Chapitre 73: A Quiet Meeting
Dave, Ben, and Stacey were not outside the room when Altair was pulled out of her room.
Altair was taken to Sarah's room without a word between her and the maid spoken. The maid did not let go of Altair's hand the entire way. Altair didn't try to get her hand free either as her mind had too many random nonsensical thoughts being thrown into it.
For reasons she couldn't figure out, Altair had a mixture of anxiety towards this meeting she was about to have. She kept wondering if the clothes he had picked were appropriate even though she didn't care. She wished she had done her hair even though she didn't. She regretted not having some gift prepared even though she wouldn't have known what to bring and didn't actually want to. She considered what way to greet her despite not caring what Sarah would think about her.
'Stop worrying about nonsense,' she told herself scornfully.
Tired of her mind going to stupid directions, Altair threw a crisp slap at herself to try and clear her thoughts. The slap echoed in the corridor and drew strange looks from the guards nearby but that was it. The maid holding onto her didn't even pause her steps. The pain managed to drive the strange ideas from her head for the time being.
Altair was taken to the third floor of the mansion. It was her first time on this floor as everywhere else she had been was on the first and second floors. She was then taken to a massive room on the east side of the building that was easily four times the size of the room she was living in. Even the doors were obscenely gaudy by her estimations.
The maid knocked on the gigantic door and waited in silence. After several minutes of waiting around and starting to wonder if she should leave, the door was opened by another maid who moved out of the way as she opened the door from the inside. The maid holding Altair then pulled her inside the room.
Right behind the doors was a jeweled staircase. The maid dragged Altair up the stairs and revealed the room proper that was above. She was almost blinded by the lavish decorations that she was sure could fund the entire Demi-Human Survival Coalition for decades. It was such a huge amount she was sure she could even bribe Human nobles to change sides.
The walls of the room were windows that revealed the entire surroundings of the mansion. In all four corners of the room were massive curtains that were gathered together. There were small, mini walls that were placed on the other side of the room that blocked the view to those areas but didn't conceal the windows behind them. From them, she could see the top of a canopy bed in one area that was larger than the one in Altair's room. The top of the room was decorated in an elaborate painting depicting plants that Altair had never seen before and majestic beasts that seemed to come alive after looking at them for long enough.
As she was gawking at the decorations, Altair's eyes caught sight of Sarah who was sitting with one leg over the other on a comfortable looking couch that faced the entrance to the room. Sarah was dressed in an extravagant, yet simple, dress that seemed to ooze authority just by being worn by her. Once Altair's eyes caught sight of Sarah her heart started to race in anticipation and it caused Altair's brows to furrow.
Sarah gave Altair a warm smile as the maid pulled Altair towards her. Once the maid had pulled Altair into the middle of the room, the maid abruptly let Altair go and walked off towards the wall. Besides Altair and Sarah, the room had two dozen maids spread throughout who were standing around waiting for any opportunity to assist their Mistress.
Altair stood frozen to the spot she was left at. She wanted to move forward and at least greet the lovely woman who was her (fake) mother but something stopped her. She had a sudden surge of fear course through her as she wondered if Sarah would be displeased by her.
Altair wanted to feel angry at herself. Her thoughts made no sense. Her feelings were in turmoil over this woman before her that she had only seen twice. Their relationship shouldn't even matter in the end because she would be leaving sooner or later. She didn't even really want to get closer to her but found herself unable to leave or do really anything at that moment.
Sarah eyed Altair like a piece of meat as she smiled at her. After a few long minutes she spoke in a gentle tone as she said, "You're clothes are not fitting of your status, my daughter."
Altair felt a tinge of shame run through her that annoyed her greatly. 'What the hell is wrong with me?! I shouldn't be feeling like this.'
As far as Altair knew, there was no Magic that could influence a person's thoughts. Curse Magic could not force someone to do something. It would only punish them for not doing it. However, she did not know if that was the case with Inborn Abilities that these Human's had. The thought never even crossed her mind because the very idea of something like that was absurd to her.
Sarah motioned towards the seat next to her as she said, "Come, sit and let's have a nice long talk."
Altair found that she could finally move with those words. She walked forward without a second thought and took the seat offered her next to Sarah. Sarah then looked at her warmly and with gentle eyes as she said, "It seems that you have recovered well. I didn't interrupt anything important but calling you here, did I?"
Altair answered without thinking, "No, the Ladrian people aren't important to me at all." Immediately after she admitted that, Altair blinked in surprise. 'What am I doing?' She didn't know why she answered honestly.
Sarah tilted her head sideways slightly as a maid in the background started to make some tea. She then spoke softly, "How strange. I wonder why they would visit you."
Altair took the initiative to answer before she even realized what she was doing, "Joshua scheduled it apparently. They won't stop bothering me unless I fight the younger girl."
Sarah didn't seem to show any reaction to what Altair had said. It was like she already knew about it. She simply replied, "I see, it was the Ladrian children that came over. Well, never mind about them, then. How are you adapting to your new life here?"
As before, Altair instantly replied without a thought, "I enjoy learning about the science of this place. It's very different-" Altair stopped herself before she said something she shouldn't. She could barely believe that she had just spoke again without thinking. It was like she completely trusted Sarah when she barely knew her.
Sarah wrapped her arm around Altair comfortingly, "That's good. I'm sure you'll soon find it to be even more interesting. I'm sure you would feel more comfortable talking in private though." She looked around the room and said, "All of you, make sure that we have some privacy here."
At her words, the maids proceeded to close the room off to the world. They closed the curtains over the massive windows, droppings the room into dim lighting. They locked the windows and doors and, judging by the sounds of locking doors behind the sectioned off area of the room, there were doors behind the partitions as well. The maid making tea dropped it off on the table before them before she joined the other maids at the entrance to the room. All of the maids bowed respectfully all at once, as if it was a practiced motion, and then left the room to stand guard outside. Altair watched this all happen and didn't put it into her mind even though she stared at them as they went.
It was as if their actions didn't matter to Altair. She didn't think about how strange it was for them all to leave so suddenly. She didn't consider the reason why Sarah wanted to talk with her alone. She didn't think there was anything wrong with the situation at all.
In fact, she actually felt happy that they were leaving her alone with Sarah.
'Why do I feel so giddy?' She asked herself without showing it on her face.
Altair and Sarah sat in silence until the room emptied. As soon as it was empty Sarah turned her head to Altair and said, "We are alone now…" As soon as those words left Sarah's mouth, Altair couldn't remember anything. Even that very last sentence that was uttered softly into her ear.
L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS 
Harqoua
Harqoua This one is shorter than normal but the next chapter is extra long to compensate for that.
The book was close to breaking the top 500 for a couple of days. It may have even broken the top 500 when I wasn't looking as the lowest I saw it at was 501 at one point.
Sadly, the website doesn't keep a record of lowest ranking so I cannot confirm.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone