Chapitre 96: Festival (IV)
"Hi, Coco." I breathed in a sigh of relief. The intense fight back there wasn't something I wanted to go through any time soon. Living a peaceful and calm life was something that I wanted to do for my whole life as a dragon.
"Are you okay, young mistress?" She peered up towards me with concern.
"Yea. Where's Tart? Has he come home yet?"
"Tart's not with you?"
"Well, no," I remembered that I went out in a hurry that I completely forgot to meet up with Tart. This was my own mistake in leaving Tart behind on such a day.
"That little pup!" Coco growled. She balled up her fist and glared. "When he gets home-"
"Young mistress~" Tart burst through the door with a sweet voice. He ran up towards me with open arms, half crying with a half worried expression.
Suddenly, I saw Coco do a splendid drop kick that made Tart into a pancake. There was one thing that I always admired, Coco's perfect execution of her kicks that seem to land one hundred percent of the time. Tarts seem to never learn to dodge out of harm's way and always seem to fall for the same trick repeatedly.
Tart was lying on the floor, groaning in pain. He gave me the most pitiful look, a handsome grown man could give me. If he was the same child the last time I saw him, I would've rushed over and coaxed him, but now it's a bit weird doing that, so I held myself back.
"W-why did you hurt me?"
"Idiot pup. Where were you this whole time? Don't you see that young mistress is injured?" Coco's voice roared.
"Injured? Where?!" Tart bolted upright and rushed over towards me.
Wait, how did Coco know I was hurt? I did feel a couple aches and pains on my legs, chest, and arm, but I don't see any visible cuts anywhere. Looking around, I tried to find where I was supposed to be injured.
Coco walked over with a frown, she lifted my bangs in front of my eyes. Her face scrunched up into anger when she saw something that I could not. "Here." She pointed towards my forehead.
"It's true!"
"Go get me the medicine bag, quickly!"
Tart darted away, leaving us behind.
"I'm okay, Coco." I tried to console her raging fury.
"No, you're not, young mistress. I can tell that you went through some kind of trouble. You're not the type to trip and fall. This wound on your head is from a sharp object. Not only that," she pushed aside more of my hair and touched a bruised behind my neck. I winced when she pressed down.
"You have bruises all over your body. This is not the only place for a young mistress." She stated with concern. She was checking every inch of my body, and all I could do was flinch every time she pressed a sour spot. "Please, let's go to your room."
I nodded and followed her. We eventually came to my room that was now decorated with dolls and famous expensive artworks. I'm not sure when I started to collect them out of the habit of one day pawning them into gold coins when needed. The whole castle was honestly a treasure trove of items, luckily nobody had attempted to steal anything from the castle.
There's even rumors, stating that statutes start moving, magical traps activating, and even ghostly guards coming out to fend away the thief from stealing. I don't know if it's true, but many Adventurers who came to visit stated such things about the residence, and now it became some kind of fabled legend.
It's not like the five humans that came out from the Earth were the last ones, they were already over two hundred, roaming around in this world from my understanding. Coco had personally directed them over, though she stated that the number of people coming over was dwindling these past five years.
I didn't completely understand something about how there wasn't enough magical energy to power the fountain or something like that.
With an aching body that I didn't notice until now, I hobbled over towards my large canopy bed with fluffy sheets and pillows that were nicely kept in order. Coco does a splendid job in keeping the castle immaculately clean. I swear, so far, I haven't found a single speck of dust. I don't know how she does it.
A couple of maids that I didn't even know appeared from the door. Did we just hire more maids? I tilted my head confused. They were bringing in a large bucket that could fit two people inside the tub. One after another, hot water was poured in the tub, creating a steamy room.
"More maids?"
"I forgot to tell you, young mistress. A couple of years ago, the castle had accommodated us with a couple new maids and butlers. The roaming monsters had changed to human form to serve you."
I had a bit of difficulty in hearing what Coco just stated. More monsters? Castle accommodated, what? My head is spinning from the sudden influx of information. I knew that the castle had turned Coco, Tart, and Moca into servants as well, and now they were an increase of them running around the castle.
"H-How many?"
"Fifty, young mistress. Is that not to your liking?"
"F-f-fifty." I was completely dumbstruck. This was like having a personal monster army living inside the castle. "N-no. It's alright."
"I'm glad to hear that young mistress. I needed a couple of maids to help me take care of the castle."
"I see. I'm sorry for putting you through such a burden."
"Absolutely not. I serve only you."
Her words were like honey, my lips curled into a smile. Coco, Tart, and Moca were my favorite people, but they never ever saw me as friends and instead of owner and master. I have tried numerous times to change such a mentality, but it failed horribly. They wouldn't budge their opinions. Instead, I gave up, even trying.
"Your bath is ready." Coco motioned me over.
I started to undress, but Coco came over, helping me. "Young mistress. Let me help you. Please do not take our jobs from us. It is our pleasure to serve you."
I held back in a groan. Being way too much pampered makes me uncomfortable. It's like if I get to indulge in such hospitality, I swear I'll probably become fat and lazy!
"It's alright, Coco. I can do this by myself." I winced when I peeled back my clothes that seemed to be stuck onto my stomach.
Once pulled, I noticed a huge purple spot and even a couple of cuts streaked from one corner of my belly to the other.
"Young mistress?!" Coco gasped in shock when she saw my body.
I didn't know that cuts and bruises were this severe. The twins really did a good beating on my body, making me cringe. I was glad that I wasn't completely black and blue, bleeding my guts out on the side like when I fought the Black Gryphon. His children seem to be just as strong but not as strong as the Black Gryphon himself.
"How? Where did you go to get such cuts and bruises."
I slipped in the hot tube slowly. The moment my cuts touched the water, I held in a gasp from the pain. Warm water and cut skin definitely didn't go well together, but getting over the pain was a huge relief that escaped my lips. Yep, hot water was truly the best relief there is for pain and aching bones.
Settling in the water, I closed my eyes to enjoy the bubble bath. "I was attacked."
"By who?" Coco's voice was deadly.
"The Black Gryphon's children."
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone