"Hmm, looks like Brother Zack succeeded!" Alfie suddenly spoke up while everyone was talking casually among themselves.
"Huh?" Everyone turned around and looked behind them. Through the crowd, they spotted the last expert Queen guard woman running toward them. She dodged the crowd with her sharp movements, though exhaustion showed clearly in her stride.
HUFF! HUFF!
"Master Zack succeeded!" she announced between heavy breaths. Even while breathing hard, her posture stayed perfectly straight. Every muscle remained in its trained position, not a single one relaxing from the discipline drilled into her. The other expert guards came to her side right away, and one gently patted her back in quiet support.
"Good work, Miss Expert. Thank you for bringing the names to us," Oliver said as he stepped closer with Alfie beside him. His expression shifted, worry creeping into his features. "How is Zack? I'm sure he got hurt, but how badly?"
The youngest maid stood behind them quietly, keeping her distance and staying out of their conversation.
"Master Zack got hurt a little badly, but Miss Sasha was there with him, so he should be fine now," 4th Expert Guard spoke, then looked at her sisters. Trouble clouded her expression. "Umm, actually, there's a slight problem."
"Huh? What?" the others asked, their curiosity rising as they leaned in closer.
"Sighh... it seems our grandmother's name is also on this list!" 4th Expert Guard looked at her sisters, and for the first time, their eyes showed a huge reaction behind their masks. Shock hit them so hard they couldn't speak. Their usual composure shattered completely.
"Huh? Your grandmother was taking these weird energies? But why?" Oliver's mind started racing as he processed what he'd just heard. "These names connect indirectly to that horrible man who attacked Princess Natalia! We figured these energies could either create lots of overdose cases or maybe give people powers some weird powers that would support our enemies in some way! This isn't good, Miss Expert!" Oliver analyzed everything quickly, his voice coming out grave. Concern darkened his expression.
The other three expert women felt their eyes slowly filling with tears as reality sank in. Their grandmother was mixed up in this dangerous mess. Their hands trembled slightly at their sides.
"Guys, please calm down. Let her finish," Alfie spoke after noticing that 4th Expert Guard wasn't panicking like the others. His steady voice cut through the rising emotions around them.
She nodded with gratitude and kept explaining.
"Please, everyone, don't worry. Master Zack said he fought someone with incredible power. Not an energy user, yet strong enough to match him evenly."
She paused, the memory playing in her mind.
"One of his subordinates, someone he called 'Rugged woman,' fought right alongside him. I saw her myself... she looked incredibly strong."
Her gaze moved around the space, seriousness filling her expression.
"So the enemy has to be quite powerful."
She stopped to catch her breath and spoke again. "Master Zack added that he felt a stronger concentration of this weird energy on the enemy specifically. So, he said the people taking these energies from the supply tunnels are only getting residue or leftover energy, basically nothing to be worry about them. He told us not to take these people seriously since they're no real threat to us, and to be lenient with them..... And one of the women who was affected by this ENERGY, someone called as Ms. Phoebe, helped them a lot in all this ordeal. Master Zack had treated her already and said her energy concentration was very weak, so these people are okay. Her name got cut from this list by Master Zack order"
She looked at her sisters with hope lighting up her eyes. "That's why Grandmother probably took some out of curiosity and ended up ordering more. I am sure she is innocent...…and I was hoping I could ask Master Zack to treat her from this addictive energy, but I'm nervous if he'll agree or not." 4th Expert Guard spoke at length, explaining the entire situation to the others with careful detail.
Hearing this full explanation, her sisters visibly calmed down. They breathed out collectively in relief, their shoulders relaxing just a bit.
"Hmm, so overall, these people on the list are just test subjects," Alfie spoke thoughtfully. Then his eyes suddenly lit up with excitement. "I wonder if I can defeat those enhanced people! Hehe!"
TAK!
"Now's not the time to dream about fighting!" Oliver hit his head and spoke with firmness. "Zack said to be lenient and not take them seriously, so is there even a need to give the names to Nat and make it public?" Oliver asked as the others began talking among themselves, carefully weighing their options.
.
At the gathering place where Princess Natalia sat with her friends, she spotted 4th Expert Guard coming back with a book in her hands. She smiled widely and said happily to her companions, "Hehe! It looks like my secret weapon arrived! Now I'll give you guys a treat to watch and let you see this Princess's grand spectacle! Hehe!" Princess Natalia laughed with anticipation, satisfaction gleaming in her eyes.
"What? It came? Where?" her second male friend asked with interest, leaning forward in his seat.
Natalia gestured toward the back, pointing at the group gathered there. She began telling them about the names in the book and what she planned to do with them.
"Hmm, then why aren't they coming here and giving you that book?" Little man observed, a slight frown appearing on his face. "The first thing a subordinate should do is inform their master, not discuss things among themselves. Natalia, sorry, but it seems like you're being looked down on." Disappointment colored his voice.
"Right! Right! They should trust you, Princess, with whatever you decide," the first female friend spoke, disgust visible on her face as she watched Miss Expert and the others gathered together in discussion. "They're clearly setting a bad example."
"Natalia, sometimes it's fine, but doing it continuously will give you a bad reputation among people. You're a Princess now, so you have to maintain your image," Little man spoke calmly from the side. His tone stayed gentle but carried firm advice.
"Tsk!" Princess Natalia's frustration bubbled over and spilled out. "First Zack embarrassed me, now these guys are playing around among themselves! I'm a Princess, goddammit! Don't keep treating me as a normal friend of yours in front of everyone!!!!" she muttered with frustration, feeling humiliated in front of her higher Crown friends. "OYE, EMMY! COME HERE!" she spoke in a slightly loud voice that made Maid Emmy flinch.
Emmy came swiftly to her side, bowing low. "Go bring that notebook from that guard, and be fast! I don't want to wait anymore for some stupid names. GOOO!!!!!" Princess Natalia ordered in a harsh tone. Her patience had worn completely thin.
Maid Emmy frowned at the tone but nodded obediently. She turned and moved swiftly toward the group. As she passed through the crowd, she saw the youngest maid standing there in a daze, looking around nervously. Emmy's eyes caught the scar on the girl's eye area. Her eye twitched with irritation, but she ignored the girl and kept walking toward the group.
"Everyone! Princess Natalia is asking for that book! Be fast because she's getting angry!" Maid Emmy announced in a loud voice, urgency filling her tone.
"Hmm, why is she getting angry?" Alfie asked with genuine confusion, his brow furrowing.
Oliver just looked back and saw Natalia waiting impatiently while smiling in an embarrassed way at her friends, trying to keep her composure intact. Oliver sighed deeply and shook his head with disappointment. "I'll go with you and talk to her," he said quietly. He gestured for 4th Expert Guard to walk with Maid Emmy as he followed them toward Princess Natalia.
"Umm, Princess, here is the list of names," Miss Expert said respectfully, extending the book toward Princess Natalia.
She didn't look inside. Instead, she snapped right away, "Why were you loitering around when I clearly need this? Don't act like this again because you're here for me, not to discuss things with others!" Princess Natalia's tone came out harsh.
"AG! Sorry, Princess!" Miss Expert bowed deeply in apology, her head lowering.
"Fine. I DON'T CARE," Princess Natalia waved her hand in dismissal. "You probably made a copy, right? I want all these people on the list to come here in half an hour. Take the guards and bring those people here! I'll show all those faces who try to support some outside assassin. They're traitors to this City, and I, as Princess, want no potential criminals around here!" She waved her hand, ordering and dismissing them without looking back.
As she was about to open the book, she heard Miss Expert's hesitant voice. "Umm, Princess, actually there's something..."
"WHAT! NOW?!" Princess Natalia stopped her movement with irritation and glared back at her. Her patience had run out completely.
Miss Expert got flustered, speaking in a low nervous voice. "Umm, my grandmother's name is in there, and Master Zack said..."
"TSK! TSK! An old woman is among these criminals' list? Such a shame!" The second male friend interrupted her mid-sentence, contempt dripping from his voice. "And now her granddaughter is begging to leave her out of it! That's what you get if you bring these people to the 5th rock and give them a place to live. There are already enough bad people here, and bringing these people from other rocks that don't know their place create more problems to us!!"
Miss Expert, hearing this, glared at the man. Her eyes blazed with anger behind her mask.
"OH! OH! LOOK AT HER GLARING AT HER MASTER'S CLOSE FRIEND! TSK! TSK! YOU'VE GOT SUCH BALLS ON YOU! OH SORRY, YOU'RE A WOMAN!" The second man's voice rose dramatically, pulling attention from everyone nearby. "IF YOU WERE IN MY HOUSE, I WOULD HAVE KILLED YOU FOR SHOWING SUCH DISOBEDIENCE! CONSIDE YOURSELF LUCKY YOU'RE UNDER PRINCESS NATALIA BECAUSE SHE'S SOFT ON YOU GUYS, SO BE GRATEFUL TO HER AND LISTEN TO HER ORDERS!!" His harsh words echoed across the space, grabbing the attention of many people around them.
Now many Crown people were looking over, checking out what was happening. All eyes landed on Princess Natalia as pressure mounted around her. Her anger exploded outward.
"CAN'T YOU JUST FOLLOW WHAT I'M SAYING?! IF YOUR GRANDMOTHER IS HERE, THEN SHE MUST HAVE DONE SOMETHING TO GET LISTED AS A POTENTIAL CANDIDATE AMONG THEM!" Princess Natalia's voice rose to a shout, her face flushing red with rage. "THOSE ASSASSIN ENERGIES ARE CLEARLY AMONG THESE PEOPLE, AND FOR SURE THEY DON'T HAVE GOOD PLANS IN THEIR MINDS!!!! MAYBE SHE'S BEING MANIPULATED, BUT SHE COMMITTED A CRIME BY SUPPORTING OUR ENEMY!!!!!... I EMPATHIZE WITH YOU, BUT BRING ALL OF THEM HERE FIRST! AND DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO, AND STOP EMBARRASSING ME IN FRONT OF OTHERS! JUST FOLLOW MY GODDAMN INSTRUCTIONS!"
Miss Expert got shocked with her words making her stood frozen in place because she didn't know what to do or say. The public humiliation stung deeply inside of her, her worry for her grandmother made her question Princess Natalia decision. What should I do? How can I save my grandmother? Master Zack, please help me! Miss Expert Sister was panicking inside; her mind was clouded from all of her raging emotions.
"Nat, at least hear us…Zack gave as important information..." Oliver came forward and tried to speak calmly, attempting to ease the tension in the situation.
"First of all, it's PRINCESS NATALIA here!" she snapped at him, her eyes flashing with anger. "I'm a friend of yours, but respect my position among the peers! What will they think about this Princess if you guys just keep doing as you want behind my back? I'm officially a Princess now, so treat me like that from now on!" Her voice rang out sharp, wanting nothing but them following her orders. "Go away! I can make my own decisions. Zack probably said to be lenient on them, but I don't want to! He doesn't know how to rule. Stop bothering me and just gather everyone here!"
Princess Natalia turned around completely, dismissing them without bothering with their concerns anymore.
Miss Expert stepped back reluctantly, worry written across what little could be seen of her face. Oliver's frown deepened as he watched everything unfold. He stepped back as well, but suddenly grabbed Maid Emmy's hand and pulled her away to a little distance.
"Stop! Young master, what are you doing, grabbing a maid's hand like this?" Maid Emmy spoke with frustration, trying to pull away. Her eyes darted around nervously, checking who might be watching.
"Hey, what's going on with her? Why is she acting like that? Did something happen?" Oliver spoke intently, not releasing her arm. His eyes searched hers for answers.
"She's just under pressure in this environment and doing her job as best as she can. There's nothing wrong with her," Maid Emmy spoke defensively, her eyes not looking his but looking around and she did notice other maids watching them with curious eyes.
"But still, this is too much! She didn't even ask about what Zack said or how he's doing?" Oliver spoke in a daze, genuine confusion in his voice.
"Sighh. Young master, first leave my hand because you're a Crown! STOP ACTING LIKE A KID AND BEHAVE PROPERLY!" Maid Emmy's frustration mounted inside her. "See Princess Natalia? See how perfectly she's maintaining her position in front of all the eyes on her? Learn from her and stop making me look bad!" She frowned in anger as she tried to free her arm from Oliver's grasp.
"Oh my, are you worried people will say bad things about us?" Oliver smiled, trying to lighten the mood as he leaned his face closer to hers. "I won't mind! Let the whole world know that I like this beautiful Emmy!"
Maid Emmy watched this with blank eyes. Her expression went completely cold. Then she spoke in an emotionless voice that cut through the air like ice.
"YOU KNOW WHAT, OLIVER? I DID TRY TO SEE YOU IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT THESE FEW DAYS. YOU SAID THAT YOU ALWAYS FOUND ME FASCINATING AND CLEARLY FELL IN LOVE WITH ME JUST RECENTLY. I APPRECIATE THE THOUGHT, BUT DO YOU KNOW WHAT I THINK ABOUT YOU FROM ALL THESE YEARS?"
Her voice stayed flat but her words were full of deadly posion.
"JUST A SPOILED CROWN BRAT PLAYING AROUND WITH WOMEN USING HIS PARENTS' MONEY. TRUTHFULLY, FOR MANY YEARS I DIDN'T EVEN GIVE YOU A SECOND GLANCE AT YOUR STUPID FACE OR YOUR WORDS. I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW YOUR NAME UNTIL RECENTLY."
She took a breath and kept going relentlessly.
"DON'T GET ME WRONG, OLIVER. I'M A MAID, AND I WAS BUSY WITH MY WORK. I NEVER REALLY CARED ABOUT ANY CROWN PEOPLE BECAUSE I KNEW OUR WORLDS ARE DIFFERENT. I GOT CONFUSED FOR SOME TIME AND GOT PLAYED AROUND WITH YOU. COMING HERE TODAY, SEEING EVERYTHING, MADE ME REALIZE HOW STUPID I WAS."
Her eyes bore into his.
"SO WHY DON'T YOU STOP CREATING PROBLEMS FOR ME? YOU'RE A MAN AND A CROWN, SO NO ONE WILL LAUGH AT YOU OR SPEAK BAD THINGS ABOUT YOU. BUT FOR A COMMON GIRL LIKE ME, MY WHOLE CAREER WILL BE RUINED IF I GET THE TAG OF SEDUCING A CROWN MAN. SO PLEASE, STOP PLAYING AROUND WITH ME."
"I APPRECIATE YOUR HELP MAKING MY LITTLE ONES PART OF YOUR BUSINESS, AND I'LL BE OKAY WITH LETTING THEM NOT BE PART OF THIS ANYMORE. WE'RE LIVING FINE BY OURSELVES, AND WE DON'T NEED SOME CHARITY."
Her voice grew even colder.
"AH, AND ONE MORE THING. STOP ACTING ON YOUR OWN JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD TO DO! THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT MAKES OTHERS HAPPY!"
She gestured toward the youngest maid.
"THAT LITTLE MAID YOU BROUGHT WITH YOU HERE? DO YOU REALLY THINK BRINGING A SCARRED WOMAN TO A PLACE LIKE THIS WILL MAKE HER FEEL COMFORTABLE? JUST STOP, OKAY? I DON'T LIKE YOU. OUR WORLDS ARE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. JUST PLAY AROUND WITH YOUR PARENTS' MONEY SOMEWHERE ELSE. I HOPE YOU UNDERSTOOD WHAT I'M SAYING, OLIVER."
Maid Emmy said everything she'd been holding back. Each word came out like a dagger. Oliver's smile froze in shock, his face going pale as each word struck him hard. She then yanked herself free and walked away, leaving a stunned Oliver standing there alone.
Slowly, he woke from his daze and looked at her retreating back. He kept smiling, but this time his smile wasn't bright or playful. It came out soft and filled with deep sadness. "You didn't have to be so harsh in rejecting me," he whispered to himself, his voice breaking slightly.
Oliver turned away, unable to clearly wrap his head around what had just happened.
He walked back and saw the youngest maid smiling at him, trying to cheer him up with her presence. Oliver knelt down and gently touched her forehead, moving her hair out of the way to see her scar clearly. "Youngest, tell me the truth. Are you uncomfortable here? Did I do wrong in bringing you here? Do people here make you uncomfortable?"
Hearing this, Youngest got surprised. She fidgeted a lot, her hands wringing together nervously. Then she just nodded slowly, unable to lie to him.
"Sighh. I'm sorry I didn't take your feelings into consideration. I was too hasty, so forgive me." Oliver's voice carried heavy guilt. "You can go back to the house. No need to work here." He gently patted her head and was about to stand up when Youngest suddenly grabbed his hands with both of hers.
"Young master, it is uncomfortable here," she spoke while smiling, her voice trembling but her eyes clearly holding determination. "It is uncomfortable but…but... I'm grateful to you!!!!.... I know you want me to accept myself. This scar makes people's faces change a lot because they look at me with disgust. But Young master has never looked at me like that. I'm happy, so happy, that I want to help you, and I'm learning a lot here."
Her eyes slowly filled with tears, her voice was cracking but she pushed through.
"Please don't send me away! I know I don't fit here, but one day I will accept myself just as you intended. I don't care about others because I only care about how young master treats me! So please don't change how you treat me!"
Youngest spoke with fierce determination, confidence rising in her voice. Her small hands gripped his tightly. Oliver for a moment kept looking at her, her trembling hands, her eyes speaking more than she could, Oliver sighed then smiled sweetly.
"Hehe, look at that. Our youngest is so tough!!.... Fine, you can stay here," Oliver said gently, warmth returning to his voice despite his pain from before. "Now, why don't you go help others while you secretly count the people who make those disgusting faces? Hehe, once we go back, we'll draw their faces and laugh at them for making such faces at my house youngest. And to tell you the truth, you are the cutest in our family."
Oliver gently fixed her hair, his fingers tenderly touching near her scar. Youngest smiled brightly, her whole face lighting up before she went away to help the other maids.
Oliver stood and came over to 4th Expert Guard who had stayed back among the three sisters. He bowed deeply to her. "I'm sorry, Miss Expert. I couldn't help you, but I know Zack will help you, so please go to him when your grandmother comes." He bowed in apology again, his posture sincere.
"Please, Young Master Oliver, it's okay. I should have known this would happen," Miss Expert said with resignation filling her voice. "The Princess's attacker's connection is with these names, so it's natural to hate them. I just hope Master Zack doesn't get angry with me since I couldn't complete his order." She sighed in defeat, her shoulders slumping down.
Alfie suddenly smiled widely, showing his teeth in a mischievous grin. "Brother Oliver, isn't Miss Expert quite a talker? I'm sure they love to act since they always wear masks and their eyes don't show much emotion. But today I saw that our Miss Expert Sister are quite emotional people! I'm sure the others are also the same."
He started moving closer to her with playful intent.
"Miss Expert, why not show us your face so that we could see the full range of emotions on your face?"
Alfie slowly came closer to her, ready to jump and remove her mask at any moment.
"Right! Right! I'm curious anyway!" Oliver also moved ahead, though he smiled sadly while glancing towards Maid Emmy.
But he shook his head and joined Alfie's playful pursuit.
"Don't worry Miss Expert, we will keep your beautiful face a secret, we promise not to tell anyone!!"
"GAH! Masters, please don't! NO! NOT MY MASK!" Miss Expert started stepping back nervously as both men laughed with exaggerated evil sounds, making grabbing motions with their hands and teasing her about removing her mask.
Despite the heavy emotions of the day, they played around a little, trying to bring some lightness back to the dark situation that had just unfolded.
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END OF CHAPTER
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Author Blabbering
Well, well, well… look at that—I'm back with images! And no, I didn't use the Grok plan. I found another website that isn't the same as Grok, but it delivers good results. It's a bit slow, yet still very useful.
If you'd like to check it out, you can visit my social media pages where I've already shared plenty of images from past chapters. Or, you can head over to my Patreon page, where I've decided to post the images for free in my Sneak Peek Collection.
Hmm can I can post the link? The website will not ban me right!! I think I already posted the google drive link since I am still alive then heheheheh
https://patreon.com/SkyEco_Stories?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
https://www.instagram.com/skyecostories/
https://www.tumblr.com/blog/skyecostories
https://in.pinterest.com/SkyEcoAiArt/_created/
https://x.com/SkyEcoStories
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