Chapter 5
Beatrix narrowed her eyes at Ziel. She had come several times to the Castilene residence but had never seen the boy. Beatrix briefly felt a strange feeling in the boy she saw.
"He's Clara's new butler. His name is Ken Nijisaki. He just started work today. Is there a problem?" Duke Hazell was confused because Beatrix suddenly asked about Ziel.
"Hee... Butler, huh?" Beatrix just smiled a little in response.
(Was it just my feelings before? But I sure feel that aura from this boy)
Beatrix muttered in her heart. The scary feeling she only felt for a moment, so she couldn't be sure who the aura was coming from. She pondered and thought of the answer to what she had felt earlier.
"Okay, how about we start the practice today Aunt Beatrix?" Clara's words brought Beatrix back to her senses.
"Ahh, yes. Let's start right now. Is there a good place to do magic practice?" Beatrix shook her head to shake off what she was thinking. Perhaps the dread earlier was simply because his senses were too sensitive. Maybe the last thing was just a feeling. How could a young servant possess the power that could make a Magic King shudder with fear?
"How about in the backyard? It's spacious and cool. Perfect for practicing magic." Eleanor gave Beatrix a suggestion.
"Okay." Beatrix nodded in agreement at Eleanor's words.
They entered the mansion and headed to the back garden. Beatrix occasionally glanced back at Ziel. Unexpectedly their eyes met, and Ziel nodded his head slightly at her.
***
The backyard of Duke Castilene's mansion was not inferior to the front garden. That area also has many flowers and trees planted, making the atmosphere cool. There is also a gazebo in the backyard to relax over tea and enjoy the surrounding scenery. In addition, there is also a place to practice swordsmanship or magic. Beatrix was teaching Clara about magic there. Only the two of them were in that place at the moment as Duke Hazell, and his wife still had other work to do.
"Please enjoy the tea, my lady, miss Beatrix." Ziel served tea to both of them.
"Thanks, Ken." Clara quickly tasted the tea. This was the first time he had enjoyed Ziel's brewed tea.
"Wow! The taste of this tea is delicious, and it smells very good. This is the first time I've tasted tea like this! Did you make it yourself, Ken?" Clara widened her eyes after tasting the tea. Then she took another sip of her tea and waited for Ziel's answer.
"Yes, I made it myself." Ziel nodded slightly.
"Is it that good?" Beatrix sipped her tea, and her reaction was the same as Clara's. At first, she thought that Clara's reaction was a bit too much. But it turned out to be a really good tea.
"Amazing! How do you brew tea to be this good?" Beatrix asked Ziel curiously because she is also a tea connoisseur, so she wanted to know the secret.
"I made it the usual way my parents taught me." Ziel couldn't answer honestly because the tea he was brewing used mana.
"Next time, you have to show it to me." Beatrix felt the need to learn how to make tea from Ziel.
"Fine, if I have time. If there's nothing else, I'll go first." Ziel was about to leave the place, but Beatrix's words stopped him.
"May I know where you come from? And why did you choose to be a servant?" Beatrix still wants to confirm her feelings beforehand.
"I come from a small village on the outskirts of the forest. I became a servant because it was a skill I learned from my parents. They were former noble servants." Ziel gave the same answer that he gave to Duke Hazell.
"Is that so?" Beatrix still doubted Ziel's words.
"What's wrong, aunt Beatrix?" Clara became curious after hearing their conversation.
"Oh, nothing." Beatrix shook her head and smiled at Clara.
"If there's nothing else, I'll go first." Ziel quickly left the place, but he could feel Beatrix's gaze behind.
***
At midnight at Duke Hazell's mansion, Ziel suddenly opened his eyes while sleeping. He woke up again in the middle of the night for the same reason as before.
"Wasn't it just yesterday that they attacked this mansion? And they attacked again tonight? It seemed they couldn't wait any longer to eliminate Duke Hazell." Ziel had intended to get up and fight them like he did last night, but suddenly he felt a presence moving towards the assassins.
"Then I'll hand them over to Miss Beatrix." Ziel closes his eyes and goes back to sleep.
***
Beatrix awoke from her slumber when she felt an intruder had crossed the barrier she had put up in Duke Hazell's residence. She took a wand with a purple crystal from her space storage and headed over to where the intruders had gathered. There she saw dozens of people wearing black clothes ready to launch their actions.
"Looks like Duke Hazell's current enemy is very dangerous." Beatrix sighed heavily after seeing that the dozens of people in front of her were a Master and three of them were Grandmasters. The people in black quickly noticed Beatrix's appearance.
"Kill the girl and complete our mission as soon as possible! This time our mission must be successful. Don't let our clients be disappointed because we have failed twice!" One of the groups who looked like the leader spoke. He was a Sword Grandmaster.
Six men in black surrounded Beatrix. They are masters consisting of 3 mages and three knights. Meanwhile, the three grandmasters Beatrix had seen earlier only had one person left in front of her at this moment.
"Damn! They sneaked in!" Beatrix tries to return to the mansion, but several men in black stand in her way.
"Where are you going!? I won't let you go back!" The sword grandmaster suddenly came behind Beatrix and slashed his sword.
[Ice Mirror]
A mirror-like shield suddenly appeared in front of the sword before hitting Beatrix's back. The barrier of ice didn't block the attack but reflected it.
"Kugh!" The Sword Grandmaster quickly dodged the slash of his sword that was turning towards him.
[Glacier Breath]
A burst of cold air froze the people in black little by little.
"Mage! Now is the time!" The sword grandmaster shouted. Three mages appear around Beatrix from 3 sides.
[[[Earth Prison]]]
A large triangular stone wall emerged from the ground and trapped Beatrix within. Even though the stone wall was made with only the strength of three masters, it was enough to hold a Magic King for a while.
"They've prepared it. It looks like they've investigated that I'm here. Most importantly, I have to get out of this cage immediately!" Beatrix gritted her teeth and attacked the stone prison with magic.
[Ifrit]
Gruaaaaahhhhhhhh!
A magic circle formed in front of Beatrix, and from it emerged a creature made of fire. That creature over 3 meters tall with a human-like shape was one of Beatrix's strongest fire magic.
"Ifrit! Break that wall!" Beatrix orders her summoned creature, and Ifrit starts punching the walls that imprisoned her.
Boooooooommmmmm!
Boooooooommmmmm!
Boooooooommmmmm!
***
Inside Duke Hazell's mansion, several people in black snuck in. Two of them were grandmasters that Beatrix saw at Duke Hazell's residence gates. One is the Dagger Grandmaster, and the other is the Magic Grandmaster. In addition, they also came with several people at the master level.
"How dare you enter my residence without permission!" Duke Hazell shouted when he saw the intruders already inside his mansion. Behind him was his wife holding a wand with a blue crystal and Raven holding a sword.
Duke Hazell and his wife were awakened by the noise of fighting from the front of their residence. But when they came out, the intruders were already inside the mansion.
"Kill them all quickly! We must complete this mission quickly! I will find his daughter, and you take care of here." Dagger Grandmaster divides his duties with Magic Grandmaster.
"Okay." After the Magic Grandmaster nodded, the Dagger Grandmaster disappeared from his place.
"Don't you dare touch my daughter!" Duke Hazell shouted angrily after hearing what they said. He quickly ran towards his daughter's room, but his footsteps suddenly stopped.
[Binding Chains]
Dozens of magic chains bound the movements of Duke Hazell and the others. The one who cast the spell was the Magic Grandmaster.
"Noisy. Finish them off immediately!" Magic Grandmaster ordered the subordinates who were with him at this time.
"Honey, can you please let go of this chain?" Duke Hazell asked his wife.
"I will try!" After saying that, five magic circles appeared from Eleanor's body. She stomped her wand on the ground, and dozens of small magic circles appeared under her feet.
[Miniature Water Dragon]
A dozen small dragons appeared from the magic circle and began to attack the chains that bound them.
***
Clara suddenly woke up from her deep sleep because she heard the noise around her. Just as he was about to see what was going on, his bedroom door opened, and a man dressed in black came inside. Since the room was quite dark, Clara couldn't see who had just entered.
"Dad? Mom? Is that you?" Clara called her parents, but there was no answer.
"Dad, please don't joke with me!" Clara raised her voice in fear.
"Your father is probably dead out there. So it's time for you to catch up, chick!" Dagger Grandmaster appeared next to Clara and slashed a dagger into her neck.
"Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!" Clara's screams echoed throughout the mansion.