Chương 26: Leaving Stainhardt

The day dawned gloomy, with fog lingering throughout the city of Stainhardt. Naturally, some might view it as a scene from a horror movie, but...

"It seems we've entered winter," Beatrice remarked as she observed the landscape obscured by dark clouds and dense fog, which, besides being gloomy, was truly chilly.

"Yes, the mountains have started releasing this strange fog again; it's not a good sign," Monica, her maid, said as she gazed at the somber surroundings.

"What will you do?" Beatrice asked, clearly referring to what she would do after selling the estate and relinquishing her title as Baroness.

"Hm? What do you mean?" Monica questioned, confused, and Beatrice was more direct: "Where will you go after all this is over?" She was straightforward, not caring much about material possessions, let alone the place her father built with blood and theft.

In fact, after Beatrice discovered some of her father's deeds, she no longer believed in the paternal love she had received. A man who kills, steals, tortures, and mistreats his employees does not deserve respect. He might have seemed like a good father, but she realized various issues she hadn't been aware of before, especially the fights with her mother. Now, a lot of things made sense, and it made her furious to have been deceived by her own family.

"I will stay by your side, Little Beatrice," the maid said, drawing Beatrice's attention, who hadn't heard that in a long time.

Monica raised Beatrice much more than her mother did. Her mother wasn't a very kind person, and her father... well, her father was a blatant traitor.

"What?" Beatrice asked, and Monica smiled. "How could I abandon my little Beatrice just because she won't be a noble anymore? Well, for a while, since Master Strax is one of the greatest nobles in the kingdom," she said, laughing, and Beatrice blushed. "S-s-stop!" She spoke quickly, just the thought of truly marrying Strax... she had a "system malfunction."

"Hehehe, so adorable," Monica said, stroking Beatrice's hair. "I'll stay by your side, young miss." She said, "Oh, young mistress, actually, isn't it?" She laughed again, a feeling of... well, that's better left for later.

Strax watched from afar the interaction between the two women. Of course, he had discovered some things when he began delving into Beatrice's father's personal files.

"It seems we have a different finding here," Strax said, reading the information provided by the Analysis. Sure, he would love to have more information, but this was already enough.

"She seems to be only twenty-five..." He murmured, looking at the beautiful appearance of the maid. She slightly resembled Beatrice, especially her eyes... Her eyes were golden, beautiful, just like Beatrice's, and her hair was light, like white gold, but she was quite mature.

[Analysis.]

[Name: Monica von Storm.]

[Age: 38 years.]

[Cultivation: Specialist Stage Core Cultivator.]

"It's curious to think that besides Beatrice, there's another cultivator here," Strax said, remembering what he had read in Beatrice's father's papers. "It'll be interesting when she discovers Monica's strength; I can hardly wait," Strax said, lightly laughing, and began to approach the women.

"My dear," he said, catching Beatrice's attention, who quickly turned to him and hugged him tightly. "Is it time to go already?" she asked. "Yes, I hope it won't take long to sell this place," Strax said, caressing her hair, gently pulling her head to give her a kiss, and so it was, their lips met peacefully as he held her firmly in a farewell embrace.

They broke away from the hug, and Strax looked into Monica's eyes and said, "I spoke with Samira, and she allowed one of her subordinates to take charge of protecting Beatrice until we meet again. Do the same. Protect her with your life." Strax said, and Beatrice was puzzled by how he was talking to Monica, however... "You can count on me, Master Strax; Beatrice will be under my care completely, and I will protect her with everything I have."

"I rely on your services," Strax said, lightly bowing in respect, as did Monica. "I'll be going," he said, looking at Beatrice, who nodded. Again, a calm kiss was planted on her lips.

"Stay safe, my dear," Beatrice said, giving Strax one last tight hug, he nodded and kissed her forehead, "See you in a few weeks," with a final smile, he parted from his wife and turned to leave the mansion.

"Finally," Samira sighed, watching the man leave through the front door. Well... being a body cultivator, she had better senses and heard all the idiotic conversation that had taken place. 'Tsk, sentimentality will get you killed, idiot,' she thought, seeing Strax's happy face, allowing a scowl to rise on her expression.

"What's with that look?" Strax asked curiously, but Samira bit her tongue and commented, "Are you done playing house already? We don't have all day." She said and continued turning towards the armored carriage her guild had set up. "Get in quickly, let's go." She ordered, and Strax chuckled lightly.

"My 'Little Fire' is very competent; what awaits us, huh? An adventure!" he teased. Samira had some of her veins exposed, and her face turned red with fury, but before she could yell at Strax, "Shall we? The fog is thickening," Strax said, seeing the area becoming denser.

Strax looked back and saw Beatrice waving, and he waved back. "See you later!" he shouted, and she nodded. "Now, let's go find my lovely scary sister," Strax said, this time... quite serious.

Strax entered the carriage, and Jason was already inside waiting for him.

Meanwhile, in the distance.

"Is that him?" a hooded man questioned, while the other two nodded. "How much time do we have?" one of the three asked, "Fifteen days until they reach the Ducato, if that's where they're going, as the information says. We can ambush them."

"Have you informed the leader?" the third asked, and the first and second nodded. "Then start moving; we need to reach the mountain range before them, let's prepare some surprises. We need money, don't we?" He chuckled lightly, and the three vanished into the fog.