CHAPTER THIRTY ONE 'Would you'

“What do we do now chief Phalan? The government have approved Musa to continue being Lagsu saintess.”

Phalan chuckled, “Don't worry too much, Steve. I'll talk care of it, it's just a little fry, you shouldn't worry about it.”

Steve stroked his beard in the shadows, “Then I shall rely on you, Phalan.”

“Then excuse me, Steve. Time to pay my goddaughter a visit.” 

Steve chuckled lightly, “Go ahead.”

With that, Phalan stood on his feet and went outside.

Across of his mansion was his goddaughter residence. He smirked. That was good, he would easily pay attention to her then.

When he reached her residence, the maids gasped as they saw him and immediately let him in. He smiled proudly, how dared she come back after making such a disaster. Did she really think coming back would grant her respect. However he couldn't even blame her, the streets were rough. She must have suffered.

He entered the residence and passed the corridors and entered her room directly while the guards merely watched. They could do nothing to stop Phalan due to his relationship with the Saintess but entering her room directly was too much so they guards stood nearby. 

Musa fixed her robe and put on her veil upon seeing Phalan and sighed. She was expecting him to come see her but entering her room was too much.

“Chief Phalan, it's been a long time, I know you must've missed me a lot while I was gone but you should've waited for me outside. It's inappropriate for you to enter a humble Saintess bedroom.”

Phalan scoffed, “Spare me the bullshit formality! How dare you come back here, did you not get enough of me the last time? Or did you come back because you missed me..” Phalan moved closer to Musa and whispered near her ear, “Inside of you?”

Musa took a step back from Phalan and looked him in the eyes before landing a slap on his right cheek. Phalan stumbled back and held his burning cheek. Musa was not done yet.

“Someone come here.” Musa said and the nearby guards appeared in front of her room.

“Seize him.” She simply said and the guards hesitated. That was Chief Phalan. How could they simply seize him. That didn't make sense..

“Are you deaf?” Musa snapped.

One of the guards bowed, “B-but he's the chief.”

Musa went to her table and unsheathed her sword and without hesitation, slit the guard neck and he fell on the ground with blood gushing out of his open wood. Seeing that, the guards immediately pushed Phalan down to his knees and grabbed Phalan hands, preventing him from leaving.

Phalan didn't say a word, he was in shock. How could Musa kill someone so easily? And her eyes didn't shift, she didn't look uncomfortable at the sight of blood either.

He looked at her sword that was stained with blood. That was the first time he saw her use it and for some reason it make his heart weary. He looked into Musa eyes and shivered, she was different from the naive girl he once knew.

Her aura was cold

Musa lifted his chin so he was looking into his eyes directly, then she landed another slap on his left cheek. The guards legs shook as they held the Chief up while Musa repeatedly slapped him untill his cheeks were stained with bruises and his own blood..

“Any one who trespasses into the Saintess Chambers shall be severely punished. Don't you agree Chief Phalan?” Musa said and gestured to the guards to let go of him.

“This is the rules of Lagsu and it applies to everyone so forgive me Chief if I've offrnded you.” Musa said innocently.

Chief Phalan eyes were red with rage and tears but he did not look at her. Instead he said, “You shall pay for this humiliation.” Then he turned and started walking away.

“Anyone who dares to disobey my order shall be killed.” Musa said to the guards. “Take the body away and find someone to clean it.” With that, she walked out of the room and to the kitchen. She had ruffle some feathers, it was now time for her to prepare for the blow.

In her life, she had no friends nor colleagues who could help her. The acquaintance that she was close to was now gone so she had to rely on herself now. Many of her guards were spies for Phalan. If they all ganged up on her she wouldn't survive it. 

Phalan wasn't who she was really scared of at this time. It was his higher up.

Now that was she was at the residence, she could not easily go out as there were many eyes surrounding her. She had to find a way to hire some bodyguards and send Violet messages.

She smiled, she had an idea that would enable her do the tasks effectively.

***

When Violet woke up, the voices in her head were having an argument on what was going outside. Her gut feeling were all directed towards Musa. After so many experiences, she knew better than to doubt her gut feeling. So she immediately went to the bathroom to clean up and get dressed in one of Lagsu female dresses. Then she put a veil over her face and was about to walk out the door when she felt a barrier surrounding her, preventing her from leaving. 

She scoffed, “What little trick! Who did this?!”

Without much effort from her, the barrier was destroyed. 

Violet stepped out of the room, enraged. Musa did not know magic, the only person that could've tried to trap her was Alaric. That bastard! She must've been too easy on him, that was why he would try to trap her.

After waking up, she felt so much better and much more energetic. She would definitely teach him a lesson.

“ALARIC!” She yelled, cascading down the stairs. She still didn't know his room and had no idea where to search. She groaned, scanning the mansion with her force field. 

Not too long, Alaric appeared at the top of the stairs with a poise smirk.

“How may I help you, your highness?”

Violet teleported in front of Alaric and held him by the neck. Alaric did not react, instead he asked, “What have I done to warrant this treatment? If it is because I bound you to your room then I have to say, I have a reasonable explanation for it.”

Violet tightened her grip on his neck, “You are fool if you think your lies can easily stomp me. You're a mortal, how could you think some petty trick of yours could stop me?”

“Exactly. Why would I try to stop you by bounding you to your room? The best option for me would be to carry my things and run far away from you!”

Violet looked into his eyes, he didn't look like he was lying but he also couldn't face her. She wondered what happened whilst she was drunk. Even though she was a god, she couldn't remember but she couldn't let him know that so she cleared her throat. What if he bounded her to her room because she did something weird when she was drunk.

That did make sense.

Alaric was a reasonable fellow, they was no way he would try to trap her and stay in his mansion at the same timr. He would only trap her if something really happened. But she didn't remember, it wouldn't be a shame if he knew that so she let go of him and sighed, “I.. I remember what happened. It might have been inconvenient but..”

Violet studied his facial expression and inwardly smiled when she noticed that he was nodding along to what she was saying. Maybe she was glowing too much with divine energy and he couldn't bear it so he had to keep her in the room?

“I like it.”

Alaric choked on his spit, “WHAT?!”

Violet turned around, “Whstever I did, you'll never find anyone that can compete with me in that aspect, after all, I'm a god.”

Violet turned back around, she was going to find Uak. She gave Alaric and pat the shoulder, “Sorry for choking you Alaric but you deserve it in a way.” She giggled and hurried to Uak room where she was sleeping.

Violet rolled her eyes and shrugged Uak awake.

When Uak opened her eyes, she sighed, “You're finally sober.”

“Get dressed quickly, we're going to pay our friend a visit.”

Uak stretched her arms, “Musa?”

Violet nodded, “I have a weird feeling.”

Uak nodded, “Then, I'll get dressed your highness.”

Once Uak got dressed, Violet teleported them to the back of a shop across Rose Inn. Then she looked around. “Let us ask someone if anything unusual happened lately.”

Uak shook her head, “No, that'll be too suspicious. Lagsu is filled with many insiders. Even those men we hired for some information the last time were working for the government. I had to kill him to remove all traces.”

Violet turned to look at Uak to see if she was serious.

Uak never made jokes..

Violet sighed, those people were insiders..

“Why didn't you tell me?”

“They are insignificant plus I didn't want Alaric to know about it. The less people that knows, the less trouble. Moreover, when I was analyzing the information we received, I noticed that Phalan does not work alone. In fact, he answers to an higher up.”

“What makes you think so?”

“Seventy percent of the guards that were present during the time Musa friend was about to be punished do not directly work for Phalan—”

“—That's understandable, Phalan is a government official. The government should be responsible for dispatching troops and of course, guards.”

“The real question is Who is the governor?”

Violet raised an eyebrow, “What?”

“Follow me to a tea shop.” Uak said and dragged Violet along with her to the tea shop a street away from the Rose Inn.

“Waiter, two cups of chamomile tea please.” Uak said loudly and randomly took a seat in the middle of the shop. 

“Two cups of chamomile tea coming right up! Would you like anything else?”

“Maybe some bread?” Violet said.

“We'll have four cheesecakes!” Uak said loudly.

“Okay!”

Violet frowned, “Order some breads too.”

“Your highness, please go with the flow. You'll understand everything later.”

Violet scoffed but decided to go with the flow like Uak said.

The waiter came back with a tray containing two cups of tea and four cheesecakes.

“Thank you,” Uak said and the waiter left.

Violet immediately grabbed one of the cups and too a huge sjp of the hot tea. 

Uak eyes widened, “Your highness, that is really hot. How could you drink that?”

Violet stared down at the tea. It wasn't hot enough to hurt her. Even Musa had overreacted when she had some hot tea. “Don't worry Uak, it's not that hot.”

“Even thought you have cool powers and stuff, be mindful of your health.”

“I promise.” Said Violet, proceeding to drink the tea.

“By the way, your highness. Ordering Chamomile tea has a significant meaning.”

“Huh?” Violet said.

Uak nodded, “The waiter is not an ordinary person, he was placed here by the queen to send messages to Thestryn.”

Violet was even more annoyed, “Why didn't you say so?”

Uak sighed, “I only confirmed recently and besides, Alaric was around most of the time, I couldn't tell you.”

“What do you have against Alaric anyway?”

“He was the one who stabbed you and killed you.”

Violet lifted her head, “How do you know that?”

“Information, of course. I had to be sure of Alaric's background and besides, that's not all. I found out that his father had some dealings with Phalan years ago.”

“Tell me more.” Violet ordered.

“I didn't find out about the dealings. But when I dug in deeper, I found out that Phalan is just a cover. There's a higher up ruling the state. Even the governor isn't that powerful.”

“Then.. we'll need to find out who the higher up is.”

Uak nodded. “By the way, ordering cheesecakes is not a coincidence. It's simply a code to ask for recent information so matter, when you're eating the cheesecakes beware of the letters in it.”

Violet immediately started eating the cheesecake untill she found a letter inside. She read it and was immediately surprised.

'Saintess Musa punished Chief Phalan by slapping him for waiting to greet her inside her bedroom.’

Violet passed the letter to Uak from under the table. Uak read it and immediately placed the paper in her mouth and started chewing it.

“Musa is in danger.” Uak said.

“Clearly. I had that feeling. That is why I'll send you to the saintess residence. I'll be reassured with you there.”

Uak shook her head, “That is impossible. My duty is to protect you, not an outsider.”

“Musa is on my side, she wants a better Lagsu.”

“Our queen wants to declare war and take over Lagsu.”

“War is not the way to take over Lagsu, we can only do so by winning the hearts of the people. Moreover, since the queen gave you to me, you cannot disobey my orders.,”

Uak frowned and stared down at the table, “I still won't go! I can't leave you alone with that foxy guy!” 

Violet sighed. So it was because of Alaric she was unwilling to leave.. She didn't trust him.

“Uak,” Violet said in a calm tone, “The reason I'm at Alaric place for now is to take back what he owes me. In the past, he killed me. There's nothing wrong in taking back what he owes me.”

Uak thought about it, then nodded, “That makes sense. No wonder you were able to get those coins from him easily. But Master, you must be really careful not to be manipulated by that guy.”

“I know. I have a greater task in front of me. And besides, your protecting Musa will only be temporary. I'll ask the waiter to send a letter to Thestryn, asking them to send thirty warriors here.”

Uak squealed, “Thank goodness! I'll go and ask the waiter then, you stay here.”

“Let's check the other cheesecakes for the other letters first.” Violet suggested and Uak nodded.

They checked, there were no more messages in the cheesecakes.

After Uak sent a message to the waiter, they walked out of the tea shop and strolled the streets.

Then Violet said, “Instead of thinking of a way to meet Musa, what don't I make you invisible so you can go directly to her residence.”

“That is a good idea but what if I meet a powerful magic user who can see through the illusion?”

“It won't be an Illusion Uak. You will be completely invisible but it can only last for ten minutes.”

Uak smiled, “That's the only time i need.”

Violet smiled back. They went to a private place and Violet casted the spell. Even Violet could not see Uak after casting the spell, she could only feel her energy.

“Master, I'll get going now. Please be careful around Alaric and oh, don't drink.”

“Save your breath and get going, use your time wisely.”

“Oh, okay.”

With that, Violet heard retreating footsteps. Then she sighed. She had forgotten to talk about clothing with Uak, but since she was going to be with Musa, it would be fine. Also, the arrangement was temporary.

She sighed and continued roaming the streets. She bought every interesting things she saw and ate gleefully. It was somewhat soothing to her nerves.

When Violet had enough, she decided to go back. She passed through the lone path and held the bag containing the goodies she had just bought.

Enthusiastically, she hummed a tune under her breath as she walked swiftly. Then suddenly, she felt as though someone was watching her. She turned back only to find a man with a hat, sitting on top of the rooftop directly in front of her. He looked like he knew magic and was very good at it. Violet however decided to play dumb.

“Mister! You look stuck, shall I help you?!” 

The man seemed cold and distant as he lifted his hat to look at her.

“It is you.” He said, then removed the hat from his head and flicked it in Violet direction. Judging from the fabric of the hat, it was supposed to be harmless but coupled with the man's magic essence, it felt light and sharp as a blade.

Just when Violet was about to make a move, a familiar man appeared in front of her and used his fan to send the hat back to the owner.

Stunned, the man caught his hat mid air and looked at Alaric closely. “Sir Alaric, I've heard of your frivolousness towards young women but I can assure you that the woman you're protecting isn't worth the effort.”

Alaric snorted, “Like I give a damn.”

Violet pushed Alaric aside, “I had everything under control!”

Alaric looked at Violet and glared at her, using eye gestures to plead with her to go along with what he was saying.

“Young Master, I've been given orders to kill this woman and bring her body back so forgive me if I offend you.” 

“Why o sent you to kill me?” Violet asked.

“I shall not speak of his name!” With that, the man unsheathed his sword while Alaric took his stance in front of Violet in a protective pose.

 “Now die!” The Man yelled, his sword directly pointed towards Violet. However, Alaric was quick to land a punch on the man's shoulder. The man quickly regained himself and spread his energy force towards Alaric and Violet, trying to pressure them to submit.

Alaric felt as though he was standing on a bumpy train so he couldn't stand well enough to fight.

The man chuckled and walked past Alaric to Violet who was standing still without any problems. “I don't have beef with you, young lady. You can only blame your luck for being so bad.”

Violet tssked and folded her hands, “How is a weakling like you going to defeat me? I'm curious.”

The man showed his right hand that were oozing of energy and flung it towards Violet chest. Without no effort, she held his fist with her left hand and landed an energy kick on his chest.

Immediately, his aura disappeared and he stumbled backwards, blood spilling from his mouth. She had ruptured his heart vessels.

Alaric stood up from the ground, “Ars you okay?”

Violet did not respond. Instead she said, “Finish him.”

Alaric looked at the man in front of him and hesitated. That was his father's spy. Without this man, Perhaps, Star clan wouldn't get information pertaining Lagsu and nearer tribes.

“If you won't do it, I will.” Violet summoned her sword and pointed it to the man's neck.

Coincidentally, the man gasped. “That's a good saber!” Then he bowed his head, “Before you kill me, please tell me your identity.”

“I will if you give me the name of the man that wants to harm me.”

The man bowed his neck, “Then I'd rather die without knowing.”

Violet lifted her sword above his head and said, “Violet.” With that, she brought the sword down and watch the man's head divide from his body. Alaric shivered at the sight. He knew she was ruthless but he'd nearly really seen her in action untill now. After beholding the scene, he wasn't sure he could look at her the same.

“Let's go back,” Violet said and in the blink of the eye, they appeared in front of Alaric mansion.

“What about the body? It'll become news that someone died by morning.”

“I know.” Said Violet recklessly, “I meant for that to happen.” With that, she started walking to the mansion.

Alaric clenched his fists, then let go. He had regrets. He shouldn't have let the man from earlier die.

He sighed and watched Violet enter the house in a somewhat jovial mood, he also followed behind her and as soon as the front door was shut, Violet appeared in front of him, placing her bloody sword near his nose.

He tried to keep himself forward but he couldn't take it. He remembered how easily the man's head slid out of his head and it made him puke.

Violet laughed and took a few steps back, “Do you regret not saving that man?”

Alaric held himself up, “Please leave me alone for now I—”

“—Impudent!” She snapped, “You are my prisoner. How dare you order me around?”

Alaric sighed, “You are right. I hurt you before, I deserve this. I just have some regrets about letting him die.”

“I know. You didn't fight your best which is totally understandable because I kept you hostage but the question I have for you is, Would you have let me die if I was weak to protect myself from that guy?”

Alaric could not answer the question and that was Violet's cue.

“I'm going to my room to take a break, clean your disgusting vomit from the ground before I get back.”

With that, she teleported to her room and instantly begun a mind meditation technique to clear her mind.