Chapter 104

Chapter 104

My journey to the Vertium territory had been uneventful. I was, however, quite grateful that the White Demon Tamer’s allusion to us running into each other again once we were both outside of Pedelian territory had been for naught.

In fact, since the journey into the Gold clan’s land had been wholly unhindered, I had plenty of peace and quiet to contemplate things. I had already correctly assumed Orka was purely interested in me because of the poison butterflies, but I couldn’t work out what Noel’s excuse could be.

After all, he had bloodied his nose upon seeing me at the gathering, then tried to send me flowers via his top lackey and had finally resorted to coercing me into visiting his clan’s territory. His desperation was just so exhaustive, which made it all the more perplexing.

According to the novel, Lante had ordered Roxana to seduce the different clan leaders, only for her to fail time and time again. Honestly, what could possibly be making these guys flock to me like this? I mean, sure the original characters in the novel and the people I had come to know were different, but that bit of knowledge was of no help to me at all.

I couldn’t help thinking about how much of a pain this new turn of events had been as I turned away from the scenery outside of the carriage to stare at my hands. We had just traveled beyond the Blue clan’s border, but I was longing to go back already.

Especially back to Cassis, who I hadn’t said goodbye to all that long ago. I’m confident that had he known the purpose of my going to the Vertium compound, he wouldn’t have let me go alone. But I was going on Agrece business, so I couldn’t allow him to get involved. The best I could hope for was to deal with the matter quickly, then return to the Blue castle before Cassis made it back from Yggdrasil.

As the carriage curtains swayed from side to side, I slowly closed my eyes and recited my wish to be back with him and the Pedelians.

* * *

“Miss Roxana, we’ve arrived.”

We had finally reached the main Vertium estate. What first struck me when the carriage door opened was the incredibly sweet fragrance in the air. Then almost as if to answer the question of its source I had yet to ask, a flurry of flower petals flew in through the open door.

As I looked out I was amazed to see even more white petals swirling through the air like snow. The scene was something like a paradise composed of beautiful flowers. The perfumes were so heavy, they almost made me dizzy.

When my foot finally made contact with the ground, fallen petals cushioned my step. Once again, I was reminded of how different each of the clans was, even right down to the ground they’re founded on. While the Agrece compound always gave off a somber, closed-in feeling, the Pedelian one felt neat and cozy. The Vertium grounds were another wonder entirely.

“Welcome to the Vertium manor, Miss Roxana.”

“Welcome, Miss!” As Dante led the way, the attendants who had been waiting for my arrival all bowed their heads. Much like the scenery surrounding the estate, even the Vertium people seemed warm and full of life. However, rather than feeling joy at such a warm reception, I still felt puzzled. “As it was a long journey, please rest a bit first, Miss.”

“If possible, I would like to extend my greetings to the Gold Master first.”

“Not to worry. There shall be a banquet in your honor this evening. At which time, our master intends to welcome you officially.” Dante paused for a moment, then seemed to think of a detail worth adding. “As for the matter of the gift mentioned in his invitation letter, I was told that discussion will also take place at your banquet.”

I didn’t want to push my luck, so I nodded in agreement. Then Dante pointed toward the attendants. “The servants will show you to your room now.”

“Right this way, Miss.”

“I do hope the room is to your liking and you have a good rest, Miss Roxana.” And with that, Dante watched as the three female attendants led me away.

The women were also all smiles like those who had greeted me at the reception party. They were quite beautiful but oddly intimidating. I followed them in silence.

* * *

My first thought upon entering my chambers was that they must have put a lot of effort into decorating. To be quite frank, the ornateness was so overdone that I felt the urge to vomit. Still, I didn’t care all that much since I wasn’t planning to stay long.

Once the attendants had left, I immediately summoned my butterflies. I still wasn’t sure how Noel had learned so quickly that I was with the Pedelians after essentially disappearing from the Agrece compound. His knowledge of my whereabouts made me suspect that he might even know that I was a poison butterfly master.

Since my enchanted earrings were not making any sounds, I at least knew that a spell hadn’t been cast over the room. Grizelda had sent the small accessories to me after casting a charm that could detect nearby spells and lessen their effectiveness. I used to own quite a number of such charmed trinkets, but I had left everything to burn along with the Black mansion.

Having remained my ally throughout my days living among the Agreces, Grizelda had thought to gift these to me without even asking. Yet another form of proof that my older half-sister was naturally gifted with good sense. One might call her odd or special, but I simply knew her to be a woman who hadn’t felt any remorse about contributing to our clan’s downfall because she found the entire idea of doing so amusing.

So it came as no wonder to me that she seemed to find this whole affair with the Vertium leader interesting as well. What’s more, at that moment, my instincts told me that she would have likely followed me there and was keeping out of sight somewhere nearby. Knowing that much suited me just fine. I sent my butterflies to various locations within the Gold manor and instructed them to remain as stealthy as possible.

It was hard to believe that Noel Vertium, who had supposedly been so overwhelmingly captivated by me, would actually show up that night. Not only that, but I was curious to find out what he was up to at that moment. And, of course, I was especially curious to verify the lure he had used to get me here. But since I was still uncertain of whether the Vertiums knew of my butterflies, I thought it wise to exercise the utmost caution.

I pushed the silky, purple curtains off to the sides, before gazing out of my room window. The scenery continued to be the stuff of legends. It was an almost heavenly sight, yet my heart remained icy cold.

* * *

From what I could see, Noel was busy primping for the upcoming banquet in his room. He seemed to be going through hundreds of different outfits while ordering and getting annoyed at Dante and the attendants for not being able to help him choose the perfect one. I scowled as I was miffed that my precious butterflies had to waste their time and mine on such nonsense.

After a few minutes, I decided to turn my attention to other parts of their compound. There was quite a bit of activity in what appeared to be their main banquet hall. Oddly enough, everyone working wore a mask. Even stranger was the fact that my other butterflies had returned after making the same observation throughout the estate.

Apart from those attending to Noel in his room, it seemed everyone in the Gold compound made a habit of hiding their faces. I found myself smirking as I thought how fascinating it was that I couldn’t find my answer that easily. After I felt that I had learned enough, I recalled my fluttering demons.

Knock, knock.

Just as the last of my little creatures returned, someone was at my door. “Miss Roxana, we’ve come to help you prepare for the banquet.”

“Very well.”

They opened the door wider to let in a score of servants who were all carrying colorful gowns, jewelry, and numerous pairs of lavish shoes. I immediately had to bite back the urge to sarcastically ask, “Have you all come to play dress-up?”

Instead, I steeled my mind and allowed them to get to work dolling me up like a child’s plaything. They seemed to have brought me almost as many dresses as the number of outfits I had seen in Noel’s wardrobe. However, the number of jeweled accessories far surpassed even those. Obviously, I had no intention of trying on all of those things, so I simply picked the first white dress to catch my eye.

The attendants seemed sorely disappointed with my decision, but once it was clear that my mind was made up and that I wasn’t interested in anything else, they promptly gave up on trying to persuade me otherwise. They did, however, try to press me a bit harder about wearing more jewelry.

“If it’s all right with you, Miss, why not try an earring and necklace set?”

“Very well.” I could hear myself carelessly repeating that same phrase yet again.

Before realizing what I had agreed to, the attendant’s hand was on my left ear. She had moved so quickly that all I could manage was a groan. Then I frowned as I felt red blood begin to drip down my neck.