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Chapter 12: The Escorts
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2021-04-06 15:57:39Amid the laughs and smile, three knocks hummed from the magical Oakwood door, interrupting the discussion of Lili and the old mistress.
The arching smile on the old lady’s face slowly receded as she gazed at the magical door. Being able to knock through the magic protections, she was sure they were the old master’s direct subordinates. She wondered who’d it be.
"It's time. Get ready, Lili." The old mistress strode forward, clasping Lili's icy palms. "Don't worry about anything. Keep yourself collected. Just answer the master's questions, hiding nothing."
'Knock. Knock. Knock.'
The old mistress paced and dragged the door open. A creaky echo reverberated throughout the room. She immediately caught two shadows waiting outside the room. One wore a full-plated armor, a walking tin can as a guard, while the other was a sharp-eyed middle-aged woman.The two visitors' eyes grew three-sizes after gawking at the old mistress. The middle-aged
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Lili gulped and gathered all the courage she could muster. The eerie pitch-black door creaked open. She marched despite her shaky limbs. With every step, the pressure also grew. She gasped but continued to tramp forwards.If this was the test from the magus, then she mustn't disappoint, both for her and the old headmistress's sake."Hoho? An exceptional mental strength," said an old wearing a long pitch-black robe. The skittering quill pen stopped as he watched the guest standing near the door. He had a well-combed beard, mirth flickered in those wizened unfathomable eyes."Not everyone could withstand my presence. And even though I'm holding it back, many still faint." The old man threw a curious stare, watching Lili in a scrutinizing light. "So you're the lass Anna has been hiding from me. Interesting. I never thought she'd hide nothing from me until today."The young lady shuddered in response. Though the old magus had a lax tone, she sensed the irrita
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"Please provide better accommodation and education for the orphans." Lili lowered her head, waiting for the response of the old noble magus. She originally wanted to ask for the orphans' freedom, but immediately double-take after she realized that it’d be a big mistake and would only make things more difficult if she did that.The old noble magus's influence, through the old headmistress, was probably the one shielding the orphanage from other forces. Perhaps it was also the reason that fake fat noble limited his actions and could only act as much as the old magus had allowed.After meeting the old magus, Lili determined that every child in the orphanage was the old powerful man’s possession. Thus her wish for the orphan’s freedom would only set the children to a far worse scenario. The old noble’s protection in exchange for the orphanage’s freedom. That was the price the orphanage had to pay, and that included her.And so, she wish
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“Lass, I’ve done the part of the deal. I’ll make sure that your potential suitors would be practitioners of the word decency.” The old magus chortled. He then counted with his fingers and it stopped at eight before gazing at Lili. “Decent nobles. ‘Pfft’. They exist within the Antacastian nobility, but most of them have weird quirks. Eight of them. That’s all I could do. Are you fine with that?”“I couldn’t ask for more, old master.” Lili’s crimson dress swayed as she bowed towards the old man.“It’s decided then, I’ll write the letters. Your luck would depend on whether they’ll accept my invitation or not.” The old magus waved his hands. He took the ringer bell on the large table and shook it. “The same people will guide you back. Ready yourself for tomorrow and make your presentable for the masked ball. If you wish for the best, you must first make the bes
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Lili opened and closed her mouth as her brain shut down for a moment. She rubbed her ears, wondering if she heard it wrong. She felt muddled and confused. Her face slowly turned ashen white. Not only her but also the middle-aged lady and the guard who wore full-plated armor had a flabbergasted expression on their faces. Slack-jawed and floored after hearing the incredulous proposal coming from the mysterious noble.And then… there was silence.Lili had read a lot of romance novels about knights from the books in the orphanage’s attic. She even read a few ones with bizarre plots just like this one from an author named Ms. Carman. Still, she never thought that it’d actually happen to her in reality, especially when she’s not some princess like the main female character in those stories.‘This noble is probably playing with me.’ Lili shut her eyes, recollecting her thoughts. A stiff smile slipped out of her lips as she thought a
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The pitch-black door swung wide-open, and soon closed with a loud bang as the shadows of the duke left the room, leaving Lili and the old magus alone once again. Lili felt giddy as she felt the old man staring at her like he was planning to dig a hole in her face.“Do you know of the Duke, lassie?” The old magus asked, and his eyes shone with a glint of curiosity. His pupils slowly turned into a snaky slit as he tried to smile. It was as clear as day that he was nothing but curious about Lili’s relationship with the infamous Duke of Avalon.“I have not, old master.” Lili took a deep breath and answered. The duke’s strange interest in her had also made her puzzled. “Truthfully, today was the first time I have met him. I, myself, know nothing why the duke reacted like that to me.”Lili suddenly remembered how the Duke went to his knees and asked for her hands as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Her chee
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After escorting Lili back, Loth and Zaab gave Lili the key and quickly bid their goodbyes. According to Loth, the old magus asked her to give the key to Lili. Apparently, it was also part of the gift given by the old magus, a reward for entertaining the bored old man.Without further ado, Loth and Zaab didn’t waste time and excused themselves, since they still had to tend to their other responsibilities in the auction house. From the looks of it, Lili was sure that they had quite a high position and the old magus valued them for their skills.With a smile, Lili thanked them and then bid them goodbye. She didn’t want to delay them any further, realizing that she might have wasted a lot of their time by simply accompanying and waiting for her.After assuring that the Loth and Zaab had already returned, Lili let out a tired sigh and deemed that her luck today had been in the dumps. She threw a glanced at the intricate key given to her and slowly turned
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“H-Headmistress?” Lili tilted her head, confused. She shifted her gaze to the left and saw the fake noble who dragged her into this. The once prideful fake noble was shuddering on the side. But unlike the last time, he didn’t dare to show courage and just lowered his head. He kept silent as he slumped on his knees. He was sweating like a pig under a roasting blaze. “What is happening?” His pudgy chin trembled, and if a pit suddenly appeared somewhere, he looked like he’d be more than willing to jump. And after seeing Lili, the fatty lowered his head, his quivering lips paling. On the other hand, the headmistress’ eyes lit up after seeing Lili. She stood up from her seat, circling around Lili, making sure she was safe and sound. Assured that Lili was fine, the headmistress let out a sigh of relief. She then gave the confused Lili a deep hug. “Thank god you’re safe. Lili, listen to me. Please wait for me in the other room. I will need to talk to the old master.”
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The lady who wore a dazzling crimson dress felt her legs quivering. She wanted to rush back to the old headmistress… and, if possible, back to the orphanage. Unfortunately, the sharp gazes she felt from the servants behind her halted all those thoughts. Controlling her emotions, she remembered the teachings of the old headmistress. She gently curtsied towards the servants who escorted her. An unfathomable smile slid out of her inviting lips. “Thank you, good sirs and ladies, for guiding me here.” Her simple acknowledgment had those male servants flushing while the lady servants had their eyes turned into saucers. The servants looked intoxicated and spelled bound as they tried to peel away their eyes from the fairy-like existence before them. “Goodbye now.” She let out a sigh, leaving the tongue-tied servants standing like fools. Lili trudged, snail-paced, entering the conspicuously shimmering door. Soon enough, she heard the chatters and giggles comin
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