The Nether Elite arrived at the mansion promptly at noon. The four ladies got out of the car and made their way to the entrance. Ayeka already fell in love with the place. She loved the beautiful garden and the colored cobblestones on the driveway. Even the stained glass of the windows. Ryoko took out her smartphone and had to take at least 100 pictures of every beautiful flower from different angles.

While the rest of the three were standing outside the door with Ayeka not that far behind, Kayla rang the doorbell.

Afterward, the intercom turned on, and everyone heard Noel’s voice, “Greetings, my friends, and welcome to his Majesty’s estate. As well as you all know, you know who I am. But the question is, who are all of you?”

The four stood there dumbfounded as they do know what the hell Noel is blabbering about now. Out of the four, Natalia tries to iterate what Noel is trying to say. Or in this case, even trying to do, “I don’t know, I am just a woman standing outside your door asking for entrance.”

“Okay,” Noel said over the intercom. “Then tell me this, what do you seek, and do you think it’s here?”

Natalia had to think about her answer for a little bit, but it didn’t really take her that much time, “how can we ever know what to seek if it’s here right in front of us?”

“Interesting… Final question: A-horny-wolf girl-is-no-match-for-an-elegant-fox-girl-says-what?” Noel baited as the scowling Natalia said nothing.

“A-horny-wolf girl-is-no-match-for-an-elegant-fox-girl-says-what?!” Noel repeated as once again, Natalia said nothing.

“Well done, you may enter,” Noel greeted as the door unlocked itself. The Nether Elite entered the mansion. Already they were impressed with the interior design of the place, but the group was even more impressed by Natalia's question-answering as she got every riddle right…

“So, he is really into religious art?” Kayla lazily critiques as Ayeka couldn’t help herself looking at all the beautiful art pieces. “These are 18th-century paintings. The vases are at least 500 years old.”

“Yes, they came with a place,” a familiar voice chimed in as the Nether Elite turned around to see Noel walking towards them. “Then again, her Majesty likes her simple tastes.” Noel winks at the group as Natalia looks away, blushing.

“So, there is a missus in the picture, there goes my shot…” Ryoko stated.

“Something tells me you and his Majesty are responsible for the renovations here,” Kayla guesses.

“You could say that,” Noel confirms. “Welcome to our home.”

The Nether Elite and Noel started to walk down the hallway, seeing nothing but renditions of daemonic and angelic art. The carvings and the moldings of the place were a bit too unsettling for them.

Kayla spoke up about this, “don’t take this the wrong way, but this place is a bit…”

“Unsettling?” Noel finished. “I guess it’s no surprise. Apart from what you have all done over the years.”

“W-what do you mean?” Ryoko questions.

“Sooner or later, we all need to repent for our sins.” Noel summarized, but she felt she needed to explain herself, “you see, his Majesty is not a perfect person. He has never been, and he never will be. And that’s okay because nobody is perfect. The moment we find a perfect person in this world is the moment we will all cease to exist. Because what is the point of forwarding progression if you are not allowed to make mistakes and learn from them?”

Ryoko hung her head in shame, knowing there are some things she will like to repent for.

“What are you talking about now?” Kayla questioned.

“This place once belonged to the Catholic Church,” Noel answered.

“You can’t be serious?!” Kayla interrogated. “No wonder I have such an uneasy feeling in this place…”

“This mansion was built in the 1800s, and it was used to house and raise higher class bastards all the way to the 1900s. In short, it was an orphanage for children who are born out of wedlock. Most of the children came from affluent families or even royalty who have cast aside or to be declared a bastard,” Noel explained further. “It has also served as a rest stop for the Underground Railroad, transporting freed and runaway slaves to the North. Over the years, this house took in their broken and rehabilitated many others. Healing the sick, resting the tired, mending the broken. Once you leave this place, you become a better person they used to say. Becoming different than you were before.”

“With this place being so particular, why the church abandoned it?” Ryoko asked.

“Money. Just like any organization, money is the real King,” Noel answered.

“Figures…” Kayla added.

“This place has done a lot of good. No one has ever thought about tearing it down for some odd reason. Many people say that there is a guardian angel who dwells in this house,” Noel speculated.

“They could’ve just sold the place,” Kayla said.

“Fortunately, the house was always privately owned by someone and was never owned by the church. There is a lot of secrets that are built on these walls. Being a silent spectator of one’s surroundings. The only thing the church did was cut a check to the owners of the past, and in return, they received publicity,” Noel said.

“Hypocrites…” Kayla added.

“Hey. Even Mother Teresa advocated suffering, and the Catholic church made her a saint. You honestly think they care about this place?” Noel defended. “We live in a world where everyone is going to step on anyone or everyone to get one step ahead. That is just the way things are. It’s sad, but it’s also true. Now this place belongs to his Majesty’s family.”

“Family?” Kayla chimes in.

This made Noel elated as she blushed, “His Majesty has been recently married to a woman he had his eye on for quite some time: N.D.I, Nec De Imperatrice.”

“Empress of the Nether,” Kayla translated.

Noel nodded as she continued her anecdote, “They had their problems in the past, but her Majesty is a strong and resilient woman and understood his Majesty’s pain. You can say she pursued him while he was pursuing his own self-destructive endeavors. They saved each other from their own personal hell and created a strong friendship out of it. Even creating a wonderful family.”

“Kids in the picture?” Ryoko questions.

“Only one… For now, at least… I’m surprised myself. They are both young. The way they go at it, they could’ve had a football team of kids,” Noel teases, winking at Natalia.

Agitated, the blushing Natalia looked away while twirling her hair.

This made Ryoko chuckle a bit, “so now you’re wondering if this kind of mojo will rub off on them?”

This made Noel giggle in admittance, “something like that.”

“Where are they, by the way?” Ryoko wondered.

“The couple are in London right now, in talks with the daemon lords.”

“So, he received an invitation from our grandmaster?” Kayla guesses as Noel nodded.

“Yes and no. They will be at the ceremony next month, but the Emperor and The Empress don’t need an invitation. I do understand what your grandmaster is doing, rebuilding your reputation, but he is wasting his time, in my opinion. Some memories are just better left burned out and faded away.”

“Well, that’s your opinion. Fortunately, that’s the only opinion that doesn’t really matter,” Natalia insulted.

“Somewhat defensive of you little master. Meanwhile, you are all ready and willing to destroy each other for next to nothing. How hypocritical,” Noel insulted with a coy smile.

Not wanting to have a repeat of what happened two days ago, Ayeka came in between the two, stopping another fistfight, “Okay, Noel-san, we are here because you invited us.”

“Yes.”

“And we all came here under the assumption that he-- I’m sorry, ‘his Majesty’ would be here. Now we hear just that he has flown across the ocean to meet up with our Grandmaster.”

This grieved Noel, “and I do apologize if ever made such a promise, Madame. But this was pretty much at the last minute. But as you well know, a man of his stature is immensely busy. In honesty, I thought your grandmaster would hold off on his celebration he is doing next year so he could present himself and his family to all of you. But I believe that it’s been pushed up for obvious reasons. Reasons that I don’t know personally, but they are reasons that only your Grandmaster feels justifiable.”

“And so are we, Noel-san. Let’s go,” Ayeka said as they take their leave.

“Yeah, and send her Majesty our regards,” Natalia mocked.

“Wait! Before you all go, would you like a spot of tea and cake?” Noel offered as the Nether Elite stop walking away. “It is lunchtime, and it would be rather rude of me to send you on your way with an empty stomach.”

Kayla turned around to face Noel, “you honestly think a little tea party would make us stay?”

“I know for a fact you didn’t come all out here, just to turn back. And besides, you still want to know more about the BDX model that was stolen...”

Noel was right. She did have valuable information about the war machine that has gone missing. If they couldn’t see his Majesty and his family, they could at least stay and get down to business.