Chapter 16 Part 6
Having invested a long time to achieve his goal and having fled perceptively when his actions were discovered, there was a strong possibility he was waiting for another opportunity.
At my words, Hyle’s expression clouded with doubt.
“For that, he’s lost all his cards, so there’s nothing he can do?”
“There’s one, isn’t there? A card he worked on for a long time but still hasn’t obtained.”
As I asked in a subtle tone, Hyle’s fine brow narrowed fiercely.
His expression, hardened as if the thought wasn’t worth considering, was exceedingly severe.
“Rosiel, you don’t think the Cardinal will come for you, do you?”
“That’s right. If Xenoph’s reason for trying to make me the Holy Maiden was ultimately to become Pope, then he’ll definitely need the divine power I possess. Moreover, if I officially become the Holy Maiden, he could cover up this incident as well.”
Even if he gave up on making me the Holy Maiden at this point, there was a good chance Xenoph would come back to reclaim the divine power he had invested in me.
Given that he was a man who never liked to lose, this wasn’t an impossible conjecture.
“In that sense… Hyle, will you help me?”
“Why do I feel like you’re deliberately jumping into danger?”
I hadn’t even explained what I needed yet, but Hyle’s eyes narrowed into long slits.
He seemed anxious about whatever I was planning to do.
“You’ll help me anyway.”
“…Yes, you’re right. I will.”
Hearing my brazen words, he momentarily widened his eyes, then let out a small chuckle and gently bowed his head.
After all, my questions always presumed Hyle’s agreement.
As before, Hyle’s opinion didn’t matter this time either.
As long as our contract remained valid, he would have to continue supporting my plans.
“This won’t last much longer. So just bear with it a little longer.”
“Gladly. What’s the plan?”
With a face that suggested he didn’t mind either way, Hyle willingly responded.
To his subsequent question, I opened my mouth again, smiling softly.
“Those who have lost everything tend to get desperate.”
* * *
“Hmm, the moon is thin and slender today. Even forming a halo… I suppose it’ll rain tomorrow.”
Lynn, who had brought me warm tea, looked at the sky outside the window and spoke with concern.
Glancing over, I could see the ominous sky looked quite menacing.
“The mansion will be filled with the sound of rain for the first time in a while. It’s usually so noisy that I never get to hear it.”
“Oh my, now that you mention it, that’s true! And since the Marquis and the Young Master aren’t here, the magical beasts aren’t howling either… it feels oddly unfamiliar.”
Recently, I had sent all the servants of the Laté mansion on a month-long vacation, keeping only a very few maids.
Though it was a sudden extended holiday, it came with full pay and vacation allowance, so everyone happily left the mansion without complaint.
Additionally, Fergio and Mattio had gone north after hearing about an untamed first-class wild magical beast there.
Of course, I was the one who deliberately leaked that information.
It was the perfect strategy for two men who were passionate about collecting new magical beasts.
“Once this is over, I’ll send you on vacation too, so don’t worry.”
“No, no, I’m fine. I’m happiest being by your side, miss.”
Lynn shook her head, insisting she wouldn’t go even if given a vacation.
She was quite an unusual maid. While everyone else sided with Mattio and Fergio, Lynn truly seemed to be my person.
Come to think of it, the villainess’s maids in novels generally had some sense of loyalty, all of them staying by her side until the end despite suffering harm from her schemes.
That’s why usually when a villainess was punished, the maid who helped her couldn’t escape death either.
“You’re peculiar sometimes. When you first came to the mansion, you used to cry because you were afraid of the magical beasts.”
“Ugh, miss! That was so long ago… Ah, Raphla is coming!”
In the middle of our trivial conversation, Lynn extended her hand toward the opposite side of the empty air.
Turning my head in confusion, I saw Raphla approaching from afar, flapping his large wings.
Meeting Raphla’s bright yellow eyes, I froze.
Goodness, I hadn’t noticed Raphla’s approach at all until Lynn mentioned it…
It seemed the divine power in my heart was increasingly purifying my magic, causing my ability to detect magical creatures to deteriorate progressively.
Feeling abilities I had taken for granted disappear one by one was more disconcerting than I had expected.
“Raphla.”
When I gently called his name and extended my arm, Raphla landed on it skillfully as always.
Lynn quickly brought a brush specifically for birds and carefully groomed Raphla’s pitch-black feathers.
Soon, Raphla’s moonlight eyes turned red, showing us the entrance area of the Laté mansion.
I had wondered why he suddenly appeared, but it seemed an uninvited guest had been caught in Raphla’s surveillance.
“Gasp! M-miss! There, under the coniferous trees, someone’s there!”
“Yes, I can see.”
Lynn and I, quietly observing the image Raphla was showing us, almost simultaneously spotted a person’s presence.
Covered in a deep black robe that concealed their identity, it was a man with a familiar height and build that I seemed to recognize.
It was rather amusing to see him peering into the mansion, as if debating whether to enter or not.
“Finally, he’s here. How long I’ve waited.”
Muttering with satisfaction, I gently stroked Raphla’s smooth wing and signaled that he could leave now.
The more power Raphla used, the more magic he drew from me, making it difficult to utilize his abilities for extended periods.
Knock, knock-
Just then, a small knocking sound came from outside the door.
In the Laté mansion with so few people left, there was only one person who would knock on my door in the middle of the night.
It was the maid I had instructed to monitor the outside.
The door opened, and the maid entered to report.
“Miss, an unidentified man has requested a private meeting with you. Judging by how the lower-class magical beasts in the breeding area are trembling in fear, he doesn’t seem to be an ordinary person.”
Sure enough, the words I’d been expecting were spoken.
It seems he still has enough power to intimidate lower-class magical beasts.
“He’s someone I’ve been waiting for. Don’t worry and let him in.”
Perhaps because I had been waiting for him to come, a smile naturally formed on my lips.
At my words, the maid bowed solemnly and quickly went out to welcome the guest.
“Lynn, start preparing. I should go meet our guest.”
“Miss, will you be all right?”
Lynn looked at me with slight unease as she carefully broached the subject.
Actually, when I first told her my plan, Lynn had protested vehemently, so I somewhat understood her anxiety.
“Of course I’ll be fine. Who do you think I am?”
“But… your opponent is the Cardinal. And you said he’s gathered power through barbaric means.”
“So what? I’m a Laté.”
“Well, that’s true.”
As I shrugged my shoulders with a completely unconcerned expression, Lynn finally smiled slightly and let go of some of her tension.
Stepping into the corridor, I quickly headed to the reception room to meet my uninvited but expected guest, Xenoph.
The reason I had cleared the mansion of people was precisely to welcome him properly.
If Fergio or Mattio had been present, Xenoph would have sensed the danger and not come, so I had taken this extraordinary measure.
That’s why I had deliberately spread news that the Marquis Laté had gone north to hunt magical beasts.
It wasn’t a major article, but for someone as sensitive to flowing information and as perceptive as Xenoph, he would surely know.
Upon reaching the reception room, I saw a man wearing a deep black robe through the flickering candlelight.
“Lynn, stay outside.”
Although our eyes hadn’t met, he seemed concerned about Lynn behind me.
Turning my head slightly, I instructed Lynn to wait outside.
“Understood.”
Lynn left with a regretful expression, closing the door behind her. Then, a low voice came from the robed figure.
“So you know who I am.”
“Of course. You promised to give me spirit stones regularly, didn’t you? I thought you’d come as it was about time.”
Xenoph believed I had been diligently consuming the spirit stones he provided.
In truth, I had returned all the received stones to their owners, but he had no way of knowing that.
“Haha.”
With a mechanical laugh, he slowly removed his robe.
Familiar pale sky-blue hair and dull brown eyes beneath it were revealed.
“Then you must also know why I’ve come.”
His ominous words chilled the air.
A twilight smile couldn’t have been more eerie.
