The day had ended with, obviously, no hints about the butler’s location. She had only continued with the search to go around the city more so she could find a sword and gather more time to find out about his killer.

“Miss.”

Chloe was in the bathroom while everyone else had finished with their soak, sitting and relaxing in the room. Cordelia didn’t ask why Kuro wasn’t using telepathy for the conversation since she herself knew how the walls have ears. She must’ve cast a domain spell.

“What is it?”

“I’ve investigated the girl as you’ve commanded. Reports show that she is the 5th princess of the Atican Dynasty who is unloved and illegitimate. She has no special traits apart from her godly aptitude for all forms of Mental Magic but cannot control it. We’ve discovered rumours that all of her assigned maids were killed when the girl was in a mentally unstable state through the crushing of internal organs like the heart and lungs. She’s also capable of turning them braindead with unconscious mental attacks.”

      Cordelia may have a fondness for young children but when Chloe’s butler was nowhere to be found for an entire day, she knew something was up. She was a Recommended Student but was essentially abandoned with only one butler as her escort, who had disappeared a day after they’d arrived since they’d learned that Chloe entered Alexandria on the same day as they did. No matter how you look at it, there’s something wrong here…

      “So that’s why you’re whispering?”

“Yes, Miss. Her aptitude for Mental Magic might be able to penetrate our divination spells and allow her to listen in on our telepathic conversations. I suspect that she has already done so unconsciously when the captain reported to us a few hours ago.”

She bit her lip sourly, not believing it.

“Miss, you’re…”

Kuro left her sentence at that, leaving words unsaid: miss, you’re too soft. She stared disapprovingly at her miss, hoping that she wouldn’t naively all into a trap again.

      “I know what I’m doing. Do not disobey my orders.”

For the first time in years, Cordelia’s tone took a steely edge towards Kuro as she sharply glared at her maid, daring her to speak out any words of refusal. Reflexively shuddering, she submissively nodded before walking back to her bead. Realising what she had done out of anger, Cordelia lamented for a few minutes before it was ceased by the opening of the bathroom door.

      Snuggling into the black-haired girl’s bed, Chloe gripped her twice as strong compared to last night before falling asleep while Cordelia remained awake for several hours sorting out her thoughts before succumbing to fatigue.

❈ ❈ ❈

21st of March, the Year 1202
6:21
Laeon Federation, City of Alexandria, Howard's Home

❈

There is only 1 day left to the exam, Cordelia thought, as she prepared herself for a morning training session. She hoped to build off of what she experienced yesterday and level up her Flicker Sword Arts to level 2, though she knew that wouldn’t be easy. However, before she could leave the room, Chloe had jumped onto her back.

“Can I come with you?”

Surprised, Cordelia then realised that this was a good opportunity for her to confront the girl about her butler.

“Alright then. It might be a bit boring though.”

“Eheh, nothing about Big Sister is boring.”

She almost tripped when Chloe said those words but soon regained herself, brushing off the comment as she made her way to the backyard. Going through all of her exercises again, she carried through unfaltering under Chloe’s gaze from the side. This time, almost all of the leaves had been cut into 16 parts with a couple at 8. Seeing her advancements, Cordelia was going to wipe her sweat off with her hand but Chloe ran up to her with a towel in her hand, presenting it to her.

      “Thank you, Chloe.”

She gratefully received the towel and wiped her face and neck down before sitting against a shadowed wall to cool off. The blonde girl sat down next to her cheerfully, playing with her ponytail. Breathing out, she braced herself for her next words.

“Chloe.”

“?..”

“Did you kill your guardian?”

Cordelia felt her tense up, her hands frozen midair. Sadness and sorrow welling up in her heart, she pulled Chloe’s head into her side and brushed through her golden locks with her fingers. Cordelia didn’t want to mince her words as children weren’t suitable for that type of thing. It was better to lay everything bare as the foundation, so no misunderstandings would occur. Kuro had hinted that she was mentally unstable, resulting in all of those deaths but she didn’t believe it; Cordelia believed that it was a lifetime of loneliness and segregation that had pushed her into the depths of despair. So, Cordelia took a gamble. Chloe, with her immense talent for Mental Magic, could fry her brain right now and nobody could stop it. But she decided to gamble with her Will stat to resist the mental attacks.

      “Shhh, don’t worry. I won’t condemn you. I don’t believe you killed him on purpose.”

The Atican Imperial Family was as dirty as any other; schemes, plots, assassinations and spies were like bug infestations which made everyone inside the palace mature quickly. Chloe Atican was not exempt from this. In fact, she matured even faster than her brothers and sisters as she was constantly spat on and excluded, causing her heart to turn cold and her face into an actor’s mask. But she was, by nature, a gentle and timid girl. Even years of loneliness didn’t change that. This natural trait caused an intense longing for relationships deep within her heart, which was never fulfilled. However, now, over these few days, Cordelia had slowly seeped within the cracks of her stone heart and with these words, she had coaxed out her primal desire for love and affection.

      Her mask broke and she completely broke down in tears. At first, it was a small droplet running down her cheeks before it descended into a sobbing mess of snot and tears, her heart finally filled up with Cordelia’s loving aura. In her waterfall of tears, she didn’t notice how her power was running rampant as the entire backyard of ‘Howard’s Home’ was now filled with the suffocating atmosphere of her mana. Anyone who walked in would go braindead in an instant, but Cordelia was holding on. She bit her tongue to stay alert, resisting against the unrelenting waves of pure mana bashing against her body.

      Kuro watched from a window in their room, seeing how blood was dripping from her mistress’ mouth and she clenched her fists so hard that her nails cut through her skin. Her face showed no sign of the raging torrent that was her emotions, her feet itching to move to assist her mistress, but last night’s words doused her instinct as a servant.

      Despite having just slept, Chloe had cried herself to sleep as she laid docile in Cordelia’s arms. Wiping the blood on her chin, she exhaled softly and picked the girl up.

“Such a troublesome girl.”

If Kuro and Walker had heard that, they would’ve facepalmed.

❈ ❈ ❈

vaexis

Double post today for no real reason. You can also ask any questions about the story or about update schedules (it might be coming in the future but I won't make any promises) on my profile page.

      Have a nice day.