041 - Calm Before The Storm (5)

After carrying Faerie's limp body onto the comfy bed, two maids her age bowed.

"Ugh... Where is this?"

"In your room, Miss!" One of the maids responded, while the other covered Faerie's body with a blanket.

Before leaving the room, they exchanged cordial words. "Miss Torenia! We sincerely hope you get a good night's rest!!"

"Whatever...." Faerie was rolling on the luxurious bed instead of paying attention to all the weird treatment she had had all day as if she were a noble lady rather than a lowly maid.

"Ugh…." Faerie uttered an odd grunt. She felt her stomach was full of dinner, but on the other hand, because of the headache she was having, she wanted to vomit the meals.

"Since when have I had a headache?" Faerie shut her eyes. "Since coming here as a maid?"

Perhaps she felt ill because she kept hearing Leslie's chatter, or perhaps Princess Faerie's immune system was too weak to do rigorous tasks as a maid.

"Huh! It seemed that the sacred petals or whatever it was called didn't seem to have any effect on the Princess's frail body at all."

Faerie closed her eyes remembering how many times Meila had brewed the tea leaves given by the Goddess and drank them consecutively. Faerie had no idea how many tea leaves had entered her stomach.

However, her body not only didn't heal, but it also experienced aches that she should not have had in the first place.

"Worrying about the consequence of drinking the sacred petals is pointless." She grumbled.

Faerie pursed her lips and glanced out the window of the guest room she was now in.

"It's late... Should I stay here and sleep or should I return to the mansion?" Faerie mumbled to herself. She had no idea that her drowsiness had begun to take over her consciousness.

"Uhmm… It must be safe because I already gave Meila orders, right?"

After pondering that, Faerie's mind began to lighten and she eventually fell into a deep sleep.

In the morning...

Faerie awoke a few hours ago and is now dressed neatly and beautifully, much like a noble lady in general. Faerie had no time to object and was eventually forced to let the maids dress her like a doll.

After all of that, the maids brought Faerie to sit comfortably in the living room, which should only be used by family members. Without saying anything, the maids left her alone.

Of course, the maids had satisfied smiles on their faces after seeing how beautiful Faerie they had dressed up to the best of their abilities.

"How did this happen to me?" Faerie looked about frantically.

This family room appeared to be less vast and fancy than the other rooms, which were filled with fine furniture, antique and rare decorations, and other items that belonged to a wealthy and powerful noble family.

There are only two sofas, a tiny table, a big fireplace, and a bookshelf in the room.

'Perhaps that's why it feels warm.' Faerie closed her eyes before rising from her seat.

Knock. Knock.

Someone knocked on the door, causing Faerie, who was ready to go, to stop.

"...Come in."

A maid emerged after Faerie permitted whoever knocked on the door to enter.

"Please drink the tea and have a snack while you wait for young miss Leslie to show up, Miss Torenia."

That's Nelly.

Nelly, who used to stare at her with scorn and an arrogant inclination of her head, now bowed her head and treated her like a noble lady.

Seeing that made the teenage half of her body want to respond to the insults she had directed at Princess Faerie.

"Thank you." Faerie gave a lovely smile.

That made Nelly gasp. "No need! Then excuse me—"

"Isn't this a great situation?"

"Yes?" Nelly, who had intended to flee the room to disguise her irritation, came to a halt and turned around with a false smile on her face.

"I mean I didn't usurp the place you so desperately wanted, right?"

'Damn it! Just watch out! If I catch you doing anything strange, I'll immediately report you and get you back to work as a filthy maid!' Nelly glared at Faerie, who was extremely beautiful and has a graceful gait that made her appear to have been born into a noblewoman.

"Nelly?"

"Y-Yes! Thank you for your concern for me. Haha..!" Nelly couldn't help but laugh stiffly at Faerie's comments and hurried away without saying goodbye.

"Well, this is a lot of fun."

Faerie took a peek at the quiet surroundings. It was as if she was the only one in the Berdandy residence.

"I see why the maids are dressing me up at such an early hour." Faerie mumbled under her breath before adding, "The successor of the Marquess Berdandy will be here soon."

Faerie recalls hearing a lot of hooves as she awoke.

"La-la-la!~" Faerie was prancing around with excitement rather than fear, even though her dress was flowering and making it impossible for her to move freely.

"It's the time! My guarantee! Please wait for me! I'll go and get you!" Faerie took off like a lunatic. She was now going for the building that located the Berdandy knight squad training.

***

"How?" The small, deep voice managed to fill the room of only two persons.

For the umpteenth time, the blonde-haired girl gulped. Cold sweat began to pour down her lovely cheeks. Her lips quivered, as if she wanted to scream at the seriousness of the situation.

"My apologies, Your Highness," she wiped her sweat before continuing, "I'm embarrassed to say this, but if you rely on my poor expertise, I can't check anything."

"...You can't check it, Priestess Valeria?" The deep voice sounded disappointed.

The owner of the voice had high expectations for Valeria, the blonde Priestess. He hadn't expected the girl to fail to check something he had ordered.

Valeria, the blonde-haired girl, couldn't help but bite her lower lip when she overheard that blatant tone of displeasure. But she couldn't help it; she was unable to find out more about what the red-blonde-haired man with the deep voice wanted to look at.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't perceive the hidden worth in the object she was holding. Her divine eyes, which should be able to perceive everything as long as the Goddess allowed it, suddenly showed no reaction.

Just like a sacred artifact that mysteriously appeared 16 years ago.

"Aside from the fact that this object contains enormous amounts of divine power. The Pope or a Saint might be the only ones who can recognize what this is."

Valeria stroked a brooch in the shape of a tree, each branch adorned with stunning green crystals, precisely like the famous symbol of the Goddess Gaia.

Her fingertips trembled as if she was worried that even a light touch might damage it, or perhaps she was afraid that her hands would stain the object that gave out a strong sacred aura.

"May I inquire where you got this thing?"

The red-blonde man frowned disapprovingly when Valeria appeared to breach the border, but he proceeded indifferently. "I picked it up."

"P-Pick up?" Valeria was astonished.

'This extremely valuable item was just picked up anywhere?'

"Yes, it was dropped by a girl and I picked it up. If this item is precious, the girl will be here sooner or later because I left a note with someone."

The man took a brief pause before continuing. "The girl had stated that the brooch was a legacy from her parents."

Valeria let out a quiet exclamation as if she had grasped what was going on based just on that brief explanation.

"Have you already noticed?"

Valeria nodded. "This brooch seems to be a valuable artifact, Your Highness. This brooch could be hundreds of years old."

"What makes you think that?"

"Because a divine power as great and pure as that can only be held by a Saintess herself, and as we know, the Saintess haven't appeared after 500 years."

"...And this object carries that much pure divine power."

"..."

The atmosphere became quiet.

Valeria opened her mouth and carefully handed the brooch to the red-blonde-haired man. "You already know that's why you took it up, right, Your Highness?"

Instead of responding, the man took the brooch in his right hand and exited the room.

"Do you just want me to come to check on the brooch?" Valeria inquired again, trailing behind him like a chick trailing a hen.

"Right."

"Then I'll go back to the Theocratic Kingdom and look in the library for records of whether Saintess ever blessed anything 500 years ago," Valeria stated, stretching out her hands and asking the man to hand over the brooch to her.

The red-blonde man came to a halt after closing the room's door and looking at the Priestess. "Why?"

"The brooch. Please lend it to me. Only two, no, one day!"

He gazed at the tree-shaped brooch before responding, "Don't be concerned. I no longer have any curiosity."

"...After all, someone will come and take it back shortly because it is so important."

Valeria pursed her red lips slightly, regretting not being able to study an item that could be of the same class as another sacred artifact. But she couldn't compel it unless she first obtained permission from the original owner.

While the man sighed, he thought his actions had been a waste of time. He pocketed the brooch back with sorrow.

The brooch, however, slipped and fell off his right hand.

"Ah."

He trusted his reflexes, so he didn't panic and was able to grasp the brooch before it dropped to the cold, dirty floor.

Unfortunately, his attention was diverted and he forgot to catch the falling brooch when he heard a girl scream.

"No way! My guarantee! Noooooo!"