HOMECOMING

ARGENT slightly opened her eyes when she heard the excited voice of Black. They were currently travelling inside one of the Blackbourne's carriage. She called their butler - Gregory - earlier to send the carriage to the dock. So it would give the illusion that they just arrived here in Albion. There were many eyes watching. Questions would just arise if they suddenly appeared here out of nowhere. So to avoid unnecessary queries, they produced an act that they just arrived here today by ship. It would be less troublesome that way.

They just finished their travelling. They went to every scenic spots they could go to in the short span of three weeks. Argent remembered just how much pictures Aurum had taken during their travel. Just thinking about it could easily give her a headache. But she was glad her sister had fun. That was more important.

Argent looked outside the window of the carriage. They were already at the premises of the Blackbourne estate. It seemed that nothing much had changed.

"Master! Master! I can see your palace!" Black said excitedly pointing outside the window.

"Sit properly Black before you accidentaly fall off the carriage," she reminded Black. "And again, it's not a palace, it's a manor."

Black sat back down. "But it's so big, how could it not be a palace?"

"Because a real palace is much bigger."

"Then Master, will you take Black to a real palace?"

Before Argent could answer, Aurum interrupted them. "Oh stop with your childish question, kid." She turned to her brother. "Brother, that Pope's speech is still in the trending list of [Jiffy]!" Aurum said, showing her the trending list of [Jiffy] in her sPhone. "Argh! I wish I could just tell everyone that he's nothing but a shady, shameless guy who go around disguising himself as some clumsy, silly man."

"Then, I'm glad you're restraining yourself," Argent said. When she recognized Lucern Faust as Luc, of course, she told that to her sister. And since then, Aurum already put a 'bad guy' label on the Pope.

"Why do you think he did what he did? You know, disguising himself and telling you things about the Bishop? It doesn't make sense at all. Unless he knew exactly what you're planning to do. Which was impossible. You said that he might have a telepathic Gift like me and he wanted to use us to get rid of the Bishop. But we know now that the Pope has a light Gift. So just how?"

"Honestly, I have no idea."

That was a first for Argent. The only working theory she has was that the Pope, in some way or another, knew exactly who she was despite the holograpic mask she was wearing that time. Aside from that, he also had to know what she was doing there. Which, as Aurum said, was impossible. Because how could he possibly know?

Argent already asked White to collect all the available information she could find on Lucern Faust. All she got was surface data. Like how he has an SS level light Gift, that he came from a middle-class family, that he became a Pope at the young age of 16, that he does charity every now and then, and that he's known for being kind and generous. But knowing those things could not really answer her questions.

"Do you think he's somehow against us?" Aurum asked somewhat worriedly. She watched that video. If her brother didn't tell her that the Pope and that Luc person were the same guy, she might have believed the things he said on the video. He's a good actor. Way too good, in fact. Which only showed that he has a very deep mind. Which also meant that he would not be an easy enemy to have.

"Don't think about it anymore. The Temple and our company are already at odds anyway. If he does end up as an enemy, then we'll face him head on." Argent gripped her sister's hand. "I won't let him or anyone hurt our family. I promise."

Aurum stared at her brother's beautiful face and she knew she would do exactly as she said. She smiled. "I know. Because Brother is the best."

Black chose that time to throw himself at Argent. "Of course, Master is the best."

Aurum flicked Black's forehead. "Stupid, how many times do I have to tell you not to cling on to my brother?"

Black stuck out his tongue and hugged Argent even tighter.

After a few more minutes, the carriage stopped in front of Hanover manor. The coachman opened the door of the carriage. Black was the first one who got down, followed by Aurum, and then lastly, Argent. Gregory and Nelly - the husband and wife duo, also their butler and head maid - were there waiting for them together with other servants.

"Welcome back, Your Grace, and milady," Gregory greeted them. "I trust you had a safe journey."

"Yes, thank you, Gregory," Argent said.

"Welcome back, Your Grace, milady," Nelly smiled brightly at them. Then she looked at Black. "And welcome to Hanover manor, little master."

Black smiled widely. "You know me?"

"My daughter, Felicia, might have mentioned to me about the little master who's always stuck at our lord's side."

"You're Felicia's mom? Then..." he glanced at Gregory. "This scary looking man is her dad?"

Aurum laughed. "Don't mind this stupid kid Gregory, you're not scary at all."

"I don't mind, milady," Gregory said, no apparent reaction on his face.

"I made all your favorite dishes. I hope you would like it."

"Of course, we would, Nelly. I remember loving your food as a kid. I'm excited to taste your craft again."

"Thank you, milady," Nelly said, smiling proudly.

They all entered the manor. Just as they were entering the dining room, Argent noticed a maid who just put a plate of fruit on the table. She was statuesque and graceful even with the maid uniform. Her side face showed her undeniable beauty. Her long blue-black hair was braided behind her back. Her dark blue eyes were surrounded by thick eyelashes. And then, she turned around and Argent saw the other side of her face.

The left side of her face was riddled with ugly burn scars. It immediately ruined the beauty she should have had. When she saw them came in, her face crossed a horrified look and then she immediately bowed her head.

"Y-Your Grace, m-milady... w-welcome back," she greeted, stuttering. As if afraid they might scold her. "I- I was just t-trying to put the fruit p-plate--"

"It's okay, Merissa. You can go back to the kitchen now," Nelly said, with a kind smile on her face.

The maid - Merissa - bowed again before walking fast back to the kitchen.

"Is she new?" Argent asked, following the maid with her eyes.

"Yes, Your Grace. I met her on Greth when I was visiting a friend a month ago. I found her unconcious in the middle of the road," Nelly explained. "When she woke up, she told me she has nowhere to go. I decided to hire her temporarily as a maid. I'm sorry if I went ahead and did that without Your Grace's permission."

"I don't mind. You and Gregory were in-charge while we were away after all. I trust your judgement," Argent said.

"Thank you, Your Grace," Nelly said, full of gratitude in her voice.

"Why does she look like that?" Black asked innocently.

"Because life happens," Aurum answered.

"I don't understand," Black said, confused.

"Of course you don't. Because you're a kid," Aurum said with a mocking grin.

"Stop bickering, you two. Let's just have our lunch," Argent said, walking towards the long dining table.

While sitting down, Argent couldn't help but think of that maid. She just couldn't get this hunch out that there's something off about her. She shook her head and temporarily get that thought out of her mind.

----------

A huge ship was travelling on the Southern sea. Its sail has the symbol of the mighty Xing Empire. There were soldiers with armors standing on the ship's deck. Inside one of the most luxurious cabin in the ship, two men were having tea.

One has delicate features that could either be said to be female or male. His long black hair was tied atop his head with a jade crown. He was wearing an elegant red robe. He has that certain kind of lazy beauty. The other man has that classic handsome face. He was wearing a simple black robe. His long black hair was simply tied behind his back.

The man with delicate features was the fourth prince of Xing - Li Jun. And the other was the young general, Zhang Lei Feng.

"I still can't believe that the brave general would rather be my bodyguard than be married to my sister," the prince said, drinking his tea. "Frankly, I can't blame you. If I'm in your position, I'd ran away from my sister too. Li Min might be beautiful, but she sure has a rotten heart."

"I'm going with you for my own reasons not because I ran away from your sister."

"Yes, tell yourself that," Li Jun said with a teasing grin. "Though I'm not really complaining. I'm happy to have a qualified person with me during this trip. It's quite reassuring. You'd save me if someone tried to assassinate me, right?"

"Yes, Your Highness. That's part of my job. If there's nothing else, then I'll leave you to your privacy." Lei Feng stood up, bowed, and went out of the cabin.

He walked towards the deck and took out his sPhone. He opened it and stared at the wallpaper. It was a screenshot of Argent Blackbourne during that one interview. [Just one month more and I could finally see you. Just a little bit more.]