solitude Loci] when she had the time to figure out how it actually worked. That might be possible when she was in Freymeadow, in-between practice sessions.

"If that day works for you as well, then you may inform Livvi that we will be there."

"I have a few things to take care of during the afternoon, but I should be able to free up enough time in the evening," Evelyne said. "I'll send her a letter when I get back home later."

"You are leaving the mansion today, then?"

"I'm meeting with a few prospective business partners and most of the necessary documents and papers are there. I'm also more used to hosting guests there." Evelyne paused, observing her for a few seconds. "Are you saying it would be okay for me to handle things like that here in the future?"

"I see no reason not to."

"…Alright." The woman's words almost came out as a whisper. "I'll have to arrange rooms and offices for Kinsley and the rest first, though, so it will have to wait until then."

"I am sure that you can speak with Garside regarding that."

The old butler was still recovering, but now he had at least reached a state where he could perform some minor work without issue. Scarlett had tried telling him to wait until he had recovered completely, but the man had refused to budge now that he could finally leave his bed. Their training sessions would still have to wait before they were resumed, however.

"There was one more thing," Evelyne said.

"And what is that?" Scarlett asked.

"That wizard from the Elystead Tower that you had been in contact with, Adalicia Mendenhall? She sent a letter saying she had returned from the Rising Isle and was finishing things up over in Elystead. Things had proceeded faster than she had expected, and apparently she was planning on visiting Freybrook in a few days, wondering if it was possible to move forward with your plans. If you were available."

"In a few days, you say?" Scarlett raised a hand to her chin, massaging it as she peered out of one of the parlor windows.

The idea hadn't been for Adalicia to arrive for another week or two. She hadn't booked passage through the Kilnstone either, so pushing things up like this could prove slightly troublesome, even if it would be nice to deal with all of this as early as possible.

"Adalicia and I were supposed to investigate the remains of another set of Zuverian ruins the next time we met, when she had the time to do so. Unfortunately, I have not prepared any Kilnstone passage that would be suitable for leaving this soon." She turned back to Evelyne. "Would it be possible for you to arrange anything for us in time?"

A crease formed on the younger woman's forehead. "It might be difficult if you're planning on leaving within the week. Depends on where you're going."

"It is to Faybarrow."

"Faybarrow?" Evelyne seemed to consider it for a moment. "I know a merchant who often travels there. He operates from here in Freybrook, so I might be able to negotiate a spot off of him if he has one. You'd have to go through the normal Kilnstone line, however, and convincing him will probably cost a decent amount. Although I suppose money isn't looking to be a problem for us at the moment."

"Good." Scarlett nodded her head. "Inquire with him if it is possible to arrange that, then."

With that resolved, they moved on to discuss exactly what they would be doing for this upcoming dinner with the Knottley family.

Chapter 120 - Perspectives

Smoke trailed up into the dark red sky around Scarlett as she and Rosa walked through the ruins of Freymeadow. They passed body after body—the charred remains of the people that had lived here—and what traces were left of the villagers' daily lives. Burnt tools, hammers, clothes, toys, and much more were strewn around the streets.

No matter the ambivalence Scarlett felt regarding the horror of the scene itself, this would never grow to be a pleasant sight.

The two of them moved quietly this time, as they proceeded deeper into the dying village. Rosa's hard expression spoke magnitudes of her thoughts at witnessing all of this once more. Yet she had still chosen to join her, despite that.

It spoke of an impressive determination in and of its own. Probably more than Scarlett would have had, were their positions reversed.

Eventually, they reached the village center. The same sight as the previous time they'd been here met them, with piles of scorched corpses spread around the area like a scene from a nightmare. In the middle of this was the burning wooden platform with the strange black stand on top of it, falling into the broken planks beneath it.

Arlene was kneeling on the ground close to the platform, back turned towards them as her raven-black hair covered her trembling shoulders.

Rosa sent Scarlett a wordless look, and the two of them started walking over towards the woman, sidestepping the bodies that blocked the way. Arlene didn't notice them at first, head aimed down at the ground. Scarlett circled and stopped in front of her.

"…Is there really nothing we can do?" Rosa almost whispered as she halted next to Scarlett. She gazed down at the woman.

"There is not," Scarlett answered.

Arlene's shoulders stilled. Slowly, she turned up to look at them, tears streaming down her face. Her eyes locked on to Scarlett, filled with a mix of rage and anguish.

Several silent seconds passed, and soon, red embers bloomed into existence around them, floating gently through the air. A faint haze followed, spreading across the square and moving to envelop the three of them. As it neared, it turned denser, like a fog, and their surroundings morphed. Soon, strokes of colors and shapes filled the world as things changed.

Just like last time, the square and all the bodies were soon gone, leaving only Arlene with them. The woman's gaze was locked on Scarlett until the very last second, then she, too, was absorbed into the web of colors that inched in around them.

For a brief while, there was nothing but quietness. Then the colors became clearer, taking on the hues of a forest in autumn. The firmament of the changing world finally locked into place, and both Scarlett and Rosa found themselves back in the clearing outside the village. Shin, Allyssa, and Fynn were all waiting nearby.

Scarlett gave the three of them a short nod before turning back to Rosa. "With that concluded, shall we continue?"

Scarlett took several deep breaths as she raised a flask to her mouth and took a deep swig of the water inside. The cool liquid felt nice as it soothed her parched throat.

The cyclical nature of Freymeadow, where it repeated the same days over and over again, certainly had its fair share of benefits for someone like her, and in many ways, it surpassed any other treasure she could get her hands on. She was very grateful that she had access to it like she did, and she knew she wasn't in a position to complain. That said, she really wished it didn't have to be summer here all the time.

It got tiring real quick. Especially when all you did was train with literal fire magic.

At the moment, she was sitting up on the porch along with Arlene, making good use of the magical air conditioning up here. She had spent the previous few hours moving back and forth between these rest sessions and her practicing sessions, and she was starting to feel the wear.

Rosa was god-knows-where, having already been convinced by—or convinced—the village children to go off on some adventure or other. She didn't pay too much attention to what the bard did as long as she refilled her [Depraved Solitude's Choker] when necessary.

Their current loop would be the third one here in Freymeadow, and it had started much like the other ones. After going through the last day of the previous loop, Scarlett and Rosa had entered the village again earlier today, where she had introduced herself to Arlene in the exact same way as the previous times, asking the woman to take her as a disciple. And just like before, the woman had denied her request.

She had to admit, she'd thought there was a chance of succeeding this time. But apparently, she still wasn't up to standard for Arlene.

Inadvertently, she found herself glancing over at the woman. The woman's straight, dark hair hung gently over her shoulders as her head was turned down at the book lying on her lap, its pages partly concealed by the raised cover.

"Is there something you want to say?" the woman asked, not looking up from the book. "You keep looking at me, and I don't think it's only because you're appreciating my face."

Scarlett blinked. Did she have eyes on the side of her head or something?

Staying silent for a while, unsure of what to respond, Scarlett eventually decided on an avenue of approach. It was related to something that had caught her awareness.

"Merely some curiosity on my part," she said. "It did not escape my notice that you were paying attention to my earlier practice sessions. Despite previously having expressed no interest in my affairs here, I saw you observing me on more than one occasion. Could it be that you have changed your mind after seeing what I am capable of?"

"I took a few peeks, yes." Arlene gave a slow nod. "But I wouldn't say I saw anything particularly noteworthy."

"No? Then, if not, what did you see?"

The woman turned a page in her book. "You're asking what I think of what I saw?"

"Yes. I am still in the process of familiarising myself with my magic. It is only recently that I have come to understand that what I am doing could be considered different from 'normal' pyrokinesis."

"I can tell," Arlene replied. There was slight amusement in her voice.

"I have been told that I focus too much on the minutiae."

"Doesn't surprise me. Whoever taught you magic was a fool."

"I am self-taught."

"Then I suppose you are the fool."

Scarlett frowned, biting back her response. What was she supposed to say to that?

Arlene turned away from the book. She looked at her. "An ignorant fool is still a fool, like any other. If a healer fails to save a patient because they didn't recognize an illness, then that patient still dies. The healer's ignorance simply serves as an excuse for why the fault doesn't entirely lie with her."

The woman studied her for a moment, then shifted her gaze out across the village square. "I don't mean to offend you, but it's the truth. Intent has always been subordinate to results. Taking it into consideration has and always will be a privilege. One that too many squander."

A heavy atmosphere fell over the space between them as Arlene went silent.

"…I am not here to challenge your opinion regarding my skills," Scarlett eventually said. "Quite the opposite, in fact. But what, would you say, is it that I am ignorant about, first and foremost?"

The woman turned back to her, staying quiet for a few more seconds as she seemed to consider her. "It depends. Are you talking about in regard to your use of true pyrokinesis, or your magic in general?"

"Both."

"…Then we'll start with your outlook."

Arlene waved her hand, and a flame appeared in the air between them. "To begin with, note how I've separated the mana here to—"

"I cannot see the mana of your flame," Scarlett said. "I can only sense the compositional structure of my own magic."

The woman paused, sending a long look towards her. Then she waved her hand again, and the flame split into dozens of thin, fiery strands that started moving around each other in complex patterns. "We'll do it like this instead, then."

Scarlett observed the flames dance for a while.

"The very first thing one has to understand with magic is that, as a discipline, it requires an exhaustive and holistic perspective to be properly understood," Arlene explained. "This demands a method of thinking that is difficult for most people. It can be unintuitive, strange, and sometimes even blasphemous to some. But nevertheless, it's necessary. It might be possible to become a mage without it—you can always learn the spells by relying on rote memorization—but you will never become a wizard without it."

Scarlett watched as the strands moved faster and faster around each other, forming a complicated mesh that became almost impossible to follow. A wave of warmth washed over her, like someone had turned on a heating fan.

Arlene gestured towards the flames. "Explain to me how this works."

Scarlett knitted her brows. If she knew that, she wouldn't be seeking help like this.

"This is not a spell, if that is what you're thinking," the woman added. "It's a basic application of pyrokinesis. Nothing more. What I am asking you to do is tell me why it had the effect that it did, not how I shaped the mana itself."

"…I presume there is a purpose to the specific movements?" Scarlett asked.

"Of course there is."

She observed the array of shifting flames even closer. Was it literally just functioning like a heating fan, then? It didn't look or spin like a fan. Was there some other magical bullshit involved as well?

"…If I were to present a hypothesis," she began, "it would be that the movements of the fire act to circulate the surrounding air, heating it in the process as it sends the air towards me."

That felt like saying it's warm because it's hot, but it was about as descriptive as she could be. She didn't actually remember how heating fans worked—she had honestly never bothered consciously thinking about it—but they couldn't be that complicated, could they? It was a fan with a radiator in front of it, basically.

"That's close enough to what the purpose is," Arlene said. "And the purpose is always one of the most important things to know when dealing with magic. Oftentimes, it might appear to be the most obvious factor, but that's only when you're looking at things from above. When you're creating your own spells or working with pyrokinesis, you don't always have that luxury."

"If that is the purpose, are you instead asking me how the specific movements of these flames create this effect?" Scarlett asked.

"Essentially." The woman nodded, giving her a scrutinising look. "Do you know?"

"…I do not."

The flames disappeared, as did the warm air that had been bearing down on Scarlett.

"Good," Arlene said.

"Why is that good?"

"Because trying to understand why it worked as it did is a fool's errand," Arlene answered. "It's possible, yes. I know how it works, for example. Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to replicate the effect only using pyrokinesis. But that was only possible because this was—on the grand scale of things—an incredibly simple application of it. I just warmed up some air and sent it your way. Despite that, you would have to search around for a long time to find any other wizard capable of even that much. Had I instead tried to heat all of the air to the exact same temperature, and tried to send it your way so that every single part of you was hit by the same intensity of warmth, it would be several orders of degree more difficult to recreate. Practically impossible. There are spells that do that, though."

"…This much I already understand," Scarlett said, recalling the similar words the woman had told her in previous loops. "In my own attempts, I have realized the difficulty of attempting to control and focus too much on every single detail of the parts that constitute my magic. What I have yet to understand, however, is how one is supposed to achieve greater feats through pyrokinesis without knowing how the underlying building blocks function. Originally, I thought that intent was perhaps enough to fashion one's magic according to one's wishes, but I have been led to believe there are better ways."

Arlene studied her for a moment. "Why would you need to understand how these building blocks work?"

"In order to manipulate them in a fashion that fits my goal."

"You don't think you can otherwise?"

"Perhaps I can, but it would be easier if I understood them, no? You do not attempt to write a letter without understanding letters first."

The woman gestured in front of her. "If you tie a knot out of a piece of rope, one as long as you are tall, how would you go about untying it?"

Scarlet eyed her dubiously. She had noticed that the wizard always liked using analogies when she tried explaining these things to her. "…If it is tied in the appropriate manner, I would be able to untie the rope by simply pulling at the right sections. I suppose that is what you are trying to say applies for magic as well, then? However, that begs the question of how to tie the knot to begin with."

"You don't. The knot has always existed."

She stared at the woman.

…That was not much of an explanation.

At her doubtful expression, Arlene continued. "If you have a tree in front of you, you won't think 'how exactly do I create a tree like this, with the leaves, branches, bark, and all?'. You will be thinking, 'what is the best approach to making a tree like this grow by itself?'." The woman looked at her. "Do you know why?"

Scarlett could think of a dozen different answers for that, but she gestured for her to continue.

"Because the tree is already an existence unto itself. It's a complicated arrangement of interlocking ties and elements that, no matter the time you waste on it, you won't ever truly comprehend. You might know how to plant the seed, give it a suitable habitat, and keep it nurtured as it grows, but the tree does the rest. The tree already has its own system of behavior, and the best way to interact with it is by identifying the points that have the most influence in this system. And there are such points. There always are, for everything. I could bore you with an hour-long lecture about why that holds true, but I won't. Simply understand that it is."

"…I believe I understand the core of what you are trying to illustrate," Scarlett said. It wasn't as if this kind of thinking was entirely foreign to her.

"Do you?" Arlene eyed her with a questioning gaze. "Do you, truly?"

"At the very least, I have a sense of what you are attempting to convey, though I cannot say for certain that I would know how to apply it to magic."

"I would certainly hope not. If you did, I would be genuinely fearful of whether or not I was dealing with an actual human or not."

Scarlett raised a brow at the woman.

"The point behind this isn't to suddenly teach you how magic works. It's to lay the groundwork and give you an understanding of the reasoning behind the approach that one has to take towards magic," Arlene said.

"I see…"

"Hidden inside my previous words were what my own master liked to describe as three 'truths', observable to anyone with enough time to waste." For a moment, the wizard grew a forlorn expression on her face. "My master always used to say that these truths were an essential part of what any wizard had to accept if they truly wanted to understand magic as a discipline and what it is capable of achieving. Do you have any clue what these truths might be?"

Scarlett shook her head. "I suspect you intend to share them, regardless. If so, there is no point in me aimlessly fumbling for them."

Arlene's mouth rose in a small smile. "That's very close to what my sister once told our master when asked that very same question. You can imagine that she was not pleased with the consequences."

"You were of another opinion?"

The older woman let out a low chuckle. "No. I was simply clever enough to keep quiet about what I thought." She waved her hand as if that wasn't important. "But I was in the middle of boring you until you die or leave—whichever comes first—so unless you're too ungrateful to appreciate me telling you even this much, I'll continue."

Three fingers were held up in the air.

"Three truths. First of all is the fact that everything is an imitation. A representation. A model. You can describe it in however many ways you want, but what matters is that you understand this: nothing you see is the true reality of the world around you. This is true both for what you perceive with your own eyes and for what you perceive in your mind. And before you start misunderstanding and think I'm saying that nothing is real, listen to the rest of what I have to say."

"I am listening," Scarlett said, holding a patient expression.

Arlene gave a satisfied nod. "The second truth is that these imitations often conform well with reality. You see the image of a tree with green leaves because a tree actually has green leaves. You hear the sound of a woodpecker nearby because there is one nearby. A river seems to flow faster because the current is faster. But, if a child dropped a stone in the river, they might be surprised to see that it doesn't flow along with the current. This is due to the third truth: these imitations that we perceive the world through often fall short of representing the world fully, and as such, we can never fully understand the world. Like the ignorant child, we often draw illogical conclusions from accurate assumptions, because what we see is only the flowing river, failing to understand that the 'river' doesn't actually exist. Just like a tree, a river is simply a system of interlocking relationships and elements that work together and create an effect whose existence we perceive as a river."

The woman considered Scarlett for a moment. "For another example that might be more familiar to someone like you, you can think of the Graenal empire. Like the river, the 'empire' doesn't exist—and if you plan on arguing with me over that statement, you can leave right here and now."

Scarlett stayed quiet.

Arlene continued. "The 'empire' can, just like anything else, be described as another complex of interlocking relationships and elements, working together towards an overarching goal. The roads and citizens make up some of these elements, and the value people ascribe to the nation and its history is one of the relationships connecting elements together. Then we have the cities, towns, and villages in the empire who are all systems unto themselves, subservient, in part, to the empire and its 'existence'. This is where we could make a comparison to your magic."

She gestured to the open square before them and the surrounding buildings. "Say you were the village head or reeve of a village like this. You've held the position for long enough to know every single villager, every house, every farm animal, as well as all the relationships that exist between these. You are so familiar with these things that you can predict exactly what consequences it would have if Witter the Blacksmith woke up one hour earlier a particular morning, or if Mira the Weaver went to the nearby town for a week. Even for a small village like this, a feat like that would be incomprehensibly difficult, but perhaps it's possible in theory. However, let's say you were instead a baron or a count, with a town or city as part of your fief. Or a duke, with swathes of land and dozens of settlements within your domain. Now, not even the most accomplished of legendary heroes would be able to keep track of all these details."

The woman let out a short scoff. "I would like to say you don't see any dukes running around like headless chickens trying to keep track of it all, but perhaps it would be better if they did." She shook her head. "Anyhow, what's important here is that, while it might be possible to understand relatively simple existences like a small village or the magic I previously showed you, it quickly becomes unfeasible as they grow more complex."

Closing the book that was on her lap, Arlene tapped her finger on its cover for a moment. "In theory, you could attempt to map these existences; make comprehensive notes of its purpose, every single element making it up, as well as all the relationships affecting it. This is essentially what spells are. But this is incredibly difficult. Many of these elements and relationships are invisible and never reveal themselves until they become relevant, and by then, it is often too late." Her voice took on a more serious tone. "Humans are terrifyingly ignorant. Both our young and our most learned are ignorant. The acquisition of knowledge is nothing more than the revelation of our ignorance, and if there is one thing I have learned in my life, it is that our growing understanding of the world first and foremost serves to instruct us that it is greater than our grasp of it will ever reach."

The woman went silent for a few seconds, and Scarlett went over what she'd said in her head.

"…While I see the merit behind your words, if I am to be truthful, that sort of thinking appears somewhat superfluous to me," she eventually said. "At the very least, in the majority of cases. It may certainly be beneficial to sometimes consider entities such as towns and cities in the manner you describe. What would be the point in emphasising that a tree I see before me is, as you put it, an imitation? I cannot speak for how it is within the discipline of magic, but I see no scenarios where this might influence how I view or interact with more mundane existences."

"It is superfluous," Arlene answered. "Just like pointing at the sky and saying that it's blue is superfluous in any conversation between two individuals who share the same ability to see. But that is also why it's important. I am not telling you all of this because I want to turn your worldview upside down, but because if you cannot accept the simple truth that the 'tree' as you see it isn't real—even when that fact holds no significance—then you stand little of a chance of applying this perspective where it matters."

Scarlett pursed her lips as she looked out at the village. "Such as when approaching magic."

Arlene nodded. "Yes."

"Then how does one apply this to magic?"

"How does a child learn to understand that a rock doesn't float down a river?"

"By throwing one in." Scarlett looked at the woman. "I have already made several attempts and experiments in order to better understand the magic that I wield. While I am making progress, I do not think it is as efficient as it could be."

"That's because you aren't throwing rocks. You're throwing pebbles, hoping that the ripples will somehow tell you what the river is."

"Are you saying that I should throw in larger 'rocks'?"

"No, that's not what I am saying." Arlene creased her brows. "I suppose it's my fault for leading you into that. But that line of thinking comes from another misunderstanding you have about magic. It's a common misunderstanding, relevant not only to magic, but to a lot of other disciplines as well."

"And what might that be?" Scarlett asked.

The woman went quiet, studying her for a while.

"There is a chaos inherent in working with magic," she said. "Some people might feel the inclination to compare magic with more 'natural' disciplines—whatever that is supposed to mean—such as mathematics or botany. They might want to use linear relationships and models to describe magic, because, for some inexplicable reason, they think that is how the world works. Linear equations are solvable. Linear systems are modular. You can take these things apart and put them together again, and all the pieces will add up."

An almost dismissive snort left Arlene.

"Magic isn't like that. Magic isn't linear, and it most certainly isn't 'solvable'. Magic cannot be taken apart and put together again. Magic means that the very act of interacting with it changes the rules. That twisted changeability makes magic hard to calculate, but it is also what makes magic so rich. It creates behaviours that would never appear in these otherwise crude representations that people often try to enforce upon the world around them. Understanding this chaos is part of what it means to be a true wizard. And of those, we are woefully lacking."

"Do you perhaps expect me to become a wizard?" Scarlett asked.

The woman stared at her. "Gods no. That would both be a waste of your time and a risk to my sanity."

"Then what is it that you wish to say? What, specifically, is it that you recommend I do?"

Arlene tilted her head to the side, a thoughtful expression on her face. "That's a good question. Not sure if I bothered thinking that far."

Scarlett blinked. "…Pardon?"

"I wanted to cram some basics into that head of yours. I have never had the chance to teach someone before, so I will admit that this was a somewhat novel experience. What you do with what I've said, however, is up to you."

Scarlett had to hold herself back from uttering an expletive at the woman. It felt like she had just been spun around in a circle repeatedly, only to be then left in a dark forest without a compass and a note that says 'head east'.

She schooled her expression as much as she could. "Then, if that is all you intended to say regarding these 'basics', is there at the very least something you can share regarding true pyrokinesis as well?"

A small smile wormed its way onto the wizard's face. "Perhaps next time," she said, turning back to open her book.

Scarlett's eye twitched. She was starting to suspect this woman took joy in tormenting her like this.

Chapter 121 - Damp progress

A short rain shower fell over the edge of Freymeadow's village square as the shimmering spheres of water that Scarlett had summoned burst apart all as one. She watched the droplets sink into the ground for a moment, then raised the towel on her lap to wipe away the sweat from her forehead.

[Name: Scarlett Hartford]

[Skills:

[Greater Mana Control]

[Greater Pyromancy]

[Superior Pyrokinesis]

[Greater Hydromancy]

[Superior Hydrokinesis]]

[Traits:

[Dignified August]

[Supercilious]

[Cavalier]

[Callous]

[Overbearing]

[Conceited]

[Third-rate Mana Veins]]

[Mana: 1745/4747]

[Points: 10]

[Skills Menu:

Upgrades

[Superior Pyromancy] (25 points)

[Major Pyrokinesis] (50 points)

[Superior Hydromancy] (25 points)

[Major Hydrokinesis] (50 points)

[Superior Mana Control] (25 points)

New skills

[LOCKED]]

She had recently upgraded the hydrokinesis skill, from [Greater Hydrokinesis] to [Superior Hydrokinesis], as well as the hydromancy skill, to [Greater Hydromancy]. Just as with pyrokinesis, the leap from Greater to Superior for hydrokinesis was far more notable than the one from [Hydrokinesis] to [Greater Hydrokinesis] had originally been. It would take some time getting used to, considering hydrokinesis as a skill offered more flexibility than pyrokinesis and there were tons of experiments she wanted to do, but that was what was so great with Freymeadow.

Scarlett had been sitting on a total of 45 skill points after clearing Abelard's Doll Mansion and the other dungeons in Autumnwell. Originally, she had been thinking of saving up to upgrade her pyrokinesis one step further, but since she was still in the process of learning how to properly use her magic even at its current level, she didn't want to rush things for the time being. She wasn't lacking in new skill points either, so she doubted she would have to wait for too long before she had gathered the same amount again.

Another reason she had decided to upgrade hydrokinesis instead was also because she'd felt the skill was falling behind lately. Barring her Aqua Mines, her hydrokinesis didn't have too much viability in combat against the stronger foes they'd faced lately. Spending 35 skill points to upgrade it along with hydromancy would hopefully help with that, as well as afford her more options in the future.

She glanced at how much mana she had left at the moment.

[Mana: 1745/4747]

During these practice sessions, she tried to take things slow and be economical with her mana. But honestly, she felt pretty tired now, so she would probably call this one off early. One last push before resting would be enough.

Raising her hand, she conjured several tendrils of water in front of her. They floated in the air like a formation of thin whips, reflecting the midday sun. She turned her attention to a thick tree trunk that Rosa had gotten the help of some villagers to carry here the previous day. The bark on it was both charred and battered in places, with gashes across its side revealing the bright wood beneath.

The water whips moved at her mental urging. Several cracks rang out across the village square as they struck the trunk, and she repeated the action over and over again. Each whip moved faster than she could see, and in her mind, she likened the barrage to that of a kraken beating a ship on the seas. The sight itself was impressive, and most would probably hesitate to approach her if they saw something like this.

Scarlett squinted her eyes.

The results, however, were somewhat lacklustre. Some of the strikes sent small pieces of bark flying, creating more of the gashes that covered the trunk's frame, but it probably wouldn't leave much more than a red mark or a bruise on most people. People like Fynn and Kat might not even notice it.

When her mana finally started running low, she dismissed the whip-like tendrils. Then, to finish things off, she summoned two large Aqua Mines and detonated them. The trunk visibly shook from the blast, and bark flew in all directions. A few even reached Scarlett, though [Sidhe's Flowing Garb] protected her from actually being hurt.

She let out a sigh, feeling more of the exhaustion from using up her mana set in.

Making the water created through her hydrokinesis solid enough to where it could actually cause damage was still a hard task, even after upgrading the skill. She needed more time to perfect it, if that was even possible with how she was doing things now. But this was still good progress, and the upgrade allowed her to put a lot more power into her mines, in addition to giving her more options when it came to distractions and the like. She was even considering if it could be used defensively if her reactions were quick enough.

With tired legs, she rose from her chair and walked over to sit on the porch where Arlene was. As usual, the cool air up here was a welcome reprieve from Freymeadow's warm summer climate.

She observed Arlene for a moment. For some reason, the older woman had looked more tired than usual lately, the dark sections under her eyes clearly visible at the moment. Her focus was still placed on the book on her lap, however, as was standard, and she barely paid Scarlett any mind even when she sat down next to her. That wasn't to say Arlene didn't do anything else other than read. The woman had clearly been paying more attention than usual to Scarlett recently.

After the wizard's impromptu lecture on magic and the 'correct approach' to it a couple of days before, it felt like she had become a lot more open when it came to advising her on these things.

Well, 'open' might be a strong word. Scarlett still suspected Arlene took great joy in confusing her and only barely telling her what she wanted to know, and it wasn't as if the woman had bothered to actually explain anything else since then. Despite that, however, she did make more comments than usual during Scarlett's practice sessions. Not especially explanatory ones, but comments nonetheless.

Most of the time, it was just something generally unhelpful like "that's wrong" or "don't do that". But the timing of those comments was usually very good, like when Scarlett was using her mana inefficiently or was close to losing control of her magic. The warnings had at least been enough to make things slightly easier for her.

For example, when Scarlett had first started trying to create those whip-tendrils the day before, she'd had problems making the water stay both rigid and elastic at the same time. Solidifying her water was something she learned a while ago now, but this turned out to be a lot harder. It hadn't been enough to just imagine the water being both. So instead, she had attempted to think of her magic in the way Arlene had told her before. Like a complete existence or system, instead of a collection of smaller parts.

Suffice it to say, it didn't go well at first. She didn't actually know how to start from there, and so she had simply created a mass of water with her hydrokinesis to feel her way forward. Which was about when Arlene had started telling her when she was doing things wrong.

Literally. Every. Single. Time.

Scarlett had spent probably more than half a day, trial-and-erroring her way forward, until she finally succeeded in creating a water whip that acted like she wanted. But she had no idea how she did it, since all she did was adjust her mana in different ways whenever Arlene said something. She could recreate the whips without too much issue, but she couldn't understand how they worked, and they were far too complex for her to analyze how the mana was structured and learn from that. Her Aqua Mines were like science fair potato batteries compared to these.

That said, she felt like the act of creating the whips—even if she didn't know what she was doing—had helped her realize part of what Arlene had actually been trying to say. Because recreating them was ridiculously easy compared to the first time, and it wasn't simply because she had 'memorized' it. If she were to describe the sensation, it was less like remembering how to ride a bike and more like remembering that if you turned the faucet exactly a certain amount of degrees, a certain amount of water poured out. Except you had hundreds of faucets, and after touching one faucet, the others changed.

…It was strange. That's all she could say. Strange and annoying.

Still, she felt an appreciation towards Arlene for at least helping her this much, despite the woman's other somewhat infuriating tendencies.

Letting those thoughts float to the back of her mind for now, Scarlett leaned back in her chair and relaxed. She casually brought a hand down to her waist, pulling out something from her [Pouch of Holding].

[Obedience's Solitude Loci (Unique)]

{Strange powers of an itinerant realm dwell within this stone, creating something more than what was there before. The souls that were once tied to it have been severed}

A soft green light emanated from within the uncut emerald, but that was about all right now. As Abelard had done in his mansion, she wanted to place it inside her home to make use of its effects, but it wasn't quite as simple as she had originally hoped. She'd been trying to figure out how it worked for a while now, with little progress. It wasn't as if the damn thing came with a manual.

In the game, it had been enough to just put it on a pedestal in your house, and then it would automatically take effect. She had already tried that, however, without success. She'd even tried placing it in different rooms around the mansion and leaving it for a while, but it hadn't made a difference.

That was why she had been examining the Loci further during some of her breaks here in Freymeadow. Back when she had used it to open the portal to the Wandering Realm in Abelard's mansion, it had been enough to simply wish for it to happen. Her hunch was that the key getting the Loci to work was somehow related to intent and the forming of a connection of some sort, but the details eluded her.

"You've been staring at that for quite some time," Arlene suddenly said from the side.

Scarlett turned to the woman. Was that interest in her voice? Or at least a hint of curiosity? She had asked Arlene about the Loci once the day before, but the woman hadn't seemed to want to give a proper answer then.

"Do you know what it is?"

"No." Arlene glanced up at her, then down at the Loci. "But I can tell that it was made by a master. Or at least finished by one."

"It was crafted by an archmage."

"That would explain it." The woman eyed the gem for another second before returning her attention to her book.

Scarlett studied her. Hearing it was made by an archmage didn't seem like a shock, at least.

"His name was Baron Abelard Withersworth," she said.

"Withersworth, you say?" Arlene brought a finger up to her mouth to wet is as she turned a page.

"Yes. Do you recognize the name?"

"I know a Withersworth," the woman answered. "Can't say I recall him being a baron. He was a decent enough mage, though, so it wouldn't surprise me if the emperor saw fit to reward his efforts."

Scarlett observed her for a while longer. "I see…"

She had asked that out of pure curiosity, but she hadn't really expected Arlene to know of Abelard. The woman's casual response was surprising, though. It wasn't the sort of answer one would expect from someone in her position.

How much did the woman actually know about the circumstances surrounding this place?

She wanted to ask, but she doubted Arlene would be particularly forthcoming. Their relationship was relatively good in this loop as well, so she didn't see the point of pressing the issue at the moment.

Scarlett turned her attention back to the Loci, running a hand over its smooth surface. For now, this was her priority.

"As you might have been able to tell, I have been trying to determine how this artifact works," she said, peeking at Arlene. "You would not happen to have any advice to share related to that?"

The woman turned her head to the side to look at the Loci, staying quiet for a few seconds.

"…It seems to originate from the Wandering Realm, judging from the energy it's exuding, but I suspect you already knew that much. That is not exactly within my area of expertise, but I do have a couple of ideas. What's your intention with it?"

"I plan to place it inside my home, where its main purpose will be to secure the estate and ward off any trespassers. I also suspect that it might have some other aspects to it that could prove beneficial in the future."

Arlene looked up at Scarlett, eyeing her. "If you just want to keep away intruders, there are much simpler methods than obtaining an enchanted artifact crafted by an archmage."

"Perhaps." Scarlett raised her shoulders in a light shrug. "But I already have this in my possession now, do I not? It would be a waste not to make proper use of it. And I would rather be safe than sorry when it comes to matters like these."

That earned a short laugh from the woman. "If that's all, then it probably won't be that difficult." She gestured to the Loci. "You should try to listen to it and go from there. If you're telling the truth, that much should be enough to get you started."

Scarlett frowned. "What do you mean by 'listen'?"

She'd tried connecting to the Loci as she had back in Abelard's mansion several times already. Never had she 'heard' anything.

"That gem hails from the Wandering Realm," Arlene said. "I'm not sure how much you know of that place, but there, everything has a will of sorts. If you want that gem to do what you want, the easiest way would be to fulfill whatever its will might be. Another option would be forcing your own will on it, but I doubt you have the experience or the knowledge to accomplish that."

Scarlett looked down at the Loci. She supposed Abelard must have done the latter, but the woman was correct in saying that would be hard for her. She didn't have an inkling of how it could be done. The first alternative sounded a lot more feasible and aligned with what she had been trying to do.

Perhaps she could bring the Loci back to the fairies in Temisbrook Glade and get their help somehow? They seemed to have been fond of her last time, and they would probably be able to 'listen' to the Loci better than she could. But that would require her to go all the way to the capital and travel by carriage to Temisbrook. With her current schedule, she couldn't do it anytime soon.

She tapped a finger against the Loci's surface.

It was named [Obedience's Solitude Loci], wasn't it?

The items in the game had never been randomly named, as far as she could tell. There was always some meaning behind them. So it was possible that 'obedience' and 'solitude' somehow tied into whatever the Loci's will was.

Obedience suggested either that it would follow a master of some kind, or that it could force obedience upon others in some way. Considering how the item was meant to be placed in the player's house in the game, the former was more likely.

Solitude, however, could mean a lot of things. It could simply mean that the Loci needed to be placed somewhere where there were no others around. It could also refer to how it ensured the 'solitude' of its master and its surroundings, which fit with what she suspected it had done in Abelard's mansion. Or, maybe, it just had something to do with how the item was originally formed. While Abelard would have been the one that crafted and enchanted the Loci into what it was today, like Arlene mentioned, its core was originally from the Wandering Realm.

She turned back to the woman. "Do you know of a way that I could determine what its 'will' might be?"

Arlene shook her head. "Not other than what I just told you."

"Hmm… Very well. I am grateful for your advice, nonetheless. Both related to this, and with the other matters you have previously aided me in. I will endeavour not to forget it in the future."

"I'm sure you will."

Arlene went quiet, and Scarlett kept examining the Loci for a while longer. Next she returned to Freybrook, there were a few things she had to try out.

Chapter 122 - Fashion show

Scarlett idly eyed the flowers growing in tiny, cordoned-off patches as she walked through the small hedge garden at the back of the Freybrook estate. She was surprised these plants were still flowering, to be honest; November was fast approaching, and it had been getting colder for a while now.

If she wasn't misremembering, there was only one gardener working here, and he was in charge of taking care of the whole estate by himself. It felt like a lot of work for a single person to do, but what did she know? She'd never even cultivated a tomato plant in her life, much less entire gardens.

When she reached the center of the enclosure, her eyes turned to a white stone bench situated under a small roofed alcove. Walking over, she sat down on the bench and took some time to relax and take in the cool morning air. The surrounding hedges hid most other parts of the estate—save for the large mansion nearby—and lent the space a surprisingly nice, almost idyllic atmosphere.

Their latest stay in Freymeadow had been relatively short. Only three days passed in there before Scarlett and Rosa were locked out of the village. That meant that, in this current loop they were on, there would only be one day left before the village was destroyed and things reset again. That was unfortunate, considering how well things had been going with Arlene. But there was nothing to be done about that. It was what it was. And taking a break from there now and then was also good.

As for what Scarlett had scheduled in front of her right now, later in the day, towards the evening, she and Evelyne were set to visit Livvi and Count Knottley for dinner. It wasn't exactly how she would have preferred to spend her time, but Evelyne had made a decent argument for why they should go. The two of them had spent some time going over a bunch of dinner etiquette a couple of days earlier—most of which Scarlett had read about but not experienced herself—to ensure she hadn't 'forgotten' anything important, so she wasn't exactly nervous about making any major mistakes. But that didn't mean she was likely to enjoy herself.

Letting her thoughts wander for a bit, she eventually pulled the [Pouch of Holding] loose from her waist and placed it beside her.

While it was nice, she wasn't only here to enjoy the sights.

The [Obedience's Solitude Loci] and a few other articles were removed from the pouch and arranged on the bench next to her. It had been her choice to delay going over these until she was back from Freymeadow, but now she was a bit excited.

[Tiara of Lost Benediction (Legendary)]

{A tiara made for a forgotten muse, it holds the prayers that were lost to the world}

[Ring of the Soul harvest (Epic)]

{Sustaining the life of one always sacrifices the life of another. Be it wheat from the field or animal for the slaughter, all eat from the reaper's platter}

[Chromacloth (Epic)]

{This silken cloth has been enchanted through a unique blend of schools, sharing familiarity with all}

[Charm of Expeditious Change (Unique)]

{An artisan's work requires dexterous fingers and sharp eyes, yet even they like to save time on occasion}

Of the items they had gathered during their time in Autumnwell, these were the ones she was interested in for herself. The rest would probably either go to members of her party or be sold off, though that was still up for change if some unknown effects were revealed under further examination.

Scarlett started by picking up the [Charm of Expeditious Change]. It was a thin silver ring with a bright blue crystal at its top and gold inlays running along its side. Placing it on one of her left-hand fingers, she immediately felt a connection form with the artifact.

She reached into the pouch of holding again and pulled out her [Garments of Form], as well as her usual travel attire. Holding both up in front of her, she then focused on the ring.

It took a few tries, but eventually, both pieces of clothing disappeared into thin air.

With a thought, they reappeared on her body, replacing the thick cyan dress she had been wearing. She nodded her head in satisfaction. This item worked exactly as she expected it to.

Focusing on the ring once more, the [Charms of Apperception] hanging from her ears disappeared along with the [Depraved Solitude's Choker] around her neck.

To her, this was a godsend. It had always irked her slightly, having to go around wearing the same artifacts and clothes so often. While they didn't exactly look bad, it went against some of her Scarlett-inherited fashion sensibilities. With this ring, she could avoid minor annoyances like that. Not to mention this would allow her to both get ready for battles a lot faster and switch items mid-combat whenever necessary.

The [Charm of Expeditious Change] had been handy in the game as well since there had been no macros or other ways that allowed you to change equipment immediately like that. That said, its uses were limited. You were limited to two ring slots, and changing equipment before a fight wasn't hard, so it wasn't unusual to prioritize other rings that had better stats. Only certain builds actually required the ring. Personally, Scarlett had mostly used it to switch between her actual combat sets and her more cosmetic sets that she used in cities and places like that.

But in this world, she didn't have to bother with things like that. This wasn't a game, and she had ten freely available fingers at her disposal. She didn't mind giving one of them up for something like this, and she'd already checked that the two-ring limit didn't apply here.

There was still the possibility that having too many rings meant they could somehow interfere with each other, but she hadn't run into anything like that yet, at least.

Turning her attention from the [Charm of Expeditious Change], she looked at the [Chromacloth]. It was a piece of square cloth with a deep red color. Rather than being one of the items they had taken from Abelard's Doll Mansion, this was part of the loot they had gotten from the other dungeons they cleared after that.

Picking the cloth up, she felt the connection with the artifact form and created a weak flame above her right hand. Then she gingerly moved her left hand closer to the fire, though not too close. The heat warmed her skin, but it wasn't at a level where it was unbearable.

She put the cloth down, and once again tried the same action. This time, the heat was much warmer.

That confirmed that this item worked as she thought as well. She used the [Charm of Expeditious Change] to have the piece of cloth disappear as well.

From what she knew of [Chromacloth], as long as you had it somewhere on your body, it would give you a bonus in resistance against a certain school of magic. Which school was decided by the color, and it could be changed once a day. The options were pyromancy, hydromancy, terramancy, and aeromancy. The bonus wasn't anything ridiculous, but it was a nice little item to have, regardless. She could use her pyromancy to a certain degree to protect herself from heat, but this would lower her mana cost related to it.

Next, she picked up the [Ring of the Soul Harvest]. It was a simple metal ring with a design of a sickle and wheat at the top.

The name sounded ominous, but Leon would probably have reacted back when they originally found it if it was really an item of unimaginable evil.

As for what the ring's effects were…

She turned her eyes up, scanning over the area. She'd asked Marlon to convey a small request to the gardener before she left Freymeadow—which was technically the previous day, in normal time—so there should be something around here.

She stood up from the bench and walked over to a nearby flower patch, following it to one of the hedges as he looked around near the roots. Eventually, she found a spot where the dirt had recently been dug up. Next to the small mound, there was a bowl with dirt in it. With a frown, she walked back to the bench and pulled out a pair of gloves from the pouch. Then she returned to the bowl and kneeled down next to it, scooping up some of the dirt.

The worms hiding underneath made shivers run down her spine. She hadn't minded worms too much before, but now…

She would have to take a bath later.

Fighting back the urge to retch, she pulled off her left glove and took out a short dinner knife she'd prepared. Using the blade of the knife, she made a tiny, barely visible cut on the tip of her index finger. Then she equipped the [Ring of the Soul Harvest] and looked down at the bowl of worms. A moment later, a flame appeared to swallow them, burning the creatures to cinders within a second.

Squinting her eyes, she inspected the cut she'd made on her finger. It closed on its own, leaving a thin red line where the wound had been.

A small smile wound itself onto her face. She hadn't been sure that would work.

The [Ring of the Soul Harvest] was an item that healed you whenever a creature nearby died. That much she had known from the game. But since she couldn't exactly go around killing things indiscriminately just to test the effect out, she had been trying to figure out how to confirm it. That's when she'd thought of using something small, like worms, though she had been worried that creatures of this size wouldn't work. However, clearly, they did.

It did raise the question of whether the ring actually reaped souls—and if so, if worms had them—but she honestly didn't care too much, as long as it worked. The ring had a scary name, but she imagined it was more likely to be related to spirit magic rather than pure necromancy. Spirit magic dealt a lot more with the interaction of souls themselves than necromancy did, and since she knew Abelard dabbled in both, it wasn't that much of a stretch either.

She stood up and returned to the center of the garden again. The [Ring of the Soul harvest] disappeared from her finger, transported to whatever spatial dimension the [Charm of Expeditious Change] stored items in.

Hopefully, she would never actually need the ring's healing effects. But it was good to have backups for things like this, in case Rosa or healing potions weren't an option.

She turned her attention to the last item remaining, resting on the marble bench.

The [Tiara of Lost Benediction] was a silver tiara of elaborate design that went over the forehead. There were three small rubies on its face, giving off a cold, lonely air. Of the items she'd chosen to keep for herself, it was the one whose effects she was most uncertain about. But since it was also the first legendary item she had gotten her hands on, she didn't simply want to let it out of her grasp.

Its appearance was a bit over the top, yes, and she couldn't say she enjoyed the idea of others seeing her—a grown woman—walking around with something like this. But with the [Charm of Expeditious Change], she could at the very least make sure she only wore it when she actually needed it.

If she had anything to say about it, that would never be in Rosa's presence.

She brought the tiara up and placed it on her head. A moment later, things were suddenly clearer, for lack of a better word. It was similar to the effect of some of Rosa's magic that helped with focus, although perhaps not quite as potent.

She summoned several Aqua Mines, more than she usually could. The ease with which they formed was surprising. Especially taking into account that a lot of power was put into these. If she were to guess, this was a result of the 'stat boost' that the item gave as a legendary-tier piece of equipment. She assumed it didn't have any special effect or the sort—that would explain why her memory of it wasn't as good as with the other items—but this much wasn't anything to scoff at either.

She was curious how far she could go if she had this equipped along with Rosa's supporting magic. Perhaps that was something to try next time they visited Freymeadow. If she could convince the woman to wear a blindfold.

The tiara disappeared from her head. Then she looked at the last item lying next to her. It was the [Obedience's Solitude Loci]. She had left the hardest for last, but now it was time to figure this thing out.

Chapter 123 - New management

Scarlett ran a hand over the faceted surface of the [Obedience's Solitude Loci], studying the emerald. It felt odd, holding it like this, if only for the fact of how valuable it looked. Like holding a wad of thousand-dollar bills. The brain couldn't quite comprehend its value.

She pushed those musings to the back of her mind and focused her attention on the Loci.

'Listening' to it, as Arlene had told her to, had yet to bring much result. She'd tried it over a dozen times since her talk with the woman, and she wasn't hoping for much more now. Luckily, if what the system's description told her was enough, that didn't necessarily matter.

Now, it was time to put one of her suspicions to the test.

First of all, if part of the Loci's will was to find a worthy master—which fit with its presence as an item in the game—then she had to show that she could fill that role. That meant somehow convincing a mute gemstone that she qualified.

She brought out the [Mark of the Fey] from her pouch of holding. The blue crystal was a bit smaller than the Loci, and ever since that Idol had interacted with it, tiny, barely visible sparks ran through its core like lightning.

"This was given to me as a sign of trust," she said out loud, holding up the crystal. At the same time, she tried channeling the intent behind her words into the Loci, like she had done when she interacted with it back at Abelard's mansion. "When I give my word, I always uphold it. Others of your kin can attest to as much."

A few seconds of silence followed.

She wasn't really expecting a reaction from the Loci. It was doubtful whether it actually had the intelligence to comprehend her words, or if it only worked on intent. Still, it was better to play things safe. It was also easier to organize her will and thoughts while speaking.

Lifting the Loci higher, she gestured at the garden around her. "This is part of my domain, as well as my home. If you would allow it, it will also be yours."

She stood up and began walking around the garden's center, continuing to channel her intent into the Loci as she spoke. "It is different from your previous dwelling, but I do not think it will be inferior. What it is lacking will soon be added, and I am certain it can reach levels well beyond what you knew before."

After showing it the immediate area, she proceeded to show it the rest of the hedge garden before continuing onto the adjacent training grounds, all the while 'explaining' things to the Loci as they went. Then, slowly making her way across the property, she showed it everything else that was inside the stone walls encasing the estate—the two guards at the gate gave her strange looks when she passed them by, but she ignored it—before eventually crossing the courtyard and entering the mansion itself.

There, she ran into a pair of servants that were cleaning the foyer. Both curtsied as they greeted her.

She gave them a brief nod in return, once more holding up the Loci. "These serve under me, and it is part of their duty to maintain and care for my needs and those of the estate."

The women blinked at her words, and Scarlett cringed slightly inside as the two glanced at each other and the Loci in her hand with bewildered expressions. She would have liked to avoid the people here in the mansion while doing this, but part of the point was demonstrating that she was a good master. If she couldn't talk to the Loci, then showing it felt like the best option.

She left the two servants in confusion for now to continue the mansion tour. At one point, as she was walking through the third-floor hallways in the west wing, she spotted Rosa turning around the corner ahead of her. The bard smiled as she seemed to notice her and walked over. That smile turned into a grin as she looked down at the Loci in Scarlett's hand.

"I thought I heard the saccharine notes of your speech, but with the way you talked, I figured you were guiding some important guest or other around. Who would have thought it was actually just you showing around your precious new jewel? I suppose it's true what they say about gemstones being a noblewoman's best friend, eh?"

"I would hope not," Scarlett said. "I cannot think of much that would be more tragic."

"Yeah, I much prefer gold myself." Rosa raised her hand as if she was holding something heavy. "Has a lot more weight to it, so it can double as a bludgeon in times of need."

"That is not what I meant, but I suspect you are already aware."

The bard just gave her the same smile in reply. "So, how come our local Baroness is walking around her mansion talking to a stone? People have called me crazy, but the worst I've ever tried talking to was a crab."

Scarlett opened her mouth to answer, but paused. She narrowed her eyes at the woman. "…A crab?"

Rosa put one hand to her chin as if remembering a fond memory. "Ah, yes. Shirleen the Incogitable. Crassest crab I've ever met, but she sure knew how to dance."

Scarlett stared at her. She was uncertain whether Rosa was being serious, or if this was just another of her pranks. Considering the world they were in, it wasn't impossible for there to be intelligent crabs.

She shook her head to rid herself of any drifting thoughts. Rosa was most likely joking. Probably.

"To answer your question," she said, "I am acquainting myself with the ego of this artifact, as well as familiarising it with the estate."

Rosa nodded her head. "As one does."

Scarlett gave the woman a sharp look, but Rosa just showed an amused expression.

"I'm not judging. I'm sure you know exactly what you're doing. Who's little old me to butt in?"

"…As usual, I find it hard to discern whether or not you say that in jest." Scarlett eyed her. "But that is of no concern. You can return to whatever it is that you were doing. We will see each other again at a later time."

As she was about to leave, a thought came to her. She paused, turning back to Rosa. The woman looked back at her with curiosity.

"Did you forget something?" Rosa asked.

Scarlett considered her for a moment.

"Incidentally…" She raised the Loci up in front of the woman. Maybe this should have been among the first things she tried. "You would not happen to hear anything from this artifact?"

Rosa arched both eyebrows, the smile on her lips growing larger. "You're asking me if your pet rock is talking to me?"

"It is not a pet rock."

"Sure it isn't." The woman chuckled, then took on a slightly more serious expression as she examined the Loci. After a few seconds, she nodded her head as if in response to something. "Ah, yes, I agree. It is kind of a strange thing to ask, isn't it?"

Scarlett frowned. "That is quite enough with the jesting."

Rosa looked up at her. "Heh, sorry. Can't stop myself. Occupational hazard."

Scarlett lowered the Loci, preparing to leave again. "If you cannot sense anything noteworthy, then I will take my leave."

"Never said I didn't sense anything."

She stopped, returning her attention to the woman. "Do tell."

"Well, it's hard to put a finger on it, but I could feel a sense of…dutifulness, I guess?" Rosa said. "Or a want of it, at least. Like it craves something to do." She cocked her head to the side. "There's also an air of expectance around it. It's paying attention."

"Dutifulness and expectance, you say?" Scarlett knitted her brow. That didn't sound too bad. In fact, that sounded exactly like what she needed.

"Thank you," she told Rosa. Then she turned around to leave for real this time.

She continued to tour what remained of the mansion, introducing the Loci to the rooms and some more of the people that were moving around. There were a couple more embarrassing scenes where the servants gave her strange looks, but her skin wasn't thin to the degree where she couldn't handle it. Eventually, after finishing off with the east wing and her own office, she left through the back of the mansion and returned to the hedge garden where she had started.

There, she once more sat down beneath the alcove at the center and held the Loci up in front of her.

"As you have seen, my domain houses a variety of souls within it, each serving and assisting my pursuits in some fashion. For the time being, this is a place of peace. But that peace is tenuous, and there are many who could threaten it. I require a way of watching over my domain and ensuring its safety, and I wish for part of this duty to fall upon you."

A few seconds passed as she let the intent behind her words sink in.

"Whatever demand you might have of me to accept this responsibility, I will endeavour to satisfy it. Recognizing me as a master is perhaps not a choice that can be done lightly, but it is one that I guarantee you will not regret. And as I said, my word is law."

She examined the area around her. This garden was large enough that some restructuring could be done with little issue.

"This would be your new home. It will be reformed and refined specifically to be fit for a being such as you. No expenses will be spared."

To her mind's eye, she imagined what the place might look like. A pillar could be raised at the center for the Loci to rest on, and a pavilion built around it. From there, she could add whatever else might be useful or necessary.

She tried channeling this image into the Loci, along with her intent in the form of a question.

Observing it, she waited for a response of some kind. There was nothing more she wanted to show. She just hoped this would be enough for a reaction, at least. It would be embarrassing if she really had just been talking to herself this whole time.

The seconds passed, her spirits sinking as they did. Then, a faint green light emerged from the Loci, similar to when the idol from the Wandering Realm had interacted with it. Something nudged at Scarlett's consciousness. It was a sensation similar to forming a connection with any other artifact, but this was more than that. Simpler, and yet more complex. It was primal, in a way, but there was a will to it. A purpose.

She reached out to the sensation, accepting it. A link formed. To her eyes, the Loci in her hand suddenly shone like a lighthouse as invisible links spread out from it like a thousand feelers, extending into the environment and towards the rest of the estate. She got the feeling it wanted to be put down, so she stood up and took a step forward, kneeling down to place it on the ground.

Then she watched. To an ordinary onlooker, the Loci might have only appeared to glow a brighter green, with not much more happening. Her new link to it, however, fed her an impression of how it grew to envelop more and more of the estate and attached itself to its metaphysical—was that the word?—surroundings.

It didn't change anything, more than it became part of everything. It literally merged into what was already there, in a way that Scarlett couldn't quite comprehend. The Loci was becoming both a permanent and non-permanent fixture of this space. It was breathtaking to take in, in a way. There was a beauty to it that she couldn't quite put into words, and that was despite her never being the kind of person that cared much about things like that.

She didn't know how much time had passed when she suddenly heard sounds approaching. Looking up, she spotted Fynn come running into the garden with a heavy scowl on his face. He slowed as he saw her, walking over to her as he warily eyed the glowing gemstone on the ground.

"…What happened?" he asked.

She smiled at him. "It is nothing much. I have simply negotiated the services of a new custodian for the mansion."

Chapter 124 - Fancy dinners

Evelyne looked up from the papers she was holding as their carriage pulled to a stop. She looked out the window at the courtyard outside. It was situated on top of the hill that overlooked the central part of Freybrook, with tall stone walls that blocked out most of the city itself. It had been a while since she last visited this place.

Opposite her in the cabin, Scarlett rose without a word and exited the carriage. Her sister had been as taciturn as always for most of the ride here, not speaking to her unless she had reason to.

Evelyne didn't mind it too much anymore. It felt different from the judgement-filled silence that had often hung between them before. At times, it even felt like Scarlett didn't hate her very existence. It was hard to tell for sure, though. She didn't know what Scarlett actually thought of her nowadays.

Following her sister out of the carriage, Evelyne stepped foot on the paved ground outside and looked around the courtyard. Standing next to the entrance to a building entrance a short distance from her, the Count's butler walked over to greet them. He bowed.

"Baroness Hartford, Lady Evelyne. Count Guifford Knottley welcomes both of you to his home."

The way he addressed Evelyne made a warm feeling rise up inside, even as she instinctually peeked at Scarlett's face for any sign of anger. There was none, of course.

Because Scarlett truly had changed.

"Come with me and I will lead you to the dining hall where the Count and his family are waiting," the butler said and turned around. He started walking towards the main manor, whose simple stone structure towered over the courtyard.

The Knottley house's estate was actually smaller than the Hartford estate here in the city, but it was also older. It had been built at a time when the Freybrook region still saw a lot of strife. Originally, it had been a fortress much like Stagmond Keep. Then, when the region saw more development, it had simply been expanded upon.

They soon entered the building, and as they began moving through the plain hallways towards their destination, Evelyne sneaked a few looks at her sister's figure from the side.

Scarlett appeared as collected and aloof as ever, with an impassive expression on her face. She wore a fine alabaster dress that revealed her arms and shoulders, but oddly enough, there was barely any jewellery. Just one ring on her left hand, as well as a relatively plain gold necklace. Most of the other adornments Evelyne had seen her sister wear almost constantly for the last few months—which she'd been assuming were enchanted in some way—were missing. Scarlett had even worn some of those for the Elysian Proclamation, so it surprised her that this was when she finally took them off.

Was it because they were meeting old friends of their family? That didn't feel like something Scarlett would care about. There were so many things that confused her regarding how her sister currently was, but if there was one thing she did know, it was the fact that Scarlett hadn't been excited at all about this dinner.

Which was crazy in and on its own. Her sister practically breathed noble gatherings, no matter the size. But the woman's priorities had shifted a lot.

When Evelyne had arrived at the mansion earlier to pick her up, she had found Scarlett in the middle of a conversation with the gardener, of all people. The poor old man had looked positively petrified, and when Evelyne asked what Scarlett was doing, her sister had said she was preparing a home for the new custodian.

She had really wanted to ask what that meant as well, but she didn't feel like having another stupefying revelation or other right before they were having dinner together with the Count, so she'd stayed quiet for the time being. Trying to figure out what was going through her sister's mind was hard, to say the least. She doubted it was something trivial. She wasn't sure what, but there had been something different about the mansion that she couldn't quite place.

The butler continued leading them through the manor, and after a few minutes, they reached a door at the end of a long corridor that sparked a lot of memories for Evelyne. The man opened it to reveal the old dining hall beyond. It wasn't as an impressive sight as the dining hall in their mansion, with simple stone walls that only held some tapestries of old knights and battles and a wooden table at the center of the room, but that was the Knottleys in a nutshell. They'd never cared much for appearances.

Sitting at the head of the table was Count Guifford Knottley. The stocky, bald man was already looking in their direction, elbow on the table and chin resting on his knuckles. To his right was Livvi, and to his left sat Garrin Knottley, the Count's eldest son and heir.

Evelyne followed Scarlett into the hall, glancing around the place and the atmosphere that carried a lot of nostalgia. She had often been here with her father and mother in the past when they were still alive.

"Welcome, Lady Evelyne," the Count's voice rumbled across the room. He gave a nod in their direction. Then he seemed to consider Scarlett for a moment. "…Baroness Hartford."

"We greet the Count," Scarlett replied, performing a very small curtsy.

Evelyne did the same, though slightly deeper.

The butler guided them to a pair of chairs opposite the Count. The dining table itself was shaped like a square, and it wasn't particularly large. It was fitting for an environment where actual conversation was to be held. Evelyne had always thought that she would have preferred to have something like this in the mansion's dining hall as well, instead of the long rectangular table they had at the moment. But things like that were up to Scarlett.

"I'm glad both of you could make it," Livvi said with a smile.

Evelyne looked over at the woman. To her, Livvi had always seemed like a kind, older sister, despite often being around her much colder, actual sister. It still felt strange seeing her like this, now when Evelyne probably stood almost a head over the woman. It was also a bit funny to see Livvi sit next to her large father and almost look like a child in comparison.

"We had no reason not to," Scarlett answered, taking her seat with more grace than the action called for.

"Hello, Scarlett. Evelyne. It's been a while," another voice greeted them.

Evelyne looked at Garrin Knottley as she sat down in her own chair. Sitting opposite his sister, the man had a tall frame and deep brown hair but lacked the stocky build of his father.

Evelyne showed a polite smile. "Garrin."

Scarlett seemed to observe the man for a while before giving him a brief nod. "Lord Garrin."

His smile turned slightly awkward at the formal way of address, but Evelyne wasn't sure what he'd been expecting. She doubted he would be foolish enough to still hold feelings for her sister. Any remaining embers of affection were likely quashed ages ago when Scarlett's general indifference made it clear that the son and heir of a powerful noble apparently didn't fit with whatever ambitions she held.

Maybe he thought their history would at least hold enough importance not to be addressed by titles in a setting like this?

Evelyne eyed her sister. To be honest, she wasn't even sure Scarlett had remembered who he was before this. The more she interacted with her sister, the more she noticed the various changes that had occurred. Some were big, while others were much more subtle. One that she hadn't been sure of at the start—even after Scarlett had expressly told her about it—was that whole spiel about having incomplete memories. But in the last month, she had been convinced of the truthfulness behind that statement.

After all, Scarlett hadn't even been certain about who Livvi was. And as far as Evelyne was aware, Livvi had been the closest Scarlett had ever had to a real friend.

From what she could tell, there seemed to be a pattern to what sort of things Scarlett remembered best. Essentially, the more useful a person might be to her, the higher the likelihood that she wouldn't have forgotten about you. Her sister didn't seem to have any issue remembering those that served her or had political importance to her, but everyone else wasn't quite as lucky.

Even if they had grown up along with her, as Livvi had.

Evelyne was brought out of her thoughts as the Count cleared his throat loudly. She turned to look at him as the man clasped his hands in front of him. "Johan. Have the food brought in."

"As you command, my Lord." The middle-aged butler bowed before exiting out a large door at the back of the room. A few moments later, he returned, followed by three servants carrying trays. They placed the trays on the table in front of Evelyne and the others before quickly leaving the room.

"Dig in," the Count said. He picked up a knife and fork to cut into a thick piece of meat.

Seeing that, Evelyne relaxed a little. It seemed as if he'd decided to forego most of the ceremony today.

"So, Scarlett, Evelyne. How are things?" Livvi asked after everybody had started eating. The woman leaned forward and picked up a piece of bread, pushing up her glasses with her other hand as she dipped it into a soup beside her. "From the way I understood it last we spoke, both of you have your plates full at the moment. I was actually surprised you accepted my invitation today."

"Things are well," Scarlett replied, though there wasn't much emotion behind her words.

Evelyne waited for her sister to continue, but that seemed to be all.

She held back a small sigh. "Much the same for me," she said after a moment of silence. "While Scarlett has been busy with her responsibilities as the head and forging connections over in Autumnwell, I've been dealing with some of our businesses that have showed promising growth here and in the capital."

She hadn't reported it to Scarlett yet since she only got confirmation the day before, but she'd been in contact with an influential merchant in Elystead who had ties to the Followers of Ittar. The man had shown interest in working with Scarlett and their barony after the Providing Ceremony, and he had been incredibly helpful to Evelyne in getting in touch with the right people related to their interests in the capital. Most weren't nobles, but that didn't matter as long as they were willing to do business.

Of the ventures that Scarlett had wanted Evelyne to pursue in Elystead, the silversmith was looking promising. They had hired personnel and finished all preparations, so things had been up and running for a few weeks now. It was too early to tell how profitable it would be in the long run, but it had at least exceeded her—admittedly conservative—expectations up till this point, considering how young the venture still was.

Since more and more funds were currently making their way into the barony's coffers from Scarlett's other exploits, and because Evelyne had been lucky in finding the right suppliers, she had already inquired into investing in the other locales that her sister had told her about.

Normally, it would have been reckless to spend money on uncertain undertakings like these when you'd barely paid off your preexisting debts and had other costs looming over you in the future, but Scarlett had been right that the prices were surprisingly low for these businesses, so it would be a waste to let this opportunity go just like that. Evelyne had also gotten one of the larger auction houses in the capital to act as a guarantor in exchange for a promise to continue bringing artifacts to them for the near future.

That was something they'd intended to do anyway, so there wasn't much to worry about on that front. They already had a stockpile of artifacts and other valuables that they hadn't had the time to sell yet. And that was without counting the veritable mountain of stuff her sister had brought back from Autumnwell.

Having to manage all of this on top of normal fief matters was a lot of work for Evelyne. She had also been dealing with trying to get Scarlett's 'Scarlett Cross' orphanage to get officially recognized as one, which was a surprisingly complicated procedure when the financier was a single individual. Not to mention all the time she had been spending traveling around the Freybrook region and trying to create connections that could help their barony in the future. Something that was a lot harder than certain people made it seem.

It still astounded her how her sister was so good at it, despite that personality of hers. Sometimes, she wished she knew Scarlett's secret.

All that said, Evelyne didn't actually mind the extra work. Or rather, even though it was tiring, it was worth it in the end. She hadn't felt this fulfilled in years. If ever.

"I'm glad that things are going well for the both of you," Livvi said.

Evelyne was pulled out of her thoughts, and she turned to glance at her sister, who remained silent. Under the table, she eased her leg closer to nudge at Scarlett's.

A small frown formed on the woman's face as she looked at her, and Evelyne tried to gesture towards Livvi with her eyes. After a moment, Scarlett seemed to recognize the meaning behind her actions.

Her sister turned back to the others, reaching out for a glass of wine in front of her. She lifted it and took a sip. "And what of you, Livvi?" she eventually asked, as if there hadn't just been a period of awkward silence in the room. "How have things been faring for you lately? Have you been occupied with Guild matters here in Freybrook, or have you had time for other endeavors?"

Livvi smiled. "I have actually been taking it slow these past few weeks. Paid a few visits to the local branch to contact some of my colleagues and offer my aid where I could, but besides that, I've mostly been advising my father and brother on some affairs related to the county, as well as met up with some old acquaintances. I am planning on returning to my usual work with the Guild again soon, but father has been oh-so cross every time I've brought it up."

"Hmph." Count Knottley let out a scoff, even as his attention seemed focused on the food before him. "Your talents are wasted behind their desks. There are much more important things you could be doing with that quick mind of yours."

"Father." Livvi spoke to him in a chiding voice. "What I do with them is important. Especially so with what's currently going on. We are helping a lot of people."

"You could do the same and more in any of the administrative positions under His Majesty or the Great Offices. I don't doubt for a second that it would take less than a decade for you to surpass some of those fools, and you would almost certainly be awarded an honorary title even before that."

The woman lightly shook her head. "You know that's not what I want. Besides, we haven't met with Scarlett and Evelyne together like this in years, so let's not bring this up now."

"You were the one who brought it up this time," the Count rumbled. He looked up, his eyes landing on Scarlett for a brief moment before shifting to Evelyne. "You have matured much these last few years, Evelyne. I am sure Castor and Leondra would have been proud seeing you like you are today. I heard you won a tourney bout over in Grimford a while back as well, so it seems you are on good way to honoring your father's legacy."

She blinked, staring at him. She'd taken part in the contest he spoke about over a year ago; more on a whim than anything else. She just happened to be passing by the small town on her way back from the fief. She also hadn't had a proper opportunity to practice or display her skills since then. But he had somehow heard about it?

The Count then looked at Scarlett with a gruff expression. "...And I suppose you are well on your way to honoring his legacy as well, Baroness. You're the first one since he died whose very existence has almost single-handedly managed to give me ulcers when I think of it."

""Father!""

Both his children cried out at the same time.

"What?" The man looked between the two of them. "You asked me to be on my best behaviour, did you not? I think that is about the best compliment I could give under the circumstances. The Baroness has skin thick enough to anger over half of the empire's nobles in one night without care, so I doubt she requires the two of you to pamper her while she is a guest in my home."

Both of the Knottley children held awkward expressions as they turned to their guests.

"I'm sorry, both of you," Livvi said. "You know how father can be."

Evelyne sent a worried glance at her sister but was relieved to find that Scarlett didn't look offended by his words.

"There is nothing to apologize for." Her sister held up a hand. "In fact, I believe it is I that should apologize to the Count. It appears my actions during our last dealings have caused you undue stress. I trust you understand that was not my intent. At the time, it was simply the most appropriate approach to dealing with the situation in a suitable manner."

"'Undue stress', you say." The Count let out another scoff. "Oh, you're your mother's daughter all right. But there's no point in beating one's breast over what's already done. At this point, I'm simply hoping you didn't inherit all of your father's penchant for trouble. I don't want to see a block burn down in my city sometime soon."

The smile on Scarlett's face stiffened somewhat.

"…Of course, I would do no such thing that might cause an event like that," the woman said. "If such an occurrence were to happen, I would endeavour to combat it myself if necessary."

The Count's bushy brows furrowed together as he studied her. Eventually, he waved his hand through the air and turned away. "You've always taken my words too literally. I hope you will leave things like that to the city guards and those more experienced were something to actually happen."

Evelyne silently nodded along. So did she.

"The dealings you mentioned just now, Scarlett." Livvi spoke up as her father quieted down. "Was that the things that the Empyreal Chronicle wrote about a few months back? Related to that organized gang of criminals?"

Scarlett inclined her head. "It was, yes."

Livvi glanced at the Count. "My father refused to talk about it when asked."

"Because it is nothing worth talking about," the man grumbled.

"Father," Garrin said. "You should know that will only make her think there is more to talk about."

"Hmph." The Count shot a look at his daughter. "Well, then. Go ahead and ask the Baroness if you don't think the words of your own father are worth listening to."

Livvi hid a small smile behind her hand. "I think I will." She turned to Scarlett. "Would you mind telling me about it?"

"It might disappoint you to hear that I happen to share the Count's opinion that there is not much to share on the topic," Scarlett said. "The Grey Dog Gang had been operating out of Freybrook for several years and proved unassailable against most efforts of rooting them out attempted by the guard. In addition, they also had powerful backers. So, when an opportunity presented itself for me to involve myself and assist in the matter, I contacted the Count and we devised a strategy of removing them for good. As soon as I ascertained the identity of their leader and the location of one of their transactions, I acted with the support of the Shields Guild to detain them and gather the necessary evidence on those sponsoring them. That is all."

Evelyne kept a neutral expression as she listened to her sister's description. That was roughly the story she had heard as well when she looked into it. Originally, she had been convinced Scarlett was lying when she said her involvement with the Grey Dog Gang was a ruse in order to catch them in the act, but now…

She glanced at Count Knottley, who wasn't saying a word in objection.

…Was it possible that Scarlett had actually been telling the truth?

Evelyne had been pretty sure that Scarlett's dealings with the Grey Dog Gang weren't the only illegal activities she had been involved with, but it was the only one she'd had any evidence for.

Could it be that she had been acting under a misconception all along?

It annoyed her that she both wanted that to be true and false at the same time. But under the current circumstances, she had no way of finding out which it was. Her sister would never tell her if it was a lie, and the Count clearly had some reason to go along with it if it was.

"My importance during the actual raid on the Grey Dog Gang's base of operations was, however, severely exaggerated in the article authored by the Empyreal Chronicle," Scarlett added. She shot a look at Count Knottley. "I presume I have the Count to thank for that."

The man had his arms crossed over his chest. "I'm not sure what you mean."

She observed him for several seconds. "…Of course. I must have been mistaken."

"I find it impressive nonetheless," Livvi said. "I actually spoke with those at the Guild branch about it. While they couldn't go into detail, they mentioned that the B-ranked Shielder you had been working with had nothing but good things to say about you. They said it was the same Shielder that worked with you to uncover those Zuverian ruins as well, right?"

Scarlett nodded. "That is correct."

"How has that been going? When you and Ray spoke about it, I got the impression that you were doing even more research into the Zuver."

Evelyne relaxed somewhat as the conversation shifted towards more light-hearted matters. This wasn't as bad as she had feared. Hopefully, the rest of the evening would continue like this as well.

Chapter 125 - New sights and introductions

Scarlett sat opposite Evelyne in the younger woman's carriage as they traveled from Count Knottley's estate, on their way back to the Hartford mansion for the night.

"…That went better than I thought it would," Evelyne said after a while.

Scarlett looked away from the window and to the woman, considering her for a moment before giving a small nod. She then turned her attention back outside. "I suppose you are correct."

It wasn't as bad as she'd feared, at least. Although, if you asked her, the dinner had been somewhat awkward. Livvi had been the one that kept most of the conversation going. On more than one occasion, Scarlett had been unsure of what the proper response should be, and often, she had just leaned back on polite formalities in lack of anything better to say. Though she suspected it hadn't always sounded as polite as intended.

Despite that, Livvi had kept a smile going almost the whole evening, and Scarlett had to admit that the diminutive woman's cheerfulness helped to diminish some of the discomfort surrounding the whole situation. Perhaps that feeling was another remnant left behind by the original Scarlett, in some way. She'd noticed something similar the previous times she had interacted with Livvi. It was a bit like how things were with Garside.

She continued to vacantly observe the dark streets that passed by outside the window as they made their way into Freybrook's northern district, her thoughts focused on the evening's proceedings.

Eventually, she remembered something and turned back to Evelyne. "I had been meaning to inquire with you about how the matter of arranging passage to Faybarrow has gone. Did the merchant you were acquainted with agree to the arrangement?"

Evelyne looked up from a thin stack of documents in her hands. "Oh, right. Yes, I spoke with him this morning. The next time he was slated to visit Faybarrow was tomorrow evening, and he was supposed to return three days after that. He agreed to give the spot to you if you needed it, though we'll have to compensate him for his losses."

"That will not pose an issue. We are likely to gain far more from this venture than he could make in such a short period anyhow."

The younger woman seemed to consider her for a few seconds. "You're really expecting to find another set of Zuverian ruins, then?"

Scarlett nodded. "I am, yes. I trust that you have been in talks with the relevant members of Elystead Tower and the other mage organizations that might have an interest in buying what we recover this time?"

"Some of them, yes. Although I think the person I talked to from the Elystead Tower was the only one who truly believed me when I said we'd be making another discovery this soon. But they're also the only ones that know we're working together with one of their members on this, so…"

"That is quite all right. The opinions of the other factions will change after they see the fruits of this next excursion."

"Are you sure you'll be ready before tomorrow evening, though?" Evelyne asked. "That Mendenhall woman never said a specific time she would be here, did she?"

"She did not, no." Scarlett shook her head. "But I sent her a message informing her that we were pressed for time. We will simply have to hope that she arrives on schedule."

Evelyne shrugged her shoulders. "If you say so."

The woman then went back to reading her documents.

Scarlett returned her attention outside, observing the young moon as it rose into the night sky.

A while later, as they were approaching the mansion, the connection to the [Obedience's Solitude Loci] that now lingered at the back of her mind stirred. She shifted her eyes, gazing in the direction of that connection.

Not much had actually happened after establishing the connection earlier in the day. Or rather than 'connection', perhaps covenant would be a better description. The Loci originated in the Wandering Realm, after all, where fairies and other beings that struck covenants made their home. What she had made with the Loci probably wasn't too different from that.

As for the Loci itself, she could feel that it was still familiarising itself with the estate and assimilating into the surroundings. She wasn't sure how long it would take, but for the time being, she would just have to wait before testing things out further.

Soon, the carriage passed through the estate's gates and up the graveled road towards the mansion's primary structure.

"Ehm… Scarlett?" Evelyne spoke in an uncertain voice.

Scarlett turned to the woman, who had looked up from her documents, brows furrowed.

"Yes?"

"I wanted to ask…" Evelyne peeked out the window. "This was something I noticed when I picked you up as well, but there's something different about the mansion today. I can't quite put my finger on what, exactly, but I can tell it's there. Is this because of something you've done?"

Scarlett eyed her. "…Your senses are quite astute," she eventually said. "Yes, it is true that something has changed. It is related to the new custodian that I mentioned to you earlier today."

"The reason you were talking to the gardener?" Evelyne asked.

"Exactly."

"Who is this new custodian?"

Scarlett pressed her lips together. She wasn't quite sure how to explain this part. "I suppose that it would be easier to show you."

"Show me?"

"Yes. It is a rather unique situation, after all."

The younger woman gave her a long look. "…I knew it was a good idea to stay quiet before."

"…What is this?" Evelyne asked.

The woman stood next to Scarlett, and the two of them were in the hedge garden behind the mansion, looking down at the Loci on the ground.

"It is as I said." Scarlett gestured towards the Loci. "That is the new custodian that I told you about."

Evelyne turned to stare at her. "That's a rock."

"Technically, it is an emerald."

"A very valuable rock."

"It is quite valuable, yes."

The two of them looked at each other for a few seconds.

Eventually, Evelyne sighed. "You're serious, aren't you?"

Scarlett nodded her head. "Indeed I am."

"I can't believe this is the sort of thing that's becoming normal for me," Evelyne mumbled, returning her attention to the Loci. "So, is it an artifact of some kind, then?"

"It is," Scarlett said. "You can simply refer to it as the 'Loci'. It has an ego of its own, even though it is not particularly developed."

"You mean it can hear us?"

"In theory, it is able to hear anything that occurs within the boundaries of its domain, which coincides with the borders of the estate. Whether it can understand any of what it hears, however, is another matter."

Evelyne's eyes widened slightly at that. "Wait, everything?" She looked back at Scarlett. "So it even knows when we're…" she trailed off, an uncomfortable expression on her face.

Scarlett frowned. She hadn't even thought of that, and she would have preferred if it stayed that way. From her connection to it, she suspected that the Loci probably didn't even understand how humans worked. But, still…

Could she perhaps exclude certain locations from the Loci's domain, just to be sure?

Clearing her throat, she continued. "I will look into what can be done on the subject. But I recommend you do not pay it too much thought."

Evelyne knitted her forehead together. "How am I supposed to do that now that I know? What even is the point of this? Are you trying to keep watch of the servants?"

"It is primarily to keep the people here at the mansion safe, and to ensure intruders do not make their way in."

"This 'Loci' can do that?"

"It can, yes."

"And you're sure it's not dangerous?"

Scarlett glanced at the Loci. Due to the covenant, it was practically glowing to her senses. "I am certain, yes."

"…I'd prefer it if it wasn't here at all, to be honest," Evelyne said.

"An understandable sentiment. However, I ask that you trust in me when I say that it was a necessary addition to the estate under the current circumstances."

The woman eyed her. "Is it to stop anything like what happened to the courtyard from occurring again?"

Scarlett met her gaze. "Yes."

For a moment, Evelyne closed her eyes and massaged the bridge of her nose. Then she turned back to the Loci.

"…Alright. I think I understand. But do you think you could at least give me a report or something about exactly what it does and who it affects? I'd like to know what it is that we're adding to the mansion in a situation like this."

"I am currently familiarising myself with the details myself," Scarlett said. "But I will endeavor to provide you with details as soon as I am able."

"Thank you."

"It is of no matter."

"By the way, you should probably tell Garside about this as well. If this thing is going to act like some sort of custodian, then it would be good if he knew."

Scarlett gave another nod. "I will do so."

"Yes, well… Good." Evelyne let out a shiver. The woman wasn't wearing much more than her jacket at the moment, and it was cold this late at night. "I think I'm going to go in now. I'll be leaving again in the morning, but I'll check in with you first before I do."

"Very well." Scarlett greeted a short goodbye as Evelyne left, then returned her attention to the Loci. It almost seemed to pulsate slightly as she observed it.

Well, it was certainly an interesting artifact, at least. She was curious about how it would develop in the future.

Almost a full day later, Scarlett was waiting in front of the mansion as evening approached. She'd spent most of the morning and afternoon going through her office and parts of the library for documents related to her betrothal with Leon, but had yet to find anything of note. There had to be something though, so she would continue with it later, when she had the time. There wasn't really a need to rush it, either.

With her arms crossed, she peered down to the estate gates, where a smaller cart had pulled up and was moving towards the mansion. Eventually, it reached and stopped close to Scarlett. A younger man in simple cotton clothing and a brown cap glanced at her and the large manor behind her somewhat nervously as he climbed down from the cart and walked to the back, where Adalicia stepped off.

The wizard was dressed in a thick blue robe that suited the declining weather, with a thick tome fastened to her waist. Next to her, the young man started offloading four wide suitcases from the cart.

"Miss Adalicia." Scarlett walked over and greeted the woman before gesturing to her own carriage a short distance away from them. "I am afraid we have little time left for receptions. We will soon have to be off. Our passage through the Kilnstone is scheduled in less than an hour."

A brief look of surprise crossed the older woman's face, but she gave a short nod. "I apologize for the late appearance, then. I presume we're leaving for the place you spoke of in the letters? My assumption had actually been that would not be for another day or two."

"Unfortunately, this was the best I could arrange on such short notice," Scarlett replied. The two of them started walking over to the carriage. She waved for two servants that were standing to the side to help carry Adalicia's luggage over and place it in the trunk at the back of the vehicle. "I see that you have brought several belongings with you."

"It's equipment related to what we discussed last time. It's not often one has the opportunity to explore what might be a set of undiscovered Zuverian ruins, untouched since The Severance."

"I suppose you are correct."

They climbed inside the vehicle, where the rest of the party was waiting.

"These are my retainers," Scarlett said, gesturing to the others that were in the carriage's cabin. "Miss Hale is experienced with healing and other supportive magic, and Fynn is quite proficient at protecting us from most that seek us harm. The other two are Mister Thornthon and Miss Astrey, members of the Shields Guild currently working under my employ to aid with excursions such as this one."

"Pleasure to meet you all." Adalicia smiled as she sat down next to Rosa. "I am Adalicia Mendenhall, a member of Elystead Tower."

"I believe I have mentioned this before, but she is an expert that will be joining us this time," Scarlett explained, taking a seat beside the woman. "She has experience in analyzing Zuver technology and their methods, so I am sure her assistance will prove beneficial for us in the coming days."

The members of her party all greeted Adalicia. The woman's attention seemed to pause on Shin as he greeted her. "Forgive me for asking, but you wouldn't have any relations to the Kereq tribe?" she asked.

He blinked at the question. "My parents were part of it, but I mostly grew up in Wildscar," he answered.

He seemed to examine her. Both their skin tones were slightly more tanned than what was most common here in the empire. "Do you have ties to them as well?"

"Oh, only barely. My grandmother hailed from the Steppes, and I spent some time hearing stories from her when I was young. But it is rare that I meet people with similar connections."

"Mm. Same goes for me," Shin said.

Scarlett observed the two for a moment, then shifted her attention out the window as her party started getting more familiar with the wizard. They were cutting it a bit close time-wise with leaving this late, but it seemed like they would make it.

It felt somewhat odd, leaving on another trip this soon after returning from Autumnwell. But at the same time, it didn't. Most of her time in this world had been spent moving back and forth between different places like this in some fashion or other, so it wasn't as if she hadn't grown used to it. Not to mention that the ruin they would visit this time wasn't close to as dangerous as Abelard's Doll Mansion. With the support of a grand wizard on top of that, she was expecting things to be relatively calm these coming days.

As they traveled through Freybrook's districts, Adalicia didn't appear to have any issue blending in with Scarlett's party. Eventually, they reached the square that housed the city's Kilnstone.

There, they had to wait in line for around forty minutes—which was apparently a comparatively short waiting time for normal people, Adalicia told her—before it was their turn. The coachman handled the talks with the Kilnstone officials, and soon they were let through when it was their turn. Scarlett was accustomed enough to traveling through Kilnstone now that the teleportation itself barely caught her attention, and then they found themselves at their destination.

Like Freybrook, Faybarrow was located in the southern parts of the empire, housing a large harbor that opened into the Innisling Sea. The city itself was a lot smaller than Freybrook when it came to the area, but the population density seemed to be a lot higher as they saw masses of people walking about the streets even as it was quickly becoming darker.

"We will be spending the night at an inn," Scarlett told the others as the carriage slowly made its way through the packed lanes leading away from Faybarrow's Kilnstone. "Expect to rise early tomorrow morning. Most likely, most of the day will be spent on traveling to our destination and locating the specific coordinates for the ruins, so be prepared. I hope all of you took my warnings into consideration and brought something to entertain yourselves."

"Which inn are we staying at?" Rosa asked.

"I believe it was called the White Armadillo," Scarlett answered.

Evelyne had informed her it was one of the better inns in the city. At least of the ones you could get a room in without reserving weeks in advance, or simply having the right connections. Being a baroness still got her this much, though.

Rosa let out a low whistle. "That's where a lot of fancy people stay."

Scarlett looked at her. "You know of it?"

"I played there once."

"Truly?" She studied the bard. "I will admit, that was not what I would have expected."

"Oi." Rosa leaned forward in her seat, looking past Adalicia and at her. "I can be sophisticated when I need to."

"I have witnessed this 'sophistication' of yours," Scarlett said. "I believe we have very different definitions of the word."

Rosa shook her head exaggeratedly. "Oh, woe is me. Not even my dear employer—whomst with I have braved innumerable treacherous situations—has confidence in my ability to baroquely articulate myself in front of others."

Scarlett raised a brow. "'Baroquely'?"

The bard nodded confidently. "Baroquely."

"You sound like one of those street performers who hold doll shows in Elystead," Allyssa said with a grin.

"Why, you!" Rosa turned to stare at the girl. "You dare compare my oratory talents to the verbosity and crudeness of those commonplace performers?" She wiped away an imaginary tear. "Truly, all appreciation for pure art has perished."

Scarlett stared at her. "Are you finished?"

Rosa cocked her head to the side, then nodded her head. "I think so, yes. Though I could probably push a few more out if you want me to."

Scarlett raised her hand. "No, that will be quite all right. I do not believe anyone would wish to hear more of that."

Adalicia seemed to have watched this interaction with slight amusement, and finally spoke. "I have been to that inn as well, actually. It is rather pleasant."

"Is that so?" Scarlett shifted her attention to her. "Then I suppose I will have to take your word for it."

"Oi!" Rosa gave her an aggrieved look.

Scarlett simply looked out the window again as the carriage continued traveling through the city, pushing down the small smile that had threatened to form on her face. It had been some time since she had genuinely teased someone and enjoyed it. Perhaps Rosa was rubbing off on her.

Chapter 126 - Fieldtrips

Scarlett sat on top of a smooth piece of stone, idly flipping through a book on magic theory she had found in the Freybrook mansion's library. It didn't cover exactly what Arlene had lectured her about back in Freymeadow, and a lot of its contents honestly went over her head, but some of the concepts described appeared to be at least similar. It was an interesting comparison, at least, considering that quite a bit of time would have passed between when this was written and Arlene's days.

As she finished a chapter, she glanced up from the book's pages to observe Adalicia's progress.

They were currently on top of a small hill, and at its center, the wizard was moving back and forth between several metal stands placed around the area. Each held an irregularly shaped crystal that emitted a soft light. The woman had been at it for a while, and it had taken at least an hour or so just to set up all the equipment. Since then, she had been busy calibrating it all according to the data Scarlett had provided her.

Their group had left Faybarrow early this morning, before the sun had risen, in order to get here as soon as possible. They had traveled eastwards from the city, along the coast, for several hours, until they reached a highland region surrounded by stretching forests. While there were roads through the forests, the carriages couldn't traverse through the highland, so they'd had to make the rest of the trek on foot, carrying all of Adalicia's equipment along with them. Or, to be more exact, Fynn and Shin carried it.

They were searching for a set of Zuverian ruins, but Scarlett had only vaguely remembered where they had been in the game. All she had to go off was that there would be a rather distinct kopje—a tall, mostly flat, stone formation—nearby. But 'nearby' in the game was pretty different from 'nearby' in this world.

Fynn had been able to spot the stone formation itself relatively quickly, which had assuaged some of Scarlet's worries, but she didn't know where to go from there.

Thankfully, this was exactly why she had wanted to get Adalicia involved in all of this to begin with. Or at least one of the reasons.

She watched as the wizard leaned over one of the metal stands, inspecting the crystal at its crown. In her left hand, Adalicia held the thick, decorated tome that she always carried on her side, opened so that she could glance down at its pages now and then, while a white light shone above her right hand which she occasionally raised to the crystal.

The crystals themselves were a kind of surveying device. They were what Adalicia was using to locate their final destination.

Scarlett hadn't actually been sure how this surveying magic worked before she first discussed it with the woman. She just knew that it was a thing that had been used in one of the quests if you joined Elystead Tower in the game. Now she had a rough idea of the process, though.

Essentially, the surveying crystals set up by Adalicia scanned for different sorts of energies that were present in the surroundings. The way the crystals were positioned was supposed to help triangulate exactly where the origin of those energies were. It wasn't too different from how many signal-detecting technologies worked back in Scarlett's world, though the range didn't appear to be as impressive as what she was used to.

These crystals were supposed to be incredibly sensitive—not to mention expensive—which was a necessity if they were to be used to detect anything underground. According to Adalicia, the ground and soil in general were pretty good at absorbing most types of magical energies, so it was very much up to chance when enough would escape so that it could be detected. When it did, it was often in extraordinarily minuscule amounts. That was why you wanted to calibrate these crystals to as many types of energy as possible. Specificity was key. It apparently wasn't enough to just search for lumomancy-attuned mana, or something 'general' like that, because that wasn't often what you found out in the real world. Not unless there was a mage specifically going around casting lumomancy-based spells everywhere.

Because of this, Scarlett had shared what she knew regarding exactly what types of beings were present in the ruins they were looking for. It was basically only undead, but according to Adalicia, it made a difference exactly what type of undead it was, as well as the rough size of the ruins themselves. In addition, Scarlett had also provided some examples of the artifacts that might be inside the ruins, since it seemed those could also have unique signatures that could be detected.

Adalicia had seemed curious about how detailed Scarlett's information was, but she hadn't asked too many questions. Instead, the woman had immediately moved on to comparing the data with a magic database of some kind that she had stored in her tome before starting with her calibrations.

It had been a while since then. Scarlett wasn't quite sure how long, but judging from the sun's position in the sky, it was currently well past noon. Adalicia had said that there was no telling how long this step would take, but Scarlett was ready to wait the whole day, if necessary.

"Gnublul!" Allyssa's voice cried out to her left.

She turned to look at the young Shielder, who was sitting on a rock a short distance away. Fynn and Rosa were in front of her, positioned in a small triangle around each other. The girl placed a card on the ground in front of the other two.

They were playing a game called Imps & Worms, which Scarlett was only moderately acquainted with. It was apparently based on a 'true' fable where an old farmer had to differentiate between the worms living in his field and imps that sought to eat his gourds. A strange story, if you asked her, but she supposed most fables were.

Her assumption was that the word Allyssa had just yelled was supposed to be the name of one of the imps, which would hold power over the demon. What she wasn't sure of was how that feature had become part of the game to begin with. From what she had seen, the fact that names held power over demons didn't seem to be common knowledge.

"I'm afraid that was a worm," Rosa said with a grin. The bard leaned forward to turn over another card that was lying on the ground.

Allyssa let out a groan as the bard triumphantly grabbed a couple of pebbles from a pile in front of her.

Next to them, Fynn was hardly paying attention to their actions as he stared down at his own cards with knitted brows. He had been intently focused on the game since it started. Not that Scarlett understood why. He'd won most every game up till now, since he could always tell when the other two were lying. Why they continued playing with him was also a question she lacked an answer to.

Shaking her head, she looked over to where Shin sat. He was by his lonesome, closer to the middle of the hill where Adalicia worked. Like Scarlett, he was also reading a book, but he was also acting as an assistant of sorts to Adalicia whenever the woman needed help.

There was a pretty large age difference between the two—the woman was more than twice his age—but despite that, they'd seemed to hit it off pretty well during their conversations up till now. They had had several 'interesting' discussions about certain pieces of literature—Allyssa had seemed horrified learning there actually existed people who indulged his hobbies—and the Kereq tribe during the carriage ride here earlier.

Scarlett returned her attention to her own book, rereading a few passages about the things she didn't quite understand. She was planning on asking both Adalicia and Arlene about it later.

After a while, sounds of activity rang out from in front of her, and she looked up again. Shin had moved from his spot as Adalicia rushed over to one of the surveying crystals that had turned a bright yellow. Soon after, four other crystals lit up in the same color. The wizard moved between them all, performing some form of confirmation with her magic, then eventually turned to Scarlett with a pleased expression. "It appears we have found our location."

Rosa, Fynn, and Allyssa stopped their card game at the announcement.

Scarlett stood from her seat and walked over to the woman. "Are you certain?" she asked.

"Reasonably so," Adalicia answered. "Three of the surveying nodes detected energies that are likely to belong to a lich, and the remaining two have matched it to another type of energy that has been confirmed to be common in Zuverian ruins."

"Then let us depart. If we make haste, there is still a chance that we can return to Faybarrow before the day ends."

Together, they helped pack things up and left the place where they'd made their temporary base. The surrounding highland consisted of rolling hills and slopes with dense forests nestled in the valleys, so trying to find the hidden entrance to the ruins by pure luck would have been extremely difficult. Even with Adalicia guiding them along with her magic, it still took them upwards of forty minutes of arduous journeying before they reached their destination.

It was a natural quarry of sorts, situated below a narrow ridge etched into a hillside that concealed it from above. The nearby vegetation made it hard to spot from a distance. At the center of the quarry, there was a small basin of water, with steep declines of unstable dirt and rocks leading down to it. Running along the ridge on the opposite end were several cramped cavities burrowing into the cliff. Some were large enough to allow a person to pass through.

Scarlett scanned across the area. The hidden entrance should be inside one of those cavities. Probably along with a puzzle of some kind that opened it. That would have been the intended way of getting inside the ruins in 'Chronicle of Realms', at least. But, well…

This had been a game, after all. There were few things players hated as much as backtracking through an entire dungeon after finishing it. It wasn't too uncommon for there to be more than one entrance.

She looked down towards the bottom of the quarry, pointing down to it. "Fynn. See if you can find an underwater path in that basin."

The white-haired young man sat down the equipment he'd been carrying and set off without a word, effortlessly climbing down the treacherous-looking decline. After reaching the bottom, he only stopped for a moment to look around and gauge its depth before promptly diving into the water.

"You think they would put the entrance at the bottom of a lake?" Allyssa asked, squinting down to where Fynn had disappeared beneath the surface.

Scarlett shook her head. "I do not. But it is not the entrance that I am searching for."

"Zuverian ruins are a rather well-documented subject," Adalicia said. "A factor that is commonly shared among most of the ones that are hidden away in this fashion is that they have a test of some kind that must be solved in order to enter. I don't think it's likely that he will find a path of any kind down there."

Scarlett turned to the woman. "While you are not wrong in what you say, Miss Mendenhall, there is one other factor to take into consideration here."

"Oh? And what is that?"

A small smile wound itself onto Scarlett's face as Fynn's drenched head appeared above the water seconds later. "Laziness," she said.

Adalicia eyed her. "…You're saying the Zuver would have added another entrance out of laziness?"

"Something along those lines, yes."

"Let me remind you that this was a civilization that had society-wide access to magic capable of teleportation."

"When you think about it, isn't that just the epitome of laziness?" Rosa asked.

The woman turned to look at the bard for a moment. "…I suppose you're right in that." She chuckled, turning her gaze down to Fynn as he climbed out of the water.

"We will see what our young scout has to say about it," Scarlett said as she started climbing down the quarry. The rest followed. They took it slow—so as not to injure themselves—and eventually stopped at the foot of the basin, where a small platform of dry mudstone overlooked the water. Fynn shook his head like a dog a short distance away from them, gusts of wind aggressively blowing away some of the liquid from his hair and clothes.

Scarlett noticed a glint of interest in Adalicia's eyes at the casual use of the magic, but the wizard stayed quiet for now.

She turned to Fynn. "What did you find?"

He stopped trying to dry himself off and faced her. "There was a thin passage leading further in to a small cave, as well as a spot to stop for air."

Scarlett nodded her head. It was as she expected, then. She looked to the others. "Are there any of you that cannot swim?"

Allyssa gingerly raised her hand. "…I've never even tried it before."

Next to her, Shin showed a smirk at the confession, which promptly earned him an elbow to the side. With his armor on, though, he simply ignored it, along with the glare Allyssa sent him.

"Fynn, will you be able to aid her?" Scarlett asked.

The young man gave a nod. "Sure."

She then turned to Adalicia. "Will you be fine?"

The wizard glanced down at the clear water in front of them. "You appear confident that this passage truly leads into the ruins."

"I am experienced in the matter of ruins such as these."

"I am not questioning you. Since we're already here, I am rather inclined to trust your word." Adalicia looked down at her robes, gently pulling at them. "Unfortunately, however, I will admit that it has never crossed my mind to enchant these in order to be prepared for underwater activities of any kind. Perhaps I should have."

She reached for the tome attached to her waist, pulling it up and opening a certain page that was covered in columns. As she tapped on one of the columns, it lit up and a thin bracelet appeared in her hand.

Scarlett eyed the tome with interest. "Is that a spatial enchantment?"

"It is, though its size is nothing to brag about. I had the Vice-Dean of the Elystead Tower help in making it, and, well… You've met the man." Adalicia put the bracelet on her right forearm. "I had almost forgotten I had this item. It allows the wearer to survive without breathing for almost ten minutes."

"Then I take it you will manage on your own?"

"I would hope so."

Scarlett examined the bracelet for a moment. Maybe she should try to get her hands on something like that as well. Although that would have to be left for another day.

She turned back to the others. "Then let us not delay any further."

People began removing the equipment that would be in the way, placing it into the [Bag of Juham]. Shin took off his armor; Allyssa, her cape and bandolier—which was now the [Alchemist's Potion Belt (Epic)] that Scarlett had decided to lend her—and Rosa placed her klert into the bag. Fynn, of course, didn't even bother, and Scarlett used her [Charm of Expeditious Change] to slip into some clothes that she had prepared for this. It was a relatively light set that still protected her modesty.

The others gave her curious looks at the sudden display of the artifact's magic, and Rosa even let out an envious whistle.

Fynn was the first one to jump into the water again, followed by Allyssa and Shin. Then it was Rosa's turn. The bard let out a small cry as she hit the water, complaining about the cold, but she soon disappeared under the surface after the others.

"Shall we?" Scarlett asked, looking at Adalicia as the woman set up some sort of barrier around the surveying equipment they had brought with them. It was too large to fit in the [Bag of Juham], so they would have to leave it here.

When Adalicia finished, she gestured for her to go first. "I think I'll be a bit behind the rest of you. I'm not as spry as you younger people, and I did not think to bring another set of clothes that was more suitable. Don't worry, I won't take too long."

Scarlett gave the woman a nod before turning back to the water. The thought of jumping in with her clothes still on honestly irked her slightly, but there was nothing to do but clench her teeth and get it over with. She would not be removing them, that was for sure.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward and let herself drop into the pool.

It was cold. Her eyes closed as her head was quickly submerged and her feet touched the bottom soon after. She almost instinctually wanted to use her pyrokinesis to warm herself up, but she pushed those thoughts to the side as she opened her eyes and looked around. The water was clear enough, and there was enough light coming from above that she could spot the passage that Fynn had talked about.

She started moving. It had been years since she last went swimming, but she used to be decent enough, at least. And she wasn't quite as physically weak now as when she had first arrived in this world, so she had assumed it wouldn't be too difficult. Now, though, she realized she had underestimated how much her clothes would slow down her movements. It was like swimming with weights around her limbs, even when she had purposefully changed into a lighter set. She hadn't swum with clothes on since she was a kid, so she hadn't thought it would be this annoying.

It took her several heavy motions to reach the opening of the passage, and her lungs were already starting to strain. Had she perhaps overestimated how strong she had gotten as well? How far was it to the first air pocket? The water turned darker only a few arm's lengths in front of her, so it was hard to know, but she could see a faint light ahead.

She kicked her legs in an attempt to get some extra movement, then stopped as a thought came to her.

Maybe she could make things easier for herself?

With a mental push, she tried using her hydrokinesis to control the water around her, moving it along with her. She almost let her breath escape when she was grabbed hold of by a stronger current than she expected. [Sidhe's Flowing Garbs] saved her from getting cut on the stone around her as she was pushed forward. A few seconds after, she reached the light she'd seen, surfacing in a small space that was slightly wider than her shoulders. It was illuminated by a patch of glowing moss growing on the wall.

She took several deep breaths, trying to ignore her hammering heart and the chill that was invading her bones.

Using her hydrokinesis here felt easier than usual. Did that have something to do with the fact that she was surrounded by such a large body of water? Most of the time, she only conjured her own or used existing water in small amounts, so if there was a difference, she had missed it. Perhaps it was something she should look into later, when she had the chance.

For now, she took one last breath before diving again. Fynn and the others were probably already on the other side.

Using her magic to move herself along—slower and more controlled this time, since it was even darker now and she almost had to feel her way forward—she eventually reached what looked to be the end of the passage. There, when she broke the water's surface, she found herself in a small cavern lit up by the pale yellow of a lit lamp.

The others sat on the stone floor of the cave nearby, turning to look at her.

She swam over to the edge of the water, climbing up onto the rough stone as she gasped for air. Then she looked back at them. Their hair and clothes were completely drenched as they stood bunched around a lump of red goo that emitted waves of heat from it.

Allyssa must have brought out one of her concoctions.

Feeling herself start to shiver, Scarlett pushed down the urge to snap at the others to stop looking at her. She waved her hand, and masses of water rose from her and the others' bodies, floating through the space as she returned it to the small pool behind her. Then she used her pyrokinesis to start heating up the air in the cave, breathing out as the chill slowly faded.

"I didn't know you could do that," Allyssa said in an appreciative tone, arms hugged around herself.

"It's convenient, I'll tell you that," Rosa chimed in. "You could make a business out of this."

The woman leaned to the side as she started squeezing out the last bits of dampness lingering in her hair. "This'll be torture for my curls, though. They get all frizzy when warmed like this."

"Would you prefer if I refrained from drying you?" Scarlett asked.

The bard showed a smile. "I'm fine, thank you."

Shin looked behind Scarlett. "Is Miss Adalicia not coming after you?" he asked.

"I believe she might take some time, still," she answered casually, shifting her attention to the cave beyond them. It didn't stretch on for long, ending in just more stone. There was a narrow slit in it, though, through which looked to be a smooth stone wall. A crack in that wall revealed a dark room.

"There are undead that way," Fynn said, a frown on his brow as he looked in the same direction.

"Yes, we will deal with them soon enough. For now, you should all prepare yourselves as we wait for Miss Mendenhall."

Scarlett continued using her pyrokinesis to warm them up—it didn't take too much mana using it like this—as they waited for Adalicia. When she felt she was dry enough, she changed into her normal set of clothes, appreciative of the convenience afforded by the [Charm of Expeditious Change]. Eventually, the older woman appeared, her dark hair clinging to the sides of her face and shoulders as she surfaced and hurriedly swam towards them.

"I must say," Adalicia said, a slight quiver to her voice as she climbed up on land. "I never quite expected that this would be what I was agreeing to back when we first met, Baroness. Never before have I heard of someone that had to swim to enter a Zuverian ruin."

Scarlett raised an amused eyebrow. Wonder how the woman would react when she learned of Beld Thylelion's existence.

"I hope it did not prove too uncomfortable an experience." She raised a hand and used her hydrokinesis to remove most of the water from the woman, then started warming her with her pyrokinesis.

The wizard paused for a moment, studying her curiously. "That's an interesting use of hydrokinesis and pyrokinesis. I was under the impression that you weren't a mage?"

"I am not." Scarlett shook her head. "Or, at least, I do not believe most would class me as such. However, that does not mean I do not have a few tricks up my sleeves, so to speak."

"I would like to meet those who would consider such a masterful application of magic a mere trick." Adalicia watched as the liquid drawn from her clothes returned to the body of water behind her. "I know several Master Docent Wizards who wouldn't be able to replicate what you just did. At least not as effortlessly."

"I suppose that is a consolation to the fact that I do not know any spells."

The woman gave her a surprised look. "Truly?"

Scarlett nodded. "Truly. You could say I have a natural affinity for pyrokinesis and hydrokinesis. The same does not apply for spells, however."

"That's…" The woman creased her forehead. "That is certainly strange. I can scarcely comprehend how you learned the one without the other."

"Some trial and error was involved, but it mostly came naturally. That is all I can say."

Adalicia observed her for a while longer. "Curious…"

Scarlett turned back to the others and gestured at the opening that led to the room beyond. "Leaving that aside for now, we can continue whenever you feel sufficiently prepared."

Chapter 127 - Is it graverobbing if they're undead?

Scarlett and the others entered a dark room made of precisely cut gray stone and which looked like it had seen no living things passing through it for ages. The air was stale, with overturned shelves and tables spread out before them, covered in the dirt and dust that had accumulated over the long years.

Adalicia conjured a set of small orbs of light that lit up the space. The orbs were a curious sight on their own; somehow both incredibly bright in the light they provided, yet when you looked at them, they appeared little stronger than ordinary candles.

At the far end of the room, there were a couple of slab-like coffers next to a pile of what might have been broken magical equipment lying in the corner. Scarlett scanned across the walls, noting several empty sconces and some with cracked dark green crystals in them. Zuverian carvings were etched into the stone here and there as well.

Fynn pointed towards a long corridor leading out of the room. "The undead is down there."

"Then let us first deal with it before we investigate this area," Scarlett said.

They moved forward as a group, with Fynn and Shin at the front. As they reached the corridor's mouth, Adalicia somehow made her light bend so that it didn't travel too far. That was certainly convenient.

Scarlett pulled out her enchanted glasses and put them on, peering down the passage. There was a chamber beyond, consisting of a vast hall that had pillars running down the middle. Rows of stone seats were arranged in front of a grey dais that stood atop a platform at the head of the chamber, with a skeletal shape floating in the air above it. The figure was dressed in worn red robes, holding a long staff in its right hand.

It was this dungeon's last boss. A lich.

Normally, an opponent like this would call for a bit of caution, but…

Scarlett glanced at Adalicia and the rest of her group.

Both pyromancy and lumomancy—one of Adalicia's specialties—were counters to undead, and Scarlett's party was pretty good at teaming up against lonesome opponents. Not to mention that Adalicia was a grand wizard. The woman might not focus on battle magic, but she was still a pretty powerful mage in her own right. In the game, a grand wizard or mage was at minimum level 60, so if Scarlett's estimations were correct, Adalicia would either be similar to Garside in strength or stronger. Considering this dungeon wasn't at the same level as the Howling Gale's Haunt, they didn't have too much to worry about.

She gestured for Fynn and Shin to proceed. Rosa used her magic to buff their group as the two young men moved ahead. Scarlett had already used the [Charm of Expedient Change] to equip everything but her [Tiara of Lost Benediction] and followed behind them.

The moment Fynn stepped foot into the chamber, the lich at the head of the room spun around. A pair of bright red eyes locked onto the young man, pure hatred in its gaze.

A blazing beam of light tore across the hall and engulfed its entire left arm. Large parts of its robes disintegrated under the attack, and its skeleton was left black and charred.

Scarlett turned to look at Adalicia. The woman's tome was floating in the air beside her, and a set of runes dissipated into thin air in front of her hand. That had to have been [Radiant Surge], a spell that had existed in the game as well. It looked a lot more dangerous in person than it did in front of a screen.

The lich let out an enraged scream that echoed across the room. It raised its other arm and a green light formed around its staff. Three rays shot out from it, arching towards Shin and Fynn. Shin raised his shield and blocked two of them, but the blow forced him several steps back. Fynn managed to dodge the one aimed at him, sprinting through the chamber like a madman. Even the lich seemed shocked at the speed with which he reached it, trying to float back as the young man jumped to slash at it in the air. Several more spells were conjured up just to keep him in check, and the others in their party took the opportunity to close the distance themselves.

Another streak of light from Adalicia slammed into the lich's side, burning even more of its robes and body. When Scarlett got close enough, she followed the attack up by forming a conflagration of flames that stuck to the lich's upper half just as Fynn leaped up to strike at it from underneath once more.

It didn't take long for their group to finish it off from there. Within a minute, what remained of the lich fell to the ground like a charred husk, leaving the chamber silent.

"That…was fast," Allyssa muttered near Scarlett. The girl hadn't been given much chance to do anything that fight.

"There still remain other undead in these ruins," Scarlett said. "Though, in truth, they are likely to provide even less of a challenge."

She looked around the space as she walked up to where Fynn and Shin already stood, next to the boss' remains. The staff that the lich had used lay next to it, as well as what was left of its robes.

[Ruby Infused Warden Staff (Epic)]

{A staff infused with the rage of its caster, empowering attacks}

[Scorched Robes of Sorcerous Synergy (Epic)]

{This robe was once made of fine fabrics and steeped in powerful magic, but has since fallen into disrepair. What remains of it is but a shadow of what it once was}

Her eyes lingered on the robes and their tattered state. Not only were they old and fragile, but the fight really had dealt a number to them as well. She hadn't cared much about holding back in fights like this before, since most items they found weren't taken from the bodies of those they defeated, but this was a bit of a waste, wasn't it?

The description still said the robes were epic-tier even after all the damage, but it had been the same back when she looted all of that Cabal Adept equipment. And only some of that had actually been sellable. In the future, it might be good to be more careful when possible.

…Hopefully this one wasn't a lost cause.

For now, she instructed Fynn to place both items in the [Bag of Juham]. She would look over them later, but she didn't have too much interest in keeping either. A staff was far too unwieldy to carry around, in her opinion. Even if it was incredibly powerful, she knew several other items she would prefer. And the robes would only be useful to her if she could transfer the enchantment to another piece of clothing. Something worth looking into, but considering their current state, she didn't have high hopes.

She turned to the others. "Since we have dealt with the most immediate of the threats, we can search this area before we proceed to the next sections." Adalicia's interest seemed fixed on the dais on the platform where the boss had been. "Miss Mendenhall. You can, of course, do whatsoever you wish for the time being."

The wizard gave her an appreciative smile before walking up to examine the dais closer.

Scarlett directed Allyssa and Shin to start going around the room and gather anything that looked valuable and like they could bring it with them. Modern archeologists would have despised her for her crimes against their craft, but she honestly didn't care too much.

She brought Fynn and Rosa along as they returned to the first room, inspecting it closer. There appeared to be plenty of lootable things in here. At a closer look, not all the crystals hanging from sconces on the walls seemed cracked, so those would definitely be coming with them. Evelyne had told her Zuverian light crystals sold for a decent amount. The old magical equipment in the corner probably held some value to the various mage towers as well, even if some of it was broken. There were also plenty of smaller trinkets and baubles spread out on the shelves, including the occasional Zuverian gold coin.

While all of that caught her attention, her main focus was on the coffers at the end of the room.

She walked over to them, eyeing the symbols etched into the stone slabs on top of them. There were two coffers, each bearing the same designs. She didn't understand Zuverian, but she knew roughly what to expect.

Calling over Fynn, she had him remove the slabs. The heavy stones slammed into the floor with loud thuds as he pushed them off, and clouds of dust spread through the room. Scarlett scrunched her nose for a moment as she waited for it to come to a rest, then took in the coffers' contents.

Next to her, Rosa let out an impressed whistle.

The coffer to the left was filled with gleaming gold coins. Judging from how much Scarlett knew one Zuverian coin to be worth, she estimated that there was somewhere between 50 000 to 100 000 solars worth of gold here.

The second coffer didn't hold any gold. Instead, there were only two items. A scale made of clear silver, unmarred by the passage of time but with no other notable features, as well as a small grey cube that held a clear surface.

[Scale of Reconciliation (Epic)]

{That which was once one may now be two, but there is always place for reunification}

[Cube of Instant Katabasis (Epic)]

{One may find themself facing an untenable situation, yet the one that has tomorrow always prevails}

While there were several reasons for Scarlett to keep exploring Zuverian ruins like this one, this here was the reason she had wanted to clear this ruin in particular. The second item, especially, was something she wanted in preparation for what they would do once Gaven returned from his mission.

She picked up both artifacts and placed them in her [Pouch of Holding]. Then she spent some time gathering up all the gold from the other coffer with Fynn's and Rosa's help. After that, they collected the rest of the items in the room before returning to the chamber where Adalicia and the others were.

The wizard was still standing up on the platform, leaning over the dais there as she inspected it. Scarlett told Fynn and Rosa to help Allyssa and Shin, then approached Adalicia.

The woman looked up as she came near, then gestured at the dais. "Do you know what this is?"

Scarlett looked down at it. Despite seemingly being made of simple stone, the design of the dais was fairly intricate. It had elaborate inscriptions covering most of its base and carved into its face was a mess of complicated lines and symbols written in the Zuverian tongue. There were a few cracks in the stone, and some of the symbols weren't entirely legible, but it seemed in a better state than some of its surroundings at least.

"I do not," she said.

"It's a type of relic sometimes found in places like this one where the Zuver resided, often referred to as a Tabernacle. It's believed that they are related to how the Zuver created the Kilnstones and other artifacts like them." There was a certain passion in Adalicia's voice as she ran a hand over the dais. "Unfortunately, no one has been able to completely decipher how they work. Most of the ones that have been found and successfully recovered have all been in relatively poor condition. The most well-preserved one is on the Rising Isle, and even that one has been worn down by time."

Scarlett looked over the 'Tabernacle' once more. If that was how it was, then she did know of it. Not only had these relics been mentioned in some of the texts that she had studied about the Zuverian civilization since arriving in this world, but they had also been present in the game to some degree. It was thanks to one of these that you could reach Beld Thylelion if you were playing the good route.

Adalicia bent closer to the Tabernacle, studying a row of symbols at its center. "The expedition I was part of on the Rising Isle included both mages from Elystead Tower, the Ustrum Assembly, and the Isle. It's been ages since something on the same scale was arranged, and part of our work actually involved these Tabernacles. I am far from what you might call an expert on them, but I do consider myself somewhat experienced."

She pulled up the tome fastened to her waist, flicking to a certain page that had numerous sigils engraved on it. They glowed as she moved her hand over them, and some of the symbols on the Tabernacle started glowing in response.

"Oh? That's curious…" the woman muttered. "It seems to alter its response on its own, for some reason. I wonder why that is…?"

Scarlett wasn't sure exactly what was 'curious' about that, but Adalicia opened another page in her tome and started jotting things down with a pen she had gotten from somewhere.

"…From your description, it would seem this is a relic that most of the mage towers would desire access to," Scarlett said.

"Hmm, I'm not sure how much there is to be learned from this one that we don't already know," Adalicia answered, not looking away from her notes. "The ones that have been encountered up till now have all had some rather complex safeguards, so there is only so much we can do with what limited tools we have. That said, other than the one on the Rising Isle, this is the most well-kept one I've seen, so there's bound to be some interest."

"Then I presume Elystead Tower will be eager for the opportunity to procure it for themselves, would they not? Before any other faction has the chance."

The wizard paused, turning her head to look at Scarlett. A small smile formed on her face. "You're most likely correct. Though I imagine those in charge of our finances won't be as appreciative."

"I am sure we can come to an agreement," Scarlett said. She looked down at the Tabernacle.

It was too large for them to take with them. Removing it wasn't an option, since it was most likely fastened to the platform beneath. However, they were the only ones aware of the location of these ruins, and Adalicia was unlikely to reveal it to anyone—even the people from her own tower—since they had an agreement. Scarlett only had to have Evelyne contact the people from Elystead Tower and tell them they would sell the information about this place to them first, as well as the Tabernacle in it, if they gave a good offer. All the annoying stuff could be left to the mages themselves this time.

She turned around to leave. "Continue here for as long as you wish. I will leave Mister Thornthon with you in case you have need of him. The rest of us will begin to explore the rest of these ruins."

Adalicia gave her a small nod before returning her full attention to her work, and Scarlett walked over to where the others were moving around the room. Hopefully, if they finished everything up here quick enough, they would all be back in Faybarrow before midnight.

Chapter 128 - Late-night talks

[Quest completed: Cleared Zuverian Ruins]

{Skill points awarded: 5}

Scarlett squeezed out of a narrow slit ahead of her, exiting from inside the cave wall she had been in to the natural quarry where her party had originally started. It had turned dark now, with a quiet air hanging over the space and the nearby forest as the stars shone down on them from above. She looked around and brought out her enchanted glasses to see better. It seemed they were close to the top of the quarry.

They had just spent several hours clearing the Zuverian ruins until they ended up at the intended entrance to the place. A fact that had spared them the trouble of having to retread their path and swim back out. She was thankful for that much.

The other members of her group climbed out of the opening behind her, and soon, they were all gathered outside. Adalicia was the last to exit, and Scarlett studied her for a moment.

It didn't seem like the wizard was quite as used to all this exploring and moving around as the rest of them. Traversing the dungeon—as well as the trek there—had taken its toll on her. It probably hadn't helped that Adalicia had moved back and forth all the time, inspecting almost every part of the ruins and taking extensive notes for later perusal.

That wasn't to say the rest of them had been idle. In addition to dealing with all the enemies and traps that were present, they'd been gathering as many things as they could. At the rate Scarlett's party was gaining experience with this kind of thing, they could probably be considered professional tomb raiders by now.

Like in Abelard's Doll Mansion, they had eventually reached the limit of the [Bag of Juham]'s and the [Pouch of Holding]'s storage capacity, but fortunately, that was only towards the end. The only things they didn't bring with them were minor baubles that Adalicia said weren't too valuable and the items that were too large or literally nailed down, like the Tabernacle.

Whatever was left would be left to the mage towers. In this case, that probably only meant Elystead Tower, though Scarlett would be selling some of her own loot to the other towers as well. But for now, they were done here. There wasn't much else to see in this area, and it was late, so next, they would be returning to the city.

Later that night, Scarlett was sitting in a small private lounge inside the inn they were staying at in Faybarrow. Her hands held a thin pile of documents given to her by Evelyne. She'd delayed reading through them up till now. It wasn't anything too important—just another report on current business dealings and other fief affairs Scarlett wasn't too familiar with—but it was something to while away her time with, at least.

Recently, she had gotten into the habit of going to sleep a lot later than usual. She wasn't entirely sure why. Perhaps it was related to how busy she'd been lately, or maybe she accidentally reversed her sleep-wake cycle at some point without noticing it. Stress could also be a reason, though she didn't feel stressed. Simply…bogged down, at times.

The reason wasn't too important. She honestly didn't mind it too much. There was a relaxing quality to staying up late and working, even if you weren't doing anything special. It just made her feel more productive, and that relaxed her somehow.

Although she really shouldn't stay up too long tonight. They had two more days scheduled here in Faybarrow, both of which she was free to do whatever she wanted. She was planning on having them wake up early so that they could go out and try to find a couple more dungeons if possible. She wasn't too familiar with this area, nor could she think of any items she needed from around here—most dungeons here didn't go past the level 40 range—but it never hurt to collect extra loot and skill points when she could.

She suspected that Adalicia might want to stay here in Faybarrow and go over what she had found in the Zuverian ruins. The woman wasn't technically part of Scarlett's party like the others were, so there was no point in forcing her to join them on excursions that weren't part of their agreement. They didn't really need her help anyway.

Scarlett continued reading through the documents for a while longer, enjoying a cup of tea that she kept warm with her pyrokinesis. It had probably passed midnight by the time she heard the sound of footsteps on wood from the hall connecting to the lounge. Looking up, she spotted Rosa's distinct brown curls peek around the corner into the room as the woman soon met her eyes.

"Miss Hale," she said, studying the bard's rundown appearance. Rosa was wearing a light grey shirt with a ruffled pair of pants that looked like they might have been thrown on with little thought. "I thought you would be in bed by now."

The woman had used a lot of her magic today, mostly to provide the rest of them with energy as they trekked back from the ruins. It was only to be expected that she would be tired. The only reason Scarlett managed through it all was because of that very same magic and the stamina boost she got from the [Mark of the Staunch].

Rosa showed a weak smile as she stepped into the lounge. "I was. Didn't go too well, though, so I thought I'd wander around a bit and clear my mind."

"Truly? This is not the first mention I have heard of this. Marlon reported that you do the same in the mansion at times," Scarlett said.

The bard's smile turned into an awkward grin as she scratched the back of her head. "Didn't think anyone had noticed that. It's an old habit of mine. I get antsy easily when I stay in one place for too long."

"Are you not satisfied with your current circumstances? With working for me?"

"Oh, I'm about as satisfied as I can get. You couldn't force me to give this gig up even if you dragged me away screaming and fighting. Old habits just die hard and all that, you know?"

Scarlett observed the woman for a few seconds. She doubted that was all there was to it, but as usual, Rosa was very tightlipped with her troubles. And with the deal Scarlett had made with the being possessing the woman, it was risky for her to pry too deep.

"…Do you wish to take a seat?" She gestured at a round table that was next to her, which had three empty chairs beside it.

Scarlett could have sworn she spotted a look of relief pass over Rosa's face, though it was gone as quickly as it appeared.

"Don't mind if I do," the bard said as she casually walked over to sit down on the chair opposite her.

Scarlett eyed her for a second before returning her attention to the documents in her hands. Both of them were silent.

A scene like this wasn't too uncommon between the two of them nowadays, with Rosa often visiting her office and lazing around as Scarlett worked. This time, though, it felt slightly more awkward than normal, and she found her gaze traveling back to the quiet bard repeatedly. Maybe it was because they weren't in the mansion that she had a hard time concentrating like this. Shutting the woman's antics out was otherwise a habit she had practically ingrained in her spirit.

Eventually, she placed her papers down on the table and turned to Rosa.

The woman looked up at her with a somewhat perplexed expression.

"…I had been meaning to ask," Scarlett began. "The items that I gave you. Did you find them useful?"

Rosa blinked, clearly not having expected Scarlett to initiate a conversation. After a moment, she nodded. "Sure did. Feels strange strolling around with stuff that's probably worth more than what I could have earned over a decade of tavern-hopping, though."

Besides the [Prayer of Devotion (Epic)] that Scarlett had given Rosa a while back, the woman had also been given the [Death's Shadow (Epic)] from Abelard's Doll Mansion as well as an [Earring of the Split Mind (Epic)] that they had looted from one of the other dungeons near Autumnwell.

The first of the two gave immunity to a certain amount of dark damage—which Scarlett hoped could prove useful to Rosa in the future—and the other was a red jade earring that made it easier to concentrate on several things at the same time. Scarlett had considered keeping it, but with all the other items she had taken for herself lately, she eventually decided Rosa could make better use of it. Thanks to that, the bard could now maintain up to four different buffs and effects at the same time for short periods. That alone was incredibly helpful to the rest of the party.

"I understand your sentiment," Scarlett said. "It was the same for me. But you will grow accustomed to it, eventually."

Rosa gave her a dubious look. "Lady 'I-wear-a-different-thousand-solar-dress-every-day' feels uncomfortable parading her expensive jewellery? To think, even nobles share the woes of us common folk."

Scarlett frowned. It wasn't her fault she had so many dresses. What was she supposed to do? Jewellery, she could sell. But dresses? It wasn't like there were any second-hand shops for aristocratic clothing in this world.

…Or maybe there were?

Well, whatever. They weren't desperate for money anymore, so it wasn't as if she was going to get rid of the dresses now. She might even buy new ones if she felt like it. Maybe.

Probably not.

Although, she should get one for the Tyndall Ball next month, shouldn't she? That was the sort of thing where you'd be looked down upon if you wore something old and people learned of it, right? She would have to double-check with Evelyne.

And she also had to send another letter to Beldon Tyndall. He had replied to her request of getting an invitation to the ball, saying that arranging that could prove slightly difficult even for him. He would consider it though, since he 'really wanted to meet her again'.

Knowing how that man worked, she'd interpreted that as him saying she would have to give him something he wanted if she needed an invitation. She had been considering what piece of information she should share that both wasn't too important but still something that Mirage wanted. There were a couple of minor tidbits of quest-related info that might fit the bill, but she would look into it further when she got back to Freybrook.

"…Hey, there's something I've been wanting to ask," Rosa suddenly spoke in a low tone.

Scarlett returned her attention to the woman, who looked uncharacteristically solemn, when another set of footsteps sounded out from the hallway outside.

Rosa paused, looking towards the lounge's entrance.

"It appears as if you are not the only one with an interest in late-night walks," Scarlett said.

They'd reserved this entire section of the inn for themselves, so the only ones that would be moving around here would be members of their group.

"Darnation." Rosa pouted, any previous hint of seriousness gone. "And here I thought I was unique."

Scarlett simply shook her head at the bard's act. The moment after, Adalicia appeared in the room's opening.

"I thought I heard voices," the wizard said, observing the two of them. "So it was you. Baroness, Miss Hale. I hope the night greets you well?"

"As well as one might expect," Scarlett replied, giving a nod in greeting.

Rosa leaned back in her chair. "Same, but opposite."

Adalicia offered a small—and perhaps slightly befuddled—smile in return. She was dressed in long white dress-like robes that reached the floor and had her long hair hanging freely behind her. Standing there, with that gentle expression on her face, Scarlett felt that the woman exuded a very motherly nature. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Even if you were, I would not mind," Scarlett said. "While Miss Hale can offer surprisingly profound snippets of wisdom at times, most of what leaves her mouth is best left ignored, lest you find yourself tearing out your own hair in exasperation."

A theatrical gasp left Rosa as she raised a hand to her mouth. "To think you consider me wise. I have never felt so complimented in my life."

Scarlett gestured to the bard. "Like so."

Adalicia gave the both of them an amused look. "You two certainly have a unique relationship."

"I believe 'unique' is one way of describing it, yes."

"'Astounding' is another," Rosa said. "As is 'enviable', 'eye-popping', and 'passionate'."

"Of which 'astounding' I believe is the only one which holds a sliver of truth to it," Scarlett added.

Adalicia chuckled. "I rather do think I'm interrupting something."

Scarlett let out a small sigh. "Forgive me. You are not. Was there something you wanted? As with Miss Hale, I would have expected you to be asleep at this time."

"Oh, no. I don't think I'm getting any sleep done tonight." The wizard shook her head gently. "I've been poring over the notes I have from the ruins since we got back, trying to decipher and compare what we found with what I have on record. I want to at least determine what the purpose of these particular ruins was before I return to Elystead. If my suspicions are right, I won't have much time to do it there."

Scarlett arched a curious brow. "And why is that, if I might ask?"

Adalicia showed a slightly tired smile. "I won't bother you with too many of the details, but we recently finally received word that the Dean will be returning after Ittar-knows how long of being unreachable. Knowing how these things have gone in the past, I will have my hands full with that for at least a few weeks."

The woman's tone was that of someone annoyed at an itinerant uncle for forgetting to show up at the last family gathering.

"I'm not sure if you are aware," she continued, "but the Elystead Tower has also been working together with the Ustrum Assembly, the Shields Guild, and several of the knight orders to deal with what's happening with the Tribe of Sin lately. Matters like those aren't technically part of my responsibility as an official of the Tower, but it does help in making things more busy in general."

"It is unfortunate that it is causing you more stress."

"It is what it is." Adalicia pointed to one of the empty chairs between Scarlett and Rosa. "I had been meaning to take a short break. May I take a seat?"

Scarlett glanced at Rosa. The bard had clearly been meaning to bring something up before Adalicia got here…

Rosa just smiled. "You won't find me protesting."

Eyeing her for a moment longer, Scarlett eventually signaled for Adalicia to sit. "Feel free."

The woman walked over and sat down. "Today has been quite hectic, hasn't it? It's not often I have the opportunity to leave the tower and move about like this, but all of you seem rather comfortable with it. It's at times like these I realize I'm not as young as I used to be."

"Really? I wouldn't have pegged you past your twentieth summer," Rosa said in a sugary voice.

Adalicia let out a small laugh. "There's no need for flattery. I don't have any grey hairs yet, but it's been a few years since I was doing my apprenticeship. You two would do well to heed my warning and take care of yourselves now, while you still can. I used to think the obstinate old men at the tower exaggerated with their grumblings about their 'elderly woes', but you'll be surprised at how early your body starts to complain after one too many nights spent leaning across a desk straining your eyes at dusty old texts."

"Is that so?" An amused tone found its way into Rosa's voice and she turned to look at Scarlett.

Scarlett met her look. "Is there something you wish to say, Miss Hale?"

"Nope, nope." The woman turned away. "Just reminded me of someone I used to know. Old Baronetess Sharlet Dartford. You'd find her huddled inside her poky little office six days out of five, doing who-knows-what with what-knows-who until her pupils fell out. But you're nothing like her. Nuh-uh."

Scarlett narrowed her eyes. She wasn't 'huddled' inside her office all the time. In fact, she actively avoided it when she could. Didn't she? She hated paperwork and things like that just as much as other people. Probably more. The only reason she still did some of it was that she knew there was a lot she wasn't doing.

"Yes, well, perhaps you should ask this 'Baronetess Dartford' if she would not be willing to employ your services instead," she said. "I am sure that she will be enthusiastic about the opportunity to procure such a competent, not to mention soon-to-be-unwaged, personage for her services."

Rosa fluttered her eyebrows at her. "Have I ever said how lucky I am to have such a charming, magnificent employer? With red hair that flows like a river of molten gold, framing a face that could launch a thousand ships and a gaze as piercing as the sun, I dare say your voice could command the very stars in the sky. If there ever was a vision of power and beauty, of a queen among mortals, then I am sure it must be my dear employer."

Scarlett stared at her, holding back the long sigh that wanted to escape. "…That is quite enough adulation, thank you. You can disregard my previous words."

"Are you sure?" The grin on the bard's face was far too large. "I've got a whole notebook filled out with these, if you want to hear more. Of course, even serenades pale in comparison to reality."

Scarlett opened her mouth, then paused, squinting at the woman. "Is that true?"

Rosa shrugged. "I was bored one afternoon."

"…I am sure your reason for this was entirely due to pure admiration, and not some debased predilection for causing me discomfort, yes?"

The woman nodded. "Surely."

Scarlett brought a hand to her forehead as she closed her eyes. "Were it not so late, I would have had half a mind to command you to fetch it only so that I could ensure its incineration right here and now."

Rosa's eyes widened. "You would burn the work I poured so much passion and effort into?"

"Without hesitation."

The woman grinned once again. "As cold as ever."

Scarlett didn't bother replying to that, and the conversation entered into a brief lull as silence fell over the three of them. Feeling no inclination to speak up herself, Scarlett simply leaned back in her seat, letting her thoughts drift off to where they would go tomorrow. Adalicia and Rosa similarly seemed to occupy themselves with thoughts of their own. This time, it wasn't an awkward silence, and they sat like that for a while.

Eventually, Adalicia turned to look at Rosa. "Miss Hale. There was something that caught my interest earlier today, and I had been intending to ask you about it. Feel free to not answer if it isn't something you wish to share."

Rosa looked back at the woman with a laid-back smile. "Shoot."

"It was related to the style of magic that you practice. It is a variety of bardic charms, isn't it? I have read of them before, but this is the first time I have ever encountered someone making use of them. I've heard it is a very difficult magic to grasp."

Scarlett's ears perked up. The matter of Rosa's magic was something she was curious about as well. She hadn't even heard the term bardic charms before, so this was news to her.

Rosa touched a hand to her chin. "I don't know about it being difficult, but it can certainly be a bit tricky to get a hang of at first. If I'd brought my klert with me, I could have showed you right now, but it's back in my room."

"That is quite alright." Adalicia held up a hand. "I know myself well enough to know it would be a poor idea to delve into another fascinating subject matter when I'm already in the middle of this one. Perhaps if we are given another chance in the future, I would appreciate it."

"I've never said no to someone wanting to hear my music," Rosa said. "Whenever you have the time, just say the word. Unless we're in the middle of being eaten by a giant gator or something like that. There aren't many music-aficionados among that kind of monster, I've learned. She can attest to that much." The bard gestured to Scarlett, who let out a scoff.

"Do not remind me."

That had been a relatively low-level dungeon near the Freybrook area, so things had turned out alright, but it had definitely been a lot messier than it had to. Scarlett was still half-convinced Rosa had done that for a laugh, but the woman rarely messed around too much during their excursions, so it could have been a genuine mistake. Whatever it was, it hadn't stopped her from giving the bard a verbal thrashing at the time.

"No, I can imagine." Adalicia let out a small laugh. "If I may ask, how did you first learn your magic?"

"Well, I'd like to say I just had the gift for it," Rosa said. "Picked up an instrument one day and — wham!" She clapped her hands. "Suddenly you've got flowers flying around your head and people regrowing teeth to your right and left as they dance the Changle, with Ittar and his buds looking on from above."

"But I suppose that wasn't how it went?" Adalicia asked.

"No, unfortunately the gods must have been out the day I picked up my first instrument. Instead, I had to make do with an unimpressed raggle of cats and a tone-deaf old josser who thought I was his grandniece for the day. I think he might have actually been deaf as well."

"Then did someone teach you?"

"Not all of it, no." Rosa shook her head. "I met an old lady who taught me a trick or two at first, but that's about it. The rest I had to figure out by myself."

The wizard grew a thoughtful expression. "Do you know if this lady was a mage of some kind? Or from the Luicean Isles?"

"I know about as much about her as about that old josser I mentioned, and that was the last day I saw him."

"So you weren't her disciple, then?"

Rosa snorted. "I'm sure she was hoping that, at first. Changed her mind real quick, though."

"Why is that?"

The bard went silent, as if she just realized she'd shared more than she had intended. Her eyes went to Scarlett for a moment before returning to Adalicia. "Can't really say. People have the tendency to not stay in my life for long. She was just another example of that."

Scarlett studied the woman as she spoke, and Adalicia knitted her brows.

"That sounds like a difficult way to live," the wizard said.

Rosa simply shrugged her shoulders. "Like you said earlier, it is what it is. When you make your coin minstrelling away like me, it's only natural that you travel around a lot, so it doesn't matter much."

"And that is the sole reason behind your travels?" Scarlett found herself asking.

Rosa paused, turning to her. Their eyes met. After a couple of seconds, she smiled. "What other reason would there be?"

"…Indeed. What reason would there be?"

They looked at each other for a while longer, and eventually Scarlett was the one to look away. There were a lot of things she wanted to ask Rosa, but she wasn't sure when she could. Or should.

Soon enough, Rosa steered the discussion onto another subject, and the night continued as the three of them conversed in the inn's lounge.

Chapter 129 - Sisterhood

Back in the Freybrook mansion, Scarlett stood in her room as she finished dressing herself. She then walked over to the nightstand next to her bed and picked up her [Pouch of Holding].

She and the others had returned from Faybarrow about an hour earlier, having spent a few days in the city. Things had been rather uneventful after clearing the Zuverian ruins, with them only finding two smaller dungeons in the nearby area. Neither had particularly good loot either, but it was better than nothing. The mansion staff were currently cataloging and storing what they did find, in addition to all the stuff recovered from the ruins. For the time being, it would be stored in the cellar.

Others might have had a worry that things might go missing over time, but she didn't. From her time grilling all the servants with Fynn after the Cabal's assault, she knew they were relatively trustworthy people. With her new connection to the Loci that now made this place its domain, she would know if there were any intruders around as well.

For now, matters related to the Zuverian ruins would be left on the back burner. They'd said their goodbyes to Adalicia just after they returned to the mansion earlier, and they wouldn't announce anything publicly until the wizard had finished going over her notes. Evelyne would probably start getting into contact with Elystead Tower and the other mage factions before that, though, but that wasn't an issue. As for when they would be visiting another Zuverian ruin…

Well, that would probably also have to wait for a while. Adalicia was a busy woman, after all, and Scarlett would have her hands full with other affairs soon. She was expecting Gaven to return to Freybrook tomorrow from the job she gave him. With him, he would hopefully bring the [Memory of the Covenant]. That item would finally let her make use of the [Gem of Athanasia] she had picked up in Abelard's Doll Mansion, which, in turn, meant she would soon have everything she needed to execute part of her plan for completing the main quest and reaching Beld Thylelion before any other faction.

She reached a hand down to her pouch and pulled out the [Cube of Instant Katabasis] she had found in the Zuverian ruins. The small grey cube felt cold to the touch in her palm. Before doing anything else, she first had to have a talk with the Countess. Placing the cube back into the pouch, she left her room and began climbing the stairs to the highest floor in the east wing. There, she stopped for a moment before the door to the Countess' room.

She had already thought over how this conversation would go several times in her head, but she still reviewed it one last time, just to be safe. This was an important talk, on several levels.

Then she opened the door.

It was dark inside, with the curtains pulled over the windows and the candles unlit. Floating near the ceiling was an ocean of stars, each embroidered onto a napkin, with a full moon at the center. The light emanating from the fake moon and the stellar facsimiles wrapped the room in a calm glow. The Countess was sitting at the table in the room's corner, working on even more of her embroidery pieces.

For a few seconds, Scarlett simply took in the sight of the room and the woman engrossed in her work. She had given the Countess the okay to do things like this, since it seemed to calm the woman. The only thing they had to be careful about was to ensure it didn't happen when there were any guests present that could detect it, but those weren't too common.

Shifting her gaze from the fake night sky that was the room's ceiling, she glanced at the new bed that had replaced the old canopy-one that the Countess had accidentally broken. This new one was far simpler, made of rough-hewn wood and half the original's size, so it wouldn't matter as much if it broke. She'd sent an invoice for the cost to Leon's abode in the capital, and being the upright knight that he was, she had little doubt whether he would pay. Though she was curious about the reaction his staff might have if they were to see the letter.

She started walking across the room.

"Countess." She tried to speak quietly, just enough to catch the woman's attention.

The Countess' head rose instantly from where it was leaned over the table, turning to look at Scarlett. She pulled her robes closer to hide as much of her appearance as she could. "Ah-ah, the Baroness is here… H-Hello… I'm sorry, welcome…"

"There is nothing to apologize for." Scarlett waved away the woman's concerns, stopping next to her to look over her shoulder at the new star that was being embroidered on another napkin. Then she gestured towards an empty chair on the opposite side of the table. "Would it be okay for me to take a seat?"

The Countess' eyes widened under her hood, and she nodded her head several times. "O-Of course, yes, yes."

Scarlett moved over and pulled out the chair and sat down. She then rested her hands on the table, looking at the Countess.

The woman started fidgeting with the fabric of her robes, turning her gaze downwards.

"…Most of the necessary preparations are now complete," Scarlett began. "Ridley will be returning tomorrow evening, and we will then be able to proceed with our plans."

The Countess simply nodded along even more. "Plans…yes."

Scarlett observed her for a few seconds. This coming topic hadn't turned out well the last time she'd brought it up, but now they had reached a point where she couldn't avoid it any longer.

"…You still wish to meet your sister, do you not?" she asked.

The Countess' head jerked up, and she stared at her. "M-My…sister…?"

Their eyes met, and a moment of silence passed between them as the woman seemed to process her words. Finally, she started nodding her head again, more and more fervently.

"Y-Yes…! My sister, she is…she is…"

"Do you want to meet her?"

"Yes…yes…. I want to see her… I-I want to meet with sister…save her…"

She trailed off, her words turning into quiet mumblings that then turned into whispers. Scarlett waited for her to regain her focus before speaking again. "Are you aware of where your sister currently is?"

The Countess pulled at her sleeves. "T-They took her…those evil people…"

Scarlett studied her. "…You are referring to the Followers of Ittar."

A flash of anger crossed the woman's face at the name, and Scarlett froze as thin tendrils of silvery light exploded out from beneath the Countess, covering almost half the room in the blink of an eye. A dangerous air hung between them.

She eyed the tendrils warily. She had [Sidhe's Flowing Garbs] activated and wore the [Prayer of Salvation] on her wrist, just in case. [Charm of Expeditious Change] would also allow her to equip other items if something happened. Thankfully, though, the tendrils soon started trailing back towards the Countess.

Still, Scarlett waited a while before continuing. "Do you know who your sister is to them?"

"My sister…my sister…my sister…" The woman's words once again threatened to devolve into unintelligible mumbling.

"Countess." Scarlett spoke in a serious tone, bringing the woman's attention back to her. "…Have you heard of the Augur?"

The Countess blinked, a brief look of recognition entering her eyes. "Ah, ah, ah. M-My sister… That is what… What they called her… Augur…Augur…"

"You are correct. She is considered one of the most sacrosanct personages in the entire empire, and getting close to her would prove impossible for most any person but the Emperor. However—" Scarlett looked her deeper into the eyes. "As was my promise, I will help you meet your sister. I will help you meet with the Augur."

"Ah, yes, you will… You promised, yes…" An unsettling smile formed on the woman's face. "Yes, the Baroness is kind, after all… Yes, surely…I will meet her… T-Thank you…thank you…"

"It will not be easy," Scarlett said. "Your sister is one of the Followers' most important assets, and the protections around her are impenetrable to most mundane advances. There are, however, flaws within them which we can make use of, and this is why we have spent so much time on making preparations. Beyond seeing your sister, however, there is something that the Followers of Ittar have that I need. I will require your aid in procuring this."

"Yes, yes, I will help." The Countess leaned over the table and closer to her. "Yes…anything… I will help…with anything…"

Scarlett pushed down the instinct to move away from her, as well as the feelings of distaste that roiled up. "Are you certain?"

"Yes, yes." The woman eagerly moved her head up and down.

Scarlett watched her for a moment.

She knew the woman wasn't considering the implication behind her words right now. The Countess wasn't considering what the consequences of meeting with her sister were, or even that the meeting itself might not go well. What she saw was something she thought she wanted, and she would agree to anything to get it.

And Scarlett was making use of that fact.

She didn't want to think too much about what that said about her.

"As I mentioned, Ridley will soon be returning with the Memory of the Covenant in hand. It is an artifact with which you will be able to meet your sister." She brought down a hand to her waist and pulled out the [Cube of Instant Katabasis], placing it on the table between them. "The two of you will be carrying out this task together, like previous times. Your sister is currently in the Sanctuary of Ittar, and Ridley will aid you in locating and reaching her there, where you will then be afforded the chance to speak with her. The Followers of Ittar will most likely not be aware of your presence at first, but we cannot be certain that will persist. Making your escape will prove difficult if something happens, and Ridley cannot help you with this, so I have expended the effort of procuring this item for you."

She pushed the cube towards the Countess. "It is an ancient Zuverian artifact. Once activated, it will teleport you to a random location in the nearby region. I wish for you to use this device in order to escape safely, and then seek me out."

Gaven's specialty was evasion, so he would be able to escape by himself as long as he didn't have to take the Countess along. This teleportation cube was the best option Scarlett could come up with that solved that problem. She had tested it the day before to ensure it worked as she thought.

It had taken her a while to trek back to the others after that.

Unfortunately, it only teleported one person. This meant that the Countess couldn't bring her sister along to 'save' her.

But that had never been the intention to begin with. Nor had it ever been a possibility. There were a plethora of reasons why they couldn't just kidnap the Augur, one of the most important persons from one of the most powerful factions in the empire. But the Countess probably wouldn't accept that even if she told her as much.

The robed woman reached out a half-bandaged hand towards the cube, tentatively picking it up and examining it.

"Ensure that you do not lose it," Scarlett said. "Understood?"

"Y-Yes… T-Thank you… Thank you… I will…treasure it."

Well, treasuring it wasn't exactly necessary. But as long as she didn't lose it, it was fine.

"Good." Scarlett gave a brief nod. "I have placed my trust in you regarding this matter, so I am certain that things will go well."

She was hoping things would turn out well, at least. But it was difficult not to have apprehensions.

The Countess looked to her, staring at her with a strange expression before turning back to the cube and hurriedly stowing it away inside her clothes. "I-I will not…disappoint…the Baroness," she mumbled.

"…There is no need to worry about disappointing me," Scarlett said. "Simply act as you normally would, and endeavor to cooperate with Ridley when required during this coming task. If you do so, I will be more than satisfied."

"Yes…yes…" The words left the woman quietly as her attention seemed to turn down to her lap.

Scarlett observed her for a while longer, then eventually rose from her seat. "I will come and visit you again later. Until then, feel free to continue as you were." She scanned the room, eyes stopping at the stars and moon that were still floating in the air. "It is quite impressive. What you have fashioned here."

The Countess looked up again, a smile forming on her face. It was perhaps the most normal smile yet that Scarlett had seen from her. "Thank you…"

"…Then I will take my leave." Scarlett said her goodbyes and crossed the room, exiting into the hallway outside. After the door closed behind her, she stopped and looked back at it.

Things were starting to fall into place. It was only a matter of time now before the initial reason she contacted the Countess was gone. After that… She would have to figure out what to do from there then.

For now, all she had to do was wait. Wait for the meeting of two sisters. One — the representative of Ittar, the sun god. The other — the unknowing avatar of Adtia, the forgotten goddess of the night and lady of the moon.

It probably wouldn't be the happiest of reunions.

Chapter 130 - Preparations

Sitting in her office, Scarlett looked over an assortment of maps spread out across her desk. Roughly half of them were recent purchases, most of which were completely irrelevant to her current aim, but she'd had them all procured just in case, so it wasn't clear which area in particular she was interested in. The extra caution probably wasn't even necessary, but it didn't hurt to err on the side of caution.

Gaven was slated to return with the [Memory of the Covenant] this evening, and that meant she had to go over a lot of details related to her plans for the item. It all connected directly to what they would be doing regarding the Countess and her sister.

A knock sounded out from the door, and soon, Garside entered the room. The man was dressed in his usual black suit, neat and well-cared for, with his dark grey hair combed back. His left arm rested next to his side. If Scarlett hadn't already been aware of his condition, she might have thought him to be perfectly recovered. There was perhaps a slight paleness to his skin that hadn't been there before, but it wasn't overly noticeable.

The butler's injuries had healed well these past weeks. Even though he still couldn't use his arm, he had already returned to most of his duties. She would prefer not to have him take part in fights or any of her other ventures for the time being, though. Despite that, she might need his help relatively soon.

"My lady." The man spoke in a firm voice as he bowed. "You expressed a desire to see me after I had finished my dealings in the city for the day?"

Scarlett nodded her head. "That is correct. It heartens me to see that you are well enough to move around in this fashion again."

"This old man is thankful for your concern, my Lady, and for allowing my presumptuous request of re-donning my responsibilities." He glanced down at the desk filled with maps before her. "If I might ask, what is it you wished to see me regarding?"

She gathered the maps up and placed them to the side. "As I am sure you must have noticed, there has been something different about the mansion lately, yes?"

"That has indeed come to my attention. Members of the staff have quietly been discussing it these past few days, but I do not believe anyone is yet certain of the details. I have instructed them not to pay it too much mind for the time being, and to refrain from venturing out into the garden at the back until further directions are given from you, my Lady."

Scarlett eyed him for a moment. She had stayed silent about it for now while she was getting used to the Loci's new presence, but as usual, Garside was pretty sharp. She didn't actually mind if people went out and saw the Loci—they wouldn't be able to steal it, anyway—but it was nice to know that he was cautious.

"It appears you have already surmised much of what I wanted to tell you. The origin behind this unfamiliar phenomenon is indeed located in the garden behind the mansion." She tapped her finger on her desk. "I have already informed Evelyne of this, and have promised to provide her a more detailed report in the future, but suffice it to say that I have adopted the use of a certain artifact on the grounds. Its purpose is to ensure the safety and management of this estate from now on. You can simply refer to it as the 'Loci'."

Garside stayed silent for a couple of seconds, a neutral expression on his face as he seemed to consider her words. "If I may be so bold, my Lady," he said, "are you certain this artifact will not pose a threat to the mansion or the people in it?"

She arched a brow at the man. "I am, yes. Is there a reason you are asking me that?"

"It is not within my right to decide; however, this mansion and its land have been passed down among the heads of the barony for generations. The late Lord spent much of his time ensuring the same would stay true for when young Lady Evelyne and you took the helms of the family, my Lady. It would be a true tragedy if this artifact were to cause irreparable damage to the property due to a lack of discretion. If there is anything you wish for me to do in order to help prevent this, then you only have to give the command."

Leaning back in her seat, Scarlett thought over what he said.

To be honest, she couldn't be one hundred percent sure that the Loci was harmless to its surroundings. She felt like it was, and it seemed like it had been in the game, so she was sort of just going from that. Even if it did somehow damage the land, she was willing to accept it. The mansion didn't hold as much meaning to her as it might to Garside and Evelyne.

That said, it would be best if she could avoid unneccessary damage.

"Your concern is always appreciated, Garside," she eventually said. "The Loci is an old artifact that holds ties to the Wandering Realm. As such, I have formed a connection of sorts with it that will apprise me of the situation, if anything were to happen. I will heed your words and take caution where needed, but rest assured that I currently see no reason for concern."

The man inclined his head. "If that is how it is, my Lady, then I trust in your judgement. If there is anything I can do related to my duties as a butler in this household that might aid you in how you wish to incorporate this 'Loci' to the estate, then simply say so. I will adjust my behavior and work accordingly, as well as assure the remainder of the staff are apprised of the necessary details."

"For the time being there is no need for change. I would, however, appreciate if you could assuage any worries the staff might have. You may also wish to speak with the gardener regarding the alterations to the hedge garden that I asked of him and see if there is anything he requires beyond what he has access to."

"I will do so, my Lady," he said, before going quiet in waiting for her to continue.

She studied the man for a few seconds. "Garside?"

"Yes, my Lady?" The butler's mustache trembled slightly as he looked at her.

"…Are you perhaps not interested in exactly what it is that the Loci might do?"

"To say I hold no interest would be a lie. But it is not my place to decide what you choose to share with me, and the days of my youth where I could not control my own childish curiosity have long since passed."

"Is that so? If you had asked, I do not believe I would have minded offering you an answer."

The elderly man held a completely serious expression as he bowed. "That is much appreciated, my Lady."

Scarlett let out a small, barely noticeable chuckle. "Your humility continues to amaze, Garside. I would ask that you never change, but I imagine that I would come to regret that eventually." She shook her head. "For the time being, the Loci does not do much. It simply acts as a means for me to watch over the grounds and be informed if any intruders were to appear. I do not have an inclination to spy on those under my employ, but I imagine some concerns related to privacy could arise if this were to be known. That is why I would prefer if you kept this information to yourself."

The butler simply gave a nod. "As you wish, my lady." His answer, of course, was about as austere as always. He took his job seriously, this one. But that was exactly what she needed.

She let her attention wander to the connection she had with the Loci, which always felt ready to be called upon at a moment's notice. What she'd told Garside about it was the truth for now, at least. Even though the Loci had expanded to incorporate itself into the estate's land and create its domain pretty quickly, the actual process of familiarising itself with the surroundings was still far from complete from what she could tell. Not only was the Loci's ego still incredibly simple and primal in how it interacted with her—all of their communication happened through intent, and to even call it intent was a very large stretch—but it was still very limited in how much it could interact with things. It had grown to expand a bit beyond the estate's stone walls, but it couldn't do anything more than watch at the moment, and Scarlett knew it had the capacity for more than that. In the game it had afforded some slight buffs, for example, and she'd seen at least some of its other effects back in Abelard's Doll Mansion.

But being able to watch out for intruders was good enough for now. Her instincts told her that even powerful rogues and other sneaky types would have a hard time entering the Loci's range unnoticed. Just to be safe, she was planning on testing it later with Gaven.

In front of her, Garside lightly cleared his throat. "Was that all you wished to speak with me about, my Lady?"

She pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind as she turned her attention back to him, putting on a more serious expression. "No, there is another matter."

Garside seemed to notice the weight behind her words, and the room's atmosphere turned heavier.

"What is that, my Lady?"

"I need you to both arrange passage and a temporary carriage for me and some associates to clandestinely travel to Silverborough."

"Silverborough?" the man asked.

"Yes, Silverborough."

Their destination was the Sanctuary of Ittar. While the Followers of Ittar had their main temple in Elystead, the Sanctuary of Ittar was located on the eastern bank of Rellaria Lake, west of Silverborough. It was a sort of holy place for the Followers, although not the type that was a destination for pilgrims. It was where certain orders of the church were based, and it was also where the Augur stayed most of the time.

"There are some matters that I must attend to in the city's vicinity," she explained. "I will apprise you more of the specifics in the future, but for now, simply know that my visit to Silverborough is not to be made known to anyone. To the outside world, it must appear as if I am somewhere else."

Considering where they were going, and what she was planning, doing this covertly was crucial. She trusted Garside enough to help with some of the preparations that remained, but she couldn't bring any of the other members of her party. For several reasons. That included Fynn.

It would be a problem if the Hallowed Cabal tried anything when she was alone, but that was unlikely. Not only would the Countess be with her—in case of an emergency—but the Cabal knew the risks involved in going after her. There was also the fact that they wouldn't even know she'd left for Silverborough, if everything went according to plan.

Garside had stayed silent for a while, one hand touching the end of his mustache as he seemed to ponder her order. "These matters you must attend to, my Lady. Are they dangerous?"

"In a way. However, they do not pose a threat to me directly," she said.

At least not if things went well.

"Is it truly necessary that you expose yourself in this manner?"

"It is, yes. This is a necessary action that I must take if I want to ensure my own safety, and the safety of those I know. It would be irresponsible for me not to be involved personally."

She would have loved if she could just have sent Gaven and the Countess on this job by themselves, but that was far too risky this time. And if they failed, it didn't really matter much whether she was there or back in Freybrook. The consequences would reach her anyway. If anything, coming with would let her react quicker.

And in the end, this was all connected to how she was planning on completing the main quest that had been forced on her. She still wasn't sure if failing it would affect other people or not, but it certainly would affect her. She couldn't afford not completing it.

"…Then I will look into the matter," Garside eventually said.

Scarlett gave him a nod in appreciation. "Good."

She'd had her suspicions that—considering how long Garside had worked for the original Scarlett—he would have at least some experience with things like this. One could call it a hunch.

"But, my Lady?"

She looked at him. "Yes?"

"Do be careful," the elderly butler said. "I beg of you."

"…I will."

"That is all that I ask." He inclined his head. "Then, was there something else you wished to bring to my attention?"

"No, that was all."

"If so, I will take my leave. When I have made progress in the task you have assigned me, I will inform you of such."

"I place my trust in you, Garside."

"As always, you humble this old man." The butler performed an elegant bow and then left the room.

Scarlett's eyes stayed on the door for a while after he had exited.

It would probably take a while for him to finish those preparations. If she'd wanted to go as soon as possible, she could have asked him to do this earlier. But she'd both wanted for him to recover a bit longer and to get confirmation from Gaven first.

Since Garside had to make these arrangements quietly, she was expecting things to take longer than they normally did when they had to visit other cities in the empire. The actual execution of her plans would probably have to wait two weeks or so if she were to guess, but that much was acceptable. The opening of Beld Thylelion was still a few months away, so she still had some time before any other faction could get there.

Between now and when they actually left for Silverborough, she would have to spend a bit more time going over any details she might have missed. There should also be a couple of opportunities to visit Freymeadow for some extra training. And since she wasn't planning on leaving for other parts of the empire to find dungeons for the time being, she would be spending a lot of time here in Freybrook doing things she hadn't had too much time for.

Funnily enough, this would probably be the closest thing to a vacation she'd had in a couple of years. One just had to ignore the fact that, at the end of this period, she would perform a heist against one of the most powerful factions in the entire empire.

She let out a sigh.

To think she had once considered herself an upstanding citizen.

Chapter 131 - Identity theft is not a joke

Scarlett sat on a couch in the east wing's parlor with the Countess sitting opposite her. The robed woman was nervously fidgeting with the fabric of her clothes, head turned downwards as they waited in silence. Scarlett didn't particularly mind the quiet. There weren't too many conversations to be had with the woman, anyway, and she doubted the Countess cared much about things like feeling awkward.

When the Loci told her of the presence outside, Scarlett turned her attention to the door right before a knock sounded out. A moment later, a disguised Gaven entered the room. He smiled as he removed his cap, revealing his thick hair. "Evening, ladies. Been a while."

"Ridley." Scarlett gave a curt greeting, gesturing to the couch in front of her. "Take a seat."

The man moved over to sit beside the Countess. The woman flinched as he did, slowly looking up at him. "…Greetings…" she almost whispered.

Scarlett blinked, and Gaven gave the woman an amused look.

"Finally feel like saying hello to me, eh? Suppose I must be growing on ya? Well, can't say I blame you."

The Countess didn't quite seem to follow his words, staring at him for a few seconds before eventually returning her gaze to her own hands on her lap.

"Ouch. You sure know how to wound a man."

"Ridley." Scarlett gave him a sharp look, and the man raised his arms in the air.

"Right, right, forgot. Supposed to play nice, aren't I? I'll be on my best behaviour, don't you worry."

She eyed him for a moment, trying to discern how much honesty there was in his words.

As always, dealing with Gaven's personality was irksome to her. But there wasn't much to do about it since she had decided to work with him. Considering he was one of the companions you could have on the evil route in the game, he was still relatively congenial. There was one that tried to kill every noble they saw.

"Were you successful in carrying out the task assigned to you?" she asked him.

He smiled at her. "I'm here, aren't I?"

"I will interpret that as a yes."

"Good on ya." The man raked a hand through his hair as he leaned back on the couch. "The job this time was a pain, though. I'll tell you that much. Had to spend four nights in a row in the cold just staking the place out. 'Course, things still went off without a hitch. That old noble couple is probably still sitting in their little mansion thinking the artifact's in its case."

Hearing that, Scarlett nodded. She was relieved he hadn't gotten caught and that no one had to get injured. She doubted she would have felt much if someone had, but that didn't mean she actually wanted it to happen.

"Show it to me." She signaled for him to put the item on the stone countertop between them.

Gaven placed a hand inside his clothes and brought out a dagger that was as long as Scarlett's forearm. It had a red, leather-bound hilt with two silver protrusions at the bottom, and its blade had several markings and symbols etched onto it. At the top of the hilt, centered on the cross-guard, was an empty slot where it looked like something might have once been affixed.

[Blade of the Covenant (Unique)]

{A blade once forged as a conduit for a nameless power. It currently has no use}

"So, is this what you were looking for?" the man asked as he placed it on the table.

Scarlett inspected the dagger closely. "Indeed, it is. This is the Memory of the Covenant."

"You sure?" Gaven touched the hilt with his finger. "Because to me, it just looks like any other fancy exhibit knife. Unwieldy and unbalanced, if you ask me. From the tales I've heard of the 'Memory', I'd expected a lot more. Even tried this thing out a couple times, and it didn't do much of anything."

Scarlett frowned at his mention of 'trying it out'. She wasn't sure exactly what he'd tried, and she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"I will remind you of what I told you last time," she said, leaning forward to pick the item up. "On its own, this dagger does not hold much value. It is not complete. But I know how to bring out its potential."

She reached into the [Pouch of Holding] that was lying next to her on the couch, bringing out a violet gem from it.

[Gem of Athanasia (Unique)]

{The impermanence of death lies in the connections that bind us, embodied in this gem}

The artifact glittered as it reflected the room's light, and she paused to turn it around in her hand.

A whistle left Gaven. "I bet that's something that would catch people's eyes."

Ignoring him, she reached into the pouch once more and brought out yet another item, placing it on the countertop before her. A silver scale.

[Scale of Reconciliation (Epic)]

{That which was once one may now be two, but there is always place for reunification}

She placed the gem on one of the scales and the dagger on the other. For just a brief moment, a dark color washed over the gem's surface, and then a flash of light enveloped the scale. When it faded, only the dagger and scale remained, with the [Gem of Athanasia] now slotted into the dagger's guard.

[Side-quest completed: Assembled the [Memory of the Covenant]]

{Skill points awarded: 7}

[Memory of the Covenant (Unique)]

{A remnant of a covenant once formed, remembering the connections that bind}

Scarlett examined the finished item. In the game, the [Scale of Reconciliation] was just a convenience item that you could use to repair equipment without having to go to blacksmiths and the like all the time, though it usually came at a slightly higher cost. But it could also be used on quest items like this, which saved her the trouble of having to find someone else to do it for her.

She turned her head up to see Gaven and the Countess eyeing her and the dagger. With their attention still on her, she held out her left hand above the table and brought the dagger's blade closer to it.

Gaven raised both eyebrows. "Not that I'm one to question your actions, mind, but what are you doing now?"

"Verifying the dagger's functionality." She cut a small nick on her palm. A thin trail of blood stuck to the dagger's blade, soon being absorbed by the metal. A strange chill wound from the hand she was holding the dagger into her wrist and throughout her body.

Closing her eyes, she focused on that sensation, trying to follow it towards its source. It seemed to lead her into the dagger, which opened up inside her mind and split into dozens of paths. Those paths then split even further, and soon there were hundreds—maybe thousands—of trails going in different directions. Keeping track of them all was almost impossible, and most felt so distant that she couldn't even try to follow them.

She focused on those closest to her. There was a familiarity to them that she couldn't quite place. She grabbed hold of the one that shone brighter than all the others.

A startled cry sprang out in front of her.

Scarlett opened her eyes to see that the Countess had crawled back on the couch, staring at her bewilderedly. Beside the woman, Gaven was giving her a curious look.

"That's a cute one. Who's that?" the man asked.

Scarlett creased her brows. Shifting the [Memory of the Covenant] to her left hand—holding it with her fingers as to avoid the wound on her palm—she reached up to feel at her hair with the other hand. It only barely reached the nape of her neck. Instead of the distinct, dark-red hair that she had grown used to, it was more akin to a light brown, with only a slight shade of red.

A wave of disgust and anger roiled up from inside, and she fought to maintain a calm expression as she tried pushing away the locks that covered her right eye with little success. She didn't need a mirror to know whose appearance she was currently wearing.

Giving up on getting control of the errant tufts of hair, she narrowed her eyes at Gaven. "I suggest you be more careful with your remarks, Ridley, and with who you call 'cute'." Her words came out in the usual steely tone that was normal for her, but her voice was a lot softer and smoother than before. The dagger didn't only mimic appearances. She turned to the Countess, who still looked as if someone had pulled down the sky in front of her. "I apologize for the surprise. As you can see, this is an artifact that allows one to borrow the appearance of others. Specifically, of those whom you share a blood tie with. This appearance that you see before you now is that of my sister."

"That's how it works?" Gaven knitted his forehead. "Not as useful as the stories I've heard, then."

"It does indeed limit its usefulness to a certain degree. However, it is still an incredibly valuable and versatile artifact. It is also exactly what we require for our upcoming task."

Scarlett focused on the dagger once more, and her appearance returned to her own.

In theory, this artifact should work even for taking on the appearance of people she'd never met herself. She could, for example, see what the original Scarlett's parents looked like, or her grandparents, or her grand-grandparents. She didn't know where the limit was, or how closely related you had to be, but that it even worked to begin with was insane in its own right.

In the game, you mainly used the [Memory of the Covenant] to sneak around more easily, changing your appearance randomly now and then whenever necessary. It had a cooldown, preventing you from abusing it too much, but it was still useful. The context in which you acquired the item was relating a certain quest-line when playing as a member of the Hallowed Cabal. At the end of that quest-line, you kidnapped a distant relative to the imperial family and used them in order to sneak into the capital and murder the emperor.

The fact that she now had this knife meant the Cabal's plan for assassinating him would have to change. She didn't doubt that they could still do it, but at least they wouldn't have as easy of a time now. Unfortunately, this also meant she couldn't quite as accurately predict how they would act in relation to all of that, but it was a necessary sacrifice.

"So, what's this upcoming job, then?" Gaven asked.

She turned her attention back to him. "We will be infiltrating the Sanctuary of Ittar."

The man's relaxed posture immediately vanished, and he gave her a long look. "Lady, are you crazy?"

She scowled at him. "I am quite sane."

He leaned forward on the couch, staying silent for several seconds. "…You're serious?"

"I do not jest when it comes to matters like these."

"Viles be damned," Gaven muttered under his breath. "Hey, I know you nobles like vying for more power and all that, but why in the six Blazes would you want to do something crazy like this? You've got the looks, the money, and a pretty decent roof over your head here, don't ya? I don't see no reason why you'd want to go and throw all that away."

Next to him, the Countess whispered something in response.

He turned to her. "What was that?"

The woman had once again locked her gaze on her own hands, not facing the man. "…My sister… The Baroness…is kind… She will help me…meet my sister…"

Gaven stared at her, then glanced at Scarlett. "That true? We meeting her sister?"

She met his eyes, then gave a slow nod. "In part, yes."

Judging by his expression at her response, he seemed to understand it wasn't the main reason, but he returned the nod. "Who's this sister, then? Someone the Followers got locked up down in a dungeon or something? If they're keeping her in the Sanctuary of Ittar, she's gotta be someone special."

"You may know her as the Augur."

The man froze. "…Okay, this time you've got to be pulling my leg, right?"

"I am not."

He turned back to the Countess, a dubious expression on his face as he observed the woman.

"…I'll be honest, you could have told me that this lady here was actually some duke's forgotten daughter or something and I might have thought 'yeah, sure, makes sense', but I was not expecting this."

"It is the truth," Scarlett said. "And that is all that matters. That, and that we will require your assistance in carrying out this task."

Gaven seemed to consider it for a couple of seconds. He reached up a hand and scratched his beard, before eventually letting out a sigh. "You know, it might sound like a fib, coming from me, but I really respect ya, you know? You know your stuff, you give good paydays, and your jobs are straightforward, which is why I haven't bothered complaining even when the work has been a pain. But this? This might be too much, even for me. I like a challenge, but no type of thrill is worth it if I ain't staying alive to enjoy it."

Scarlett tapped a finger against the leather armrest beside her. "You will be paid fifty thousand solars if you succeed."

The man's eyes widened. His mouth moved as if whispering the figure.

"The carrying out of this venture brings with it a significant risk to me as well," she continued. "I would not be assigning it to you were I not certain that it was possible."

Despite that, he didn't seem wholly convinced. "That's…tempting, for sure, but I think I'll still have to say no. Money's another thing I can't enjoy if I'm lying in a ditch somewhere."

She studied him for a moment.

She could offer him even more. She could afford it. But even if she offered him three times the amount, it still wouldn't even be near the value of some of the items that could be found in the Sanctuary of Ittar. If she wanted him to carry out this task and not just betray her in the process, she would have to offer something else. Thankfully, there was something she had saved up till now.

"If you accept my proposal, I can also give you information related to where you can find the missing pieces of that locket you carry in your pocket."

Shock passed over the man's face, then he narrowed his eyes at her. "…How do you know about that?"

"Does it matter? You have two pieces of four, yes? I know where the other two are, and I will share this information with you in exchange for aiding with this task, in addition to the aforementioned payment."

The man rubbed his chin, not saying anything for a while. "Suppose, hypothetically, that I agreed to this job," he said. "How would we go about doing this?"

"The general plan is simple." Scarlett held up the [Memory of the Covenant]. "This item is at the core. While the Sanctuary of Ittar might be considered impregnable by some, that is far from the truth. There are, in fact, several secret entrances that would allow you and the Countess to enter the grounds without being noticed. There are also sections of the Sanctuary where none but a few may enter, and as a consequence, where you will not run a high risk of encountering anyone that might question your presence. From there, the Countess will use the Memory of the Covenant's power to mimic the appearance of the Augur until you reach the woman's chambers. There, I expect you to procure some artifacts that I require."

Gaven frowned. "That's all?"

"Yes, it is. I do not believe it will be as easy in practice, and there is still the matter of leaving after having accomplished your goals, but I trust in your ability to deal with whatever other unexpected circumstances that might unfold."

The man showed a self-deprecating smile. "I appreciate the trust, but I'm not sure I share your confidence about this. The Sanctuary is supposed to be the heart of the Followers organization, yeah? I don't mean to be crass, but even if we sneak in and copy the looks of her sister, the moment we run into some guard or other and have to start talking, we're screwed."

"The entrance you will be entering through will deposit you in an area that connects to the tower where the Augur's chamber is. As I said, it is unlikely you will encounter anyone that will question your presence."

"Isn't the Augur supposed to be protected by the Knights of the Eternal Oath?" Gaven asked. "I've heard they might even beat out the Solar Knights. Even with the Countess here joining, we won't be able to fight our way through that whole place."

"Any Knights of the Eternal Oath that you might run into will not act against you as long as the Countess holds the appearance of the Augur," Scarlett said.

"You sound awfully confident of that."

"Because I am."

She had already done this in the game, so she knew roughly how it worked.

Gaven appeared to think over her words for a while. "You know… Being known as the guy who infiltrated the Followers base doesn't sound too bad."

"I am sure you understand that information of our involvement in this must never spread."

He shrugged. "'Course. Still, people in my trade have our ways of doing these things."

She eyed him. "Then does this mean you are willing to accept the job?"

The man smirked. "Let's go over the details."

"I knew you were a scary woman, but I think I underestimated you." Gaven spoke with what might have been genuine wonder in his voice, or just him being his usual flippant self.

They were still in the parlor, having spent the last hour or so going over the specifics of Scarlett's plans. The Countess had started looking uncomfortable after a while, so Scarlett had Molly bring the woman up to her room earlier.

The man gave her a curious look. "You really had all of this schemed out from the start, didn't ya? Ever since before that first meeting of ours."

"That much is only natural when dealing with a matter of this level."

It wasn't entirely true that she had it planned out since the start. When she originally asked Beldon Tyndall to contact Gaven, this particular heist wasn't part of her intentions. She had considered it, but it wasn't until the main quest popped up and ordered her to reach Beld Thylelion that she made the decision.

"I'll admit, if things go as you say, then this might actually work," Gaven said. "But we still haven't talked about the most important part, you know? After me and the Countess have done what we're supposed to, what then? How are you expecting us to get out?"

Scarlett pulled out a map of the central parts of the empire and placed it between them. She pointed to where the Sanctuary was on the map. "I will be waiting at a predetermined meeting location with a carriage that will take us to a safe location where the Followers cannot find us. It is only a matter of you making your way there. There is a balcony in the Augur's chamber. While it is high up, knowing your capabilities, I do not believe you will have any difficulty in making your escape through there. This is your area of expertise, no?"

The man eyed her for a moment. "Yeah, like I said. Scary… I bet even if I asked, you wouldn't tell me how you knew about the locket, yeah?"

"I would not, no."

He shrugged his shoulders as he leaned back on the couch. "Next thing I know, you're telling me the color of my underwear as well."

Scarlett scrunched her nose at that. Did the man have no sense of propriety? "Keep such thoughts to yourself from now on. I have no wish to hear it. And I believe we have already established that I am well aware of your abilities, else I would not have sought you out."

"Yeah, yeah, if you say so." He crossed his arms. "But then we've got a way out for me, at least. What about that helper of mine? You planning on leaving the crazy one there?"

"I have warned you to behave around her, Ridley."

"She's not here now, is she? And I'll bet I'll have to be the one to get her out of there, so it's a valid question."

"…You will not have to concern yourself with her escape this time."

The man paused, an interested glint appearing in his eyes. "Really?"

Scarlett nodded. "I have already made the necessary preparations. She is under the belief that your chief aim is to save her sister, so there might be some complications were she to realize the futility in those aspirations. She will pose a risk to the security of my operations, but I will deal with the ramifications after this is over. You will only have to focus on your own safety."

"You're saying you won't have any further need for her after we're done here?" he asked.

"…Essentially."

It sounded heartless, but it was the truth. She could try to have the Countess continue helping her in the future even after this, but it was doubtful whether that would work. When the Countess tried to use the [Cube of Instant Katabasis] to leave the Sanctuary, she would be brought to a random location without bringing her sister along. Not only would finding the woman after that be difficult, but it was also completely uncertain what state of mind she would be in at that point.

Frankly, Scarlett wasn't even certain how that part would go. She was hoping the Countess would at least remember to follow some of the instructions she'd given her, which would make her easier to locate. From there, she could just pray that the Countess could be calmed down enough so that they could leave the area before anything happened. Everything else could be left for later, when they were in a safe place.

"You sure are a cold woman," Gaven said.

"Pardon?" She glared at him.

He grinned. "Hey, I'm not judging. You're the boss, and it's not like I don't agree. But, I can't avoid feeling just a tiny bit of pity for the lady, you know? She worships the ground you walk on, but you don't seem to care much in return." He shrugged. "Well, not that it matters much to me. I'll do the job I'm paid for, as long as you're also willing to part with what you know about the locket."

"You speak as if I am betraying her."

"If it makes you feel better, we can pretend you aren't."

Scarlett stared at him for several seconds. "…I am well aware of what I am doing. It is what must be done. Any errant thoughts of regret or guilt can be left for a more suitable occasion."

If she actually felt any.

"So, what do we do about the Augur?" Gaven asked. "If she's not coming with us, isn't it better if we take care of her before leaving? It might be a bit blasphemous, but it'd be problematic if she stays alive and knows who we are, right? She might use some of that god-given magic or whatever of hers and track us down."

"No matter what happens, you are not to harm the Augur in any way," Scarlett replied. The Augur had to be alive in the future. "Even if she were to see your face, which I expect that she will not, it is unlikely that she will discern our involvement in this. The limitations on what she can and cannot see are many."

The Augur figuring them out was a fear that Scarlett had, but it had never been a thing in the game, at least. She felt reasonably sure that would translate to this world. The woman wasn't omniscient. She had no choice in the knowledge that was given to her, nor was she always the best at interpreting it. There was a high likelihood that she wouldn't be able to figure out that Scarlett was the one behind this.

There was still the possibility of it happening, sure. In that sense, though, this entire plan was one large gamble. If the Followers did figure out Scarlett was involved, it would spell tons of trouble no matter the situation. But she still had to go through with this. In the worst-case scenario, she was prepared to go into hiding if needed.

She would just have to hope that it never came to that.

Chapter 132 - Just ruminations

As was becoming relatively common for Scarlett these days, she currently found herself sitting beside Arlene on the porch in Freymeadow, resting after another practice session with her magic.

She glanced over at the raven-haired woman who, as usual, had her attention focused on the book in her lap.

Over a week had passed in the outside world since Gaven returned with the [Memory of the Covenant], and it had probably been the calmest week yet that Scarlett had experienced since ending up in this body. She'd used the time both to get some extra work and chores done as well as to finish whatever preparations were left for the heist. Any further dungeon excursions had been delayed for the time being, though, since she didn't want to leave the Freybrook area until all of this was over.

To Arlene, it would seem like Scarlett and Rosa had arrived here in Freymeadow the day before, but their current visit was actually the second iteration of the loop just this past week. The fact that the woman continued denying Scarlett's request to be taken in as a disciple still hadn't changed, even with her current progress. Despite that, Arlene helped in her own strange—and somewhat infuriating—ways, so it wasn't too bad.

It irked her slightly to think about how much faster things would have gone if the woman was actually trying to teach her for real, though.

Turning her head, Scarlett looked out over Freymeadow's village square. Rosa was sitting with most of the local kids on the wooden platform at the center of the square, playing away on her klert as a few of the children performed some odd dances that Scarlett could only assume the bard had taught them.

Allyssa, Shin, and Fynn had all appeared a little perplexed about the sudden lull in activities they'd had this last week, but as with most things, Rosa had taken it in stride and seemed to make the most of it. Both back in Freybrook and here in Freymeadow. Scarlett had heard the woman had taken to holding minor concerts for the mansion staff in the evenings, which were quite well received if what Garside told her was true.

Although, if what she'd heard about the content of some of those concerts was also true, then she might need to have a talk with Rosa about what were appropriate topics to cover…

She shook her head, letting her thoughts wander as she watched the children's excited faces.

In a way, Scarlett wished that the time they could spend here in Freymeadow wasn't limited. Not only because it would give her a lot more time to practice her magic, but because it would have been nice to just stay here for however long she wanted and not have to do anything whenever she felt like it. Pretending like the outside world didn't exist at times sounded nice.

She sat there in silence for a while.

This upcoming plan involving the Countess and Gaven was different from anything she had done before. Unlike when she had dealt with the Hallowed Cabal, there were a lot more unknown factors at play this time. Not only that, but most of the actual work had to be left to other players.

It wasn't as if she enjoyed doing everything herself. Having others do annoying work for her was at the top of the list of perks that came with being a baroness, in her opinion. Cleaning, cooking, and all the other household chores that needed doing were a pain that she had gotten more than enough of back when she lived alone and with her younger sister. Being able to send Gaven out to do jobs for her sometimes as well was nice.

Despite that, this time, it left a poor taste in her mouth. There was a part of her that screamed at leaving control of things in the hands of others.

It felt childish, letting things like that bother her when it was her plan to begin with. She would like to say that it was solely another trait left behind by the original Scarlett, because there definitely was some of that at play. But the truth was also that she had always been like that. She would never have described herself as one, but back when the relationship between her and her younger sister had been at its worst, 'control-freak' was a term that was regularly thrown in her direction. It had annoyed her to no end at the time, but she had never been able to completely deny it.

Considering everything she had to think about before the heist on the Sanctuary of Ittar, though, being concerned about this didn't really help. While she had felt the temptation to just delay or give up on the whole endeavour, she couldn't do that.

[Main questline has begun: Rising action]

{Conflicts are brewing as powerful factions have started moving on the continent of Tanrelia. The Tribute of Dominion stands as the focal point of these clashing designs, resting in the heart of the ruins of Beld Thylelion}

[Objective: Enter the ruins of Beld Thylelion before all others]

[Reward: Additional Skills Menu privileges]

[Failure: Demise]

The Sanctuary of Ittar held several items she could have use of, but there was one she needed above all else. It was part of a set that would let her get inside Beld Thylelion to complete the main quest's requirements. The very same item that she had gotten The Gentleman to make a deal with her about. She genuinely couldn't think of another way to complete the quest, so a lot was resting on her success in retrieving this item from the Followers.

To be honest, she felt pretty certain that it would work out somehow. Even if things defied her expectations, both Gaven and the Countess were powerful in their own ways, and her plan relied on knowledge she had from the game. Even taking all of the changes between it and this world that she knew about into account, this particular type of knowledge had stayed dependable throughout her time here.

Her main worry wasn't that Gaven and the Countess wouldn't be able to complete the mission. Rather, it was what would happen after that. How she would deal with the Countess.

While she had thought out the actual heist in exceeding detail, she was still left mostly at a blank as to how to handle the woman. The Countess' relation to the Augur was the entire reason Scarlett had made contact with her in the first place. While the woman was useful in other ways, this was what was most important. After this? Scarlett didn't have any specific plans for her. To make things worse, the Countess would be a liability. In more ways than one.

Unfortunately, simply letting the woman go wasn't an option for several reasons. Both because it would be needlessly cruel to force her to make do by herself again and because she would have information that couldn't be shared with others. The woman was strong, though, so keeping her in the mansion and having her help out at times might work, but that still left the biggest hurdle of all to deal with.

Scarlett had promised she would help the Countess meet her sister, and the woman took that to mean that they would 'save' the Augur from the Followers. So how would she react when that didn't happen? And how would Scarlett calm her down if she threw a fit right after they escaped the Sanctuary?

She didn't have a suitable answer. The Countess was unpredictable, and there was no telling whether she would listen after that. Scarlett was hoping that the goodwill she had built up with the woman would be enough to deal with the situation, but that was far from a guarantee.

She didn't even know if it was okay for her to manipulate the Countess like this. No matter how you looked at the situation, it was a pretty heartless thing to do. She was well aware of that.

That didn't mean she had any plans to stop.

"I won't ask what's on your mind, if that's what you're waiting for," a voice sounded out next to her.

Scarlett blinked, turning to her right where Arlene sat. The woman was still looking down at her book as if it wasn't her that had just spoken.

"I was not," Scarlett said after a moment.

It was uncommon for the wizard to initiate conversations like this.

Arlene nodded. "Good."

"…Was there a reason you believed that?"

The woman simply shrugged. "Who knows? I've only known you for a short time, but to me, it looked like you were trying to tear a hole through those kids with your gaze. Either you dislike children more than most others, or you have something that is bothering you."

Scarlett kept observing her for a bit before eventually turning back to the square. "Is that so…"

Perhaps she looked more contemplative than she thought. If it was to the level where Arlene could tell so easily—from the woman's perspective, they were effectively still strangers—then Rosa would almost definitely have noticed something was off as well. Despite that, the bard had said nothing. That was strange. Rosa was the type who wasn't afraid to pry and tease Scarlett even about the smallest things.

"So you're not going to share?" Arlene asked.

Scarlett looked back at her. "I was under the impression that you held no interest in it."

"I said I would not ask about it. I do have an interest, infinitesimal though it may be."

Scarlett eyed the woman for a few seconds. She hadn't been meaning to talk about it, but… "You appear the sort of person who has made many difficult decisions."

Arlene paused. Then she stayed quiet for a long while, as if considering what to say. Eventually, she looked up from her book and at Scarlett. "Yes. That's true."

"I imagine there are some of those which you regret."

A dangerous look entered the woman's eyes. "I regret all of them."

That…was not quite the reply Scarlett was expecting.

They watched each other for a moment longer before Arlene looked away.

"…When you made those decisions, were you aware that you might come to regret them?" Scarlett asked.

"Some, yes," the woman answered.

"But you made them, anyway?"

"Yes."

Scarlett continued examining the side of the woman's face. "Why?"

Arlene held an impassive expression. "Because I thought they were necessary."

"Were they ever?"

"…Sometimes." A wistful tone entered the woman's voice.

Scarlett turned her head, glancing at the children dancing around Rosa. She knew some of Arlene's history, but far from all of it. "Did knowing that at least lessen the regret you felt?"

"Not a bit."

The two of them watched as Rosa taught a young girl how to play her instrument, the bard wearing a smile on her face as the girl appeared overwhelmed by the klert. Rosa was patient, though, pointing to the different parts and guiding her hands. Not that the girl would remember any of that in a few days.

"Now that you have sated your curiosity, I suppose this is the point where I ask if you are worried about a decision you have to make," Arlene said.

Scarlett shook her head. "That was not the intent behind me bringing this up. I simply have something on my mind. However, I do not expect you to take an interest in my worries."

Arlene closed her book, letting out a small sigh. "My interest went about as far as that you were bothered and I could tell it was affecting your magic. It felt like a waste, but I don't particularly care about more details than that. Now it's too late, though. I guess this is my fault, in a way."

There was a moment of silence between them. The seconds passed as the faint sounds of Rosa's klert carried over the square.

"So, you've got a difficult choice in front of you that you have to make?" Arlene asked.

"I have already made it," Scarlett answered, continuing to observe Rosa and the young girl.

"Then you're afraid that you might come to regret it?"

"…I am not."

From the corner of her eye, she could see the woman studying her.

"Then why are you worried?"

Scarlett eyed the young girl next to Rosa for a breath longer, then turned back to Arlene. "There are many reasons, most of which I do not think I can share with you. But I suppose if I were to name one…. It is because I think I should be."

The woman arched an eyebrow. "And why is that?"

"Because that is what a normal person would be."

"And you're not normal?"

Scarlett's lips rose in a derisive smile. "I believe I am very far from 'normal'."

"And that's bad?"

She lightly shrugged her shoulders. "It is what it is."

She pointed towards Rosa and the children.

"I could never do what that woman does so effortlessly. I cannot immediately charm those around me or empathise with their plights, nor will I shed a tear when hearing about them. Yet it is something that seems to be part of her very nature. That said, I do not particularly lament this fact about myself. It is something I have long since accepted as a part of who I am now, and it is not within my current power to change. What I find myself wondering sometimes, however, is whether it would have been better if I could."

She didn't realize how callous and sombre that sounded until she said it, and the woman beside her didn't immediately respond.

Just as she was getting worried she might have offended Arlene in some way, the woman spoke.

"Have you ever taken a life before?"

Scarlett paused at the question, turning back to her. After a moment, she gave a slow nod. "I have, yes."

"More than once?"

"…Not by my own hands, no."

"I have," Arlene said. "Many times. It is not something easily forgotten."

Scarlett creased her brows. "Unfortunately, I am not certain I can say the same."

In fact, it was almost the complete opposite for her. She had done an exceedingly good job of not thinking about the deaths she had caused up till now in this world.

"I got that impression." Arlene simply nodded along. "Some people are like that. Does that disturb you?"

Scarlett placed her hands in her lap. "No, it does not."

The woman seemed to scrutinize her. "Are you sure?"

"I am, yes."

While it wasn't the most palatable of truths, if anything, she was thankful for the things she could witness in this world and barely feel anything. It had proven an advantage on more than one occasion.

"But you think it should?" Arlene asked her.

"I think it would only be natural, yes."

The woman eyed her for a moment longer. "I'm not sure I agree," she said eventually. "But let us say that I do. What does 'natural' mean to you? What makes it something you have to conform to?"

Scarlett considered the question. "I suppose its definition is somewhat arbitrary. What is natural will differ between people, and there might be cultures where empathy and compassion are considered less than desired." She looked back at Rosa. "I do not personally believe that there is a need for me to conform to all of society's values, nor that I cannot afford to ignore them. It is a perplexing notion to relate in words, but the best way I can explain it is that it is not an issue of what I feel. Rather, as you said, it is simply a matter of what I have chosen to think."

"Is it that you think you don't fit in as you are now?"

"Quite the opposite. I think I fit in too well." She lightly tapped the tip of her index finger against her leg. "What I believe, however, is that if this world was a perfect place, I would not. One would not be rewarded for callousness and ruthlessness. Certain things might have been easier if it were so."

Arlene studied her for a while longer before finally looking away. "Well, it's certainly a unique way of seeing things. I'll give you that. Or rather, a unique perspective from which to agree with what's already a common ideal. I'm not sure whether to say you're extraordinarily self-aware or alarmingly naive. Perhaps it's both."

Scarlett didn't say anything to that. She wasn't going to argue with those words. As a mix of herself and the original Scarlett's personality, she wasn't entirely sure of these things herself.

She returned to observing Rosa and the children's merrymaking.

Maybe it was pointless to even think about all of this. It wouldn't really change anything. Not how she felt or how she would act. If due to some unknown miracle it did, well…perhaps that would be a welcome surprise of its own.

Chapter 133 - Expectations

Scarlett listened to the sounds of the winds and rustling leaves outside as her carriage rocked along the narrow forest path. It was a long ride, and it was far from comfortable.

The carriage's seats were just solid wood, the air was stale, and the cabin was cramped. With no windows, the only light in here was from the glimmers of moonlight that sneaked through the cracks in the plank walls, so without her enchanted glasses she wouldn't even have been able to see her own hand.

This mode of transport was far removed from what she had gotten used to up till now in this world, but that's what you get when you're trying to travel inconspicuously. Spending money extravagantly on a carriage that stood out was the opposite of what you wanted.

They would get rid of the vehicle later anyway, so it didn't matter too much.

Even though her body might object to that fact. Having spent the last two days traveling around in this thing—as well as sleeping in cheap inns with beds that weren't much better than a board of wood—she was feeling a lot sorer than she thought she would. It was a minor annoyance in the grand scheme of things, but it didn't help to soothe her nerves much.

Today was the day.

This night was when they carried out the heist on the Sanctuary of Ittar.

The closer it got, the clearer the differences between this and her plan to deal with the Cabal became. Both were a necessity, from her perspective, and were a gamble in a way. But she didn't feel as self-assured about everything this time. Apprehensions about what tonight would bring had filled her mind the entire day. She had also been more in control of the situation back with the Cabal. This time, though, there were more unknowns, and most of the actual work was left up to others. She liked to think that was the primary reason she was more nervous now, but it probably wasn't the only one.

It wasn't something she liked to admit, but it was also a simple fact that she didn't have a grudge against the Followers as she did against the Cabal. Her anger at them attacking her home and injuring her people served to motivate her a lot more than she had originally thought. Without that, she found herself spending far too much time thinking about the things that could go wrong.

Which there were a lot of.

She'd made preparations, of course. She felt decently secure in that she could deal with the worst-case scenarios that might pop up. It would cost her, but it was manageable. If the Followers did find out about her involvement in this, for example, there were dozens of places across the empire where she could hide away and grow her power base in other ways to complete necessary quests. The Followers weren't evil, so it wasn't as if they would kill everyone connected to her. She had also left a few letters and papers behind that might even allow Evelyne and the Hartford barony to escape without too much harm if she were to be declared a criminal.

These last few weeks had given her plenty of time to read through legal documents and the like to ensure that was possible, too. There were precedents where other noble houses had members commit heinous crimes and the house itself still survived, after all. Abelard and the Withersworths were just one example.

All of that was far from preferable, though. She certainly didn't want to sacrifice herself. In any way, really. But it also wasn't right to drag those serving her down along with her. She suspected that perhaps Fynn would not give her much of a choice, but the rest would be fine if she had anything to say about it.

For now, however, such worst-case scenarios were nothing but pure hypotheticals. Unlikely to happen, hopefully. All she could do was wait and see what the actual outcome would be. While she was stuck in this carriage, the Countess and Gaven were currently carrying out the heist itself.

Along with Garside, she had been traveling with the two of them in disguise for the last few days. Originally, they left Freybrook inside a nondescript merchant carriage that the butler had arranged, using the Kilnstone to move to Kilsfell where they had stayed for a day before continuing on to Silverborough. There, they had completed the last of their preparations and slowly started making their way out west, stopping at smaller towns and villages as they stayed under the radar.

Currently, they were maybe a few kilometers or so away from the eastern bank of Rellaria Lake, which lay at the heart of the empire. The Sanctuary of Ittar was about the same distance away.

Gaven and the Countess had left earlier in the day, and Scarlett would be meeting up with Gaven after he had finished his job and escaped with the artifacts she wanted. From there, she would have to locate the Countess before they withdrew completely.

Considering the numbers the Followers of Ittar had, it was possible that they might perform a wide search to catch Scarlett and the ones responsible for breaking into their sanctum, but even their organization would have trouble searching the entire countryside for just one or two perpetrators. Especially considering teleportation magic was a thing in this world. The divination magic the Followers might have access to was likely to be pretty limited, as well. It was something mostly exclusive to the mage towers, and even then, it wasn't especially powerful.

To be honest, Scarlett had her suspicions that the Followers wouldn't even try contacting anyone else for help. It would surprise her if they wanted to bring more attention to it than necessary. In the game, even after you did something similar to this, the news of it never got out, as far as she was aware. It was never printed in the Empyreal Chronicle or talked about by other NPCs, at least. This made her think that the Followers would probably choose to suppress the information outside their ranks, which made a sort of sense. A religious organization like theirs wouldn't want to admit that one of their most holy places was breached, nor that some holy relics were stolen and one of their most sacred personages was vulnerable during the event.

All of that aside, the time for worrying and overthinking all of this really was over. Things were already in motion. There was nothing that could be changed now. To shift her thoughts a bit, she waved a hand in the air—the action was largely unnecessary—and summoned her status window.

[Name: Scarlett Hartford]

[Skills:

[Greater Mana Control]

[Greater Pyromancy]

[Superior Pyrokinesis]

[Greater Hydromancy]

[Superior Hydrokinesis]]

[Traits:

[Dignified August]

[Supercilious]

[Cavalier]

[Callous]

[Overbearing]

[Conceited]

[Third-rate Mana Veins]]

[Mana: 4998/4998]

[Points: 30]

[Skills Menu:

Upgrades

[Superior Pyromancy] (25 points)

[Major Pyrokinesis] (50 points)

[Superior Hydromancy] (25 points)

[Major Hydrokinesis] (50 points)

[Superior Mana Control] (25 points)

New skills

[LOCKED]]

Due to her not clearing any dungeons or quests these past weeks, she hadn't gotten many skill points lately. The weeks of relative calm had, however, given her plenty of time to practice more with her magic, as well as to increase her mana stores. She was also getting more used to what [Superior Hydrokinesis] was capable of. The skill wasn't fit for combat quite yet at her current skill level—at least not her pure-hydrokinesis-based attacks, like the water whips—but she could see herself reaching that point, eventually. When she did, there were a dozen other things she wanted to try as well.

As for the skill points she'd saved up, she had been considering what to do with them for a while now. She could just have used them to upgrade her Mana Control or Hydromancy. That would definitely help her out a lot in her current efforts at becoming more familiar with her magic, as well as improving her hydrokinesis control. But that wasn't the only thing she needed. She had been vying between doing that, or waiting until she had enough points to upgrade [Superior Pyrokinesis] to [Major Pyrokinesis].

She wouldn't quite say she had mastered [Superior Pyrokinesis] yet, but she had gotten pretty decent at handling what the skill had to offer. That said, waiting a bit longer to upgrade it probably wouldn't be a bad idea, so that she had as stable a foundation as possible when she actually did. She wasn't in dire need of the immediate power boost, so it was tempting to focus on the 'auxiliary' skills instead.

But the truth of the matter was that she wasn't entirely satisfied with her current progress. Call her greedy, but she wanted things to move faster. Now that they were going through with the heist on the Sanctuary, if they succeeded, she would get her hands on one piece of the puzzle required to complete the main quest. After that, she only needed to get the second piece, and that meant actually getting Arlene to accept her as a real disciple and learn from the woman until she was ready.

Upgrading her pyrokinesis was likely to be the quickest way to achieve that, judging from what she knew from the game. Even if she rushed things, Arlene's proper guidance could probably make up for that. And since she had already spent weeks not using the skill points she'd saved up, it felt like even more of a waste to use them on something else now.

Scarlett observed the status window for a while longer, letting her eyes wander over the text as her thoughts strayed. Eventually, she dismissed the window and leaned back against the wall. The bare wood pressing against her back once again reminded her of how much she disliked this carriage.

If it was up to her, she would never go on a trip like this again. She had severely underestimated how much of a difference having decent transportation made.

Evelyne and she had actually been in several talks recently about what they would do with the large influx of money they were having at the moment, and getting new and larger carriages was part of their plans. A decent sum of money had also been put aside for Evelyne to use in matters related to the barony, but even in their most pessimistic estimates of how much they would have after selling all the items in their current cache of loot, there would still be plenty left. They were still in the process of selling what they had retrieved in Autumnwell and from the latest Zuverian ruins, and would soon receive the money that the Withersworths had promised them—which they had recently gotten a letter informing them would be closer to five hundred thousand solars instead of four—so they were looking at well over one million solars filling their coffers soon.

Evelyne had already been in contact with a workshop that would supply them with two carriages. In addition, they were also looking into getting somebody to rebuild the mansion's courtyard, and Scarlett had tried finding someone that could help her construct a pavilion in the back garden, where the [Obedience's Solitude Loci] had its home. For the time being she'd just had a simple stone column moved there for the Loci to rest on, but she was considering inquiring with one of the mage towers or another expert she could find if there were any other useful things she could do to possibly empower the artifact in some way.

The carriage suddenly jolted as it hit something on the path and Scarlett's shoulder struck the side of the cabin before she could react. She pressed a hand against the wall to avoid falling over, clenching her teeth as she waited for the vehicle's rocking to calm down again.

Finally, after the carriage had traveled for a while longer, it pulled to a stop. Movements could be heard from outside as a horse neighed and soon, the cabin door opened.

"My Lady, we have arrived," Garside's voice sounded out.

Scarlett used her [Charm of Expeditious Change] to switch into a dark set of robes and pulled the hood up as she exited the vehicle.

"Thank you, Garside." She looked over at the elderly butler, who stood with mud up to his ankles on the side of the path. He was wearing a dark leather jacket that was tied loosely with a string at the top left side, as well as a brown cap that covered part of his thick grey hair. The usual refined air that he held was almost completely lacking in his current appearance, though some of it shone through in the way he spoke to her.

The man had been the only one she trusted to join them on this job. Mostly because she had needed someone's help in arranging the trip, and involving some stranger just to drive the carriage was far from optimal. Garside also appeared to be unusually experienced with some of these things, so she suspected this wasn't the first time he had done something like this.

"Find a suitable location to hide the carriage and wait here until I return," she told him as he held out a map to her. She received it and inspected it for a moment. The moon was out in full strength now, but most of its light didn't quite reach through the thick canopies looming above their current location. Not that it mattered much while she was wearing her glasses.

"Are you certain of this, my Lady?" Garside asked from the side.

She glanced up at him. "…I am. I will be fine on my own, if that is your concern. Your presence is far more important here, for when we need to leave later."

They were far enough away from the Sanctuary of Ittar that they wouldn't run into any Followers. And while she did trust Garside, she didn't want to involve him in this more than necessary. He didn't know exactly what they were here for, and she wanted to keep it that way if possible. It made it easier for both of them.

That said, it wouldn't surprise her if he still figured out parts. But there was only so much she could do about that.

The butler gave a stoic nod. "Then I wish you good fortune, my Lady."

He walked over to the front of the carriage, taking the reins of the large draft horse that had been pulling the vehicle and caressing its mane.

Scarlett returned her attention to the map. It took a while to orient herself and figure out roughly where they were on it. The map had been bought in one of the nearby villages from a local who had spent the time to jot down some of the trails in the area on top of a larger map of the region. She more or less knew where the meeting place was supposed to be, and Gaven had seemed certain he could find it without issue as well.

After confirming the direction with a compass she brought out, she scanned the forest line. Then, she began making her way eastwards, locating a thin trail that led off from the forest path and seemed to align with what the map said. She kept her eyes and ears peeled as she moved through the dark forest, the minutes passing by as she did. With nothing else to think about and a conclusion to tonight soon approaching, her worries from before wormed their way to the surface.

Even after meeting up with Gaven, the hard part would be locating the Countess in time. It would go faster with Gaven's help, but there were still plenty of risks, and they would have to hope the woman was in a cooperative mood. Having Fynn's aid here as well would have made things a lot easier, but involving the young man in this was far too dangerous. And it wasn't only because he was terrible at keeping secrets.

After maybe half an hour or so of walking, Scarlett eventually reached a large clearing in the forest. The grass was short here, and a trail of smaller rocks and soft mud ran through most of it. It looked like a shallow stream might have once flowed through the place.

She moved towards the center of the clearing, her attention aimed in the direction where she expected Gaven to come from. Then, she waited. She didn't know for how long, and the disquiet in her gut only grew as time passed, but eventually, she spotted movement near the forest line.

A hooded figure in black clothing soon sneaked out from among the trees, heading towards her. Their hood was pulled down to reveal Gaven's rugged appearance as he neared her.

The sight relaxed her somewhat. Then she noticed there were dark red spots on his clothes, as well as a large wound on his left shoulder.

"Figure meeting you out here in the woods." The man greeted her with a beat smile.

Scarlett frowned.

"…Dispense with the frivolity." Things clearly hadn't gone as quietly as expected. "Were you successful in your assignment?"

Gaven shrugged, only showing a slight grimace because of his wound. "Ran into a hitch or two, but no plan ever goes as expected. I'll admit, despite things, this is probably one of the smoothest jobs I've been part of that hasn't been just me on my own. Though maybe that says more about the sort of people I work with than anything else."

The man held up his left hand, where there was a small ring on one of his fingers. It glowed a pale blue as he touched it with his other hand, and a rectangular metal plate appeared in his palm. Its center was a piece of strange glass that had an array of colors moving within.

In preparation for this job, Scarlett had arranged a spatial ring for him to use exactly for this purpose. Spatial items in general were relatively hard to come by, and money wasn't the only thing that mattered if you wanted one on short notice. Fortunately, Gaven had a contact in Freybrook that helped them procure a small one. The price had been inflated, and the ring itself couldn't hold much—its storage capacity couldn't be compared with Scarlett's [Pouch of Holding]—but it was enough. She only needed three items.

"You know, I had to fight pretty hard to stop myself from just nabbing this and running off on my own." Gaven tossed the metal plate up into the air before catching it on its way down. "Don't ya think a bonus might be in order just from the sheer amount of loyalty shown here, eh? Even took a wound for the job as well."

She scowled at him.

He wasn't completely wrong. The value of what she had him retrieve exceeded what she had promised him. But if he did betray her, he would never get the information he wanted on where he could find the remaining pieces of the locket he always wore. It had been part of his background in the game, and she knew it wasn't something he could ignore that easily. Besides, she was still paying him more than enough to live in luxury for quite some time, as long as he didn't go around trying to buy a mansion or something.

Instead of answering him, she turned her eyes to the plate itself.

[Tablet of Sovegrephor (Legendary)]

{Within lies the unbridled power of change, harnessed and controlled}

These things were always useful to have. It wasn't anything she needed, but she had remembered it being in the Sanctuary, so she had thought it good to get it when she had the chance. There were plenty of things to use this on in the future.

She reached out and took it, placing it into her pouch. Then Gaven's ring lit up once more and a crystal ball appeared in his hand. It shimmered with an otherworldly glow, its smooth surface seeming to pulse with the energy inside. Within its depths, it held a rainbow of colors that swirled around like an ocean beneath a deep nebula of orange miniature stars.

[Ittar's Genesis (Divine)]

{"And Ittar proclaimed: 'Thy light shall never falter, as long as this fire burns'" — Book of Canon: Cisirne 4:3 }

She stared at the ball for several seconds. There was a beauty to it that was difficult to describe. When Gaven held it out to her, and her fingers touched the cool-yet-warm crystal surface, she could almost feel the storm of power churning within.

She paused for a moment, then finally took hold of it and focused. Like any other artifact, the connection formed easily. It was supposedly a holy relic, but it didn't seem to care much about who the user was.

She glanced to the side where a small line of text appeared at her prompting.

[Mana: 24998/24998]

Finally, she had an answer to one of her largest problems.

If only this wasn't an item that others couldn't know she had in her possession.

"And for the last one." Gaven made an exaggerated flourish with his uninjured arm as he brought out the last item. The ring on his finger glowed, and a gleaming gold-colored metal sphere appeared in his palm this time. Intricately carved lines wound and looped around its surface, and between those lines were lines of celestial bodies—suns, moons, stars—as well as glyphs that Scarlett recognized as Zuverian symbols.

[Sphere of Serendipity (1/2) (Unique)]

{An item far out of the ordinary, it seems to call out for its twin, awaiting a reply}

She moved [Ittar's Genesis] to her left hand as she received the sphere with her right hand, turning it around and studying it. Unlike the crystal ball, she couldn't even describe how this felt. It was like there was a lack of sensation in the parts of her hands that touched the item. A numbing lack of touch.

The other two items were useful to her, especially [Ittar's Genesis], but this? This was essential. It wouldn't work without its twin, but this was her key to completing the main quest.

"That's all," Gaven said, clapping his hands together. "With this, we're done here, yeah? I've already taken care of that Countess lady, so you don't have to worry about that whole mess either."

Scarlett froze. At that moment, several lines of text appeared before her.

[Quest completed: Raid on the Sanctuary of Ittar]

{Skill points awarded: 10}

[Side-Quest completed: Wily machinations with the rogue]

{Skill points awarded: 6}

[Side-Quest completed: The Empyreal Princess and the Lunar Pauper]

{Skill points awarded: 6}

She didn't pay any of the messages any mind, turning to look at the man. The uneasy feeling that she'd been feeling reared its head once again. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Repeat what you just said."

He gave her a long, indecipherable look. "Like I said, I took care of that crazy woman. You had no need of her anymore, yeah? And she was likely to get us both offed, so I dealt with it." He pointed up to the injury on his shoulder. "Didn't go quite as planned, but I got the job done. That's what matters."

The blood in Scarlett's veins ran cold as she stared at him. "…What?"

Interlude - Faith

Faith is a funny thing. There was not a person in the empire who didn't put their faith in someone or something. The blind devout in the divine, the fanciful nobles in their traditions, the gullible soldiers in their captains, and the dirty street rats in the hope that someday they didn't have to crawl and beg for their meals.

The thing they all had in common was that they didn't know jack shit if there was any truth backing up their faith, even if they thought they did.

Gaven supposed the street rats were the worst of the lot. Unlike the others, they were the only ones that could never afford to be wrong in their hopes, yet who almost always were.

He'd once been a young idiot like that. A fool who thought that, as long as he persevered, there was a bright future ahead of him. That even if he did a few dishonest things here and there, he could always turn things around later on. That an old heirloom left by his welcher pop somehow held the key to his dreams.

'Course, he'd been brighter than most others. He realized the futility in all that pretty early on, save for a brief stint with the Vanguards when he got it in his head that there was such a thing as honest work.

Having faith in things was almost never worth it. It was a blind wager, and you never knew the house's actual hand. Either you were lucky enough to live in blissful ignorance about whoever was screwing you over, or you faced the consequences and hoped you came out with your limbs intact. When you were in Gaven's line of work, faith was a currency better kept to oneself.

And yet here he was, sneaking into what was supposedly one of the most protected places in the empire for a payday that—while tempting—certainly wasn't worth the risk. All because a strange noblewoman had brought up memories of his naive youth with a couple sentences, promising him something he had no clue the real value of.

His fingers touched the locket inside his jacket as he sneaked up to the corner of the corridor he was in. He didn't have many memories of his father left, but the man's words about the heirloom had always stayed.

'It's been ours for generations, son, and it'll bring us riches like you'll never imagine. Power that those dirty nobles can never look down on, and strength even those damn Imperial Swords would envy. Mark my word, son. One day, we'll be at the top of the world.'

His dad had been a raving lunatic and a serial liar, so there was no reason to put any trust in those words. In fact, Gaven had been sure he'd put all that bullshit behind him years ago. And then the Baroness had proved him wrong.

And that woman knew things. His current situation was proof of that.

He pulled at the piece of cloth hiding his face and peeked around the corner into the open courtyard beyond. It was empty, save for a few statues and flower beds spread around, as well as a fountain at the center. He didn't know what this section in particular was called, but that didn't matter. He was inside the Sanctuary of Ittar, and it had been frighteningly easy to get in.

He stayed behind the corner for a while, waiting to see if anyone would pass by, before eventually nodding to himself. He started moving back the way he came. The corridors around here were made of gleaming white granite, polished to perfection, and all the walls had more tapestries and extravagant decorations covering them than was necessary. The whites and golds almost hurt his eyes, even when the only illumination around here came from the moonlight shining through the skylights above. He bet that even just one of the fancy draperies could net him enough solars to last him a month or two in Elystead's Eastgate district.

If it was one thing that was good for Gaven and his kind, it was the shared interest posh nobles and these religious types had for shiny things. They were like crows, collecting everything that sparkled and preying on the remains of those unfortunate enough to get in their way.

He hoped they never changed.

Who was he to care if simpletons wanted to give away their lives for some type of salvation, duty, or whatever? Let them, he said. Because in the end, the results of their hard work might fall into his hands.

His footsteps barely made any noise as he slinked through the corridors, and soon, he reached a small vestibule empty of people. At the end of it, a set of broad pillars held up an arched ceiling of painted glass. He walked over to one of the pillars, looking around for a second before leaning closer to it and feeling with his hand in the space between the pillar and the wall behind it.

Something clicked as he found the hidden switch. A few steps away from him, a tall statue depicting some costumed priest started sliding to the side without a sound. Soon, a dark passage with a stairway leading downwards was revealed. Standing at the mouth of the opening was a woman in a hood and black robes, anxiously fidgeting with the fabric of her clothes.

"I've already checked everything out the way we're going," Gaven said, pointing behind him with his thumb. "It's just like the Baroness said. No one's around. Come on."

He started walking, though he had to stop after a moment to look back at the still Countess. "What are you doing just standing there? We don't have all night."

She jolted, and Gaven held in a sigh as she finally followed him out of the passage. Not long after, the statue returned to its original position.

Shaking his head, he ignored whatever senseless mutterings that were leaving her mouth and continued onward, keeping his eyes on both their surroundings and her as he did. He'd learned the hard way that you had to babysit her every move on jobs like this.

What one didn't do for work.

With him already having scouted the path ahead of them, they made quick way through the corridors now. The Sanctuary of Ittar was about as grand as the tales told, but it was funny how lax the security felt in comparison. The Baroness had said the risk here wasn't to be underestimated, and he believed her, but all it had taken to get this far was for the woman to share the location of a single underground passage that no one apparently bothered keeping under watch. They hadn't even spent half an hour to sneak inside, with the Followers none the wiser.

Things like that were about what he'd come to expect from the Baroness. That lady had the blasted Viles guiding her. Or a god, though he could scarcely think of one who'd commit such blasphemous acts so casually. Maybe one that held a grudge towards Ittar.

Once more, he had to remind himself not to get on the woman's bad side.

He'd met plenty of nobles throughout his life, ranging from lowly fourth sons to an actual countess back when he was part of the Vanguards. When it came to how nobles behaved when public eyes weren't on them, he was more familiar than most. He had experience with both the calculative, scheming kind and the uptight, overly righteous kind. They were all arrogant and the same in the end, even when they thought they weren't. He didn't peg Scarlett Hartford to be much different on that end. His interactions with her had told him about what he'd expect.

But he also knew not to underestimate her. Outside of her being a noble, he knew her type of person as well.

She was the type who was always in control. Used to giving orders and being obeyed, seeing everyone else as tools to be used. The type that was far too good at anything they set their mind to, often to the detriment of the people around them. The type that always rose to the top of whatever order they took part in, from the rough alleyways of city slums to the powdered banquets of the empire's nobility.

He liked nothing more than witnessing the moment when all that fell apart around that kind of person. That moment when all their finely laid plans crumbled to dust, and they had to feel what it was like for everybody else.

Call it a sadistic streak of his.

That said, he also rather liked living. Being used as a tool wasn't bad, as long as he wasn't considered broken or unusable. His ambition was to get paid while he still could, and then be in the next town over when things went down the gutter. Which it usually did, eventually.

Although, just this once, he hoped it would take a while for that to happen with the Baroness. And for some reason, he felt like it might.

She was a scary woman, and while it might be fun seeing things go bad for her, he also wanted whatever information she had on his locket. And whatever other benefits he could get from working with her.

All that had to wait until this job was finished, though.

As they reached the courtyard he'd been at before, he stopped the Countess for a moment and peeked around the corner to make sure things were still clear. It was, of course. According to the Baroness, this entire segment of the Sanctuary was almost entirely devoid of people most of the time. Why that was, he didn't quite understand.

He looked across the space to where a small marble patio served as the entrance to another section of the Sanctuary. A massive, tower-like structure that stretched into the sky. He wasn't the type to put too much worth on old myths and legends, and he certainly wasn't much for religion, but he could imagine there was some truth to the tales about divinity being involved in the building of this place. This was just one part of the Sanctuary, after all. Even Dawnlight Palace wasn't this big.

He turned back to the Countess. Raising his left hand, the ring on his finger glowed briefly as a decorated dagger appeared in his grip. He held it out to the woman. "It's your turn now."

She simply stared at the artifact without taking it.

He clicked his tongue. "You haven't forgotten the Baroness' plan, right?"

She looked up at him, blinking, then lowered her eyes to the ground and pulled the hood tighter around her face. "…No…No…I…Remember…"

Slowly, she held out a hand.

Gaven placed the dagger in it, then waited for her to use it. Of course, she just continued standing there with her arm out, so eventually he had to step over to her. Carefully, and with telegraphed movements—he wasn't stupid enough to surprise her—he took her wrist and guided her bandage-covered hands, using the thin blade to cut a thin wound on her index finger.

Somehow, she didn't even seem to notice at first. Then she gave him a startled look and wordlessly stared at the trail of blood that formed.

"You know what to do from here, yeah?"

They'd already done this part several times over for practice, and then there had been no issues. But of course she had to go and waste time when they were on the actual mission.

The Countess gave a slow nod. "…Y-Yes…"

She shifted her attention to focus solely on the dagger, like she was contemplating how it got there. After a few seconds, the violet gem on its guard briefly turned dark. The moment after, the woman before him had changed. Gone were the frayed hair and bandages sticking out from under the robes, replaced by a set of long, golden locks that hung down the side of her hood's opening. Gaven pulled it back to reveal a woman's youthful appearance, with most of her hair bundled up at the back of the head and a pair of bright, marigold eyes.

He didn't think himself a man easily tricked by a lady's looks, but he felt certain this was one appearance that would drive most men crazy. No wonder the Followers of Ittar tried to hide the Augur all the time.

That said, those weren't the eyes of a sane person. The Memory of the Covenant was damn impressive—he'd admit that much—but it was still limited by the person using it. Put it in the hands of an amateur and even a kid could tell something was off. There was also a time limit on the thing, which made things harder when you had to work with someone like the Countess.

The woman reached to pull up her hood again, but he stopped her. "Don't cover yourself until after we've reached our goal. Remember, we need you to continue looking like that for a while longer."

The Augur's beauty was the stuff of fairy tales, and perhaps it might be a gift from Ittar, but to him, that wasn't the craziest thing about this. He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that this woman in front of him was actually the Augur's sister. He couldn't understand how that worked, and he wasn't sure he wanted to.

He couldn't wait to never have to work with the Countess again.

The two of them stepped out from behind the corner and into the courtyard. As they crossed it, Gaven paused and looked back to see that the Countess had stopped again. Standing transfixed like a statue, she stared down at a bed of blue star-shaped flowers that grew in clusters around a plain marble bench.

"…You like those flowers?" He took a step back to her. "We can look at things like that all we like later, but right now we've got to stay moving. Short on time, remember?"

"…Blue stars…" she mumbled in a soft voice that held a lot more charm than the woman it currently belonged to. A distant look was on her face as she turned to him. "…My sister's favorite…"

"Yeah? I bet they planted it because of her then. Nice that they're treating her well. We really ought to get moving, though."

He waved and waited for her to follow. Thankfully, that pretty head of hers wasn't completely empty, and she started trailing behind him again while gazing back at the flowers. Soon, they reached the other end of the courtyard, where they entered the patio leading into the tall tower. There, they were met by a set of wide, glossy stairs.

The Augur's quarters were supposed to be at the top of this tower, so they had a lot of legwork to do.

Climbing the stairs, they soon reached a set of doors that led into a hallway. It was similar to the corridors they'd been moving through before, with white stone and golden decorations running along the floor and walls, but the ceiling here was a lot higher and lacked skylights. Instead, large crystals shining a bright yellow illuminated the space.

They reached a small cross-section of hallways, which split into two corridors to the right and left, and a set of stairs that continued forward. The Baroness had told them to just keep climbing when they were here, so he supposed he didn't have to waste any time scouting around.

Gaven froze when he heard steps from one of the corridors. His hands went to the blades hidden in the belt under his overcoat. He'd sensed nobody, but they were already this close. There was nowhere to hide now.

An armored figure appeared around the corner. It looked like a woman, but clad head to toe in shimmering bronze-gold metal that made them feel more like a construct. The armor was intricately crafted, made of plated sections that fit tightly around their body and etched with complex designs of emblazoned suns. Framing their head was a polished, cylindrical helmet with wing-like horns extending forward from the sides. There were no slits or any other visible means to see through.

They moved with grace and precision, the armor making tiny, distinct sounds with every step. Covering the back half of its legs was a dark, skirt-like piece that fluttered down to its heels. In its left hand, it was holding a chain with a thurible hanging at the end and a trail of smoke following it, and in the other was a long, bronze-colored sword that widened at the tip and had a flat pike sticking out from the lower half.

The figure stopped as Gaven and the Countess entered its field of view. Its helmet turned to look at them.

He'd bet his left foot he knew exactly what this was.

A Knight of the Eternal Oath.

He had heard stories about the inner guards of the Sanctuary of Ittar, but it was different seeing one in person. Just one glance was enough to tell him this wasn't something he wanted to fight head-on. It wouldn't hesitate to cut him in two the second it perceived him as a threat. And while it sure looked like there might be a person under all that, he now understood why there were rumors about these things not being human.

The knight simply continued staring at them, and a bead of sweat formed on Gaven's forehead. He glanced back at the Countess, who wasn't doing much of anything other than meet its stare.

He nudged her with his elbow. "Remember your lines," he whispered.

She blinked a few times, a look of recognition appearing on her face.

"Ah, ah, ah…" she started stuttering.

Gaven wanted to palm his face.

"I-I am…returning to my…quarters…" the woman with the appearance of the Augur continued. She nodded at him. "This is…a helper…helping me… You can…continue patrolling…"

The knight stayed silent, watching the two of them for several more seconds. Then, it suddenly performed a strange salute where it held its sword out to the side and raised the thurible into the air. The moment after, it immediately recommenced walking forward into another of the corridors.

As Gaven watched it leave, he let out a small breath.

Another thing the Baroness had been right about. Those knights really didn't question anything they thought came from the Augur's mouth. And they were worse than a blind horse at telling the difference between the real deal and the Countess' terrible performance.

What the Blazes the Followers had done to get guards like these, he didn't wanna know. He doubted they wanted anyone to know, either.

He looked back to the Countess. The woman was visibly troubled, gripping tightly at her robes as her eyes darted around them.

…He really hated working with amateurs. Especially when he had to rely on their performances to get things done. Even more so when they were stark-raving lunatics.

"Come, let's go. This isn't gonna be the last of those we run into," he said.

It took a short while to get the woman moving again, but eventually they were climbing the next set of stairs and continuing higher up the tower. They ran into more Knights of the Eternal Oath as they did, and each encounter was as nerve-wracking as the previous one, with Gaven worrying the Countess would screw up too much and they'd have to fight their way through. But Ittar didn't seem to have been smiling down on the Followers on whatever day they decided these were decent guards for one of their inner sanctums, because none of the knights questioned them even a single time, no matter how much the woman butchered her lines and started rambling nonsense.

After they had climbed probably over a dozen sets of stairs—spread about the place far enough from each other that Gaven was starting to question if they were still in the same tower—they reached a wide hallway that ended in a large set of gold-encrusted doors. Intricate illustrations of priests praying to the sun covered them, and a knight was standing guard on each side.

Neither made to move as Gaven and the Countess approached.

He glanced back at the woman's altered appearance. He was pretty sure they were nearing the end of the Memory of the Covenant's effect, so it was lucky that they'd gotten this far even with her delays.

They stopped in front of the two knights. "You're up," he quietly told the Countess, urging her forward again.

The woman seemed absorbed with the doors in front of them, and it took a couple of seconds before she even appeared to register his words. Then she turned to the guards and took a few slow steps towards them. "…We wish…to enter…"

The knight to the left immediately stepped to the side in one of those strange salutes as the other moved in front of the doors, gripping hold of a pair of handles that were as thick as its hands and pulling.

Gaven couldn't help chuckling at the sight. Supposedly, the actual Augur would be inside right this very moment, yet the knights thought there was nothing wrong with seeing another 'Augur' here as well.

So much for the Followers' vaunted keepers.

He could tell they were strong, and he wasn't sure he could sneak past all of the defences here in the Sanctuary, so he could understand why this place might be regarded as incredibly safe. But this one flaw had allowed him and the Countess to get this far with barely any opposition.

The doors pulled open slowly, a loud reverberation ringing out through the hall as they did. Beyond them, he spotted a large circular chamber. The walls were lined from floor to ceiling with shelves, most bearing books bound in rich leather and decorated with intricate designs in gold leaf. At the room's center stood a wide, curved desk facing the entrance, filled with various items. Further behind it, a tall window opened up onto a balcony that overlooked the night sky and the forests in the distance.

Gaven eyed the two knights for a moment to make sure they still weren't doing anything, then tapped the Countess' shoulder to urge her inside.

The doors closed behind them as they walked in, locking them inside.

He took another look around the space. It was filled with the scent of incense and the soft glint of a fire, creating an odd atmosphere that was both peaceful and solemn. Why he thought of those two words in particular, he wasn't sure.

To the left was an inconspicuous door that presumably led to a bedroom and assorted quarters, and to the right was the fireplace, crackling quietly with an orange-red glow. In front of it were a small table and a high-backed armchair with a lone woman sitting in it, dressed in a flowing white gown and looking down at a thick book in her lap. Her face was turned away from them, but he recognized those bright golden locks that swelled over her shoulders.

This woman had a completely different air to her than the Countess. Even from where he stood, Gaven could tell there was something special about her. As if there was a glow surrounding her, invisible to mortal eyes but still perceivable. He supposed that, if holiness was to be personified, it would look like this.

It was annoying.

He never cared much about Ittar, the Followers, or any of the other gods that the empire liked to pretend didn't exist anymore. They could do whatever they wanted as long as they didn't bother him. But this? This woman? Her very presence was just screaming at him to pay attention. Like he didn't have the right to look away.

"S-Sister…" A small wail left the Countess beside him.

But the Augur still hadn't looked up at them for even a second. Not even at the heavy thud earlier as the doors closed.

The Countess started shuffling across the room. When she reached the woman, she kneeled down next to her chair and grasped at its armrest. "Ah, ah, ah, s-sister… I am here, I am here, sister…"

Finally, the Augur's head gradually lifted, gazing out into the air in front of her for several seconds. Then she seemed to realize there was someone next to her, turning to look at the Countess. She cocked her head. "…Me...? I…?"

She lifted a hand first to her own face, then to her golden hair. "…No, I am I." She shook her head, returning her attention to the Countess. "You are…not me?"

"Sister, sister… It is me…"

"No, I am me," the Augur replied. "…Who are you?"

Gaven observed the sight with an almost morbid curiosity. It was like he was watching a senile Voneian try to converse with a blind Imperial. The Baroness really hadn't been lying. The woman was almost as loony as her sister. And that was saying something.

"Sister… I am your sister…" the Countess cried, but the words didn't seem to mean much to the Augur. A frenzied look entered her face as she started looking around the chamber for what to do.

Gaven sighed.

"The knife," he called out. "Forget about it already? Just use it again."

The woman looked back at him with wide eyes, then reached into her robes and pulled out the Memory of the Covenant. She fiddled with the dagger for a breath before eventually managing to deactivate its effect and return to her normal appearance. Her messy blonde locks hung behind her as loose bandages once again covered half her face.

"Ah, ah." She hurried to pull up her hood again, then turned back to her sister. "Sister, sister, it is me…"

The Augur stared down at her for several seconds, a confused furrow on her brows. Finally, a look of recognition appeared in her eyes. "Big sister…?"

"Yes, yes." The excitement rose in the Countess' voice. "I am here… Everything…everything will be okay…"

The Augur reached out a hand to touch the face under the Countess' hood. "Poor big sister. Does it hurt? I am sorry, so sorry. Poor big sister."

The Countess shook her. "I am good. I am well…sister… I am sorry…sorry…are you hurt, sister…?"

For some reason, the Augur held a sorrowful smile and her hand moved down to her sister's neck, caressing it gently. "Poor sister… It must hurt… I am sorry, please do not cry, please. I wish I could help. I want to help."

Gaven raised an eyebrow when he realized where she was touching.

…He supposed she wasn't called the Augur for nothing.

He walked over to the Countess, dipping down beside her for a second.

"I am not sad…not sad," the woman said as she grasped her sister's hand with both of hers. "I will save you… I have…a friend… They helped me… And I will help you… We will get away from the bad people…"

Gaven cleared his throat, then picked up the dagger that the Countess had dropped to the ground after she was finished with it. "I'll be taking this. You fine ladies can continue your chat for a bit."

He stood up and started moving over towards the desk at the center of the room.

"A friend? A friend?" The Augur's soft voice rang out from behind him. "Poor sister. You have no friends… You are all alone, sister. It breaks my heart."

"I am not…alone… This woman… She is kind…she helped me save you…"

He paused for a moment, glancing back at the two. It'd be bothersome if the Countess said something about the Baroness now, or if the Augur said something to rile her up…

"I see no woman. No one." Tears ran down the Augur's face. "Poor sister. So much grief, so much suffering. You were all alone all this time and I could not help. I am sorry, does it hurt? Please don't cry."

…Perhaps he didn't have to worry. The girl made about as much sense as her sister.

The Countess fervently shook her head. "I am fine… There is…no pain."

Keeping one ear to their nonsensical conversation, Gaven continued crossing the chamber until he reached the desk at its center. There, he looked over the various items spread out on it.

Most, he had no idea what they were. Religious junk, he guessed. But at least they looked expensive. There was a golden chalice with a lid shaped like the sun, a silver bell with fancy illustrations along the base, an intricately carved box of ebony wood lined with silver, and more.

He set his eyes on three items in particular that fit the descriptions the Baroness had given him.

The first was a finger-sized metal plate that had a strange glass pane with various hues swirling in it at its center. Next to it, a bronze stand at the head of the desk supported the second item. A strange crystal ball whose depths held a multitude of colors that coiled around beneath a strange cloud of orange filled with stars. Not far from it was the third item, which was a palm-sized metal sphere made of gold whose sides held a bunch of symbols on it that he neither knew nor cared what they were.

He quickly gathered all three artifacts up, storing them in the spatial ring that the Baroness had coughed up the money for.

Easy as that, he'd secured his main objective.

While he didn't like downplaying his own skills, even a kid could have done this much.

He eyed the other items spread out across the desk.

…The Baroness only needed these three items in particular, but it'd be a waste to just leave the rest, wouldn't it? He imagined the things that remained weren't as good as what the boss-lady wanted, but money was money.

With a smirk, he picked up the most valuable-looking pieces that were left and stored what he could inside the ring. Then he turned back to the Countess and the Augur. He had everything he needed. Next up was tying off loose ends so that he could get out of here without having to worry about the Followers hunting him down for the rest of his life.

He checked over his gear and his weapons as he started moving back towards the crazy sister-sister pair.

The Countess was holding onto the other's arm now, seemingly not having gotten far in the conversation. "S-Sister…leave… We need to…leave…"

The Augur wasn't shifting from her seat, though. "Dear sister… You should not have come. I wish you hadn't come. The words of the Ophidian are grey. They seek the moon's light, yet you are here."

Gaven frowned. What the Blazes was she on about now?

"I…I don't understand… Sister, come…we need to…leave…" The Countess pulled at her.

"You must leave," the Augur said. "I belong here."

The Countess froze. She stared up at her. "No…no… The bad men… They will…" She shook her head. "They took you… I am here to save…save…you…"

The Augur touched the Countess' face. "Poor sister. Your eyes…your beautiful eyes… Clouded by tragedy and darkness. Touched by Adtia, yet too late and too soon. Hear my words, dear sister. You must prepare… Take refuge, but do not heed the fallen knave. Be ever vigilant and beware those who follow that which cowered and seek to bring down the skies."

"Sister… I don't understand… Listen… Please listen… Please, we must leave…"

Gaven erased his presence as he moved up behind the Countess, reaching a hand into his belt. He pulled out a deep obsidian dagger. The blade seemed to shimmer in the weak light coming from the fireplace, and a black liquid covered its edge.

The Augur didn't even seem to recognize his presence as the woman simply continued sputtering her incomprehensible inanities.

He stopped behind the Countess' crouched figure and looked down at her.

Sorry, lady. Can't say it was a pleasure, but you had your uses. Next life, you might be pickier about who you place your faith in.

"Ah, ah, ah, Sister…wait… I can bring us away—"

A scream escaped the woman as his blade dug into her neck.

Then a silvery light exploded out and filled Gaven's vision.

A sharp pain sprang out from his shoulder as he just barely managed to shade morph in time. The world turned into a canvas of red hues, and a moment later, he reappeared several meters back.

"Ah…ah…ah…" the Countess cried as she fell to the floor, blood pouring from her neck. The silvery light that had just blinded Gaven took the shape of dozens of spears that stretched out from beneath the woman as if to protect her from harm, and they were now inching their way back to her. The obsidian dagger that he'd used seemed to have been completely obliterated by whatever that was.

He panted as he warily eyed the scene, pulling out and downing a healing potion the Baroness had provided him with.

A rumble spread through the chamber, and the next second, a sizeable chunk of stone slammed into the floor to his right. He sent a look up at the ceiling to see a large hole there, with several cracks running from it.

Blazes…

Was that just from whatever she'd just done to protect herself now? That was one scary ability. He'd never seen the woman use anything like it before. Usually she just hit anything around her till it broke.

He downed another potion as he kept watching the Countess where she was whimpering on the floor. Getting close to her again was far too risky. He'd clearly underestimated what she was capable of. It was lucky that he had prepared the Specter's Tears poison for this. It was supposed to be able to kill even young dragons under the right conditions, so it was only a matter of time until she was finished.

He glanced up at the Augur, who surprisingly enough seemed completely unharmed where she sat, gazing down at her injured sister with a strange look. The Countess had managed to completely avoid hitting her. That was probably for the best, though. The Baroness didn't want the Augur to be touched for some reason, even though the woman herself was supposed to be weak.

"Ah…ah…it hurts…" The Countess tried moving on the floor with both hands pressed against her neck. "Why…why…what…?" Her cries became more and more unintelligible as the seconds passed.

"Poor sister. Does it hurt? I'm sorry. Please forgive me, I'm sorry," the Augur said. "Why do you have to suffer so? Why can't I help you? Why can't I see the way? The paths are disordered. Interlaced. Fused. I see only confusion and suffering, but there is so much uncertainty."

"…Sister…help…" The silver light around the Countess convalesced into a pelt that covered her wound, and she sent a disoriented look Gaven's way.

"Who is the knave?" the Augur asked out loud. "Who cowers? Who is a friend? Sister, I cannot see it. Why can't I see it?"

Gaven's head spun to the chamber's entrance as the doors slowly started opening.

Well, that was his cue to leave. He ended up getting distracted because of whatever ability of the Countess' this was.

He looked back at the woman. It'd be a problem if she said anything before she keeled, though. He assumed it wouldn't be a problem to leave a body. That much he could explain to the Baroness, at least. She was the type to be practical in these things, and he was pretty sure she'd already thought it through, besides. If not, he'd just spared her the effort.

But if the Countess talked before that…

He pulled out two daggers and threw them through the air. They were instantly blocked by two of the tendrils of light that were protecting the woman.

That was annoying…

He looked back to the entrance, where he could see the two Knights of the Eternal Oath through the widening gap.

Pulling out even more daggers, he started throwing them at the Countess each after the other as he ran towards the balcony. None made its way through the woman's defense, though. He clenched his teeth. Seems like he would just have to bet that the woman didn't get the chance to spill anything. It wasn't as if there was anyone nearby that could genuinely listen to her.

Suddenly, he noticed the Countess stretch out and grab hold of the Augur with one hand, using the other to pull out a small cube from beneath her robes. Then, a moment later, she disappeared in a flash of light.

Gaven's eyes widened. What was that?!

"Poor sister…" The Augur's voice sounded out across the chamber. "I pray for your future. Forgive me."

For the first time, the woman turned to Gaven and acknowledged his existence. He found himself entranced by her gaze. "…You are not the knave," she said deliberately. "You are but ash strewn in the wind, but I cannot see the catalyst."

The two knights entered the chamber, and Gaven had to tear his eyes away from the crazy woman. There wasn't any more time. He dashed out onto the stone of the balcony outside, spending only the briefest moment to peer out over the railing at the extensive compound of white buildings that stretched out directly beneath. It was like a tiny town all unto itself.

Hearing the noises behind him, he didn't waste another second as he placed a hand on the railing and leaped. The wind whipped past his ears as gravity took him.

He'd have to take a second to explain things to the Baroness later.

Chapter 134 - Inferno

"…What?"

A chill ran down Gaven's spine as the Baroness' steely gaze locked onto him. A sudden tension filled the space between them, and the frigid night air was forced aside as the temperature spiked.

"…You took care of her?" the woman asked him. Her voice was as flat as always, but there was a danger to her tone now.

Gaven fought down the instincts that told him to step back and reach for his hidden blades.

It had been annoying enough making his way back after jumping off a several hundred-meter-high tower back in the Sanctuary, but now he had a pissed-off boss to deal with as well? Could it be she actually wanted the Countess to live after all this? There's no way she was that naive.

She couldn't know that he hadn't been able to make sure she died, could she? That was even more impossible. Besides, the poison would have taken care of the woman by now.

He opened his mouth to speak, surprised to find it slightly dry. "We couldn't have anyone spilling the news of what happened, could we? So yeah, I took care of her."

The Baroness' eyes met his, and he stilled. There wasn't just anger hidden there. There was rage.

"When did I ever command you to take care of her?"

Small flames burst into existence behind the woman, licking the ground like hungry spirits. Gaven stared at them, uncertain if it was her doing. He hadn't even been sure if she was a mage or not.

"Ehm, right… Seems like I might have been a bit hasty," he said, giving up the usual daring smile he wore around most noble types. He was starting to suspect she did want the Countess alive after all. But there was also the chance that she was just angry he didn't follow her exact orders. "With people like her, you've got to take the opportunity when you have it. We can't exactly keep her locked up for all eternity, so dealing with her as soon as possible saves us a lot of trouble and her a bunch of misery. Not like she was living much of a life before you picked her up, so this makes it easier for everyone, yeah?"

The flames behind the Baroness grew in size, and the strange crystal ball in her hand suddenly lit up a soft white. The temperature continued to rise as she stepped closer to him, and the look in her amber eyes told him all he needed to know.

That was not what she wanted to hear.

"So you killed her?"

The heavy words hung in the air.

Gaven stared at her. Blazes… He'd misread her, it seemed.

This woman was crazy as well.

He raised his hands up. "Never said that."

He knew better than to dig his grave even deeper at this point. The Baroness was a noble, and some nobles didn't give a rat's ass if they did something idiotic or not. If they thought you were going against them, then you weren't making it out with all your limbs intact.

"She was still alive last I saw her. Used some strange cube that caused her to just up and disappear. For all I know, she could be in the nearest town over, spilling the beans to anyone listening."

The Baroness narrowed her eyes at him. "…You poisoned her."

The words were uttered with barely restrained anger, now.

Silence fell between them.

…Well, damn. He'd almost forgotten that there wasn't much this woman didn't know about him.

The flames behind the Baroness danced to some unknown rhythm, beating and pulsing like they could barely contain their fury. Sweat was forming on his brow from the heat, and it was like the moment drew out between them.

Then, Gaven moved. Spinning around, the world turned into a blur of red as he shade morphed away. He was cutting his losses here, even if it hurt to do so. He'd taken enough valuables from the Augur's chamber to get a decent payday even without the Baroness, and his life was more important than some old locket.

In his reality of red, a wall of deep scarlet appeared to block his path. He immediately stopped, and the world returned to normal. There was a wall of fire in front of him. He frowned at it, looking back at the Baroness. Shade morph was a skill he'd spent over two years learning from an old vagrant near the Unresting Steppes. Only manifest magic could affect it, and even then, any effects were usually more than halved. Those flames hadn't looked weakened at all, though. What types of spells were she using?

Still standing near the center of the clearing, the Baroness raised a hand.

Gaven's instincts had been honed from years of experience, and at that moment, they told him to move just as dozens of strange-looking fireballs popped into existence around him. Once again, he shade morphed, turning into a red mist in time to dodge a shower of water and steam bearing down where he'd just been. He reappeared a short distance away, touching a hand to the shoulder that had originally been wounded by the Countess. One of those blasts hit him even while morphed, and it stung more than it should have.

He shot another look at the Baroness as she started walking in this direction. Blasted woman was crazier than he thought. He wouldn't have pegged her to be this skilled of a mage.

Yet another assault bore down upon him, but this time he was ready and evaded it in time. As the world turned red around him with shade morph, he aimed towards the edge of the clearing. More scarlet barriers popped up to block his path, forcing him to exit the ability each time and reactivate it in another direction.

The woman wanted to stop him from escaping. But there weren't enough fireballs in an entire squadron of mages to keep him locked down.

Repeatedly shade morphing his way forward, he moved in an unpredictable pattern and relied on his instincts to dodge any other attacks that were aimed at him and avoid getting caught between the walls of fire.

He had dealt with his fair share of annoying opponents in his time, but this might take the cake. Usually, he could just zoom through whatever people tried throwing at him, but clearly that wouldn't work now. Which was a shame. He'd never been good at any of 'em defensive techniques.

Luckily, he had yet to encounter any situation that he couldn't get out of when he actually set his mind to it.

Another barrage of those strange fire spheres weighed down on him the next time he exited shade morph. The Baroness tried caging him in a barrier of flames as well, but he was already out even before it had completely formed.

He was nearing the border of the clearing, with the forest straight ahead.

That was when it was as if the Blazes themselves opened up into the world. A sea of flames burst into existence, forming a wide half-circle in front of him and casting an eery glow across the trees beyond. He felt the heat almost immediately. It pushed down on him like a wave. One breath was enough to sting his lungs, and plumes of smoke rose from the plots of dead grass that hadn't been outright swallowed by the fires.

He searched around, but there was no way through. The flames only opened up behind him. He looked back, where a sinister tunnel of fire had formed between him and the Baroness. An imposing air hung around her as she stepped through it towards him. In her right hand was a short dagger, and for some reason, she was now wearing a freaking tiara on her head. With her eyes fixed on him, she moved forward as if leading an army, the flames closing in and trailing behind her like followers their queen. The fires closest to Gaven soared even higher, casting their glow on the approaching woman.

He clenched his teeth. The heat was still rising behind him.

What was with this insane difference from before? Had she been holding back at first? What even was this kind of spell? And how much mana did she have?

He glanced back at the inferno that was blocking his escape. He might have been able to force his way through the weaker flames before, but he couldn't be sure about these. Simply standing here felt like being baked alive.

Not to mention that this woman might literally burn down the entire forest just to get to him.

Suddenly, his instincts warned him of another attack. Or rather, they screamed at him.

In the next instant, a raging tempest of fire swallowed him. As if the morning sun had been pulled down and squeezed into a pulp before being thrown at him. He tried activating shade morph to flee, but the flames followed him even when he severed himself from the Material Realm, tearing through space as they forced him to move towards the Baroness.

With a scream, he emerged a short distance away from her, catching himself on his singed palms. He had tried protecting himself, but his defensive techniques had been shredded through in the blink of an eye.

"Let's talk this out!" he yelled, looking up at the Baroness and gasping for breath as his lungs burned. "I get you're mad…" Even talking hurt. How in the Blazes did she look so unaffected? "The Countess might not be dead yet, yeah? If I help ya, we might find her in time, so let's not do anything hasty here, kay?"

The flames were still inching closer to him from behind. He had to force himself up again to shade morph away, reappearing slightly to the side of the Baroness. He opened his mouth to speak again. To say anything that could convince her. But as their eyes locked, he froze.

She didn't care one lick about whatever he had to say. There was only death and pure rage in that look.

He wasn't leaving this clearing alive if he didn't act first.

He pulled out two blades from his belt.

This was the last time he was taking a job from a Vile-cursed noble.

Triggering a few of the body-enhancing techniques and tricks he'd learned in his time on the streets and as a member of the Vanguards—most weren't things you wanted to use unless you enjoyed puking yourself out on the ground afterward—he threw a quick glance to make sure the blades were still coated. Then, he activated shade morph again and moved towards the Baroness. He was running low on energy, so he would have to deal with this quickly.

Yet another wall of fire appeared before him. He immediately canceled shade morph and rolled to the side of the flames. Then, while the woman was focused on conjuring another array of attacks against him, he threw both daggers.

Her reaction was quicker than he thought, and one of the blades was completely engulfed by a sphere of fire, obscuring the woman from his view. The other one, however, he'd seen graze her shoulder.

He pulled out another set of daggers, ready to dodge another assault and search for the next opportunity, when the firestorm around him suddenly stilled, as if frozen by time. The flames protecting the Baroness calmed down for just a moment, revealing the woman as she shot him an intense glare. There were traces of blood on her shoulder, but it was a lot less than he'd hoped for. That hadn't been Specter's Tears poison, so it wouldn't be enough to take her out.

Forcing himself out of his momentary daze, he threw both daggers towards her again. This time, barriers made of water materialised to slow their momentum before another set of flames swallowed them up. He wasn't even sure if they got close to the Baroness.

There was a brief moment where complete silence descended on them, and then everything moved. It was as if the entire clearing churned and a forest of fire stormed towards him from all directions, engulfing him in the blazing conflagration before he could move. He screamed as he tried to fight back, clambering for an escape. But the flames moved like they were alive, roiling and shifting in impossible ways as they eroded his body. He blindly fumbled around in this ocean of red and fire, the pain drawing out for what felt like an eternity.

And then it all disappeared.

Gaven fell to the ground, barely able to breathe, though he wasn't sure whether there was no air or if his lungs simply weren't capable of it anymore.

Now all that surrounded him was the dark clearing, illuminated by the pale light of the moon that hung in the sky above. Weakly lifting his head, he bore witness to the destruction that had been wrought. Over half of the area was nothing but charred black, with weak embers of fire spread out over what remained of the vegetation. Yet the bordering trees were completely untouched.

For a single breath, he wondered if one of the six Blazes actually had descended here, simply to spite him and the choices he'd made.

Striding through the chaos she had brought about, the Baroness stopped a step away from Gaven, staring down at him.

He tried raising his arm — tried to shade morph away, but there was no energy left. He couldn't even bring himself to speak.

One last time, he met the woman's eyes, looking into the wrath and intensity behind them. But now, there was something else mixed into there as well.

He almost wanted to laugh.

He wasn't even sure when he fell for it, but he supposed he only had himself to blame for forgetting even the basics. Funny couldn't even begin to describe it.

This was what happened when you got too caught up in your beliefs about someone. Was this what that Countess felt, maybe?

The Baroness raised a hand.

"…Filth."

The single word was almost whispered.

And then Gaven's world turned to ash.

Chapter 135 - Doubt

A heavy atmosphere had descended over the mansion ever since Scarlett's return. It loomed over the hallways and corridors, clinging to the nooks and crannies and stretched out across the entire estate. It left people in discomfort. Wary. Tense. As if they had done something wrong, and punishment would be meted out any second now.

The Baroness was in a bad mood.

Rosa would have to be blind not to have noticed. It was clear to anyone that paid attention. Even to those who hadn't actually seen the woman for themselves recently. It was in the very air of the mansion. But Rosa didn't know the reason.

Unfortunately, that was only one of her worries.

She lay on the bed in her room, gazing up at the ceiling boards with tired eyes. As always, she did her best to ignore the shadows that lurked on the ceiling beams and the rest of the room, cast by the moonlight entering through the single window. Her fingers clutched at the blankets beneath her, clasping for some semblance of respite in their softness.

The visions had been getting worse again lately. They were always bad, but the degree ebbed and flowed. This past week, when Scarlett had been away on some business in Kilsfell, had been the worst in a while now. She had barely slept in three days.

It hadn't dawned on her before now how quickly she had become reliant on Scarlett. On the peace that accompanied the woman's presence. She had avoided interacting with others as much as she could without it looking unnatural this last week, waiting for it all to pass. Annoyed at herself for how much she wanted Scarlett to return. In the end, she hadn't been able to stop herself from practically running to the woman's office upon her return the day before. All for that one brief period of peace. That one chance for an actual genuine conversation not marred by what she saw. The chance to just enjoy the moment and not just hide.

Like a naive little kid who'd been waiting for their parent to get home because they were too afraid to go to sleep without them.

And then she'd had the gall to feel disappointed when Scarlett had refused to see her.

Staying close to the woman to avoid the visions had just been a stopgap to begin with. A temporary reprieve. One that she had told herself a hundred times not to get dependent on. It was only natural that Scarlett had concerns of her own and couldn't always answer to the whims of Rosa and her unwanted passenger. It was unreasonable to expect anything more.

Yet she still found herself hoping against her better judgement.

The suffocating atmosphere in the room grew heavier as the shadows moved closer. She closed her eyes for a breath, trying to relax her heart. Then she opened them again and shifted her head to the side, glancing across the unlit space. Her attention came to rest on the klert leaning against the wall beside the exit.

When it got like this, not even her music could always be of help. If anything, playing her instrument made things worse. It would fight against her. The notes would come out wrong, and sometimes her fingers wouldn't do what she wanted. And then she would hear the derisive cackling of a thousand souls from the walls.

It was frustrating.

Maddening.

Her music was the only thing that had always stayed with her, but even that was slowly disappearing. The thought of losing it completely terrified her.

She wanted it all over with. This sick game meant just to torment her for someone's entertainment.

She wanted it to end before something bad happened. Again.

…Maybe it was time she left this mansion.

It had been months since she got here. Ages, to her. Longer than she had stayed in any one place since she was a kid. Longer than she ever thought she could stay in one place. She had told Scarlett she never wanted to leave, but…

Those had just been her hopes and dreams. It wouldn't do her any good to stay here for too long. It wouldn't do anyone any good. All it did was make things harder when she did leave.

She closed her eyes again, counting down from eleven. She wouldn't be getting any more sleep tonight. That much she already knew.

Sitting up in the bed, she shuffled her legs over the edge and hovered her feet above the floor. The chill from the floorboards made her want to curl her toes up.

There were noises coming from underneath the bed.

There had been for hours.

Like hundreds of skittering legs and the slow, rustling movement of something thick and viscous.

They were ignorable. She could pretend like they didn't exist. Sounds weren't too bad. Not when she was on her own. Then she could tell when they weren't real.

She put on the shoes that were resting next to the bed and stood up.

She needed a walk. Anything was better than staying cooped up in here, stuck with her own thoughts.

She didn't bother changing and kept the ruffled set of clothes she'd worn during the day as she headed for the door. Exiting into the hallway outside, she allowed the soft light washing in from the large windows to guide her way. It didn't really matter where she went.

Almost as soon as she had left her room, sounds started following her again. They trailed behind as she moved through the mansion's empty corridors. It was the creaking of walls; the steps around the corners; the odd whisper that escaped from out the shadows. She disregarded most of it, shutting out anything that didn't seem like it could come from an actual person. It would look strange if she ran into one of the servants and didn't even notice them again.

The ominous ambience clung to the surroundings as she continued idling through the mansion, the dull sounds of her feet on the carpeted floor joining the others that stalked her. The walls were lined with old paintings of stoic-looking aristocrats, their eyes tracking her carefully with poorly hidden disdain. Candles on sconces hung between the pictures, unlit. Yet shadows still danced to their tune throughout the hallways.

Rosa hummed a tune to bring her mind off it all, like she often did. But the notes felt weak. Muted. At one point, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in a passing mirror. Her curled brown hair was even more unruly than usual, and her violet eyes met her own. The reflection smiled with a twisted expression, and she turned away.

Out of the corner of her vision, she saw something more in the mirror. Something that moved and wanted her. But it couldn't hurt her as long as she didn't lose control.

She continued walking through the mansion—she didn't know for how long—before finally stopping. She blinked, looking around at where she had found herself. This was the east wing.

Not far from Scarlett's office.

Exactly where she didn't want to go.

She spun around, taking only one step before pausing. It was the middle of the night. Scarlett probably wouldn't even be there right now. And Rosa didn't feel like heading back yet. It wouldn't hurt to walk around here for a bit.

Her head turned around, looking down the hallways in the direction of Scarlett's office.

…Who was she trying to fool?

From there, it was as if her legs took on a will of their own as she started moving. Soon, she turned around a corner to spot the noblewoman's office at the end of the hall. Slowly, she continued towards it, eyes locked on the murky darkness that drifted around the door frame and clamored to it like a fog. It didn't dare to enter. Scarlett was inside.

A soft purring brought Rosa out of her trance.

She shifted her attention to her right. There, on the windowsill looking out at the dark courtyard outside, was a cat. Its jet-black fur almost melted into the surroundings, but its clear, amethyst eyes were looking at her with an appraising gaze.

It purred once more, and Rosa found herself lowering her head out of pure instinct.

This wasn't a normal cat. It wasn't part of one of her visions, either. What was this? She had never seen Scarlett with a cat near her. Or any kind of pet, really. It probably didn't belong to her. From the feeling Rosa got from it, this cat didn't belong to anyone.

Several seconds passed with them just looking at each other, and before Rosa had the chance to fully gather herself and speak, the cat had leaped down from the windowsill in one graceful movement and strode up to her. It circled her legs once, tail jutting up pridefully, then let out a short meow before wandering down the hallway she had come from.

Rosa watched wordlessly as the cat soon disappeared around the corner, the words still stuck in her throat.

For some reason, she wanted to both laugh and cry at the same time. Just one look was enough to tell her how ridiculous it was meeting this cat here, even though she didn't know why. But it also felt like it had seen through her with just one glance. Pitying her.

She looked back at the door to Scarlett's office. Now she wanted to go inside even more.

She stepped closer to it, reaching a hand to the elaborate silver handle and stopping only as she touched the cool surface of the metal. Inside, she could almost feel Scarlett's presence. There was a weak light sneaking out from under the door as well, hinting that the noblewoman was still awake.

A stray thought entered Rosa's mind.

…Maybe she could finally bring herself to ask Scarlett about her condition? She had been observing the woman for a while now, gauging her personality. Seeing what she could do.

Maybe Scarlett was different? Maybe she could actually help her?

Those were all thoughts Rosa had been nurturing for months now. She had been trying to muster the courage to finally ask several times over, but it always led to the same outcome. A fake smile and her changing the topic. But maybe, just maybe, if it was tonight, she could do it.

She started as a loud thud sounded out from inside. Like a book being slammed onto a table in anger.

She stared at the door.

…No, Scarlett already had enough troubles of her own. The woman liked to hide it, but Rosa knew at least that much. She didn't have to add any more on top of that. Scarlett had been nothing but generous and owed her nothing. If anything, the kindest thing Rosa could do in return was leave.

In fact, she should tell Scarlett that right now. Otherwise, she might never get to it. She would just keep ignoring it. Keep delaying it, like she always did. And then what? Then it would all repeat. Just like it always did. Everything was going to go wrong again and it would be her fault and there would be nothing she could do about it even if she regretted it and—

She shook her head, forcing her thoughts away from that course. She needed a clear mind if she was going to do this now. Taking a deep breath, she counted down from eleven before opening the door.

The room inside was poorly lit, with only a single candle sitting on the corner of Scarlett's desk. The red-haired noblewoman looked up from a pile of books, maps, and letters that was spread out before her, with a hint of a scowl on her face at first.

"…Miss Hale. I did not know you were still awake."

Rosa glanced around the office. It was quiet and devoid of any nightmarish visions. Two bookshelves were placed on each side of the room, and a few paintings hung on the walls. The one behind Scarlett, depicting a vast battlefield with armies pressing into a deep valley, caught her eyes as usual, her gaze lingering on it for a second.

"Well, you know how I am," she said after a moment, tearing her eyes away and aiming them at Scarlett. "I like to take late night walks now and then. Just so happened to pass by, so I thought I'd see if you were still up. There was something I wanted to talk about."

The woman had a hand pressed to her forehead, leaning over her desk. She looked…tired. "I apologize, but this is not the best time for a conversation, Miss Hale."

"I get that." Rosa closed the door behind her, annoyed at the comfort she felt from shutting out the world. "But this is something I need to talk about right now. Or it might be too late."

Scarlett seemed to consider her for a second, then closed her eyes with a small sigh and gestured towards the armchair in the room's corner. The woman had it moved here for Rosa because of all her visits. "Very well. Take a seat."

Rosa stayed quiet as she moved over to the chair and sat down.

Scarlett was looking at her. "And? What was there you wished to discuss?" There was a slight tenseness to her voice.

Rosa's heart hammered in her ears as she met the woman's gaze. She opened her mouth, but her throat tightened before the words came out.

Why was she like this? First, she couldn't bring herself to share her situation with the woman because she was afraid of what might happen, but now she couldn't even get herself to say that she was leaving either.

"…If it is something you have this much difficulty to speak of, then it might be best to leave it for another time." Scarlett seemed to see through her immediately. "I do not mean to be rude, but I also do not wish to mince words. This is far from a suitable occasion to discuss delicate matters, and I am not in the mood for your usual jests."

Rosa tried a small smile. "No offense, but I could tell. I assume whatever business you dealt with the other day didn't go well?"

It really would be better if she could do this tomorrow instead. Or any other day. She was being inconsiderate enough to Scarlett as is.

But no. It was best for all of them if this was done tonight. Now, if only she could get herself to actually do so.

Scarlett paused for a moment, tapping her finger against the cover of a book on her desk. "…Is it that obvious?"

"Are you kidding?" Rosa let out a brief laugh, trying to lighten the atmosphere without pushing the woman. "You've had basically all the servants on their toes since you returned. Allyssa and Shin seem to think someone had a funeral, and Fynn has been acting like a dejected guard dog for a day and a half. There's no one who hasn't noticed. It's in the air itself."

Some members of the staff had been genuinely scared when Scarlett first returned. Not everyone had understood what this strange sensation pressing down on them was, and Rosa had heard more than one whisper of ghosts.

It was an odd phenomenon. While Rosa knew that weird emerald of Scarlett's was the cause, she didn't really understand the why and how behind it all either.

She raised her hands up. "But I won't pry. Everybody's got skeletons in the closet that they'd rather be kept there. Things didn't go quite as you wanted, and we'll leave it at that." She gestured to the cluttered desk in front of the woman. "You've…eh….been keeping yourself busy since you got back, it seems?"

Scarlett furled up one of the maps on the desk and placed it to the side, covering up a couple of the letters that seemed to have her writing on them in the process. "Due to some…vexing circumstances…I am attempting to locate a certain individual." The expression on her face was stiff, as if she was struggling to maintain it, and there was a sharpness to her words now. "I would prefer not to go into further detail for the time being."

Rosa eyed her for a few seconds. This was the first time she had seen her like this, and she found herself feeling sorry for whoever had angered the woman. "Well, forget about it. Like I said, I won't pry."

"Yes, I am well aware of the degree to which you care about the sanctity of maintaining secrets."

She stilled. "…I'm sure I don't know what you mean." She let out a small laugh.

Scarlett studied her. "No… I am sure you do not."

They locked eyes, and a thought poked Rosa at the back of her head. A growing notion she had always played off as nothing but her own fanciful daydreaming. But there were times when she suspected…

"It's hard, you know…" The words left her in a whisper.

"…What is?"

Her eyes widened. She hastily waved her hand in the air and looked away. "Hah, never mind. That just sounds misleading when I say it like that. There really wasn't any meaning behind it, so forget I said anything."

Here she was again. She had already decided what she was here to do, yet she was still hesitating.

Scarlett considered her quietly for several seconds, and Rosa felt like squirming under her gaze. She had no idea what was going through the woman's mind right now.

"…How far has it gone, at the moment?"

Rosa almost forgot to breathe as those words reached her, a chill washing through her body.

Scarlett did know.

She stared at the woman.

…Of course she knew. This was Scarlett they were talking about. What didn't Scarlett know?

What was surprising was that Rosa had deluded herself into thinking that the woman might actually be unaware of the truth. In fact, the reason she had wanted to tell Scarlett in the first place was because she was likely to know something about it.

Was this relief she felt? Anxiety? Hope?

Rosa genuinely couldn't tell. She didn't know what was what.

How much did Scarlett know? For how long? Scarlett had known who she was before they even met, so…since the beginning?

But why would any sane person look for her if they knew the truth about her condition? No matter what services Rosa could provide, it wouldn't make up for that. Unless… Scarlett had sought her out specifically because of it?

Like a dam bursting, a deluge of questions rose up that Rosa was both afraid and hoped to hear the answer to, each one threatening to pour out at once.

"…I misspoke," Scarlett suddenly said. "You do not have to answer that question."

Rosa was brought out of her thoughts. "No, wait, I'm—"

"Let me rephrase." Scarlett held up a hand. "Do not answer that question. This is not the right time."

The woman looked down at her other hand, and Rosa blinked as she saw part of the skin take on a darker hue. Scarlett quickly hid it under the desk.

Rosa kept staring at the woman. "What was that?"

"Something you should not concern yourself with for now," Scarlett eventually answered in a stern, but tired, voice. Rosa felt like she could hear pain as well. "Now, what was it that you wished to discuss with me that could not wait?"

Rosa slowly opened her mouth, then closed it. She had come here to say she was leaving, but now, she didn't know what to say. She wanted to ask questions, but the atmosphere in the room and Scarlett's tone made it clear she wouldn't accept those right now.

"No, it was just…" She eventually found her voice, though she wasn't even sure what came out. "I ran into this strange cat outside, and I thought I had to bring it up with you."

"A…cat, you say?" Scarlett's eyes shifted to the door, gazing at it as if she could peer through the wood.

"Yes. It had black fur and was lying on the windowsill. It left right after it saw me, though."

For some reason, Rosa knew that it hadn't just left for another part of the mansion.

"…I suppose it would soon be time," Scarlett muttered.

"Do you know why that cat was there?" With the previous avenue of conversation closed to her, Rosa was happy to grasp on to this change in subject.

The woman nodded her head slowly. "I do, yes. It is not a bad omen, if that is your concern. Perhaps it could even be considered a good one. However…" A pensive expression formed on her face. "There is still much to be done."

"That's right, you must be busy with preparations for that fancy ball thing that's taking place next week, don't you?"

Scarlett stared at her as if that had completely slipped her mind. The woman raised a hand to her temple. "True… There is that as well. In my current state, however, I fear that I might accidentally reduce the first person to approach me with fake pleasantries to ashes."

Normally, this was where Rosa would have laughed and said that Scarlett was finally getting the hang of jokes, but she felt like the woman was completely serious. Despite seeming like the type who would love such an event, Scarlett did not look excited. It felt strange, seeing this woman who was usually so unflappable this…exposed.

A few seconds of silence passed between them. Eventually, Scarlett lowered her hand and returned her attention to Rosa. "What do you say of visiting Freymeadow in the morning?"

Rosa studied her tired face for a moment, then showed a small, genuine smile. "Yeah, sure. That might be nice."

She didn't know what would happen from now on, but…maybe she could wait for a bit longer. No, maybe she had to. And then maybe, just maybe, she could find something that helped her stop running.

Chapter 136 - Anger management

[Name: Scarlett Hartford]

[Skills:

[Greater Mana Control]

[Greater Pyromancy]

[Major Pyrokinesis]

[Greater Hydromancy]

[Superior Hydrokinesis]]

[Traits:

[Dignified August]

[Supercilious]

[Cavalier]

[Callous]

[Overbearing]

[Conceited]

[Third-rate Mana Veins]]

[Mana: 1324/5047]

[Points: 2]

Scarlett prompted the status window to appear before her, mindlessly scanning through it and its contents. This was maybe the…tenth time in the last five minutes? She wasn't sure. There wasn't anything new that appeared just because she kept looking, but it was something to focus on.

As her eyes passed over her mana, she paused and blinked. It was depleting quickly again.

She turned away from the status window to see a crackling inferno of flames hovering in the air a dozen meters ahead of her. It hadn't even registered to her that she'd summoned it. She raised a hand and closed her fist as if smothering the flames. They died out immediately, and now that she was paying attention, she noticed the temperature decreasing quickly, leaving only the usual summer warmth that was always present here in Freymeadow.

For a while, she simply sat there, looking out at the empty space.

"Want me to refill it for you?" Rosa's approaching voice rang out after a while.

Scarlett looked to the side as the woman neared, stopping next to her and pointing down at the [Depraved Solitude's Choker] around her neck. She considered the bard for a moment, then held up her hand. With a thought, the necklace disappeared and reappeared in her palm, which she extended out to the woman.

Rosa received it and touched her index finger against the violet crystal hanging from the artifact. It lit up as the mana inside began filling up.

Neither of them spoke.

With everything else that had happened recently, it felt like that was threatening to become the norm now. They had barely had more than a few conversations over the past week and a half. Scarlett had been away, yes, but after she returned… Well, the awkward talk they'd had the night before in her office spoke magnitudes.

Her gaze turned down to her left hand resting on her lap. The pain that had flared up from the crest there was still vivid in her memory. She shouldn't have even tried asking Rosa about the woman's condition to begin with. She'd allowed her current mental state to get the better of her and done something stupid. Her words had been far too close to breaking the pact of noninterference she had made with the being inside the bard. If she had pushed things further, it wouldn't have ended well for either party.

"So… How's the practice going?" Rosa asked casually.

Scarlett looked up at her, and the woman gestured to where dark pockmarks were scattered out over the dirt in front of them.

"Couldn't help but notice that it all looked slightly more intense than it usually does. Almost scared the living daylights out of me at first. Thought the entire village might go up in flames."

Scarlett eyed the aftermath of her 'practice'.

She had kept it all a decent distance away from any buildings at least, so it wasn't as if there had been an actual risk of her burning the place down. Although she would admit that the traces left on the ground looked more erratic than usual.

"…It has proceeded adequately," she answered.

She was just having a hard time concentrating.

"Uh-huh, sure." Rosa smiled as she finished refilling the necklace, holding it back out to her. "Nice to see you're human as well. That austere look of yours used to have me think you didn't know what the W in 'worrying' stood for."

Scarlett received the artifact, storing it away with the [Charm of Expeditious Change].

Rosa pointed back to a small group of children at the center of the square, sitting on the edge of the wooden stage there with their legs dangling in the air. All of them were staring in their direction. "I should probably head back to the little scoundrels. They got a bit riled up by your training earlier and started talking about crazy witches. Had a hard time convincing them you were as harmless as a butterfly, so I made a bet whether you would gobble me up or not if I went up to you. I just won myself a free tour through their 'secret forest trail'."

Scarlett raised an eyebrow. "Have you not already explored what there is to find in the surrounding area?"

The bard shrugged with a sly smirk. "Sure, but they don't know that. There's nothing quite as amusing as watching the surprise on others' faces as they start thinking you must be a fortune teller of some kind. I know you agree."

Scarlett studied her for a moment before turning away. "I see. Then you may take your leave. I will not be needing your assistance for another few hours, at the very least, so there is no need to stress."

"Alrighty then," Rosa said, but then a few seconds of silence passed without any footsteps. "…You sure you'll be okay?" the woman added after a while.

Scarlett shifted her eyes back to see a slightly worried furrow on the woman's brow.

"…Even if I were not, there is unfortunately not much that you could do about it, Miss Hale."

A strange expression crossed Rosa's face, but it was gone almost as soon as it had appeared, replaced by her usual smile. "Well, I'll see you later then. Toodles." She started walking over towards the children.

Scarlett watched her leave for a moment, then turned back to gazing out at nothing.

She had hoped that visiting Freymeadow would help her calm down a bit after all that happened, but she wasn't sure if it had made much of a difference. She clenched her fist. Even just thinking about it made the anger surge up again.

Ever since arriving in this world, she'd become somewhat used to being at the mercy of the original Scarlett's more negative emotions, but never before had she felt so powerless before them. Never had she felt herself lose control like this.

Days had passed since it all happened, and she was still mad.

The anger lurked beneath the surface most of the time, but it was always ready to show itself again. She'd been like this ever since Gaven basically admitted to trying to kill the Countess. After that, she wasn't completely sure of everything that happened or what she'd been thinking. It had all just been a mess of pure, unbridled rage and destruction like she had never experienced before.

And the worst part was that she wasn't even sure what she was angry about.

Was it the fact that Gaven had attacked the Countess, a naive and innocent woman who relied on Scarlett? Was it that he had essentially betrayed an ally of theirs? Was it because he had gone against her order? Because he had slighted her?

Or was it simply because she knew what happened was partly her fault, and she could have avoided it if she had taken the man's personality into further account?

She genuinely couldn't tell.

It was infuriating. Maddening, almost. Both to not know her own thoughts, and to know that she could lose control of herself like that. At the time, she had almost burnt down an entire clearing before she completely grasped the situation. Pushed a man to the brink of death before realizing what she was doing. And she knew, knew, that what happened to Gaven after that couldn't be wholly blamed on the original Scarlett's influence.

The only silver lining in this whole situation was that Gaven's last words suggested the Countess could still be alive. He had poisoned her, but the woman had managed to use the artifact Scarlett gave her to teleport away. She was sturdier than what one would expect from her appearance, and she had access to powers not even Scarlett completely understood. Someone like her could survive being poisoned. Scarlett truly believed that.

Unfortunately, she hadn't had the chance to stay and look for the Countess after the heist on the Sanctuary. Not after the mess she caused. She doubted the woman would let her after what happened. But that meant the Countess might currently be by herself, god-knows-where in the empire. Not only injured, but also betrayed by the man she had worked with—the man Scarlett had told her to work with—and without having rescued her sister.

There was no telling what state of mind the Countess was in after all that. Or what would happen if the wrong person ran into her.

Scarlett closed her eyes, taking several deep breaths as the emotions threatened to overtake her again.

Whatever her actual feelings on the topic, she had to find the Countess again, no matter what. Even if not for the woman's own sake, she at the very least had to make sure the Countess didn't speak of what happened to anyone else. From there, she might be able to repair what was left.

Going by what she had heard, the Followers hadn't made any public announcements yet. There was bound to be some uproar within their own circles, though, but this much was good. They shouldn't have any reason to suspect her in particular. Barring that she left without the Countess and Gaven, her escape had gone off without a hitch. After taking their leave from the area near the Sanctuary, she and Garside had hidden inside a nearby dungeon she knew of before making their way back towards Silverborough, with no one stopping them. A couple of trips through the Kilnstone had then brought them back to Freybrook with hopefully none the wiser.

But it was still a precarious situation. She had spent hours upon hours since coming back looking into how to locate the Countess again. There were only so many places the woman could have gone immediately after things went down. Scarlett had pored over maps and notes, trying to figure out which were the most likely, as well as written letters addressed to Beldon Tyndall and a couple of other people she was hoping could help discreetly. There wasn't any guarantee that the Countess would go somewhere with people, though. The woman might both be paranoid and confused, so her actions were hard to predict.

And all the while this whole mess was going on, Scarlett had to prepare for the Tyndall Ball that would take place in less than a week.

Backing out now would probably be a bad idea, but there was also the real possibility that, if she did attend as she was now, she might accidentally light someone on fire. Considering her current reputation and social standing, there were guaranteed to be people that tested her self-control present.

She was tired.

There was so much to think about, and so much she was unsure of right now. Getting a decent night's sleep lately had been difficult, and focusing even more so. Add to that her magic acting out and being hard to rein in and it spelled a mountain of problems. She was sure part of that was because she had upgraded her [Superior Pyrokinesis] to [Major Pyrokinesis] in the heat of the moment and hadn't quite learned how to manage the new skill, but that couldn't be all. When she'd been facing Gaven, controlling her flames had been like breathing, but she couldn't reach that same state. The magic kept doing whatever it wanted at even the briefest lapse in concentration, and it was difficult to perform even the simplest of exercises that she did before.

She glanced at what remained of her mana.

[Mana: 356/2047]

She could theoretically continue her current session if she wanted to. Using the mana Rosa had filled the [Depraved Solitude's Choker] with would probably cause her to faint from exhaustion after just a couple of casts since it still used some of her own mana, but there was an alternative. [Ittar's Genesis], the divine tier artifact she had gotten from the Sanctuary of Ittar, didn't have that same limitation. In theory, if she used the mana inside that to fuel her magic, she could go on forever without worrying about mana exhaustion. It also replenished itself over time, so even when she emptied it she only had to wait for about an hour or so to go again. Mental fatigue was still a thing, but that was easier to fight through for shorter periods.

In her current state, however, that would be a terrible idea. Considering the weak control she had of her mana right now, she could only imagine what might happen if she pushed herself even more. Not to mention that this village was the last place that you wanted to bring out one of the holy items of the Followers of Ittar.

She turned her head, looking to the porch where Arlene always sat.

Scarlett was tired, but she didn't want to take a break. Doing nothing just made her mind drift even more than it already did. It was all too easy for her thoughts to wander back to Gaven.

But she didn't have much choice. She needed to rest just as much as every other person did.

With slow, deliberate movement, she rose from her chair and began walking towards Arlene. The woman didn't look up from her book as Scarlett stepped onto the shaded porch. The cool air chilled her as she lowered herself into the empty seat there.

"Doesn't seem to be going well for you," Arlene said, her tone casual.

Scarlett eyed her. "…No, it is not."

"It's to be expected. Your flames have grown several times stronger than yesterday. Anyone progressing that fast would have difficulties." The woman turned a page. "Most prospective teachers might have gotten annoyed thinking you were trying to hide your skills before. Luckily for you, I'm not that blind. It is a curious development, though. What I find more odd is that it doesn't appear to be the main root of your problems."

Scarlett stayed quiet.

The last time she had been here was before the heist, so her sudden growth would of course look strange from the woman's perspective. When she had upgraded her pyrokinesis before, she explained to Arlene that she'd had a 'revelation' that helped her, but something told her that excuse wouldn't work this time.

That didn't matter, though. She wasn't in the mood to try and come up with believable excuses. This current loop would only continue for two more days, so what did it matter?

"For a person who claims not to care much about others, you certainly seem to cause others to worry a lot about you," Arlene said. "That companion of yours has been keeping a close eye on you since you arrived."

Scarlett looked back to the empty square. Rosa and the children had already left. That the bard had been paying attention to her wasn't surprising. There were several reasons for her to do something like that.

"I do not believe I have ever claimed that I do not care about others," she said.

"Hmm, no. I suppose that wasn't exactly what you said. It also wasn't too far off, though." The woman turned another page in her book. "That said, it surprises me to see you wallowing in your worries so suddenly."

"…What makes you think I am wallowing in worries?"

Arlene looked up from her book. "I have eyes."

It left an unpleasant aftertaste in Scarlett's mouth to let that pass by, but she didn't argue. It wasn't wrong.

"I am not judging, mind you," the woman said. "You simply did not strike me as that type of person."

"And what do you know of what type of person I am? You have yet to know me for two full days. Our previous conversation was far from enough for you to become familiar with who I am."

"I know your type well enough."

Scarlett met Arlene's eyes. "I do not think that you do."

A few seconds passed, and eventually Arlene placed a hand over the cover of her book as she closed it. "Then why don't you enlighten me? What kind of person are you, truly? I am curious to know."

Scarlett looked at her for a moment longer, then turned away. "That is not a question that I am able to answer."

"You don't know?"

She pressed her lips together. "…It is not something I speak of with others."

"Then are you even certain of it yourself?"

She sent her a small glare, but Arlene didn't seem to care.

"To me," the woman began, "it doesn't sound like something you can't speak about. It sounds like something you don't want to speak about."

"I…" Scarlett opened her mouth, but not much more came out.

Arlene didn't know exactly what she was asking.

There were over a dozen reasons why she didn't talk about who she was. About her real identity. There were over a dozen reasons why it would be a bad idea, even if she avoided telling the whole truth. And there was no one that had to know more than what she had already shared. There were no benefits to sharing her circumstances other than to confuse the other person and put herself at risk. So why would she do it? There were only risks, but no real gains.

But…what did that matter here?

It felt strange to think about it, but in a way, Arlene was already one of the people Scarlett had interacted the most with in this world. Despite that, the woman was essentially a stranger to her. But more importantly, she was a stranger to Arlene. There was no actual connection between them.

And…the woman would forget everything they spoke of in a couple of days.

Scarlett took a deep breath, then met the woman's eyes. "I am not the real Scarlett Hartford."

Chapter 137 - Baring oneself

"You are not the real Scarlett Hartford?" Arlene gave her a long, inquisitive look. "That is an odd thing to say, if you ask me. What does that mean?"

"…It is exactly as I said. I am not the real Scarlett."

The two of them observed each other for a while, and a strange sensation wound itself up Scarlett's spine, like a faint tingle. She wasn't sure if it was because of worry, uneasiness, or simple nerves.

She never thought she would truly tell anyone about her identity in this world.

"If I recall correctly," the woman said, "you introduced yourself as 'Scarlett Hartford' just a couple of days ago. Was that a lie, then?"

Shifting her hands to her lap, Scarlett had her jaw set as she moved her gaze across the village square and to the houses there. "…To a certain extent, yes. The truth is that I share the life of the woman known as Scarlett Hartford. Not only her appearance, but her traits and emotions all remain within me to some degree or other. To most people, I may very well be considered Scarlett; however, in truth, I am but a stranger in this body, as well as its prisoner."

From the corner of her eye, she saw Arlene studying her closely. "So that is what you mean when you say you are not the real Scarlett Hartford."

She lowered her head. "Yes."

She wasn't sure how this would sound to the woman. Was it perhaps something inconceivable even in this world of swords and magic? Or could it be something she had encountered before?

Actually, what if Arlene thought she was possessed and tried to exorcise her?

"Alright. I'll believe you," the woman said in a casual tone.

Scarlett turned to her, eyes slightly widened.

Arlene shrugged, as if Scarlett hadn't just shared a tremendous secret. "I am not entirely certain how something like the possession of someone else's entire being—body, emotions, and traits included—would work, but I am not a spiritualist. Not planning on becoming one, either. I will do you the favor of not assuming you're a demon or a specter, though you can skip the gratitude for that."

Scarlett stared at her for a moment longer.

The woman leaned back in her chair, giving her an expectant look. "So? You're not leaving it at that, are you? Tell me — who are you, really?"

Gathering herself together from the surprise, Scarlett shook her head free from any further doubts. Arlene was being candid with her, and so would she be in return. "My true name is Amy. Amy Bernal."

The words felt strange as they left her.

This was the first time she had ever said her name out loud since coming to this world. Even just the number of times she had thought about her real name since then was frighteningly low, now that she considered it. It almost sounded foreign to her now, spoken in the detached voice of Scarlett. Like a distant memory of a life once lived — even though only a few months had actually passed.

"Amy Bernal, huh?" Arlene uttered the name as if tasting it, then nodded at her. "Pleasure to make a proper acquaintance with you, Amy."

Scarlett blinked. Being addressed like that felt even stranger. Not only because the woman used her real name, but it was the way she used it. It was so different from how their first greeting went any of the other times where she barely showed her any interest.

"With that out of the way, I'll ask you the same question as before. But this time to the actual you." Arlene looked her in the eyes. "What kind of person are you, Amy?"

There was a sincerity behind the woman's gaze that Scarlett hadn't encountered before. She almost found herself looking away again, unsure how to respond.

"…Unfortunately, I still do not think I can provide you with an answer to that question."

"Why is that?"

"Because I do not know how much of Amy Bernal I am at this point."

This wasn't a topic she knew how to talk about properly. Even her own thoughts on the subject were scattered at best, and it wasn't something she enjoyed reflecting too much about. The answer also didn't matter for how she would continue surviving in this world.

Arlene didn't say anything for a few seconds, and Scarlett suspected the woman was waiting for her to continue. Either that, or she was giving her space. Whatever the reason, Scarlett took the moment to collect herself and manage the swirl of emotions she felt inside. Most of it was the anger she had felt almost constantly since her fight with Gaven, but it was a lot more confused now. Less directed.

Finally, she opened her mouth to speak again. "I killed a man recently."

Her words were met by even more silence, eventually by followed Arlene's sober tone. "I see." The woman seemed to consider it for a breath. "Was this related to that 'difficult decision' you had made before? The one we talked about last time?"

"In part, yes." Scarlett traced a finger over the hem of the breeches she was wearing. They reached down to cover her ankles but were made of a light wool that helped against the stifling summer air here in Freymeadow.

It was funny that Arlene would ask that. From the woman's perspective, that conversation would have been only yesterday. Most people might not assume that Scarlett would have gone and killed a man in that brief amount of time, or that she would go through such a drastic change.

"…I had two subordinates," she said. "One was a man who aided me in carrying out tasks that I could not afford others knowing about. An unscrupulous rogue whose morals were questionable at best, and who I will admit I saw as not much more than a tool for furthering my goals. The other was a woman who had experienced much grief and pain through her life, yet had been gifted by fate with a power far above most others. Although perhaps some would call it a curse. She was an unfortunate soul with an unstable mind and strength she could not entirely control. Like with the rogue, I also used her to achieve what I wanted. I will not deny this fact, and I am well aware of its implications. I felt it was necessary at the time that I approached them, and I still believe so even now. However, due to my negligence, that woman almost died at the hands of the man acting under my orders."

Scarlett clenched her fist. The anger inside refocused itself as her thoughts went back to it. "In his mind, it was a pragmatic act intended to remove unnecessary risks. Our original purpose for the woman had been completed, and so he saw no point in having her remain alive. As such, he acted in the belief that I would approve." She stayed quiet for a second. "…I sometimes tell myself that I do what I do for the better of all. If that was genuinely the truth, then perhaps I would have approved. I do think myself capable of that type of callousness."

She turned to Arlene with a grave face. "Instead, when I learned of this, I burned him. I burned him and everything around us in a fit of rage which I did not even try to control. Even as he begged for his life, even as I gained a semblance of lucidity that I have only experienced a couple of times since entering this body, I did not hesitate to reduce him to nothing but ashes before my very eyes. And I do not feel regret or sadness. The only thing that persisted was the anger, and it will not go away."

The woman looked at her with an unreadable expression. "…Is this what you mean when you say you don't know how much of you is Amy Bernal?

Scarlett gave a slow nod. "Not many are capable of speaking about killing a man without mercy or remorse."

"But you think Scarlett Hartford was?"

"Yes."

"Then, is it that you think her personality has affected yours to the point where you're not Amy Bernal anymore?"

"I do not think that. " She shook her head. "I know it for a fact. What I am uncertain about is how much of my change is due to the original Scarlett, and how much is simply due to my adjusting to the current circumstances. Would the old me have been capable of the same thing in this situation if I was unaffected by Scarlett's personality?"

Arlene studied her. "Is it such a fine line where you cannot tell?"

"…Once again, I do not know." Scarlett sighed. "The original Scarlett was a vile woman. She was arrogant, ruthless, conceited, indifferent, and considered most anyone beneath her as little more than dirt. She did not shrink from dealing with syndicates that committed murder or trafficked innocent children if she believed she stood to gain and she was an ambitious woman. In the time since I have occupied her life, I have learned that she was inordinately capable in many ways, yet she was also held back by her own talents and the position she was born into. Her fate was that of a stereotypical villainess, with her demise already predestined."

"It does not sound as if she will be missed."

"One would think so. Despite all of that, however, she was a woman who held surprisingly strong emotional attachments to those close to her, twisted though they were. She cared for her butler in a way I suspect she was not even aware of herself, and even though her own sister disgusted her, I do not believe she would ever have allowed anyone but herself to interfere with their relationship. The same complexity appears to hold true for her feelings related to her parents and the one person who might have been called her friend, though I do not understand the circumstances behind that completely."

Scarlett looked down at her hands. It was not something she thought about a lot, but while these hands were not much larger than her old ones had been, they were thinner and the skin was smoother. Despite that, they didn't really feel like a stranger's hands.

"In comparison, Amy Bernal was a very ordinary woman," she said. "People often called her kind and considerate, and she spent years of her life caring for her younger sister when their parents died. She had never purposefully hurt another, and while she did not necessarily believe herself to be 'kind', she did consider herself a decent person. She was happy with the life she led and the relationships she had, and most of her regrets were not things she would have changed even if she had the choice."

She paused, trying to order things in her mind. It was hard to distill all her thoughts on the matter into words that accurately conveyed her feelings and didn't sound misleading.

"…Despite all of this, I cannot recall ever feeling as strongly about those around me as Scarlett did. I cared about my parents, and I still care about my sister. I miss them, and I wish I could see them again, yet I did not cry when our parents died, nor during any of the difficult times that followed. I am not certain I have ever cried for someone else. Compared to Scarlett, who felt strongly about those close to her, my emotions feel much more distant. It is a somewhat disturbing thought, if one is familiar with the type of person Scarlett was."

She looked back up at Arlene.

"But that in and of itself is not the primary issue. I do not mean to make it appear as if this is a realization to me, or that I fear what type of person I was. I have always been aware that I did not get as emotionally attached as others, but it has never affected my life severely. In almost all other ways, I would consider myself a more sympathetic, moral, and emotionally mature person than Scarlett Hartford. Of this, I have no doubt. It is simply that now, when I share the personality of a woman as callous as her, I wonder what parts of the current me are mere remnants left behind of her, and what is solely me. Her potent feelings about those around her only serves as a marked contrast between us. An area where I know her personality has overruled mine."

She met the woman's eyes for a few seconds, then shook her head again with an annoyed sigh and turned away. "You will have to excuse me. It is difficult to communicate it all properly."

"…You seem to be worrying about it quite a bit, at the very least," Arlene said. "Can I take it that you would prefer if yours and Scarlett's personalities were separate?"

Scarlett scowled. "That one is difficult to answer. It is uncertain if I would have gotten to where I am today had I been unaffected by her traits, so if I were to be pragmatic, the answer might be no. Yet I do not enjoy the unpredictability of it all, and I loathe not being in control of my emotions." She pressed her lips together. "…In the end, however, these are mostly nothing more but my disorganized ruminations on the matter. Most of my actual feelings on it are numb, in a way. Sterile and removed from myself. Instead, I am forced to suffer through the ones that affected Scarlett the most. In large part, that is anger."

Glancing down at her feet, she noticed several motes of fire had popped up on the porch's floorboards, licking at the wood. She closed her eyes, recentering herself and smothering the rebellious flames.

"I suppose the worst part is being unable to tell what the true reason for the anger is…" she muttered to herself.

It would be nice if she could say for sure that she was enraged because of what happened to the Countess and not simply because Gaven had acted against her wishes.

"It sounds like a challenging dilemma." Next to her, Arlene looked relaxed in her chair, looking out over Freymeadow. "I do hope you believe me when I tell you that I wished I had something to say that could help, but I don't. I've been responsible for enough mistakes in my life that one could consider me an expert in what not to do, but unless it's related to magic, I often find myself hopeless when trying to discern what the right thing to do is.

"That said—" The woman turned to Scarlett. "I will say this: The world isn't a fair place, neither in its workings nor in its reality. But it can be made fairer, if only ever so slightly. What defines you in this world isn't your feelings about things, but your actions. This can both be a curse and a blessing, depending on the where and how, but it is the truth. Anything else is a privilege. I imagine you might share this sentiment, considering what you have told me."

Scarlett looked at her for a while, then nodded. "I often choose to put more attention on the meaning of my actions than the motivations behind them, but as you said, it can both be helpful and harmful. Unfortunately, neither makes the reality of my current situation any less vexing."

"It doesn't, no," Arlene said. "If it's any consolation, I think the day will come where someone brings tears to your eyes. At that time, hopefully you can be certain whether it's Amy Bernal's or Scarlett Hartford's."

Despite it all, Scarlett almost found herself chuckling at that. "That is perhaps the strangest consolation I have heard. But I suppose I should thank you." She eyed the woman. "Both for that, and for indulging me."

She didn't understand why, she actually felt better now. If only a little. The anger and all the other emotions hadn't suddenly just disappeared with these last few sentences, but something did feel different after talking about it all. She felt slightly more calm and relaxed. This was the first time she had ever opened up like this, both in this world and back in her own. She had not thought of herself as the kind of person who would get anything from it.

Neither of them said anything for a while as they sat there in silence, looking out at the houses spread out around the village square.

After a few minutes had passed, Arlene was the one to finally speak again. "I've been pretty generous here, I would say, with not asking how you got yourself into this situation. How 'Amy Bernal' became 'Scarlett Hartford'."

Scarlett glanced at her. "Do you truly wish to know?"

The woman's pale green eyes turned to hers. "Now that I've heard this much, I don't have much choice, do I?"

She hesitated for a moment.

There was a reason she had been vague about everything but her own identity. Could she actually speak about more than that? Should she speak about more?

"It will be difficult to believe," she said. "An uncomfortable truth to accept."

Arlene seemed to consider her for a few seconds before suddenly turning away again. "Then maybe it's best if I don't hear it."

Scarlett blinked a few times before slowly nodding her head. She honestly hadn't expected that answer, but it was probably for the best. Arlene had questioned nothing she said so far, but there was no telling what—

"What are you waiting for?" the woman said. "Go on."

Scarlett stared at her, and Arlene looked back at her with a small smile.

"Didn't I tell you before? I always make choices that I regret."

Chapter 138 - Before another

Scarlett eyed Arlene quietly for a while before finally speaking. "What do you know about the nature of this world?"

The woman gave her a curious look. "That depends. What do you think the 'nature' of this world means, in this context?"

"I am not entirely certain myself," Scarlett admitted. "But in essence, what I am referring to might be what this world is. Its purpose and how it came to be. I suspect that, whatever perspective you might have on the topic, it is likely to differ significantly from mine."

Arlene cocked her head slightly to the side. "And why is that?"

"Because to me, this world was originally nothing but a game."

"…A game?" the woman asked.

"Yes. A game." Scarlett nodded, turning to look over the village they were in. "I do not wish for you to misunderstand, so to properly convey what I mean by that, it might be appropriate to first explain more about myself and where I am from."

From the corner of her eye, she could see that Arlene was studying her closely. "Alright. Feel free."

"It might come as a surprise, but I am not originally from the empire. In fact, I do not even hail from this world." Scarlett gestured around them. "With that, I do not mean to say that I come from another realm such as the Wandering Realm or one of the Blazes. Rather, I come from a completely separate world entirely. One that is very unlike this one in many ways. If you recall, I mentioned that I was not very different from most others. There, I lived as an ordinary woman with a relatively ordinary life, making my livelihood as a content editor rather than a noblewoman."

"A content editor?"

Scarlett glanced at Arlene. That was what she first thought to ask about?

"…Some of related terms might be unfamiliar to you, but the concept itself should not be entirely foreign. When I was younger, I performed my studies for a bachelor's in English, which I then later used to gain employment as an editor for a consulting firm. My work primarily consisted of quality checking articles, proofreading and editing, as well as performing research and monitoring reader engagement. If you are familiar with the Empyreal Chronicle, then perhaps you could compare me to one of their editors, though I would expect there to be some significant differences."

The woman's forehead creased together. "I'm not familiar with this 'Empyreal Chronicle'."

"You are not?"

Perhaps it was after the woman's time, then?

Scarlett shook her head. "Ultimately, the specifics behind my profession do not matter. What is important is the world that I came from, which, for some reason, is not the part that you chose to question."

"I am waiting to hear more about what you have to say."

"I appreciate the patience." She took a moment to gather her thoughts, contemplating how she should explain this. "As a mage, I am sure you have grown accustomed to seeing magic as a part of your everyday life ever since you were young, yes?"

"I came from a family of mages," Arlene said. "My first encounter with magic was likely before I can even remember."

"For me, it was the opposite. I had never encountered magic before I found myself in Scarlett's body. The reason for that is simple." Scarlett summoned a small flame, considering it for a moment before extinguishing it. "In my world, there was no magic. No enchanted artifacts, no monsters, and no dragons that fly on high and burn entire cities. Where I am from, such things were simply pieces of myths and legends; existing more for entertainment than anything else. What we lacked in magic, however, we by far made up for in other areas.

"My people, though it feels strange to refer to them in that way, were developed in ways you might not even be able to imagine. Where in this world you might have wooden carriages drawn by horses, we had cars — automated metal wagons that traveled at ten times the speed of most draft animals. Where you had Kilnstones and powerful mages capable of teleportation, we had airplanes — vehicles that flew through the air and could travel across the world in less than a day while carrying hundreds of passengers. And where you have magical artifacts that allow individuals to confer even when miles apart, we had radios, computers, and phones — devices available or carried by almost everyone, allowing access to global networks of instant communication that were so complex in their underlying workings that even the most learned of wizards would be in awe."

Scarlett paused to glance at Arlene, who seemed to be listening closely.

"I do not mean to sound arrogant or cause offense," she continued, "but to me, the level at which people live in this world might be compared to how you would view 'primitive' tribes living off what nature provides them in the woods. The people themselves are not the issue, but there are centuries' worth of history and development that differentiate our worlds." She frowned. "That is not to say that my world is unquestionably superior. In our strive for progress, we have created a countless number of new problems that threaten our existence. But it is difficult to grow accustomed to the relatively simple advancement in this world when you are used to so much more."

The other woman looked at her with a quiet expression for a while, as if digesting her words. Then she eventually responded. "I can't say I can entirely imagine the picture you are describing, but I understand the sentiment behind your words. Only a fool, which includes far too many nobles, would think that the Graenal Empire is at the peak of civilizations. Anyone that has ever encountered Zuverian artifacts or visited the Rising Isle would know that the empire is no match for the society that the Zuver had built, so if your world is anything close to their level, then what you are saying makes sense."

Scarlett observed her. Was Arlene simply humoring her for now, or did she actually accept her words this easily?

"…The Zuver were indeed an impressive people, but even they were far behind my people in most ways." She knew enough of them from the game to say that they couldn't really be compared to the modern world. "That said, there were several areas where they were far ahead of us. We did not have access to any magic, after all. Instant transportation is not something we are guaranteed to ever achieve, for example."

"I am curious how you would power these automated wagons and flying vehicles of yours with no magic or beasts pulling them," Arlene said.

"There are several means of propulsion which do not require either to work, though many of those are far too complicated for me to expatiate on. Internal combustion was a common one."

"Internal combustion?"

Scarlett had wanted to get back to her other explanation, but seeing the keen look on the woman's face, she sighed and continued. "I hesitate to say too much in case I am wrong, but it is a method whereby some fuel is burned inside an engine and the expansion of gases from this process power a piston or turbine of some sort. That is all I can tell you, and I imagine that most children could have as well."

A thoughtful expression grew on Arlene's face. "No, I understand what you're referring to. It is not an uncommon phenomenon to use in pyromancy spells. I suppose it could be reproduced as you said even without magic under the right conditions, though I would be ill-fitted to say how. It tends to be rather explosive." She held a hand to her chin, looking out into thin air as she seemed to consider it further.

Finally, she returned her attention to Scarlett. "Certainly sounds like you come from an interesting place, but I interrupted you, didn't I? I assume this all ties into how you found yourself in Scarlett Hartford's body?"

"…Yes, it does." Scarlett gave a slow nod. "The advanced level of my society allowed us many freedoms and luxuries that perhaps not even the emperor in this world might have access to. There was a heavy focus on individuality, and different forms of entertainment were a significant part of most modern cultures to a degree that cannot even be compared to how it is here. Entertainment as an industry was a behemoth, integrated into society perhaps far more than it should have been. It was not uncommon for people to spend more time enjoying these various entertainments than on their own work or the people around them."

Arlene raised an eyebrow. "That sounds a lot like the legends about the city of Khalzaikoz before it was engulfed by the Blazes… I'm not certain this world of yours sounds quite as enticing anymore."

"I do not recognize the name, but I suspect I can roughly deduce the contents of those legends. We had similar ones where I am from. I will not claim that my world's fixation on entertainment was not without its flaws, but I can tell you that it was not as bad as it may sound."

"I will have to take your word for it."

"I do not know who else's there is to take." Scarlett rested her arm on the armchair of her seat for a moment, tapping her finger against the wood. "To continue where I left off, a popular field of entertainment were fictional narratives — books, plays, songs, and many others. They came in a wide variety of forms and media, most of which you likely have not heard of. I myself held much interest in games."

"That relates to the 'game' you mentioned earlier, I presume," Arlene said.

"Yes." Scarlett gestured around them. "To you, this term might share more connotations with the types of activities the children here in Freymeadow have enjoyed together with Miss Hale these last few days, but that is not what I am referring to. The games we had in my world could perhaps be compared more to interactive simulations of a kind, though I will not trouble you with the details. Suffice to say that you can consider these games as another type of fictional narrative similar to novels." Looking over at Arlene, she glanced down at the book on the woman's lap. "I assume you have read such a book at some point, at least?"

Arlene showed a slight smile. "That kind of pastime is not exactly my cup of tea, but I have perused one or two on occasion. This isn't one of them if you're curious." She traced a hand over the book.

"Then what type of work is that?"

The woman held up the featureless cover, examining it. "Hard to tell, is it not? It lacks a title."

Scarlett eyed her. Arlene spent most of her time reading through that book, so there was no way she didn't know what it was. But if she did not want to say, there was nothing to be done about it at the moment. Scarlett had never managed to get anything but brief glimpses of its pages.

"So, you were saying?" Arlene signaled with her hand as if prompting her to continue.

Scarlett kept her gaze on the book for a moment longer before returning it to the woman herself. "Yes, as I was saying… Of these games, there was one in particular that I spent a considerable amount of time on. It depicted a story taking place in a fictional world of wizards and magic called Tanrelia. There, it followed a character making their way through the Graenal Empire during a time of strife and chaos, detailing this character's adventures. Numerous important places and events were explored, as well as the stories of noted personages that made that world their home."

She paused for a moment to observe the woman, but Arlene didn't show any sort of reaction to her words yet.

"There was one specific person in this game that could be described as serving the role of a minor villainess in the story. An antagonist who died not too far into the game after being confronted by the protagonist for her crimes. That person was named Scarlett Hartford."

She met the woman's eyes.

"I assume you understand where I am going with this."

A few seconds passed as Arlene looked at her. "You're saying that this world is part of a fictional work in this 'game' of yours, and that you have taken over the body of a character depicted in it." The woman sounded oddly casual as she said that. It would not be unreasonable to show at least some incredulity.

Scarlett nodded. "That is correct."

"And exactly how did that happen?" Arlene asked. She seemed to not even bother with questioning the supposed scenario.

"I do not know. I have vague memories of being in my home one day, and then I simply found myself in Scarlett's body without warning. Whether it was an act of god or something else is still a mystery."

"Assuming you are telling the truth, which…" The woman appeared to consider her for a moment. "I do think you are speaking the truth, by the way." Scarlett's eyes widened at the admission, but Arlene simply continued. "Assuming it is true, then this sounds like a scenario that could only have been shaped by a deity of some kind. Something this involved and specific does not happen simply because the stars happened to align."

"…I am inclined to agree," Scarlett said. "However, I do not think that Ittar or any of the other gods in this world that I know of could have been responsible. Not only can I not comprehend what reason they would have for that, but the game itself treated them as nothing more but actors part of the narrative. Since it described not only the past of this world but also predicted its near future in excruciating detail, I have found it best not to underestimate the knowledge provided by it. That is not power that Ittar or any of the other gods hold, as far as I am aware."

Arlene looked slightly surprised at that, once more raising a hand to her chin. "You're saying even the gods might not be beyond this story of yours? Are you truly convinced of its accuracy, even for future events?"

"It is possible that some factors might differ because of my intervention, but I am certain that the majority of it is reliable. I have witnessed much of it myself."

The woman looked thoughtful. "That suggests there is something more powerful than even the gods at play here, no? Is there a god like that in your world, or any power you know of?"

Scarlett shook her head. "The gods worshipped in my world are not as…proactive as the ones here. It is to the degree where many of their existences are doubted. I know of nothing that would have a reason and the ability to forge a scenario like this. The only clue I have to what might be responsible is the system that I have access to."

"The system?"

"It is an…interface, you could say." She pointed at the air in front of her. "It is only visible to me, displaying an approximated quantification of Scarlett's personality and her 'skills'. This includes her traits and how large her mana stores are, as well as what level her magic is at. My hydrokinesis, for example, is a skill that is currently considered to be at the 'Superior' level, while my pyrokinesis is at the 'Major' level. The system also has quests that I can complete—small trials, of a sort—which provide me with a currency through which I can upgrade these skills, bypassing the usual steps such improvement would require."

Arlene stared at her.

"That might sound odd to you," Scarlett said. "But that is not too dissimilar to how many games worked in my world."

"They let you ignore years or decades of training in return for completing minor tasks?" The woman looked more affronted than Scarlett had ever seen her before.

"Any skills and accomplishments in the game were nothing but simulations and fictional numbers so they had no actual bearing on reality, but that was the idea, yes. The purpose was to entertain, and people would not find it fun to spend years on practice when they could simply achieve the same results in a fraction of the time, would they?"

Arlene continued looking at her for a while longer before eventually shaking her head. "I understand what you are saying, though I can't say that I like it. Leaving that behind, this 'system' sounds awfully tailored to your circumstances. The underlying mechanisms behind allowing a relative beginner to use complex magics are something I cannot even pretend to understand. It would almost certainly have to be customised to the individual, and I can assure you that it does not happen unintentionally."

Scarlett frowned. She had, of course, considered the matter a lot and reached a similar conclusion, but thinking that things might have been designed specifically for her left an unpleasant taste in her mouth.

"I'm curious," Arlene said. "What do you make of the fact that this world existed as nothing more than a 'game' where you're from? It begs the question of what could be considered to have come first, after all. This world, and all of its people, traditions, and history, or this game of yours."

Scarlett blinked. That was also a question she had thought about a lot on her own, but it wasn't something she expected a person hailing from this world to ask this soon.

"…At first glance," she began, reflecting on her words. "It would be more reasonable for the game to have been designed in the fashion of this world."

"You think so?"

She stared at Arlene. "You do not?"

"I'm not sure," the woman said.

"…Do you have a reason to be hesitant about it?"

There were several things that stood out to Scarlett and made her question that assumption, but she had the privilege of looking at things as an outsider with access to the system.

"Perhaps not, no." Arlene went quiet, gazing out at Freymeadow and its homes. "Or maybe I do? Who knows?"

Scarlett furrowed her brows. "…For me, there are several questions that experiencing this world has raised for me that I do not know how to answer properly. Chiefly, perhaps, is the fact that Modern Imperial is the exact same language that is used where I am from, although we know it as English. Modern Imperial even shares many of the same idioms that I am familiar with. I am left perplexed at how that could have occurred if one did not directly supplant one language onto the other. However, from what cursory research I have done on the topic, it appears as if Modern Imperial developed organically in this world, similar to how English did in my world."

This earned her an interested look from Arlene. "The exact same language, you say? That does sound somewhat unlikely." She seemed to consider it for a moment longer, then waved her hand in the air as if to postpone the question for another time. "This system you described, it's what allowed you to advance so much with your pyrokinesis between yesterday and today, am I correct?"

"It is," Scarlett confirmed.

The woman nodded to herself. "That at least explains some things. I have been trying to puzzle out how you reached your current level, considering your inexperience. The leap in power I saw today should have been impossible. I had been thinking about whether you made a pact with a demon or something of the sort."

"I know better than to trust demons in regards like these."

"That's good." Arlene let out a small chuckle. "I will admit, it both annoys me and relieves me to finally learn the reason behind your magic. But I understand why you sought me out to be taught by me. Did you know who I was because of this game as well?"

"Yes."

The woman's eyes turned sharper, and the small smile she'd shown faded. "And that was the only reason you wanted to find me in particular?"

Scarlett froze. There was an intensity in that gaze that she hadn't seen before. This question was more charged than it seemed, but she didn't know exactly in what way.

She remained silent for a while, thinking about how to respond. There were several motives behind her choosing Arlene to teach her, and any of those could probably function as a reason of its own. But what answer was it that the woman wanted?

Finally, she lifted her hand and pointed behind Arlene. At the red-tinted wooden casket placed on a stool in front of the house wall at the corner of the porch.

[Locked Jewellery Casket]

{A woman's jewellery casket. There appears to be no way of opening it}

"I am here for what is inside that."

She had already gone this far anyway, so what was the point of holding back?

The woman looked back at the casket. "Oh? I didn't think the day would come where someone would show an interest in that useless old thing."

"You might consider it useless, but I am in dire need of it."

Arlene's mouth curved upward in an apologetic smile. "That is a shame. I can't give it to you."

Scarlett held herself back from clicking her tongue. That is about what she expected. In the game, there had only been one way of getting that box. Even if you tried to steal it, it wouldn't open. She turned away from the woman, looking back out at the village square. "I will simply have to convince you, then."

A soft laugh rang through the air beside her. "You do that."

Following that, a brief lull of quiet fell over them, uncertain emotions moving about inside Scarlett.

Even more so than simply sharing her true identity with the woman, sharing her whole situation felt so strange that she felt this could be a dream. Especially considering how easily Arlene seemed to be taking it all. But now that she had started this, she was planning on finishing it as well.

"I will admit, I am surprised you chose to share all this." Arlene was the first to break the silence. "It takes courage to tell a relative stranger something of this nature."

Scarlett glanced at her. "What I find more surprising is how readily you appear to have accepted my words."

The woman shrugged lightly. "I am many things. Stubborn, unsociable, mordant… Inclined to make bad choices." She let out another short laugh, this one more self-deprecating than previously. "But I have long since learned not to let my own perspective blind me to that of others. Even when they're wrong, it doesn't hurt to listen to them. And while you happen to sound like someone who should be wrong about most all things, your words ring true where it matters. I won't deny the reality in front of me. I am already far too familiar with the consequences of doing that for longer than one should."

Scarlett observed her quietly for several seconds, eyeing the woman's features.

"My reason for sharing this with you is simple," she said with a small sigh. "Because in two days, you will no longer remember this conversation."

Chapter 139 - Sincerity

"That's a curious statement," Arlene said. "I am aware I have a few years on you, but I don't look that old, do I?"

Scarlett considered her. While Arlene did have faint wrinkles and darker skin under her eyes, she didn't appear much older than forty or so. Younger than Adalicia Mendenhall, probably.

She shook her head. "I do not believe you truly think that is what I meant."

The woman showed a wry smile. "No, but one never knows. You certainly seem to know something that I do not, considering your previous words."

Scarlett raised her hand and gestured at the houses in Freymeadow. "Do you know what this place is?"

Arlene studied her for a moment before looking around with an almost casual expression. "I wonder," she drawled. "Most would have answered a simple village, but that's not the response you are looking for, is it?"

Scarlett kept her eyes on the woman. She had always been curious exactly how self-aware Arlene was about her situation. Their previous interactions showed that she clearly had some idea that this place wasn't entirely natural. There had to be a reason she always made them leave before nightfall after all, as if she was aware that outsiders couldn't stay here all the time. But it was hard to tell if the woman was actually aware, or if it was subconscious in some way.

Scarlett pointed at a house on the other end side of the village square. It was a single building, with a timber base and a thatched roof. Behind it was a tiny patch of land with a small ramshackle shed that looked like it might collapse any day now.

"That home belongs to a Gill and Leticia Adlam," she said. "Gill Adlam is one of the men that tends to the livestock outside the village, while his wife Leticia spends her days performing chores and processing the wool that they gather."

Whenever she had to spend a day resting here in Freymeadow, those two were the ones Rosa convinced to lend out their home. They were a nice enough couple, even if the accommodations themselves were somewhat lackluster.

She turned to look at Arlene. "Other than when I travel to and from the village, I have never left this area or spoken with any of the villagers. You can personally attest to this, I suspect. Taking that into account, how do you think I know this information about the Adlams?"

"Are you playing riddles now?" the woman asked.

"I am simply attempting to answer your previous question."

"Is that so? Then I would say that bard friend of yours could have told you. She charmed the children easily enough, so it would not be hard to learn about the adults."

"And what if I tell you she has shared nothing of the sort?"

Arlene seemed to consider her for a brief second. "They could have been mentioned in the game you described."

"It paid little attention to people whose impact on the overall narrative was that insignificant."

A laugh escaped the woman's mouth. "If that's true, then I suppose I should be flattered that I was in it."

Scarlett nodded. "If that is how you choose to view it, yes."

"I do choose so, yes." Arlene leaned back in her seat. "But I am not one to particularly enjoy riddles, so I will satisfy with these many tries. Tell me how you knew them."

Scarlett watched her closely. It was difficult to tell if she actually gave up because she didn't know, or if there was some other reason behind it. "I know their names and what they do because this is not the first time I visit this village. Nor was our first encounter two days ago our first proper meeting." She waited for Arlene to meet her eyes. "…It has not escaped my attention that you have yet to ask what your role in the game was. Is there a reason for that?"

A knowing smile formed on the woman's face. "There is. But it is most likely not the reason you are thinking of." She turned away, gazing out in silence over the village for a while. "I presume that I don't live to see the end of this game. Am I right?"

Scarlett paused. "…It depends on the actions of the person who plays the game. But there are only two possible endings that I know of."

"From the tone of your voice, am I wrong to assume that my death is the more preferable of those?"

"…No."

In truth, there was only one real ending to Arlene's questline. It could only be reached if you fulfilled her final wish. Which meant letting her die.

The only other alternative was not completing the questline, consigning her to endlessly repeating the same five days and the Freymeadow's demise for all eternity.

"Then what role I had doesn't matter much, does it? It's the same no matter what. As for you…" Arlene turned back to her. "You are here to ensure that I die, aren't you?"

Scarlett stared at her. The woman said it in such a composed tone, but she could see so much unspoken emotion behind those eyes.

"…It is not my wish to see you dead," she said.

"But it is your ultimate aim, if you want to achieve your goal here," Arlene replied. There wasn't a shred of judgement in her gaze.

"You could simply give me the casket."

The woman looked back at the wooden casket behind her. "You know I won't."

"…Why?" Scarlett asked.

"You already know why, or you wouldn't be asking me to teach you."

Both of them fell silent.

Scarlett found some of her irritation and anger from earlier rising up again, and she wanted to say something, anything, to convince the woman. This had never been a matter of Arlene not being able to give Scarlett what she needed. It had always been that the woman refused. And just like in the game, there was only one way of getting through her stubbornness.

Arlene shifted in her seat to peer up at the bright blue sky. Her fingers ran over the book in her lap. "Two days, you say? Then I would forget about this conversation?"

Scarlett kept quiet.

The woman smiled. "No, I guess I don't need your confirmation. I know better than anyone what happens in two days. I was just uncertain about what came after that, but your words have made it clear enough." She raised a hand and flames took shape above it, forming the vague image of Freymeadow. "I thought some of your technique looked similar, you see." She spoke almost absentmindedly. "How many times have we spoken like this?"

"…This is the first time we have ever conversed in this manner," Scarlett admitted. "But we've had dozens of conversations before this. More often than not, it does not prove fruitful for me."

"I can imagine." Arlene chuckled to herself. "Do I always give you a hard time?"

"…Sometimes, yes."

"Good. Otherwise, I would have been disappointed in myself. Would have been a waste of an excellent opportunity."

Scarlett narrowed her eyes. "I had my suspicions that you took joy in tormenting me."

The woman's hand ran through the fiery projection of a village and it dissipated into the air as she looked back at Scarlett with a shrug of her shoulders. "I believe I mentioned having a terrible personality. There's a reason most of my family pretends I never existed. Several reasons, really, but that doesn't matter to you. You should have expected as much, though, if I taught you in that game as well."

"You did not teach anything in the game."

Her eyes widened just slightly. "I didn't?"

"In the game, you were simply a…questgiver," Scarlett said. "The player could learn nothing from you."

"A questgiver…?" Arlene knitted her brows. "I gave people tasks to complete? Just so that they could grow stronger in a fraction of the time it took me to do the same? That was my purpose?"

"Part of it, yes."

"Well, that is disappointing." The woman shook her head with a sigh. "I can understand it, but it's disappointing nonetheless."

"Does that mean you know what quests you might have given?"

This was something Scarlett had been curious about for a while. The woman had yet to even try giving her any of the quests from the game, even after she had grown so much stronger than the first time she arrived here.

Arlene cocked her head to the side. "Several things come to mind, yes."

"Then would it be too much to ask you to give one to me now?"

The system might accept it as an actual quest if Arlene said it out loud, which meant extra skill points when completing it.

The woman let out a small scoff. "Oh, no. You are far too weak."

Scarlett frowned. "You have seen the proficiency that my skills provide me, and the rate at which I grow."

"Yes, and I'm not impressed. Your control is even worse now than it was before, and you're not even a third as powerful as you could be. Your flames certainly hold a lot of heat behind them, but anyone above a certain level would find it child's play to counter them. I thought it was interesting what you were trying to do with the hydrokinesis, but that is still miles behind your other techniques."

"That is why I wished for you to teach me."

"And it's also why I would never accept you." Arlene gave her a long, probing look. "You have tried to convince me several times, haven't you? And I assume I've told you no each time."

Scarlett drew her mouth together. "…Yes. Sometimes you provide me with some guidance, but you always refuse to teach me properly."

"And why do you think that is?"

"Did you not tell me a mere moment ago? It is because I am not strong enough."

It fit with what Scarlett knew from the game, where Arlene would only give quests to the player if they were above level fifty. Scarlett actually considered herself stronger than that, but her strength was a bit lopsided and difficult to quantify.

"It's not about strength," Arlene said. "It's about potential. I look at you and I see a conundrum. Power and skill mixed with inexperience and ignorance that suggests laziness. An unwillingness to grow. Someone gifted with talent that they don't have the will to use. That is what you appeared to be when I first saw you, and I had no interest in teaching someone like that. That was the main reason, at least. My opinion changed later on as I observed you, but that doesn't matter much if I keep forgetting about it."

Scarlett stared at the woman. That was the reason? If that was true, then it didn't matter how much she upgraded her skills. Would she have to search for another person to teach her, after all? Considering her goal, though, Arlene was without a doubt the best teacher she could find. Not to mention how other people would react to seeing her growth rate whenever she upgraded a skill. She also didn't know if there were any other mages as experienced with her particular type of magic as Arlene was. When she had inquired into the matter with Adalicia, the wizard had given her the impression that most mages didn't spend much time using pyrokinesis and its other-school equivalents in practice.

"All that said…" Arlene considered her for a few seconds. "Knowing what I do now, I don't see as much of a reason to say no."

Scarlett blinked. "You are saying that you will teach me?"

"I am saying that now I would accept your request, and for as long as my current memories go."

The momentary joy that had appeared inside Scarlett died out. That meant she would be back at square one the next time the loop restarted. Would she have to repeat this entire conversation every single time in order to convince the woman? She wasn't sure she wanted to do that. She would, if she had to, but the thought didn't fill her with excitement. Despite how calmly Arlene seemed to be taking it, telling a woman that the world she knew was a game and that she was stuck in a never-ending loop of her own nightmare wasn't something Scarlett took pleasure in.

Even if she might be able to skip the part about her own identity in the future, it was an uncomfortable experience. Presumably for them both.

Arlene seemed to watch her reaction, and soon let out a sigh. The woman waved her hand, and more fire appeared above it. The magic was shaped like a wheel, with strands of flames moving at its center in a tiny, intricate whirlpool of interlocking motion.

"Shape your magic into something like this," she said.

Scarlett examined it for a while before raising her arm. She took a breath, trying to focus her attention so that she didn't lose control like earlier. Then she conjured her own fire. It took on a similar shape to Arlene's; circular with flames gathered in the middle as a churning mass of movement.

"No, that's not right. Try again."

Frowning, she tried once more, and when that attempt failed as well, she tried again and again. Arlene guided her along the way, and eventually, she succeeded in creating something that looked almost exactly like hers.

The woman nodded her head in satisfaction. "In the future, when you introduce yourself to me, show me this exact configuration. That way, we won't have to bother with the same bells and whistles every time."

Scarlett looked at her fire, eyeing the whirlpool at its center. "Is there something special about this structure in particular?"

It looked interesting, yes, but she couldn't tell if it did anything other than that. It also only took her about five minutes and a small amount of mana to learn, so it couldn't be that impressive.

"There isn't, no," Arlene answered.

"Why would this be likely to convince you in the future, then?"

The woman simply shrugged her shoulders. "Who knows? Call it a hunch. I don't have the time or opportunity to teach you anything more complicated, so this will have to do."

"We have more than one day left," Scarlett pointed out. "Surely there is something you could teach me in that time. The water whips that I am able to create were taught by you, and that took less than one day."

"Let me rephrase that. I'm choosing not to teach you anything more complicated." Arlene gave her a long, honest look. "For now, I think you should take a break. You've been pushing yourself, haven't you? Magic isn't something you want to practice on a tired mind. Nothing is, really. Take this chance to relax."

"Time moves differently here in Freymeadow than outside the village, and I am not as affected by exhaustion here. I am not saying that I do not require rest, but it would be a waste to not use any of these remaining two days productively."

"To me, that sounds like even more of a reason to take things slow." The woman glanced at Scarlett's fire and it suddenly extinguished itself. "If that bothers you, then you might feel better to know that I am not giving you a choice."

Scarlett fought back a scowl at having her magic dismissed so easily, and she could have sworn that the woman shot her a smile filled with mirth.

Was Scarlett only surrounded by people that enjoyed tormenting her?

Chapter 140 - Unravelling Reasons

Waiting in her office within the Freybrook mansion, Scarlett's gaze was fixed on the large painting adorning the wall behind her desk. 'The Field of Broken Pacts' was the title The Gentleman had called it by. The artwork depicted an expansive battlefield from some bygone era, painted in excruciatingly exact and lifelike detail by whoever the creator was. Despite how long she'd had it now, it still drew her attention whenever she entered the room.

Receiving it as a gift was odd, considering she didn't know anything about its history and the battle it portrayed. But she doubted it was pointless. The Gentleman didn't do pointless things.

And presumably, he would be visiting again in the near future.

A knock at the entrance signaled the arrival of a guest. Scarlett announced they could enter. Her connection with the Loci had already told her who it was. The door opened, followed by footsteps crossing the wooden floor.

"What are you doing?" Evelyne's curious voice chimed out from behind.

Scarlett turned to face her, watching as the younger woman took a seat in the chair positioned in front of the desk.

It had been over a week, almost two, since they last saw each other. Scarlett had been away due to the Sanctuary heist, while Evelyne had been occupied with her own affairs. Not much seemed to have changed with the woman since then, except for her slightly longer hair, where the tips now reached the back of her shoulders. She was dressed in a fitted doublet of deep green velvet with silver accents around the collar.

"I was simply reflecting on some matters," Scarlett replied, pushing aside her thoughts about the painting. "Nothing that you need concern yourself with."

"All right. If you say so." Evelyne's gaze seemed to linger on the painting behind Scarlett as well. "Actually.. I've been meaning to ask for a while now, but where did you get that? It looks like the work of a master, yet I don't recognize it. I haven't seen any recent records suggesting its purchase in the accounts either."

"It was a gift."

"A gift?"

Scarlett nodded. "Yes."

Evelyne seemed to examine the artwork closer. "From who?"

"The Gentleman."

"That doesn't tell me much."

"That is unfortunate, then. There is not much more to say."

Evelyne furrowed her brows. "What do you mean? How can there not be—"

Scarlett raised her hand, signaling for Evelyne to stop. "I ask that you do not press me today, Evelyne. There truly is not much more to tell. He is simply known only as The Gentleman. I am not being purposefully obtuse."

The woman stared at her for a few seconds, then lowered her head as if accepting her words. Scarlett offered a nod of appreciation in return. While she usually did a good enough job of containing her emotions in the younger woman's presence, she didn't want to test her self-control unnecessarily, considering recent events.

"Leaving that aside," Scarlett said, redirecting the conversation. "I was not aware that you would be at the mansion today. Is there something you wished to discuss with me?"

"Several things, actually. So much that I'm not sure we'll have time to cover it all right now. But before that…" Evelyne shifted in her seat, pointing toward the door behind her. "I saw a black cat sitting on the windowsill outside for some reason. It is yours? I didn't think you liked cats."

Scarlett frowned. This was the third time someone had mentioned seeing the cat, Empress, outside her office. First, it was Rosa. Then Marlon, the head servant, mentioned it earlier this morning. And now Evelyne.

At first, she thought it indicated The Gentleman would show up any second now, but a couple of days had passed since Rosa's first sighting. Scarlett hadn't seen the cat for herself, since Empress was already gone every time she made it out of the office, but she trusted in the others' words. Even the Loci seemed incapable of detecting the cat's presence, which was a disconcerting realization in itself. Scarlett hoped that was an exception—it wouldn't surprise her if it was—but she might have to ask Fynn to be more vigilant in the future, in case the Loci's detection wasn't as reliable as she had believed.

Whatever Empress' reasons for showing up were, the cat at least seemed to be enjoying itself. Perhaps Scarlett should have the servants prepare plates of hot milk at all times of the day, just in case.

"What's wrong?" Evelyne asked, studying her.

Scarlett dismissed the frown on her face and waved her hand. "I do not mind cats that much. Even if I did, I suspect I would not have much choice but to consider this one the exception. If you see it again, I would recommend that you show proper respect to the best of your ability."

The woman raised both eyebrows, looking as if she was unsure if that was a joke or not. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Of course."

"…Do I even want to know why?"

"If I am to be frank, I suspect you do not."

Evelyne stared at her for a few moments, then shook her head slowly. "I swear. Things just keep getting stranger and stranger around you the more time passes. I have enough on my mind right now, so I'll take your word for it."

"I will admit to some admiration at the stride with which you are taking it all," Scarlett remarked.

"I don't feel like I have much choice."

"No, I suppose you do not."

"Setting that aside." Evelyne leaned forward, a slightly worried expression appearing on her face. "I wanted to ask what's been going on here in the mansion. When I arrived earlier, it felt like all the servants were walking on eggshells for some reason. Did something happen?"

Scarlett had to restrain herself from frowning again. "…I am to blame for that, unfortunately."

Since her return from Freymeadow, she had gotten a little better control over her emotions, making it easier to prevent the mansion's staff from sensing it in the air through her connection with the loci. However, most of them still seemed somewhat wary.

Evelyne looked at her, as if expecting that answer. Scarlett was grateful that the woman appeared to consider her words before speaking. "What…exactly did you do?"

"…Some unsettling news related to an acquaintance of mine caused me to temporarily lose control of my temper. That, in turn, affected the rest of the estate due to my link with the Loci."

Evelyne stared at her. "…Your mood affects the whole mansion?"

"Apparently, yes."

"I thought you said this 'Loci' artifact was harmless," Evelyne exclaimed, almost leaning forward onto the desk before catching herself and settling back in her chair with an awkward expression.

Scarlett observed her for a moment before responding. "Comparatively so, yes. There does indeed appear to be some side-effects that I did not predict, but they are negligible, and I am still learning how to handle the artifact."

For the time being, she was still only using the Loci to watch over the estate. However, when both she and the Loci had become more familiar with things, she was planning to experiment further with its capabilities.

"I'm not sure if scaring all the servants half to death should be considered a 'side-effect'…" Evelyne muttered.

"That is an exaggeration," Scarlett said. "And they will soon learn that there is no danger involved. I will, however, endeavour to avoid any such occurrences in the future to lessen the stress on the staff."

The younger woman didn't seem entirely convinced by her words, but there wasn't much Scarlett could do about that at the moment.

"…Can I ask what it was that made you mad?" Evelyne asked. "Other than just 'unsettling news' related to this acquaintance of yours."

Scarlett paused, looking at her for a few seconds. "Unfortunately, that is related to the guest who stayed here previously, and whose identity I could not reveal."

"You've been using that excuse a lot lately."

"It has been relevant on more than one occasion."

Both of them locked eyes, and Scarlett tapped her finger against the desk for a brief moment before continuing.

"I cannot delve into the specifics, but that individual has gone…missing. While I was aiding them in locating one of their relatives, there was an attempt on their life. Since then, I have been considering how to find them and ensure their safety."

Evelyne's eyes widened. "Someone tried to kill them?"

Scarlett nodded. "Yes."

A troubled expression appeared on the woman's face. "What are you involved with here, Scarlett?"

"What I must involve myself with. I can assure you that it will not have a detrimental effect on the barony."

"Can you be sure about that?"

"I can do my best to ensure it, at the very least."

Evelyne looked doubtful.

Scarlett shook her head. "The empire is entering a volatile period, Evelyne. Worse than it has perhaps ever been before. I know this better than anyone, though you may still have your doubts. I am doing what I can to ensure the safety of myself and those under me, which includes the barony as a whole."

"Is that really your priority?"

"It is. If you do not believe me, you can ask Garside. He was with me when I was away this last time."

They continued maintaining eye contact, but eventually, Evelyne turned away first. "…Don't blame me if I do later."

"I will not."

Scarlett didn't expect Garside to reveal too much.

During her fight with Gaven, the old butler had somehow seen the flames and come running through the forest. She didn't know how he did it, considering his age, but he had arrived not long after she finished dealing with Gaven. At the time, she hadn't been in the right state of mind to explain things clearly, but that hadn't stopped Garside from helping her clean up some of the mess and leave the area.

If it weren't for him, she might have almost forgotten about retrieving the [Memory of the Covenant] and the other items Gaven had on him that had survived the flames. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the rogue had more inside his spatial ring than Scarlett had requested, though there was nothing she had immediate use for.

After the incident, she had shared more details with Garside, explaining briefly what had happened and why. He had agreed without hesitation to keep it all to himself. Even if he cared about Evelyne and had often told the younger woman information about Scarlett before—which he had openly admitted once when asked—he was unlikely to share this. He knew just as well as Scarlett what would happen if news of their involvement in this heist got out.

She cleared her throat. "I presume there was more you wished to speak about?"

Evelyne stared at her, blinking as if she had already forgotten the reason for her visit. "Right, I was going to talk to you about the Tyndall Ball. It's only four days off. Since both of us have been so busy this last week, I wasn't sure how much progress you've made with the preparations."

"You have already arranged for the passage to Windgrove and back, correct?"

"Yes, I have. We'll arrive in the late afternoon and attend the ball in the evening, then we'll participate in the gathering the next morning before returning to Freybrook. We should be back around the same time we left, provided there are no complications."

"Good." Scarlett opened a drawer on her desk and retrieved a light-green letter that had fancy gilding and a wax seal bearing the insignia of a stag. "My attendance should pose no issue. Beldon Tyndall sent this to me earlier this week."

To convince the man to cooperate, she had shared information about rivaling information guilds and their safe-houses. It meant she had fewer bargaining chips that were directly related to him and his guild for the future. She had also made requests for help in finding the Countess lately, so if they continued doing business like this, she might have to become an actual client of Mirage and pay normal commissions. It wasn't like she was lacking the money now, but it might be hard to convince them to do certain things using only that.

"It still surprises me you could convince him so easily," Evelyne commented as she inspected the letter.

"We have an amicable business relationship."

The woman gave her an interrogating look. "Is that all?"

Scarlett narrowed her eyes. "Yes. That is all."

A flash of embarrassment crossed Evelyne's face, and she placed the letter back on the desk. "I was in contact with the tailor earlier, and they said the dresses you ordered for the ball will be finished tomorrow. My own outfits were already complete, as well."

"I will have Garside send someone to pick them up in the morning, then."

Scarlett had arranged for a tailor to fit new dresses specifically for the ball. While these probably weren't as extravagant as some of the other pieces in her wardrobe, they had still cost a pretty penny. She wasn't aiming at making a grand impression at the event, but she also didn't want to stand out because she was wearing something 'cheap' either.

"When we're in Windgrove..." Evelyne began, but hesitated for a moment. "Actually, did Sir Leon say anything about whether he was going to attend or not?"

"From what he told me, it seemed uncertain," Scarlett replied. "It would depend on whether the Imperial Solar Knights were preoccupied at the time or not."

"Then, if he's not there… How are you going to handle the Delmons?"

She looked at Evelyne. "Handle them?"

"I feel like there's a good chance they might cause a scene if you met with them, considering our families' current relationship."

"They may say whatever they want. I see no need to heed their words or let it affect me."

"But it could still affect our house, no matter what you feel. You seemed on better terms with Sir Leon—if that's even the right word—so I thought there was a chance he could help if something happened."

Scarlett pressed her lips together. Saying they were on good terms wasn't entirely true, but she supposed they weren't on the worst terms either. Still…

"I am not sure it will matter for much longer," she said. "I have been considering ending the betrothal and cutting any ties we have with them."

Evelyne stared at her. "You were serious about that?"

"Of course. I had also promised Sir Leon that I would consider the matter. It is not as if we are currently relying on the Delmons for any affairs connected to the barony."

From what Scarlett had heard, whatever business ties they did have with the Delmons had already been severed.

"No, it's just that…" Evelyne studied her for another moment. "I thought there was a specific reason for that engagement that meant you didn't want to end it."

"There was, presumably."

"What?"

Scarlett leaned down in her seat, reaching for another drawer on the desk and opening it. She pulled out a thin pile of papers and handed them to Evelyne.

The younger woman's brows creased as she received them. "What's this?"

"The documents related to the agreement that was struck between me and Marquis Gerhard Delmon when we originally settled on the betrothal."

Scarlett had found those papers during the week before the heist. They were inside a safe hidden in her bedroom, along with other objects that she suspected were connected to some of the original's more illicit activities. At the time, she had been too busy with the heist matter to pay much attention to these papers, but now that was over.

As Evelyne read through the documents, her eyes grew wider and wider. Eventually, she looked up at Scarlett in disbelief. "How did you get them to agree to this?"

"I cannot remember," Scarlett answered.

Covering her forehead with her palm, Evelyne stared down at the papers. "But they essentially promised Sir Leon to you—which is barely legal—along with far more collateral if they went back on their word than they should ever have had reason to. This is insane. I can't imagine a marquisate ever doing something like this for a mere barony. Some of these terms even make it sound as if they were getting ready to support you in… " she trailed off, glancing up at Scarlett again.

"Yes?"

"…Scarlett, were you aiming to advance your title?"

"What makes you say that?"

"From what's written here, the Delmons are basically promising to put everything they have into supporting you and the barony after the engagement with Leon is finished. Not only that, but you were promised several hundred acres of land near the Voneinan border. They also explicitly state they will back you in the Chamber Court and the Imperial Chancellery if there were to be any border disputes due to your new land in the future."

Scarlett nodded. She had read through those documents more than once, and she understood why Evelyne was reacting this way.

"Scarlett, this makes it look like you were conspiring with the Delmons to usurp the land of the minor nobles around Count Knottley's domain. There are no reasons there would be any disputes otherwise. The land the Delmons are offering would already triple the size of our fief, but that still wasn't enough?"

"It would appear not, judging from what those papers say. I do not recall negotiating those particular agreements, but it does indeed seem like something I might have been tempted to do."

Not only would the original Scarlett have gained a significant amount of new land with this engagement to Leon—most of which would be in the southwestern part of the empire between the Delmon family's domain and Count Knottley's domain—but much of it held important strongholds and fortresses that bordered the Voneia Kingdom.

The Delmon Marquisate was already one of the most strategically valuable pieces of land in the western parts of the empire, but if Scarlett married Leon and succeeded in annexing much of the land belonging to the nobles south of the Marquisate, the Delmons would control almost the entire border by proxy. If a war were to break out with the kingdom sometime in the future, Scarlett would have much of the frontline in her domain. That conferred a lot of responsibility upon her, but also a lot of legitimacy. Such an important individual was unlikely to remain a mere baroness.

Not to mention how she would also be married to the vice-captain, possibly even the captain, of the strongest knight order in the empire.

In return for helping Scarlett achieve all of this, the Delmons would have a powerful ally to the south, connected to them through marriage and owing them a considerable debt. It would give them a significant advantage in future power plays within the empire.

She wasn't sure who had approached the other party first—the original Scarlett or the Delmons—but it all felt very noble-like, scheming and maneuvering politically for power like this. There was little concern for things like 'feelings' or the lives of those affected by these plans. The focus was solely on the promised possibilities.

To be fair, border disputes within the empire were often minor and resulted in little bloodshed. Any actual warring between nobles was considered an affront to the emperor's authority and was practically illegal. A scheme like this wouldn't immediately impact people outside of the aristocracy — unless one considered that the original Scarlett likely lacked the experience in governing border territories that the nobles whose lands she was gunning for had. But Scarlett had studied enough of the legal workings and history of this nation to know that experience and capability weren't always the most critical factors when it came to who got to govern what.

The specifics of how Scarlett and the Delmons had planned to usurp other nobles' lands were, of course, left unsaid, but there were only so many possibilities. Legal challenges concerning de jure land and legitimacy were unlikely to work, but nothing was stopping them from using political connections to undermine their targets' authority and pressure them to relinquish lands through threats and other means. While some might frown upon a marquis engaging in such actions against minor nobles, it would be more accepted if Scarlett did it.

In front of her, Evelyne ran a hand through her hair, as if processing all the implications. "This explains why the Delmons were so desperate to end the betrothal after what happened at the Proclamation. It would be too risky for them to proceed with the engagement after you practically declared your intent in front of the emperor. Or at least, that's how it would appear to them."

"You know that was not my intent at the time, however," Scarlett said.

"I do, yes." Evelyne actually let out a laugh. "Ittar's light. The Delmons must have panicked when you said that out loud. To them, it would either look like you were being far too arrogant and hasty or had just decided to betray them. But because they had already bet everything on this, it was too late for them to just back out without incurring unnecessary costs."

"It is an amusing thought, is it not?"

"I don't know why you find it funny. Even if you don't remember it, this is still your plan that failed. The Delmons probably won't ever want anything to do with us ever again, and you've painted a large target on your back." Evelyne paused, a nonplussed expression on her face as she touched her forehead. "I don't understand how I'm so calm about it either, honestly. Normally, this would be the kind of thing that sets our house on the path to ruin."

"I do not particularly fear the Delmons, and I do not think you have to either," Scarlett said. "If they choose to act against us beyond what they have already done, it will be out of nothing but petty vengeance. I am more inclined to believe they would prefer it all to be quietly swept under the rug. If they were to try anything, however, it is either destined to fail or take far too long to have any significant effect."

The Delmons wouldn't be able to kill her, and any action they took within the legal framework of the empire would likely take months or even years to fully execute. Scarlett had enough time to react, given the timeframe she was working with.

If anything were to cause her downfall, it wouldn't be the Delmons.

Evelyne eyed her for a moment. "That really shouldn't reassure me, but it does."

"That is good. It implies you are beginning to trust me more than before."

"Doesn't that scare you?"

Scarlett tilted her head to the side. "Why should it?"

Evelyne stared at her, then shook her head. "Just… Never mind. Let's get back to these papers. I still have over a dozen questions that it would be good if we could try to figure out the answers to before we get to anything else."

Scarlett simply gestured for her to continue, and the two of them started to further discuss the details of the matter together.

Chapter 141 - Expensive sights

The sounds of silverware clinking against porcelain echoed throughout the dining hall as Scarlett and the other members of her household dined together. This included Evelyne, with Garside standing silently by the wall, wearing a calm but bland expression on his face.

Engaged in their conversations, the individuals at the table occupied themselves with talking while Scarlett focused on eating her food and occasionally listened in on their exchanges. Evelyne and Rosa were discussing the fashion choices of certain nobles for some reason, while Allyssa and Shin engaged in a lighthearted argument on a topic that had escaped Scarlett's attention. Meanwhile, Fynn devoured his food without paying much regard to anything else.

It had become a familiar scene whenever they gathered like this.

A snippet of Rosa and Evelyne's conversation caught Scarlett's interest.

"You know, I bet one hundred solars that Scarlett will cause a ruckus of some kind during this ball of yours," the bard said, partially hiding her mouth with her hand as she leaned closer to Evelyne. Her words were still perfectly audible across the table, though, and the woman almost certainly intended that.

Evelyne glanced at Scarlett briefly before turning back to Rosa. "I don't think anything can surpass what she did at the Elysian Proclamation, honestly."

"Oh?" Rosa's voice brimmed with curious interest, as if she had just stumbled upon a clue to a great treasure. "And what did she do there, if I might ask?"

Evelyne gave her a surprised look. "You haven't heard?"

"No, but now I'm dying to."

"You are not, Miss Hale." Scarlett decided it was time to interject. "And take my word when I say that it is not something you need to know, either. It is for the greater good of all those around you that you never do."

She had intentionally never mentioned it to the bard because she knew what the woman could do with that information.

"You have to know that's just going to make me even more curious." Rosa gave her a wounded look, as if Scarlett had just informed her that her pay was getting docked. "Are you trying to deprive me of my sleep at night?"

"I believe you will survive, Miss Hale. If not, then do provide me a warning in advance so that I may begin looking for a replacement in time."

A soft snicker escaped Allyssa, and even Evelyne wore a small smile. Scarlett concealed her relief at how everyone seemed to be behaving relatively normally today, without trying to act excessively cautious around her as some had been in the past few days.

She had been trying to rein in her emotions lately so that they weren't worn on her sleeve, and none of it should be bleeding through from the Loci anymore, either. It was good to see that her efforts had yielded some results.

Even if it also meant enduring some minor annoyances at the dining table.

The previous conversations resumed, but after a while, Allyssa shifted her focus to Scarlett. "When are you two leaving for that ball?"

"In the afternoon. The event itself does not commence until evening, but guests are typically led to their quarters earlier. Is that not correct, Evelyne?"

Evelyne nodded. "That's right. The duchy has always provided guests with their own private chambers for the ball. Most of them can rival what we have here at the mansion, and the service afforded is said to eclipse anything else other than that experienced by guests at the Dawnlight Palace. Not to mention the connections that can be forged there. It's not only nobles who receive invitations; many merchants and influential individuals spend small fortunes just for the chance to attend."

Allyssa's eyebrows rose at that statement. "Now I wish I could go. Sounds like an experience."

"I don't really get what's so special about it," Fynn grunted from the seat beside her as he tore into a thick piece of meat specially prepared for him.

"Fynn, I genuinely don't mean anything bad with this, but you're not the type of person these kinds of events are meant for. I'm fairly sure you would have more interests in common with a dragon than with most people."

A slight frown creased his forehead. "Dragons like the taste of people," he said. "I don't."

"Is that really the first difference that comes to mind for you?"

The white-haired young man just shrugged his shoulders, continuing to eat.

Allyssa shook her head as if unsurprised by the response, then redirected her attention to the rest of them. "Anyway, it would be nice to get a chance to witness something like this ball with my own eyes at least once in the future. Do people from the Guild get invited as well?"

"They do," Evelyne replied. "In fact, if my memory serves me right, I think your father might even have attended once. I can't quite recall when it was, but I remember my own father pointing him out to me at the time."

"Really? He never mentioned that to me. Though he rarely ever talks about work around me, so that much is normal." Allyssa sighed.

"It's because you never listened when he did, so he stopped doing it," Shin told her.

"What?" She spun around to stare at him. "That's not true!"

"He told me so himself."

A peeved expression formed on her face. "Dad…"

Evelyne appeared to watch this with a hint of amusement, while Rosa cheerfully remarked that at least her father seemed to care enough about Allyssa not to bore her with 'uninteresting work tales', though the girl herself didn't seem to quite agree.

Like that, the mealtime continued in relative peace for a while longer.

Later that afternoon, Scarlett and Evelyne sat together in the carriage, ready to depart from the mansion. The sounds of the servants loading their luggage into the trunk pierced the wooden walls as they waited for the final preparations to complete.

"Are you ready for tonight?" Evelyne asked her.

Scarlett's attention had been fixed on the view outside the window, where she gazed at the front of the mansion and the empty courtyard nestled between its two wings. "I am as ready as I will be," she responded absentmindedly.

From the corner of her eye, she noticed the younger woman studying her.

"I suppose that's as much as we can ask for," Evelyne said. "We'll just have to pray this won't be a repeat of what happened at the Elysian Proclamation, won't we?" There was a hint of humor in her tone.

Scarlett shifted her gaze towards Evelyne, eyeing her for a moment. This was perhaps the first time she had heard the woman attempt anything resembling a joke in her presence.

It seemed Evelyne herself was equally surprised by her comment, judging from how she turned away with a somewhat stiff expression, not saying anything more.

Scarlett watched her for a few seconds before returning her attention outside.

She didn't find the remark particularly amusing—it felt awkward and slightly annoying, if anything—but the logical part of her thought it a welcome change from how they usually were around each other.

The two of them sat in silence for a while longer, accompanied by audible conversations from the servants outside. Soon, the coachman called out that they were ready, and the carriage set into motion. As it turned, Scarlett caught sight of Garside standing by the side of the gravel road, accompanied by Marlon, the head servant, Kinsley, the family's seneschal who often worked closely with Evelyne, and a couple of other staff members bidding them farewell.

She raised her hand in a short greeting as they passed by.

Before long, they had left the estate's gates behind. As they got further away, her connection with the Loci gradually faded into the background of her mind. She had traveled through Freybrook by carriage enough times now that she was used to this part, so she let her thoughts wander as they moved past the small forests and prominent buildings of Freybrook's northern district, heading towards the heart of the city. From there, they continued on their way to where the Kilnstone was located.

As usual, the large square that housed the ancient artifact was crowded with various individuals and vehicles by the time they arrived. The traffic might even have been denser than usual. Not that it mattered much, since their carriage simply rolled past most others towards the line reserved for nobles awaiting their turn to pass through the Kilnstone.

It didn't take long for them to reach the front of that line, where they were then ushered onto the platform that held the open marble structure that was the centerpiece of the square. Through its curled pillars, a floating obelisk was visible. After a brief check with the driver, the Kilnstone officials allowed them through without any hassle, and their carriage pulled up next to the Kilnstone.

"When was the last time the two of us traveled somewhere like this?" Evelyne suddenly asked.

"Does our trip to Count Knottley's estate or the Dawnlight Palace during the Elysian Proclamation count?"

"No, I meant longer trips. Not just across a city."

"If so, I do not know."

"Neither do I."

Scarlett considered the younger woman for a few seconds. "Does that bother you?"

Evelyne shook her head. "No. It just makes what we're doing right now feel strange, that's all. I think even father would have been surprised to see us like this."

"…Perhaps he would have."

Scarlett wouldn't know.

Outside, the Kilnstone's reflective grey surface seemed to absorb the surrounding light, momentarily enveloping them in darkness. In an instant, the world regained color, and they found themselves at their destination, surrounded by new people and carriages within a marble structure similar to the one they had just been in.

After another pair of officials in black attire approached the coachman to speak with the man, their carriage rolled out onto another square, offering them a better view of Windgrove.

Windgrove was the empire's second-largest city, and the Kilnstone's elevated position allowed them a sweeping vista of the region. The immediate vicinity of the square was filled with brick and stone buildings, with carts and carriages weaving through the streets that connected to the various parts of the city. A not insignificant number of passing carriages bore the symbols of noble houses. Scarlett and Evelyne were far from the only people visiting because of the Tyndall Ball.

Their carriage soon joined a procession of others along one of the larger thoroughfares, leading them deeper into Windgrove. Scarlett watched the passing sights as they moved through the streets. The city's architecture blended pointed stone arches, wooden storefronts, and a surprising number of miniature parks, where children played and merchants hawked their wares from small stalls.

It was a city teeming with life. It was easy to see why Windgrove was sometimes referred to as the "Emerald of the North."

Occasionally, when they crested a small hill or when the buildings around them momentarily receded, a large lake came into view like a shimmering mirror, reflecting the bright blue sky above. Several small vessels floated upon its waters, though there appeared to be no real harbor. Overlooking the lake stood a grand castle, constructed from deep grey stone. Its towering walls and imposing turrets reached high into the sky, each adorned with fluttering deep green flags.

"Last time both of us were here together like this was before father passed away," Evelyne said, her gaze fixed on the bustling streets outside. "I can't remember if my mom came with at the time as well, or if it was just the three of us." A touch of melancholy colored her expression as she turned to Scarlett. "I think that might actually have been one of the last occasions when all of us attended something together outside of the capital."

"You would remember better than I," Scarlett replied.

She didn't even know what the original's father looked like. For some reason, there weren't any paintings of him in the mansion. At least not any that she'd come across. She had considered using the [Memory of the Covenant] to borrow his appearance and see for herself, but she had never done so. It felt like it would only stir up the emotions that the original had left behind.

"Maybe you're right." Evelyne spoke softly. "You always seemed so distant during those times, so perhaps they weren't as important to you as they were to us. They're not things you remember that well, right?"

"They are not, no."

Evelyne fell silent, her gaze lingering on Scarlett for a moment longer before returning outside.

"…I will not forget this moment as easily," Scarlett said.

Evelyne's head spun, her eyes widening as she stared at her. Scarlett left it at that, though, looking back out the window again.

It seemed like Evelyne wanted to say something after that, but in the end, she didn't, and they continued their journey in silence. The carriage made its way through the crowded streets of Windgrove, gradually approaching the castle that loomed over the city. As they drew nearer, the buildings around them grew larger and more extravagant. Eventually, they reached a long street that was packed with other carriages, each lined up behind another, leading up to a pair of enormous steel gates flanked by tall stone walls that obstructed the view beyond. Guards inspected the carriages at the front of the line before granting them entry through the gates.

Here, Scarlett's status as a baroness wasn't anything special. They could do nothing else but wait.

It took them roughly forty minutes to reach the front, but eventually, their carriage rolled up to the gates, stopping beside a burly man clad in dark green armor with black inlays running along the sides. He stepped up to them, peering through the carriage window.

"Greetings, my Lady. Welcome to Windgrove and Grovefort Castle." He spoke in a loud voice.

Evelyne leaned over and unlatched the glass window. "Thank you. I'm Evelyne Hartford, from the Hartford barony."

The guard briefly lowered his head before looking up at her again. "We'll be performing a quick inspection of your carriage, if that is acceptable to you, before letting you through the gates."

"That's fine. Please go ahead."

The man threw one glance at Scarlett through the window before signaling for another guard to join him as they inspected the carriage. Scarlett wasn't quite sure what the purpose of the inspection was, since they only checked the outside of the vehicle and didn't bother with the cabin. She had her [Pouch of Holding] lying next to her, which meant she could have easily brought in any number of concealed and dangerous items without their knowledge. Maybe they were mainly concerned with preventing suspicious individuals from entering? Or maybe they had alternative means of ensuring security? She doubted they would allow weapons inside during the ball, at least.

They didn't have to wait too long before the guard gave them the all-clear and waved them along. Then they were through the gates and entered the castle grounds.

The sight that greeted them was certainly not one you saw often.

Scarlett had always considered the Freybrook mansion impressive, and it was clear a lot of money went into building and maintaining it throughout the years. However, this place was far beyond that.

Several hundred meters away, almost as far as the eye could see here, stood the towering structure of the main castle, a prominent feature visible from most parts of the city. The space between them and the castle was covered with carefully manicured terraces and lush gardens, bursting with life. Elaborate statues lined the cobbled roads, crafted from various materials — bronze knights, marble dragons, and even crystal stags. Everywhere you looked, there was evidence of meticulous attention and exquisite craftsmanship.

But it wasn't just the castle and the path leading to it that stood out. The area was also dotted with outbuildings, some as large or larger than the Hartford mansion, as well as a sizable stable accompanied by a glass greenhouse beside it. Scarlett imagined that maintaining this place alone would require an entire village's worth of staff. The scale of it all dwarfed her own home. While it didn't quite reach the grandeur of Dawnlight Palace in the capital, it was certainly not for a lack of trying.

Instead of heading straight towards the castle, their carriage made a right turn, passing through an expansive rose garden with neat rows of vibrant pink and red flowerbeds that defied the chilly late-autumn weather. Beyond the garden stood a wide structure with a courtyard already occupied by numerous carriages, with more arriving by the minute. Groups of people were exiting the vehicles and making their way towards the entrance of the building.

Their carriage pulled to a halt as well, and Scarlett stepped out into the courtyard, followed closely by Evelyne. The coachman and the handmaiden that had come with them would handle their luggage and the carriage itself, assisted by the castle staff, so they didn't have to worry about that for now.

The two of them started walking over towards the grand set of stairs that served as the entrance. Two well-dressed servants stood there, each holding a long list. Guests gathered in front of them, approaching in small groups as they were gradually allowed entry.

Once again, Scarlett had to resign herself to waiting in line. It was annoying, and every fiber of her being screamed that she should be allowed to bypass the crowd, but she controlled herself. While most guests didn't seem to be wearing their formal attire yet, almost all were dressed at a similar level to Evelyne. Scarlett also recognized several crests that belonged to noble houses. It appeared as if a few of them recognized her as well, casting curious glances her way, but she ignored it all for the time being.

Finally, when it was their turn, Scarlett and Evelyne approached the nearest servant. He was an older gentleman with slicked-back white hair, dressed in a long, dark-green overcoat. He looked up from his list at them.

"Welcome to Grovefort Castle, my ladies. If you are here for the accommodations prepared for you, may I please have your names?" he asked.

"Baroness Scarlett Hartford."

"Evelyne Hartford."

The man paused for a moment, giving Scarlett a probing look. Behind her, whispers could be heard at her name. It seemed she was still a subject of discussion in these circles. The fact that a mere servant knew her name was slightly surprising, but considering his role, it made sense for someone knowledgeable about potential guests being assigned to greet them.

The man cleared his throat and extended his hand. "If I may see your invitations."

It appeared he wasn't actually expecting Scarlett to have one, as a brief look of surprise crossed his face when she presented it. Whispers grew louder from behind as the man received both her and Evelyne's invitations, diligently verifying their authenticity. He then began leafing through the papers in his other hand, the process taking a short while until his eyes widened slightly, seemingly finding something unexpected.

If she were to guess, he hadn't actually anticipated her name to be on the guest list. Did he perhaps think she had forged an invitation?

To the man's credit, he handled the situation with prompt as he returned their invitations with a small bow. "There are attendants inside who will guide you to your rooms. The Duke hopes that you will enjoy the event."

Actual conversations buzzed behind them now, and Evelyne looked a bit uncomfortable with the attention. Scarlett noted that most of the chatter came from the same group of individuals and briefly glanced back, memorising their faces. It wouldn't hurt to keep an eye out for them in the future.

With that, she and Evelyne ascended the stairs, setting off to find their temporary quarters.

Chapter 142 - Lights, camera, action

After being shown to their quarters, Scarlett and Evelyne spent a couple of hours getting ready for the ball. The handmaiden who accompanied them to Windgrove assisted with any tasks they couldn't handle themselves, and while they had been given separate accommodations, the rooms were close enough that the servant woman could move easily between them. Numerous servants working for the Tyndall family were also present, ready to fulfill any request, although Scarlett didn't personally ask for anything.

The dress that she had prepared for the occasion was made of a silk-like material in a deep burgundy shade, embroidered with intricate gold thread and adorned with small rubies at the feet. She found it a bit excessive—especially the rubies—but she had to admit it looked good. And compared to what she had seen during the Elysian Proclamation and even in her own wardrobe, this attire was far from the most extravagant clothing that some of the nobles wore around here.

Evelyne's outfit was simpler, though. She wore fitted black velvet trousers paired with a flowing blouse, complete with billowing sleeves and a dark red jacket. Flashy in its own way, but not to the same extent as Scarlett's dress.

She had noticed that the younger woman didn't seem to like wearing dresses or skirts much, even for formal events like this. A trend that didn't appear as uncommon in the empire as one might expect. Scarlett had seen plenty of high-born women dressing similarly. The first Imperial Princess was one example.

By the time they finished preparing, the sun had already set. As they stepped out into the courtyard, they were among other guests who boarded carriages and departed for the venue where the ball was being held. Their own carriage awaited them at the edge of the courtyard, illuminated by lanterns hanging from its sides. The coachman stood nearby, patiently waiting. He opened the carriage door as Scarlett approached with Evelyne, closing it once they had climbed inside. Soon, the carriage set off towards the large castle in the distance.

"I can't shake this nervous feeling in my stomach," Evelyne said from her seat on the opposite side of the cabin. "I thought it would be fine once we arrived and things got started. That's usually how it is for me. But instead, it's only gotten worse."

Scarlett turned her gaze towards her. "This is far from the first time you've attended this ball. What is it that brings you to be more nervous tonight, of all times?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe it just finally hit me exactly how many threats we've got hanging over our necks at the moment?" Evelyne shook her head lightly, then looked at Scarlett. "I wish I had even a tenth of that composure of yours. Not only are we already on shaky footing with most of the other nobles, but your presence here contradicts Duke Tyndall's wishes. And despite what I might have said before—I must have been crazy at the time—it actually does scare me that you're essentially defying the Delmons on your own in this whole betrothal matter. How is it possible that you're still this calm?"

She brought a hand up to the bridge of her nose, exhaling a sigh. "I'm not trying to start a fight, but the nerves are starting to get to me. I thought I could handle it all, but now that we're about to make a public appearance despite everything…" She gestured vaguely with her hand. "I'm not as certain anymore."

Scarlett considered her for a long moment, eventually turning to look out the window. Outside, the lush gardens of Grovefort Castle were illuminated by hundreds of colorful lights spread out among various footpaths.

"…I see," she said. "While your concern for both of us is warranted, it is unnecessary. Those matters are my responsibility, and I will handle them as is appropriate so that you do not have to worry. You need only focus on the affairs that you can influence and trust in my capabilities regarding the rest."

In truth, Scarlett wasn't entirely sure about these things either. She had, however, built up a pretty decent foundation for herself, both economically and politically. Though there were vulnerabilities, in general, if other nobles tried to cause her trouble, she could either confront them head-on or simply ignore whatever they were trying to do and compensate for any losses through other means. It wasn't as if they could prevent her from looting dungeons and growing stronger with the system.

"That…" Evelyne's voice grew softer. Scarlett heard the woman shift in her seat. "It really shouldn't, but that actually does relieve me a little. Just marginally."

Scarlett nodded. That was better than nothing.

The carriage fell into silence as it made its way towards the castle. Ahead of them, the impressive structure rose like a giant under the star-strewn sky that came alive with a mesmerizing display of light and colors. The walls were adorned with flickering torches, casting a gentle glow over the numerous standards hanging above. Shimmering strands of light, like tiny marbles, decorated the castle's towers and turret, emanating from unseen sources.

Above the main entrance, consisting of a pair of tall open gates with a long set of stairs leading up to them, was a large banner that fluttered in the breeze, bearing the deep green stag with golden eyes that served as the Tyndall family's crest. Bright carpets of the same color were rolled out through the doors and down the stairs, guiding the guests inside.

The castle's main courtyard was abuzz with more people arriving by the minute. Carriages and their horses filled the space, their harnesses clattering softly in the night. From high above, distant sounds of conversation and music drifted into Scarlett's ears, and she could see lights near the higher levels of the castle that suggested it was there the venue was.

Their carriage turned right and joined the line of other vehicles, many displaying the crests of various noble houses. Scarlett and Evelyne climbed out of the vehicle. The chilly nighttime air was a bit uncomfortable, especially with part of her arms and neck exposed, so she used her pyrokinesis and subtly warmed the air around them, careful not to let the magic out of her control. She was still having problems with that, but it had gotten a lot better after visiting Freymeadow and Arlene.

Evelyne looked surprised at first, but then nodded appreciatively as they began making their way towards the castle's entrance. Guards dressed in the dark green armor of the Windgrove duchy stood at the foot of the stairs, but they allowed the guests to pass without interruption. They appeared more like watchful observers or for mere show than anything else.

Ascending the stairs and entering the castle through the large open doors, Scarlett and Evelyne found themselves in a grand reception hall that made the foyer they had back in Freybrook pale in comparison. She didn't pay most of the extravagant decorations much mind, though, as they joined the flow of guests moving through the wide hallways that wound through the castle.

It took them several minutes for them to get close enough to their destination that the sounds of music and revelry grew strong enough that one could make them out more clearly. Scarlett didn't quite understand why the castle was designed in such a way that it required guests to walk this far to reach the venue, but no one seemed to complain. Perhaps climbing a few stairs wasn't such a big deal.

Eventually, they entered a circular chamber that opened up into a much larger space beyond. It resembled a ballroom, but far grander than any Scarlett had seen before. Comparable in size to Dawnlight Palace's throne room, it featured dozens of painted glass corridors that ran along the sides, connecting to several smaller rooms that all seemed to have their own decorative themes.

A bustling crowd of people had already gathered in the space, engrossed in conversations and indulging in the various foods and appetisers placed on tables throughout the room. The polished floors gleamed, reflecting the vibrant colors of the ball gowns and clothing worn by the guests, while silver candelabras hung from the ceiling and cast a warm glow on their faces.

If Scarlett were to guess, there were probably around a few hundred or so attendees present. The ball didn't start at a set time, and people were mostly free to arrive at their convenience, but clearly those who arrived now were some of the latecomers. As far as she was aware, though, they wouldn't have missed anything important, so she didn't think it mattered much. The ball would continue late into the night.

From what she could see, most people paid little attention to new arrivals. Those who did spare a glance in their direction merely offered fleeting looks. She did notice a couple of faces that showed hints of surprise at seeing her, but it was nothing noteworthy.

"What do you want to do now?" Evelyne asked as they positioned themselves in a less crowded section near the entrance, surveying the ballroom. "Should we stay together at first?"

"That will not be necessary."

While staying with Evelyne might alleviate some of the awkwardness Scarlett felt at formal events like this one, it would also likely add to her overall stress, having to keep her emotions in check around the woman.

"Will you be fine on your own?"

She restrained herself from clicking her tongue.

Case in point.

"I believe I will survive."

"That's not really what I'm worried about…" Evelyne sent a few looks at the people around them and let out a small sigh. "We'll check in on each other later then, alright? Try not to cause any major scenes, if possible."

"I will endeavor not to."

The woman gave her a long, doubtful look. There might have been a glimmer of worry in it as well, but it was hard to tell. Eventually, though, she relaxed her expression. "Don't forget that you promised to introduce me to some of your connections as well."

Scarlett crossed her arms. "I have not forgotten."

"Thank you. Then I will try to find you later, or you can try to find me. For now, there are a few people that I would like to take the opportunity to meet." With that, Evelyne excused herself, moving through the bustling crowd.

Left on her own, Scarlett took a moment to scan the faces of everyone in her vicinity, searching for anyone that was familiar. She didn't actually have a concrete plan for what to do next. There were no strict guidelines for how one should act at these events—not committing any faux pas was more of a general rule of life in noble society—and she was far from the most experienced person at being social at large gatherings. While she possessed some of the original's instincts, that only got her so far. And if she were to completely trust in what those told her, she was more likely to get herself into trouble than anything else.

Her eyes stopped as she spotted Beldon Tyndall amidst the throng of people. The man stood at the center of a small group of young nobles, engaged in conversation. His elaborate green jacket, contrasting with the white undercoat he wore beneath, stood out quite a bit since almost no one else wore green tonight out of respect for the host's family. A dashing smile played across his face as he had his dark hair combed to the side.

As he spoke, his eyes seemed to meet Scarlett's and his smile grew a fraction. However, he averted his gaze shortly afterward.

It might have been her imagination, but she felt like he had just been trying to tell her something with that look.

She continued to observe him for a while longer, then she started looking around for somewhere to move to. A passing servant carried a tray of wine glasses, so she took one and made her way to another row of tables holding refreshments. She'd had a light dinner, so it wouldn't hurt to eat something while she waited.

If it had been anyone but Beldon, she wouldn't have paid much mind to that look. But she had a decent enough grasp of his personality. She had the impression that he wanted to talk with her about something. The letters he had sent said as much as well, if not in such simple words. She didn't have anything better to do for now anyway, so waiting it was.

Sipping the wine in her hand and occasionally sampling some of the sweets that tasted of almonds—molded to look like painted fruits—she silently watched the activities unfolding around her. It felt awkward, simply standing by herself like this, but it wasn't too different from her experience at the Elysian Proclamation. It was probably preferable to the alternative in her situation, which would most likely include one party offending the other.

Those thoughts were interrupted after a while as a young man, maybe a few years younger than her, approached. He wore a black coat adorned with silver embroidery on the sleeves and a pair of crisp white trousers. With his blond hair neatly trimmed and a dapper smile on his face, he stopped before her.

"Fair night to you, my lady. I could not help but notice that you were standing here by your lonesome, and I thought it would be a sin to leave such a beautiful woman neglected. May I perhaps offer you my company for a while?"

A frown wormed its way onto Scarlett's brow as she studied the man. She doubted he was a noble. While not all nobles knew her name or appearance, she imagined that most of the ones who had attended the Elysian Proclamation would at the very least have an idea of who she was. Judging by the glances exchanged among some of the people behind the man, they recognized her.

But it had also been a while since the Proclamation now. Perhaps some of the stigma surrounding her had diminished somewhat, and some members of the nobility had let it go? It was hard to know, considering how disconnected she was from noble society at large.

Not that it mattered much at the moment. Nobleman or not, she didn't feel particularly inclined to interact with this man.

"My own company will suffice," she responded firmly. "If I were seeking companionship, I would not be standing alone."

The smile on his face faltered. "Ah, well, perhaps I could change your mind—"

"You cannot," she interrupted, giving him a cold look. "I mean no offense, but I think it best that you seek someone else out to offer your company."

The man let out an awkward cough. "Y-Yes, maybe I'll do that. My apologies for disturbing you."

He quickly turned on his heel and left.

Scarlett only kept her eyes on his retreating figure for a second before looking away. She disregarded the murmurs she overheard from those who had been close enough to have bothered eavesdropping. They were irritating, but she could handle such minor annoyances.

Her right hand brushed the fingers on her left, where she wore the [Charm of Expeditious Change] and one more ring. She couldn't bring her [Pouch of Holding] to the ball, so instead she had opted to use the spatial ring originally procured for Gaven. It couldn't hold much, but it was enough for tonight.

After a few more minutes passed, a familiar voice caught her attention. "Baroness Hartford. It has been some time."

Several heads turned in her direction as Beldon Tyndall approached. Now that Duke Tyndall's son was involved, more people than before seemed intrigued.

"Master Beldon," she greeted him. "I see you have concluded your previous discussions."

His lips curled up in a smile as he maintained his playboy persona. "When a lovely lady such as you arrives, a gentleman simply has no choice but to personally welcome her. Or am I wrong to think so? In any case, it delights me to see that you decided to accept my invitation after all, Baroness. I am sure your presence will only add to the fascination and entertainment of tonight's festivities."

A few hushed whispers arose from some of the people nearby, and Scarlett eyed the man closely.

Their deal had never specified that he had to publicly acknowledge inviting her, nor did he have to hide that she had requested the invitation. Was there a special reason he was doing this?

"…I appreciate the sentiment," she answered after a moment. "However exaggerated it may be."

"Exaggerated?" Beldon stepped over to the table beside her and picked up a grape from a platter of sliced fruits arranged in a circle. "You wound me. The solidity of my words means more than anything else, so naturally, I am being completely genuine."

She raised a brow at him. She found that very unlikely. "You will have to excuse me. It seems I was mistaken in doubting your honesty."

She could play along with his game.

The man waved his free hand in the air, picking up another grape and popping it into his mouth. "Now you are making me feel guilty for extracting an apology from a respectable lady."

…Or maybe she didn't.

She gave him a long look.

"My apologies," she said, not bothering to sound sincere this time.

He chuckled. "It seems I had almost forgotten the type of person you were. I suppose I should be the one apologising."

"That will not be necessary."

"No? Well, if you say so." Beldon glanced around them and across the ballroom, then shifted closer and spoke in a lower voice, though not quiet enough to prevent overhearing by those nearby. "The night is still young, and I will have to admit to some curiosity regarding what your plans are for it. Are you here simply to enjoy yourself, or should I perhaps anticipate a performance similar to the one in the capital?"

He was giving her a look that told her he doubted she was here just to fraternize.

So he was wondering why she had gone to great lengths to secure an invitation to the ball from him. It appeared he had certain expectations.

"I am afraid I will have to disappoint," she said. "My sole purpose here is to partake in tonight's celebrations along with my sister, as well as the gathering tomorrow morning."

"Your sister? Lady Evelyne, I presume?" His head moved as his eyes swept the ballroom, as if searching for the woman.

"Yes. She is currently occupied with finding some acquaintances of hers."

"I see." Beldon nodded to himself. "Perhaps I'll take the opportunity to seek her out later. I recall having met her once or twice before, though it was quite some time ago. I'm sure she must have changed a lot since then. It wouldn't hurt to make some reintroductions."

"I am sure she would appreciate that," Scarlett said.

A faint cry reached them from further down the ballroom, where among a crowd of people, a girl with long dark hair called out Beldon's name. She bore a resemblance to the man, so Scarlett suspected they were related.

Beldon looked in that direction, then back at Scarlett. "It would seem I must cut our greeting short. I apologise. There are some matters I wanted to discuss with you, but I think it would be best to save them for another occasion. Perhaps you could spare me some time before tomorrow's gathering?"

What could he want to discuss that hadn't been brought up in their previous communications?

If she were to guess, it had something to do with Mirage, but that still left dozens of possibilities. None stood out to her in particular.

"I will endeavor to make the time," she replied after considering it briefly.

He flashed her a smooth smile in return. "Marvelous. I'll have someone inform you of the time and place later. See you then."

With that brief farewell, he left and made his way towards the dark-haired girl who had called out to him. As he reached her, they exchanged a few words, and the girl glanced in Scarlett's direction with a puzzled expression.

Scarlett looked away.

She seemed to have attracted even more attention now than before, with several people throwing looks at her. Still, in the grand scheme of things, the majority of attendees were preoccupied with their own conversations and paid little heed to whatever she was up to.

Left alone once more, she resumed surveying the ballroom, idly searching for any other familiar faces.

She still had to figure out what to do from here.

Chapter 143 - Connections

From where she stood, Scarlett observed the interactions of the other guests with an impassive expression, ignoring the veiled looks occasionally sent her way. She had overheard a few whispers speculating about her relationship with Beldon Tyndall and some curious questions about why she was here, but nothing too bothersome yet.

Tapping the side of the glass in her hand, she took a sip of wine as she pondered her next course of action. Suddenly, the music in the ballroom swelled and people began to shuffle away from the center of the room. A glossy checkered floor, black-and-white in a circular pattern, was revealed as pairs of guests stepped onto it and started dancing slowly to the music, while more people streamed in from the connecting chambers. Soon, the room was swarming with activity.

She suppressed a scowl as people crowded closer to the empty space that had been created around her. She placed her wineglass down on a nearby table as she started making her way towards the edge of the room, not waiting to get trapped amidst a mob of newcomers. From there, she started walking in the direction of the nearest side chamber, hoping it would be less packed.

It took her a couple of minutes to maneuver through the crowds, but she eventually reached the chamber, stepping through a short glass corridor leading inside. To her surprise, the noise from behind her immediately became a lot more subdued, as if there were several thick doors between this room and the ballroom. The atmosphere here was much calmer, with people engaged in relaxed conversations and a small band playing quiet music in the corner.

The space could probably hold around a hundred people, but it was only half full. The walls were painted a soft shade of lavender, with plush armchairs and sofas arranged near the walls, but most people stood in smaller groups spread out around the place.

Scarlett paused when she spotted a familiar face. Not far from her, Livvi conversed with a man and woman she didn't recognize. The petite noblewoman had her hair tied back in a neat bun and was dressed in a light teal-blue dress that fell just below her knees. The light glinted off the woman's gold-rimmed glasses as her eyes seemed to land on Scarlett, and a look of surprise crossed her face.

A moment later, the woman turned back to her companions, saying something and receiving generous smiles in return. Then she seemed to excuse herself as she started making her way towards Scarlett.

"Scarlett? You're here?" Livvi stopped before her, giving her a searching look. "You look great in that dress, by the way."

"You as well," Scarlett replied, glancing over the woman's shoulder at the people Livvi had been talking to. Their attire wasn't quite as fancy as that of some others present, suggesting they might not be nobles. Perhaps members of the Shields Guild? The Tyndall Ball was open to all classes, provided one had an invitation.

Livvi studied her for a moment longer. "You never mentioned that you were attending tonight. I didn't think you would, considering… You know…" The woman trailed off into a slightly awkward expression before quickly shaking her head. "Never mind that. I'm glad you're here."

The genuine smile on her face made Scarlett uneasy. She always found it challenging to decipher the lingering feelings the original had left behind related to Livvi.

"…I am acquainted with Beldon Tyndall. Procuring an invitation presented little challenge."

"Really? That's great." Livvi looked around and behind Scarlett as if expecting to find someone hiding there. "Is Evelyne here as well?"

Scarlett observed her actions for a second before answering. "She is, although I am not certain of her current whereabouts. I plan to meet up with her later."

"That is good to hear." That seemed to make the woman even happier. "And how are you, Scarlett?"

"…I am fine."

A worried expression appeared on Livvi's face. "Just fine?"

"Fine is sufficient for the time being," Scarlett said, creasing her forehead. "And what about you? Have you resumed your work with the Shields Guild?"

Livvi eyed her for a moment longer before giving a slow, almost reluctant nod. "Yes, although they have reassigned me from my previous post recently. Currently, I am assisting in managing and coordinating the Guild's collaborative efforts to address the erratic appearances from the Tribe of Sin, as well as the increasing number of monster sightings. I've had my hands full ever since I got back, so it's a miracle I could make it here tonight along with my brother and father."

Scarlett raised an eyebrow. That explained why she hadn't heard from Kat in a while. The Shielder must still be busy running all across the empire, dealing with whatever messes were popping up.

But did this mean that Livvi had access to the Guild's more sensitive information and had connections with its leadership here in the empire? The way the woman explained it didn't make it sound like she held a prominent position, but based on what Scarlett had heard, Livvi was supposed to be very capable. The Guild might not want to waste her skills.

Perhaps it would be advantageous to be familiar with her in the future.

"I hope the situation has not deteriorated too much," Scarlett said, for lack of a better response.

"It's…manageable, for now." Livvi grimaced. "Most senior Shielders above C-rank are almost constantly occupied with something, and my colleagues and I are busy as bees, rearranging their assignments and trying to compensate for their absences at the different branches. I'm honestly surprised the Elystead branch allowed the two C-ranked Shielders working under you to remain, given the circumstances." She paused, her eyes widening slightly. "Oh, I don't mean that in a negative way, Scarlett. I believe it's crucial for the Guild to continue providing its usual services to the empire's citizens, even during times like this. It's just unexpected, that's all."

"Is that so?"

Scarlett was already aware that the Guild had an interest in her and her knowledge, so from her perspective, it wasn't surprising at all. But clearly Livvi didn't possess all the details regarding her situation.

"Ah, but tonight isn't about all that." Livvi seemed to have noticed the serious atmosphere that was building up. "Sorry for bringing up these things when you were just asking how I was."

"There is nothing to apologize for," Scarlett reassured her. "In fact, I appreciate the opportunity to learn more about the current situation of the Shields Guild. I have associates who are affected by these issues, so I have an interest in keeping myself informed."

She regularly read the Empyreal Chronicle, but apart from the initial coverage of the Tribe of Sin's attack on Brinewick and other minor settlements across the empire, the newspaper hadn't written much about the current situation.

"Really?" Livvi looked somewhat surprised by that. "If that is the case, you can ask me about it later, and I'll give you whatever answers I can. I can't promise to answer all questions, but hopefully, I can be of some help."

"That would be much appreciated," Scarlett said.

Aside from how things were going for Kat, she was curious about the Guild's overall movements and the Tribe's activities. It would also be good to know what the S-ranked Shielders were up to at the moment. She knew that Arnaud Astrey, Allyssa's father, should still be busy with his own work somewhere in the Unresting Steppes, but Gratianus Graham and Rosanna Adlam would still be active here in the empire, helping out in the fight against the Cabal.

Would one of them be here tonight? Probably not. While there were bound to be a few big names present, like Livvi had said, most Shielders were busy. That would likely be even more true for two of the most powerful ones in the empire.

"Why, if it isn't our dear Baroness," a voice sounded out from the side. "I was wondering when I would run into you."

Scarlett turned to see an older lady with greying hair and a flowing black dress approaching them, accompanied by a blonde woman maybe a few years Scarlett's senior.

"Lady Withersworth," Scarlett said. "It has been some time since our last meeting. It is a pleasure to see you."

"Oh, I should be the one saying that, dear." The older woman wore a smile as she stopped in front of them, shifting her gaze to Livvi. "You are Miss Livvi Knottley, if I recall? That brute Guifford's daughter."

Livvi offered an embarrassed smile. "That is correct, yes. It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Withersworth. I apologize for anything my father might have done to offend you, but if I may… Can I ask that you don't refer to him in that way?"

Lady Withersworth waved her hand in the air. "Of course. That was rather rude of me. I do not particularly dislike your father, but he and my dear old husband have gotten in enough arguments over the years that his grumblings have rubbed off on me."

"Ah, yes… My father can be a bit brusque at times."

"Oh, I am well aware." A smirk played on the lady's lips. Then she turned her attention back to Scarlett and gestured to the blonde woman beside her. "Baroness Hartford, Miss Livvi, let me introduce my wayward daughter, Lorena. It has been far too long since I have had the honor of introducing her at an event like this."

"Mother…"

"She used to be the apple of my eye, you see, but now she is a member of the Ustrum Assembly and far too busy to pay her old mother any mind."

The woman let out a low groan. "Mother. I already apologized for not informing you that I would be here tonight, but that is because I knew you would already be aware. And I would like to remind you that you also chose not to tell me that you and father would be here."

"Of course we didn't. If we did, you might have chosen not to come simply to avoid us!"

"You know I wouldn't do that."

Lady Withersworth let out a small scoff. "I would certainly hope not."

Lorena seemed to hold back another groan and turned to Scarlett and Livvi. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintances, Baroness, Miss Livvi."

"Likewise," Scarlett replied.

Livvi eyed the mother and daughter pair for a moment before returning the greeting as well.

Scarlett wasn't sure if the woman thought their interaction strange or not—most nobles probably wouldn't behave this way in public—but Livvi's father wasn't much different if you asked her.

She turned her attention to Lorena. "What is it that you do at the Ustrum Assembly?"

"I am a member of the Council of Magical Exchange. We are in charge of most interactions and projects that the Assembly conducts with the mage towers, the Rising Isle, and other mage institutions," the woman answered. "It's not as impressive as it might sound. It mostly involves me spending all of my time reading through proposals and deciding on grants for magical research."

"Quite the contrary," Scarlett said. "That sounds like a rather important position to me. Were you perhaps involved in the recent collaboration between the Ustrum Assembly, Elystead Tower, and the Rising Isle?"

Lorena appeared surprised by the question. "I wasn't part of the actual project, but I was one of the members who decided on its scope and execution. I wouldn't have thought you would have heard of that, Baroness."

"One of the wizards who participated from the Elystead Tower is a recent acquaintance of mine."

"Ah, I see."

Lady Withersworth gestured at Scarlett. "Lady Hartford here also happens to be a benefactor of our house, as well as the reason your father and I decided to attend this year's ball."

Lorena looked at her with even more shock now. "I have to ask how you managed that. My father hates these events."

"I do not believe I did anything particularly noteworthy," Scarlett said. "It seemed to me that your mother was the primary force behind convincing him."

"Nonsense." Lady Withersworth smiled at her. "My husband is beyond grateful for your help, even though he may lack the decency to show it."

"Um, what exactly did you help them with?" Livvi asked from beside Scarlett, a perplexed expression on her face.

"There was an issue in their fief related to a haunted piece of land," Scarlet answered. "My retainers and I, with Sir Leon's aid, dealt with it last month."

"An 'issue' indeed." Lady Withersworth sounded amused by her description. "It had been causing my husband such distress that he was losing his hair, and I certainly saw no solution in sight. That was when our dear Baroness here swept in and resolved it within a day. Both my husband and I have expressed our gratitude in various ways, but I have found that the Baroness is far more humble about her accomplishments than one would expect."

"I do not believe 'humility' is the correct word to describe my actions."

"As my husband would say, if the scarf fits, then do not shy away from donning it," the woman said. "Anyhow, where is that strapping young knight of yours at the moment? Is he not in attendance tonight?"

"Mother," Lorena chided.

Lady Withersworth simply laughed it off. "Oh, you young people. I stopped caring about appearances the moment your father stepped down from his office. It was the second best decision I have ever made."

Scarlett cleared her throat softly. "I am not certain whether or not Sir Leon is here tonight. I have not heard from him for a month. It would perhaps be best to inquire with his family for more details."

She couldn't do that herself, at least. Not only was the relationship between the Delmons and her the very definition of shaky at the moment, but she also simply didn't know what they looked like. She had a vague recollection of Marquis Delmon's appearance, since she saw him perform his oaths during the Elysian Proclamation, but that was about it.

"That is a shame," Lady Withersworth said. "Perhaps it is best to leave it for now, then. If I were to approach Edita asking about her son, it would likely invite more trouble than it is worth. One never quite knows how that woman interprets one's words."

Scarlett eyed her. Lord Withersworth had made a similar comment the last time they spoke. It seemed that the Delmons and the Withersworths were not on the best of terms with each other.

"Mother," another voice called out, and they all turned to see a man in his late thirties approaching. He had dark brown hair and wore a black velvet jacket with silver buttons. Walking beside, slightly behind, was a young boy of about eight or nine, dressed in a miniature version of the man's attire, with neatly combed light-brown hair.

The man's attention was focused on Lorena and Lady Withersworth as he stopped in front of them. "I thought you told us not to go anywhere, but then I find you and Lorena missing almost the second I turn my head."

The older woman only looked at him for a moment before shifting her gaze to the small boy, offering a motherly smile. "It seems I've made you and your father worry. I hope you haven't been walking around for too long."

The boy shook his head gently.

That seemed to please her as she looked back at Scarlett and Livvi. "This is my son, Reymond, and my grandson, Lucan. Lucan dear, Reymond, allow me to introduce Baroness Scarlett Hartford and Miss Livvi Knottley."

Reymond performed a small bow. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Baroness, Miss Livvi."

His son mimicked his action.

Scarlett kept her eyes on the young boy for a moment. From what she had seen, it didn't seem that common for nobles to bring their children along tonight. She also imagined it must be rather dull for a child to stay in a place full of adults like this.

"Reymond." Lorena spoke up. "You might be shocked to hear that the Baroness here was the reason mother and father decided to attend this time."

The man turned to her, surprise evident on his face, before looking back at Scarlett. "I am afraid I have to ask how that came about."

"Apparently, the Baroness resolved an issue in our barony that had been driving father mad. I imagine you can recall one thing that fits that description…"

Reymond's gaze turned more intense. "You were the one that dealt with the mansion?"

She nodded. "That is correct."

His son tugged at his leg.

"Dad," the boy spoke in a hushed voice. "Was the mansion the bad place you talked about?"

"Ah, yes, Lucan, that's right," Reymond replied, looking down at his son. "Many people have tried to help with it over the years, but no one could find a solution."

Lucan's eyes widened at Scarlett. "Does that mean you are better than all those other people?"

She blinked.

Beside her, Livvi let out a small laugh. "I haven't seen that expression on your face since we were children, Scarlett."

Scarlett knitted her brows, looking at the woman. "It was simply an unexpected question." She shifted her attention back to the boy. "As for whether I am better than all of them, I highly doubt it. I simply happened to possess some information they did not, allowing for methods that were not open to them."

He didn't seem to quite follow what she said, but Reymond nodded in understanding. "Nonetheless, I can now understand why father and mother are so appreciative of you. I would also like to extend my thanks for helping our family and a lot of innocent people."

"Your family has already shown more than enough gratitude. There is no need for more," Scarlett replied.

"You will have to learn that not everything is done out of gratitude, Baroness," Lady Withersworth said. "Especially not when you reach my age. Sometimes you simply have to follow what piques your interest."

Both her children seemed to cringe at their mother's words, though they also seemed used to her behavior. The woman shifted her eyes back to her son. "Before I forget, did I not ask you to find your father? Where is he?"

"He was in one of the other chambers," Reymond answered. "I told him you were looking for him, but he was engaged in conversation with his companions and said he would find us later."

"Find us later?" There was a sharpness in Lady Withersworth's voice now. A brief silence fell over them before her expression relaxed slightly, and she gestured for her son to move. "Come, show the way. This is as good an opportunity as any." She looked at Scarlett. "Why don't you join us, Baroness? That senile old man always gets too caught up in his tomfoolery, but at the very least, he has some useful connections. I will introduce you to them. You can come as well if you wish, Miss Livvi."

Livvi raised a hand and declined. "Ah, no, that is all right. I would love to join you, but I have to find my brother before I get caught up with anything else. There are a few things I need to talk to him about." Her eyes moved to Scarlett. "I'll see you later if we get the chance, Scarlett."

"Very well." Scarlett nodded, bidding the bespectacled woman farewell.

"If you're going to go and find father, I think I will leave you for now as well," Lorena said, looking at her brother and his son. "If you want, I can take Lucan and find Catherine while you guide mother."

"I would appreciate that." Reymond gently nudged his son forward. "Lucan, go with your aunt and find your mother. I'll meet up with you later."

The boy stepped up to Lorena, though he did send a few glances Scarlett's way as the woman brought him away.

Reymond and Lady Withersworth then took Scarlett along with them as they left the room. Instead of walking through the bustling main ballroom, they moved through a hallway that seemed to connect to several other chambers. The one they entered had several oak tables and simple furnishings spread around the place, with an open fireplace at its center. A group of older gentlemen stood gathered around one of the tables, drinks in hand, exchanging loud laughs as they talked. Lord Withersworth was among them.

Lady Withersworth and her son walked towards the group, with Scarlett following.

"So this is where you are lounging away your time," the woman remarked. "I should have known that the moment I take my eyes off you, you would find some of your old companions to rendezvous with."

Her husband's eyes shifted to them, his brows furrowing. Several more laughs left the other men as all of their attention shifted to Lady Withersworth.

"It seems you weren't quite as skilled at slipping away as you thought," one of the men said with a grin, and Lord Withersworth grumbled under his breath.

Scarlett only paid attention to that for a moment, however, as her focus was captured by one of the individuals in the group.

He was an older gentleman, perhaps in his late sixties or early seventies, with full, flowing silver-grey hair and a well-trimmed beard. A long cape made of lustrous black fabric fell elegantly behind him, its inside lined with scarlet-red silk. Beneath the cape, he wore a simple yet well-tailored black suit, with a deep red shirt underneath. Both of his hands were covered by dark gloves.

While he was what many from Scarlett's old world might have described as a 'silver fox', his appearance wasn't what primarily caught her attention. Rather, it was the name that surfaced at the front of her mind upon seeing him.

Warley Godwin. The dean of Elystead Tower and one of the most powerful magic practitioners in the empire.

An archmage in the flesh.

Chapter 144 - Meet the League of Extraordinary—

Scarlett stared at Dean Godwin. She hadn't quite been prepared to run into the man this suddenly.

Lord Withersworth cleared his throat. "Ahem. Dear, what brings you here?" he asked, glancing at his wife and son before shifting his gaze to Scarlett. "I see that you have replaced our daughter with Baroness Hartford. You certainly work fast."

Lady Withersworth let out a short scoff. "You and your dramatics. Do not think that I don't see what you were trying to do here. I am sure you were hoping we would forget about you and let you waste the evening away drinking with your 'friends'." She reached out and took the glass her husband was holding, handing it over to one of the other gentlemen, who received it with a wry smile. "I swear, sometimes it's as if you want me to nag you. It was only last week that the healer advised you to drink less, yet here I find you doing the exact opposite."

"Dagnabbit woman, one glass won't kill me."

"Oh, I wouldn't be quite so sure about that. But even if it does not, I very well might."

The other men gave hearty laughs at that.

The woman's head snapped towards them. "Do not act as if you lot aren't complicit. If I find myself having to bury my fool of a husband prematurely, then I will track down each one of you and ensure you join him. Is that understood?"

"Crystal clear," the man with one glass in each hand replied. He seemed to be the youngest of the group, even with dark hair streaked with grey and a thick mustache on his lip. "I'll have my butler charter a ship to Zovivios soonest possible. I hear they have remarkable beaches."

"You better not have Valda join you on that trip. She knows to prioritise between her husband and her long-time friend."

The man blinked, then turned to his left. "Godwin, you wouldn't happen to have room for one more next time you disappear on one of those escapades of yours, would you?"

The dean of Elystead Tower raised two gloved hands in the air, wearing a dignified smile. "I am afraid that I know better than to try to run from the inevitable, Fitzroy. I suggest you surrender to your fate."

A cough sounded out from Lord Withersworth. "Yes, well, I am sure everyone but my wife here would be overjoyed to see my untimely demise, but if we could perhaps turn our attention to something else." He glanced at Scarlett before eyeing his wife and son for a moment. "Where did Lorena go to? And is there a particular reason you had to come looking for me? I will have you know this was the first and last glass I was having tonight."

"Lorena took Lucan to go find Catherine, father," Reymond explained.

"Hmph. I presumed as much. But why did the Baroness have to come with you, hmm?"

Scarlett raised a brow at that. He was about as brusque as she remembered.

"I had a feeling you were up to no good, dear husband of mine, leaving me little choice but to find you myself," Lady Withersworth said with a wintry smile. "I also knew you would no doubt have assembled your posse of 'lounge companions', and I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to use your time productively and make some introductions."

She stepped aside, gesturing for Scarlett to come forward. "Gentlemen, some of you may already know her, but this is Baroness Scarlett Hartford. She has recently become a close friend of the family and is the one responsible for my husband no longer having to worry himself through endless sleepless nights."

Scarlett glanced at the woman for a moment. This wasn't quite what she was expecting, but it wouldn't hurt to introduce herself. "Pleased to make your acquaintance," she told the group of men.

"That one is Lord George Fitzroy, the current High Treasurer and Count of Quickwallow." Lady Withersworth pointed at the man with two glasses, one of which he had now finished. "The greybeard beside him is Sir Edmund Somerset, a patron of the Imperial Academy of Arts and Sciences." A man with thinning white hair and a wrinkled forehead nodded in acknowledgment. "And those two are Master Arthur Windermere, a sponsor of the Western Merchant's Alliance, and Lord Charles Montague, the previous keeper of the Imperial Seal." Two men around the same age as Lord Withersworth gave polite nods to Scarlett.

Lady Withersworth then gestured towards Godwin. "And, of course, we have the worst influence on my poor husband among the group — the current Dean of Elystead Tower, Warley Godwin."

Scarlett looked them over. It appeared to be a gathering of very influential men. Most weren't high nobles, but at least three were True Nobles—counting Lord Withersworth—who held or had held important offices of state. One was also an archmage, and the other two seemed to hold significant roles as well.

Arthur Windermere, a man who was probably in his late sixties but looked in good shape for his age, twirled a thin mustache as he studied Scarlett. "I believe we have actually met before, Baroness. Although it was quite some time ago, so you may not remember. I paid your mansion in Freybrook a visit for some business with your father several years back."

"I am afraid I do not recall that, no."

He let out a deep laugh. "My memories seem to be of a young girl barging into her father's office during our business negotiations because her favorite music box had broken down. You have matured much since then, I see."

"I…see. I apologize for any discourteous behavior I might have exhibited at the time."

"Oh no, not at all." He showed a lighthearted smile. "What is the point of childhood if not for one to act childish on occasion?"

"That suggests adults should act as adults, but I am left scratching my head trying to recall a time when I've seen you conduct yourself as one," Lord Montague said, and the men laughed as a group again.

Lady Withersworth simply shook her head and turned to Scarlett. "When you are wed, Baroness, I recommend you keep a tight leash on your husband so that he does not stray too far. Ittar knows men can be fools at times."

"What is life without a little tomfoolery, Lila?" one of the men, Sir Somerset, said. His comment earned him a small glare from Lord Withersworth, who probably didn't want to rile his wife up further than necessary.

"It is many things, Sir Somerset," Lady Withersworth replied sternly. "Calm being one of them."

Scarlett could tell the woman wasn't actually angry. She seemed accustomed to this group and their interactions with her and her husband. Maybe she even enjoyed it, despite her complaints? Scarlett had to admit that the behavior of this gathering of men aligned with the image she already had of the married couple.

One of the group, Lord Fitzroy, cleared his throat and everybody's attention shifted to him. "To perhaps bring the discussion back to the topic at hand… Lady Withersworth, you mentioned that the Baroness is the one responsible for our esteemed friend here finally getting some good sleep at night, correct? Could it perhaps be that she was the one who resolved that terrible haunting matter that he always spoke of?"

"She is indeed."

The men each exchanged impressed looks upon hearing that. It seemed as if they were already aware of Abelard's mansion.

Dean Godwin, in particular, was studying Scarlett with an inquisitive expression. "It just so happens that I had met with your father several times as well," the man said, and she felt a slight pressure from his gaze. "In fact, I would even go as far as to have called Castor an acquaintance of mine. He was an impressive mage for his age, considering all his other responsibilities. We had unfortunately not spoken for some years when I learned of his passing, but it was regretful news nonetheless. When we last met, he had told me he had a daughter that showed great potential as a mage. I took it as the simple boasting of a parent about their child, but if you did indeed succeed in addressing the issue with that old mansion, it appears as if I should perhaps have paid more attention to his words back then."

Scarlett's throat tightened as old feelings churned up inside her. Anger, disgust, and jealousy washed over her like a tidal wave, and she had to focus to maintain her facade of calm.

She knew exactly where these emotions came from.

"…While I appreciate the praise, my father was likely not referring to me when he made those comments," she pressed out. She was relatively sure she managed to keep an unaffected tone to her voice. "My sister always displayed more promise as a traditional mage, so I believe he was speaking of her."

"Truly?" The man raised both eyebrows.

Lady Withersworth observed Scarlett closely from the side, though she didn't have the time to decipher the reason behind that look as the Dean continued.

"Well, putting that aside—" The man clapped his hands together. "It is still an impressive feat, I must say. It is somewhat humbling to admit, but I once attempted to deal with that cursed place myself, albeit unsuccessfully. There's much to be said about Abelard and his actions in the past, but one cannot deny that he was an artificer without peer. His mastery of spatial transportation and gateways alone is something that most mages today would give their right hand to study."

He turned to Lord Withersworth. "Speaking of which, I had intended to inquire about the possibility of investigating the mansion now that its seals are no longer present."

Lord Withersworth coughed into his hand, glancing around the room. "Of course, I will consider it, but perhaps there is a better time for this discussion. And there is no need to mention his name aloud. Besides—" He gestured towards Scarlett. "I have learned that the Baroness already took nearly everything of any value from the mansion. She also just so happened to keep the keys that activated what was apparently a gateway to the mansion hidden in my cellars, so I do not know how much there is to be learned from what is left. None of the people I have employed have yet been able to decipher much thus far."

Scarlett finally managed to get a better grip on the emotions that had risen up as she looked to him.

That's right. She had almost forgotten that she still had the two [Abelard's Doll Mansion Keys] that activated the portal to the mansion. The man had never asked for them back, so she hadn't even thought about it after clearing the place. Lord Withersworth had basically given her ownership of anything in the mansion, which kind of included the keys, so…

Dean Godwin turned back to Scarlett. "Then perhaps we can have a discussion, Baroness?"

"I am sure we can come to an understanding," she said. "I have already had previous transactions with the Elystead Tower regarding similar matters."

"I had heard as much from Mendenhall. Things have been rather busy while I've been gone, it seems." A slight frown appeared on the man's brow. "Not all of it good."

"It is all rather foreboding," Lord Montague remarked in a somber tone. But the gravity behind his words quickly dissipated as he patted Godwin on the shoulder with another laugh. "But somehow I doubt even that will be enough to prevent you from disappearing on another of your little adventures within a month or two. You half-scared one of my servants to death when you simply appeared in my lounge this time with no prior warning of your return. One can't help but pity those subordinates of yours and wonder what exactly it is you do all the time."

"I could enlighten you, if you so wish," the Dean responded with a friendly expression. "Of course, you would first have to enter into a magical pact to not speak of it with anyone else, including that brother of yours. Say, how is the Dean of Steepmond Tower these days?"

The other man grimaced. "Perhaps not, then. Decades have passed, yet I still have nightmares about dining on nothing but slugs and insects for months on end. I can't even look at frogs without shivering to this day."

Scarlett eyed Godwin. Had he turned the man into a frog somehow? It sounded like something an archmage might be capable of, but it also seemed too absurd.

"Hmph. That is what you get when you break your word," Lord Withersworth said. "I still say he should have let you remain like that forever. More sense came out of your mouth during that period than the rest of you life combined, if you ask me."

Scarlett blinked.

Apparently, it was true.

Lord Montague shook his head. "Harsh as ever, Withersworth."

"I speak nothing but the truth."

Lady Withersworth let out a disbelieving sound at that. "If you speak nothing but the truth, then I have to wonder who it is I see before me. You certainly aren't any husband of mine, I can tell you that much."

"Woman, tell me one time I have spoken a lie!"

"You said you would not drink and waste away your time tonight."

"What?! That is an entirely different matter—"

As the couple descended into the type of light bickering that seemed to be characteristic of their marriage, their son seemed to look on in a mix of amusement and embarrassment before turning to Scarlett. "You will have to excuse them, Lady Hartford. Mother and Father stopped caring about propriety the moment they retired from most of high society."

She held up a hand to show she didn't take any offense. "It is quite all right. I have come to realize that this is simply the way they interact."

Reymond lowered his head to her in gratitude, then looked back at his parents briefly. "I think I will take my leave for now. Both my wife and son will be waiting for me. I hope we meet again."

"So do I."

The man said his goodbyes to the group of older gentlemen and his parents—who said they would find him again later—before leaving.

While Lady and Lord Withersworth continued their argument—if it could be called that—Dean Godwin shifted his attention back to Scarlett.

"Baroness, if I may, there is a question I wanted to ask you."

She looked at him. "Is it related to Abelard's mansion?"

He shook his head. "No, no. That can be left for another time. What I was curious about now concerns something entirely different."

"And what is that?"

Suddenly, their surroundings turned quiet. Lady Withersworth's mouth continued moving as she spoke to her husband, but no sound reached Scarlett.

Godwin peered at her with an intense gaze. "I would like to know what connection you have to the Hallowed Cabal."

Chapter 145 - Elderly insight

Scarlett froze.

How did he know of her ties to the Cabal?

"…I am not certain what you mean by that," she said.

Dean Godwin studied her closely, his gaze unswerving. From a side pocket in his jacket, he withdrew a silver ring and effortlessly slid it onto one of his gloved hands. "Pardon my rudeness, Baroness, but I believe that is a lie."

She glanced over at Lady Withersworth and the others engrossed in their own conversation, the sound still not reaching her.

"I thought this would be a discussion best kept between us," Godwin said. He stood half a head taller than her, and there was a weight to his words that hadn't been there earlier. "Now, if you would not mind answering my question… What is your connection to the Hallowed Cabal?"

His presence loomed large yet was strangely relaxed, but it wasn't anything Scarlett couldn't deal with. It reminded her of the pressure she had felt when standing in front of the emperor, though. Perhaps there was some magic at play. When the man looked at her, it felt as if he was observing more than just her physical being.

She cleared her throat. "I have never heard of this 'Hallowed Cabal.'"

While she didn't know what he knew or how he'd learned it, admitting anything here was ill-advised. But so was provoking an archwizard. She needed to find another way of handling this situation.

Seconds passed as the older man silently assessed her.

"Very well," he eventually said.

With one wave of his hand, their surroundings transformed, and the two of them found themselves standing in a vast void of white light.

Scarlett blinked at the sight.

Teleportation would have been far too conspicuous in this setting, so this was likely an illusion of some kind. That meant it was likely a lumomancy or umbramancy spell, or perhaps a combination of both. Given that mind-affecting spells didn't seem to affect her much—something umbramancy often focused on—lumomancy was the primary candidate.

She shifted her focus to Godwin. He wasn't a lumomancer, though. Aeromancy and terramancy were his areas of expertise, as far as she knew. Did this mean he was just that skilled of a mage that he could do this despite that, or did he utilize some kind of artifact?

The corners of the man's mouth curled up in a small smile as he watched her reaction. Then, he moved his gaze to the side. In the expansive white space stretching endlessly before them, a single symbol materialized. It resembled grey rock etched into the empty air, forming a character that felt slightly familiar to Scarlett.

Was it ancient Zuverian, maybe?

"Truth. That's what it says," Godwin explained, gesturing towards the symbol. "Have you ever encountered this symbol before?"

Scarlett continued examining it, trying to recall if there was anything significant about this character that she knew from the game. She drew a blank. She had learned a bit of Zuverian in her studies, but it wasn't enough to help her here.

"I believe you have," the man continued. "I would prefer if you were honest with me now while I am asking nicely."

She turned to face him. "I have no recollection of seeing this character in particular. If I have, it held no special meaning to me."

He arched an eyebrow. "There is no use lying to me."

"I am not lying."

He studied her for a few more seconds.

"Dean Godwin." Scarlett motioned at their surroundings. "Before we continue this conversation, could you explain exactly why you saw fit to bring me here and interrogate me in this manner?"

The man brought up a hand to his chin, thoughtfully stroking his beard as he contemplated her. "You have placed me in quite the dilemma now, Baroness, and have me questioning my own judgement. If you are indeed ignorant of what this symbol signifies, then I may very well have made an embarrassingly erroneous assumption." His black cape fluttered as he turned to the side, peering into the distance. "Perhaps a mistake grave enough that I would have to erase your memory simply to ensure news of it does not spread."

For a fleeting moment, a shiver ran down Scarlett's spine. Mistress had once said something similar, so she couldn't discount the possibility that something like that was possible.

Godwin faced her again, a trace of mirth now glinting in his eyes. "Unfortunately, that is beyond my capabilities, so your memory will have to remain intact. I would appreciate it if this stayed between us, however."

The tense atmosphere between them disappeared for a second—

"Of course, that is assuming what I saw is wrong."

Then returned with full force.

Scarlett didn't let her worry show as she regarded the man. "And what, exactly, is it that you think you saw?"

His eyes met hers.

"Hmm. Before that—" He gestured with his hand, and the Zuverian character vanished, replaced by a red rabbit the same shade as the interior of the man's cape. "What color is this little fellow?"

"…Red," she answered.

"Maroon, technically. But close enough, I suppose." This time, the man merely flicked his index finger, and the 'maroon' rabbit transformed into a blue creature resembling a badger. "Now tell me that this walladger is red as well."

Scarlett frowned, turning back to him.

"Indulge me, if you would," he said. "Although I am in no rush."

She eyed him for a few extra moments. If she just drew things out long enough, Lady Withersworth or someone else might eventually notice something was up. The question was whether they would take any action then. Or if they even could.

If they did, would it be worth evading the man's questions here? There was clearly something he sought from her, though he seemed uncertain about what himself. For now, continuing to play along with his game seemed like the best course of action.

Raising her hand, she pointed at the 'walladger'. "That is red."

Godwin scrutinized her intently for a few seconds before nodding his head. "You are a skilled liar, but a liar nonetheless." He let out a low chuckle. "This certainly puts me in a rather uncomfortable position."

Scarlett took a step back, readying herself to use the [Charm of Expeditious Change] at a moment's notice. The temperature slowly began to rise, and small flames flickered into existence at her feet.

That might have been the wrong decision.

The man blinked, staring at her. He cleared his throat and coughed into his fist. "It seems my words may have caused a misunderstanding. I suggest you ease up on your magic, else you wish to accidentally set some unsuspecting guest's clothes on fire."

With another wave of his hand, a gentle breeze swept past Scarlett's legs, extinguishing the flames.

"When I say that you are a liar, I mean that you failed to convince me that blue is red," he said. "I apologize for the confusion. As for why this puts me in an uncomfortable position, you see, it's because it indicates that you truly don't recognize the symbol I showed you earlier, and that I may have acted somewhat impulsively."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I presume you will explain what you mean by that?"

A small smirk appeared on his face as he clasped his hands behind his back, gazing into the white void again. "I won't waste too much of your time with irrelevant details, but suffice it to say that over my somewhat long life, I have traveled extensively and witnessed many wonders. Books could be written about the adventures I've lived. And they have, though I am not one to boast."

He didn't look at all reluctant to mention that.

The man raised his left hand, displaying the finger adorned with the ring he had put on earlier.

Scarlett examined it more closely. Generally, she couldn't prompt the system to provide descriptions of items carried by others, but occasionally it worked if the person deliberately showcased it to her.

Her eyes widened as the message actually popped up.

[Mark of the Keen (Epic)]

{The threads of speech form an interwoven web upon which falsities hide. The gift of unraveling this weave lies in the blood of Grehalyr — lent in part to this ring}

"There was once a tribe known as the Grehaldrael that resided in the mountain range south of here," Godwin said. "You likely have not heard of them, but they were a fascinating group that I encountered in my youth. Quite unique, that lot. In several ways. One notable trait they possessed was the uncanny ability to always know when someone lied."

Scarlett had already understood what he was getting at the moment she read the description.

He looked back at her. "This was a gift I received from them. While its capabilities are somewhat limited, it carries a similar effect. I will tell you, it gets tiring rather quickly to always know when others are lying, but it can prove advantageous at events such as these, where dishonesties are a currency of their own."

He knew she had been lying about not knowing of the Hallowed Cabal, then. If he truly desired, it would be hard for her to keep anything completely hidden from him.

"There are several aspects regarding you that I am curious about, Baroness," the man continued. "I would say 'suspicious', but I am already doubting my own judgement, and it would be embarrassing if I jumped to any further hasty conclusion. So, for now, let us settle on 'curious.'" He studied her for a few moments. "To steer our conversation back on track, however, I will unfortunately have to pose this question once more. And I do hope you will be forthcoming with me this time. What is your connection to the Hallowed Cabal?"

She thought it over for a few seconds before answering. "They are an adversary of mine. I have had several altercations with the Cabal in the past."

"In the past, you say? And what is your relationship with them at present, if I may ask?"

She shot him a look. The man wouldn't let her wriggle out of this.

"I am still at odds with them," she replied.

"Yet you no longer have altercations with them?"

"…We have reached an arrangement, of sorts."

"An arrangement with the Hallowed Cabal?" The man's gaze grew sharper. "I presume you are aware that the Cabal is an enemy of both the empire and its citizens? What is the nature of this arrangement, that a noble of the empire would have dealings with such a group?"

Scarlett creased her forehead. "The empire could not protect me nor my people from the Cabal. In order to safeguard myself and those under my command, the Cabal and I have agreed not to interfere or threaten each other out of turn. I am in no way supporting them or acting against the empire, so I see no reason as to why I should not prioritize the safety of my people."

The man appeared somewhat surprised by her response. "Pardon my saying so, but it's hard to believe that the Cabal would agree to such an arrangement with a mere baroness. I am not sure if you are aware, but there are members within that group whom even I would not wish to face." He furrowed his brow. "But you do seem to be telling the truth."

"I have told you as much as you are owed under these circumstances, Dean Godwin," she said firmly. "The exact means by which I convinced the Hallowed Cabal, however, is not something I am willing to divulge. It has the potential to jeopardize the safety of far too many people."

If he knew she possessed The Angler Man's heart, there was no telling what he would do. It was entirely within his power to take it from her and use it to eliminate The Angler Man, which would effectively doom her and those close to her to be hunted down by the rest of the Cabal. And while killing the Cabal's leader might prevent some future disasters, it could also bring about unforeseen consequences. Even if she could somehow protect herself and everybody around her—including those living peacefully in her lands—it was far too risky a move.

"Hmm." Godwin started rubbing his beard. "While I fail to think of anything that might cause you to take that stance, I will not press the matter further. However, there is still one question that remains unanswered, though I am starting to suspect you may not even know the reason behind it yourself."

Once again, he regarded her not as if he was looking at her, but rather through her.

Scarlett steadied herself.

"Are you aware that you are defying fate?" he asked.

She paused. "…Pardon?"

The look in his eyes was that of someone observing a peculiar specimen whose existence they couldn't quite explain. "Do you perhaps know what the dogma of the Hallowed Cabal is? Do you know what the truth they seek is?"

She frowned. She was familiar with all of that from her playthroughs in the game, yes, but what did he mean by her defying fate? That could be interpreted in a number of ways that might relate to her current situation, but she found it odd that he was even talking about fate to begin with.

He continued speaking as if he had guessed her thoughts. "Fate is not truly a thing that can be predicted. It is most likely not even a thing that any single individual can truly comprehend. Even glimpsing it is a feat that perhaps only the gods can accomplish, and I suspect that they are mostly blind to it as well. I have lived for quite some years now, traveling across countless lands in my time, yet I would never dare claim such an ability myself. As an accomplished archwizard, though, what I have learned to see—however modestly—is when others go against that fate. That said, there is only one group of people I have observed who exhibit this phenomenon, and that is among the Hallowed Cabal. Certain members of the Cabal are so deeply entwined in the pursuit of their 'truth' that they defy the very currents that steer the course of this world."

Scarlett stared at him.

This was news to her.

She knew why the Hallowed Cabal had been created, and why they were fighting the empire. She knew why they were fighting against the very gods themselves and the current order of this world. However, she knew nothing about this fight against 'fate'. Was this something unique to this world? Did it have anything to do with the fact that some things were predetermined to happen as they did in the game? Or was this something else?

She could at least understand why Godwin thought she was going against fate if this was true. There were over a dozen explanations that she could think of from the top of her head, but all of them boiled down to her presence here as Amy Bernal in Scarlett's body. But now the Cabal was somehow connected to this as well? And that was why he thought she was associated with them?

Was he the only one who could see this, or were there others like him? Had any of the people she had met before noticed this as well, but chosen not to mention it? Godwin was one of the most powerful mages in the empire, but there were others on a similar level. Arlene and Mistress were just two examples.

"It seems my words have made you start to consider," the man said. "Do you perhaps know what makes you so special?"

She remained silent for a while, gathering her thoughts. "…There are too many possibilities for me to disclose them all."

Godwin blinked. Then he laughed.

"Adalicia mentioned that you were an interesting lass. Withersworth did as well, though he wasn't quite as generous with his words. I will admit, I was initially disappointed when I first saw you and realized you were a potential associate of the Cabal, but I do believe I understand what they meant now. I also think I understand why Rowley turned so reticent when your name was brought up."

Scarlett's mouth twitched as she recalled her encounter with the vice-dean of Elystead Tower.

"Could you perhaps indulge me and mention only one or two?" Godwin asked.

She pressed her lips together. "…I have seen glimpses of what might happen in the future. I did not like what I saw, so I took it upon myself to change it."

The man's expression grew more focused, a glimmer of intense interest shining in his eyes. "The future, you say?"

"Yes, or rather, a possible future, were things to unfold without any intervention."

If the Cabal was also 'defying fate', then she wasn't sure how accurate the predictions surrounding them were. Based on what she had seen, they still seemed to hold true, but it was hard to know for sure.

"And how did you accomplish this?" Godwin asked. "Did you perform a ritual of some kind, or was it due to the influence of Ittar or some other deity?"

"Before I answer that, I would like to understand more about your ability to perceive my defiance of fate," Scarlett said. "Is it a skill all archmages possess?"

"Archwizard," the man corrected. "Though, in this context, I will admit the distinction hardly matters. And to answer your question, no, I would imagine I am the only mage in the empire capable of such a feat. However, one can never truly know the secrets others hold."

"So it is not the result of a spell?"

A wry smile graced his face. "If there were a spell that could unveil the threads of destiny, then it would be a powerful spell indeed. Those threads are the underlying gears governing our world, surpassing even the workings of magic and the gods. That is precisely why your claim of glimpsing the future intrigues me so."

"I would appreciate it if you kept this information to yourself," Scarlett said.

"While I may be able to honor that request, I hope you understand that I cannot simply overlook a matter of such magnitude. No true wizard could."

She eyed his unwavering gaze. "…What is it you desire in return?"

Godwin crossed his arms, adopting a thoughtful expression. "First, I want to confirm that your foresight is truly not influenced by any of the gods."

She let out a sigh. "To the best of my knowledge, it is not."

"Hmm." He tapped a finger against his arm, then turned his head to gaze into empty space. "It would seem as if we are out of time."

Scarlett followed his gaze, but all she saw was the white void surrounding them.

The man turned back to her. "Perhaps this is for the best. This setting is not ideal for discussing matters of this nature. Would you perhaps agree to arrange a meeting in the future? I am eager to learn more and delve deeper into this phenomenon, if it does indeed turn out to be the truth. Of course, in return, as the dean of Elystead Tower, I am at your disposal to answer whatever questions you might have and provide certain assistance where you may require."

Part of her wanted to refuse, but it felt like that would be a bad idea at this point. Instead, she nodded. "Very well."

Godwin smiled. "I am pleased that we have reached an understanding."

He clapped his hands, and suddenly, the world reemerged around them, accompanied by the cacophony of noise that resonated all the more after having experienced its absence.

Scarlett glanced at Lady Withersworth and the others, who still seemed absorbed in their own discussion, as if oblivious to the peculiar events that had just unfolded. What must it have looked like to them?

Dean Godwin winked at her before seamlessly joining their conversation, eliciting a burst of laughter from the gentleman with a comment that prompted Lady Withersworth to shake her head.

Scarlett observed them for a while, uncertain how to feel about what had just happened. It wasn't necessarily bad, given the circumstances and the archwizard's personality, but she disliked being backed into a corner with limited options. She would have to see how she dealt with this in the future, and if she could squeeze any benefits from it.

Lady Withersworth looked in her direction, seeming to consider her for a moment before the woman's gaze shifted briefly to Godwin.

Choosing not to burden her with worry, Scarlett soon joined the conversation as well—to the degree which she could, at least—and temporarily set aside her thoughts on everything else.

For now, she had to focus on getting through the rest of the evening. The rest could wait.

Chapter 146 - First moves

Scarlett stayed with Lord and Lady Withersworth for a while, participating in conversations with the group of gentlemen to the best of her abilities. Lady Withersworth wasn't subtle about her intention to help Scarlett make connections during these talks, but none of the men seemed to mind. Surprisingly, they even appeared pleased with the opportunity. She wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth, however, nor did she intend to waste Lady Withersworth's efforts. Though the exact reasons behind the woman's focused support remained somewhat unclear, Scarlett couldn't deny that it was a positive thing.

Eventually, after becoming more familiar with Lord Withersworth's 'friends'—Dean Godwin had acted naturally with her throughout—and promising to introduce some of them to her sister who was in charge of most business matters, the band playing in the corner of the chamber quieted down as a soft ring echoed through the room. People's attention turned in the direction of the ballroom.

"It appears Duke Tyndall intends to give his address," Lady Withersworth announced, looking at the group of predominantly elder men. "This is where we will have to say our goodbyes. You have had free rein over my husband for long enough. It will do him good to spend some time with his family as well."

"We wouldn't dare to keep him for any longer than we already have," Arthur Windermere, one of the men, replied. "Nor do we want to," he added with a chuckle, earning a glare from the man in question. Windermere then turned to Scarlett. "Baroness, it has been a pleasure. Next time the Western Merchant's Alliance has business in Freybrook, I will make sure that they explore potential prospects with your barony."

She nodded graciously. "The feeling is mutual."

She imagined Evelyne would be delighted to hear that, although she herself wasn't quite sure where the man's enthusiasm came from. While she had managed to make conversation with these gentlemen, she didn't think it was on a level where they would actively seek to deepen their connections with her, despite Lady Withersworth's efforts. The woman must have a lot more pull over her husband's friends than one would initially assume.

The other men echoed similar sentiments, with Godwin being the last to speak. He studied Scarlett for a moment. "I hope we will meet again soon, Baroness."

"I am certain that we will," she said.

If he wanted to, there was probably little stopping him from visiting her whenever he pleased. She understood his personality well enough to know that he wouldn't shy away from delegating his responsibilities at Elystead Tower to his subordinates while he pursued other interests.

After saying their final goodbyes, Scarlett accompanied Lady Withersworth and the woman's husband as they made their way back to the ballroom. The space was now filled with people streaming in from the connecting rooms, and the dance floor had been replaced by a stage adorned with dark green velvet banners. A podium stood at the center.

Spotting Evelyne in the crowd, Scarlett noticed the younger woman standing near some tables along with Livvi and, to her surprise, Raimond Abram. The deacon belonging to the Followers of Ittar was dressed in a vibrant, ankle-length red overcoat, his blond hair pulled back into a ponytail as he engaged in animated conversation with the two women.

"My husband and I will try to find wherever it was that our children went," Lady Withersworth said beside Scarlett. "You are, of course, free to join us, if you wish."

Scarlett shook her head, gesturing towards Evelyne. "I should first meet with my sister."

The older woman looked in the direction she indicated. "The young woman standing next to Knottley's daughter, I presume?"

"That is correct."

A smile played on Lady Withersworth's lips. "I see. It is always good to keep with family. You will have to introduce us later."

Scarlett nodded. "I will do so when the opportunity arises."

"Then I wish you the best of luck for now. I am sure we will see each other again later." The woman nudged her husband's arm, who seemed preoccupied with picking up a sweet from a passing servant's tray. "Dear, aren't you going to bid the Baroness farewell?"

He blinked, his brows furrowing as he turned to look at Scarlett. "Hmph. Since my wife insists, I suppose we will see each other again, Baroness. I am sure you can survive on your own until then."

His wife gave an apologetic look along with her smile. "The skies will likely fall before my husband learns to be polite, but don't mind him."

"I am quite experienced in dealing with such individuals by now, so there is no need to worry," Scarlett said.

That earned a small laugh from Lady Withersworth and a grumble from her husband.

With one last goodbye, the couple left to find the rest of their family, and Scarlett made her way towards Evelyne. The auburn-haired woman noticed her soon enough, and both Raimond and Livvi turned their gaze in her direction.

"Scarlett," Evelyne greeted as she reached them. "Has everything gone well? I didn't see you for a while, but Livvi mentioned that you were with Lady Withersworth earlier."

"There have been no issues," Scarlett said. "I just left her as she and her husband left to find the rest of their family, after engaging in talks with some of their acquaintances. This included the dean of Elystead Tower and a few other influential figures. I will apprise you of the details at a later time."

Evelyne appeared surprised at that, but Scarlett shifted her attention to Livvi and Raimond, focusing on the latter. "I was not expecting to encounter you here tonight, Father Abraham. Are you familiar with my sister from before?"

The man smiled a bright smile at her. "Ah, Baroness. Always a pleasure, to be sure. As a wandering priest, I was fortunate enough to be extended an invitation to this splendid event through a dear friend of mine. I thought it unfair of me not to grace these magnificent halls with my presence and perhaps offer some insight into Ittar's will to a weary soul or two if needed. Of course, it would be a crime not to also partake in the delightful accommodations and refreshments provided." He raised the wineglass in his right hand, tilting it toward Livvi. "As I was administering my homilies to some eagerly amenable subjects, I just so happened to catch sight of a familiar face engaged in conversation with your sister here, and I thought it a prime opportunity for a light social rendezvous with an old acquaintance and to make a new friend. I did not know that our lovely Evelyne here was the Baroness' younger sister until she introduced herself, but it was a pleasant surprise."

A small blush played across Evelyne's face, while Livvi wore the expression of someone well-accustomed to the man's rather excessive personality. Scarlett wasn't quite sure what they might have been discussing, but she could imagine how most conversations with Raimond would unfold, especially when he was acting as 'Ray Abraham' in his traveling priest guise.

She studied his face for a moment, searching for any signs that he hadn't simply stumbled upon Evelyne by 'pure coincidence'. It was like trying to determine when Rosa was being serious or not, though, so it was hard to tell anything.

He didn't seem to be lying, at least, nor was he acting any different from the last time she had met him. Besides, if he harbored any suspicions about Scarlett, this wasn't the approach he would take. It was unlikely that he knew anything about her involvement in the heist on the Sanctuary of Ittar, which meant he probably wanted to maintain a good relationship with her because of what information she might have about other holy artifacts.

The four of them held some brief discussions as more guests filled the ballroom. Eventually, the noise subsided as everyone's attention shifted to the stage at the center. Scarlett turned her gaze in that direction and spotted a tall man with slicked-back dark hair and a stern demeanor approaching the podium on the stage. He surveyed the gathered crowd with a piercing gaze.

Duke Santon Tyndall, the host of the evening.

"Esteemed guests, I welcome all of you to my home." The man's voice resonated through the ballroom, and the attendees fell silent. "It is a peculiar thought, but I often forget that tonight's event has become an annual tradition, tracing back to the days of my father. He conceived the idea of gathering the empire's most notable and distinguished individuals to celebrate the ties that bind us together as servants of this glorious nation. Yet, I doubt he ever envisioned what we have here today. I dare say there is no other function like it. I see before me the pillars of the empire; an assembly of talent and authority unmatched in the world."

He paused for a moment.

"I often take this opportunity to address you all as equals, reminding you of our duties and bringing to attention important matters that I believe are overlooked or neglected. However, this year, I will keep it brief." His expression grew even sterner as he looked out over the faces before him. "While some of us may differ in our opinions and ideals, let us remember that our loyalty lies first and foremost with His Majesty and the realm. We must remain steadfast in our duty to uphold order and justice in our lands, especially now that it appears trying times are upon us once again. Let us not forget that those of us who possess power and privilege also bear considerable responsibility. So, tonight, let us revel in the festivities — let us take this night to relax after a fruitful year, as we brace ourselves for the challenges that lie ahead. But do so with the grace and dignity befitting our station. May this evening be a testament to our unity and resolve. Thank you."

A chorus of applause filled the room as the Duke left the stage. People began to move around again, and the music resumed, albeit in a more subdued manner, better suited for casual conversation now than dancing.

"The recent events seem to have affected the Duke more than expected," Evelyne remarked.

"I was expecting more as well," Livvi said. "His lands have been relatively untouched by the current troubles, and my father has told me trade is thriving here in the north. Even after the Dragon Rampage ravaged his southern borders, I don't remember the Duke appearing this laconic."

"An attack by an ancient dragon could be likened to a natural disaster." Raimond shook his head. "It is a tragedy, but often a one-time event. It doesn't instill as much uncertainty about the future as this year's events have."

Scarlett observed him curiously. She wondered what his reaction would be if he knew that the Cabal had instigated the Dragon Rampage. It probably wouldn't even occur to most people, considering how powerful even young dragons were in this world. Ancient dragons were well above that.

"You think he is that worried about the Tribe of Sin's attacks?" Livvi asked.

"Perhaps," the man mused, briefly glancing in the direction of the Duke with a solemn expression. "Or perhaps he has heard about things we have not."

Evelyne wore a hint of worry on her face. "Like what?"

Raimond paused for a second. The serious air around him vanished, replaced by a smile once more as he turned to her. "What indeed? I am hardly the most knowledgeable about what important matters are unfolding where across the empire, so I'm afraid I cannot tell you much. But I'm sure those who need to know are aware, and they are doing what they can to protect us all."

He gestured toward Scarlett. "In fact, I happened to hear that the fiancé of the Baroness here, Sir Leon, recently participated in a joint operation involving several mage towers, the Shields Guild, and the Followers of Ittar against the Tribe of Sin. His accomplishments were rather notable. A hero of the empire in the making, it would appear."

Scarlett knitted her forehead. She had heard no specifics related to it, but she assumed that was related to whatever mission Leon had gone on after helping her in Autumnwell. The question was whether he was still busy or if he was here tonight.

"That's more than I knew," Livvi said. "I was actually involved in managing some of the logistics on the Guild's end, but I haven't been informed about all the results yet. However, I did hear that the estimations are that the Tribe suffered significant losses."

Raimond nodded. "Large losses of life are always tragic, but in this particular case, I will admit to some relief at the news. If Ittar permits, it will hopefully help prevent further bloodshed in the future. I—"

"If it isn't Baroness Scarlett Hartford," a harsh voice interrupted, cutting through the nearby conversations.

Their group turned to look at a portly middle-aged man with rosy cheeks, surrounded by a small crowd of men and women not far away. He wore a lavish outfit that appeared slightly too tight for his frame but also made him stand out among the other guests. Judging by the way his companions' heads turned toward Scarlett, it seemed as though he had been engaged in a discussion with them when he coincidentally noticed her and called out her name.

She doubted that was the true reason behind his behavior. After all, she recognized the man.

This was Count Tizian Soames. Although she had never spoken with him directly, she had paid close attention to his appearance during the Elysian Proclamation, making note of his face. It only made sense to do so, considering this man was a servant of the entity lurking inside Rosa. Not to mention he was the bargaining chip Scarlett had used to strike a deal with that entity.

The man seemed to excuse himself from his group before starting to walk over towards Scarlett. Other guests moved out of his path.

"Never would I have expected to see you here tonight, Lady Hartford, on account of what happened during your last…" He coughed into his hand. "…public display. I would have expected you to take some time for yourself before making another appearance. I realize now that was rather presumptuous of me, and I offer my apologies."

He made no effort to hide the derisive look on his face.

Scarlett scowled.

What the hell was he up to?

Whispers began to circulate among the nearby guests, and many conversations came to a halt.

"You must have been incredibly excited to attend tonight, considering you took time out of your busy schedule to grace us with your presence. I can only imagine what other important matters someone as esteemed—" he emphasized the word in a snide tone—"as you must have forsaken to be here."

Her scowl deepened, and the anger she had been bottling up inside threatened to rise to the surface as she realized what was happening.

Count Soames wouldn't target her like this simply because he recognized her and remembered what happened at the Elysian Proclamation. No, he would only act this way if he had something to gain from it. If someone had told him to.

Scarlett couldn't directly interfere with the being inside Rosa, and the being couldn't directly interfere with her or her surroundings either. That was the pact they had made. But it seemed the being could circumvent those constraints to some extent by having its pawn harass her instead. It wouldn't surprise her if this was simply the demon's way of messing with her. Actually sending Count Soames to harm her would almost definitely break their pact.

That said, even this much was a lot more than Scarlett was willing to tolerate.

"Count Soames, am I correct?" Raimond spoke up from beside Scarlett. As always, he maintained a relaxed smile even as he addressed a high-ranking noble. "I have heard word of your estimable and impressive personage, but never would I have expected it to be exactly as…" He coughed lightly into his hand, just as the man had done before "…impressive as they say. I am sure you are blessed with nothing but the best when it comes to the realm of taste and cuisine. As a fellow connoisseur of the finer things in life, I can only express my utmost admiration for what is undoubtedly a testament to your unwavering dedication."

A frown creased the Count's face as he stared at the priest. Livvi and Evelyne wore worried expressions, their eyes fixed on Raimond.

"With that said," Raimond continued. "Perhaps there is a more appropriate time and place for this conversation? While I can certainly understand your wonder at Baroness Hartford's presence this evening—I, too, as a Follower of Ittar, was deeply moved by her devotion and humility shown in the past—tonight is a night meant for celebration and joyous conversation, is it not? We wouldn't want to inconvenience the host who has been gracious enough to invite us into his home to partake in the festivities."

The Count turned his gaze towards the center of the ballroom, where Duke Tyndall was visible through a small gap in the crowd. The man was looking at them, and his eyes seemed to linger on Scarlett specifically. Then he turned away, returning to another conversation as if she didn't exist.

A smirk crept across Count Soames' face. "I do not believe that will be an issue…" He studied Raimond's appearance, likely noting the symbols of the sun that adorned the man's clothing. "…priest."

"Excuse me," Livvi interjected, and Evelyne appeared ready to speak up as well, but Scarlett raised a hand to silence them both.

She focused her attention solely on the Count, disregarding the numerous eyes fixed upon them.

"Count Soames," she spoke deliberately, allowing some of her irritation to seep into her voice as she walked towards him. "Correct me if I am mistaken, but this is the first time we speak, yes?"

His look turned slightly warier, though his confident stance remained unchanged. "Indeed, it is our first official meeting."

"I thought as much," she said. "You see, those who are acquainted with me know not to make the mistake you just did." It didn't take her long to reach the man, and she stopped one step short of him, meeting his eyes.

"Mistake, you say?" He didn't shy away from her gaze, a hint of amusement showing in his expression. He likely believed she was the one making a mistake. "I don't think there was anything inaccurate about what I said? In fact, my words were—"

"Allow me to correct you."

The man's eyes widened as Scarlett's pyrokinesis took hold of him, instantly raising the temperature of the air immediately surrounding his body. His mouth opened, but before he could speak, she leaned in closer to his side.

"Do not think that your master will protect you simply because they were the one who ordered you to meddle in my affairs," she whispered.

The man's words blubbered off, and he gaped at her. Clearly, he hadn't been told much about his job or why he was targeting Scarlett.

"Your master has seen fit to use you as a pawn in a flippant attempt at pestering me when she herself lacks the power to do so. I am not above pettiness, so do not presume that I will not stoop to swatting away a bothersome fly, regardless of whom it might serve. I have been keeping a close eye on your activities in the Silkspindle Ward of Ambercrest, Count. A few words from me would be all it takes to ensure you lose everything that you have, so I suggest that you be very careful with how you choose your words."

Sweat began to drip down the man's forehead from the heat. He tried to hide it, but Scarlett could tell he was also struggling to breathe. She had to commend his self-control and the fact that he hadn't cried out, though. Maybe the fear evident in his eyes, as if he were staring at the devil herself, played a part in that. It was amazing how quickly his attitude had changed.

She leaned back, speaking louder for everyone to hear. "I seldom bother with correcting others' mistakes or offering advice, even when I see they are misinformed. Lately, however, I have been trying to change, so I can forgive a situation where a misunderstanding has occurred."

She released the hold her pyrokinesis had on the man, and the tension around him seemed to relax. He regained his composure impressively quickly, though, producing a napkin from his pocket to dab away the sweat and disguise his small coughs.

It must have been a bizarre sight for the onlookers.

"I…see what you mean, Baroness," the man said, his voice slightly strained. "No, when you put it like that, I realize that my previous words could have been interpreted differently than I intended." He returned the napkin to its pocket and ignored the perplexed gazes aimed at him with gusto, his attention focused solely on Scarlett. Though he did avoid looking her in the eyes now. "My apologies for any confusion created. In the future, I will exercise more caution in case of similar happenings. I have caused quite a disturbance, so I shall take my leave for now."

He appeared collected, but it seemed he couldn't wait to escape. Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked away, passing the group he had been conversing with earlier.

Scarlett watched as he disappeared into the crowd.

The being inside Rosa probably didn't care about what transpired today. It knew Scarlett couldn't touch Count Soames as long as their deal stood, and it wouldn't rely on means like this if it actually intended to oppose her this early. Most likely, all of this was just a game to amuse it.

But Scarlett didn't like playing games in this way. It had made the first move against her now. That only spelled what it thought of her. Like hell she would just let it pass.

Though all eyes were on her, she ignored the attention and turned back to her own group. Evelyne and Livvi stared at her as if she had just pulled down the moon, while Raimond regarded her with curiosity and amusement. It wouldn't surprise her if the priest had been able to see her use of magic even without casting a detecting spell.

She walked back up and stopped before them.

"So, where were we?"

Chapter 147 - Balcony escapades

There was such a thing as too much socializing in one night.

Whatever the original Scarlett's feelings might have been on the matter, she currently felt that this statement couldn't be more true. She had already been in a less-than-ideal mood when she first arrived, so the constant activities, conversations, and occasional odd looks tested her patience. While she would admit that not all of it was as bad as she had feared, as the night progressed, she found herself growing increasingly exhausted.

After that whole run-in with Count Soames, she had spent a good amount of time talking with Evelyne, Livvi, and Raimond until the latter two eventually went their separate ways. That was when the floodgates had opened, so to speak.

She wasn't sure if it was because of the incident with the Count or something else entirely, but after that, she and Evelyne were approached repeatedly by strangers who wanted to converse and introduce themselves. Most of them were lower nobles, the last-born children or relatives of barons and the like, with a few merchants and others in the mix, but none were people she knew. Probably not anyone she wanted to know either, judging by how clingy some of them were.

It was at times like these that she couldn't help but appreciate the original Scarlett's general rudeness and indifference, which helped her to brush them off relatively quickly. At least the ones that Evelyne didn't find it good to talk to for a bit.

But it was still annoying.

She had attempted to bring Evelyne along to find and introduce her to the Withersworths, but it took nearly an hour of maneuvering through and dealing with such encounters before they finally located the elderly couple and their family in one of the side-chambers. By that point, Scarlett had felt as though she might set the next person who approached her on fire, so she left Evelyne with them and excused herself to get some fresh air.

After asking some servants for directions, she returned to the ballroom and crossed it, entering one of the many glass corridors that extended from it and led to the other chambers. Passing through a series of corridors and rooms—each decorated in its own theme and featuring small bands playing away on their instruments—she eventually reached a hallway that opened onto a balcony. It was a quiet respite from the bustling atmosphere inside.

The balcony was spacious enough to accommodate dozens of people, but at the moment, it was empty. Most people probably wouldn't want to miss a single opportunity to network or enjoy themselves.

As she stepped onto the balcony, a crisp breeze swept through the open space, carrying the fragrance of plants and flowers with it. Surprisingly, it wasn't as cold as she had expected. She spotted some marble pillars spread out that had small glowing crystals as crowns, which she presumed held some sort of enchantment.

She walked over to the stone railing at the opposite end, which offered a view of the tranquil waters of Stockder Lake. The moon wasn't out in full strength tonight, lending a somewhat dark ambiance to the scene, but it was still a beautiful sight as the night sky reflected on the surface.

Leaning gently against the railing with her palms, she looked down to observe the soft glow of the lanterns illuminating the railing from beneath, casting delicate shadows over what she realized were intricate illustrations carved into the stone. The Tyndalls certainly spared no expense when it came to adorning their home.

While it was a bit excessive, she had to admit that it was also impressive. This balcony, in particular, hanging off the top of one of the castle's spires, created a more relaxing air than she had anticipated. She idly wondered if it would be worth trying to create a similar retreat in the Freybrook mansion. Someplace she could visit on occasion.

It probably wasn't necessary. She wasn't lacking spaces where she could be alone if she truly desired, and the gardens surrounding her own mansion were already fancy enough on their own. Besides, investing in something like this would, without a doubt, be far more expensive than it was worth. Repairing the courtyard was one thing, as was remodeling the garden where the Loci was located, but there were limits, even if she had the money.

Maybe she was just letting the atmosphere get to her.

Standing there, looking out at the night sky, she allowed herself to unwind for a while.

"Taking a break from the incessant solicitations?" a cool voice rang out behind her.

She turned around, spotting a tall woman walking up a couple of meters away from her, wearing a black-and-silver tunic and with dark hair that was pulled into a braid. A pair of piercing blue eyes examined her for a moment as the woman leaned against the railing.

Scarlett furrowed her brow as she studied the woman. She seemed vaguely familiar, but she couldn't quite place where she had seen her before.

"Did I interrupt something?" The woman's manner of speaking reminded Scarlett of herself, with how detached it sounded, though there seemed to be even less emotion in her voice. Like she didn't actually care much about anything.

"…In a manner of speaking, yes," Scarlett replied. "I was enjoying the privacy that this place provided, though I suppose you are under no obligation to take that into consideration."

The woman regarded her briefly, then shifted her gaze to look out over the lake. "If that is what you think."

And with that, silence fell between them. Scarlett waited, expecting the woman to continue, but she didn't.

Just as Scarlett assumed that was all there was to that conversation and looked away herself, the woman spoke again.

"There are few spots where one can find peace and quiet tonight, but most others care little about things like that. When I saw you here, I was considering whether it would be worth fighting you for this one, but I realized you might not survive the fall."

Scarlett stared at her, taking a second to glance over the balcony edge. While they weren't near the top of the castle, they were still several stories up.

The woman looked back at her and seemed to notice her expression. "That was a joke."

Scarlett gave her a skeptical look. It certainly didn't sound like one.

The woman scrutinized her, as if she was considering whether it was worth trying to convince her, but then simply turned away, seemingly giving up.

Scarlett remained quiet as she deliberated whether it was best to leave now or stay and pretend the woman wasn't there.

"I fail to understand how others do not tire of constantly being approached by strangers with pretentious designs or unreasonable expectations," the woman suddenly said. "It has been so long since I attended outside of my duties that I forgot how tedious it is. It is a wonder there aren't more dismembered hands at events like these."

Scarlett sent another look the woman's way. It didn't sound like she was actually expecting a response. It was more like she was speaking into empty air.

"…Perhaps it is a good thing weapons were not allowed tonight," Scarlett found herself saying, despite that.

It wasn't like she couldn't understand the sentiment—heck, she kind of agreed with it—but it probably wasn't the sort of thing one usually said to random people.

"That would not stop most people I know," the woman replied.

Scarlett gave her a curious look. "And who might those people be?"

There had to be a reason why she felt like she recognized this woman. She doubted it was someone the original knew. From the way she acted, it didn't seem like they were acquainted.

The woman remained silent for a moment, as if she was thinking about how to answer that question. "Swordsmen, I suppose," she eventually responded. "Knights, at the very least. Not sure if the Mammoth can be considered a swordsman, but that has never mattered much to him. He is as strong as some dragons."

Hearing that, Scarlett finally realized who this woman was. She had caught a glimpse of her face during the Elysian Ball when the woman had accompanied the prince as his escort.

This was Iyana 'The Frigid' Webb, the Second Sword of the Royal Guard. The 'Mammoth' had to be referring to Holdger, the Fifth Sword, and the giant knight who Scarlett had seen following the second princess around.

"As one would expect from one of His Majesty's chosen Swords," she said.

Iyana glanced at her, only giving a slight nod before returning her gaze to the distance. "I witnessed your clash with Count Soames earlier. His type is always a hassle to endure."

"Indeed, they are," Scarlett agreed.

"You handled it better than I would have expected."

"Thank you."

"What was it that you said that made him so intimidated by you?"

Scarlett raised a brow. "I do not believe he was necessarily 'intimidated.'"

"He was," the woman said.

"I…see. Well, I am afraid the details of what I said are not something I can share."

The knight didn't seem to mind that answer. "I would also stay silent if I publicly threatened a count like that."

Scarlett eyed her. The woman was honest, at least, though she didn't seem to care much for filtering her thoughts. That was refreshing after some of the previous interactions Scarlett had experienced tonight, but it could probably also get tiring.

She returned her attention to the view before them, watching the stars above.

"You are different from what I imagined," Iyana commented after a while.

"People often tell me that."

"They tell me the same thing."

Scarlett studied her. The woman looked about as indifferent and aloof as they came, and from what little Scarlett knew about her, it seemed to fit. The knight wasn't called 'The Frigid' for nothing.

"I won't be offended if you say that you do not believe me."

"It is not that I do not believe you. Rather, I simply find it surprising to hear." Scarlett thought back to the earlier 'joke'. "…On reflection, perhaps it is to be expected."

"I have been told that humor does not suit me," Iyana said. "I am apparently 'as emotive as a golem and more likely to interpret a knock-knock joke as coded conspiracy against His Majesty than break a laugh', so I would be careful what you say while around me."

A brief chuckle escaped Scarlett's lips, surprising even herself. "I have received similar remarks before."

"Was the person who told you that also an old man with a mania for woodworking and a questionable sense of humor?"

She blinked. "…No. While her humor may be dubious, it is her judgement that is truly questionable, in my opinion."

The knight shrugged. "I would prefer that over the Captain."

Scarlett gave her a long look. She hadn't expected the captain of the Royal Guard to be that kind of person. Not that she knew him especially well. Most of the Royal Guard members didn't have a significant presence in the game. There weren't any questlines to become a member of the guard, like there were for the Solar Knights, so they only appeared occasionally. The one who had the most appearances was Leandra 'The Swift', the Third Sword, but that was mainly in quests related to the first princess.

Iyana seemed to consider her for a moment, as if she had just realized something. "You are the one who caused a stir during the Proclamation, aren't you?"

"…I assumed you already knew, considering you seemed familiar enough with my identity to have preconceived notions about my personality."

"I do not pay much attention to the activities of most nobles," the woman said. "You are Sir Leon's fiancée, however. There have been mentions of you among the knights. I overheard some of their words."

"I presume much of it was not the most flattering?"

"Does it matter? It is not as if you have to pay it any mind."

"That is true enough." Scarlett tilted her head slightly. "Are you well acquainted with Sir Leon, by any chance? If so, do you know if he is present tonight?"

She had looked, but she hadn't spotted the man yet. None of the Delmons had approached her tonight either.

"I have sparred with him, but I would not say we are close," Iyana answered. "As for if he's here, I would assume not."

"Engrossed in knightly duties?"

The woman nodded. "The Solar Knights are currently occupied more than any other order."

"In that case, is there a reason you are here tonight? As far as I am aware, no members of the Imperial Family are attending, and judging from your words, it does not seem as if you would willingly attend this type of event."

"Sir Swale wanted at least one member of the guard present, and I was deemed the most suitable candidate. Dame Leandra had prior commitments, and the captain himself can't leave His Majesty's side."

That made sense. Scarlett couldn't imagine Holdger taking part in these kinds of events unless he was accompanying the youngest princess. As for the last member of the Royal Guard, she didn't know too much about him.

"Then—"

Their conversation was interrupted as a loud crash reverberated from behind them, originating from inside. It was quickly followed by a piercing scream, although it sounded distant, as if muffled before reaching their ears.

Scarlett scowled. What was happening now?

Chapter 148 - Panic at the disco

"I presume you don't know what that was?" Iyana asked, the two of them locking gazes.

Scarlett shook her head. "You presume right."

As far as she was aware, there wasn't supposed to be anything special happening inside right now.

Another muffled scream echoed, this one carrying a greater sense of panic than the previous.

Scarlett noticed the other woman reaching for her waist but pausing as if realizing there was nothing there. With what might count as a hint of frustration on her face—it was hard to tell—the knight took off.

Scarlett blinked, surprised by how quickly Iyana reached the other end of the balcony and disappeared inside.

Glancing around, she concluded it was probably best for her to find out what was happening and started moving as well. The archway leading to the balcony was enchanted to silence sounds, but once she passed through it, the noises became slightly clearer. Although still muted, it now sounded like people were fighting.

She hurried down the corridor, making a sharp turn into the nearest room. There, she froze. The peaceful, conversational atmosphere that had been present when she passed through earlier was gone, replaced by chaos. Most of the occupants were either fleeing or seeking shelter in the corners behind overturned tables and furniture. The center of the room was taken up by a group of black-clad individuals with painted faces who had already converged on Iyana.

Scarlett scowled.

The Tribe of Sin. What the hell were they doing here?

With a thought, her dress vanished, replaced by most of her gear as she activated the defense from [Sidhe's Flowing Garbs].

More of the Tribe members were scattered throughout the room—perhaps a few dozen in total—engaged in battles with other guests. However, the bulk of their numbers were focused on Iyana. They seemed to know who she was.

None of the defenders possessed weapons, so Iyana and the others were left fighting with their bare hands, small knives, or even chair legs. Yet that only lasted for a brief moment for Iyana as the woman slid behind one of her opponents, effortlessly seizing their arm. The person was sent hurtling across the room as the knight claimed their axe for herself. With an emotionless expression, she turned toward her remaining foes, launching her offensive.

Scarlett was by no means an expert, but she could tell that the Tribe members were no slouches when it came to their strength. Despite that, they didn't stand a chance as Iyana moved seamlessly between them, delivering precise and calculated strikes with her stolen weapon.

Soon, however, more black-clad figures entered through one of the room's entrances. Ignoring the huddled individuals near the walls, they made a beeline for Iyana. Among them were two mages who conjured a pair of fireballs that shot towards the woman.

A clear-blue light emanated from the knight's axe, forming two barriers of thin, shimmering ice to intercept the incoming attacks. The barriers shattered into shards, striking some of the nearby Tribe members, who soon found their bodies covered and their movements hindered by spreading frost. Iyana lunged forward to engage as many of the newcomers as possible, parrying their weapons while aiming for the mages hiding behind their allies.

Scarlett watched the fight, trying to assess the situation. Why was the Tribe suddenly launching an attack, and how many of them were there? She lacked information about this event from the game, so she had no idea about their motives here.

It couldn't be that they were here for her?

Just as that thought crossed her mind, a black hole tore the air open at the far end of the room, expanding into a wide arch of swirling grey darkness. More figures with painted faces emerged from the portal. Screams filled the space as some guests tried to distance themselves from the new arrivals, and an elderly woman pressing against a nearby wall fainted at the sight. A pair of men next to her tried carrying her towards one of the exits, but most of the routes were blocked at the moment.

Fortunately, the Tribe members seemed indifferent to the non-combatants, directing their attention solely to keeping Iyana occupied as she tore through their comrades. Some of them exchanged hand gestures before advancing towards the knight, while a few others rushed to their injured allies and started pulling back to the portal that was slowly closing.

Even with these numbers, Scarlett doubted that the Tribe could pose a significant threat to Iyana. Unless someone stronger arrived, it was only a matter of time before the room was cleared.

Her gaze shifted towards one of the exits that had become unguarded during the latest assault against the knight. Other guests were already making their way towards it, and she decided to follow suit. The Tribe of Sin wouldn't limit their attack to just this room. There had to be more of them, and she needed to get a better grasp of the situation.

None of the Tribe members made any attempt to stop her or the others. Soon, she found herself with a group of about ten people, moving down a hallway away from the room, with her close to the front. Most of those around her looked inexperienced in combat and had worried expressions on their faces. Scarlett herself didn't know what to feel about the current situation.

The Tribe had to be here for a reason. The question was whether they sought something specific here or if they were simply attacking a place they knew would be host to a lot of influential individuals.

She was just hoping they weren't here because they knew she had The Angler Man's heart.

Her fingers brushed against the spatial ring on her left hand. She had brought the heart along just to be safe, but it wasn't something she wanted to bring out in an environment like this. If the wrong people caught sight of it, it could raise far too many dangerous questions.

Soon, they arrived at the next chamber, only to witness a scene similar to the previous one. Dozens of Tribe members were locked in combat with those of the guests who could fight back, while the rest of the guests hid or took cover. Those behind Scarlett paled at the sight, retreating a few steps into the hallway they'd come from, as if reconsidering their choice of coming here. Some even turned around and started running back.

Perhaps that was the wisest course of action now. Back there, the empire's Second Sword was almost guaranteed to deal with the threats soon enough. Here, though, there didn't seem to be anyone nearly as strong on the defending side.

She tried peering across the room, where it connected to the ballroom through a narrow glass corridor, but she could barely see anything with all the people blocking the way.

This entire situation was just one enormous mess. She didn't really want to get entangled in it even further, but she also had no intention of turning back just yet. She at least wanted to locate Evelyne and ensure the younger woman's safety. Managing the barony without her in the future would be hard, and as the current head of the house, she had a responsibility to fulfill.

Ignoring the people clamoring behind her, Scarlett stepped into the room and began making her way along the walls toward the opposite end. The Tribe members were too focused on their own opponents to pay attention to those attempting to escape. Or maybe they simply didn't care. Whatever the reason, she hoped it would continue.

She had to take a step back when an elderly gentleman was pushed and stumbled over a low table nearby. A grunt escaped him as blood trickled from a wound on his shoulder. He had been engaged in combat with one of the Tribe members—a broad-shouldered man with a bald head and three white lines drawn across his face—with nothing but a cane as his weapon. It was an admirable enough feat, but now he was at the mercy of his adversary.

As the Tribe member closed in to deliver the final blow, his gaze passed over Scarlett. He stopped for a moment.

She met his eyes, concerns about her being their intended target resurfacing. She prepared to defend herself. Just then, a yell sounded out as a young man charged forward, wielding a chair in his hands. He collided with the Tribe member, swinging the chair with force. The broad-shouldered man diverted his attention from Scarlett as he took one step back. Seizing one of the chair's legs, he effortlessly tore it off, along with a portion of the furniture.

To the youth's credit, he didn't let that deter him as he used what remained of the chair to defend the elderly gentleman on the floor. Unfortunately for him, his attacks were easily countered by the Tribe member, who swiftly landed a sword strike on the young man's side.

Scarlett observed the fight, a sense of hesitation in her heart. She glanced at the old man, whose sweat-covered face held a grimace as he struggled to rise using his cane, only to be betrayed by his own legs. Images of an injured Garside with a maimed shoulder flashed in her mind.

She closed her eyes, releasing a long sigh. Then, she raised a hand.

A mass of water materialized around the Tribe member's sword just as he prepared to strike once again. The blade sliced through the liquid, but it was slowed down just enough for the young man to avoid it, his hand pressed against his bloodied side. Several fireballs appeared in front of the Tribe member, and the man's eyes widened as he leaped back to evade them.

Conjuring even more flames to keep him in check, Scarlett approached the youth and the elderly man. All three of them were staring at her now, though, as the ring on her left finger glowed and a slender vial appeared in her hand. She briefly examined the youth's wound—it looked to be mostly superficial—before kneeling beside the older gentleman and extending the vial toward him.

"Use this," she commanded. "It will heal your injury."

He looked between her and the vial for a second before glancing at her clothes, which likely deviated from the typical ball attire. He coughed weakly, reaching to accept the potion.

"Thank you, my lady." He gestured over at the Tribe member—who seemed uncertain about what to do right now—and the disorder that surrounded them. "I am not foolish to reject help, but you needn't waste any more time on me. There are many others who require assistance far more urgently."

Scarlett swept her gaze across the room, taking in the multitude of battles, including the numerous guests who were simply too afraid to move from where they were crouched down. She even counted a few children. For some reason, the three men seemed to wait for her response. After staying silent for a while, she clicked her tongue.

She didn't want to mess with the Tribe of Sin. She didn't want to do anything that could jeopardise her agreement with the Cabal. But their contract did contain provisions for situations like this. She would have been stupid not to include them. Assuming the Tribe's objective wasn't her, there were actions she could take while still abiding by the terms she had agreed upon.

With a thought, the [Tiara of Lost Benediction] materialized on Scarlett's forehead, enhancing her perception and sharpening her focus. She raised her hand once more. Seeing that, the broad-shouldered man finally made a move against her. But it was too late. She had already sized up all the Tribe members in the room. None were at the level where her [Charms of Apperception] didn't show her their weak points.

Several dozen Aqua Mines appeared throughout the area, resembling shimmering stars enveloped in water. There were at least two for each Tribe member, and the man approaching Scarlett had over a handful appear right before him. In an instant, all the Mines detonated simultaneously.

Explosions of steam reverberated through the room, accompanied by screams of pain and surprise. Many Tribe members stumbled or fell, and some were even rendered unconscious from just that. While not every Mine hit its mark perfectly, the overall effect provided a momentary advantage to the defenders.

The man in front of Scarlett, his clothes torn apart by the onslaught she had directed at him, fell to his knees with gritted teeth. Seemed like there was actually a pretty significant disparity in strength among the Tribe members present here.

Scarlett conjured another swarm of Aqua Mines around the room and detonated them. Several more black-clad individuals collapsed, while their opponents seized the opportunity to strike. The man before her crumpled into a heap on the ground.

Surveying the room once more, she felt that was almost enough. She didn't want to waste too much mana, so she only used a little bit more to aid a few more people that looked in need. From there, it didn't take long for the remaining Tribe members to be ganged up on and dealt with. Any of them who tried to refocus their attention on Scarlett were swiftly dispatched by a barrage of Aqua Mines.

Silence descended upon the room, interrupted only by the distant sounds of fighting emanating from the adjoining chambers. The people present here still seemed to be trying to process the situation, their gazes turning to Scarlett. Many of those who had fought against the Tribe of Sin gave her appreciative looks, while the rest simply appeared relieved that the immediate danger seemed to have passed. At least in here.

With a mental command, Scarlett removed the legendary artifact from her forehead and surveyed the bodies of the fallen Tribe members surrounding her. She wasn't sure if they were dead or not, but that wasn't important at the moment.

What mattered was how the Cabal would react to this. Although it might be difficult for them to verify the specifics, if they suspected she had reneged on their deal, it would be problematic. She was allowed to defend herself and others in the event of accidental clashes with the Cabal's agents, though. As long as she didn't actively impede or interfere with whatever their objective might be in this situation. Their deal stipulated that whoever acted first held priority, after all.

Still, it might have been easier to just ignore what happened here and let the Tribe pursue whatever they wanted. However, she couldn't ignore how her actions might be perceived by others. It would look suspicious if she didn't help at all in staving off the attack.

"Ahem, my lady," a voice interrupted her thoughts.

She turned to face the elderly gentleman. He had managed to stand and approached her. His black jacket was stained with blood on his shoulder, and his complexion was pale, but he seemed in slightly better condition now. The healing potion should at least keep him going for a while longer.

"May I inquire about your name?" he asked. "I want to know to whom I and my grandson owe our lives. I imagine many here share that sentiment."

Scarlett regarded him, noting the young man behind him looking at her with admiration. Neither seemed to recognize her, but she suspected that some of the others in the room might.

"I am Baroness Scarlett Hartford," she stated, sweeping her eyes across the other guests. "…And you owe me nothing."

She raised her voice. "I suggest that those of you who do not wish to remain here and risk your lives move on to the next chamber. A member of the Royal Guard is stationed there, and she will be able to protect you better than anyone here can."

Relieved expressions appeared on the faces of some people upon hearing her words.

"And what of you?" the gentleman asked.

Her gaze shifted in the direction of the ballroom. Now she could see parts of it, and fighting was definitely still going on there. "I still have other matters to attend to."

"I understand. If I were younger and in better condition, I would have joined you, but I am afraid I would only be a hindrance in my current state." The man leaned on his cane. It held several chip marks on it from the fight but remained in one piece. "I am Deverell Halewell. And while you say we owe you nothing, with that, I disagree. Halewells do not forget easily, my lady. The lives you saved tonight will be remembered." He cast a look at the fallen Tribe members. "That is, if we survive to see the end of it."

Scarlett gave him a slight look of surprise, but then nodded curtly as a farewell before she started moving again. Some of the other people in the room expressed their gratitude as she passed by, but she paid little attention to it.

As she exited the room and entered the ballroom, she was confronted with an even larger presence of Tribe members than before. There were so many of them. Countless figures dressed in black were spread about the place, mixed in with those of the guests who were fighting back. The scene looked like one giant battlefield. Anywhere her eyes turned, blows were exchanged as attacks of magic and aura filled the air.

Among the fighters, Scarlett spotted a few familiar faces. One that stood out was Dean Godwin, floating in the air at the opposite end of the room, surrounded by a myriad of runes. His opponent was an old but powerfully built man wearing tattered black rags, with unruly grey hair that flowed down to his lower back and a thick beard like a mane. Behind the man, a mass of murky water surged while lightning sprang forth from the runes around Godwin. Their magics clashed, forcing all those near them to flee from the aftershocks.

Closer to Scarlett stood Raimond, positioned among a group of injured individuals. Golden barriers emerged from him in rapid succession, akin to small fireworks, blocking the attacks of a gathering of Tribe members who had him surrounded. Simultaneously, a radiant circle encompassing him seemed to heal the injuries of those around him.

Even with all that going on, Raimond's attention seemed aimed at preventing one specific Tribe member from advancing. A lithe woman with dark-blue hair who wielded two short swords and moved like the wind, perpetually inching closer and closer to breaching his barriers with slashes that were only a finger's breadth away from meeting flesh.

There were dozens of battles taking place simultaneously, but Scarlett only glanced at them as she searched the room. More of the portals that the Tribe members appeared through were scattered around, with new enemies continuously leaving them, but none seemed to be focused on her in particular.

She started moving along the edge of the room, watching for Evelyne amidst the chaos. Occasionally, she paused briefly to help someone out if they looked in dire need, but she preferred not to draw attention to herself. Thankfully, the place was in such disorder that she could move surprisingly unhindered as long as she was careful.

After a while, when she began to wonder if Evelyne was even here, she finally spotted the woman's auburn hair near one of the glass corridors. The Withersworths were with her, along with a large group of people who seemed to have just escaped from one of the side rooms. Evelyne and a few others focused on defending the group from the Tribe of Sin, as all of them appeared to be making their way towards the ballroom's main entrance.

Scarlett paused when she saw Evelyne cast a spell that summoned several flaming disks in the air above her. The disks shot out and struck three Tribe members, while two others were shielded by barriers of murky water that seemed to originate from a mage in the center of the attackers. One of Evelyne's fellow defenders rushed forward with half a table in one hand and an axe in the other, attempting to protect her from more of the approaching enemies. Seizing the opportunity, the young woman cast another spell. A moment later, a storm of tiny burning rocks rained down on those of the Tribe who were nearest. Although half of it was blocked by a hastily erected sphere of water, it still inflicted considerable damage as Tribe members fell to the floor with burning clothes.

Scarlett had never witnessed Evelyne in actual combat before, so it surprised her to see the woman's skill and experience. It was perhaps comparable to when Kat fought.

She shook her head. No, that wasn't important now.

Spotting a path that would bring her closer to them without getting too close to any of the Tribe members, she began to move.

Evelyne seemed to notice her as she got closer.

"Scarlett?!" the woman cried out.

Some of the group behind her also looked up, including Lady Withersworth and her husband. Both appeared tired but otherwise unharmed.

A new portal formed a dozen or so meters away from Evelyne and her allies, spitting out more Tribe members with painted faces and weapons raised. Scarlett raised her hand, and the newcomers were met with a swarm of Aqua Mines and fire.

Some immediately crumbled under the sudden attack, and she followed it up by donning the [Tiara of Lost Benediction] once again, unleashing a barrage of attacks against the Tribe members Evelyne had been fighting. She also managed to create an opening for her to focus some of her attacks on the water mage who had been giving Evelyne trouble. In turn, the mage had to divert attention to self-defense.

Evelyne and the others looked on with disbelief at first, but then they recognized the opportunity she had given them.

Scarlett watched as they fought back against the Tribe of Sin, using her magic to support them where possible. It was at times like these, when she was facing a large number of relatively weak opponents—excluding the mage, most were perhaps slightly under Shin and Allyssa's levels, if she were to guess—that her magic truly shone. With the buffs from her tiara, it was almost laughably easy to keep her opponents in check, allowing her allies to deal with them. However, it did take its toll on her mana stores, which was why she held back when she could.

Soon, most of the Tribe members closest to them had been dealt with. Evelyne and her group continued moving as Scarlett reached them. The younger woman stared at her with wide eyes, an expression shared by many of those around her.

"Scarlett. Was all of that really you?"

"It was, but that is not important now. I presume you are aiding in bringing these people to safety?" Scarlett glanced over the group, giving a brief nod to Lady Withersworth and her family.

"Yes, I was—"

"Then I will assist you. Let us not waste any more time."

Her eyes immediately returned to scanning the rest of the group, watching for any foes who might target their group again. She stilled, however, when she realized the enemy was suddenly retreating for some reason. Dozens more portals opened to replace those that had closed, but instead of spewing out reinforcements, all the Tribe members around them began disengaging from their fights and collecting their fallen allies.

She doubted she was the reason for this sudden change, but they were now escaping back through the portals. The efficiency with which they did it, even while under attack from those they had just been fighting, was astounding. The old man whom Dean Godwin had been fighting and some other powerful Tribe members covered the retreat, and all Scarlett could do was stare as barely a minute had passed before the majority of them were already gone.

Just as abruptly as the attack had seemingly begun, it was suddenly over.

Scarlett felt even more confused now, as the same question that had arisen when she first saw them remained at the forefront of her mind.

What the hell had they been here for?

Chapter 149 - Puzzling conundrums

Beldon Tyndall was a man who often found himself being right. Most of the time, that was something he took great pleasure in. But there were times when he would have preferred the alternative.

He surveyed the scene before him with a serious expression. The ballroom, which had been a hub of conversations and merrymaking just an hour ago, was now filled with wounded nobles and other influential guests. Some appeared only slightly disheveled, while others lay on the floor with blood-soaked clothing as their companions tended to them.

The air was heavy with the scent of burnt wood and singed fabric, mingling with the faint aroma of spilled wine and shattered pride. The walls, adorned with beautiful frescoes and delicate reliefs commissioned by dukes from past generations, bore the marks of the Tribe of Sin's onslaught. Vibrant paintings were slashed, and the once-polished dance floor was littered with shards of glass, splintered furniture, and scorch marks.

Beldon walked across the room, taking note of all the wounded. He observed the fear in the eyes of those who hadn't had the strength to fight back but were unable to escape when the Tribe initiated the attack. In one corner, a group of elderly and young individuals huddled together, recovering from the ordeal while the knights who had protected them rested on the ground, catching their breath.

It was a scene of destruction and disorder that he would have preferred never to have witnessed in his own home.

Perhaps it could be considered a saving grace that the majority of the casualties seemed to be on the Tribe's side, and most of the non-combatants had escaped serious harm. The duchy would spare no expense in treating those present, so he suspected few would leave Windgrove with more than a scar. Healers were likely already being roused throughout the city to rush over and provide their aid.

However, considering what they might have lost tonight, he wasn't sure how comforting that thought was.

As he walked, he spotted his father in the center of the room, stepping onto what remained of the stage there.

Santos Tyndall wore his usual stern expression, but the ash and blood on his clothes revealed how vulnerable he had been during the attack. As did the cold fury behind the man's eyes.

"Esteemed guests," his deep voice resonated across the entire ballroom, likely reaching even the adjacent chambers. "I stand before you now with a heavy heart, dismayed by the senseless attack that has been carried out against us all. Some of you may remember when our empire battled against them and pushed them back over a decade ago, but for those of you unaware, this vile act was perpetrated by none other than our most contemptible and eternal enemy: the Tribe of Sin."

Whispers of shock rose around the room, but most remaining guests likely already knew this.

"We may not know the complete reasoning behind their actions," the Duke continued, "but one thing remains clear, as it has not changed since the inception of our empire. The Tribe of Sin is still nothing more than a gathering of cowards who seek to instill fear and panic among our numbers. However, I will tell you this: we will not be cowed by their dastardly deeds. As we have done in the past, we will stand tall, with our heads held high, and we will not yield to their will. We will not allow their despicable acts to disrupt the peace and prosperity that we and our predecessors have worked tirelessly for generations to achieve."

He peered out over the crowd, like a dragon inspecting his domain. "To those of you who have been injured, know that I stand with you in this time of need. Our duchy does not abandon those who tread upon our lands as honored guests. We will do everything within our power to support you and your close ones. And to the Tribe of Sin, I say this: You may have struck us tonight, but know that you have gained nothing. Like our forefathers before us, we will emerge stronger than ever, and as loyal citizens of the empire, we will make you face the consequences of your actions."

The man's words hung in the air for a few seconds as everyone's attention was aimed at him. There were many less-than-pleasant things one could say about Beldon's father, but the man had always possessed a way with how he spoke. There was a weight to his speech that was difficult to ignore. Despite the circumstances, many of those who appeared weary or shaken by the attack actually seemed invigorated by his words.

"Tonight I pledge to you all, esteemed guests, that Windgrove and its allies will stand at the forefront of the effort to bring these criminals to justice. We will not rest until justice is delivered on behalf of those present tonight and as retribution for this assault against the empire and His Majesty's authority. Heed my words. May we continue to stand united even in the face of adversity."

There was some applause, and some—mostly nobles—seemed to echo his sentiment. Despite his disheveled appearance, Duke Santos Tyndall truly looked like a man who did not let this incident affect his composure. But Beldon knew his father well, and it did not escape his attention that the duke concealed both hands behind his back throughout the entire speech.

It had been a lie that they didn't know the motive behind the Tribe of Sin's attack. His father was fully aware of what the Tribe's goal had been.

And presumably, they got it.

Although it was pure speculation, Beldon imagined that if the Duke were to show his left hand at that moment, the guests would see that a finger was missing, along with the ring that had adorned it.

He had warned his father against keeping the artifact on his person in such a manner. He had cautioned his father against keeping it within the duchy, on their own lands. It was an unnecessary risk. But his father was a stubborn man, and there were few individuals who he trusted implicitly. Beldon himself was barely among that group, and the Duke would not hand over such a vital item to the Ustrum Assembly or any of the mage towers. The Shields Guild was not much better, in the man's opinion. Little more than a principled mercenary group, not loyal to the empire itself.

Santos Tyndall saw it as part of his duty to protect the ring himself. And he had never doubted his ability to do so.

Beldon let out a snort as he shook his head.

Tonight had demonstrated how correct his father had been in that belief. The Tribe of Sin—or perhaps he should say the Hallowed Cabal—had succeeded in the end. They had caught them all off guard.

That vexed him.

He had anticipated an attack from the Cabal eventually, but he had never expected it tonight, of all times. Not when several of the empire's strongest individuals were gathered in one place like this. There were small nations that could be toppled with just a select few of them. Beldon couldn't even begin to count the numerous other occasions that would have been more suitable for an ambush. Yet, instead, the Cabal had mustered precisely enough force to execute tonight's assault, sacrificing dozens upon dozens of lives solely to target his father and the artifact the man wore.

If Beldon was not already aware of how terrifyingly capable the Cabal could be, he would have considered them fools for recklessly squandering their resources. Instead, he found himself trying to decipher their reasoning.

The most likely explanation was that they had intended to send a message, both to the Windgrove duchy and to the empire as a whole. However, there were many other ways of doing that without taking the risk they did now.

What had compelled them to choose tonight, in particular? Was there something that had pushed them into action?

He recalled reading reports about the joint efforts of the Solar Knights against several known bases of the Tribe and the Cabal across the empire. Warley Godwin and Rosanna Adlam had provided more intelligence than anyone else on those, which had played a crucial role in organizing the efforts. Despite the Cabal's seemingly endless resources, it must have dealt a significant blow to them.

Rosanna was well known for her hate towards the Tribe, and the S-ranked Shielder was often considered one of the foremost experts in battling them. The involvement of the Dean of Elystead Tower, however, had been somewhat surprising. There were still questions about how the man had obtained information on the Cabal's movements, especially since Beldon had seen reports of him being in Visian and other kingdoms west of Voneia in recent months.

Personally, Beldon suspected that Imperial Advisor Blackwood had been involved in some way. The Dean's movements were always difficult to track, but recent events indicated the two had met at least once.

Regardless of the true cause behind the Cabal's actions, he doubted it was a simple matter. He knew there were more actors engaged in these conflicts than met the eye. Actors who did not always want to make their existences known.

But one thing was clear to him. The Cabal had expended more than just manpower in their attack tonight. He didn't know the exact method they'd used to create portals and teleport so many individuals in such a short amount of time—the Hallowed Cabal had access to knowledge and magic that no one else had—but it must have come at a cost. The protective enchantments around the castle had been eased to avoid disturbing the guests—perhaps a contributory factor as to why they chose tonight—but even an archmage would have needed time and a significant amount of mana to break through those defenses. The Cabal clearly desired the ring they had come here for.

The question was what would happen now that they had obtained it.

Much to his frustration, Beldon didn't know much more than his father about the true purpose of the ring. The Duke had never revealed where he found the artifact, but they both knew it was connected to the Cabal in some way and to the Dragon Rampage that had occurred seven years ago. His father seemed to believe it was also linked to the Tribe's initial attacks when they first revealed themselves again a few months earlier.

While those less knowledgeable saw those attacks as simple acts of terror, Beldon was aware that such things were always secondary for the Cabal. Surveys of the locations where the attacks had been carried out showed that the Tribe had been searching for something beneath them. Most likely, they had found whatever that was as well.

However, he wasn't entirely convinced of the connection between those attacks and the ring. He suspected there had been a different purpose behind the earlier attacks, though he disliked not knowing for certain. But the unfortunate truth was that even an organization like Mirage struggled to keep tabs on the Cabal.

The same couldn't be said in reverse.

The Cabal possessed a disturbing ability to extract any information they wanted from the agents they captured. This had been particularly frustrating in the past year as their activities escalated, and the Cabal made a habit of kidnapping Beldon's people at every opportunity to milk them of what they knew. It had forced him to take significant and drastic precautions that severely affected the efficiency of Mirage's work, but even then, he couldn't completely avoid the issue.

It was unlikely that Mirage would be able to uncover the ring's true purpose on its own. But he had the unsettling feeling that they would soon face the repercussions of its theft.

"Beldon."

He paused and looked up as his brother approached, quickly glancing over the man's appearance and noting the bloodstains on his legs and the large gash on one of his sleeves.

"Father asked me to oversee the preparations in case the Tribe of Sin returns," Gideon said. "He wants you to work with our people and document everyone who is missing, injured, or dead while he deals with the rest of the aftermath."

"I have already started," Beldon replied, choosing not to mention that their father would need to have his hand healed first. There were only a few healers in Windgrove capable of completely regrowing limbs, and that was only if one acted fast enough. Of course, Santos Tyndall prioritized maintaining his own reputation over that.

His brother showed a brief look of surprise, but soon nodded and turned around as he started issuing orders to some nearby guardsmen to follow him.

Beldon returned his attention to the rest of the ballroom, scanning the faces of the guests and assessing their current conditions. He casually intercepted a tired servant carrying containers of water and instructed them to send a message to Mireya as well as fetch some paper.

His father would likely want a comprehensive list before the night was over, but not all the guests would patiently wait until then. Some of the more daring ones would seize this opportunity to reproach their family and their inability to prevent this attack, demanding compensation for damages and injuries that may or may not exist. It was best to work preemptively in such situations, and Mireya would know what to do.

Beldon's gaze continued to roam the room, lingering on the more notable individuals here.

Alcot Thackeray of the Vanguards stood at the center of a group of battle-worn people, his bear-like figure towering over them. His exposed chest was bloody and burned from his encounter with a high-ranking Tribe member. As expected of his reputation, Thackeray had taken on the brunt of the attacks, ensuring others escaped relatively unharmed.

Not far away, the Dean of Elystead Tower conversed with Rodmun Ainsworth, the only other archmage in attendance. Both appeared mostly unscathed, but Beldon had seen the powerful opponents they'd faced during the battle. Everyone present was fortunate that both sides had exercised some restraint.

Count Knottley stood with his family, wearing a grim expression. On the floor beside him was a large axe, while his petite daughter helped clean blood off his face from what looked like a broken nose.

The eldest Delmon son sat with a dour look on what remained of a chair, attended to by a pair of servants as they cleaned and treated a serious injury on his right arm.

Valdemar Hayden lay unconscious on a table, seemingly without any visible wounds. Beldon would have to inquire for more details about that later.

Marchioness Thackeray approached her cousin with assertive steps, her usually well-kept grey-white hair ruffled and hanging freely over her back. Other than that, she appeared perfectly unharmed.

Shepard Yardley, the captain of the Amber Knights, was surrounded by several of his men as they worked to clean up the aftermath of the attack and left to search through the other chambers.

Iyana Webb entered the ballroom as well, displaying one of the most expressive faces Beldon had ever seen on the swordswoman as she walked over to some of the other knights with a scowl. He hadn't seen her during the battle itself, so presumably she had been caught up elsewhere.

Amidst his observations, his eyes caught sight of a yellow-haired priest in a bright red overcoat, moving among the people and using magic that shone a bright gold to heal those in need. Beldon had to mentally run through the list of priests who might have deigned to attend tonight before he recognized the man.

A small smile found its way onto his lips.

It seemed that even with the turmoil within the Follower's circles at the moment, the Quorum had chosen not to keep a tighter leash on their youngest member.

In between checking over the faces of those around him, Beldon also observed the conditions of others he recognized and who passed him by, intending to write it all down later.

Finally, his gaze settled on a pair of sisters. One sister had neck-length auburn-colored hair and looked as though she might fall asleep at any moment, while the other had long, dark-red hair and a composed expression as she spoke with an older lady. Beldon noted that Baroness Scarlett Hartford was now wearing an entirely different outfit from what he had seen her in earlier. Had she managed to change clothes during all the chaos? No, that was more likely the result of one of those artifacts she seemed to have a near-endless supply of.

He watched her for a brief while longer.

Scarlett Hartford was another enigma that Beldon was still attempting to unravel.

Until a few months ago, the mapping of her actions had been predictable and straightforward. Nothing he hadn't already seen from a dozen other nobles, albeit a tad more audacious. However, something had changed, and he wasn't certain what the cause of it was.

Yet. He wasn't certain of it yet.

Initially, he had assumed there was someone else pulling the strings behind the noblewoman. A high-ranking noble using her as a front for their own schemes. The Delmons had been the prime candidate. Count Knottley had also been a possibility, but it was unlikely considering the man's personality.

However, subsequent interactions had cast doubt on that assumption. Both because the nature of Scarlett's relationship with most influential nobles seemed tenuous at best, and because Beldon simply couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't that simple. The woman didn't strike him as someone who would readily bend her knee to most others. If she was working with someone, it wasn't as a subordinate.

Of course, it was possible that her entire persona was an act as well. He didn't doubt that she was a capable actor.

What intrigued him most was not just the apparent changes surrounding her in recent months or the waves she was making in certain circles across the empire. It was the knowledge she seemed to possess. Not only had she provided him with precisely the type of information he sought—suggesting she was intimately familiar with Mirage and its workings—but she also demonstrated a deep knowledge of ancient artifacts, ruins, and even sacred relics. Beldon's informants within the Shields Guild had reported that the Guild's leadership was keeping a close eye on her as well, and the same went for the Followers and some of the mage factions.

It also hadn't escaped his attention that there had been increased activity in the Withersworth barony shortly after Baroness Hartford's reported stay at their Autumnwell estate. Further inquiries by his agents had suggested that the curse plaguing their domain had been dealt with.

It did not take a genius to connect the dots.

If his suspicions about the Baroness' involvement were correct, it conveniently placed the Withersworths in her debt. This had only been further confirmed by the fact that the elderly couple had accepted the invitation to tonight's ball, despite not having attended for several years. And by the fact that Lady Withersworth was currently speaking with the woman.

It seemed as if Baroness Hartford was assembling allies. None that were too influential yet, but the Withersworths had many connections. Neither Lord nor Lady Withersworth was to be underestimated, even after distancing themselves from most of high society.

What exactly the Baroness was trying to do with all of this, however, was still a mystery.

But if only that was all. Beldon had caught a glimpse of her during the earlier fighting as well, and her capabilities had surprised him. It did not align at all with what he'd learned about her supposed ineptitude as a mage. Although he supposed that was simply further proof suggesting she was not as simple as she seemed. By now, he was certain that the noblewoman most thought they knew was part of an act of some kind, at the very least.

He seemed to share several similarities with the woman, now that he thought about it.

Hopefully, he would still be able to meet with her in the morning. It might be difficult finding time after the attack, and his father would undoubtedly not cancel the gathering that was supposed to take place tomorrow, but he didn't think the Baroness would depart before then. If she did, though, it would be troublesome for him to visit Freybrook later solely to meet her. He would have to think of a solution for that, just in case.

"Brother," a voice reached him from the side. He paused in his ruminations, turning to look at his approaching sister.

"Mariele. I see you're still here." He inspected her appearance. The dark-haired young woman was unharmed, having been protected by several guards during the earlier chaos. "Correct me if I'm mistaken, but Gideon must have told you to go to your quarters and rest, no? Your presence here leads me to believe you have chosen not to adhere to that."

"I already sent Anne away, but the danger is over. I'm currently assisting with the efforts."

"Ah, what a kind sister I have. Prioritising the well-being of those around her over avoiding a week of confinement in the castle for defying an order."

"It's better than doing nothing," she replied. Stopping next to him, she looked around. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, nothing much. Simply waiting for my trusted subordinates and some writing implements to arrive so that I can get to work."

Mariele's head turned in the direction Beldon had been looking earlier, her eyes stopping on the two Hartford sisters for a moment. "That's the woman you spoke with earlier tonight, isn't it? Baroness Hartford?"

"I am flattered that you remember even my briefest of dalliances so well, dear sister."

She frowned. "What is your relationship with her?"

Beldon smiled. "Mere acquaintances, I assure you. I fear I might lose a limb or two if I were to ever pursue something more. Moreover, her fiance happens to be the current vice-captain of the Imperial Solar Knights."

"I am familiar with Sir Leon. He is not the type to act out of envy."

"I wasn't suggesting he was."

His sister studied him for a bit, then spun around. "I am going to try to gather the healers when they arrive and help in organizing their efforts. I was intending to ask if I could have Mireya or someone else help, but I suspect you will have her occupied. Don't get yourself killed by forgetting to rest even for a moment."

Beldon watched her depart, the small smile still lingering on his lips until she was far enough away. Then, it faded.

He cast one last glance towards the Hartfords before refocusing on his current task. There was much that called for his attention at the moment, but everything had its time. As for the Baroness, their talks could wait until they next crossed paths.

Chapter 150 - Untenable associations

Scarlett and Evelyne were among the last to leave the ballroom once things had calmed down following the Tribe of Sin's attack. Evelyne had insisted on helping the injured and restoring order, and only when a large group of guards and healers arrived did she feel comfortable leaving. Scarlett, on the other hand, didn't particularly mind either way. She continued to ponder the events of the night, trying to make sense of it all.

Together, they navigated the chaotic halls of the castle—the entire place was a hub of activity right now—until they reached the exit and stepped into the wide courtyard outside where they had initially arrived. Most of the other carriages had already departed, but several remained, likely belonging to those who weren't yet in any condition to leave.

They found their carriage, with the anxious coachman already waiting, and boarded it. Soon, they were on their way back to their temporary guest quarters.

Scarlett glanced down at her clothes. She was still dressed in her 'adventure' attire. There had been little point in changing back into her ball gown, not only because something might happen again, but also because the previous mess had made her work up a sweat. Hopefully, she would have a chance to clean up later.

"…I still can't believe what happened." Evelyne broke the silence after the carriage had been in motion for a minute. "I've never encountered the Tribe of Sin before, but I never thought they would do something so… I don't know. I just didn't expect them to do something like this."

"It is not that surprising if you ask me," Scarlett said. "Attacking an event with so many powerful people who might oppose them present might be an odd choice, but it aligns with their objectives, does it not?"

"Maybe you're right…" Evelyne stared down at her legs, seemingly still processing what had occurred. There was a tired look on her face, and she seemed liable to fall asleep any second now. After a while, she looked up at Scarlett and observed her for a moment. "…You handled yourself well during the attack. Astonishingly well."

"I have had ample opportunity to gain experience in recent months," Scarlett answered. She paused, studying Evelyne in return. "…You also handled the situation admirably," she added.

The woman's eyes widened slightly, and she turned to gaze out the window. "Thank you…"

Another minute passed before Evelyne spoke again. "Did you expect any of this to happen?"

"What makes you ask that?"

"You seem so composed and rational about it all."

"I believe you are well aware that this is simply how I am. I have never been one to easily show my state of mind."

"I know, but…" Evelyne turned to face her. "Still… It feels like you might have known. Wasn't this something you saw in those visions of yours?"

Scarlett arched a brow. "Memories, not visions. And no, it was not. If it were, I would not have attended tonight."

"You wouldn't have tried to prevent it?"

She frowned. "And how would I have accomplished that? Should I have informed the Tyndalls that I, a minor baroness in disfavor with the Duke, am aware of an impending attack by the Tribe of Sin? Should I have publicly proclaimed knowledge of the Tribe's plans? Such actions would only bring unwanted attention and trouble to our house, and I suspect you already realize as much."

Technically, she couldn't have warned anyone due to her deal with the Cabal either.

"Yes, but…" Evelyne's face showed conflict. "People were injured. I'm not sure if anyone died, but I saw people who almost lost their arms, legs, maybe more…" She spoke softly, as if unsure of what to feel.

Scarlett sighed. "It is a moot point, regardless. I had no idea this would happen."

She was just relieved that the Tribe's objective hadn't been her. That would have placed both her and them in a difficult situation.

"…What are we going to do now?" Evelyne asked.

"I still plan on attending tomorrow's gathering, unless it gets canceled," Scarlett replied.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes. You do not have to accompany me if you do not want to, however."

"No." Evelyne shook her head. "…I'll come."

That was good. Scarlett thought it unlikely that the Tribe would attempt another attack so soon, and security would undoubtedly be much tighter this time, so it should be safe. It might also be good to show that something like this wouldn't scare her. Besides, they wouldn't be able to return to Freybrook before afternoon anyway, so it was better to utilize their time efficiently, even if she wouldn't particularly enjoy the event.

Not to mention that she also had that meeting with Beldon in the morning.

The carriage came to a halt, and Scarlett looked out the window, realizing they had arrived in front of their accommodations. The courtyard was filled with guards and people bustling about, some performing preparations to leave. It seemed like less than half of the guests would stay until tomorrow. Most of those leaving didn't appear to be nobles, though, which meant they wouldn't be attending the gathering anyway. Given the circumstances, now was as good a time to depart as any for them. All they missed out on was a free breakfast.

As Scarlett and Evelyne exited their carriage and walked over to the entrance of the building, a servant briefly inquired about their well-being before allowing them inside, now accompanied by a pair of armed escorts.

They passed by several more guards patrolling the hallways of the guest quarters, some of whom looked like they had been abruptly roused from their sleep. The Tyndalls must have rushed to muster all this manpower so quickly.

Outside their respective rooms, Scarlett and Evelyne bid each other farewell. Evelyne looked more exhausted than anyone else at this point. Scarlett entered her own quarters, a spacious room dimly lit by a single lamp near the window.

Making her way to the table where her [Pouch of Holding] rested, her muscles tensed when she heard a sound behind her.

She spun around, the [Tiara of Lost Benediction] materializing on her forehead along with the enchanted glasses as she prepared to defend herself. The darkness in the room dissipated before her now-enhanced vision, except for a vacant space in the corner where a shadow took shape, coiling together as it grew more distinct by the second.

Her breath caught in her throat.

She immediately brought out the [Essence of Zenthas] and her [Fireguard Knife], positioning the dagger's edge against The Angler Man's heart.

The shadow took the form of a short figure, almost childlike, concealed by a crimson robe and a white mask peering out from under a hood. Pale blonde hair peeked out from the sides of the mask, and three large lavender eyes were the only noticeable features on it. Each eye had unnaturally enlarged, semi-transparent irises with tiny black dots for pupils, with the third one situated vertically on the forehead.

It was Nol'viz. A member of the Hallowed Cabal.

Silence enveloped the room as the girl tilted her head, observing Scarlett with all three pupils moving in unison.

Scarlett was on the verge of calling for the guards, but that would be stupid. It was unlikely that they could do anything. That said, she didn't know Nol'viz's purpose here. If the Cabal had concluded that they had nothing left to lose and decided to take the risk, Nol'viz was the ideal candidate to eliminate her discreetly.

Instead of attacking, the girl retrieved a [Mirror of Communion] from within her robes. The reflective grey metal of the artifact darkened as a fog enveloped its surface.

For a brief moment, Scarlett worried that she would hear the voice of The Angler Man resounding in her head. However, she relaxed when a familiar sharp voice spoke.

"Is she there?" it asked.

Even if The Angler Man had woken up, it was part of Scarlett's agreement with the Cabal that she would never have to make direct contact with him. Before Nol'viz could respond, she decided to interject. "I am here, yes. And I will say that I do not appreciate being approached in this manner."

"It was necessary," the voice curtly replied, as if it didn't care for her opinion. "Does she have the heart?"

A few seconds of quiet followed before Nol'viz replied.

"Yes."

Her voice resembled a chorus of echoes and whispers rasping from beneath the mask, like she was imitating people's speech and not entirely accustomed to it yet.

"I assume you are not foolish enough to attempt anything that would violate our agreement," Scarlett said.

"We will uphold our end as long as you fulfill your part." The words hung in the air for a moment before the voice adopted an accusatory tone. "You attacked several of our people."

"I had little choice. Surely you did not overlook the possibility of my presence tonight."

"We were under no obligation to inform you of our plans."

"And I had no obligation to refrain from protecting myself or those around me. If I had not acted as I did, my actions would have aroused suspicion. I operated well within the boundaries of our agreement. If anything, you were the ones who ran dangerously close to breaching it."

The voice remained silent, which Scarlett interpreted as them not challenging her words.

"Why have you contacted me like this?" she asked, her gaze fixed on Nol'viz. "Are you here simply to ensure that I do not harm your precious heart?"

"We have already achieved our goal tonight. We hold no grudge against you unless you give us reason to."

"I am not the one who is likely to break the contract."

"…I advise you to remember those words. Soon, we will take action against the empire."

Scarlett paused. Wait, were they trying to warn her?

"And what exactly do you mean by that?"

"The empire will soon realize their mistake in opposing us. Freybrook will be spared for a time. Do not act rashly."

She stared at the [Mirror of Communion] in Nol'viz's hand, the meaning behind those words dawning on her.

They had gotten their hands on the [Ring of Depravity].

Was that the purpose behind tonight's attack?

She hadn't been aware that the Tyndalls possessed the ring at this point. It didn't become relevant until later in the game's storyline. Sure, Beldon Tyndall had been the one to possess it initially—before losing it to the Cabal—but she had just assumed he had acquired it through his connections in Mirage.

What had accelerated the events to occur so early? Could her own actions have played a role? While she had undoubtedly influenced certain aspects of this world, she didn't feel like she could expedite an entire storyline by several months, even with the pressure she was placing on the Cabal. There was a reason they couldn't do it this fast in the game, after all.

So, were there other factors at play? It wasn't the first time she had noticed variations in how certain storylines unfolded, even without her direct involvement. While dungeons and artifacts remained mostly consistent, the actions of individuals and groups in this world appeared more unpredictable.

What Godwin had told her about the Cabal might tie into that somehow.

She clenched her teeth.

Regardless of the reasons, what mattered was the current situation. If the Cabal possessed the [Ring of Depravity], it meant that one of the game's threats to the empire was drawing near.

The fact that the Cabal would essentially give her a warning about it beforehand perplexed her, though. It had to be because they wanted to prevent anything from happening to her that might lead her to kill The Angler Man. That likely meant they were confident that, even with her foreknowledge, she would be unable to stop their plans. They were probably right as well. There were a few things she could maybe do, but the risks involved were just as likely to result in her death as anyone else's.

This development would make moving around the empire more challenging in the future. She really would have preferred if events unfolded as they did in the game. But perhaps she could consider it a blessing if the Cabal made enough concessions for her presence to the point where they would avoid an immediate attack on Freybrook, at least.

"I will take this into consideration," she finally responded.

"See that you do," the voice replied. It fell silent for a moment before speaking again. "Your home. Our agents have reported abnormal activity in it."

"I would have expected them to have gathered more than that," she said, "but I suppose they are not as skilled as I had thought. I presume you have not been so foolish as to send someone into my home?"

"I have already told you that we will uphold our end of the agreement."

"That would undoubtedly be in your best interest."

She actually believed him. The Loci had never detected any unauthorized individuals entering the estate. It had, however, picked up on the presence of some of the Cabal's agents nearby. Its range extended beyond the walls, after all.

"Do not presume to threaten us, Baroness," the voice responded. Scarlett didn't think there was much weight behind the words, though, considering she had done exactly that during their previous encounter. "We are finished here."

The fog covering the surface of the [Mirror of Communion] dissipated, leaving her alone in the room with Nol'viz. The strange girl silently observed her, three eyes blinking in concert. Scarlett wondered what thoughts were taking place behind that mask.

While the Hallowed Cabal had plenty of members with diverse and peculiar backgrounds, Nol'viz stood out as perhaps the most unusual.

"Are you satisfied with your current circumstances?" Scarlett found herself asking.

Nol'viz continued to gaze at her without responding for several seconds. Then, finally, the same echoing whispers as before reverberated through the room. "We were instructed to be wary of your words."

Scarlett stared at her, a small smile involuntarily appearing on her face. The Cabal seemed to be more concerned about her and what she knew than they let on. Maybe it was to be expected, considering she had effectively unleashed Mistress—one of their oldest enemies—upon them and was holding their leader's life hostage.

But the thought amused her nonetheless.

"That was probably a wise decision on their part," she said.

Nol'viz tilted her head to the side, watching Scarlett for a while longer before turning around. The surrounding shadows coalesced, and she vanished into them.

Now Scarlett was left completely alone, contemplating the encounter that had just taken place. The Cabal was cautious around her, but their influence still could not be underestimated.

She found herself looking up into the air, almost expecting a quest completion message to appear, but it never did. That made her frown. Was it perhaps because she hadn't been the direct cause of anything that happened tonight? Her previous interactions with the Cabal had counted as quests, so it wasn't something specific to them.

She wanted a manual for this damn system.

Eventually, she returned the [Essence of Zenthas] and her [Fireguard Knife] to the spatial ring on her finger while keeping on the rest of her equipment. Walking over to a table in the room's corner, she took a seat on a chair that provided a clear view of the surroundings and retrieved a book from her [Pouch of Holding].

It seemed that she wouldn't be getting any sleep until she returned to Freybrook.

Chapter 151 - New partnerships

Early the next morning, Scarlett was led through a series of long corridors by a young woman dressed in plain attendant's clothing. She felt like she recognized the servant, possibly from her previous visit to Beldon's house in the capital a few months ago, although she couldn't be entirely certain.

Following the chaos of the previous night, Scarlett would almost have expected the Tyndall estate to be bustling with activity today as well. However, to her surprise, things appeared strangely calm from what she'd seen. Having left her quarters earlier than most due to her scheduled meeting with Beldon, she hadn't come across many other guests. The few she had seen seemed largely unaffected by the events of the previous day.

Considering that the majority of the remaining guests were nobles, she supposed that their pride and the need to uphold their image might have played a role in their apparent aloofness. Nonetheless, it caught her a bit off guard how casually everyone was behaving. Discounting the increased presence of guards and certain areas of the castle being closed off, one could almost forget that the place had been attacked the night before.

Say what you will about nobles, but she couldn't help but respect their ability to shrug off things like this when necessary.

"The young master is inside," the woman in front of her said, coming to a halt in front of an oak door. "He has had little chance to rest since yesterday, so please be considerate."

Scarlett observed her for a moment before shifting her gaze to the door. "I will keep that in mind."

She hadn't slept at all during the night, so it wasn't as if she was brimming with energy either. But she could manage it until they were back in Freybrook, at least.

The servant woman nodded, lowering her head as she opened the door. Scarlett entered the room and spotted Beldon seated on a couch in the center. He still wore the same clothes she had seen him in the previous day, though his jacket hung on a rack near the entrance. Currently, he sat in only his white undercoat, holding a stack of papers in his hands. His dark hair was combed to the side, slightly disheveled, but overall, he didn't look too worse for wear.

As the door closed behind Scarlett, the man looked up at her with a small smile and gestured to a couch opposite him. "Baroness, welcome. Please have a seat." Leaning forward, he placed the papers he'd been reading on a table in front of him. "It's unfortunate that our second real meeting had to take place under these circumstances, but I appreciate your presence and willingness to meet. There are some matters that I wanted to discuss with you."

"No need for gratitude," she replied, walking over to sit down. "I also have topics I wish to deliberate with you over."

She briefly glanced at the papers on the table. Even upside-down, she could tell they contained a list of names with descriptions next to them. Some of the names were ones she recognized. Seemed like the man was in charge of damage control.

"I am glad to hear that. Contrary to what people might think, I don't often receive personal visits from lovely ladies such as you."

She looked back at Beldon, studying him intently. "You are doing it once more. There is no need for the facade before me. I believe we will both benefit if we can converse candidly today."

His smile grew, accompanied by a low chuckle. "No, I suppose you're right. We don't have all morning." There was a shift in the man's demeanor. His shoulders relaxed as he rested an arm on the back of the couch, but there was also a serious air to him now. "It is a shame we couldn't have this conversation at another time, uncontaminated by last night's mess. Originally, my intention for wanting to meet with you had no relation to the Tribe of Sin's attack. But now, it's difficult not to bring it up."

Scarlett noted that he didn't suggest meeting again after the gathering later in the morning, as if he already knew she would be leaving for Freybrook immediately following that.

"First and foremost, I want to thank you on behalf of my father and my family for the assistance you provided yesterday in repelling the Tribe's attack," Beldon said.

She raised an eyebrow at him.

He looked completely sincere.

"…I was not aware you witnessed any of my actions yesterday."

"I didn't see much, to be honest. I only personally beheld some of your achievements towards the end. But I must admit, prior to that, I had underestimated your capabilities. From what I heard, you were also responsible for saving an entire room of people during the attack."

She frowned. "'Save' is somewhat excessive of a description."

The man leaned his head to the side. "Based on what I've heard, I am inclined to agree. It certainly doesn't compare to the performances of Iyana Webb or any of the Thackerays. The Second Sword, if the accounts are to be believed, single-handedly dealt with over fifty of the Tribe's members. However, people have a tendency to talk about the things that surprise them the most, and the individuals you aided were rather talkative. Although I imagine that most of what they had to say will be lost in the buzz that will spread throughout the empire after last night's event."

"I do not pay too much attention to what others say about me, whether it is positive or negative."

"I can believe that. A little bird told me about your encounter with Count Soames. I will say, I'm curious what morsel of information you have that made him cease bothering you."

Scarlett held back a sigh. There the man went with his 'little birds' and all that. Had anyone ever told him it got annoying pretty quickly?

As for the Count…

She glanced down at the bare skin on her left hand. The mere thought of saying something that might implicate Count Soames to Beldon strained the pact she'd made. She could sense that much. Even if she wanted to say something, she couldn't. But Rosa's passenger had managed to skirt around those restrictions, so who was to say she couldn't?

She looked back up at Beldon. "I do not necessarily think that my dealings with the Count are any of your concern."

"Fortunately for me, I make it my business to be informed of matters that are not of my concern," the man replied.

"Of that, I am well aware." Scarlett tapped her finger against the armrest of her couch as she considered him. "But I cannot disclose anything to you."

He met her gaze. "Baroness, if I didn't know any better, I would think that you are trying to tell me something right now."

"I am sure I do not know what you mean. Did I not just now state that I cannot reveal anything? Nor do I have any intention of doing so."

Beldon scrutinized her quietly for several seconds. "…That's funny. I had assumed you possessed information that Count Soames wouldn't want publicised — something that I was unaware of. It sparked my competitive spirit."

"If you wish to compete with me, do so on your own time. Do not expect me to provide you with all the answers."

The man placed a hand into his leg pocket and pulled out a gold coin with a flourish, rolling it over his fingers. "I suppose that would make things more boring. Perhaps I'll pay closer attention to the Count in the future."

"I advise against that."

The coin stopped between his right index and thumb. "And why is that?"

Scarlett glanced down at her own hand again. The crest had yet to appear on her skin. She wasn't exactly sure how this aspect of the pact worked—if it relied on intent or some other mechanism—but clearly, this conversation didn't violate her agreement to leave Count Soames alone.

While she knew that her words might have the opposite effect, she was also trying to steer Beldon away from the subject. She just happened to be familiar enough with the man's personality to know that it wouldn't work. Especially now that he thought he had caught on to something.

She looked back up at him. "I cannot stop you if you wish to do so, but I fail to see what you stand to gain from it."

"The Count is an influential individual. There is always much to be gained from those."

"Is that so?" Scarlett replied casually. Beldon continued observing her intently.

"…Powerful people like him always have enemies," the man said. "I'm sure there are those who would love if damaging information were to emerge about him."

"I am certain that there are," Scarlett replied. "I am not one of them, however. Do not expect any favors from me if you act impulsively."

"I barely know the meaning of the word."

"I somehow doubt that."

Beldon resumed rolling the coin over his knuckles, a contemplative expression on his face as he seemed to be trying to decipher her intentions.

Scarlett watched him in silence.

Maybe she had been too insistent on dissuading him there?

Finally, the man flipped the coin up and caught it in the air. "Come to think of it, I've always found it peculiar that some of my men tend to mysteriously vanish when they get too close to investigating a certain noble's connections to a particular group operating in Ambercrest's Silkspindle Ward."

Her eyes widened slightly. So he already had some inkling that the Count was involved in something? He just hadn't been able to gather concrete details?

"You wouldn't happen to know something about that?" Beldon asked.

At that moment, Scarlett felt a slight sting in her left hand. The crest itself remained hidden, but it was a warning. This was the information she was most restricted from sharing.

She shook her head. "I see no reason why I would. I have very little business or involvements in the affairs of Ambercrest."

She wished she could provide him with a subtle hint of some kind, but it was far too risky. The best she could do was hope that this slight push would be enough for him to uncover the rest himself.

Beldon studied her for a few more moments, the small smile from earlier returning to his face. "Well, if you say so, I have no reason to doubt you. After all, what reason would you have to lie to me?"

"I sense a lack of sincerity in your words."

"And are you being entirely honest?"

"Of course. I have not uttered a single falsehood throughout this conversation."

The man nodded. "That is certainly good to know. If I may have offended you in some way by implying you have, I apologize."

Scarlett waved her hand dismissively. "I am not so easily offended."

"Good, good. It would be a shame if that had scared you off, considering there's something else I wanted to discuss with you."

She paused, eyeing him. Was this the original reason for his desire to meet with her?

"You are a well-informed individual, Baroness," Beldon continued. "I am sure I do not have to tell you the value of accurate information, especially during times like these."

"What is it that you want to have said with this?" she asked.

"You yourself mentioned that you are not easily offended, so I hope you won't mind when I say that I've been keeping a close eye on you since our first meeting."

"I would have expected no less. And? Did you discover anything of interest?"

"Quite a lot," he said. "Although I suspect most of it barely even scratches the surface. I am particularly curious about how you succeeded in helping the Withersworths, where generations of mages and priests have failed before you."

"It was not as challenging as it might sound," Scarlett replied.

"I am sure it wasn't. But that only piques my curiosity even further." Beldon snapped his fingers. The door immediately opened, and the servant from before entered, walking up to and stopping behind the man's couch. Beldon leaned forward, picking up the papers he had been examining earlier, his attention still focused on Scarlett, and held them up over his shoulder. "Mireya, please have these delivered to my father."

The young woman took the papers with a neutral expression. "Yes, young master."

"And do you have the documents I asked you to prepare?"

She produced another stack of papers, holding them over his shoulder. Beldon took them without looking and extended them over the table towards Scarlett.

Scarlett eyed the papers for a moment before accepting them. As she began reading through the contents, the servant woman left the room with barely any sound. It took her a few minutes to read it all, and once Scarlett finished, she placed the documents on the table while maintaining an impassive expression and looked at Beldon. "So, this is what you wanted to discuss."

The papers contained summaries of reports detailing her movements over the past few months. While they were far from complete, with significant gaps in information regarding her dungeon visits and the like, it wasn't what was missing that caught her attention. Rather, it was what the reports focused on, and what they implied. In particular, there were accounts concerning some of her activities and preparations that she had hoped would never come to light.

It appeared Beldon had caught on to her involvement in the heist at the Sanctuary of Ittar.

"You seem remarkably calm about all of this," the man remarked.

"Is there a reason I should not be?" she asked.

The truth was that she wasn't calm about this, but her concern was easy enough to hide. When she had made the decision to proceed with the heist, she had been prepared for the possibility that someone might uncover it all, and Beldon had been at the top of her list of likely suspects.

"Most people would say yes, but that's what I appreciate about you, Baroness. It makes this conversation much easier." Beldon leaned back in his seat, examining her. "So, you won't deny your connection to what transpired at the Sanctuary?"

"Is there any point in doing so? The evidence you have is far from enough to take any action at the moment, and you cannot share this talk with anyone."

The man shrugged. "No, I simply thought it refreshing to receive such a straightforward response."

"So, why did you show me this?" Scarlett gestured towards the papers on the table. "I had higher expectations than you attempting to pressure me with this."

"I'm flattered that you think so highly of me. And you're right, of course. While there's much I would like from you, all of it is information I suspect I couldn't extract even if I threatened to expose this to the Followers. The reason I showed you this is much simpler." Beldon's quiet gaze stayed on her for a moment. "I am impressed."

She crossed her arms. "You are…impressed?"

"Yes. I had already assumed you were more than what you appeared to be. I just didn't know to what extent. But successfully infiltrating the Sanctuary of Ittar and stealing several sacred relics…" He smiled. "It's clear that I severely underestimated your capabilities."

"I am glad to hear that you think so."

"Would it be too much to ask why you did it?"

Scarlett met his inquisitive gaze. "…They possessed an artifact that I needed."

"For what purpose?"

"To achieve my goals. To survive." She raised both hands in the air. "Does the specific reason matter? It is not something I will allow you to involve yourself with, if that is what you hope."

Beldon rubbed his chin with his left hand. "I wouldn't say I want to involve myself, necessarily. But this is a once-in-a-generation occurrence, you see. I find it difficult to be so close to the one responsible for it without learning the details."

"I trust that you will survive."

"Most likely. But that will not stop me from trying. Anyway…" His hand paused, and he tapped his chin. "Let me get to the point. We have had some mutually beneficial exchanges in the past, and our relationship has been amicable enough, wouldn't you agree? But I believe there's more we can offer each other."

Scarlett studied him. "You are suggesting we deepen our collaboration?"

"Yes."

"In what manner?"

Beldon once more started twirling the gold coin over the fingers of his right hand, a thoughtful look on his face. "I'm not asking you to reveal your sources of information if that's a concern for you. However, I can imagine several situations where your movements and actions as a baroness may be restricted, such as with the Sanctuary incident. In those instances, my associates and I could prove helpful in bypassing those restrictions. I've already done you some favors in that regard, just so you know. Likewise, you have demonstrated your ability to acquire valuable information that even my Mirage doesn't have access to, so we would love to work more closely with you."

Scarlett furrowed her brows as she contemplated his proposal.

"Of course, if you agree to this, you wouldn't have to concern yourself with any commission rates when you need something from us in the future," he added.

"That was not a worry of mine to begin with," she replied absentmindedly.

Cooperating with an organization like Mirage did sound like a favorable deal, honestly. It would provide her with a lot of resources whenever she needed them. The problem was the cost on her end. In return for their collaboration, she would likely have to be more generous with the information she possessed from the game, but determining what was worth sharing posed a challenge. Most details related to dungeons were things she wanted to keep to herself to acquire the skill points from clearing those. And much of the other information she had could have unpredictable repercussions if she divulged any of it to Mirage.

But it was a very tempting offer. As long as she satisfied Beldon with the information she shared, he wouldn't know how much she was holding back. It might be hard to figure out exactly where that line was, and which information was on which side, but it would probably be worth it.

However, there was one potential issue that needed addressing.

"What would you say if I told you that I will only agree to this if you do not interfere with the Hallowed Cabal?" she asked.

The man stared at her. "Pardon?"

"You heard me."

If she became more deeply involved with Mirage, it was only a matter of time before the Hallowed Cabal learned about it in one way or another. While Mirage wasn't directly opposed to the Cabal, they clashed at times, and any backlash from her involvement with Mirage could prove problematic.

A sharpness appeared in Beldon's eyes. "…I would have to ask why you're making such a request."

"I will tell you if you agree to it," she said. "If it helps you decide, I can assure you that I possess information that would aid you in evading and staying ahead of the Cabal in the future. However, you cannot directly interfere with their operations for the duration of our collaboration or until I say so."

He eyed her wordlessly for a prolonged moment, twirling the coin in his fingers. Eventually, he leaned forward and placed the coin on the tabletop, folding his hands. "I can make a compromise. We have no reason to target the Cabal ourselves, but some of our clientele often seek information related to them. In the past, we have tried focusing more on avoiding their members than competing with them, but that usually results in greater costs for us. If you genuinely can assist us on that front, though, I can agree to being more passive in our dealings with them while still offering what information we might stumble upon to our clientele."

Scarlett considered it for a few seconds. "…That is acceptable," she eventually said.

Beldon gave her a serious look. "Then may I ask why you made that request?"

"Because I have a prior agreement of non-interference with the Hallowed Cabal. Our conflicts escalated to a point where they threatened to cause irreparable devastation to both parties. So, we agreed to a cease-fire to avoid such an event."

The man blinked. Then a hint of amusement snuck into his eyes. "I am starting to think I made a very wise choice in approaching you, Baroness."

"It is good that you realize as much."

"Then—" Beldon moved his arm in a wide gesture. "Should we discuss details?"

Chapter 152 - Those close by

Livvi stood in front of the mirror in the washroom of the quarters provided for her, giving herself a final once-over. She had styled her light-brown hair in a bow hanging over her shoulder, like her mother often did, and wore a light white dress with blue patterns. For once, she chose to forgo her glasses. There was no need for them when she was only meeting other people, and they would only further accentuate her already bloodshot eyes.

She had not gotten much sleep.

The previous night had been a horrible ordeal. The chaos, the screams, the blood — it was her first experience being in such close proximity to fighting and death, and the sights still lingered in the recesses of her mind. What had occurred was a tragedy and a disaster, not only for the Windgrove duchy and the Tyndalls but for the entire empire. She didn't know how many of the attendees had lost their lives, but even if it was just one person, it was one too many.

And yet, the duke and the rest had decided to proceed with the gathering for the nobles this morning.

She disagreed with that choice. There was nothing wrong with canceling such an event under these circumstances. It felt disrespectful to the victims of the attack to simply pretend nothing had happened. She understood the reasoning behind Duke Tyndall's insistence on proceeding and her father's resolve to attend, but she didn't like it.

Unfortunately, there was little she could do to change the situation.

Releasing a tired sigh, she left the washroom and completed her final preparations before departing from her quarters to meet her family. They were waiting for her in one of the foyers, and together they exited into the courtyard, making their way towards their carriage. As she climbed inside the vehicle and it set into motion, her father's intense gaze studied her from across the cabin. The healers had tended to his injured nose the night before, but it still had a redder hue than usual, making him appear either annoyed or sick. It wasn't an unfitting look on him.

She met his eyes. "Is there something you want to say, father?"

"…You don't have to accompany us, buttercup," the large man answered in his booming voice. "These gatherings are often pointless, and it would be better for you to remain in your quarters and get more rest."

"But both you and Garrin are still attending, aren't you?"

"Yes, but—"

"Then I'm joining as well." She fixed him with a determined look. "I didn't suffer through what happened yesterday alone. If our family has chosen to attend despite the circumstances, so will I."

Her father grumbled softly in response, but offered no further protest.

Their carriage continued moving across the grounds of Grovefort Castle, and soon, they arrived at a spacious, enclosed area nestled in the heart of a sprawling garden that stretched along the banks of Stockder Lake. The serene ambiance was reinforced by the presence of enchanted pillars dispersed throughout the area, emitting a soft, snug glow that bathed the surroundings in a comforting warmth that defied the season's chill. Tables and patios were meticulously arranged around the garden, eagerly awaiting the arrival of more guests.

As the carriage came to a halt, Livvi stepped out of it, her eyes scanning the scene before her. A decent number of people were already mingling around the tables, engrossed in animated conversations. She recognized several faces, but couldn't spot the one person she was hoping to find.

Would Scarlett not be attending the event after all? The woman's absence felt out of character, considering Scarlett's usual enthusiasm for such affairs. The Tyndall Ball was renowned for attracting influential individuals from across the empire, transcending social castes and barriers while enabling new connections and relationships to flourish. Livvi herself appreciated the occasion for the many positive bonds she knew it had nurtured in the past. That said, not everyone had the same view of it as she did. And there was also a difference between the ball and today's gathering.

Where the ball had people from all walks of life present, this morning's venue catered exclusively to the empire's aristocracy. It served as a gathering for the nation's privileged elite to convene, forging and negotiating new deals that favored their own interests and ensured they were the ones who benefited the most from whatever agreements had been struck the night before. Livvi was unlikely to find many of her Guild colleagues here, and while she had acquaintances within the noble circles, true friendships were scarce.

Guided by the Duke's staff, she and her family made their way through the garden, joining the assembly of nobles. They quickly headed towards one of the first patios they spotted, where some of her father's associates had assembled. Despite the man's reputation as somewhat of a brute uninterested in socialising with most other high nobles—Livvi was well aware of his stubbornness in doing things he disliked—people were often surprised by how sociable he could be when he made the effort.

It was just that he usually didn't.

Livvi spent a while with her brother and father, engaging in conversation and mingling with the other nobles as she acquainted herself with ongoing matters. Every so often, she shifted her gaze towards the area where new carriages arrived, noting any newcomers.

Eventually, she spotted the familiar Hartford crest adorning one of the approaching carriages, and soon Scarlett and her sister emerged from the vehicle after it had stopped. She observed as the two walked through the garden, heading in the direction where most of the attendees were gathered. They then paused for a moment, seemingly discussing something between themselves.

Livvi turned to her father. "I will take my leave for now," she told him.

Her father's gaze followed the direction she had been looking, spotting Scarlett. His expression furrowed as a short scoff left him, but he still gestured that it was okay.

Livvi couldn't help the small smile that wormed its way onto her face. Her father could be adorable at times.

She began walking over towards Scarlett and Evelyne. Both noticed her before she reached them, stopping in their conversation.

"Livvi, I see that you are well," Scarlett greeted her with the woman's usual cool demeanor.

"I am, yes. It's good to see that the two of you seem to be fine as well. Hello, Evelyne." Livvi offered a warm smile to both sisters.

Evelyne returned the smile, although weariness was evident on her face, mirroring Livvi's own tiredness. "Glad to see you're not injured," the woman replied.

Livvi studied the two of them for a moment. On closer inspection, she was surprised to detect traces of exhaustion even on Scarlett's face. Throughout the years they had known each other, since childhood, Livvi could probably count on one hand the instances where she had witnessed Scarlett vulnerable in any way.

"Are the two of you really okay after what happened yesterday?" she asked, the concern bleeding through into her voice. "I was stuck helping my father and brother after it was over, so I never had the chance to find you."

Although she had been fortunate enough to escape unscathed because of her family's protection, she had been worried about the well-being of those she knew. The Duke had ensured that everyone who attended the ball received treatment from healers, so most minor injuries were as if they had never happened, but that didn't mean one would remain unaffected by the events.

"We exerted some effort during the attack, but we were not seriously injured, if that is what you are concerned about," Scarlett answered. "A good night of full rest is most likely all it will take to fully recover once we return to Freybrook."

"That's a relief." Livvi nodded her head. "I have been spending most of the time since the attack worried about the safety of those I know, but most won't even be attending today, so I won't have the opportunity to check on them until later. It relieves me to be able to see you are safe, at the very least."

Scarlett regarded her with a thoughtful expression, and Livvi couldn't help but wonder what went through her friend's mind.

"…I believe I understand your concern," the woman finally said. "If it puts you at ease, I saw Father Abraham after the incident. He appeared mostly unharmed."

Livvi smiled. "That is reassuring to hear."

"Pardon me, but Baroness Hartford, was it?" Just then, an older voice interrupted their conversation, drawing their attention to a white-haired gentleman in a black suit who was approaching, gently supporting himself on a damaged cane. Walking beside him was a middle-aged man with black hair, bearing a resemblance to the older gentleman.

Scarlett turned towards them, her brow slightly creased. "…Mister Halewell, if I recall correctly."

The elderly man smiled. "Quite right, my lady. And this is my son, Laurenz. He is the current holder of the title of Baron Halewell."

While the older gentleman radiated warmth and sincerity on his face, his son's expression was less cordial. The man still offered a respectful nod to Scarlett, though. "Baroness Hartford."

Scarlett greeted him with a nod in return. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Baron Halewell."

Livvi exchanged a look with Evelyne. Judging by the younger woman's expression, it seemed neither of them knew how Scarlett was familiar with this man.

"I said much the same yesterday, but upon seeing you just now, I felt compelled to express my gratitude for your assistance once more, my lady," the older Halewell said. "I imagine my son feels the same."

His son didn't look as enthusiastic about it. In fact, he seemed to already know who Scarlett was and did not appear eager to engage in conversation with her.

A pang of annoyance stirred within Livvi. She had heard from some of her associates that Scarlett had been shunned in noble circles lately, even by people who were supposed to be her friends. While Livvi could understand why people acted that way—she herself still struggled to fully comprehend the reason behind Scarlett's actions during the Proclamation—she felt it was all a bit excessive. But she was also well aware of how prideful people could be.

"Thank you, Baroness, for saving my son and father," Baron Halewell eventually said. "My father may have already conveyed this to you, but our family does not forget its debts. If there is anything we can assist you with, I believe we can come to an agreement."

"I am certain that we can," Scarlett replied.

The elder Halewell then turned his attention to Livvi and Evelyne. "And who are these fine young ladies?"

"I am Scarlett's younger sister, Evelyne Hartford."

"And I am Livvi Knottley."

The man's eyebrows rose. "Knottley? Are you perhaps related to Count Knottley?"

"Yes," Livvi answered. "I am his daughter. Do you know him?"

The old man leaned on his cane and stroked his white beard. "I see. I have had the occasional conversation with him, but I would not say that we are acquainted."

"My father is over there, if you are interested in speaking with him." She pointed in the direction of where she had been earlier.

Her father disliked most meetings like this, but this man seemed pleasant enough. He was respectful towards her and Scarlett at least, and it appeared that Scarlett had helped him the previous night.

The man looked over towards where she pointed. "No, that will be quite all right. I should return to my dear wife instead. I was the one that pulled her along today despite her protests, so the very least I can do is keep her company."

He turned back to Scarlett, giving the woman and Evelyne a respectful nod. "My son and I won't keep you any longer. I hope we have another opportunity to meet in the future. Until then, I wish you all the best."

With that, the man and his son took their leave.

Following that, Evelyne observed Livvi and Scarlett for a couple of seconds, appearing to contemplate something. After exchanging a glance with her sister, she eventually spoke. "I think I will go and mingle for a bit. I'll leave the two of you alone."

She quickly departed, suddenly leaving Livvi alone with Scarlett.

The two of them locked eyes.

For some reason, Livvi found herself at a loss for what to say. Previously, her thoughts had been occupied with worries about her friend's well-being, but now that she knew Scarlett was safe, her mind seemed to come to a halt.

"…Should we head over there?" she asked, gesturing towards a nearby area adorned with tables and a beautiful display of flowers arranged in various patterns.

"Very well," Scarlett replied.

They made their way over, each picking up a glass of chilled wine from a passing servant's tray as they did. When they came to a halt, Livvi stole a glance at her friend.

"...I'm sorry if I am not the most talkative right now," she said after a moment. "I think I'm still a bit shaken after what happened."

Scarlett calmly regarded her and took a sip of wine. "That is understandable."

"It still feels like my mind hasn't quite processed it all," Livvi confessed, her gaze fixed on the deep red liquid in her own glass. "That something so…terrible would just happen out of nowhere. I was talking with an old friend, and then suddenly all of those black portals opened up all around us, and the Tribe of Sin appeared."

A shiver ran down her spine as she recalled the memory. Some people, like her father, had reacted almost immediately, but she had still witnessed someone losing their arm only moments after the chaos unfolded.

"It was indeed a terrible event," Scarlett said, though the woman didn't display any particular emotion on her face.

Livvi studied her, finding it difficult to imagine her friend appearing truly fazed under any circumstances. "Where were you when it happened?"

"I was outside on one of the balconies. At the time, I was conversing with Dame Iyana Webb when we heard the commotion from inside. It was not as sudden of an experience for us as it was for you."

"But you took part in the fighting, didn't you? Considering what Baron Halewell and his father said…"

"I did, yes. There were many Tribe members in the room where I encountered those two, and I helped to distract them so that those directly engaged in combat could deal with them. My particular brand of magic lends itself well to providing support against a large group of adversaries in such a fashion."

"That's…amazing." Livvi didn't know how else to respond to that. She had always known Scarlett as someone who avoided fights, so hearing this was strange.

"Did you also take part in it?" her friend asked.

Livvi blinked, meeting her gaze before shifting her eyes in the direction of her father. "You know I've never been good at those things. If it weren't for my brother and father protecting me, I'm not sure I would still be standing here…"

"Then it is fortunate that they were there for you."

She looked back at Scarlett. "Were you worried?"

There was a pause as the woman considered her in silence, and Livvi was starting to regret asking, but then Scarlett finally responded.

"I am not sure."

Livvi's eyes widened.

"It seems that I am always somewhat uncertain about these matters when they are related to you," her friend continued.

Livvi stared at her, momentarily opening her mouth before closing it. Her thoughts wandered.

There had been something weighing on her mind for a while now. Whenever she met Scarlett lately, she would notice these changes. Differences from the old Scarlett she used to know. They both delighted and saddened her at the same time, for some reason.

She imagined that most were probably surprised by the big changes, those that were most obvious. But Livvi found herself not being able to ignore the minor shifts. The way Scarlett would look at her now sometimes, or how the woman would seem just slightly more conscious of the sentiments of those around her than before. It made Livvi wonder what had caused this change. What had made her old friend transform like this?

It was difficult to reconcile the image of the Scarlett she used to know with the one in front of her, openly making an admission like this.

Suddenly, Livvi found herself with the urge to ask something completely unrelated. "Scarlett… Do you remember what you told me when we were younger? After your mother passed away…?"

The question hung in the air as Scarlett stood there, watching her quietly for a while, as if she could deduce the answer from her face. "I do not," she eventually replied.

Livvi wasn't even surprised.

That was strange. She should be shocked. Even with all the other changes, Scarlett should never have forgotten about that moment. It was the one memory Livvi believed would forever remain with her friend. Yet somehow, it hadn't, and that felt oddly natural.

Was this the cause of that peculiar feeling Livvi had experienced every time she interacted with Scarlett lately? The unspoken weight behind their interactions? What did it mean? Was it bad…or was it good?

"…Is there a problem?" Scarlett's voice broke through her contemplation, bringing her back to the present.

"Oh… Never mind. I'm sorry, I was lost in thought about something… It might not be that important, so please disregard it," Livvi replied.

Scarlett eyed her closely for another moment. "Are you certain?"

Livvi hesitated. "Actually…"

Suddenly, her attention was drawn to a figure approaching from another part of the garden. The person, dressed in an elegant gown and wearing a stony expression on her face, looked like she was staring directly at Scarlett.

She pointed towards the person. "W-We can discuss that some other time. I think there is something else we need to address first."

That was Marchioness Edita Delmon, Scarlett's future mother-in-law.

Chapter 153 - Perplexing observations

Livvi watched as Edita Delmon approached her and Scarlett. The older woman stopped in front of them, her eyes scrutinizing them both before fixating on Scarlett.

"Lady Hartford," she said sharply. "A word."

Scarlett merely appeared to study her for a moment. "A word, you say?"

"Lady Delmon—"

"Miss Knottley, if you could excuse us, I need to speak with the Baroness."

Livvi couldn't even say anything before she was interrupted by the woman. Hesitating, she glanced at Scarlett. Thoughts about her friend's response to her question were still swirling in her mind, but Edita Delmon emitted an aura that didn't allow for objection. If Livvi refused to go, it might escalate whatever this scenario was further. But she also wasn't sure if it was a good idea to leave the two of them alone, either.

"There is no need to be concerned, Livvi," Scarlett said. "You can go."

Livvi looked back and forth between Scarlett and Lady Delmon for a breath longer, then reluctantly nodded her head and turned around to walk off. As she began following one of the paths leading to a different part of the garden where the venue was held, she took note of the nobles she passed by and who appeared to be casting curious glances towards the scene behind her.

After covering some distance, she glanced back as well and saw that Lady Delmon's expression had soured due to whatever conversation the two were having. Meanwhile, Scarlett maintained her usual cool demeanor.

Livvi wasn't sure what had transpired between the two of them prior to this, but seeing this, she felt uneasy leaving them like that. It was all too easy for someone of Lady Delmon's standing to pressure minor nobles into doing what she wanted at events like this.

Livvi stopped, surveying the garden and the people gathered along the lake bank. Eventually, her gaze settled on her father's stocky figure. The bald-headed man had relocated from where she had left him before, but he was still engaged in conversation with people she was familiar with. That was good. She knew they wouldn't mind if she briefly borrowed her father. Her brother appeared to have wandered off elsewhere, but she didn't need his help at the moment anyway.

Approaching her father and his company, the man turned away from the group to look at her. "Are you done speaking with the Hartford girl already?"

"We did not get much opportunity to talk," she replied, glancing at her father's companions. "Would it be alright if I stole my father's attention for a short while?"

None of them objected as she brought him away, though the man himself held a deep frown on his face as he followed her.

"What is this about, Livvi?" he asked.

"I'm not entirely sure. I simply felt it would be best to intervene before things escalated."

Livvi had heard about Scarlett's actions during the Elysian Proclamation and witnessed it firsthand when the woman confronted Count Soames the previous day. It was clear that her friend wasn't afraid to offend even those with far greater influence, and while Livvi believed Scarlett knew what she was doing, the intricacies of high society often led to grave consequences for even the tiniest of mistakes, even for those who were experienced.

Her father's frown only deepened when he realized where she was leading him, transforming into a scowl when he spotted Lady Delmon standing opposite Scarlett.

"I suggest you reconsider your words just now, Scarlett." The woman's annoyed voice reached them as they approached.

"What is there to reconsider?" Scarlett replied. "I believe I have already made my stance on the subject clear. It is up to you how you choose to respond to that."

"My husband and I have overlooked many things, but your inflated ego is proving too much. Do not think that you can do whatever you want simply because you have gained a few new allies."

"I can assure you that my words would have remained the same, even without considering any recent acquaintances I might have made."

Livvi froze, a sense of foreboding running down her spine as she listened to her friend's words. What was Scarlett thinking? She was quickly losing confidence in Scarlett's judgement.

Lady Delmon fixed the red-haired woman with a piercing gaze. "You have truly crossed the line this time."

Livvi's father cleared his throat loudly as the two of them approached. "Edita, I see you have taken up the habit of publicly berating the younger generations now that you're getting on in years. That temper of yours is the same as always. Be careful not to pop a vein."

The woman spun her head to look at them, the irritation evident in her eyes as they briefly rested on Livvi before shifting to Livvi's father. "This does not concern you, Lord Knottley."

"And thank Ittar for that," the man replied. "I'd be the one liable to pop a vein if it did." He glanced at Scarlett. "But my daughter had something she wanted to tell me, so I don't think I will be leaving until she has."

Lady Delmon's attention returned to Livvi, who met her gaze and chose to remain silent for the time being. Eventually, the woman let out an annoyed huff and looked back at Scarlett. "Carefully consider what it is you are doing, Baroness. I believe you are already well acquainted with my son's character, so don't hope for more than you can get." With that, she spun around and walked away, not sparing them a second glance.

Livvi overheard her father grumble about being forced into something so pointless, so in her heart she promised to thank him later with some spiced plum cake. Mother's old recipe always managed to turn his mood around.

Putting those matters at the back of her mind for now, she focused on Scarlett. "I'm sorry if I ended up getting in the way, but it didn't seem like that was going anywhere good."

Her friend shook her head. "In truth, I appreciate your assistance. It was far from a productive conversation."

Livvi studied her for a moment. "What were the two of you talking about?"

"Not much of note. It can be summarized as Lady Delmon attempting to convince me to end my betrothal with Sir Leon."

Her eyes widened. "She wants you to call off the betrothal?"

Scarlett tilted her head slightly. "Is that truly so surprising?"

"No, it's not," Livvi's father answered in a gruff tone. "It's about time."

"Father!" Livvi turned to stare at him, but he merely shrugged as he scratched his beard.

"The Delmons wouldn't want to maintain their ties to her after what she's done," he explained.

"He is not wrong," Scarlett said.

Livvi gave her friend a concerned look.

"There is no need to feel sorry for me," Scarlett added. "I must admit that I am not particularly interested in the betrothal or what it entails either. And from my talks with Sir Leon, it seems he shares the same sentiment."

"You're…not?" Livvi's voice betrayed her surprise.

She had never interacted much with Leon Delmon. Her relationship with Scarlett had already become somewhat distant by the time she first learned of their betrothal. She didn't actually know if the two were close or not. Given what she'd heard about Sir Leon's personality, however, it didn't come as a shock to hear he wasn't enthusiastic about the engagement. But she had expected Scarlett, at the very least, to fight tooth and nail to maintain it.

Even Livvi's father raised a pair of bushy eyebrows at Scarlett's admission.

Scarlett waved a hand dismissively. "My circumstances have changed. I no longer have much to gain from involving myself with the Delmons, so there is no meaning in continuing to do so."

Livvi winced at how casually Scarlett discussed her own marriage. She knew her friend always approached things pragmatically, assessing what she gained and lost from relationships, but it saddened her to see Scarlett talking so nonchalantly about something that could shape and determine the rest of her life.

"You said that Edita wanted to convince you to end the betrothal?" Livvi's father asked, his eyes narrowing. "I've been wondering why it wasn't called off yet, but seems there was more to it."

Scarlett met his gaze for a moment. "There is no point in denying it. Yes, there were additional aspects to our arrangement, though the specifics are not something I will share. I am sure that you can understand. Suffice it to say I am currently feeling rather petty."

The man grunted as if that was about as far as he wanted to involve himself in this conversation and turned back to Livvi. "Was there something else you wanted to talk about?"

She shook her head. "No. Thank you, father."

His expression softened a little just before he looked away. "Then I'll be on my way." With that, he left the two of them alone.

In the silence that followed, Livvi stole a few glances at Scarlett. The woman seemed to expect her to say something, but Livvi was still unsure about which topic to broach. Her thoughts kept circling back to her earlier doubts and concerns.

Not far away, in an adjacent part of the garden, she spotted a few familiar faces standing at the center of a small flower orchard. She pointed them out to Scarlett. "Isn't that Lady Withersworth and her family? Should we go over and greet them?"

Scarlett seemed to take a moment to observe Livvi, then nodded. "Very well."

They walked towards Lady Withersworth, who was accompanied by her husband and daughter. She noticed that the woman's son and grandson, whom she had briefly met the night before, were absent. Hopefully they were safe.

When Lady Withersworth noticed them, a smile appeared on her face. She warmly greeted them upon their approach, and Livvi found a bit of relief in this opportunity to let the conversation flow without having to steer it with Scarlett for a while, just while she was still processing things.

Lady Withersworth expressed her delight at seeing that both Scarlett and Livvi appeared healthy despite the events of the previous night, though she did emphasize the importance of getting enough rest when she noticed the redness in Livvi's eyes. After that, the woman took the chance to apparently once more thank Scarlett for the assistance she and Evelyne had provided in keeping them safe from the Tribe of Sin during the attack.

Time passed as Livvi and Scarlett engaged in casual conversation with Lady and Lord Withersworth. Eventually, the pair's daughter excused herself to meet with some colleagues, and the couple departed not long after due to prior commitments with associates of theirs. Before leaving, Lady Withersworth made sure Scarlett promised to keep in touch and reach out if she ever needed help. Livvi couldn't fully understand why the woman was so intent on supporting Scarlett, but she was glad that her friend had such a reliable ally, considering everything that had happened.

After the couple's departure, Livvi had expected she would finally need to come up with a new topic of conversation with Scarlett. But to her surprise, it was as if the floodgates had opened, and strangers started approaching her friend seemingly out of nowhere. Most of them simply wanted to express their gratitude for Scarlett's actions during the attack.

Livvi began to wonder just how many people her friend had helped the previous night. Over the next half-hour or so, at least a dozen individuals went up to them, some looking uncomfortable but still offering their thanks. Scarlett responded coolly and appeared mostly indifferent to their words, but she didn't outright dismiss them.

Eventually, after the number of people approaching them had dwindled down, Livvi and Scarlett found themselves in a more secluded area of the garden, which overlooked the lake and its water from a serene patio that sported several different types of flowers around its edges. By this time, Livvi felt like she had finally managed to regain some control of her thoughts and could engage in a proper conversation with her friend.

They ended up discussing some of Scarlett's recent exploits, including the woman's explorations of various ruins. It was a topic that surprised Livvi, as she discovered the depth of her friend's experience in such endeavors. It was simply another change on top of a mountain of others that she never would have expected from the woman before.

After a while, she noticed Scarlett's gaze shifting in another direction. Following her friend's line of sight, she spotted a woman in a tunic standing surrounded by a group of people. Livvi felt a sense of familiarity from the woman, but she couldn't quite place who she was from this distance.

"Is that someone you know?" she asked Scarlett, her curiosity piqued.

"…I suppose one could say that, yes," the woman replied.

Just then, the person in question glanced in their direction. She was dressed in formal knight attire, with dark hair pulled into a braid, and a sword at her side. Turning to the people around her, she seemed to exchange a few words with them before suddenly turning around and beginning to walk towards Livvi and Scarlett.

Livvi was taken aback when she finally recognized the woman. Dame Iyana Webb.

Was Scarlett even acquainted with a member of the Royal Guard?

"Dame Iyana," Scarlett greeted as the woman approached them, drawing the eyes of those who had been surrounding the knight earlier.

"Lady Hartford," the woman replied with a stoic voice, stopping in front of them. Her attention turned to Livvi.

"This is Livvi Knottley," Scarlett said. "She is an old friend of mine."

Dame Iyana arched a brow. "Count Knottley's daughter?"

Livvi nodded. "Yes."

Scarlett's gaze shifted to the group the knight had left behind. "Could it be that you used us as an excuse to extricate yourself from more of those 'incessant solicitors'?" she asked.

The woman glanced back only briefly. "Yes, and it worked surprisingly well."

"I imagine most of them recognized who I am," Scarlett remarked. "You might come to regret using that strategy later."

Dame Iyana locked eyes with Scarlett. "I do not mind."

Livvi observed their interaction for a moment. "Are the two of you well acquainted?" she asked. They had only exchanged a few words, but it already felt like there was an understanding between them that she couldn't quite follow. She wasn't sure what to feel about it.

"We only spoke for the first time last night," Scarlett answered, surprising Livvi.

The woman turned to Dame Iyana. "Now that you have distanced yourself from those people, there is no need to linger with us any longer than necessary, if you do not wish to."

The knight surveyed their surroundings. "Here is as good as any other place for now."

"…If you say so." Scarlett looked over at Livvi. "Unless Miss Livvi has any objection, I will not chase you away."

Livvi paused, considering it for the briefest of moments, then smiled. "You are welcome to stay with us."

She didn't feel she had a valid reason—or the right—to refuse. Besides, even though it was a bit perplexing, she was also somewhat curious about the dynamic between Scarlett and the knight. Especially if they had only recently gotten to know each other, as they claimed.

Dame Iyana nodded slowly, her expression remaining unexpressive, which Livvi found fitting for the moniker she had been given.

Scarlett appeared to scrutinize the woman. "Seeing that you are here, I presume things went well for you after our parting yesterday?"

"It depends on how you define the word," Dame Iyana replied.

"You appear to have all your limbs still intact, at the very least."

"I did not face any opponents skilled enough to pose a threat in that regard."

"I suppose the Tribe of Sin saved their more formidable members for the battle that took place in the ballroom, then."

"That is what I gathered afterward." The knight crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Their aim was to keep me occupied."

Scarlett's gaze wandered once more to the spot where Dame Iyana had been surrounded by people before. The crowd there had dispersed by now, Livvi noted.

"Regardless, you ensured the safety of a large number of guests," Scarlett said. "I would not consider that a complete waste of time."

"My father has spoken highly of your skill on several occasions," Livvi chimed in. "I am sure your presence proved invaluable to all of us."

Dame Iyana directed her attention to Livvi, studying her for a few seconds before speaking. "It's reassuring to hear that Count Knottley holds me in high regard. He is well known among the knights at Dawnlight Palace."

"He is?" Livvi didn't know that. "My father often told me he can't compare to Sir Crowder of the Solar Knights, or any of the knights among the Royal Guard, for that matter."

The knight cocked her head to the side briefly, as if considering it. "He is mostly known for being the only one besides His Majesty who can silence the Captain. I have witnessed their sparring matches as well, and the Count is a skilled knight in his own right."

Livvi gave her a puzzled look. She assumed the woman was referring to the captain of the Royal Guard. Livvi had only met the man on a handful of occasions when he had visited her father in Freybrook, but she had never gotten the impression that he was someone who needed 'silencing'.

"From what you shared related to the First Sword, it seems you face considerable challenges in your role as a Royal Guard," Scarlett said, eyeing the knight.

Dame Iyana nodded seriously. "I intend to have him removed from his position in due course."

Livvi blinked, her eyes widening. What was she hearing?

"Was that another 'joke'?" Scarlett asked.

"No," the knight answered.

"I see." Scarlett seemed unfazed by that response.

Now, Livvi couldn't help but stare at both of them. Was it okay to openly discuss such matters? She wasn't even aware of any tensions within the Royal Guard. Wasn't this cause for concern?

"That old man always talks about starting a workshop for his woodwork," Dame Iyana continued. "I have been thinking it would suit him well when he retires."

Livvi frowned. Sir Swale was slightly younger than her father, if her memory served her right. There had been previous captains who'd held the position well into their sixties, so she didn't see why the man couldn't continue for another decade or so.

"You appear to share a close relationship with him," Scarlett said.

Livvi turned her attention to her friend, puzzled by her interpretation of the situation—

Dame Iyana nodded. "He raised me after my family died."

Livvi paused. It seemed like she had been the one to misunderstand the situation.

"Sounds like a pleasant person," Scarlett said.

"Questionable," the knight responded. "He can be, but there are many qualities that leave one wanting."

Livvi studied her for a moment. "That is actually something that appears to be rather common in those that my father calls friends."

The woman looked at her. "Then perhaps it is the Count who has questionable preferences in forging camaraderies."

"That would not surprise me."

Livvi turned to her friend in slight surprise. "Scarlett!"

Her friend simply shrugged her shoulders lightly. "I merely spoke from what I know of his personality."

Livvi pursed her lips together. It wasn't as if she could deny it…

She let out a small sigh. "Rather than discuss the aspects of my father's character, perhaps you could continue where you left off earlier, Scarlett? It might interest Dame Iyana as well, even. I myself was rather intrigued to hear more about those excursions you spoke of."

Scarlett eyed the two of them for a second, with Dame Iyana not saying anything in objection, then nodded her head. "Very well."

From there, the woman delved more into the topics related to her recent adventures, some of which truly surprised Livvi to hear, which then developed into Dame Iyana also sharing some of her experiences as a Royal Guard and Livvi telling some stories she had heard during her time in the Shields Guild.

From time to time, Livvi would find herself watching Scarlett as her thoughts wandered back to the questions she had, but she didn't know what she wanted to do with those questions. She didn't know where this would go in the future. She didn't want to pry too much.

But she also hoped that there wouldn't have to be a repeat of the past, where she barely spoke to her friend for years.

For now, though, she would let concerns and curiosities be. This was neither the time nor the place. And from there…she would have to see.

Chapter 154 - Worrying futures

Compared to the ball the night before, Scarlett felt that the noble gathering the morning after was almost underwhelmingly uneventful. She had half-expected another incident to occur, whether it was someone trying to publicly shame her again or another sudden party crasher. But instead, she found herself spending most of her time relatively peacefully with Livvi, as well as meeting up and speaking with some of the other individuals she had encountered during the ball.

To perhaps both their surprise, the two of them had also spent a decent amount of time conversing with Iyana Webb, even if it was mostly a means for the knight to avoid other guests who sought her attention. Scarlett's initial meeting with Iyana had been cut short because of the Tribe of Sin's attack, but from this latest interaction, she felt she had gained a better understanding of the woman's character.

The knight didn't seem to concern herself much with the posturing of other nobles—presumably she was one herself, considering her presence at this gathering—but she took her role as a Royal Guard seriously enough that she refrained from telling everybody to screw off at least.

That said, Iyana did appear to have an inclination towards misleading with her words, even while sounding entirely sincere. It reminded Scarlett of Fynn, though she suspected that, unlike him, the knight was fully aware of how her words might be misinterpreted. Personally, Scarlett didn't mind it much, but she wouldn't be surprised if Iyana lacked many real friends.

At the very least, the woman seemed to have plenty of associates, as she had eventually left Scarlett and Livvi to join a group of other knights later during the gathering.

From there, Scarlett had spent some more time with Livvi, interrupted only by the occasional person approaching her to express their gratitude for her actions the previous day—she hadn't expected there would be this many people bothering her about it—and a few other new acquaintances. One of them was Master Arthur Windermere, one of Lord Withersworth's gentlemen friends and sponsor of a merchant group that occasionally conducted business near Freybrook. In the end, she had directed him towards Evelyne for any further business discussions.

As for her interactions with Livvi, Scarlett was honestly surprised by how easy it was to converse with the woman, even when they were alone. Their talks didn't revolve around a lot of important matters, mostly simple topics such as the identities of other guests and Livvi's own work, but the conversation flowed smoothly, even when Scarlett herself didn't really know what to talk about. There was an odd comfort—or perhaps dependability was the word—in chatting with Livvi that felt natural in a way. If she were to guess, it was another quality inherited from the original.

That was not to say there weren't any awkward moments between them. At times, Scarlett sensed that Livvi avoided certain topics or had something on her mind, but she didn't press the woman on it. It wasn't as if she cared much either way.

And so, most of the morning and early afternoon had passed. Disregarding the brief encounter with Marchioness Delmon—the woman really hadn't done much more than offer weak threats and shoot cold stares—the noble gathering drew to a close without much incident. Scarlett did meet up with Evelyne and the Withersworths one more time to exchange their final farewells, but that was all. Lady Withersworth's words suggested she had certain expectations for the future, but although Scarlett didn't know exactly what they were, she knew better than to reject potential allies at this point in time.

One noteworthy aspect of the event was Beldon Tyndall's absence for most of it. Scarlett had spotted Duke Tyndall as well as what she thought were some of the man's other children, but not Beldon. It made sense, though, considering the circumstances. Scarlett didn't have anything more to discuss with him for the time being anyway, and he undoubtedly had more pressing matters to attend to at the moment. He had provided her with a communication artifact for their future partnership, so she would hear from him again eventually.

Finally, as they prepared to take their leave, Scarlett and Evelyne also bid their goodbyes together to Livvi. The short woman had looked a bit uncertain during the farewell, as if there was still something she wished to say, but eventually she also bid them goodbye and expressed her hope that they would get the chance to meet again sometime soon. However, Shields Guild business would probably keep her occupied for the near future.

Afterward, Scarlett and Evelyne boarded their carriage and returned to their temporary guest accommodations to complete their preparations before their departure. The coachman and handmaiden who had accompanied them were already waiting in the courtyard once they finished their tasks. With the help of two servants from the duchy, what little luggage they had was loaded onto the carriage, and soon they were on their way.

As they left the castle grounds, Scarlett glanced over at Evelyne, who sat across from her in the cabin, gazing out the window at the bustling streets of Windgrove.

"What are your plans after we return?" she asked.

Evelyne turned her head towards her. "You mean for the coming weeks?"

"Yes."

"Well, first of all, I intend to finalize some of the remaining arrangements for relocating my workplace to the mansion. You said that was alright, didn't you?"

"I did, yes."

"Then there's that, at least. I also have some matters related to the fief and our businesses here in Freybrook and Elystead that need to be taken care of. I actually wanted to have them finished before December, but there were too many other things that kept me busy."

"I see." That was understandable, considering how much of Scarlett's work she was letting the younger woman handle while she carried out all of her own things.

"In addition, I'll have to start looking into all the potential collaborations that have suddenly become available to us," Evelyne said. "I never thought we would have so many people willing to work with us after everything that's happened. I was probably rejected by more than not, but even so, there's enough potential work now that it could keep me busy for at least six months straight. It's quite unbelievable, really. This ball was both the worst and best one I've ever attended."

"That is good to hear. It is better to have too many options than too few."

"Well, yes, but that's easy to say when you're not the one doing all the work."

Scarlett paused, studying Evelyne for a moment. That was…an irritating remark, but it also wasn't wrong.

"…Would you like my assistance?" she asked, keeping a lid on her annoyance.

Evelyne blinked. "Ah, no, actually… I didn't really mean it like that. Sorry. What you're doing is the only reason we're in this position right now, so I'm not going to ask you to stop…"

"…Very well."

That was for the best. Scarlett had no idea how to handle most of the responsibilities Evelyne was in charge of. She was more likely to make things more difficult if she tried to learn.

"What are your plans from now on?" Evelyne asked after a brief pause.

"That is a good question." Scarlett shifted her gaze out the window. "I will most likely resume exploring ruins and collecting artifacts for us to auction, although I am uncertain if I will be doing it at the same frequency as before. I also have some matters to attend to with a wizard acquaintance of mine, as well as a promise to assist Miss Hale with a sensitive issue."

The incident with Count Soames marked the escalation of her conflict with the entity residing within Rosa, so there was no ignoring that any longer. But she also anticipated spending more time in Freymeadow going forward, now that it seemed she could finally make some real progress with Arlene.

As for what the Cabal was up to…

She glanced over at Evelyne again momentarily. "There are also preparations that need to be made within our fief and household for the future."

Evelyne met her eyes with a curious look. "What do you mean by that?"

"…It is likely that the empire will not remain as peaceful as it is now for much longer."

The woman's expression fell. "You're talking about the Tribe of Sin."

"Yes, in part."

A worried expression crossed Evelyne's face. "Do you have more information about them? Is something going to happen again?"

"I cannot be entirely certain, but I have reason to believe so, yes."

"What exactly?"

"Unfortunately, there is little I have to share on that front," Scarlett said. "If my concerns are correct, then the empire will soon become a very chaotic place. We both need to be cautious in the future."

The previous attacks carried out by the Hallowed Cabal and the Tribe of Sin would pale in comparison to what would unfold once the Cabal executed their next plan. The actual events had been slated to occur later in the game's timeline, but things had clearly been accelerated. With the [Ring of Depravity] in their possession, the Cabal would be able to unleash havoc throughout the empire. The Shields Guild, knight orders, and the mage towers would all be preoccupied with defending against the impending disaster.

"If that's the case, can't we warn someone?" Evelyne asked.

"Not this time," Scarlett replied.

"Why not?"

"Nothing that we say can prevent what will happen."

"You said you weren't even sure if it would happen, so how can you know that?"

"I simply do."

The Cabal would proceed with their plans, regardless of who Scarlett warned. The best she could do was ensure people were better prepared, but the empire had already been mobilizing its forces and citizens for months in anticipation of an approaching conflict. There was little else they could do at the moment.

Not to mention that she would be breaking her deal with the Cabal if she told anyone.

"Scarlett, you're talking about something that will affect the entire country." Evelyne locked eyes with her. "If that's true, we can't simply ignore it because we think there's nothing we can do. Even if you don't care about them, if this has the potential to cost people their lives…"

Scarlett couldn't suppress the scowl that formed on her brow. "You are not entirely wrong in emphasizing the gravity of the situation. However, I believe you are overestimating my indifference to it all. If there was more that I could do, I truly would. For now, I have done what is within my power. Freybrook is likely to be safer than most other places in the empire, at least for the time being."

Evelyne stared at her. "What are you involved with, Scarlett? Exactly how much aren't you telling me?"

"I have shared as much as I can without jeopardizing your safety or mine."

The other woman fell silent.

"Do you trust me?" Scarlett asked.

Evelyne didn't immediately respond.

"Answer me, Evelyne."

"…I've already told you once that I do," the woman eventually answered. "Even though it doesn't make sense to," she added in an almost whisper.

"Then trust me when I say that I am playing a very precarious game here, Evelyne. To answer your previous question, I am involved in matters that might very well be tied to the future of the empire, and I am doing what I can to ensure that future does not end in some of the unpleasant ways I have witnessed."

Evelyne remained silent, and a brief moment passed as they watched each other. "…So Freybrook might be safe," she said after a while. "…What about the rest of the empire? How bad will it be?"

"I do not know. Some areas might suffer extensive damage, while others may be able to defend themselves," Scarlett replied.

"Can't we at least issue some kind of warning to the places that are most at risk?"

"It would not have much effect. I lack evidence to substantiate my claims, and I cannot disclose more information to anyone else beyond what I have already shared with you. Not even this much, in fact. I will also have to ask you to exercise extreme caution with this knowledge, as it could cost you your life if it reaches the wrong ears."

Evelyne stared at her for several seconds, her expression revealing more and more defeat. "What can I even do, then?"

"As I said, we can prepare our fief and its people for the challenging times that lie ahead. You can make decisions while taking this information into consideration. And when the time comes, you can do your best to assist those in need."

"Assist in what way?"

Scarlett leaned a shoulder against the cabin wall, tapping her finger against the windowsill to her right. She turned her head to observe the people moving about on the streets outside.

She hadn't really given much thought to Evelyne's role in this whole mess, so she didn't actually have any concrete plans for the younger woman. Her words were mostly meant to convince Evelyne. But was there perhaps something they could do while still adhering to the deal with the Cabal?

She supposed that, if nothing else, she at least had the obligation to try.

She glanced at Evelyne. "…To what extent does the empire's current framework allow for relief efforts, such as recovery and reconstruction? I am aware that the Followers of Ittar shoulder some of that burden, but I am uncertain of their capacity."

If she couldn't do anything to prevent what would happen, maybe she could at least lessen some of the fallout.

The other woman gawked at her as if she had just sprouted a third eye. "You want to conduct your own…relief efforts?"

"I realize that as a mere baroness, my capabilities are limited, but it is better than doing nothing," Scarlett said. "We currently possess more wealth than we need, and I can assure you that we will soon have even more. Allocating some of it for a purpose of that nature would not impact us significantly. However, I will confess my ignorance regarding the logistics of carrying out such an endeavour."

Evelyne stayed quiet for a moment longer before responding. "…I can look into it. I'm not very familiar with that type of stuff either, though. How much time do you think we have?"

Scarlett pressed her lips together in thought. "It is difficult to say. Perhaps a month? Perhaps two. Or it could be much less. I cannot provide a definite answer."

She wasn't entirely sure how long it would take for the Cabal to act. Thinking about it logically, she believed they would require some time to complete their preparations if they planned to launch simultaneous attacks across the empire.

"I'm not sure if that will be enough time or not," Evelyne said. "But it's something, at least."

"I have faith in your abilities. If there is anything you require my assistance with, you need only ask."

The woman nodded, her gaze shifting downward. "I think I'll need to hire more workers…"

Chapter 155 - Progress

At the center of a garden, nestled in the back of the Freybrook mansion, Scarlett sat beneath the lone garden alcove, her gaze fixed on the space before her. In the span of the few weeks since she had introduced the Loci to this place, it had undergone more changes than anticipated.

The hedges that formed a small maze around the garden had begun shedding their leaves in the late autumn weather, casting muted shades over the surroundings. The once-vibrant patches of flowers scattered throughout the area had also faded, their delicate stems swaying gently in the breeze. It was a sight one would expect to see as the land prepared for the impending winter.

But a curious phenomenon unfolded at the heart of the garden. Against all odds, the flowers and hedges near the center remained in full bloom, their resplendent hues creating a striking contrast to their wilting brethren. It was as if there was a pocket of eternal spring in a sea of fading vitality, leaking its essence into its surroundings.

Standing proudly at the core of this was a simple stone pedestal, adorned with a delicate ring of strange turquoise-green flowers that had taken root around its base. Resting atop the pedestal was a multi-faceted emerald, emitting a pale green light that seemed to infuse the surrounding vegetation with a subtle, nourishing energy.

The air near it was mellow, deviating from the chilly wind outside the area of effect, and Scarlett sat wearing nothing more than a sleeveless dress as she took in the sight.

She hadn't known of this particular feature when she initially placed the Loci in this garden. It was only after Garside told her that the gardener had been confused over how resilient some of the flowers seemed to be a couple of weeks back that she began to suspect it.

At first, the effect had been less pronounced, only appearing to affect the flora closest to the Loci. However, soon those strange flowers at its base had appeared, and then the climate itself around the artifact had started transforming.

To be honest, she was impressed by how quickly it had progressed since then. Before she had departed for Windgrove, the range of the effect had been more than a few meters smaller. Now it probably reached twenty or so meters away from the Loci.

While the exact reason for this transformation was a mystery to her, she didn't mind it. That was most magic to her, anyway. She took it as a sign that the Loci had become more familiar with the estate, integrating itself into the space to a point where it could do more than simply observe. Her connection to the artifact hadn't changed too much, but being in this close proximity to it made it feel subtly more present, for lack of a better word.

To her, that was promising. As was what she was currently doing.

Extending her awareness toward the link at the back of her mind, she felt the dutiful presence of the [Obedience's Solitude Loci] brushing against her senses as the gemstone on the pedestal emitted a faint glow.

In her palm, she held a fallen pink rose petal. With her focus placed entirely on it, she raised her other hand. Guided by instinct that she didn't quite understand, she followed the intuitive pull of the Loci, narrowing her eyes. Then, with a gentle motion, she transferred the petal from one palm to the other. The movement felt odd, like she had skipped a step in the process. As if her hand hadn't quite traversed enough distance to reach its destination.

Yet it worked without issue, and the petal now lay softly on the skin of her other hand. This marked the fifth time she had tried this, but it still brought a small smile to her face to see it work.

The Loci possessed the ability to manipulate space within its sphere of influence.

Scarlett had long suspected it was possible, considering what she had witnessed in Abelard's mansion and the fact that the Loci originated from the Wandering Realm, known for how peculiar space could be there. However, it wasn't until now that she had been able to confirm it.

For the moment, the actual feat itself wasn't anything impressive; it was barely noticeable. But the Loci was still growing, still integrating itself further into its surroundings. Scarlett couldn't help but feel excited and curious about what it would be capable of in the future.

She was considering ways to accelerate its growth or enhance it further. She suspected that, in its current state, it couldn't accomplish the same feats she had seen in Abelard's mansion, where the entire structure appeared to shift around inside like an ever-shifting maze. While she couldn't be sure, it was likely that the Loci required an additional power source of some kind. When she had found it, the artifact had been placed above a glass dome filled with some sort of green liquid, and she doubted that had been only for show.

Unfortunately, she didn't possess anything comparable at the moment, at least to her knowledge. But she was also far from an expert on this topic. She had been planning on finding someone to examine the Loci on her behalf, but with recent events, she hadn't had the opportunity. Although that was definitely something that had been moved up on her list of priorities now.

She continued her experiments for a while longer until a familiar voice called out to her.

"There you are."

Looking up, Scarlett spotted Rosa and Fynn walking towards her from the other end of the hedge garden, their curious gazes exploring the strange surroundings. She had been so engrossed in her task that she hadn't noticed their approach, even through the Loci.

The two followed a stone pathway that led up to the alcove she was sitting under and stopped in front of her.

"What are you up to?" Rosa asked, the woman's head turning to look at the Loci. "Entertaining your pet stone?"

"I have been investigating some promising prospects," Scarlett answered, studying the pair for a moment. "I assume you are here to speak with me. Is there a reason you sought me out?"

Fynn's nostrils flared as he sniffed the air, his brows furrowing slightly. "Not really," he said casually, though there seemed to be a hint of annoyance in his voice. "I was meditating."

Meditating? Scarlett didn't know he did things like that. Although she supposed it made sense, considering part of his powers relied on convening with his ancestors.

Rosa playfully patted the young man's shoulder with a grin. "You weren't in your office, Scarlett, and I wanted to find you, so I enlisted our little bloodhound here to save some time. I promised to make it up to him later."

"But you never said how," Fynn noted.

"I haven't figured that part out yet!"

He stared at her with what might have been a betrayed expression, but the bard simply ignored it as she stepped closer to where Scarlett sat.

Scarlett felt a slight pang of pity for Fynn as she eyed him. Maybe this would teach him to be a bit less trusting in the future. She shifted her focus to Rosa. "So, what is it that you wanted from me?"

The woman retrieved a silver coin from her pocket. "You asked me to go into the city and find this before you left for Windgrove, remember? It took me a while to find someone who wouldn't gawk at me like I was crazy when I told them what you told me to. It took even longer to convince them to give me one when you didn't even bother to tell me what it was for. But I finally managed it this morning." She bent over in a deep—and surprisingly graceful—bow. "I am ready to be showered by your unending praise."

Scarlett blinked, staring at the coin. Its surface bore an engraving of a talon clasping a bleeding heart, and there was a small indentation at the bottom that seemed to depict an image, though it was too tiny to discern any details.

That's right. It had nearly slipped her mind with everything else that had happened, but she had given Rosa instructions on how to obtain that.

In the game, this coin served as proof of one's right to become a client to the members of a certain group who liked to keep themselves hidden. The only way to acquire it was by approaching specific vendors in different cities and saying the right lines, which would allow one to buy the coin for five thousand solars. Scarlett hadn't been entirely certain who the right people to speak to were here in Freybrook, but she had sent Rosa out on the task anyway. She expected it to take some time, but not even a week had passed.

She looked up at the woman, who was still bowing and waiting for a reaction.

There were a couple of reasons why she had sent Rosa for this, and why she had deliberately kept the reason behind it vague. Firstly, the coin was intended solely for the person who purchased it, and Scarlett didn't intend on using it herself. Secondly, the coin was connected to her plans for dealing with the passenger inside Rosa, but that wasn't something she could outright say.

She raised her hand to Rosa's, bringing the woman out of her bow and closing Rosa's fingers around the coin. "You have done well. For now, keep it safe with you. I will inform you when I have need of it."

The bard looked surprised for a second, but then smiled, flipping the coin in the air and catching it before returning it to her pocket. "You got it, boss lady. I will protect it to my dying breath! If anyone so much as looks at it, I'll make sure they regret it for the rest of their life!"

"Going that far will not be quite necessary."

"I beg to differ," Rosa said. "This one coin was worth five thousand others. You have no idea how agonising it was carrying around that amount of gold for days. It felt like the pouch was burning a hole in my pocket. There were more times than I can count where I was this close to running away with it as my booty to become a pirate queen, living the high life on the boundless seas."

Scarlett felt like rolling her eyes. "I believe you might be exaggerating the situation somewhat."

"Definitely." Rosa winked at her. "Anyway, are you not going to tell me what the point of all that was?"

"Would you like me to?"

The bard adopted a thoughtful expression, clasping her chin with her fingers. "Hmm. On one hand, it would be nice to know what I wasted four-plus days on and sacrificed the chance for an easy five thousand solars to get. But on the other hand, that air of mystery makes things all the more exhilarating, doesn't it?" She looked at Fynn. "What do you say, bright-eyes?"

He simply shrugged his shoulders. "I don't care."

"That's the spirit!" Rosa turned back to Scarlett with a serious face. "Mysteriousness it is. You keep your little secrets."

Scarlett had to restrain herself from sighing at the exaggerated performance. She knew Rosa trusted her with these things.

"By the way, what happened here?" the woman asked, gesturing at the flowers that were blooming around them. "Is your pet stone responsible for this?"

"How long are you going to refer to it as my 'pet stone'?" Scarlett asked.

"According to my calculations, it'll stay funny for three or so more times. So, however long that is."

This time, Scarlett actually sighed. Then she pointed at the uniquely colored flowers growing at the base of the Loci's pedestal. "The Loci is indeed responsible for this. I had not expected this at first, but I believe it is transforming the area into something more consistent with its place of origin. And as far as I know, the Wandering Realm does not have seasons."

"Why not?" Fynn asked. The white-haired young man had walked up to the flowers now, kneeling down to inspect them.

Scarlett eyed him for a moment. "I do not know."

She didn't think it revolved around a sun, for one thing. Then there were a dozen different possible explanations, but she didn't feel confident enough to claim any of them were true.

"Maybe the fairies just prefer things warm," Rosa suggested.

"So do humans and most dragons," Fynn said. "The empire still has seasons."

"Well, that's because…" The bard knitted her brows. "Okay, I admit I didn't completely think that one through."

"It is a fruitless endeavour to attempt to understand exactly why the Wandering Realm works as it does," Scarlett said. "Unless you happen to be on good terms with one of its idols, any answers to your question are unlikely to be found."

"Didn't you say that huge eye we encountered back in that haunted mansion was one of those idol fellows?" Rosa asked.

"It was, yes."

"Maybe ask it next time you meet it."

"…I do not think I will."

Considering it seemed to think that Scarlett owed it a favor—and vice versa—she would prefer to avoid that particular idol as much as possible.

"Well, if you say so," Rosa said with a shrug. The bard then studied her for a couple of seconds. "By the way, I was wondering if there were any plans for us to return to Freymeadow again soon. I have some things I wanted to try, and that felt like the best place for it."

Scarlett raised an eyebrow at her. "And what is it that you wish to try?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just an idea that popped into my mind a while back. I chose to ignore it because… Well, it doesn't really matter. Now I've changed my mind, though, and I think it'll be an interesting experiment."

"Are you intentionally avoiding telling me what it is?"

Rosa smirked. "You're not the only one who can keep secrets. It'll be a fun little surprise." The woman paused, blinking. "If it works, that is. Otherwise, this'll be very embarrassing, and we can pretend like this conversation never happened."

Scarlett eyed her for a few seconds. "…I will do my best to act appropriately if such a time comes."

"Make sure that you do. Anyway, what's your answer about Freymeadow?"

"We will not be leaving immediately, if that is what you were hoping for." Scarlett was actually expecting an important guest the coming day, so that had to be dealt with before anything else. "Perhaps the day after tomorrow, if nothing else comes up."

"Alright. Sounds good. That'll give me some time to avoid making a fool of myself." With that, Rosa walked over to Fynn and grabbed his arm, pulling the man up from where he had started smelling the flowers around the Loci. "We'll leave you and your stone to your private talks. Toodeloo."

Scarlett frowned as she watched the pair leave, Fynn looking somewhat like a dog being pulled away by his eager owner, uncertain about his purpose for being here in the first place.

What was Rosa up to? The bard had spent most of her time in Freymeadow playing with the kids or socializing with the villagers. Scarlett wasn't sure what kind of experiments the woman might want to try or what resources she had there that she couldn't access elsewhere.

Well, whatever it was, Scarlett would have to wait and see.

As for herself…

Her last visit to Freymeadow had been unique in many ways, but it had ended with little fanfare, as Arlene had essentially forced her to rest during the last two days of that loop. With this next loop, everything would have reset. She wasn't sure what her feelings were about that.

Hopefully, it would at least mean she would be allowed to receive some real teachings from Arlene, possibly involving some of the quests from the game as well. That would help her develop her techniques and earn more skill points.

She turned her head to the side.

[Name: Scarlett Hartford]

[Skills:

[Greater Mana Control]

[Greater Pyromancy]

[Major Pyrokinesis]

[Greater Hydromancy]

[Superior Hydrokinesis]]

[Traits:

[Dignified August]

[Supercilious]

[Cavalier]

[Callous]

[Overbearing]

[Conceited]

[Third-rate Mana Veins]]

[Mana: 4039/5123]

[Points: 2]

[Skills Menu:

Upgrades

[Superior Pyromancy] (25 points)

[Argent Pyrokinesis] (100 points) (LOCKED)

[Superior Hydromancy] (25 points)

[Major Hydrokinesis] (50 points)

[Superior Mana Control] (25 points)

New skills

[LOCKED]]

Ever since the incident with Gaven, Scarlett hadn't paid much attention to her skills or status window. She had briefly noted that the upgrade to pyrokinesis cost 100 points and was locked, similar to the New Skills option, but that was all.

Now, though, she needed to start considering those things again. Before, she might have been annoyed that [Argent Pyrokinesis] was suddenly locked like this, but now, she honestly didn't mind it too much. [Major Pyrokinesis] was already powerful enough, and if Arlene was to be believed, she was far from tapping into the skill's full potential yet. In truth, she would prefer to focus on her other skills while she became more familiar with what she already had.

She also believed she wasn't far from unlocking the skill upgrade anyway. If it worked by the same mechanism as the 'New Skills' option, which was supposed to unlock with the completion of the main quest, she only had to reach Beld Thylelion to do so. If things went according to plan, learning from Arlene would help her get there.

The question was whether the upcoming Cabal attack would interfere with her plans. She didn't think it would. She still had some time to prepare. However, if it did, it would be annoying if she had to travel around the empire while that mess was going on. Even her arrangement with the Cabal might not guarantee her safety in such circumstances.

That said, maybe she wouldn't need protection at that point. Freymeadow was available to her every few days, giving her an additional two or three days with an experienced teacher and an abundant supply of mana. Even if she only had one month before things escalated with the Cabal, she would have at least half a month of extra training on top of that. It might not sound like much, but considering how fast she had progressed previously, both with and without Arlene's guidance, she had high hopes.

But, well, that was for later. For now, she turned her attention back to her earlier experiments with the Loci, wanting to see how far this could get her.

Chapter 156 - 'Scholarly' research

Scarlett sat in her office, hunched over her desk, engrossed in the mountain of documents sprawled before her. The morning had slipped away unnoticed, and her eyes were starting to feel strained from the excessive amount of numbers and figures she had been poring over.

The thick pile consisted mostly of reports concerning the barony and the family's current assets, as well as some preliminary estimations regarding how they could be employed. Evelyne had compiled them in preparation for the relief venture Scarlett had somehow convinced herself to get involved with. The younger woman was currently looking into what options they had available on that front and had asked for Scarlett's input.

Scarlett herself would have preferred to avoid dealing with all this paperwork, but she didn't really feel like she had the option to refuse giving her help, considering it was her own idea in the first place.

That said, she couldn't deny the growing fear that her brain would turn to mush if she continued reading through these papers any longer right now.

With a sigh of surrender, she pushed the documents to the side and reclined in her chair. There was a reason she had never wanted to work in something related to the natural sciences or accounting. Basic arithmetic was all well and good, but she had done enough internships in traditional office settings when she was younger to never want to look at an Excel document ever again, and this was just that but without the conveniences. She much preferred her old work as an editor.

Maybe if she managed to survive the future catastrophes that would occur across the empire—and if she lost her current wealth as a baroness—she could open an editing firm or something like that and take things easy. If she never found a way back to her own world, that could be a good Plan C or D. This place wasn't so bad if you disregarded the secret evil organization and occasional rampaging dragons.

A small chuckle escaped her lips as she glanced around the office. For now, she would be satisfied with a brief break. She didn't feel like leaving the office, though.

She rose from her chair and rounded the desk, ambling over to the bookshelf running along the room's right wall. Her eyes scanned the array of titles on display.

Although she had read a decent number of the books here in her quest to familiarize herself with this world, she had barely scratched the surface of the sum of works within this collection. While books could be exorbitantly expensive in this world, they were no rarity. She wouldn't be surprised if most common households had at least one or two available. The empire had long been supporting several initiatives to promote literacy, and it appeared to be no stranger to bureaucracy, judging from all the documents and forms Evelyne had sent her over the months.

Among the titles that the bookshelf sported, one in particular caught her attention. The book's spine boasted a weathered, dark brown leather, dressed with black lettering.

The Red Witch of Destruction: Catastrophe Incarnate.

Scarlett recalled Rosa once mentioning this book during one of her earliest visits to the office. At the time, Scarlett had dissuaded the woman from reading it, and since then, she hadn't given its existence much thought. She already had a general idea of its contents and hadn't felt the need to learn more than that. Now, however, her curiosity was urging her on…

She reached out and pulled the book out from its place on the shelf. The cover was as dull and weathered as the spine, devoid of any illustrations. Most books around here lacked visual imagery, though, apart from a few fictional works she had seen Rosa peruse on occasion. Her assumption was that the empire had access to printing presses or some equivalent, but maybe it was more expensive to reproduce illustrations.

Moving to the armchair in the corner of the room, which was primarily reserved for Rosa when she was here, Scarlett settled down and opened the book. She turned the page until she reached the preface.

In the annals of history, certain tales transcend the passage of time, etching themselves upon the collective memory of nations. Legends of heroes and villains, of love and loss, of triumph and catastrophe, weave a tapestry of human experience, capturing our imaginations and revealing profound truths about the world we inhabit. Among these tales, some recount the nefarious exploits of individuals whose names once evoked dread and destruction. 'The Red Witch of Destruction: Catastrophe Incarnate' stands as an authoritative volume, delving deep into the deeds and acts of one such individual: The Red Witch. A formidable pyromancer from a bygone era, she was an embodiment of malevolence that posed a dire threat to the empire and its very existence.

Drawing upon meticulous research and scholarly scrutiny, this treatise aims to present a dispassionate analysis of the Red Witch's destructive exploits. Its focus lies in meticulously documenting her unparalleled command over fire, which she harnessed as a tool to inflict widespread destruction upon towns and villages, resulting in catastrophic consequences for the empire's innocent populace.

"The Red Witch of Destruction: Catastrophe Incarnate" provides a rigorous examination of the furtive origins of the Red Witch's sorcery, situating her within the broader historical and sociopolitical context of the early era of the empire's existence. Through a careful exploration of archival sources and corroborative accounts, this scholarly endeavor aims to shed light on the factors that propelled the Red Witch towards her path of ruin and which might cause similar individuals to act the same in the future.

This academic exposition seeks to foster critical reflection on the ramifications of unrestrained power and the pursuit of personal vengeance. By examining the Red Witch's destructive legacy, this work underscores the inherent perils associated with the unbridled use of magical abilities, revealing the immense devastation that can be wrought when grievances give rise to an insatiable desire for perceived retribution. Moreover, it invites readers to engage in an intellectual discourse centered on the complexities of human nature, exploring its capacity for both darkness and redemption. It posits pertinent questions surrounding absolution and the enduring legacy of those ensnared in a cycle of malfeasance. The analysis contained within these pages is intended to serve as a catalyst for contemplation, urging a thoughtful examination of the fate that befalls those trapped in the inexorable grip of infamy.

Scarlett couldn't help but furrow her brows as she delved further into the book's pages. Despite its claim of being a scholarly work with an unbiased perspective, it certainly didn't hold back in depicting the Red Witch as an irredeemable villain.

Even after flipping through different sections of the book to skim its contents, she found little related to the nuance and 'intellectual discourse' alluded to in the preface. At least not in relation to the Red Witch. Instead, the overall focus of the piece seemed to be on condemning the woman for what the author hypothesized to be an unjust or misguided cause, driven by an insatiable thirst for destruction and personal vengeance.

What struck Scarlett as both amusing and exasperating was the fact that, while the contents of the book appeared to be at least a century old, the author still seemed to be working with outdated information and openly admitted to lacking many crucial details. The true motivation and identity of the Red Witch remained a mystery, as most complete records about the woman had been destroyed for unknown reasons. The author suggested that she might have been a noble or official in the Imperial Army who was deceived or manipulated by the Tribe of Sin—the group had existed in various forms since the empire's founding—before ultimately devolving into what was best described as a domestic terrorist.

Scarlett wasn't quite sure what to make of the book as a whole. It provided an alternative perspective on some of the information she knew from the game, but it fell short of her expectations when it came to learning about the person herself.

While she knew it was improbable to be written down in a place like this, she had hoped for a deeper understanding of the Red Witch's origins and the woman's magic, as it could be relevant to her own progress, but she was mostly disappointed in that regard. In fact, she had likely learned more from a single side-quest in the game than from skimming through the book's pages. The supposed scarcity and deliberate destruction of previous records pertaining to the Red Witch piqued her curiosity, but that didn't provide much of an answer in and of itself.

Without realizing it, however, over an hour had passed while she was reading the book when a soft meow suddenly pierced through her concentration. Her eyes darted up and across the room, landing on the desk at the far end, where a jet-black cat sat. Its tail elegantly swayed as its gaze seemed to fixate on the large painting that hung on the wall behind the desk and that had been gifted by The Gentleman.

Then, the cat turned its head, its amethyst eyes meeting Scarlett's.

For the briefest of moments, Scarlett got the urge to leap out of her chair and scan her surroundings, almost expecting to find the man in question somewhere in the room. But she quickly realized it was just her and the cat here. With that realization, her sudden tension eased slightly, and she observed the feline closely.

This marked the first time Empress had shown herself in front of Scarlett since their first meeting. The cat returned her gaze with equal intensity, emitting another soft meow.

Scarlett frowned for a moment, then remembered herself and inclined her head ever-so-slightly. "Welcome once more to my home, Your Royal Highness. It has been some time since we last met."

The cat meowed again, straightening her back and with an air of pride, before settling down on the table and beginning to lick her paw.

Scarlett continued watching Empress, wondering what the cat was doing here. She had heard that Empress had been appearing somewhat frequently at the mansion lately—the Loci still failed to detect when it happened—but she still didn't understand why. According to one of the servants, the cat had also been here when Scarlett was away in Windgrove. According to Scarlett's instructions, the servant had made sure to provide milk at the time.

…It couldn't be that the cat was here just because of that, right?

No. Probably not. Empress would have access to better things than that.

But maybe it wouldn't hurt, just in case?

Scarlett studied the cat. "Would you like me to prepare some milk for you?"

The cat paused in her grooming, lifting her gaze to Scarlett for a few seconds. Then Empress stood up and, with a grace that only cats could display, leaped down from the desk and made her way towards the door. Scarlett looked on in uncertainty for a moment before placing her book on a nearby table and rising from her seat.

The door swung open as Empress approached it, and the cat snuck out. Scarlett followed suit.

In the hallway outside the office, Empress casually approached the window overlooking the courtyard. With one smooth leap, she settled herself on the windowsill, finding a comfortable position to rest in.

Scarlett stopped, unsure what to do now. She had thought Empress wanted her to follow for some reason, but had she misinterpreted the cat's intentions? Had Empress really just been looking for a new spot to relax?

That's when something caught Scarlett's eye outside the window.

She froze.

Lying on the cobblestones of the expansive courtyard was the hulking form of a ferocious-looking creature, its length stretching across nearly half of the space. Its dark black hide and scales reflected the afternoon sun, with sinewy and powerful limbs that were adorned with jagged talons that looked capable of tearing a person apart in one movement. Tattered wings, torn and frayed, lay folded against its side like ragged black banners, the thin membranes between its skeletal wing structure stretched and damaged.

Serrated teeth lined its snarling snout, frozen in a perpetual snarl, while two broken horns curved sinuously upward from its skull. A long gash marred its lizard-like neck, oozing black and red from a congealed wave of blood that dripped onto the stone beneath.

Scarlett stared at the scene before her, struggling to comprehend what she was witnessing.

That was a dragon. A dead dragon.

She shifted her gaze to Empress, who nonchalantly licked her paw from her perch on the windowsill, unfazed by it all.

What the hel—

Chapter 157 - What the cat dragged in

"Can someone please tell me what I am looking at?" Evelyne's resigned voice echoed across the mansion's courtyard.

"A dragon," Fynn answered in a casual tone.

"And why is that? No, how?" The woman turned to Scarlett with a helpless expression.

Scarlett stood before the monstrous dragon carcass, closely inspecting it. Almost every member of the household was present here with her. Allyssa and Shin gazed wide-eyed at the beast close to her, while Rosa seemed endlessly amused by the sight. Garside was conversing with the guards near the courtyard entrance, discussing what had happened, while the rest of the staff gathered at the edges, their faces filled with a mix of perplexity, awe, and slight fear.

Encountering a dragon was an exceedingly rare event. The fact that one was lying dead in her courtyard was still something Scarlett was processing.

"I'm with her," Allyssa said, her voice filled with disbelief. "How is this even possible? How is there an actual dragon in front of us?"

The group's eyes turned to Scarlett.

She looked at them. "…I do not know what answer to give you. Do you perhaps expect me to have been the one who slew it?"

Dragons were formidable creatures, even in the game. This one appeared relatively young—despite its size already surpassing that of most whales—so it was likely an adolescent dragon. That placed it on the weaker side as far as dragons came. Even so, it would have lived for at least nearly a century. Scarlett doubted her chances against it alone. Even a group of level 60s could struggle to deal with an adolescent dragon. With the support of her entire party, and if she could go all out by using the extra mana from [Ittar's Genesis], they might have a chance. Maybe. She wasn't sure.

At the very least it would be comparable to the last boss in Abelard's Doll Mansion, where she'd had Leon to help last time.

But that didn't matter now. This dragon had been killed by something else. Judging from its injuries, it hadn't stood a chance against its opponent. She glanced up at the window that led to the hallway outside her office, where traces of black fur could be seen through the glass.

"You sure you didn't do it?" Rosa asked, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. "Maybe you mistook it for a bird and accidentally knocked it down with one of your little flame-water thingies."

Scarlett gave her a long look. "Yes, I am sure that is the only reasonable explanation."

The bard shrugged. "It's only ever-so-slightly more likely than a dead dragon randomly falling from the sky and landing here."

"They're both absurd scenarios." Evelyne wore a complex expression as she looked between Scarlett and the dragon. The woman really seemed to have a hard time figuring out how she should react to the situation.

Soon, Garside concluded his conversation with the two guards and approached Scarlett and the others. The guards themselves resumed staring at the dead dragon like everyone else, their eyes filled with incredulity.

"My Lady," the butler said, offering a short bow. "None of the staff members I spoke to seems to know what happened. One of the guards reported passing by the courtyard twenty minutes ago, and there were no signs of the body then. The people who first spotted it claim that it simply appeared when they weren't looking. No one heard any sound indicating its arrival."

Scarlett shifted her attention back to the dragon, studying it. The surrounding stone didn't look damaged, so it hadn't come crashing down. That would have made a lot of noise anyhow. It couldn't have been dragged here either. Some type of teleportation magic had to have been involved. The Loci hadn't detected anything, but that aligned with Scarlett's previous experiences with Empress. The cat clearly abided by rules of her own.

The puzzling aspect was why Empress had suddenly brought a dead dragon to Scarlett's home like this.

"Did no one see anything suspicious at all?" Evelyne asked, turning to Garside.

The man shook his head. "I am afraid not, Lady Evelyne. This servant apologizes for the staff's lack of vigilance."

"It is all right, Garside," Scarlett said. "I do not expect any of you to know what happened."

"Your words humble me, my Lady, but our negligence is still unforgivable."

"It is not. Expecting anyone to have perceived more in this situation would be unreasonable."

Evelyne looked at her. "So, you do have an idea about why there is a dead dragon in our home."

Scarlett pressed her lips together. "…I believe it might have been a gift."

The younger woman blinked, and the others gave Scarlett bewildered looks.

"…A gift?"

Scarlett nodded. "Most likely."

Evelyne brought a hand up to her head, running it through her neck-length hair as she turned away in disbelief.

Fynn approached the dragon's body, kneeling next to it as he examined one of its damaged and torn wings. "This is an ashenwraith dragon," he said, poking at it. "They live in the mountains surrounding the Ashen Plains."

"The Ashen Plains?" Allyssa gave him a puzzled look.

Next to her, Shin knitted his brows. "It's a region on Baajirr, famous for the dangerous monsters that inhabit it."

"Great, thanks. That tells me a whole lot."

Shin gave her a look as if he wasn't surprised by her lack of knowledge. "Baajirr is the continent west of Zovivios. It's said to be mostly desert, so not many people live there."

Allyssa's eyes widened. "It's from that far away? Then how did it end up here? Are we sure they don't exist here in the empire as well?"

Fynn shook his head and looked back at them. "They don't leave their home in the Ashen Plains."

"Then how do you know about them?" the girl asked. "You talk as if you've seen them yourself."

"I was taught about them by the ancestors."

"…Right."

Fynn directed his gaze towards Scarlett. "Whatever did this toyed with the dragon. It likely targeted the wing first to force it to the ground before attacking the neck." He pointed at the deep gash across the dragon's neck, from which thick black-and-red blood was flowing out. The stone beneath showed signs of dissolving where it was touched by the liquid. "Dragons aren't easily killed, even with injuries like this. It would have taken several hours for it to die."

Evelyne shivered. "And you're saying this was a gift, Scarlett?"

"That is what I suspect, yes."

"From who? How? Why?"

Once more, Scarlett glanced up at the window where Empress was. She was unsure about how much she should reveal.

Evelyne fixed her with an intense gaze. "Scarlett, there is a freaking dragon in our courtyard. A Dragon."

"Note the capital D," Rosa chimed in.

"Yes, I mean, no—" Evelyne shook her head and turned to the bard. "Could you maybe take this a little more seriously? What if a herd of dragons suddenly descends on us for revenge, or something equally ludicrous?"

"I would if I could, but per your own words, there's a 'freaking dragon' lying dead before me." Rosa smiled. "It's hard not to see it all as one big joke. I would recommend trying to find the humor in it. Makes it a whole lot easier to look at things from the bright side."

"And dragons don't live in herds," Fynn added.

Evelyne stared at the two of them for a few seconds, then looked back at the dragon. Finally, her expression relaxed a little as she turned back to Scarlett. "Could you please explain why I shouldn't be panicking about this? Please?"

Scarlett met her eyes. "…As I said, it is most likely a gift, so there is no reason to be concerned that anything more will happen. As for the how and why, unfortunately, I do not know. I…suspect the reason might be because of the milk."

Evelyne gave her a dumbfounded look. A second passed, and Rosa burst into laughter that echoed over the courtyard. The staff members eyeing them from the side gave the bard befuddled looks.

"…The milk?" Evelyne asked.

"I knew there was something special about that cat," Rosa cried, wiping away a fake tear.

Allyssa looked back and forth between them. "Cat? What cat?"

Evelyne's expression froze, and she stared at Scarlett. "Is she talking about that cat I saw outside your office? The one that…" She blinked. "…You told me to show the proper respect."

"Her name is Empress," Scarlett said. "Or at least that is what she goes by. Her actual name and title are longer, but I am afraid that I cannot remember it fully."

She'd only heard it once, and about half the places and terms in it had been unfamiliar to her.

"Wait, wait, wait just one minute." Allyssa waved her hands as she gestured to the injuries on the dragon. "You're telling me a cat did this?"

Fynn frowned. "Cats are small. It would have to be larger to do this."

"Nonono, that's not the issue here." Allyssa shook her head. "We're talking about a cat. It doesn't matter how large it is, cats don't kill dragons. Cats barely kill mice."

"A really large cat could kill a dragon," Fynn pointed out.

"Then it's not a cat anymore! Then it's a lion or… I don't know! Something else!"

"The definition of the animal aside, I do find it difficult to accept that a normal cat would be responsible for this," Shin said. He looked to Scarlett. "I assume there is more to it than that."

Evelyne, staying quiet next to Scarlett as she seemed to process this information, suddenly jumped in the air with a loud yelp that grabbed everybody's attention. At her feet, a black-furred cat had appeared and brushed against her legs, striding up to watch the dead dragon.

The others in the group froze, their eyes locked on the cat.

Scarlett cleared her throat. "I presume there is a reason why you brought this to my courtyard, Empress," she said, and the cat turned to look at her with a pair of clear amethyst eyes. "The gesture is…appreciated. However, I must admit that I do not know what to do with it."

Empress tilted her head, observing Scarlett curiously. Then the cat simply lifted a paw and started licking it while casting a lazy gaze over the others in the group, pausing momentarily on Rosa and Fynn.

"That's not a cat," Fynn said.

Empress paused, her ears twitching as her eyes narrowed at him.

"Um, Fynn… I think you should be really careful with what you say right now," Allyssa warned. "That is clearly a…cat."

The young man furrowed his brows. "Cats smell. This one doesn't."

Empress lowered her paw, peering at him for a moment longer. Then she strode up to him, tail standing up in the air, and stopped before his legs.

Scarlett watched in silence as he and the cat looked at each other, uncertain of what would happen. She felt it unlikely that Empress would get violent, at least.

Fynn's nose twitched as he sniffed, and his frown deepened even further.

"I see," he finally said. "I'm sorry."

With that, Empress seemed satisfied and pushed in between his legs, continuing forward towards a group of servants who were looking on with confused expressions. One of them, a young blonde woman named Nichol, leaned down and began petting the cat as she approached, and Empress appeared to preen under the touch. If Scarlett recalled correctly, Nichol had been the one to have fed the cat milk when she was away in Windgrove.

"Okay, I feel so lost," Allyssa said after a while.

"So do I…" Evelyne muttered.

Allyssa turned to Fynn. "What did you mean by 'I see'?"

"I was wrong. She does smell like a cat," he replied.

"You're telling us you just happened to make a mistake?"

"Yes."

Allyssa pointed over at Empress. "So that's just a normal cat?"

Fynn looked at Allyssa like she had just said something absurd. "No. Clearly not."

The girl gave him an indignant look. "What? That's what I—!" She paused, as if realizing the futility in arguing that, and sighed. "Ugh, never mind."

"One would have thought you'd learned by now," Shin said.

"Quiet, you."

Evelyne turned to Scarlett. "We'll need to talk more about this in the future."

Scarlett nodded. "Understandable."

The younger woman then focused her attention on the towering dragon carcass in front of them. "For now, though… What should we do about this?"

"That is what I have been considering for the last few minutes."

What did people do with dragon corpses here in the empire? Even if you discounted the usual items that a dragon dropped in the game, the materials you could get from one this huge had to be valuable. But she doubted there was a specialized agency specifically for dragon harvesting. In the past, when she had gathered resources from monsters, she had mainly sold them to alchemy and reagent shops here in Freybrook. The rarer materials were either auctioned off or sold to the mage towers through Evelyne's growing connections.

"Do you believe the Brook Tower would be equipped to handle this if we contacted them?" she asked.

"I don't know. Maybe?" Evelyne eyed the massive creature, scrunching her nose. "It would probably take them days, though. What if it starts rotting before then? It's already causing damage to the stone."

"It takes decades for a dragon to fully decompose," Fynn said.

"Okay, but how long does it take before it starts to smell?"

The young man tilted his head. "…I'm not sure? I think it already does."

Scarlett smelled the air, but she couldn't tell anything too much yet. There might have been traces of ash in the scent—which fit with the name—but it wasn't even close to what she would have expected from a beast of this size. That said, her sense of smell wasn't as acute as Fynn's.

"Well, regardless, I would prefer not to have a dead dragon lying in our courtyard for a week. It's giving me the creeps just looking at it. Feels like it might start moving any second," Evelyne said.

Fynn raised his eyebrows. "It's dead, though."

"Yeah, no, I agree with her," Allyssa chimed in. "It feels weird."

Garside looked at Scarlett. "Should I contact Brook Tower to inquire about the matter, my Lady?"

Scarlett pondered for a moment, then shook her head. "Delay doing so for the time being. I have a guest visiting later today who might be able to assist us with this issue."

Evelyne turned to her with slight surprise. "Really? Who is it?"

"Dean Warley Godwin of the Elystead Tower."

The woman's eyes widened. "He's coming here?"

"He is, yes. I received a message from him yesterday confirming the visit. I expect him to arrive in the afternoon. There is no way to hide this from him in that amount of time, so I may as well bring it up."

Evelyne's expression turned more serious. "…You met him during the ball, right?"

Scarlett nodded. "I did."

"You told me that he seemed interested in doing business with us, but I thought you were referring to the Elystead Tower in general. I didn't expect him to come here in person."

"He is apparently quite an eccentric individual. But considering this." Scarlett gestured at the dragon. "I believe he has good reason to take an interest in our house."

Their eyes turned back to where Empress was now getting the attention of a group of servants at the edge of the courtyard, reveling in the affection as hands stroked her fur.

"Well, I can't blame him," Rosa commented.

Evelyne grimaced. "No, neither can I…"

Chapter 158 - An archwizard's arrival

Later that afternoon, Scarlett sat in her office when her bond to the Loci suddenly alerted her to a new presence in front of the estate's gates. One moment, there had been nothing there, and the next, an elderly gentleman had appeared.

Setting aside the morning's documents she had been reading, she shifted her attention to the Loci's senses. In her mind's eye, she 'saw' how the two guards at the gate jumped in surprise when they noticed the man. Fortunately, they quickly seemed to recognize Warley Godwin's description and relaxed. Scarlett had warned them that something like this might happen today.

She observed for a while longer as one of the guards led the dean of the Elystead Tower inside the estate, then she rose from her chair and left the office behind.

Outside, Empress was once again resting on the hallway windowsill facing the courtyard, enjoying the atmosphere.

Scarlett had been surprised that the cat had decided to stick around for so long today. Every other time Empress had appeared around the mansion, it had only been for a brief duration. But now, the cat almost seemed to have made herself at home.

While having such a powerful presence nearby provided a certain sense of safety, in case something happened, it also made Scarlett somewhat uneasy.

Considering Empress' connection to The Gentleman, she doubted the cat would do anything too drastic, like tear down a wall or hurt somebody. However, Empress was still largely an unknown to her. The game had always kept the cat's identity and purpose a mystery, so she couldn't be sure whether Empress being here was beneficial, detrimental, or inconsequential.

Since The Gentleman often maintained neutrality, Scarlett doubted it was a good idea to attempt leveraging Empress' presence in her favor against other people. Both the cat and the man would probably be angry with her if she did.

For now, she simply let the cat be as she walked past the window and deeper into the mansion. Soon, she had left the east wing and headed towards where she had instructed the staff to bring Dean Godwin once he arrived. She expected him to be held up a bit in the courtyard when he saw the dragon, but she wasn't in a rush.

The guest lounge was empty upon her arrival, save for some refreshments that had been prepared beforehand. She moved over to one of the armchairs situated at the center of the room and sat down. To pass the time, she brought out the book she had started reading earlier that day, The Red Witch of Destruction: Catastrophe Incarnate, and resumed reading, making some mental notes in the process.

After twenty or so minutes, there was a knock on the door, and a servant opened it, leading Warley Godwin inside. The servant woman set a look towards Scarlett as if inquiring whether there was anything else to do, but Scarlett signaled with her hand that everything was fine. The servant then exited and closed the door.

"Welcome, Dean Godwin," Scarlett said, gesturing towards a couch in front of her. "Have a seat."

"I appreciate the warm welcome, Baroness," the man replied with wry amusement as he crossed the room and sat down on one of the couches.

He was dressed in similar attire to what she had seen him wearing during the ball, with a billowing black cape that hung behind him, revealing a scarlet-red lining inside, and a suit that followed a similar color scheme.

He gave her a curious look. "I must admit, when I initially proposed this visit to your home, I did not have any particular expectations as to what I would find. I've visited countless impressive residences in my time, after all, and I would like to think I am not easily impressed. Yet despite that, today I was still met with what might perhaps be the most unique home I have ever laid eyes upon, even with all my travels."

"Can I take that as a compliment?" Scarlett asked, leaning forward as she closed her book and placed it on the table in front of her. The Dean's eyes seemed to briefly linger on the book's title before returning to her.

"I would say you have earned that distinction. There certainly has not been any precedent of people keeping a recently deceased ashenwraith dragon in their courtyard."

"You are familiar with its species?"

"Oh, indeed, I am."

"I was under the impression that they were quite rare in these parts of the world."

"That is one way to put it. They are believed to be nonexistent outside of Baajirr, after all." There was an inquisitiveness that had entered the man's voice. "I find myself unable to come up with reasonable interpretations to explain why there would be one in the home of an aristocrat here in the Graenal Empire."

Scarlett's eyes roamed down to the man's hands. They were covered by black gloves, so she couldn't tell for sure if he wore the ring that detected lies or not. It was best to assume that he did.

"I can assure you that I was as surprised as you when I first witnessed it," she said, picking up a cup of tea from the table and gesturing that the Dean was free to do the same with the cup that had been prepared for him.

She took a sip to test the temperature, then used her pyrokinesis to lower it until it was only slightly warmer than lukewarm before drinking. Personally, she disliked drinks that were too hot—especially as it took so long for them to cool naturally—but guests might prefer it that way, so she usually refrained from requesting the servants to adjust it.

The archwizard raised an eyebrow at her action but remained silent as he waved his finger, causing his own cup to float gently through the air towards him without spilling. "If you'll pardon my nosiness, is there a reason why there is a dead dragon in your home?"

Scarlett wasn't sure if he always used his magic like that, or if he was just bragging, but she chose not to react to it. "I am sure there is, yes, although I will keep the details to myself for now. I had, however, been intending to discuss with you the handling of its body."

The man sipped his tea, showing a slight nod of appreciation for the taste. Scarlett wasn't quite sure where they sourced the tea from, but the mansion's chef was apparently responsible for that, and the man was skilled in more areas than just the kitchen.

"I would certainly not decline such an opportunity," Godwin said, folding his hands as his cup floated back to the table. "Some of my subordinates would be thrilled to have access to a dragon not native to this continent. A member of the ashenwraith species alone is enough to inspire several dissertations, I suspect. However, I must warn you that there will be many questions regarding its origin and how it ended up here."

Scarlett waved her hand dismissively. "We can discuss the specifics later. At present, my priority is to ensure that I do not have a decaying cadaver in front of my home within a week. I was hoping that you could assist me with that."

The Dean chuckled. "Perhaps, yes." He turned his head and gazed out of the large windows in the room, which faced the back of the estate, offering a view of the corner of the hedge garden and the training grounds in the distance. "You know, the deceased dragon was not the only thing that caught my attention when I arrived, Baroness. Say, would you happen to have a protective spirit watching over this place?"

Scarlett looked at him intently as he turned back to her. "You could tell?" she asked.

He nodded. "It is rather evident if you are familiar with the signs. Although I'm not acquainted with the specifics of this particular spirit, I have encountered similar phenomena on a few occasions before. However, this is the first time I've seen it implemented inside someone's abode. It is a curious spectacle indeed. How did you achieve it?"

"I did not do much. The artifact responsible for it was of Abelard's creation. I merely removed it from his mansion and convinced it to serve me as its new master."

"Ah, I see. That does make sense, considering Abelard's expertise. It is a shame that a man as skilled as him would waste his talents the way he did." The Dean shook his head. "It would have been nice if you were more familiar with the artifact's workings, but I suppose there is little to be done about that. I find it somewhat humorous that Withersworth allowed you to take it without truly realizing what he was giving up, but that was his own oversight."

"I believe I did more than enough to compensate for it," Scarlett said.

"That you did." The man appeared thoughtful for a moment. "If you do not mind, would you allow me to examine it later?"

Scarlett eyed him cautiously. "That will depend. Is there a risk that you might damage or harm it in the process?"

"I would exercise utmost caution and diligence. I do not make it a habit of mishandling that which does not belong to me."

"In that case, I can grant you access to it on one condition."

He looked at her expectantly. "And what is that?"

"I would like your assistance in determining how I can further enhance its growth," she said. "Abelard utilized a certain fountain or font of some kind in his mansion that I suspect acted as a source of power for it, but I do not know what I can do to replicate this here in my home."

The corner of the man's mouth rose in a slight smile. "Are you perhaps endeavoring to turn your home into an unassailable fortress?"

"I am simply striving to make the best use of the resources at my disposal."

He chuckled once more, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms. "If that is the case, it seems fortuitous that you have the remains of a recently deceased dragon available."

Scarlett furrowed her brow. "What do you mean by that?"

Godwin studied her for a moment. "Dragons are among the most astonishing manifestations of natural magic and biological harmony. The materials that can be harvested from them are sought after in numerous professions for exactly this reason. Their scales are used in alchemy and crafting, their bones and horns in enchanting and runecrafting, and their blood possesses various magical qualities. Since time immemorial, dragons have been considered living treasures by most mortal civilizations, though few have been foolish or formidable enough to attempt to slay one on other than a few occasions."

Scarlett nodded. She already knew as much. In fact, while she probably intended to turn over the dragon's body to Elystead Tower—she would have to determine its exact worth later—she also planned to keep some materials for herself. Allyssa would probably be ecstatic at the chance to use some of it in her alchemy, and Scarlett could probably come up with a few uses herself.

"That being said," the Dean continued. "There is one part of the dragon that is highly prized above all others."

"Their heart," Scarlett said. The dragon's core was a valuable reagent in the game, although its worth varied depending on the strength of the dragon it was obtained from. Not that there were many dragons present in the game. There were a few named ones, and then players could encounter a dozen or so 'weaker', unnamed ones.

"Quite right. And tell me, what do you know about the dragon's heart?" he asked.

She gave him a long look. "I am not particularly fond of quizzes or games, Dean. I would prefer if you got to the point."

"Heh, excuse me. I am rather used to testing my disciples at every opportunity afforded to me." The man cleared his throat. "If I am to cut to the chase, a dragon's heart is an incredible font of mana and vitality that grows as the dragon ages. This alone makes it highly desirable, for obvious reasons, but that is not all. You see, a dragon's heart does not stop growing simply because the dragon itself has died. It continues to accumulate mana and power as long as it exists. You might not be aware, but the enchantments that protect Dawnlight Palace are powered by the heart of an elder tempestclaw dragon that was slain by the first emperor and his allies. It is one of three elder dragons confirmed to have been slain within the last four centuries, and it is estimated that its heart may have reached the level of an ancient dragon by now."

Scarlett's eyes widened in slight surprise. That was actually new information to her.

"So, you are suggesting I use the heart of this dragon as a source of power?" she asked.

The man stroked his white, well-trimmed beard. "It would seem rather fitting, would it not?"

She nodded. That it would. It was almost as if Empress had been aware this was something Scarlett had needed.

A thought struck her.

If even an adolescent dragon's heart was considered that valuable, and the heart of an elder dragon was enough to protect generations of emperor's homes, then what could she do with something even better in her mansion? Elder dragons were incredibly rare existences, to the point where they were almost legends, but as Dean Godwin had mentioned, there was something above even that: ancient dragons. Ancient dragons were essentially natural disasters in their own right, and their numbers could probably be counted on one hand. So what would happen if she obtained the heart of an ancient dragon for this place?

It wasn't entirely impossible. Ancient dragons were strong. Immensely so. There had also only been two of them present in the game. But, well… One of them was an entity that the empire was all too familiar with.

The 'Dragon of Devastation', as they had named it, was the dragon responsible for burning a large swath of the empire's territory to cinders and creating the Blasted Lands. It was also the dragon that had caused Fynn to lose most of his tribe.

And that dragon was nearing the end of its life.

"I don't think it would be too difficult for me to assist in setting that up," Dean Godwin said, bringing Scarlett's attention back to their conversation. "If that is what you wish."

"That would be…appreciated."

The man nodded, and his tea floated up to him once more with a wave of his hand. "Ah, but we have somewhat strayed from the primary purpose of this visit now, haven't we? While your home is certainly fascinating, I did not come here simply to discuss that, though it was a pleasant surprise."

Scarlett locked eyes with him. That was true. In their last meeting, she had agreed to talk more about her 'visions of the future'. She had spent a lot of time these past few days preparing herself for this conversation.

"Then perhaps we should pick up where we left off," the Dean said. "You told me that your foresight is not due to the interference of the gods—"

Suddenly, something screamed at the back of Scarlett's mind as if pressing itself against her very existence.

The Loci was crying out.

Like a roiling presence of black ichor, there was something that was fighting against the Loci, forcing itself through its will and making the Loci recoil intensely.

With a start, Scarlett rose from her seat as whatever defenses the Loci managed to bring up were breached, focusing her attention on its senses to determine what had happened.

There was someone in her office.

She paused when she recognized them.

It was Mistress.

Chapter 159 - The missus' return

Scarlett scowled as she used the Loci's senses to observe the woman who had teleported into her office.

What was Mistress doing here, now of all times?

The Loci was noticeably opposed to her presence, emanating antipathy and revulsion through their bond. Even if Scarlett had never felt anything resembling distinct thoughts from the artifact, it was clear that it wanted the woman gone.

"Is something wrong?" Dean Godwin asked, giving Scarlett a curious look from where he still sat on his couch.

She turned her attention back to him. "…There appears to be an unexpected guest. Excuse me for a moment."

Just as she set upon leaving the room to address the situation, she noticed Mistress tapping her staff on the floorboards of her office, creating a shimmering gate in the air. An identical gate materialized in the lounge where Scarlett and Godwin were, and the woman stepped through it the moment after.

Mistress met Scarlett's unprepared expression with a beguiling smile. "I see you've made some new additions to your house. It's been a while since I've felt this unwelcome."

As in their previous encounters, the woman wore a gold-yellow robe with a crimson red inside, and a white marble mask covered the upper half of her face, embellished with golden inlays and scarlet rubies for eyes. Her pale, almost white skin contrasted with dark red lips that curled upward. "Oh? It seems like I'm interrupting something." Her gaze shifted to Dean Godwin. "How rude of me."

Scarlett couldn't tear her eyes off the woman. Mistress hadn't contacted her since their encounter with the Cabal, so why would she suddenly appear now, when Godwin was here? What were the chances that this was just a coincidence?

Scarlett glanced at Godwin, unsure how he might react.

The wizard scrutinized Mistress closely before looking to Scarlett. "An acquaintance of yours, I presume?"

She nodded slowly. "One could say that. This is…"

"'Mistress', if I am not mistaken," the Dean said.

"You certainly are not," the woman replied, striding over and making herself at home on the couch opposite him. She released her grey staff, which surprisingly remained standing on its own.

Scarlett could feel the Loci struggling to somehow expel this intruder from its domain, but its efforts seemed futile.

"I'm surprised to find an archmage like yourself here," Mistress mused. "It seems clearing my schedule for this brief trip was more worthwhile than I thought." She then turned her attention to Scarlett. "I've been awfully busy lately, particularly with trying to find that third old trinket you promised me. Your information wasn't quite as helpful as I was led to believe."

There was an underlying tone to her words that sent a shiver down Scarlett's spine, but she pushed aside the unease as she settled back into her own seat. The woman clearly had no intention of leaving and had no qualms about bringing up sensitive matters right in front of Warley Godwin.

Mistress let out a light chuckle. "If I didn't find you as intriguing as I do, I might have been tempted to mount that beautiful head of yours on a wall out of sheer principle. While I will admit that what you gave me did provide me plenty of opportunities to cause trouble for that decrepit collection of old bones who thinks himself a man, I could have done that anyway. This is the point where I believe a normal person would ask for a refund."

Scarlett met her eyes squarely. "…I apologize if my information did not meet your expectations, but I kept to my promise. I never guaranteed you would find all the pieces. However, you did secure the second piece of the…trinket, did you not?"

The woman tilted her head to the side. "I suppose you're right there. Technically, you did uphold your end of the bargain, though I have the sneaking suspicion you never intended for me to find more than I did."

Mistress gave her a long, searching look, but Scarlett maintained an unaffected expression. When dealing with Mistress, it was important to project self-assurance. The woman disliked those who hesitated.

Eventually, Mistress shrugged her shoulders. "Oh, well. I did say I find you intriguing, so it doesn't really matter in the end, does it? I am ever at the whimsy of my indulgent fancies."

Her attention seemed to shift back to Dean Godwin, who had been silently observing their exchange with curiosity. Then Mistress glanced at the table between the three of them, where refreshments for two were laid out.

Extending her hand into thin air, the woman's fingers closed around a cup that appeared from nothing. With a relaxed demeanor, she took a sip from whatever beverage was in it and motioned towards Scarlett with her other hand. "Seeing as you're still alive, it seems you made good use of what I gave you. I'd say I'm impressed, but I won't. It would take a fool not to utilize it properly, and I've yet to take you for one."

Scarlett shot a brief look at Godwin. This whole situation felt somewhat surreal. Here she was, with two of the continent's most powerful mages sitting in her home, both here to engage in secretive discussions, and neither appearing keen on leaving.

At least Mistress wasn't outright talking about the Seal of Thainnith or The Angler Man's heart…

The woman took a couple more sips from her cup, even as Godwin continued studying her closely. Then she made the cup vanish, meeting his gaze. "Is there something on my face?"

The man stroked his beard. "Other than that curious mask of yours? No. But I have to ask: have we met before?"

Mistress smirked. "Easy, tiger. I'm afraid our age gap is a bit too significant for my tastes. Or small, depending on how you see it."

Godwin raised both eyebrows. "I do not usually make it a habit to court ladies upon first meetings."

"I have heard more than one rumor about your thrilling escapades that suggest otherwise."

"Is that so? I have also heard about you. However, I did not expect that my first chance to confirm some of those tales would be today."

"It is rather surprising, isn't it?" Mistress replied. "That it would happen so suddenly in this charming little mansion of all places. It leaves me wondering what other intriguing secrets and beguiling connections our gracious host has tucked away. I can barely contain my curiosity."

Both of them turned their gazes towards Scarlett, who was desperately trying to come up with ways of handling this situation if things went south. Just as she opened her mouth to respond to the woman's words, however, a meow echoed through the room.

The three of them stilled, their attention drawn to the table at the center where a black cat was lying perched on the edge, licking its paw.

Scarlett couldn't help but feel exasperated at the sight. Didn't she already have enough on her plate?

Both Mistress and Godwin stared at the cat, their thoughts hidden as several seconds elapsed in silence.

Finally, Mistress' mouth morphed into a vicious grin, her tongue running over her teeth. "It's not often I'm proven this right so quickly."

Empress shot the woman a sharp look, then meowed again and returned to grooming herself.

"That is certainly a fascinating cat." The interest was clear in Godwin's eyes as he examined Empress. "I could have sworn that table was empty but a few moments ago."

"That is about as much a cat as I am a paragon of temperance and modesty," Mistress said, earning another brief glare and low hiss from Empress. "Oh, hush now, whiskers. You know I'm right."

The woman moved her hand, and a bowl was conjured out of thin air, floating over to the table and being placed right in front of the cat. It was quickly filled with what appeared to be milk.

Empress gave Mistress a long look but eventually approached the bowl, as if deigning to overlook the minor offense.

Mistress turned back to Scarlett. "I've expressed a similar sentiment before, but you truly are more than that unassuming noble guise you present, aren't you?"

"…I do not know about 'unassuming'," Scarlett said. "I am largely what I appear to be. It is simply that I know how to leverage the knowledge and information at my disposal."

"I'm sure you do." Mistress leaned forward, crossing one leg over the other as she rested her chin on her palm, her voice carrying an alluring undertone. "That's why you're currently my favorite."

Scarlet wasn't quite sure whether that was a good or bad thing, so after briefly glancing over at Godwin once more, she cleared her throat and decided to get to the point. "While I do not mean to be impolite, Mistress, is there a specific reason for this unannounced visit of yours? I was in the middle of discussing important matters with Dean Godwin here, and I do not recall there being any business left between us."

Before their encounter with the Cabal where Mistress had given her The Angler Man's heart, the woman had paid Scarlett a short visit in her office to talk over what they would do. At that time, she had actually bothered sending a magical message beforehand. This visit was far more abrupt in comparison.

"I know. It caught me by surprise as well," Mistress replied. She gestured towards Empress. "You have that one's companion to thank for that."

Scarlett's eyes widened slightly. "The Gentleman instructed you to come here?"

At the mention of that name, Godwin's gaze sharpened and turned to her.

"Oh, by the unwashed behinds of the Viles, no." Mistress' mouth contorted into a grimace. "I'd rather drink a barrel of bilewine than bother with anything that man has to say. There's nothing quite as infuriating as those who think they can manipulate others to act according to their whims without ever bothering to lift a finger themselves. Doubly so when they're right."

She feigned a shudder, and Scarlett felt she could somewhat understand where she was coming from.

"Lately, there's been a commotion across the realms, and even I can't escape hearing a thing or two," the woman continued. "That pompous man's movements have all the wrong players acting in the wrong ways, and I've had to bend twice-over to prevent my plans from getting entangled in that nonsense. It just so happened that I returned from a trip to Malevolence doing precisely that, but not a moment ago, and guess what I learned?"

Scarlett eyed her suspiciously. Malevolence was one of the six Blazes, and not a place you casually strolled into. Any news from there were bound to be concerning, no matter how you looked at it.

"I seem to be overhearing some rather significant affairs here, and while I am loath to interrupt, this is something I am afraid I must inquire further about," Godwin said. He focused on Mistress. "I take it from your words just now that you know a way to enter the Blazes?"

The woman met his gaze with a wry smirk. "Indeed I do. Unfortunately for you, I'm not sharing. The last thing this realm needs is another overeager archmage stumbling down there and forcing the rest of us to clean up the archdemon their soulless husk leaves behind."

He chuckled. "That was not quite my intention. However, I was under the impression that any interstitial spaces connecting directly to the Blazes, other than the Ever-reaching Grotto, were sealed off after the Veil of Convergence was erected."

"Oh, darling. The Veil is more of a suggestion than a strict rule to most non-mortals. There are no bolts of lightning from the skies to punish those who take a quick jaunt across and back."

"Are you suggesting you are not mortal yourself?"

The woman's smirk grew wider. "You tell me."

Godwin studied her intently for a few moments as if trying to determine the truthfulness of her words. Mistress tilted her head to the side, seemingly amused. Her gaze seemed to flicker down to one of the man's gloved hands.

"I thought I sensed traces of more than one baby wolf nearby," she said. "Are you perhaps expecting that trifling trinket to work on me?"

The Dean did appear slightly taken aback by the question, but his calm demeanor quickly returned as he glanced down at his hand. "Hmm. I am not entirely certain. It would have been rather convenient if it did, though, wouldn't it?"

Scarlett narrowed her eyes at him. While she would have understood the rationale behind it, she would have been annoyed if he had tried to make excuses for using an artifact to determine whether Mistress was lying, especially when he hadn't shown any remorse at using it against her.

"Then what do you think?" Mistress asked. "Does it work?"

The man studied her for another moment, then slowly shook his head. "I must admit that I cannot tell. I suppose the answer will depend on whether you have been lying since the moment you arrived."

Beneath her mask, Mistress seemed quite satisfied by that answer as a smile played on her lips. "I always try to mix in a lie or two in everything I say. Spice things up a bit."

Scarlett furrowed her brow, considering those words. Was that actually true? While it felt like something Mistress would do, it also seemed extremely impractical to consistently do that in practice. But the woman loved being enigmatic and misleading, so there might be a grain of truth to it.

"Where was I?" Mistress turned her focus back to Scarlett. "Ah, yes. While I was busy not being horrifyingly mutilated and devoured by the odd demon or two that call that godforsaken place home, I stumbled upon some terribly interesting news."

Scarlett locked eyes with her, gazing into the clear rubies of her mask. "And what might that be?"

The vicious grin from earlier returned to Mistress' face. "Rumor has it that Anguish has found a potential incarnate here in the Material Realm, right under the noses of the others. And they're not too happy."

Scarlett's blood ran cold. "…What?"

Several seconds passed in silence as she stared at the woman in disbelief.

"…Are you telling the truth?" she eventually asked.

"As close to it as I can."

Scarlett took another moment to process this information.

There were six Blazes, each a hell on its own, where demons were born and lived. The six Viles who reigned over these Blazes were technically demons themselves, which meant they had the same weaknesses as other demons. Their names were tied to their very essence, and possessing it was one of the most efficient ways of dealing with them.

As such, the Viles went to great lengths to keep their true names hidden. Instead, they were referred to solely by the title of the Blaze they ruled. Anguish was one of those Viles, and she was the one Scarlett was most familiar with. After all, Rosa was currently being possessed by Anguish.

While Mistress had implied that demons could easily move between the Blazes and the Material Realm, the truth was that they were still pretty restricted in how they could interact with things outside of their own realm. These restrictions were even more pronounced for the Viles, who could only manifest themselves here during the most extreme of circumstances.

That is, if they didn't have an incarnate to serve as an anchor for them in the Material Realm. Someone like Rosa.

People who were suitable for becoming incarnates were exceedingly rare, though, and when they did appear, all the Viles would fight over them like rabid dogs.

Anguish had discovered Rosa relatively early, and had since taken great care to keep her existence hidden from the other Viles while steadily whittling down the bard's defenses and preparing her to become a suitable vessel. For Rosa, that was guaranteed to be a traumatic experience, but it was something Scarlett could anticipate and work with. It had been mutually beneficial for both her and Anguish to keep Rosa's role as an incarnate a secret.

But somehow that information had leaked, and now all the Blazes were aware. This meant Scarlett might not only have to face Anguish in the future, but all the Viles. If that were the case, she couldn't rely solely on her game knowledge to get her out of the situation easily either. While she possessed some information about the other Viles, it was far from as useful as what she knew about Anguish.

A deep scowl formed on her face. How had this information spread? She was fairly certain she hadn't done anything to reveal Rosa's existence to any demon, and Anguish would have taken precautions as well.

Was this really something caused by Scarlett's actions, or was it an inevitable development regardless of her interference? How much did the other Viles know? Were they aware of Rosa's identity, or just her existence? There were so many questions that she needed answered.

"My, you certainly appear quite concerned now," Mistress said, eyeing Scarlett from head to toe. "I wonder why that is?"

Scarlett gave her a serious look. "Speak. What is it that you want to say?"

The woman didn't seem to care about the sharp tone. "I had thought I noticed something peculiar about that delightful companion of yours when I first met you, but I didn't imagine it was something this exciting. Can't say I envy that girl. She is certainly in a bind now, and so are you, it would seem."

"…What more do you know?"

Mistress' smile turned warmer, which seemed to elicit a sense of disgust from the Loci. The emotion funneled into Scarlett through her bond to the artifact, but she fought not to let it affect her face.

"Don't you worry," the woman said. "Fortunately for you, mama Mistress is here to lend a hand."

Scarlett's look turned skeptical. "Why?"

"Can't a woman offer her help out of the goodness of her heart?"

Her frown only worsened.

Before she could respond, Mistress raised her hand. "Ah, no, now that I hear it, I realize how absurd that sounds. 'Goodness of her heart'? Dear me, sometimes I scare even myself with the nonsensical things I say." The woman shook her head. "No, of course I'm not offering my assistance because I genuinely want to help you. That might lead people to think I'm a moral person or some such drivel, going around being nice because I like people. Which I don't. Keep in mind that I've never claimed I liked you. I said you're my favorite. A tepid dandelion atop a mountain of nebulous refuse, if you will."

"…Then why are you offering to help?"

"Because I recognize an opportunity when I see one, darling. It has practically been written all over you since the moment I laid eyes on you."

"What does that mean?" Scarlett paused, glancing at Godwin. Could it be possible that the woman could perceive the same thing he did? That Scarlett was 'defying fate'?

"It means you carry yourself like a child with an inflated sense of superiority because she knows where mommy dear keeps the cookie jar, and I am oh-so famished for an easy treat," Mistress said.

Scarlett couldn't help the glare that she gave the woman.

"Don't give me that look. I'm not judging. If I had my way, half the world would be best left to the endless pits of Desolace while the other half wallowed in the depths of self-delusion. Not a minute passes where I don't lament over the woeful fate of being surrounded by a sea of banality and mediocrity."

"…Very well." Scarlett had no choice but to accept the woman's words for now. "How can you help, and what it is that you want in return?"

"First and foremost, you may find solace in knowing that none of the other Viles seem to know the identity of Anguish's little incarnate-to-be yet. Otherwise, I doubt we'd be sitting here having this conversation."

That brought some relief to Scarlett, at least. It also meant that she was unlikely to be the one who leaked Rosa's existence.

"Another curious tidbit is that Malevolence herself is seizing this opportunity while Anguish is distracted to make moves against some of her territories."

That might even be considered good news. It wasn't quite a silver lining, since the other Viles were still around, but it meant that Anguish wouldn't be able to focus all her attention on Rosa in the near future. That suited Scarlett's plans well.

"As for where you need my help," Mistress continued, "well, you can say that demons happen to be an area of expertise for me. I've already taken the liberty to sow some confusion regarding the potential identity of this incarnate. No need to thank me."

Scarlett looked at her. "You have?"

The woman shrugged. "It is an easy enough task for me. Leave some spectral residue here, exenterate a demon or three there. Demons are crafty and unpredictable, but that only makes them all the more effortless to confuse. Not to mention amusing, if you discount the uproar that follows when they inevitably discover my involvement. Now, as for what I want in return…" Her mouth curved up in a way Scarlett didn't like. "I'll ponder that one for later. I'm sure when the time comes, you'll eagerly fulfill whatever request I might have."

That only made Scarlett more wary. "There are limits to what I can do."

She could have sworn that the woman gave her a mischievous look, even from under the mask. "All the more reason for me to wait with my request and see what those limits are, isn't it? Until then, I'll do what I can to help that pet project of yours, and if you desire, I can even recommend a mystic or two for you to consider in the meantime. On the house."

Scarlett couldn't shake the feeling that Mistress was playing some sort of game here. It was entirely possible that she was lying about the 'help' she was offering, and Scarlett had no way to confirm it right now. She wouldn't put it past the woman.

However, if Mistress' words about Rosa's existence having been leaked were true, accepting this deal would give them more time. They might not even be able to afford to decline that much.

That said, Scarlett disliked agreeing to something without knowing for sure she wasn't being played. She already had enough favors that she owed…

Empress suddenly meowed and stood up, fixing a long, meaningful look at Scarlett. Unsure of the cat's intentions, she remained silent as they locked eyes.

"I think she's telling you not to look a gift horse in the mouth," Mistress said.

The cat shot another brief glare the woman's way, but then returned her gaze to Scarlett, showing no clear signs of refuting Mistress' words.

"…Very well," Scarlett finally replied, turning back to Mistress. "I will not be requiring your recommendations for a mystic to aid with the situation, however. I am already working on that myself."

"Of course you are." The woman seemed very satisfied with that response. She then turned to Dean Godwin. "Any thoughts after eavesdropping on our ladies' talk, Warley?"

The man considered her for a few seconds before responding. "I do not think it is entirely fair to label it as 'eavesdropping' when Baroness Hartford and I were the ones who had our conversation intruded upon and interrupted. However, I will admit that I found what I heard rather captivating." He looked at Scarlett. "Though I suspect our host may not be as pleased about this as I am."

Scarlett maintained her composure even as she eyed him. It was true that she would have preferred him to not be present for this, but she also knew that Mistress talked about these things in front of him on purpose.

"I have faith that you know when it's appropriate to keep mum," Mistress said. "I would ask you to make a pact with Lady Hartford to ensure as much, but I can't really be bothered. We'll simply have to rely on your sense of gentlemanly integrity, which I'm sure you possess in abundance. If that isn't enough, we always have whiskers here." She gestured towards Empress, who was attentively watching their conversation. The cat responded with a meow, turning its gaze towards Godwin.

That helped Scarlett relax a bit more, at least.

"I suppose I have little choice," the man conceded, a hint of amusement in his eyes as he observed the feline.

Mistress rose from her seat, gripping her staff. "With that, I believe I have said everything I came here to say, and perhaps a bit more. It seems I am starting to overstay my welcome, so it's best if I take my leave." Her mouth twisted into a grimace as she scrunched her nose under the mask. "It's been a while since I last felt this close to the touch of an idol. I had forgotten how prudish their kind always are."

Bidding her farewell, the woman conjured another shimmering portal in the air beside her and stepped through it. As she vanished, a wave of tension dissipated from the room, and the Loci settled at the back of Scarlett's mind.

She exchanged a look with Godwin.

"That was quite an event, wasn't it?" he said with a half-smile. "Should we perhaps pick up where we left off?"

Chapter 160 - Future talks

Scarlett eyed Godwin for a few seconds before speaking. "I hope you will excuse the sudden interruption. Mistress' appearance was not within my expectations."

The archwizard smirked subtly. "I could tell as much." He glanced at Empress, who was still sitting on the table. The cat remained perched on the table, calmly observing them while grooming herself. Godwin's gaze then shifted to the spot where Mistress had disappeared only moments ago. "Before coming here, I did not expect for you to have so many…intriguing associates."

Scarlett sighed. "To be frank, neither did I." This entire day had been far more chaotic than she could have anticipated. "Can I trust you to keep what you have heard here today strictly between us?"

Godwin nodded with sincerity. "I am a man of my word, and I intend to keep it that way." He gestured towards Empress. "Besides, I suspect it is in my own best interest to do so."

The cat briefly met his eyes before returning to licking her paw.

The archwizard turned back to Scarlett, his focus intensifying. "However, my promise applies specifically to what I just heard. It does not extend to the matters I initially came here to discuss. I hope you understand."

Scarlett met his gaze before eventually nodding in return.

"Noted," she replied, careful not to appear too guarded. She wasn't confident she could extract another oath from him, so she would simply have to rely on her negotiation skills from here on. She also had to remain mindful of his lie-detecting artifact. "Let us continue, then."

"Since I will not be divulging your secrets, I will take the liberty to be more open about my thoughts," the man said. "I am curious about your conversation with Mistress just now. Though I am far from an expert on demonology or matters related to the Viles, I have heard of incarnates before. Based on your earlier words, it would appear you have one somewhere within your household."

Scarlett kept silent for a moment, and he waited patiently.

An incarnate was to the Viles what an avatar was to the gods, though it was also the opposite in some ways.

The Countess was an example of an avatar, serving as a mortal vessel for Adtia—the forgotten goddess of the night and lady of the moon—to channel her power into the Material Realm in order to directly influence it. Some avatars were unaware of their true nature, like the Countess, but it was usually pretty obvious to those who knew what they were looking for. As far as Scarlett knew, the connection between an avatar and their deity wasn't supposed to be harmful, although the same couldn't always be said for roles such as augurs.

Incarnates, on the other hand, weren't vessels that the Viles could channel their power through, but rather receptacles for their power. A fully realized incarnate was more akin to an empty doll for the Viles to use as they wished. It was the most effortless and straightforward way for them to influence the Material Realm, which was why all of them would show interest whenever a potential incarnate appeared. That was also why, to the rest of the world, someone like Rosa was a walking time bomb unless handled correctly.

"It is true that I have a potential incarnate here," Scarlett eventually responded. "However, this is not a matter that directly concerns you, Dean. I would prefer if you did not involve yourself."

Godwin raised an eyebrow. "It appears both you and this incarnate companion of yours are at risk of being targeted by demons," he said. "While I have heard rumors of Mistress and her abilities, I am uncertain of the extent to which they are true and how much she can help you. Should things go awry, however, it seems to me as if this situation could trigger another Desolation Calamity. It is said that event was also caused by the birth of an incarnate in the Material Realm, and that is something deserving of my attention, don't you agree?"

Scarlett gave him a measured look. "The Viles will not lay their hands on this incarnate. I will ensure that the situation remains under control." If Mistress could keep any demons off their trail for a while, she should be able to handle this. Godwin would hopefully be able to discern the truth of her statement.

The man studied her. "You certainly appear confident in the accuracy of your words, at least." The atmosphere seemed to grow heavier around him. "But under circumstances like these, the most prudent course of action would be to ensure that the Viles simply cannot reach the incarnate in the first place."

Scarlett froze, her blood rushing as anger flared up inside. She narrowed her eyes at him. "It does not matter who you are," she pressed out, her voice dripping with cold fury. "I will not allow you or anyone else to harm my people."

Godwin met her intense stare with a cool expression.

"Is that so?" he asked. Several seconds passed as he watched her. Then, finally, he nodded slowly, a glimmer of approval flashing in his eyes.

"Very well," he said, voice steady. "That is as acceptable an answer as any, considering things. Your loyalty and drive to protect those under you are commendable, at the very least, and I respect that much. It seems as if I may have misjudged your personality somewhat before today, but I am glad to gain a better understanding of your motivations."

Scarlett's tension eased slightly, and some of the anger dissipated as she realized the man might not have entirely meant his earlier words.

"I will not interfere with your current matters concerning this incarnate companion of yours," the man continued. "However, I will be investigating further into it when the opportunity arises. I hope you will not resent my intervention if I judge that the situation has devolved too far."

She pressed her lips together, then begrudgingly nodded her head. There wasn't much more she could ask for. He was already showing her an immense amount of respect by leaving it at that for now. More than she ever thought he would have.

Godwin cleared his throat. "Well, now that that's settled, perhaps we should return to what I originally intended to discuss before we were graced with the presence of our unexpected guests?" The silver-grey-haired man leaned forward slightly, a classy smile appearing on his face. "I recall that when we last spoke, you agreed to enlighten me further about this 'future sight' of yours."

Scarlett took a deep breath, composing herself after the sudden surge of emotion she'd experienced moments before, and preparing herself for what was coming. She had anticipated this for the last few days.

In front of her, Godwin reached into the depths of his cape and produced two items. One was a small, intricately crafted amulet made of shimmering silver that seemed to possess an ethereal quality when caught in the light, almost as if the metal was alive. The other was a polished obsidian mirror framed with elegant gold runes.

Scarlett's brows furrowed as she examined them.

The man spoke. "This first item is an ancient Zuverian artifact that I once borrowed from the Hallowed Cabal after a rather eventful encounter with them in the past. Its precise purpose and function have always eluded me, but it is somehow linked to the defiance of fate that I have observed in some of their members. It played a role in my own understanding of this phenomenon."

He gestured toward the second item. "As for this, I took the liberty of creating this tool over the course of the last two days, with the assistance of a knowledgeable acquaintance of mine. It combines certain divination and analytical enchantments to determine likelihoods and probabilities. It is the closest approximation I could create within such a limited timeframe to replicate what you claim to possess, though even with more time, I hesitate to say I could create something of much higher quality."

As Scarlett inspected the items, the first one prompted a description from the system to manifest.

[Whispering Amulet of Thainnith (Unique)]

{An ancient power resonates within, whispering words of a realm untouched and sealed. When that which cowered trembles, these whispers relate its stirring with watchful eyes}

She stared at the text. This was connected to the Seals of Thainnith.

It was a good thing that Mistress had already left.

"Do you perhaps recognize what this is?" Godwin asked, drawing her attention back to the old man. He regarded her with a curious expression.

She hadn't thought she showed any reaction on her face, but now that he'd asked, she had no choice but to respond honestly. "I do recognize it, to a certain extent. At the very least, I have an idea of what it is."

A deeper interest seemed to spark within the man's eyes. "And what might that be?"

Scarlett glanced at the item description, carefully thinking of how to craft her response. "Since you seem well-acquainted with the Hallowed Cabal, I presume you are aware of what it is they want?"

He nodded. "I am more familiar with their doctrines than most."

"In that case," she said, "are you acquainted with the name Thainnith?"

Godwin paused, a flicker of surprise crossing his face.

"Thainnith… I believe that was the name of one of the legendary divinarchs the ancient Zuver were said to have among their numbers," the man mused.

During the time of the Zuverian civilization, powerful magic casters had been far more prevalent than in the present, and magic had supposedly permeated their society to a much greater degree than among today's civilizations. But the Zuver had limitations they couldn't surpass, even among their most formidable mages. The divinarches, however, had transcended those limitations. They were a group of half-deity Zuver who held partial rule among their people, and they could even rival actual gods in some aspects. The last of the divinarches died during the Severance, the 'cataclysm' that left almost all of Zuverian civilization in ruins, and Thainnith was one of them.

"In that case, do you know of the Seal of Thainnith?" Scarlett asked.

Godwin considered her for a moment, as if contemplating the reason behind her question. "I have heard mention of the Seal of Thainnith in legends and ancient records, but information on the topic is scarce. From what I have gathered, it was purportedly a seal created sometime during the Severance to bind an object or being of great power. What I do know is that the Cabal has some connection to whatever was sealed away."

Scarlett nodded in confirmation, pointing towards the amulet in his hand. "I believe that artifact's purpose is to observe that seal."

At least if she interpreted the item description correctly. It could also be an artifact that was supposed to communicate with what was inside the seal, but she didn't feel like that fit.

The archwizard lowered his gaze to examine the amulet more closely. "Truly?" he murmured, glancing up at her again as if trying to gauge the authenticity of her words, before looking down at the artifact again.

Scarlett, too, took another moment to study it. If this item was indeed connected to the 'defiance of fate' that Godwin mentioned, then maybe what was imprisoned by the Seal of Thainnith was the source of that 'defiance'? The fact that the wizard observed a similar phenomenon among some of the Cabal's members might be because of their connection to the entity.

She had believed she knew everything there was to know about the seal when she first arrived in this world, but even she had been puzzled when she initially encountered the first piece and the system referred to the sealed entity as 'that which cowered'. Perhaps that was the first sign of a discrepancy between this version of the seal and the one she knew from the game.

"This is certainly intriguing," Godwin commented. He fixed his gaze on her. "What makes you believe this is the purpose of the artifact?"

"It is through the same means that I have been granted glimpses of the future. However, it is not entirely predictable or accurate, and I often find myself surprised by its workings. I was not aware of the existence of this artifact before today, for example, but now that I have seen it, I have a notion of what it does."

The man's forehead creased in thought. "And how does it manifest for you?" he asked. "Do you experience vision, or does the information appear to you in some other way? Does it feel as if it is channeled into your mind?"

"It is difficult to explain," she admitted. "One could say that it simply…pops up before me when I need it. It is as if the knowledge has been waiting for me to discover and access it, but the information itself rests within the item and not myself."

"Pops up, you say?" A chuckle left Godwin as he repeated the words, stroking his beard deliberately. Eventually, he refocused his attention on her. "My apologies. It seems we have veered off course once again. To steer us back to the matter at hand, I intended to inquire whether I could use these artifacts to examine you?"

He extended the two items toward her.

Scarlett eyed them warily. She wasn't entirely comfortable accepting that request. She had no idea if the system was detectable by the magic of this world, and if it was, how it might appear. But she would prefer not to find out like this.

Not to mention that it was technically a lie that she could see the future. She had managed to convince him of it by being careful with her words, but if he examined her, who's to say he couldn't see through her deception?

Unfortunately, she wasn't in a situation where she could outright refuse his request either. She was being agreeable with Godwin because she wanted his goodwill. She wanted to maintain a cooperative relationship with him and avoid him having a reason to do anything that screwed with her plans.

Reluctantly, she nodded. "You have my permission."

She hoped that whatever the system actually was, it wouldn't cause problems for her here. If she looked at it from the bright side, maybe she could even learn something new.

Both of the items floated out of Godwin's hands as if guided by an unseen force, gliding through the air until they stopped beside Scarlett. There, they began rotating around her head. The air itself seemed to shimmer, and a series of intricate runes materialized as the wizard performed his magic, emitting a soft glow that bathed the room in a multicolored light. The man produced an array of white crystals from his cape, adding them to the dance of objects swirling around Scarlett.

Godwin's expression grew focused as he proceeded with whatever spell this was, and Scarlett could only sit in silence, waiting for the outcome. As the minutes ticked by, she occasionally stole glances at Empress, who had blended in seamlessly with the surroundings for a while and was observing them with keen curiosity.

Eventually, after ten or so minutes, the magic subsided. The runes dissipated, and the crystals and artifacts returned to Godwin as he concluded his spell. He remained quiet for a short while, holding both artifacts in his gloved hands as he examined the crystals hovering before his eyes, seemingly processing whatever information he had gleaned. Finally, he looked back at Scarlett.

"Did you gain any insights?" she asked, careful not to betray any worry.

"That is a difficult question to answer," he replied, still appearing somewhat lost in thought. "At the very least, I can say that the source of your 'fate defiance' appears different from that of this amulet." He raised the [Whispering Amulet of Thainnith] into the air. "However, I couldn't discern the exact nature of this distinction. Perhaps one might say that this artifact, along with those of the Cabal exhibiting the same trait, moves against the current of fate and opposes it, whereas your defiance seems to cause the movement of fate to shift around you instead…" His brows knitted together. "Or maybe it is the exact opposite of that. What I could grasp of what I saw is rudimentary at best, so I am afraid there is much guesswork involved in my interpretation. What I can state is that it is a truly fascinating phenomenon."

Scarlett pondered his words. They seemed to align with her perspective of having first known this as a game and now living in it as a world with game-esque aspects. Certain things moved in a predetermined manner, and at least some of them were centered around her and the system.

Godwin continued. "The results pertaining to this 'future sight' of yours were equally perplexing. Throughout my life, I have had the privilege of meeting two generations of Augurs, as well as numerous individuals from other continents who possess some ability to divine the future. In those cases where I was permitted to study their abilities, all of them exhibited clear signs of being connected to the workings of fate in a manner visible to even someone like me.

"This connection is particularly noticeable in those who received their abilities from deities or powerful beings channeling the tellings of fate to them. Even the shamanistic diviners that I have encountered, who utilized methods beyond our relatively rudimentary understanding of divination magic here in the empire which I was not privy to, displayed similar traits. Yet you, baroness, show no signs of such a connection. Instead, I detected something else at play. It was not a link to fate as a whole, but rather something more defined. An ineffable existence of some kind."

A pensive expression had settled on the man's face as he seemed to consider exactly what that might imply. "I cannot ascertain precisely what it was—I cannot do anything other than posit mere hunches—but I intuitively want to liken it to condensed fate. The existence shared certain aspects with fate as I know it, although I could not even begin to comprehend its true significance. It could be something akin to fate in a bottle, a predestined path separate from the fate of this world, or perhaps a collection of all the fates you have already altered through your actions while aware of fate yourself. While it is rather frustrating to admit, I truly do not know."

Scarlett stayed silent, mulling over his statements. It was reassuring that he couldn't tell too much, at least. Particularly concerning the system. Yet his description left her somewhat confused as to what he might be referring to exactly.

Was it merely how the system appeared to his spell, or was it something entirely different? Similar to what he'd said, could it somehow be related to the fate of this world that she was familiar with from the game?

Godwin sighed. "I will have to dedicate further time to analyze this. There is much to unravel, and I believe the data from this examination may prove valuable in the future." With a flick of his hand, the crystals seamlessly vanished into his cape. He stowed away the two artifacts as well with what could perhaps be described as the grace of a seasoned wizard.

"So, does this mean your examination is complete?" Scarlett asked.

The man looked at her. "For now, yes. I have gleaned as much as I can from this session, but as mentioned, there is still much to comprehend. Rest assured, I will delve deeper into this matter and share any further insights I uncover, as is only appropriate." Before Scarlett could reply, the man continued. "With that said, I am still rather curious about the contents of your visions."

The words hung in the air for a few seconds.

"Are you asking me to divulge everything I have seen?" she asked.

Godwin raised his hands while sporting a small smile, shaking his head. "No, no, I am not quite that greedy. However, one cannot fault an old man for wondering if there is something relevant or useful to him." He wiggled an eyebrow.

Scarlett studied him as she took a short while to mull it over.

She had already proven to be an individual who could be of use to the man. She possessed valuable resources he might desire, such as the dragon corpse and items from Abelard's mansion, not to mention knowledge of the future. Furthermore, she was still a baroness, with him having no clear evidence of any crimes she had committed.

Previously, she had refrained from pushing back too much against Godwin because she felt she lacked the leverage to safely negotiate with such a powerful figure. But now she had established herself. She could afford to be more assertive.

"I must stress once again that the knowledge I possess is often unreliable and incomplete," she stated firmly. "What it centers on is largely out of my control. This is especially true when it concerns matters involving the Cabal, for obvious reasons. There is not much that I can share with you. Nothing that would be genuinely useful to you and that I am willing to disclose, at the very least."

She locked eyes with the wizard. "I also want to emphasize that some of the information I hold is highly sensitive and requires careful handling, even by those who have good intentions. While I have been accommodating thus far, that is solely because I value maintaining a positive relationship between us. However, let it be clear that you are not entitled to more than what I have already offered."

Empress let out a short meow, sounding almost amused by that statement.

Godwin observed Scarlett for a few moments. "No, I suppose I am not," he eventually replied.

"…That being said," she continued, taking another moment to choose her words. "There is one piece of information that I believe might be relevant for you to know. It is related to a particular set of Zuverian ruins known as Beld Thylelion."

She saw a hint of recognition in the archwizard's eyes.

"Based on what I have seen, Beld Thylelion is likely to open in the near future," she said. "And within it lies something coveted by both the Cabal and many other factions. The competition to obtain it will be fierce. Adalicia Mendenhall's research into the Tabernacle on the Rising Isle will be crucial for the mage towers to locate the ruin as quickly as possible so that you can make the proper preparations. If you wish to secure the prizes inside and prevent other groups from claiming them, I suggest you focus your efforts in that direction."

Scarlett didn't actually want anyone to reach Beld Thylelion before her, but if someone did, it would be best if it weren't the Cabal. By sharing this information with Godwin, she could steer him towards the right path while maintaining the appearance of assisting him more than she was. It would also better prepare the Cabal's opponents without her direct involvement. And even with this hint, Beld Thylelion wouldn't open until it was time—by which point, she planned to have already plundered it for herself.

Godwin seemed to weigh her words carefully. "I have heard mentions of Beld Thylelion, although its exact purpose appears mostly lost to history," he said. "I do know that it is said to house what legends refer to as the 'Tribute of Dominion'. In my experience, such legends do not arise without reason, so I must thank you for sharing this with me. Is there anything else you are willing to reveal?"

"This is already plenty," she replied. "What lies within those ruins is worth far more than anything else I could offer you."

That was actually true, if one considered the fact that the Tribute of Dominion was irreplaceable and one of the key elements in the game's storyline. While the Cabal needed the pieces of the Seal of Thainnith to release what was imprisoned in it and initiate their true plans, the Tribute of Dominion was comparable to the interface and power source necessary to execute those plans in reality.

A low chuckle escaped Godwin. "Well, Baroness, you certainly possess some confidence. But very well. I won't press the matter further for today. How about we discuss something of a more casual nature? For example, the ownership of some of those artifacts you retrieved from Abelard's mansion."

Scarlett looked at the man for a short while, then gave a low nod. Finally, a topic she could talk about without having to worry that a slip of the tongue would set loose an archmage on her tail.

Chapter 161 - Disconcerting news

The continued discussions with Dean Godwin went relatively smoothly, all things considered. Scarlett and the man went over what to do with the deceased dragon lying in her courtyard and the remaining artifacts and items from Abelard's mansion that hadn't yet been sold off. The Dean agreed to have Elystead Tower acquire a significant portion of it at a premium price. Furthermore, the archwizard showed a keen interest in getting his hands on the keys that Scarlett had used to activate the portal in Lord Withersworth's cellar. Since she no longer needed them, they struck a deal where she would sell them in exchange for some additional favors from him.

For one, she had taken this chance to inquire more about magic in general and gain insight into what he knew about pyrokinesis and hydrokinesis that could be of help to her. Although the man hadn't witnessed her abilities firsthand, he had apparently heard of Scarlett's rather unorthodox use of magic, courtesy of Adalicia. Additionally, he had assured Scarlett of his immediate assistance with the dragon's disposal, along with arrangements for the Loci.

At some point in their discussions, Empress had seemingly grown disinterested and sauntered off. Scarlett didn't really think the cat needed her supervision, and she doubted Empress would cause any trouble—hopefully—so she didn't pay it too much thought.

Upon concluding their negotiations, Dean Godwin accompanied Scarlett to the mansion's courtyard. Several staff members were busy cleaning up what they could of the dragon's remains, which primarily meant removing the blood that was seeping into the stonework and storing it in temporary magic containers brought from the city.

There, Scarlett had observed as the man skillfully used his magic to carve the dragon into smaller, more manageable pieces—he was kind enough to warn those faint of heart to leave before he started, because it had not been a pleasant sight—that he then stored away with some sort of spatial spells. According to their agreement, he would ensure the dragon's materials were properly harvested and then return them to Scarlett before deciding what would go to Elystead Tower.

Once the courtyard was clear of the massive carcass, the staff was left with an even more significant cleanup task. Scarlett instructed the head servant, Marlon, to hire whatever extra help they needed—there was no point in trying to keep all of this secret from outsiders for long—and inform them they would be getting a bonus. After that, she led Godwin to meet Evelyne and briefly introduce him before taking him to the back of the estate and the garden where the Loci was located.

One of his first requests had been to analyze and inspect the artifact. Since he would also be helping her in improving it, she allowed that much and left him to his work. She had offered to assign servants or find an experienced mage from Freybrook to assist him, but the Dean had politely declined. Apparently, he preferred working alone.

Considering everything she had heard about the man, that did not surprise her.

Afterward, Scarlett decided to seek out Fynn and found herself standing outside his quarters in the eastern wing of the mansion. She raised her hand to knock, fully aware that he was likely already aware of her presence.

As expected, the door swung open at the mere touch of her knuckles against the wood, revealing Fynn with his bright-white hair in disarray and his clear, yellow eyes peering at her with a searching look. He tilted his head to the side. "You don't usually come to my room."

"There is a matter I wished to briefly inquire with you about," she said, glancing past him into the room. "May I enter?"

He stepped aside to allow her inside.

Like most of the rooms in the eastern wing, his accommodations were decently large, but they lacked any notable personal touches. Fynn had been satisfied with the furniture that had come with the room when it was assigned to him, and as far as she was aware, he didn't have any hobbies or particular interests that didn't revolve around training and doing his job.

That said, her eyes landed on a collection of candles arranged in a circle at the center of the room, facing one of the open windows. Only three of the candles were lit.

She supposed it was better than nothing. "Have you been performing more of your meditation?" she asked, turning to look at him. She still wasn't sure what this 'meditation' of his actually signified.

The young man closed the door and walked over to the candles. The remaining fires flickered out from a gust of wind. "Yes, I've been trying to improve my control through the ancestors' guidance. They won't allow me to proceed to the next step unless I can do it without their help."

"The next step?" Scarlett knitted her brow. "Are you perhaps referring to gaining access to the second section of the Howling Gale's Haunt?"

He paused, as if considering it for a moment. "Maybe? They didn't say. They just don't like me using their power too much."

She regarded him closely for a couple of seconds. "I was not aware that you had been borrowing their power to that extent."

Fynn gave her a strange look, like she'd said something odd. "I haven't. They don't have any power to give."

"Did you not say a moment ago that you were using their power?"

He nodded. "I am."

"…But they do not have any power to give?"

"There is a difference in their power and my power, isn't there?"

Scarlett brought a hand to the bridge of her nose as she released a small sigh. "Fynn, I hope you realize that this is precisely why Allyssa finds you difficult to converse with at times." She lowered her hand, studying him for a moment. "If I were to posit a guess, when you say you are using your ancestors' powers, you mean to say you are drawing upon their knowledge rather than their actual power. The abilities they once possessed, as understood by them, are channeled through your own innate capabilities. Am I correct?"

He nodded once again as if that much was obvious. "Yes. I thought you already knew that."

She shook her head. "I am not as familiar with the intricacies of your ancestors as you are. If I were, I would not have asked these questions. You should keep in mind that others cannot see into your mind to know what you mean when you say possibly misleading things."

A look of realization appeared on the young man's face. "Ah, um…sorry?"

Scarlett held up a hand. "There is no need to apologize. Anyhow, I suppose you cannot simply ask your ancestors whether the 'next step' is related to the Howling Gale's Haunt, or how close you are to reaching it?"

She wasn't certain they would be able to tackle the next section of that place at their current level. If necessary, she could always make some additional preparations. It wouldn't surprise her if someone like Godwin was willing to accompany them on a trip like that.

"I don't think they'll answer. They don't like you very much," Fynn said.

Scarlett blinked, and a scowl involuntarily appeared on her face. "…I see."

Those ancestors really were a pain in the ass. Nothing she had heard of them gave her a good impression. But it wasn't as if she could interfere with Fynn's tribe business.

Now that she thought about it, it occurred to her that they might even obstruct Fynn from entering the Howling Gale's Haunt if they believed she had unfairly stacked the deck in his favor. Bringing an archwizard along might be entirely out of the question.

That was frustrating.

"I'll let you know if they mention anything about it," the young man said.

Scarlett pressed her lips together. "…Very well."

He eyed her for a moment. "Was there something else you wanted to ask about?"

"Yes, there was." She looked out the window at the bare trees that were just outside the estate grounds. "Earlier, I had a meeting with one of the empire's most prominent wizards to discuss potential collaborations between myself and Elystead Tower. You may have sensed his presence. He is currently examining the Loci in the back garden."

Fynn nodded. "I did, yes. He has one of my people's heirlooms."

"Indeed, he does. It would appear he was familiar with your tribe from before, so perhaps you have even encountered him yourself."

He appeared thoughtful. "I don't recognize him, but he has an old scent. The elders might have known him. They're the only ones who could have given away one of our heirlooms."

Scarlett eyed him. "You do not mind that it is in his possession?"

The young man shook his head. "It's not mine."

"But it once belonged to your tribe."

"It doesn't anymore."

"…I suppose you are right." She crossed her arms. "However, that is not what I wanted to inquire about. During my meeting with the wizard, did you detect another presence? A woman we have encountered twice before: Mistress."

Fynn nodded again. "I did. She has an unpleasant scent. You told me she wasn't bad, though."

"Yes, well, that description might not be entirely fitting, but she is not our enemy, at the very least. Regardless, you should be cautious around her," Scarlett said. "What I want to know is this: during your time working under me, have you ever sensed a presence similar to hers near us?"

The other Viles must have learned about Rosa's existence somehow, and Scarlett wanted to make sure she herself wasn't the reason behind it. Call it having a clear conscience, if you will.

Fynn should have been able to detect any ordinary demon that might have kept tabs on them, and those would be the ones most likely to manifest in the Material Realm while still remaining hidden.

The white-haired young man seemed to think about it for a few seconds, seemingly uncertain of how to answer.

"…I have," he eventually said.

Scarlett paused. "When?"

"Sometimes… I feel like I can smell something similar from Rosa."

Her eyes widened.

He had…sensed Anguish's presence in the woman?

She didn't think he could do that. It had never come up in the game or any of their previous conversations. Besides, a Vile would be better at concealing itself than regular demons.

"…Why have you not informed me of this before?" she asked, her tone growing serious.

Fynn met her gaze with a look that radiated sincerity. "I thought you knew. You and her are the same. You always seem to be lying in some way, and the way you interact with her makes it seem like you know what's wrong. When the scent is strongest, she always seeks you out, and then it disappears."

Scarlett frowned. There was a lot to unpack there.

First of all, why did he believe she acted differently towards Rosa in that regard? She didn't think there was much difference in her interactions with Rosa compared to the others, if you disregarded the woman's distinct personality and how Scarlett dealt with that. And this was Fynn they were talking about. He was the last person she would have expected to notice any subtleties in her behaviour.

Secondly, there was also the bit about lying. "What do you mean when you say that we are always lying?" she asked.

Fynn gave her a long look. "You don't know?"

She sighed. It felt like he was saying that a lot today. "It depends on what you mean by that."

"…There is a sense of falsehood in almost everything you say. Both with you and Rosa," he explained slowly, as if trying to find the right words. "At first, it confused me. It smelled like you were lying when you weren't, but at the same time, it was different from when you actually lied. It took me a while to realize it was more like you were pretending. I didn't understand that either, but it made more sense than before. I thought you were doing it on purpose."

Scarlett stared at him. Was that how she came across whenever she spoke? Like she was acting? Pretending?

And he thought Rosa was doing the same?

She pressed a hand to her forehead. Considering how Fynn's ability worked, she could somewhat understand why he might get confused when faced with her. It might be generous to call her a contrived mix of two separate personalities thrown into a blender. But Rosa shouldn't be like that.

The woman did keep a lot of things secret, yes, but it had to be an exaggeration to say that she was acting all the time. Scarlett had seen moments—both in the game and in this world—where the woman had been entirely genuine with her emotions. Rosa's cheerful persona might serve as a coping mechanism of sorts, but that didn't mean it was entirely fabricated.

Nevertheless, it was to the level where Fynn could tell something was wrong. That meant Rosa had to be keeping more things bottled up than Scarlett had previously suspected.

Scarlett refocused her attention on Fynn. "You said she seeks me out when the presence is more noticeable? When does this happen?"

"Usually during the evenings and nights," he replied. His brows furrowed. "She's strange then, as well. I've followed her, and she won't notice anything unless you get really close. Always smells afraid, like she's hiding it."

Scarlett's frown deepened even further.

Rosa often visited her office in the evenings and nights. Scarlett had never fully understood why that had become a thing in the first place, though she had assumed it was at least partly because the bard simply enjoyed her company. However, there had always been signs of something more, something she had never dared to explore by asking Rosa. It wasn't an option for more than one reason.

But if Rosa did seek her out when the signs of possession grew stronger, and they subsided in her presence….

Could there be side-effects of the possessions that Scarlett didn't know about? She couldn't recall the Rosa from the game ever mentioning anything about it, but the woman was notoriously reticent about her inner demons.

And it was true that Scarlett had always sensed there was more to some of Rosa's actions and behaviour at times than she could grasp. She wouldn't put it past Anguish to inflict as much torment as possible on her potential incarnate before being able to seize complete control. It was the kind of sick game that was right up the Vile's alley.

Without even noticing, a familiar, cold rage had wormed its way up inside Scarlett as she considered the implications of this knowledge.

Say what you will about Rosa's personality, but the woman was one of her people. The thought that she might have endured even greater stress and suffering than Scarlett had originally believed stirred something deep within her. It reminded her far too much of when she lost control with Gaven or when Garside had been injured in front of her. Before that mess, she had never realized she could feel this protective of those close to her.

She turned her gaze towards Fynn. "Do not bring any of this up to the others. Is that clear?"

He gave a firm nod. "Yes."

"Good. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I will handle it accordingly. If you notice anything else unusual in the future, even if you believe I may already be aware, do not hesitate to inform me."

"Anything?"

"I would ask that you employ a measure of judgement beforehand, but if you are uncertain, tell me."

"Alright."

With that settled, Scarlett sent one last look around the room before turning to leave. "You should inquire with Garside about procuring more effects for your room. It might do you well to grow more familiar with the people here. Also, I ask that you be on guard for any other presences like Mistress or the one inside Rosa in the future. If one appears, and it is neither of the two, you are to immediately inform me and be prepared to defend against or apprehend it."

"Mm. I understand."

"Good. Then I will leave you to your meditation for now."

Scarlett departed from Fynn's chambers, her mind now consumed with thoughts of demons and Viles as she walked through the mansion's hallways.

Where were things going from here?

Chapter 162 - A familiar meadow

"You ever wonder who thought it was a good idea to build a village and hide it away out in the sticks like this?" Rosa asked, walking beside Scarlett as they trekked through the slightly overgrown forest path ahead.

"No, I do not," Scarlett replied, reaching out to push away a branch blocking her way.

"Well, okay, silly question. I forgot you make it a habit to smother any signs of creative and inspired imagination the second it's about to rear its head so that you don't have to be afraid of having fun now and then." Rosa shook her head. "Let me rephrase: don't you think it would've been much easier if they hadn't built the village in the most isolated spot in the entire empire?"

"This is far from the most isolated spot in the empire."

"You sure? Because it sure feels like it every time we have to come here. Tell me one other place where you have to go out into the woods, go through a mystical tear in space that only opens up when you show it a fancy hairpin—a barrette doesn't count—and then trudge through half a mile of bushes before reaching it." Despite her complaints, Rosa wore a smile as she continued along the bumpy forest trail.

"Freymeadow was not originally located within this space, Miss Hale."

"Excuses! I was not originally this fair and charming—I know it might be hard to believe; however, when I was first born I couldn't even sing a simple ditty—but you don't find me holding that against myself."

Scarlett gave her a flat look. "No, instead you do not appear able to do anything but exaggeratedly boast about yourself."

The woman waved her hand dismissively. "Poppycock. Only about one-tenth of what I say is bombastic in any way. I've counted."

Scarlett simply chose not to dignify that with a response as she turned her attention forward. The bard was as talkative as ever today.

Her mind wandered back to what Fynn had told her the day before. Since then, she hadn't been able to stop thinking about Rosa's situation.

At times like this, it was difficult to discern anything from the woman herself. It wasn't like Scarlett could just ask, so she was left trying to figure things out herself.

It didn't help that there was also the threat of the other Viles looming over them at the moment, now that they were aware of the existence of a potential incarnate. Even with Mistress promising to help out on that front, Scarlett couldn't help but worry about what might happen if Mistress was lying or failed to keep any errant demons away.

Scarlett had started taking some precautions in case such a scenario happened, but there was no simple solution that she could implement immediately. For the time being, she had to rely on Fynn and the Loci to detect any potential demons that might be around, but that would only get them so far.

If they did run into a demon and it recognized what Rosa was, it would be difficult to stop the woman's identity from spreading. Without knowing its name, permanently killing even an ordinary demon was difficult. Most of the time, they were just banished back to one of the Blazes.

"By the way, how long is that ancient wizard fellow going to stay at the mansion?" Rosa asked after a while.

Scarlett glanced at her. "By 'ancient wizard', are you perhaps referring to Dean Warley Godwin?"

"No, I meant the other ancient wizard who's been running around the mansion the last few days. The one with the old scraggly beard and who keeps pulling rabbits out of his pointy hat." Rosa pointed over Scarlett's shoulder. "Look, he's behind you right now."

Scarlett didn't bother turning around, simply giving Rosa a skeptical look. "The Dean will most likely leave tomorrow. He is still examining the Loci, as well as preparing some of the materials harvested from the dragon. Once the preparations for those matters are complete, he will have no more reason to stay."

After getting some time to inspect the Loci yesterday, Godwin had requested to extend his stay for further work on the artifact. Since Scarlett was receiving his help in improving the Loci and had nothing to hide within the mansion at the moment, she saw no reason to decline. As such, he had remained at the mansion this morning, and Scarlett had even invited him to dine with the rest of them for their morning meal.

The wizard had been rather surprised to see Fynn there, since he apparently believed all members of the Grehaldrael tribe had died. It had been somewhat amusing to see the man attempt to question Fynn, only to receive his typical blunt responses. Interestingly, the wizard himself didn't appear too bewildered by that, and seemed to have anticipated that to some extent.

"You think I could ask him to magic up my klert so that it changes between different hues of brown whenever I play a note before he leaves?" Rosa asked. "I've been thinking that it might be fun to test that with an audience and see if they question their sanity."

"I believe you certainly could," Scarlett said. "Whether he will do it is a separate matter. First of all, I do not know if he is capable of enchanting items to that effect. Secondly, even if he can, he is an exceedingly busy individual. Do not forget that he is one of the most experienced and skilled mages in the empire, Miss Hale. I imagine aiding you in mentally tormenting your audiences is not high on his list of priorities."

Although she said that, Rosa had a knack for endearing herself to others when she wished. In a certain sense, Godwin had a pretty relaxed disposition, and Rosa had seemed to hit it off well during their initial interactions this morning. If Rosa made her request, it wasn't outside the realm of possibility that the man might genuinely consider fulfilling it.

"No worries." Rosa tapped a finger to her forehead. "I haven't forgotten anything. This ol' noggin has the memory of an owl."

"That does not reassure me much."

The woman grinned. "It wasn't meant to."

Scarlett paused for a moment, studying that grin. It looked so genuine, but how much of it was forced? "…How have you been lately? Are you straining yourself?"

Rosa blinked, halting in her steps as her grin faded. Scarlett stopped alongside her, observing her expression. After a few seconds, Rosa let out a soft chuckle, her eyes shifting away from Scarlett and downwards. "…I don't know how I'm supposed to answer that now."

Scarlett maintained her gaze on the woman for a bit longer before resuming her stride. "Then there is no need to."

Her words were followed by silence behind her, eventually punctuated by the rustling of boots against leaves as the bard caught up.

They continued their journey through the forest without speaking until the density of trees gradually lessened, and they emerged into a spacious glade encircled by a narrow river. At the far end of the glade stood Freymeadow, a cluster of houses with simple wooden roofs, nestled by a low stone wall. A small herd of sheep grazed within an enclosure next to the village.

It was a familiar scene to both of them by now.

"You mentioned a 'surprise' that you were preparing for me when we next visited Freymeadow," Scarlett said, just as Rosa moved up and stopped beside her. "Has there been any progress, or should I pretend as if it never happened?"

The woman raised a hand to her chin, taking in the view. "Hmm~ Who knows? Guess we'll have to wait and see."

Scarlett looked at her. "Is there still a need for evasiveness?"

"It'll do you good to be on the receiving end of it for a little longer, I'd say. Have faith in me. This is definitely for your own good." Rosa dropped her hand as a somewhat awkward expression crossed her face. "I also genuinely don't actually know if it will work. We will have to see."

"Then I am looking forward to finding out," Scarlett said. "It would be rather disappointing if all this amounted to nothing."

The bard turned to her with widened eyes.

The corner of Scarlett's mouth curved up slightly. "No pressure."

With that, she left Rosa behind and started moving towards the village. There was a dirt road that began near the stream and continued in Freymeadow's direction, so she followed it towards the settlement. As it reached the village, the road ran alongside the stone wall for a short distance before ending in an opening that could loosely be called a gate.

Two middle-aged women sitting in front of a nearby house looked up from their work as Scarlett and Rosa entered Freymeadow. Scarlett spared them a glance. Both had baskets filled with wool beside them and tools resembling large brushes on their laps. These women were always here at the start of these loops.

Rosa smiled and waved at them as usual, receiving surprised looks in return.

Continuing deeper into the village, Scarlett and Rosa attracted even more attention from the villagers who were seeing them for the first time. Things were always the same on the first day of these loops, with the villagers displaying a mixture of wariness and curiosity towards the newcomers.

Just like these villagers, Arlene wouldn't have any memories of Scarlett or their previous conversations. Somehow, that was both a relief and a disappointment.

Soon, they reached the wide village square, featuring a raised wooden platform at its center. Some of the village children were gathered near the platform, playing with sticks and stones as their eyes turned in their direction. Rosa greeted them with another cheerful wave.

Scarlett focused on the house at the opposite end of the square, walking over towards it. There, Arlene was sitting on her porch, observing the children with a distant gaze. With long raven hair that had a streak of white in it, the woman wore a familiar somber expression, highlighted by the traces of wrinkles and darker skin under her eyes.

Arlene turned to look at Scarlett and Rosa when they stopped in front of the porch.

"Oh? Visitors?" The woman voiced the same words she always did at their first meeting.

Scarlett had grown accustomed to it, but for some reason, it didn't feel quite right this time. She could still envision the other woman before her — the one who had listened to her confession with a calm demeanor and showed understanding of her situation.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance," Scarlett eventually brought herself to say, echoing the same greeting she always did. "I am Scarlett Hartford."

Arlene raised an eyebrow. "Scarlett Hartford?" She studied her for a moment. "That's a new name."

"This is my retainer, Rosalina Hale." Scarlett gestured towards Rosa, who had moved closer to the porch's railing and leaned against it. "We have come from Freybrook to meet with you."

"Hmm, is that so?" Arlene's gaze lingered on Scarlett for a second longer before shifting to Rosa. After seemingly finding what she'd looked for, the woman redirected her attention to the village square. "I'll have to disappoint, unfortunately. I'm not much to meet."

"I disagree," Scarlett said, fixing her eyes on Arlene. "I wish to be taken under your tutelage."

The woman paused, turning back to Scarlett. "What?"

"I wish to be taught by you."

Arlene narrowed her eyes and then pointed at the empty space beside Scarlett. "Show me what you can do."

Scarlett followed her gesture. "Is there a particular demonstration you have in mind?"

"Magic would be preferable, but if you're here to learn my baking secrets, a sponge cake works as well."

Scarlett took a deep breath, then raised one hand in the air and conjured a wheel of fire. Dozens of flames swirled and revolved like a miniature whirlpool at its center.

Arlene watched the display quietly for an extended moment, her brows knit in thought.

It took a decent bit of focus on Scarlett's end to maintain the magic and have it be as perfect as she could. In most cases, this amount of precision and intensity would have been overkill, but a tinge of worry still managed to creep into her mind. What if this wouldn't be enough? What if the previous Arlene had lied to her?

Finally, the woman broke the silence. "That's enough."

Scarlett dismissed her flames.

"I'll teach you," Arlene said.

Scarlett tried not to show the surprise and relief on her face. "…May I ask why this was enough?"

Compared to some of the things she'd shown in previous loops, this current demonstration felt a lot less impressive in terms of scale and power. While it might have been a touch more complex, she honestly thought that her Aqua Mines had greater nuance and utility. If she'd channeled the same focus and mana into a single Mine, it would probably possess enough force to utterly destroy an ordinary person.

"Would you prefer I don't teach you?" Arlene asked.

"No," Scarlett hurried to say. "I merely asked out of curiosity."

The woman seemed to consider her for another few seconds. "…It looked promising," she eventually replied. "That's all."

Arlene then turned to look at Rosa. "Are you also seeking instruction?"

The bard smiled and shook her head. "No, don't mind me. Just a tag-along so that Red here doesn't get lonely." She pointed a thumb in Scarlett's direction.

Scarlett shot her a sharp look at the new nickname but quickly averted her eyes upon catching the small smirk on Rosa's lips. It was wiser to ignore the woman and not give her any more amusement in moments like these.

"I'm also here so that she has someone to leech life-force out of whenever she runs low," Rosa added.

Arlene turned back to Scarlett with suspicion in her eyes.

Scarlett couldn't suppress her sigh. "She is referring to mana, and I do not 'leech' it from her. I possess an artifact that stores mana, and Miss Hale assists me in refilling it when necessary."

If Arlene was actually going to teach her, Scarlett might not even need Rosa's help to replenish her mana any longer. An experienced master mage would almost certainly wield more mana than Rosa. Additionally, Scarlett had access to [Ittar's Genesis]. While she didn't think using the item within the village was an option, it might be worthwhile to venture outside of the village at times to practice with it.

"If you aren't going to participate, I suggest you step back," Arlene told Rosa. Taking the hint, the bard promptly retreated.

Then Arlene rose from her chair. Four flames materialized in the air before her, transforming into arrow shapes that pointed in Scarlett's direction.

Scarlett took a step back, eyeing the flames. "What are you doing?"

"Exactly what you asked me to," Arlene replied. With a flick of her wrist, two of the fiery arrows shot off towards Scarlett. "Teaching you."

Chapter 163 - Educational bouts

Scarlett hurried to activate [Sidhe's Flowing Garbs], narrowly doing so as the arrows of fire slammed into her. For a moment, she almost lost her balance.

Were those really made of just fire? [Sidhe's Flowing Garbs] had mitigated most of the damage, but other than simple heat, she'd actually felt the force behind that blow.

"What are—!" she began, but Arlene had already launched two more fiery arrows towards her. Reacting quickly, Scarlett tried to seize control of them using her pyrokinesis, but it was like trying to stop someone's punch with a pair of chopsticks. The arrows struck her in the chest, though this time she was better prepared and stood her ground.

She gritted her teeth. As Arlene conjured another set of fire arrows and stepped down from the porch, Scarlett raised her hand and summoned spheres of water to intercept the projectiles. It produced sizzling sounds as steam billowed from the collisions.

It had been a while since she was in a real spar, but her practice sessions with Kat and Garside hadn't been for nothing.

Arlene raised an eyebrow. "True pyrokinesis and hydrokinesis? That's a curious combination." With a wave of her hand, the water spheres were engulfed by larger flames. Loud cries of excitement and awe erupted from the children gathered at the center of the village square.

Near Arlene, Rosa's expression bore a hint of concern, but Scarlett reassured her with a gesture.

Just then, flames coalesced around Scarlett, forming a cage of searing heat that pressed in from all sides. It was enough to penetrate even through the defense provided by [Sidhe's Flowing Garbs].

Scarlett activated the [Charm of Expeditious Change] and equipped the [Fireguard Knife], [Chromacloth], [Tiara of Lost Benediction]—Rosa could laugh at her later if she wanted—and the rest of her gear. The items strengthened her fire resistance and defense, making the heat more bearable while also sharpening her focus and slightly enhancing her pyrokinesis.

Arlene shaped more fire into even larger arrows aimed at Scarlett. She countered by conjuring a mixture of water and fire barriers to intercept their paths. The water barriers weakened some of the intensity from the arrows as they were pierced, while her fires actually managed to absorb some of the incoming flames. Though it consumed more mana than she would have wanted, she managed to stop most of the attacks before they reached her.

Meanwhile, she had summoned eight Aqua Mines that surrounded Arlene. She couldn't identify the woman's weak points through the [Charms of Apperception]—the woman was too strong—but the Mines still packed a punch, bursting into clouds of steam that assailed Arlene from all angles.

Not that the woman seemed to care much. A thin, almost see-through shield of fire materialized in a split second, deflecting all the attacks without causing the woman to flinch.

"That is certainly an interesting method of blending those two elements," Arlene commented as she continued advancing towards Scarlett. An intense wave of heat emanated from her, testing Scarlett's protections and forcing her to step back. "Unorthodox, certainly, considering the absence of composite spells for these schools. Usually, it would have been a questionable choice to focus on both, but you've circumvented that weakness by ignoring spells altogether. You've sacrificed efficiency, though. Nevertheless, it's probably the optimal combination to battle a fire mage such as myself."

Scarlett frowned. It was hard to tell which of the things Arlene was doing were spells and which were applications of pyrokinesis. She recognized the fire shield from earlier as a spell called [Flame Veil], but Arlene summoned it without any gestures or words, unlike most other mages.

Arlene fell silent for a moment. "Perhaps this is what they call fate."

Above her head, a tiny spark ignited, rapidly expanding to the size of a basketball. It radiated a bright yellow light, like the sun, as its intensity grew.

Scarlett didn't wait for whatever that was to finish. She focused all her efforts on launching a barrage of attacks against Arlene's defenses. Aqua Mines, spheres of high-intensity fire, cages of flame — she gave it her all. At the same time, she tried to weaken the burgeoning miniature star above Arlene by dousing it with conjured water and assimilating some into her own fires, but nothing she threw at it seemed enough to overpower it.

Arlene remained unfazed. This time, she hadn't even bothered casting [Flame Veil] to protect herself, instead enduring the full brunt of Scarlett's assault with her body. Scarlett's brief concern about accidentally injuring the woman quickly faded when Arlene stepped through it all without even a graze.

"That said," the woman continued, "employing your hydrokinesis for offense would likely have given you more success, even if your proficiency in it appears limited."

The fiery vortex above Arlene seemed to reach critical mass, generating a whirlpool of air as it whizzed and spun. Scarlett realized there was nothing she could do to stop this impending attack now, so she abandoned all ideas of offense and instead concentrated everything she had on blocking whatever would come at her. She summoned layers upon layers of dense water to encapsulate the tiny star, its brilliant light refracting through the liquid in a mesmerizing display as Scarlett erected even more elemental barriers between her and it.

In an explosive burst of light, the vortex discharged a chaotic cluster of beams that tore through everything in their path and arched towards Scarlett in a dazzling array of incandescence. It didn't matter what she conjured to defend herself, as nothing slowed their advance for even a moment.

Her heart stopped as they reached for her. Just as they seemed poised to strike her, however, the beams vanished, dissipating into nothingness along with all other magical presences in their surroundings.

Scarlett stood there, sweat dripping down her brow, while Arlene calmly observed her.

"It seems I have my work cut out for me," the woman remarked, though a slight smile played on her lips. "We'll get you into shape eventually, I'm sure. It might just take a bit of work."

"No, that's wrong. Focus on this part and let the mana flow through it, as though you're wringing out a soaked towel," Arlene instructed Scarlett from her side.

Scarlett heaved a deep breath as she concentrated on the flame suspended in the air a couple of meters in front of her, taking the vague shape of an arrow with a slightly bulky and uneven shaft. She tried following the woman's directions, adjusting the mana flow as she molded the fire into a more defined form.

"That's better, but it won't hold more bite than a mosquito as it is right now," Arlene said.

Above Scarlett's fire arrow was another, larger one, with streaks of blue fire running through parts of it, highlighting how Scarlett should channel her own mana.

"Crafting the fire into the semblance of an arrow is easy," the woman explained, "but it's pointless unless you also want it to have the same force as a genuine one. Now, gather more of the mana at the back, where the fletching would be—like this—and increase its intensity. That'll help when you want to give it speed. The most important part is the arrowhead, though. There is a little trick to it if you want to impart the sensation of actual mass behind the fire. This is what you should focus on the most, because this technique will come in handy for you in the future as well."

Scarlett continued following Arlene's guidance until she achieved something that the woman was satisfied with. Then she launched the newly forged fire arrow into the ground just before the porch where they were sitting. A small cloud of dirt rose up, leaving a barely noticeable scorch mark on the earth.

"Acceptable, for now," Arlene said. "Although a normal arrow would probably be more useful."

"Unfortunately, I do not generally carry around a bow in my pocket," Scarlett replied.

"Haven't seen many noble ladies who do."

"I am afraid I would have difficulty drawing one even if I did, so I am quite content with this as an alternative." Scarlett brought out a handkerchief to wipe her forehead, gently touching her chest with her other hand.

She still felt a bit sore from the earlier 'sparring session'. It had all been rather sudden—not to mention that the woman had subjected her to even more bouts after the first to 'size her up'—but it had been bearable for now. Kat had also been a bit on the forceful side back when Scarlett had been sparring with the Shielder woman. Maybe this could even be considered tame in comparison.

Although, knowing Arlene, Scarlett wouldn't be surprised if things ramped up a lot in difficulty soon.

For now, however, the woman had been satisfied with teaching her some actual magic after Scarlett had rested up a bit. They had started with those fire arrows Arlene had used in their initial exchange. They were apparently what one would consider the 'basics' when it came to pyrokinesis — not that Scarlett had ever found a book on the subject, nor anyone who had even nearly as much experience as Arlene.

Scarlett hadn't even been aware that it was possible to impart a sense of actual weight or force to the fire without causing an explosion of some kind. She was still slightly uncertain how that worked, but Arlene had explained that this was one of the perks of working with true pyrokinesis rather than regular pyrokinesis. It kind of did what you wanted it to do, as long as you wanted something 'reasonable'.

In her opinion, that explanation was plenty confusing and ambiguous on its own, but what mattered was that it seemed to work. This fact alone opened up a lot more possibilities for the future.

She turned her gaze to Arlene. "Apart from those fire arrows, which of the techniques you displayed earlier involved pyrokinesis? Was that miniature sun an example of it?"

That was what had caught Scarlett's interest the most, frankly. She would love to be able to recreate that effect herself.

Arlene shook her head. "That was a spell called stellar inferno. The name is a bit exaggerated, but it's an interesting spell. Unfortunately for you, it's not something you're likely to learn." She eyed Scarlett. "Unless I'm wrong in suspecting you're incapable of casting spells?"

"No, you are correct," Scarlett said. "At the moment, I am only capable of using pyrokinesis and hydrokinesis, and those are where my focus will remain in the future. However, it surprises me that you were able to discern as much this quickly."

"It's apparent enough after seeing how you handled yourself earlier. It's certainly odd not being able to use traditional magic—I'm curious how you got yourself to that level without it—but it is nonetheless something I can work with. I have enough experience with both traditional spells and pyrokinesis."

"Then is there no way to reproduce that 'stellar inferno' spell using only pyrokinesis?"

"There is, technically," Arlene answered. She shrugged her shoulders, gazing out at the currently empty village square. "But it wouldn't serve much purpose. There are countless other ways you can use pyrokinesis to achieve a similar result that won't cost you even nearly as much mana."

"Such as?"

The woman leaned back in her chair and held up a hand. An array of tiny flames materialized above her fingers, arching around each other like miniature planets. "The spell is essentially just another means of attacking multiple targets at once. That's all it boils down to. As for how it works, it capitalizes on a magical phenomenon known as 'thermal resonance'—I won't bother explaining what that is since you won't have any use for it—which allows the spell to progressively draw upon the elemental root of fire and amplify itself with relatively little mana expenditure. So it has a low cost and packs a decent punch, but it takes a while to prepare. If you wanted to replicate it using pyrokinesis, you would need to continuously channel your mana to sustain it, and even then you would likely achieve a subpar result. Using those fire arrows I just taught you would be a better alternative, or that other technique you had."

"I call those 'Aqua Mines'," Scarlett said. "So you believe they are an effective application of my mana, then?"

"They are interesting, if anything, and we might be able to make something more from it in the future," Arlene replied. "As I mentioned earlier, pyromancy and hydromancy are an unorthodox blend of schools, but you clearly found an innovative approach. Certain wizards would be very interested in dissecting your methods to create an actual spell from it."

"Truly?"

It was unlikely that Scarlett would ever bother pursuing that avenue when she had so much else going on, but it was interesting to hear. Adalicia and other mages she had encountered did give her intrigued reactions when she displayed her abilities.

Arlene went quiet for a bit after that, continuing to play with the flames above her hand. Scarlett observed her thoughtfully. "If I may, there is one question I have been wanting to ask you that is tangentially related to what we just discussed."

The woman closed her fingers, causing the flames dancing above to fade. She turned to look at Scarlett. "And what is that?"

"I believe there is no doubt that you are an experienced and powerful pyromancer," Scarlett began. "However, what I find slightly odd is your proficiency not only in theory and spells, but also in the pyrokinesis you are currently teaching me. Especially its applications in combat. I have spoken to several mages and wizards before, but I have yet to meet any who have displayed expertise in pyrokinesis or its equivalents beyond somewhat rudimentary applications. It is my understanding that everyone considers traditional spells to be superior."

She had even asked Dean Godwin about this, and he had mentioned that, while he was decent at aerokinesis, he essentially only utilized it for lifting things around and looking cool, though he didn't use those exact words.

Arlene was the only mage Scarlett had met who actually used pyrokinesis in combat.

The woman studied her for a few seconds. "Let me start answering that by asking you a question: do you know why manifest magic is more prevalent among higher-level spells than lower-level ones?"

Scarlett furrowed her brow. "It is because manifest magic is generally more complex to perform, no? Less experienced and skilled mages are less likely to employ it."

Manifest magic was magic that directly altered and manipulated the world itself, as opposed to evanescent magic which produced temporary effects without altering reality. Although an evanescent spell could influence its surroundings, the distinction was still pretty significant.

The way Scarlett understood it, and based on Arlene's own words, manifest magic and normal pyrokinesis were the closest one could come to conjuring genuine fire from mana.

"Complexity is certainly a factor," Arlene said, "but there's another reason. Perhaps you've yet to encounter this, considering you only use true pyrokinesis, but manifest spells' main advantage over evanescent ones is that they are far more challenging to counter."

Scarlett nodded her head. She had encountered that, actually, when she and Kat were ambushed by Cabal Adepts during one of their excursions. The Adepts' weapons had been enchanted to nullify the Shielder's spells, so Kat had switched to using manifest magic as a workaround. After all, a weapon made to cut through magical constructs in the shape of a stone would have a much harder time cutting through an actual stone.

But it was true that this had never been a significant concern for Scarlett herself, because she was already using something that was equivalent to manifest magic. In fact, true pyrokinesis appeared to come with some added advantages, like being more effective against ghosts and other entities that traditionally have resistances against magic.

Arlene smiled faintly at her. "It seems you understand what I'm referring to."

"I believe I do, yes. But how does that relate to my question? You yourself can perform manifest spells, can you not? You would have no reason to use pyrokinesis, if so."

"It's simply a matter of flexibility," Arlene explained. "In duels between experienced mages, manifest spells are always crucial, but spells are, by definition, unmalleable. They are a schematic telling your magic to 'do this', saving you the trouble of having to produce immensely complex phenomena yourself. They have set uses and limited adaptability. Knowing the right spell for the right occasion is the mark of a skilled mage. But pyrokinesis, especially true pyrokinesis, offers much more versatility. It's faster and more malleable in combat, as long as you don't need anything too complex. In return, you sacrifice mana efficiency and power, but that can be compensated by having significant reserves." The woman smirked. "That is something I have never lacked, and that is also part of the reason why I have mastered both forms. I've only known two others who bothered to do the same."

"I see…" Scarlett's forehead creased in thought.

That wasn't too different from what she had experienced herself and heard before, though she'd never had it put this way to her. As for mana costs, her limited capacity had always been her biggest limitation. While [Ittar's Genesis] offered a potential remedy there, she could only afford to bring it out on specific occasions. Her only other mana-increasing item, [Depraved Solitude's Choker], provided only a fraction of what [Ittar's Genesis] did.

She had been considering upgrading the necklace using the legendary-grade [Tablet of Sovegrephor] that she had acquired from the Sanctuary of Ittar. But she had also been saving that to upgrade her [Charms of Apperception] again, if she needed it to work against higher-level enemies when she faced those. It was a core part of her current combat style, after all.

She did know the locations of a few other items with similar properties to the [Charms of Apperception], though, so it might be worth upgrading [Depraved Solitude's Choker] now just to have that immediate mana boost. In truth, she was pretty curious to see how much mana the upgraded item would provide. It had originally been an item meant for players around levels 20-30—a pretty powerful item for that range—so upgrading it to legendary grade would be akin to bumping it up 30-40 levels.

While it wouldn't rival [Ittar's Genesis], which gave 20 000 mana and even recharged itself, it still held promise.

Her attention turned back to Arlene. The woman was watching her quietly.

Well, there were a lot of things that held promise at the moment. And she supposed that, for the time being, all she could do was continue working to see how it all panned out.

Chapter 164 - Charming reveals

The sweltering evening sun bore down on Scarlett as she sat in the village square of Freymeadow, her focus fixed on the intricate workings of magic before her. A multitude of hazy, half-formed fire arrows hovered in the air, recently conjured and taking aim at a plump mass of vaguely human-shaped water nearby. She strained herself to maintain the dense liquid while simultaneously controlling the fire.

After another moment, the arrows fully materialized, resembling those Arlene had used during their earlier spars.

Mentally commanding them, Scarlett launched each arrow. There was some variation in speed, but they all struck the mass of water with resounding plops and splashes that echoed across the square. Steam rose from their entry points, and while most of the arrows dissipated upon impact, three managed to pierce the 'target' and tear through it.

It was an exercise in frustration for Scarlett to juggle this many fire arrows—a skill she had learned just earlier that day—at the same time, while also sustaining a reasonably dense water target. This was far from her first attempt as well. It would have been easier if she had used the [Tiara of Lost Benediction] or had Rosa's buffs to help her, but there wasn't much point in practicing if she constantly relied on training wheels.

That said, she wasn't a fan of making things needlessly difficult either.

Arlene had advised her to challenge herself during the learning process, which was reasonable enough. But the woman seemed to have an odd definition of what 'challenging' meant in the context of practice. What Scarlett was currently doing was challenging—she was basically training in two things she was inexperienced with at the same time—but if Arlene had her way, Scarlett would be doing this twice over.

Or at least it felt that way after the woman had been instructing her throughout the day and into the evening. In truth, Scarlett suspected that Arlene already had a pretty decent idea of her limits, and it wasn't as if the older woman was constantly hovering over her shoulder, shouting at her every time she made a mistake.

Still, she couldn't shake off the feeling that Arlene was expecting more.

Now that Scarlett had finally been accepted as a disciple, the woman really wasn't holding anything back.

It made her almost grateful for the fact that it had taken this long to get accepted. Because of that, she'd already had several weeks of time to gradually acclimate herself to keeping up with a demanding training regimen here in Freymeadow. Without that, she wasn't sure she would have been prepared for the pace set by Arlene.

It was entirely possible that, if Scarlett had been subjected to this intensity of training upon her first arrival here, she might have snapped at the woman or said something unwise out of pure frustration.

What was probably the most annoying part of today's practice was that, even after having been at it for over half a day now, she had yet to reach the point of mana exhaustion. She was near it—she had been for several hours—but never crossed that threshold because Arlene always told her to stop in time.

It was clear that the woman had a deep understanding of exactly how much rest was necessary to optimize practice and mana usage, the effects of which Scarlett was feeling fully.

[Mana: 1797/5142]

Dismissing what remained of her fire arrows and the water target, she took a brief moment to catch her breath and wipe the sweat from her face. Eventually, she raised her hand to begin anew. If she waited too long without depleting her mana, Arlene would be on her soon enough.

Gathering her mana and shaping it into the desired image proved slightly more challenging this time. However, eventually, a sizeable grating of fire burst into existence a few meters ahead of her. The lattice-like structure allowed some visibility but prevented any larger object from passing through unscathed. Consisting of a grid of thin flames, it was somewhat irregular at first, with certain areas being almost transparent, but after a while it became more defined as Scarlett refined her creation.

To test it, she conjured some water around a small stone at her feet, taking an extra moment to condense the liquid enough to lift the stone. She then launched the stone towards the fiery gate. As it pierced through the bars, a plume of steam rose from the boiling water while the stone itself fell to the ground a bit behind.

Scarlett frowned. She'd thought that would go better.

This was another application of the technique Arlene had demonstrated before, where she 'imbued' the fire with more physical properties. According to Arlene, you didn't actually give the fire physical mass, but the woman had likened it to tricking the world into thinking as much, a feat only really achievable with true pyrokinesis. It had its limits, apparently, but there were supposedly spells that capitalized on this concept quite a bit.

Scarlett had already tried it out several times now, though mostly on smaller scales. It would be incredibly convenient if she could conjure actual barriers and cages out of fire, but it was proving difficult to master. At the moment, she could only make the fire 'dense' enough to slightly nudge things.

Her eyes glanced to the side.

[Mana: 1434/5142]

It didn't take too much mana, so she decided to extend the range of her fire gate, doubling its size and reshaping it into a cage as she moved it to enclose a tree stump that had been used in her earlier practice.

Another technique Arlene had taught her involved directing some of the heat from her flames, though it was a task that proved even more challenging than the previous one. But at this point, Scarlett would welcome using up what remained of her mana.

Clenching her teeth, she focused on following Arlene's instructions on how to manipulate the mana of her flames. Just as she was deep into her concentration, a few elusive notes of music drifted across the space.

Her eyes widened as the notes seemed to resonate with her fire, causing the flames comprising her cage to tremble and shift slightly. Tiny, almost translucent echoes of the flames sparked into existence, bathed in a pale blue hue and moving in sync with the music. The echoes danced around Scarlett's flames, occasionally bursting into small explosions of ghostly blue light. Some of the echoes licked at the tree stump, where they seemed to simultaneously scorch and rejuvenate the bark.

Amazed and stunned by the sight, Scarlett watched as more and more echoes emerged, and where their blue flames touched red flames, even more echoes were born. It caused a chain reaction that engulfed the entire fire cage and formed a dense cloud of wispy blue flames, the tree stump vanishing from view in the radiant display.

Gradually, as the red flames were overtaken by the translucent blue ones, the entire spectacle died off, breaking apart into motes of fading light. The tree stump emerged once again, its surface charred black in certain spots, while other areas were now covered in fresh bark.

Scarlett kept her gaze on it for a while longer before turning her attention to the source of the music. Seated on the elevated wooden platform in the village square's center, klert in hand, was Rosa. She offered a sheepish smile and a wink in her direction.

What was that?

The bard swung her legs forward, hopped down from the platform, and started walking over towards Scarlett. "I'll admit, that didn't turn out quite as I expected," she said as she approached.

Scarlett gave her a long look. "I presume this was the 'surprise' you mentioned?"

"Sure was." Rosa's lips curved upwards as she leaned her instrument against the leg of Scarlett's chair, her violet eyes focused on her. "Did you fancy it?"

"I am not sure what to think of it," Scarlett replied. "It was certainly a spectacle. I can acknowledge that much. You have piqued my interest."

Not only had the performance somehow caused her fire to reproduce and grow, but it also seemed to both intensify the flames' power and grant them a regenerative property.

"How did you accomplish that?" she asked.

She knew Rosa hadn't demonstrated anything like this in the game. While the bard possessed various buffs and other useful charms, there had been nothing remotely similar to what Scarlett had just witnessed.

"The idea first came to me back when we were in that eerie old mansion near Autumnwell," Rosa said.

Scarlett furrowed her brow. "Abelard's mansion?"

There hadn't been anything resembling this phenomenon there either.

"Well, when we were there, yeah. Can't say there was anything in particular in the mansion that inspired me, but, well…" Rosa fell silent for a moment, her lips pressing together. "Let's just say I saw how focused you were on supporting everyone while we were fighting that old ghost, and it didn't feel right. Didn't feel like it quite suited you. Felt like you wanted to do more than that, but couldn't. So, I thought maybe I could do something to lend you a hand or three. After all, that's basically what I'm here for, isn't it?"

With a wide, theatrical gesture, the woman brushed her hair back. "Well, that and being a dangerously captivating paramour to charm and bewitch all of your adversaries, I suppose."

Scarlett gave her a flat look. "…Yes, of course."

Rosa responded with a lopsided grin. "Since then, I've been experimenting here and there. Started out by playing a few songs before live candles—most fired-up audience I've ever had—and it seemed like maybe I was onto something. Then, I sort of gave up on the whole idea for a while after… Well, that doesn't really matter. But eventually, I managed to fine-tune the concept enough to where I felt it was worth giving it a try with the real deal. I wasn't actually sure it'd work with that flaming inferno you call your magic, and I also didn't expect the reaction to be as intense as it was. But hey, all's well that ends well, am I right?"

"I am not certain if what we witnessed earlier can be considered a favorable outcome…" Scarlett glanced over at the tree stump, its appearance a chaotic mix of charred and freshly healed bark. "Nevertheless, it does indeed appear to hold potential."

Would it be possible to gain better control of this effect? If so, it could potentially give a significant boost to Scarlett's firepower whenever Rosa was available, in addition to increasing the party's healing capabilities.

That was under the assumption that those blue flames had possessed genuine healing properties. Most healing spells wouldn't regrow bark on a dead tree stump, so the situation was a bit strange.

Furthermore, Rosa already had area-of-effect healing charms, so they would have to determine whether this offered any advantages over those. It seemed to have a longer range than Rosa's usual heals, and if it could propagate through Scarlett's flames independently, it could potentially spread over a large area quickly and efficiently.

"How taxing was it for you to sustain?" Scarlett asked.

Rosa tapped her cheek in thought. "Hmm. Well, let's put it this way. On a scale from one to ten, imagine you took the scale and stretched it out to eleven, wrung out a couple of twelves, and there you have it."

Scarlett arched an eyebrow. "Was it truly that draining?"

The bard offered a small smile. "No, not really." She cocked her head. "Maybe a seven? Or an eight? I'd wager if I had kept that up for much longer, I would have ended up with a few burst blood vessels. But I'm not writhing on the ground in pain this time, at least."

Scarlett frowned. "Has that happened before?"

Rosa's smile turned wry. "Oh, worried about me? I'm flattered." She shrugged. "I might have made a mistake or two while trying to figure this thing out."

"That is hardly a reassuring answer."

The woman gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "Charms are like that. It's all about the vibes and navigating by feel, but you never know what you're gonna get. I once accidentally turned my hair pink trying to crack how I could make my songs taste like strawberry."

Scarlett did not hide the skepticism on her face. "I assume you are joking."

Rosa simply smirked in response. "Who knows?"

Shaking her head, Scarlett gestured at the woman's instrument. "If you would assist me so that I can stand. I am in need of rest."

After a full day of training, her legs had grown too fatigued to be of much use.

"Your wish is my command, milady," the bard replied with exaggerated flair, bending to retrieve her klert and producing a brief melody from the instrument.

A surge of energy coursed through Scarlett's body, allowing her to shakily rise from her chair. She paused, detecting a hint of sweetness on her tongue.

Strawberry.

She turned to stare at Rosa, who winked at her before heading towards the house where Arlene sat on the porch. Scarlett observed the bard's departing figure for a few moments before following.

So that hadn't been a lie after all…

Arlene glanced up from her book as they approached, her gaze first falling on Rosa. The bard stopped and leaned against the porch railing, prompting Arlene to speak. "That was an intriguing effect you manifested there. I have some previous experience with charm users, but I've never witnessed anything quite like that. What did you do?"

"Beats me," Rosa answered, both arms resting on the wooden beam as she supported her chin. "Like I told Red here, it's all about the vibe. You keep at something until it clicks, and then you stick with it whenever you need it. It just works."

Arlene shook her head at that. "This is precisely why I never delved into bardic charms myself. They're as nonsensical as the individuals who often employ them. No offense."

"None taken," Rosa replied. "The common masses usually struggle to comprehend genius when they see it."

"Yes, I'm sure." Arlene chuckled softly, then adopted a more serious tone. "Unlike water and light, fire as an element lacks regenerative aspects. Hence, it's likely that your charm worked by only borrowing the power of Scarlett's flames to fuel its own effect, creating an effect akin to certain elemental resonances. Judging by its appearance, it's most probable that your charm tapped into the energies of an idol, manifesting a portion of its essence."

Rosa nodded solemnly. "Hmm, precisely as I suspected."

Scarlett walked past the bard and stepped onto the porch, settling down in the vacant chair next to Arlene. "I find it more plausible that you understood only half of her explanation."

Rosa gave her a wounded look. "Here I've been beating myself purple for the last few weeks trying to come up with this for you, and this is the thanks I get?"

"Although I recognize that you are saying that in jest…" Scarlett eyed her for a moment. "…you are correct. What you have accomplished is impressive. You have my appreciation for even attempting it. However, if we intend to harness this phenomenon effectively, we will require better mastery and control over it."

Rosa placed a hand over her mouth with a gasp. "What, you're telling me you don't want to subject your enemies to an unending cycle of burning and healing, driving them mad with agony and torment? Who are you, and what have you done with my winningly cold-hearted baroness?"

"This is precisely why I refrain from praising you, Miss Hale, in case you were unaware." Scarlett shook her head. The grueling training was one thing, but she had the sneaking suspicion that wasn't what would ultimately wear her down here in Freymeadow.

Chapter 165 - Upgrades and progression

"That's better. You are starting to get the hang of this. Much better than yesterday," Arlene said as the woman observed Scarlett conjuring water and fire into a variety of elemental shapes at the center of a forest clearing.

Each shape balanced an object on top, such as twigs, stones, and other small woodland items. Although 'balanced' might be too generous a word, as the objects were, at best, gently slowed in their descent towards the ground. The fires were gradually having their pebbles and stones sink through them, while the water shapes required constant reinforcement and adjustment to keep their slightly heavier objects completely afloat.

Nonetheless, Scarlett was impressed she could do even this much.

She had spent the majority of the last two days here in Freymeadow practicing her magic, focusing primarily on refining the technique Arlene had taught her to make her flames more 'substantial'. Out of curiosity, she had tried applying it to her hydrokinesis as well, but unfortunately, it wasn't as effective in that context. So, she'd reverted to simply increasing the pressure and density of her water to achieve a similar effect.

That said, Arlene had provided some helpful insights in that area, despite it falling outside her expertise. This made Scarlett feel like she was making progress on that front as well.

After maintaining her magic under Arlene's watchful eye for a while longer, Scarlett finally released it, taking a breath and wiping the sweat from her brow.

The older woman studied her. "Without that bardic friend of yours here to revitalize you, it might be wise that we stop here for now."

Scarlett glanced to the side.

[Mana: 1673/11892]

She had used the [Tablet of Sovegrephor (Legendary)] to upgrade her necklace this morning.

[Depraved Solitude's Choker (Unique — Legendary)]

{This necklace hungers for power and appears to draw in the mana around it, waiting to be unleashed. Enhanced by powers of old, it now craves even the smallest of trickles. 1132/9750}

The increase in mana was welcome, yet it also felt sort of unfamiliar — like having suddenly grown longer legs but lacking the muscles and stamina to properly use them. This meant she felt even more drained when she did deplete her mana, a state she was running dangerously close to at the moment.

It was easy to be fooled by how much mana was still left, but most of what remained wasn't her own. Instead, it belonged to the artifact. And since she'd already had it recharged once by Arlene after they'd arrived at this clearing, pushing beyond this point would likely leave her collapsed in the dirt within minutes.

Usually, that was when Scarlett relied on Rosa to lend her the energy to move around with her magic, but since they had also spent most of the morning experimenting with Rosa's new charm, the bard was back in the village, resting. Right now, Rosa was probably about as tired as Scarlett would be if she continued any further.

But this was something she had taken into account. There was a reason Scarlett had suggested to Arlene that they conduct their training in the forest for the afternoon.

"I will manage for the time being," she said. "I have made preparations for this situation."

She removed the [Depraved Solitude's Choker] and reached into the [Pouch of Holding] at her waist, producing a crystal ball containing a swirling rainbow of colors beneath an orange nebula of tiny stars.

[Ittar's Genesis].

Within, she could sense the energy that seemed ready to burst forth.

[Mana: 20541/22289]

Arlene glanced at the artifact momentarily, then at Scarlett. "That does not seem like something you should have in your possession."

"I imagine there are many that would share your sentiment. Nevertheless, it is mine for now." Scarlett tested the weight of the sacred relic, lifting and lowering it. "With this, I believe I can continue for some time."

Arlene appeared to consider her for a prolonged moment, then simply shrugged and returned her attention to the center of the clearing. "I won't stand in your way. A word of warning, though. You should be careful where and whom you show that to."

"I am well aware."

Summoning another set of elemental shapes, Scarlett resumed her previous exercises under the woman's guidance. It was far easier to focus on her magic when she could rely solely on the mana contained within [Ittar's Genesis] instead of tiring herself out by draining what little remained of her own reserves.

Eventually, after twenty or so minutes of training, Scarlett dismissed her magic once again to catch her breath. As she reached for a flask of water to drink, Arlene spoke from beside her.

"You're a quick learner."

Scarlett paused, slowly turning to look at the woman, who stood with both hands on her waist. Compliments from Arlene, especially concerning her magical proficiency, were rare.

"Don't give me that look." The woman walked over and sat on a nearby tree stump, disregarding the moss and dirt on it. "It's the truth. You are absorbing my teachings with surprising speed. Like a sponge."

Scarlett simply stared at her, not entirely sure how to respond. On one hand, it felt natural for her efforts to be praised, but at the same time, hearing it from Arlene like this felt strange.

"…I am merely following your directions," she eventually replied.

"And you're doing so with impressive competence. It's clear you have a natural talent for pyrokinesis, and to a lesser extent, hydrokinesis. But what you're demonstrating goes beyond that. I doubt most others would have made similar progress in your position."

That…

Scarlett wasn't sure how true that was. She felt like the woman had to be exaggerating. Most of the time, all she had to do was shape her magic according to Arlene's instructions and remember the associated feeling from her mana. It was like learning a new sport, with an experienced coach showing the proper technique and form, allowing Scarlett to improve without actively thinking about the how. It was far from a science on her end. If the game had had the archetype, she might have compared it with being a sorcerer in contrast to Arlene's wizard, but even that analogy could be giving her more credit than she deserved.

"I can tell you don't believe me," Arlene said. "Let me ask you a question. Do you know why most mages never progress beyond the basics of pyrokinesis in favor of spells, and why they almost never even touch true pyrokinesis?"

"I believe we have already had a conversation similar to this." Scarlett observed the woman for a moment. "…But if I were to humor you, I am aware that true pyrokinesis is supposed to be a challenging skill to learn. Mages who do so often focus on it only as far as it is necessary, as some of its principles aid in the development and casting of higher-tier spells. Additionally, as you yourself have pointed out, relying on pyrokinesis is less efficient than using spells."

"That last one is the biggest factor, but the difficulty cannot be overstated. Given that, why do you think that you find it comparatively easy?"

Scarlett pressed her lips together. The answer to that clearly lay in her access to the system, but that wasn't really something she wanted to bring up with this version of Arlene. The notion made her uneasy.

"Beyond having a natural aptitude, I cannot provide an explanation," she replied.

"You do, yes. That, and you possess a strong sense of will and of how the world should be," the woman said.

"…Truly?"

Arlene nodded. "Yes. Even if an ordinary mage manages the basics of pyrokinesis, it's exceedingly rare for them to master its 'purer' variant. That is, in part, because true pyrokinesis requires a deeper connection with the essence of the element itself, rather than the mere manipulation of fire. As with all the primal forces in this world, tapping into them demands a resolute will and a distinct perception of the world, accurate or not. Skill is a significant factor as well, but that is what you are currently honing. What matters most is that you already know what you want and have a clear vision of how you perceive the world." The woman pointed at her. "This is the paradigm that shapes your interaction with the primal forces, and it's what grants you the impressive control you have been displaying since we first met. How you wield that control may be far less impressive, but that is what we're here to refine."

Scarlett frowned. Her 'will' could be considered strong, in a sense, but wasn't that simply a result of the original's personality and traits merging with hers? It was yet another effect of the system. Furthermore, she wasn't even sure how she 'viewed' the world, so she had no idea how that would relate to her magic.

"Don't overthink it too much," Arlene said, letting out a short sigh. "People tend to do that when I try to explain certain concepts to them. I was never as good at this as my old master. Simply know that establishing such a strong connection with an element as you have usually necessitates extensive training and preparation, both of the mind and the body. Your will can be seen as the anchor that binds you to the element, while your perception of the world is the rudder. It doesn't necessarily have to be 'correctly shaped', but if you have a strong image of the world that you desire, it helps in making your magic shape it accordingly."

"…I was not aware that played a factor." Scarlett could remember Arlene telling her something about the importance of one's will before, but the woman had never gone into much depth.

"It's not a topic that most people comprehend well." Arlene eyed her for a moment, then looked to the side. "Regardless, you are making good progress. Even while limited to pyrokinesis and hydrokinesis, I think you'll be able to go far with what you have at your disposal."

"Is that so?" Scarlett glanced down at her hands and the crystal ball she was holding. "If I may ask." She returned her gaze to the older woman. "Do you have any examples of what I might be capable of if I continue training with you?"

Arlene's focus returned to Scarlett. She motioned through the air with her hand. Fire materialized at the clearing's center, crafting a miniature landscape of fiery hills, intricately detailed 'grass' swaying in an imagined breeze, and a cluster of tiny buildings near the scene's edge. Scarlett could not help but marvel at the precision with which Arlene used her pyrokinesis.

"If we're simply talking control, then I would expect you to reproduce something like this one day," the woman said. "Once you attain that level, I imagine you'll be able to figure out plenty of interesting ideas on your own. Unlike you, however, I don't have any experience with hydrokinesis, so I don't know what you might be capable of there. That being said…"

Above the model landscape, more fire manifested, coalescing into an intense blazing star that twisted upon itself in complex patterns and runes, turning a deep orange that almost seemed to exude a heat on its own. Scarlett froze for a brief moment as she recognized the display.

In the next instance, fiery tendrils coiled out from the star, enshrouding the sky over the landscape and obliterating the entire scene within seconds. Then, as swiftly as it had emerged, the spectacle faded.

"You will never be able to achieve something like this," Arlene's voice reverberated beside her.

Scarlett fixated on the empty space for a moment longer. Even though it was an illusion—an artistic creation rendered through pyrokinesis—but she knew exactly what that had portrayed.

She turned her gaze to Arlene. "That was a primordial spell."

The woman arched an eyebrow. "You're right."

Maybe it shouldn't come as a surprise, considering Arlene's mastery of pyromancy, but Scarlett hadn't been aware that the woman knew that particular spell.

Arlene met her gaze. "As you mentioned earlier, pyrokinesis lacks the efficiency of spellcasting. Barring that peculiar charm your friend has, pyrokinesis requires you to direct and maintain all the mana yourself, whereas spells function autonomously following their casting. This means that spells hold an inherent advantage over pyrokinesis in terms of scale. A construct as complex as a primordial spell simply isn't possible outside of that framework. If you want to achieve a similar effect through pyrokinesis, you would need truly absurd amounts of mana and control."

"…Then where do you think my limit will be?"

"Your limit?" Arlene shifted a strand of black-and-white hair from her eyes and leaned forward, resting her elbow on her leg. "I think you're underestimating my teachings. I am saying that aspiring to reach that level through pyrokinesis alone is irrational, yes, but I am not saying that should stop you." The woman locked eyes with Scarlett. "Don't you remember what I said earlier about a strong will and perception of the world? Thoughts related to limitations shouldn't even be on your mind."

Scarlett regarded her, lingering in silence for several seconds as she absorbed those words.

This was another side of Arlene that she hadn't seen before. The woman often seemed intent on ensuring Scarlett didn't harbor any incorrect or overly ambitious assumptions about magic. Yet this marked the first instance where Arlene displayed such ambition herself. It felt as though Scarlett was seeing a lot of new facets of Arlene's character now that the woman was finally teaching her.

"I think this is the first time I have seen you smile since you arrived," Arlene said.

Scarlett blinked, realizing her lips had actually curved upwards slightly.

The woman rose from the stump she had been sitting on and walked past Scarlett. "I assume you still have more mana stored in that relic of yours? Then let's get back to it. I still have a couple more lessons I want to squeeze into that head of yours before evening falls."

Scarlett brought her mind back from the musings that had begun to drift through it, recentering herself and turning to follow Arlene. She could think about other matters later. Right now, there was more training to be done.

Chapter 166 - Overlooked truths

"So, what does a girl actually do for fun around here?" Rosa's melodious voice rang out as Scarlett, Arlene, and the bard sat on the porch overlooking Freymeadow's village square. Rosa was seated between Scarlett and Arlene, leaning back in her chair with both feet resting on the tree stump Scarlett had used during her practice sessions. It was now a mess of charred and fresh bark, forming seemingly random patterns across its surface.

"From what I have observed during your time here, I think you are better equipped to answer that question than I am," Arlene replied in a casual tone. The woman had her usual cover-less book resting on her lap, although it was closed at the moment. Her gaze wandered over the dirt square, where the village children were playing near the wooden platform in the center.

It was the third day of this particular loop, and both Scarlett and Rosa had spent much of the morning working themselves tired. Now, they had been resting in the shade for the past half-hour.

Usually, Rosa would occupy herself with her own little adventures during these periods in Freymeadow, but she had been joining Scarlett and Arlene more frequently in this loop. Part of the reason was her involvement in some of the training, but it seemed that Arlene had also taken a greater interest in the woman after witnessing her bardic charms.

"Sure, but sometimes it's good to get the perspective of the locals," Rosa said. "That's how you discover the really interesting things."

Scarlett shifted her head to the right, glancing at the woman. Rosa likely knew more about this place than Arlene did by now, but that didn't stop her from engaging in this type of conversation, it seemed.

Arlene kept her eyes on the children. "I'm not a resident of this village."

"Really?" Both of Rosa's eyebrows rose, although she was probably already aware of that much. "Where are you from, then? Freybrook?"

"No, I come from a minor barony to the west. I'm staying here simply because it's remote."

The bard nodded along to those words. "I can understand that. Ain't the easiest place on a map to find. I've been to hidden caves and ancient ruins that were less secreted away than this tiny little village." Some of the kids looked over at them, and Rosa waved cheerfully in response. "Never thought I'd utter that sentence in my lifetime, I'll tell you that."

"With your imagination, I find that difficult to believe," Scarlett said.

"Right? I'm almost offended at myself for not being prepared that, at one point in my life, a strange noblewoman would come swooshing in and whisk me away into a world of adventurous exploration and tomb-raiding. I was too naive."

"That is not quite what I meant."

Rosa grinned. "If you say so."

"So you were the one who recruited Miss Hale here?" Arlene asked, turning to Scarlett.

"I was, yes."

"She walked up to me in an old tavern where I was performing and threw five hundred solars at my face, demanding that I work for her," Rosa added. "Claimed I possessed amazing 'qualities' to offer her."

Arlene looked between them for a moment, an unreadable expression on her face.

"I did not 'throw' five hundred solars at you. I offered them to you as compensation for your services," Scarlett quickly clarified. "And not at any point did I use the word 'amazing'. Any qualities I might have mentioned were in reference to your bardic magic."

"You say that, but I bet I could find a few witnesses corroborating that something was definitely thrown around back then." Rosa smirked. "Ah, but maybe those were just the effusive compliments and praises about my utterly breathtaking 'qualities'."

Scarlett shook her head. There was no winning when trying to argue with the woman.

"Bardic charms have always been a rare and abstract form of magic," Arlene said. "While it often appears to have ties to the essence of idols and the Wandering Realm, to my knowledge, no one fully understands its underlying mechanisms or limits. It's understandable that you would be curious to have someone capable of it in your service, Scarlett."

Scarlett crossed her arms. "Yes. If only she had a more agreeable personality."

Rosa cleared her throat pointedly. "She is sitting right here."

Scarlett turned her eyes to the woman and observed her for a moment. "I can see that, yes."

Rosa's mouth curved down in what might have been supposed to be a pout, but it wasn't particularly convincing. "Sometimes I feel like you don't fully appreciate how lucky you are to have such an exceptional lady within arm's reach of you all the time."

"What a shame," Scarlett replied in a deadpan voice.

The bard pressed the back of her hand to her forehead as she turned away melodramatically. "Ah, the suffering one endures for five hundred solars."

"I am currently paying you more than that."

A while back, Scarlett had increased Fynn and Rosa's wages, since the barony was reaping significant profits from the items they auctioned. In fact, she had requested Evelyne to increase the pay for all their staff since she felt that it had been too low compared to the funds they were sitting on as an employer.

Although she knew that an ordinary citizen could survive on less than a hundred solars per month—and many probably did—it didn't sound like much. Besides, Shin and Allyssa were Shielders, and it cost her well over a thousand solars to employ them continuously like this. The Shields Guild typically only handled specific assignments. Therefore, she thought it was only fair to balance the rewards a bit, considering she could. Of course, Fynn and Rosa also had the added benefit of getting free artifacts, as she intended to let them keep whatever she gave them. In contrast, she was technically only lending equipment to Allyssa and Shin.

"Semantics," Rosa said with a wave of her hand. The woman's gaze then turned forward, and a warm smile spread across her face.

Scarlett followed the bard's gaze and noticed that one of the kids was now approaching. It was a little girl with blonde hair and a face full of freckles. Scarlett recognized her from their previous visits to the village. Rosa had often played with her, and the girl had once offered Scarlett a handmade wreath at the bard's encouragement.

Scarlett kept her eyes on the girl as she drew nearer. After a moment, she turned to Rosa. "What was her name?"

"Hertha," the woman replied. "She's a shy one."

The girl stopped in front of the porch, looking up at them with a timid expression. She didn't say anything for a while, merely gawking at Scarlett and Rosa.

Finally, Rosa withdrew her feet from the tree stump and leaned forward, patting the wood. "Wanna join us? You don't need to worry. I'm about ninety percent sure that the scary lady here doesn't bite."

After a few more seconds of hesitation, Hertha cautiously stepped onto the porch and moved over to the tree stump. She stared at Scarlett as she settled down, positioning herself in front of the trio.

Scarlett studied the girl in return, wondering what was going through her mind.

"I think she's intrigued by all that magic you've been throwing around lately," Rosa said.

Scarlett glanced at her. "Is that so?" She looked back at Hertha. "…Would you like me to demonstrate some of it to you?"

The girl's eyes went wide, and she vigorously shook her head.

Scarlett raised an eyebrow. "…Very well."

How was she even supposed to interpret that, then?

She shifted her gaze over to Arlene, but the older woman was only observing them silently, showing no signs of joining the conversation.

"You can show her later," Rosa said, her smile still directed at Hertha. "Right now, the lady is resting, and we wouldn't want to bother her, would we?"

The girl blushed slightly, her face tilting downward towards the floorboards. "…Yes," she whispered in a small voice.

Scarlett kept her eyes on Rosa.

Even though she had witnessed similar scenes several times over by now, she still found it impressive how skilled the woman was at handling these things. She wondered what it would have been like if she herself had been that experienced in dealing with children when she had to take care of her younger sister back in her world.

Well, not that it mattered much now.

She returned her attention to Hertha. "Then I will show it to you when I have rested."

The excitement at hearing that was evident on the girl's face.

"Don't forget about me," Rosa chimed in. "I'll make sure her display doesn't end up something boring like lighting an old candle or what-have-you. My secret musical recipe is exactly what's needed to add some real spice to things!"

"I believe you might be embellishing somewhat," Scarlett said.

"Embellishing?" The bard huffed. "I don't even know the meaning of the word. I've never told a lie in my life. They used to call me Madame Franklyn Fibless De Truthworthy."

Hertha giggled at that, and Rosa's smile broadened. She leaned closer to the girl conspiratorially, continuing in a whisper. "Of course, don't tell anyone about that. I wouldn't want the secret to get out."

The girl nodded, as if agreeing, and Rosa held out a pinky finger. As the two of them pinky-promised on it, the bard continued confiding something to the girl. Meanwhile, Scarlett turned her attention to Arlene.

"There is something I have been meaning to ask you," she began.

Arlene looked at her. "And what would that be?"

"Although you have been teaching me these past days, a fact that I am truly grateful for, there is another topic that I am curious about and which I wished to make a request of sorts of you."

"And it's not related to your magic?"

"Not directly, no."

"Then what is it?"

Scarlett considered the woman for a few seconds before answering. She had been wondering what the best way to approach this would be now that she had come this far. "I can imagine that by secluding yourself in this village, you have not had many opportunities to travel around the empire and attend any personal matters that you might have left unresolved. Am I correct in assuming so?"

Arlene brushed aside a lock of dark hair. "You're not wrong, no. There are many things I've left unfinished."

"If that is the case, I have a proposition. Since you have done much to support me, it is only right that I do something to help you in return. If you so wish, the next time I leave, I could endeavour to assist you in resolving one of these matters on your behalf. What do you say?"

The woman eyed her quietly for a moment. "Are you perhaps thinking that I'm holding back with my teachings and that I will teach you more if you do this for me?"

"No, that is not at all what I am thinking."

"Then what are you thinking?"

"I merely wanted to properly express my gratitude."

Arlene shook her head. "I don't need it. I am training you out of my own volition. If I wanted something more, I would have asked for it before I started teaching you."

"Yes, however…" Scarlett trailed off, trying to think of something that might convince the woman.

At that point, Rosa leaned back from her whispering with Hertha and turned her attention towards the two of them. Her gaze eventually settled on Scarlett. "Why don't you just say it as it is? Knowing you, I'd be surprised if you didn't have two dozen secret reasons why you want to do this, and I'm sure ol' teach here can see through about a dozen and a half of them. It'd be easier to get straight to the point."

Scarlett looked at the bard, surprised by her bluntness.

But… Well, she wasn't wrong.

Scarlett turned back to Arlene, who wore an expectant expression.

"…You are, of course, right. I apologize for my discourtesy." In truth, she just wanted one of Arlene's quests from the game so that she could complete it, earn skill points, and obtain the associated reward. It wasn't something she had to do, but it would be a nice way to make progress while she was outside of Freymeadow.

Arlene gestured lightly with her hand and a slight smile on her lips. "I don't mind."

"In that case, I will be frank," Scarlett said. "I was hoping to assist you with some task in exchange for something of yours. Something beyond the teachings you are currently providing. You are an accomplished mage, so I imagine that you have valuable artifacts that could benefit a novice magic user like myself."

That was about as close to the truth as she could get under these circumstances.

Arlene's smile faded, but she didn't look angry. She did, however, study Scarlett intently for several seconds, causing a hint of worry to creep in. Finally, the woman spoke. "Alright then. There is something that you might be able to help me with."

"Truly?"

"Yes. I once had an acquaintance near Roselake, if you know the area. I don't know what happened to them, however. If you could inquire into that for me, I might be grateful."

Scarlett's excitement waned. She had somewhat been expecting this, but…

"I realize that it may be impolite of me after being the one who made the request, but is there perhaps another task you could offer me?" she asked. "…Perhaps something that is closer to Bridgespell?"

She didn't have time to go to Roselake at the moment—she was pretty sure there didn't even exist a town by that name anymore—but she did have a scheduled trip to Bridgespell. If possible, she wanted to kill two birds with one stone.

Arlene fell silent as she studied Scarlett, a curious glint in her eyes. "Bridgespell, you say?"

"Yes."

"Hmm…" The woman touched her chin thoughtfully. "I suppose there is something you could do for me there as well. I lost a gift from someone dear to me there, once. If you could find it for me, I would be willing to offer you something extra in return."

Scarlett felt a slight sense of relief. That's exactly what she'd hoped for. "Tell me more about how it went missing, and I will do my best to recover it."

"Unfortunately, there isn't much to tell," Arlene said. "It's a simple dagger, with no distinguishing characteristics. I lost it in a regrettable argument with the very person who gave it to me. I've no clue where it might be now. He was always the sentimental sort, even as a priest, so I imagine he kept it."

"This friend was a part of the clergy of the Followers of Ittar?" Scarlett asked.

"Ittar is a false god," a soft voice suddenly interrupted, coming from in front of Scarlett.

She turned to Hertha, seeing the girl now staring at her with an intense gaze.

"Ittar is nothing but a pretender and a tyrant of illusions and manipulation. His followers are blind to the truth, serving a false deity through ignorance and misguided devotion. The gods keep us in the dark, hiding the path to the truth. You have to renounce his lies, or you will be deceived along with the rest of the empire."

Both Scarlett and the others watched in silence as the girl spoke, decrying Ittar and the rest of the gods.

Arlene maintained a completely expressionless face, while Rosa winced slightly at Hertha's fervor. When the girl finally finished, several seconds passed without anyone speaking. Hertha just continued staring at Scarlett.

"Why don't you rejoin your friends for now?" Arlene eventually suggested in a calm voice.

The girl turned to look at the woman, watching her for a long, drawn-out moment before standing up. She stepped down from the porch and started walking back towards where the rest of the children were gathered without a word.

Scarlett watched her retreating figure for a little while longer.

She should have anticipated something like that to happen when Ittar was mentioned. She should have been more careful in bringing up a topic like that here, but she let her guard down because it was only a child.

Her gaze turned to the other two. Arlene's face revealed no thoughts, while Rosa looked back at her with a somewhat awkward smile. Scarlett met the bard's eyes.

Rosa didn't seem surprised, but perhaps that was to be expected. Rosa was the one who interacted the most with the kids in this village throughout the loops. It only made sense that the woman would be the first to notice any peculiarities with them.

It was also very like Rosa not to bring it up or make a big deal about it. She likely suspected that Scarlett already knew.

"To answer your question," Arlene spoke up, breaking the silence that had settled over them. "My friend was indeed one of the Followers. A deacon named Donovan. That is all the help I can provide."

"Well, that's certainly not much to go on if we're supposed to find one unspecified dagger." Rosa let out a light laugh, though it didn't help to lighten the atmosphere much.

"…It will be sufficient." Scarlett observed as Hertha joined the other children in their games seemingly without issue, receiving some awed reactions from the kids as they looked in their direction.

Rosa glanced at Scarlett, then shrugged. "Well, if she says so."

None of them said anything else as they sat there for a while, watching the children at play.

Some truths were easier to overlook and pretend like they didn't exist until it was time.