Business in Halaima boomed, keeping Eyna busy all day.
Not enough to fill her Master's void, but—
When she wasn't working the Kitsune Trading Company's numbers, she was out.
Negotiating with peddlers. Selling nomadic bows in limited numbers.
And sorting out the differences of their owners with—well, everyone else.
It was a tiring and unrewarding work.
But in keeping the town running, she finally made use of the skills she had had since her birth.
Ones she could never explain, but made her useful.
At least, for Konrad.
Eyna was born the daughter of a tribal chieftain, eighteen winters ago.
His father—and anyone else in that tribe—had never learned how to read or write.
And yet, she could do it from her birth.
That man would rather trust a shaman's divination than numbers. He would put his people's fate on a die roll. And thus, when he had led the Black Rivers to ruin, it surprised no one.
It was a reckless, thoughtless way to live.
Had he been still alive to see Konrad rush in and save them—
It always made Eyna wonder. Why was she so different?
She never found her place in the world. Her purpose—her destiny—eluded her.
But serving the Duke of Halaima was her obsession now.
She found solace in the thought that she belonged to him, and everything clicked into place.
Until the moment Lucifer's puppets arrived.
No. His victims.
She preferred that word despite what his Master's wives used, since Kornad was also among them. And he was unwilling to dance as the fallen angel had pulled the strings.
They were people—from a child from another world to the Green Mage—who reincarnated.
Those who kept their memories of a previous life and gained unimaginable powers, but—
Remained under the influence of one powerful heavenly being, whether they liked it or not.
And that's when she thought of her unexplainable skills and knowledge.
The natural ability to calm people down and negotiate.
What if she got those because she was also one of them?!
"No, you're not," Lady Gabrielle stated, appearing out of the blue. "You're not Lucifer's, at least."
It was almost as if she had materialised only to answer a question she had never asked out loud.
But she couldn't say it surprised her.
Eyna might not have been the smartest around here. But she had already figured out that the frail, sickly daughter of Lord Schwertburg was also an angel.
One of the most powerful beings she knew, in disguise.
"Don't put yourself down like that," Lady Liliana appeared, too, patting her shoulder. "She spelled it out black and white to some folks, and they still didn't put the pieces together."
Ah. And talk about powerful.
The only one who could rival the angel was the 'Demonic Highness'.
Lilith giggled, ruffling Eyna's silvery purple hair.
"Good girl," she smirked. "Hadn't called myself that for a while, but you remembered."
Lady Gabrielle rolled her eyes.
"And you talk about spelling things out?"
The freckled little ginger shrugged with a fake pout.
"I don't play with people—that much," she claimed. "And you know she's, like, actually smart and useful. Even made me jealous a little. So it'd be about time you told her who she is, too."
"Who am I?" Eyna repeated, blinking.
They caught her in the long corridor between the—now ruined—Church and Konrad's office.
She ran yet another errand, carrying parchments with her calculations. They all got wrinkled as she clutched them to her chest. But, for some reason, their appearance made her breathe faster.
"What's the point?" Gabrielle scoffed, turning to leave, but Lady Liliana wouldn't let her.
"'Cuz despite everything, she's still a human being. Sort of," the ginger claimed. "So it's about time you started treating her like one, 'Mom'."
Their bickering was nothing new, but this confused her.
Mom?!
"See, you're only scaring her," the angel in blue said, peeling Lilith's hand off her dress. "We have enough problems with Lucifer's puppets as is. You're right, she's useful, but if I told her—"
"W-wait," Eyna put the pieces together, purple eyes widening. "A-am I one of them?!"
That would have made so much sense.
It explained why she had skills she shouldn't have. The fact that she never found her place in this world. And hold on. Didn't her Master leave to find more of those, um, puppets as well?
Could she become even more useful to him?!
She knew nothing about the reason, but—
"No, no, you're not," Lady Gabrielle sighed, rubbing the saddle of her nose. "See, you gave her the wrong idea. Shouldn't you be busy elsewhere, anyway?"
"Oh, I am," the little ginger said, puffing her chest. "Making sure everyone's all right."
But with a mischievous wink, she turned to face her, fingers running along her arm.
"And that includes Eyna, too."
"She seemed fine," the angel noted. "Without you putting me in a bad light in front of her, too."
Bad light? They confused Eyna more and more.
"So you admit you were a bad, bad girl?!" Lady Liliana smirked.
Yeah, she was no match for her Master's wives. They came from a higher plane, and she couldn't comprehend their words. Whether she was one of Lucifer's puppets or not, this was—
"I told you—both of you—that you're wrong," Gabrielle snapped, her patience thin.
She seemed upset for some reason as well.
And Lilith looked very satisfied.
"Want me to tell her, then, or will you?" she asked. "I mean, Konny boy already knows, so—"
"Fine," the angel yelled before turning to face her. "Eyna, you're not Lucifer's puppet. You don't have a greater purpose in life, either. Not anymore. So go, live any way you want."
She had no purpose at all?!
"Ugh," Lilith moaned. "How'd you get the worst way to say it? And without saying anything, too."
Wasn't it true, then?
She was too confused to ask now.
But the little ginger grabbed her shoulders, staring her straight in the eyes.
"Listen, Puppy-girl," she said. "You're not Lucifer's puppet, 'cuz you're Gabrielle's. And your purpose is no longer relevant, because my Konny boy saved you from martyrdom."
"Hey," the angel protested, but it almost didn't register. "How's that a better way to say it?!"
"I gave her actual info, stupid," Lilith snapped back.
"All you did was paint me in a bad light," Gabrielle pointed out.
"And every angel is terrible anyway," the little ginger claimed with a shrug. "You, your brother. All the same. It was about time this poor, innocent Puppy had learned the truth about herself."
But the Puppy girl—no, wait, her name was Eyna—was still not in the state of enlightenment.
She was in complete shock.
"L-Lady Gabrielle reincarnated me?!" she muttered, with the other two almost missing it at first.
"Ah, no, no," Lilith shook her head. "More like, made you from scratch? Right?"
"I sampled the purest of human souls for inspiration, but that's more or less correct," the angel said. "But I won't let you off the hook for that, demonspawn. Once we dealt with my brother—"
An artificial construct?
She was a being, built from samples of other people's souls?
And to become a martyr?!
The long corridor spun way too fast around her, her legs giving out.
But it took a while for those bickering women to notice Eyna on the floor.