Our Madame was obviously worried, but she noticed how frustrated the doctor was when confessing that, basically, they were no further to solve the case than they were the first day.

—I’m sure we’ll find out the mastermind behind it, we need to just think outside of the box and find more evidence.

—Mmmm… perhaps you are right. In any case, I have contacted with someone who could work as your bodyguard, and I trust her to be able to keep you safe even if you were to visit the city. The problem is that she is… sort of a mess. She needs some time to take care of some business, so she’ll arrive in two months.

—That’s perfect, with any luck it will coincide with Violett’s birthday’s party! —our Madame said, drawing a big smile just by thinking about it—. You will have to come too, doctor.

—I wouldn’t miss it for anything —the doctor replied, not sounding too enthusiastic, but only to tease her.

Our Madame was preparing her retort, when she yawned.

—Excuse me, doctor. I didn’t get to sleep well yesterday.

—Are you sure it was just yesterday? —the Doctor said, and I saw our Madame’s facade start to break.

—W-what might you mean by that? —our Madame said, trying to act as if nothing was wrong.

—I didn’t study medicine for several years to be so easily fooled, have you been sleeping properly? —the Doctor asked, not only towards our Madame but also to me.

The appropriate answer in cases like this would be to back up the words of our employers, no matter what they said. Doing otherwise would probably put us on the risk of losing our jobs and our reliability, even if we did it with the best intentions. Yet, I didn’t doubt for a moment to speak my mind.

—To be honest, Doctor, she has been having problems falling asleep almost since the accident.

—I-Iridia! —Our Madame said, panicking— I swear it’s not because of that! I-It’s because of the tremors! I’m a light sleeper, so even if they are small they tend to wake me up!

The Doctor looked at her in disbelief, but after a few seconds he let out a sigh and started to look up something in his bag. I could swear, for an instant I saw him smiling.

—Have your attendants make a tea with these leaves —he said, presenting a jar with dry leaves to her—, only half a spoon, right before you go to sleep.

—Thank you… —our Madame said, embarrassed.

After that day, and thanks to the tea, she was able to sleep all through the night, and was looking more rested every day. The preparations for the young lady’s birthday continued, and I came to notice she was becoming a lot more verbal than before, making simple sounds to refer to things. Our Madame was trying to make her say “Mama” all the time, but the baby ignored her, even slapping her whenever she grow tired of her attempts.

—Ah, so this is the power of a villainess —our Madame said, almost crying but with a smile on her face. I didn’t dare to ask her what she meant.

A few days later I received a dreadful letter from Father Elias. Our church has helped lots of people, and has as its goal to bring a bright future to everyone, but there has always been a power struggle at the top, with several factions trying to gain control over it. Recently, a group that was in direct ideological conflict with my own had convinced enough people to boss everyone around, and I wasn’t the exception. I disagreed with what they asked me to do, but I had no other choice. I needed to talk with my Madame about it.

—Madame, I… I’m very sorry, but I have to go back to my hometown for some time, and I might not get back in time for the little lady’s birthday.

—Oh? Is that so? —she said, sounding genuinely sad because of it—, that’s really a shame, I would have loved if everyone was here for her special day, but we’ll save a slice of cake for you.

Her comforting smile was too bright.

—Thank you, Madame. I’ll try to come back as soon as possible.

And I did exactly that, I rode all the way to the meeting place and back without any rest. Both my back and my Kelpie were pretty hurt when we arrived at the Cygnus’ pier. Of course, it was already too late, the party was over, the guest had left already, and the other attendants were cleaning already. And just as promised, my Madame had left me a slice of cake, one with a cute flower over it.

—Thank you very much; I’ll save it for tomorrow, if you don’t mind.

—Of course, it is probably too much sugar for this late —she said.

I offered to help with the clean up, but my colleagues insisted on me going to rest. I’m very grateful for having worked with people like them, and that they were working for my Madame. I went to my room and slept for an hour or so. One of the tremors had been strong enough to wake me up, but the sleep rune I had carved under my bed was still intact. This one was more elaborated than the one I had knitted on the pillow case, so everyone else should be fast asleep.

It was almost the agreed hour, so I got up and got ready. I went to the basement, carrying a glowing crystal, and stood right in front of the anchor of the barrier. As part of my training to be my Madame’s personal assistant, I was taught the password and how to operate it by Carmila. Just like last time, I begrudgingly authorized the entrance of outsiders sent by my church, but thankfully this time I was allowed to pick up the ones who most likely would do the job properly.

—Listen carefully —I said to the four people that had been waiting for me at the entrance—, we are here to retrieve the young lady. I could have done it myself, you are just here because the leaders demanded it, and you might be of some use if we encounter any problem after we leave the mansion. No harm shall fall on anyone here, especially to Madame Rosanne and to the young lady. Disobey me… and you’ll find out exactly what happened to the last idiot they sent. Is that clear?

—Yes, Sister —they all said.

I guided them to the inside of the mansion, to the second floor, and finally to my Madame’s room, but I freeze as soon as I opened the door. She was awake.

—Ah, Iridia, good night —she said with a gently smile. She was still lying on her bed, reading a book.

—M-madame?! H-how…

It was just not possible, I had given her the Doctor’s tea before going to my room, the empty cup was still on her nightstand, and my rune was working. How could she still be awake??

—Hmmm? Iridia, is something wrong? —she said, getting up.

I had gotten so immersed in my thoughts that I was unable to hide my feelings, had I just smiled and closed the door, we could have aborted the mission and tried other night. But she got up, because she was worried about me, and she saw the people behind me…

—Iridia, what is happening? —she tried to say, before she was hit with something. A dagger, covered with the same paralyzing toxin than before, was now piercing her abdomen.

—H-huh? W-what? —she managed to say, before slumping back into the ground, barely slowing her fall by hanging on to the side of her bed.

Right next to me, one of the people who had been following me still was in the same position after having throwing her weapon against my Madame.

—HOW DARE YOU?!! —I screamed as I took the dagger of another one of them and plunged it directly into his chest.

I wanted to take it out and keep stabbing him, but I didn’t have time. I ran to where she was, lying in the ground, scared and confused.

—I-Iri-Iridia? Wha-what’s going on? It… It hurts…

—It will be fine, everything will be fine —I said, as I treated the wound.

Thankfully it hadn’t gone too deep, and the toxin didn’t seem to affect her, she would have become unconscious right away otherwise. She was certainly blessed by our goddess.

—Madame, you don’t have to worry about anything —I said.

I had removed the dagger and used her blood to draw the rune of “heal” near the wound, which would at least prevent her from bleeding out. I also tried to make her fall asleep by drawing the “sleep” rune directly on her body, but it simply wasn’t working on her. One of my colleagues finally snapped out of it and walked towards the little lady’s crib.

—Vio-Violett…

—We’ll keep her safe —I said as I stood up.

There was no point in trying to hide our intentions any more. In that very moment, I saw my Madame realize what was happening. Her face went from pain and confusion to absolute fear, and then… to unbridled fury.

—DON’T YOU DARE TAKE HER AWAY FROM ME!! —she yelled, and I could swear the earth rumbled with each word.

My colleague actually backed off, shaking. I can’t entirely blame him.

—I… I am very sorry, but I can’t do that. We need her for the greater good. We wanted to train her right here, but some of our leaders fear that you might be a bit too overprotective.

—I DON’T CARE ABOUT ANYTHING OF THAT! LEAVE HER ALONE!! …please… not my Violett…

Her words really hurt me, but I couldn’t turn back now. I grabbed the young lady and hurriedly left the room, all while Rosanne kept yelling at us.

—I SWEAR I’M GOING TO FIND ALL OF YOU AND MAKE YOU PAY!! GIVE HER BACK! VIOLETT!!!

The earth shook once more, with enough strength to make me lose my balance for a moment.

—Maa… Maamaaa! —I heard the young lady say as she started to cry. I don’t remember ever hearing her cry.

The earthquake suddenly stopped, but now the hallway felt cold and the air was stiff. My body felt like it was heavier. I could barely breathe. One of my colleagues just fainted next to me, and the other fell to her knees and hands. I somehow managed to remain standing, but I had to support myself against the wall. I looked back instinctively, and found a silhouette approaching us slowly from the door that we have just crossed.

That person was without a shred of doubt, Rosanne Dragonroot, but it also wasn’t her. Her face was expressionless, all the anger she had show us a moment ago was gone. The red in her pupils was glowing as if it was fire, and her hair was waving with an inexistent breeze. But more important than anything, she had two horns sprouting out from her forehead.

—F A L L —the entity in front of me said, and my knees gave up.

I was sweating and shacking, terrified of the being in front of me. But at the same time, I couldn’t avoid smiling.

—G I V E H E R B A C K—she commanded, and I obliged.

I let go of the young lady, and she crawled to where the image of her mother was. She picked her up, just as my Madame would, and without any other word, she turned around and returned to her room.

—W-wait! —I said, trying to force my body to move, but the most I could do was stretch my arm in vain. She was more than blessed by our goddess; that was obvious for me now. We have thought the young lady was her reincarnation, or at least a successor of her power, but we were wrong! My Madame was the one we had been waiting all this time, our goddess Lilith! I couldn’t let this chance slip between my fingers!

—Madame! —I cried out, trying to get her attention.

She stopped, right at the entrance of her room, and threw a glare at me. I felt so insignificant.

—D I S S A P E A R F R O M M Y S I G H T —were her last words to me.

I felt an intense current of air hit me, and I was soon pushed out of the building alongside a portion of the wall, my partners, and several other items that were in that hallway. I passed out before I even hit the ground. How much of a fool I had been, trying to win the favor of a goddess I had just hurt. Not even offering my life was enough… ah, but I would have loved to keep working for you, Madame… so long, and thanks for everything. And from the bottom of my heart, I’m sorry.