“Eli, I think we need some explanation here.”
“I was about to bring it up.”
Dmitri, Campbell, and the other Iron Eagle Knights all turned their gazes on Elia. She shifted seats and began explaining in detail. When she finished, Alexis looked genuinely taken aback.
“So, our family’s founding matriarch left behind a spiritual familiar—who was waiting for its guardian here?”
“Yes. Stella told me this.”
“Stella?”
Elia showed Alexis the golden bracelet.
“She named herself Stella when she became my familiar.”
“I see…”
Alexis still looked puzzled. Why had the matriarch instructed the spirit to serve a guardian, rather than the duke himself?
“If she said it, there must have been a reason.”
“I don’t fully understand why it had to be me, though.”
Alexis nodded thoughtfully.
“Shall we return, then?”
“Yes.”
“That was… anticlimactic.”
“I thought we’d have to fight a snake.”
“If someone else had come here? They might’ve had to fight.”
“Really?”
Alexis eyed a patch of disturbed earth.
“I suspect whoever came here before died fighting a snake.”
“Is that so?”
Elia wanted to investigate, but Alexis gently covered her eyes.
“That’s not something a child should see.”
“I want to see, though.”
“Don’t. It won’t be good for you emotionally.”
Elia giggled softly. She appreciated the care—she’d been lucky today, to gain Stella and the medicinal herbs.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, my lord.”
They regrouped and descended the mountain. They faced monsters, ate, and slept—traveling only one day’s distance. Coming down was faster than climbing, especially with Elia in his arms—he figured it would’ve been slower the whole way if she had walked.
When they reached the horses’ tethering area, the horses were unharmed.
“Time to go home, Eli.”
“Yes.”
With Alexis’s help, she mounted her horse. It was time to return.
Meanwhile, in a quiet chamber scented with medicine…
A young blonde boy lay curled up on a small blackwood bed, hacking. Despite his pale cheeks and sunken cheeks, his purple eyes were sharp. This was Noah von Adelheid, the empire’s first prince. Though his mother had been empress, she died in an accident, and his house fell into disfavor—leaving him neglected.
A door creaked open.
“Your Highness, meal delivery.”
Noah sat up, frowning.
“Leave.”
“The empress instructed I watch over your meals.”
Noah eyed the tray—thin broth.
“Put it down and leave.”
“I cannot. You must eat in my presence.”
He grudgingly accepted the bowl and drank. The girl-servant left, and Noah closed his eyes.
“She skimped on the broth today.”
He’d been poisoned since his stepmother Marianne began controlling his diet. Any servant who disobeyed was tortured—many disabled, many killed. His caretaker nanny was dismissed. Despite it all, he clung to hope: Duke Cartellani had once saved him at age seven. Alexis had pulled him from drowning and said: “Never give up—help will come.” Since then, Noah believed Alexis would save him.
Back at home…
They gave Felix the medicinal herbs—legendary Unicorn’s Breath and Star’s Crystal. As a doctor-researcher, Felix was ecstatic.
“These are the legendary herbs!”
“Store them carefully—we’ll need them for a deal.”
“A deal?”
“Yes, we need a stable income. While the gold Elia brought will tide us over, we need a trade partner. The Black Pearl Merchant Company.”
Elia knew the merchant lord’s sister was ill—these herbs would be their bargaining chip. As Felix admired the herbal tonic and fertility/pregnancy remedies, Elia grinned slyly.
“Why the creepy laugh?”
“What laugh?”
“You literally just let out a villainous chuckle—very… suggestive.”
“Felix, sometimes you have no clue—ignore it.”
Felix scowled.
“Whatever happens, don’t touch those herbs—they’re in a special sealed box.”
Felix assured her the herbs would stay fresh inside the storage container he developed himself. Then he asked:
“That bracelet—it’s fascinating. Does it really have a snake in it?”
“Curious? Want me to show you?”
“No, I’d like the lab not to collapse.”
Elia laughed. Then she asked about Jasper, who had gone off to inspect the village’s health. She sighed—better to see him later.
At the Duke’s study…
Alexis sat alone, deep in thought. He closed his eyes, recalling Elia speaking with Stella, the golden snake familiar. He pulled the summoning bell rope to call Norman.
“Yes, my lord?”
“Norman, tell me honestly—what do you think of Elia?”
“She’s charming. She’s brought brightness to this household—and I notice you laugh more when she’s around.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Indeed, Alexis had found many moments of genuine laughter thanks to Elia.
