Staring at the door, even minutes after her brother had left, Rowena felt strangely uneasy. Up until now, there had been things she had wanted to find out, or things she knew she would have to face sooner or later, but this was different.

Not only was what Pan had told her confirmation that there was something going on, but the fact that there had been a group of people with the help of probably more than just one Numbered of high caliber confirmed that she couldn't rely on her prior knowledge of this world. Not that she had relied on it too much in the first place, but knowing at least a little bit about what the future held had subconsciously given her a form of solace all this time.

In Eisenwacht, she had first felt that something had changed beyond Rowena's death at the beginning of the story, but now everything had gone completely off track. The Shifting Ages alone were supposed to be the main obstacle, along with some average noble shenanigans and a tumultuous love story.

'Now we have terrorists, for fuck's sake.' She wanted to curse out loud, but she didn't want to make her already nervous-looking maids even more uneasy. It was a miracle they hadn't died altogether. 'Right, how did we not die?'

Eyes fixed on the ceiling, as if it would give her all the answers in the universe, she finally glanced over at Norina's blonde mane. "How did we get out of that situation when the water came down?"

Surprised, the young woman turned from her work of arranging the numerous flower pots in the room to make it seem a bit more organized and so she could maneuver her mistress through the stages of getting ready the next day.

"Um, well," she seemed to have to think about it, when in reality she just didn't like to remember, "I was a bit out of it, so I remember almost nothing." In fact, all she remembered was clinging to Sir Sean for dear life, like a newborn monkey, trapped with her back to the ladder as he shielded her from the water that had come down.

She had lost consciousness herself, but not for long. She hadn't even swallowed much water, just passed out from the shock. It was an embarrassing sight after she had originally gone down there to help her lady.

"I saw it, but even I can't believe it," Ava remarked quietly, "The young lord was holding on to you, but since he couldn't climb and carry you, he had to put you over his shoulder. He went up first so you could get to safety."

The image of being thrown over Alan's shoulder like a sack of rice made her cringe a bit and her face turn slightly red, which she could do now that she had regained some of her missing energy. She knew there was nothing else they could do to solve the situation, so she wasn't mad, but it still sounded frustrating to know that she had taken this huge step to help, but all she did was lift her arm and then collapse.

It made her feel useless to an unimaginable degree.

"Sir Sean took hold of Norina, Sir Yaakov went up alone. First it rained, then it rained harder and harder until the rest of the water came down in one fell swoop." It had ripped tiles off roofs, damaged gardens, flooded homes, and otherwise wreaked havoc in Kadena. "They had jumped up and climbed surprisingly fast, I can only assume because they are Holy Knights. But when the water caught up with you, I was... afraid."

She remembered how her heart had stopped for a long second when she couldn't see them anymore. But then her young master's head popped out of the water as he struggled against the waves crashing into the ladder. It almost seemed as if the rope was going to snap under the force of the water and the weight that was being tossed left and right.

She cleared her throat and took a deep breath. "But then they managed to come up with you. I'm truly relieved." An abrupt end, because she didn't want to recall more of what had happened.

The most important things had been said anyway, and Rowena had received them as intended. "Thank you for telling me."

With a brief bow, she closed her eyes for a moment before looking back at her mistress. "It is not an act worthy of such thanks, my lady."

"Would you like something to read before you go back to sleep? You can't get up yet, but perhaps you could spend some time in a more comfortable position," the younger maid said after a moment of silence.

Right now, Rowena didn't really want to read at all, she just wanted to get her body back to normal, so she wouldn't have to worry about that part at least. The pain wasn't real, it was just that her body had healed faster than it could register.

That was the echo she felt, a kind reminder of the damage she had taken. The purest Mana Stone she had ever seen, even back in Celia's world. Pandora's Heart was something that could easily heal a hole like the one that had pierced her.

But only once. 'Let's call it an after sales service, shall we?' It did so as it assimilated into the body it inhabited, changing it and dyeing it in its own colors.

Many contracts included leverages that not only took a part of the body of their contractor, but actively allowed them to share that body part with the Numbered. Since Pan had taken Rowena's heart as a down payment, taking the life force in it for himself, he gave her his "heart," the Mana Stone of pure translucent white, to replace it.

The same was true for the Saintess, who had a bond with Uriel, the Angel of Belligerence. A Numbered that relied heavily on the senses, so it would take about twenty-five to fifty percent of the contractor's five main senses. But there was a twist: Uriel shared her eyes with her contractor, which meant that they would completely disappear along with the partial functionality of her remaining senses.

But such things not only meant that the Numbered would take those specific functions or body parts after the contract was fulfilled, it also meant that she had a greater passive effect on the contractor. For example, the fact that Uriel ended up taking most of her contractors' senses and sharing their eyes meant that the contractors' senses were sharpened beyond reason, even outside of a Gamble. It also meant that the Angel could actually see through the Saintess' eyes, unlike other Numbered ones.

For Rowena, this meant that she was now the DPS in an RPG. All of her skills were melee based, making her a close-combat brawler with a long-range weapon that worked independently from her body. For this reason, the heart would settle by closing her wounds and rearranging her guts, so to speak.

It had not been a clean job, she could tell she would have ugly scars on her torso again, but it was a job finished.

"Could you hand me my violin instead?" she said after a moment of staring into the distance, worrying her two maids even more.

"What?" Norina asked, perplexed by the request, but already moving to fetch the instrument without thinking.

"You can't play, my lady, it's too strenuous."

That was certainly true. Playing the violin was a strain on the body, it was hard work, even if it looked easy to a general audience. But that was why she wanted to do it in the first place.

""Nobody else resides in this hallway, so hopefully it won't be too much of an issue," she said, thinking about who might live one floor above her, though she didn't care too much either, as she would be leaving this Empire soon anyway, "but I wish to play now."

Uncertain, Ava and Norina exchanged glances, but did as their mistress asked before quietly leaving the room. They heard faltering noises at first, which became steadier as they stepped further away from the door.

Rowena had made it a point to flex all of her muscles to the point where they couldn't remember the pain they seemed to feel with every other movement. It was indeed going to be a long night for her.

 

"I did not know the young lady was capable of such feats," Emperor Alejandro praised, "I was shocked to hear what you have done and at what cost. I am humbled by your presence, my lady."

"I am not worthy of such high praise, Your Majesty, the Emperor," Rowena replied, sitting back down at the long table while stares came at her from all directions, "I had learned a few tricks from a vagrant pagan from the south, it's not particularly remarkable."

"Now, don't hide your light under a bushel. To be capable of such feats with little training is even more remarkable, especially when it comes to magic - for many are called, but few are chosen, as you may know."

What exactly did they say I could do?" the whole speech made her wonder, but she had forgotten to ask, as there had been so much chaos in her mind the night before, and she had slept in late, so there had been no opportunity to ask about it.

With a polite nod, she simply accepted the words at face value, no longer trying to pass them off as overblown, feeling that her words might actually make it worse.

Her bandages weren't visible under her current dress, but she didn't really need them anyway, so she leaned back a little and concentrated on breathing in Mana at every opportunity.

"The Crown Prince also mentioned that you desired to purchase something from us," the Emperor added after motioning for one of his servants to approach her, as Rowena turned her head in surprise, "Please take this as a token of my gratitude. Of course, there is also something for the young duke."

Another servant appeared, both holding a small crate, one was given to Rowena and one to her first brother, Alan. Seriously, what did they tell him I did?" The stress was beginning to show on her creased forehead.

But the Emperor did not have such a grandiose image of her abilities as she had been led to believe. The envoy was pleased with the recognition the young lady they had brought with them received, as it reflected well on them, so no one complained.

The reality, however, was different. 'It was a mere word,' Alejandro thought to himself, watching the surprised girl take the gift without opening it and setting it on the table for the time being, 'as insignificant as it might have been, if it weren't for her telling him to go, he would have jumped after the young duke, I know it. He's my son after all.'

It was something that would eventually come up in their report, a small detail added by the knights who had tried to pull the prince away from the scene. It was the young lady who had approached him, despite her desperation to save her brother, evidenced by the fact that she was the only one who had been seriously injured in the fight.

It might not have been much, some wouldn't even have remembered it, but these knights had known their little Sun almost as well as the Emperor himself. Being told to go by someone who was more determined than he was had made him move faster than ten knights could have dragged him. And for that he was grateful.

Perhaps it was a sign of rash behavior, but in his eyes, she had understood that he had no place there, even if he could wield a sword with Mana. Until now, he had little to say about the Duke's daughter.

When he had first seen her, she had been nothing but an unfortunate child in his eyes. But her character bore a semblance to his beloved late Empress Emilia, even with all her bad manners and generally odd habits.

In every instance he had seen her, for all the negative traits she had shown, he had seen a redeeming factor. She didn't seem particularly bright, but she wasn't stupid. She was headstrong, yet reasonable. And her actions had proven her character to be unshakable in the face of disaster.

None of these things were absolute, but they didn't have to be. What she didn't know, she would easily learn. Teachers all over the capital had been waiting for years to finally receive the order to gather and teach a new Empress, so there was nothing she would miss.

Despite that, even he couldn't force such a bond if there was no desire for it. He hadn't been able to ask her himself at the banquet, for obvious reasons, but he had talked to his son and the young duke before, which gave him little hope for a positive answer.

It was truly regrettable. Not because she could use magic or because of her beautiful appearance, but because of the potential he swore he could see in her. If only he could place her next to his son.

"I have already sent word, informing the continent and our partners in other lands of the enemy that has revealed itself to us." On such a serious note, the last meeting was quickly over, and everyone got up to go about their own business for the rest of the day.

The nobles had gathered around the palace, partly to satisfy their own curiosity and partly to thank the guests from Arlen for their contribution in subduing the criminals.

From afar, she watched the people. There were a lot of people, though most of them didn't even look her or her brother in the eye.

A noble young man, probably Alan's age, bowed so awkwardly one might have thought he was trying to duck and dodge a flying baseball. There was something about his gray, almost black eyes that seemed off. But as the insecurity in his face grew more pronounced with every second she stared at him, she looked away rather quickly.

"Whose crest was that again?" She could swear to have seen it somewhere.

Her question went unanswered while Norina looked back at the black-haired man and thought for a moment. "Oh, that was," she started, "right, it was on some of the papers the flowers had come in."

The flowers that had piled up in her room. "Oh," Rowena replied, "that's interesting."

"It is the Kingdom of Edengard's Earl of Shelton." The answer to the first question came from an unexpected source as Alan walked up behind his sister and draped his jacket over her shoulders. "That's where those blue Cecilias hail from."

'Oh well, if you buy that many of them, at least you should know where they come from, right?' She stopped thinking about it, now that she knew it wasn't anything worrying that she remembered.

Her day was over sooner than she had expected, and it was almost nostalgic to stand there, at the northern edge of Lake Iota, bidding them farewell. "I hope the gift will be useful," said the prince, who had come to the edge of the lake in place of his father, the Emperor.

"The gift," meaning the virgin silver ore hidden in the small box she had received the day before.

"I'm sure it will," Rowena replied, "take good care of yourself, Your Highness."

"I will. But I should be the one to say so."

With a smile, he helped her back into her carriage. "I hope you find the few as beautiful as before. Perhaps you will want to return to us."

"I doubt it, but I'm sure it will still be beautiful."

He smiled and chuckled at her answer. It was the last she saw of him before they began their journey, the carriage growing quieter as they approached their first destination.

For at the Nerena Marquisate, someone was desperately waiting for their arrival.