[Vol. 8] Chapter 5: A Strange Event That Was No Coincidence
Violet didn’t bring many companions on this journey. Aside from Leila and the others who had already come with the delegation to Sainz for the summit, she only brought her long-lost dragon and her two loyal vampire maids, Mia and Selna.
Violet wasn’t the type of person who forgets others once she moves on. Mia and Selna had followed her faithfully and had done an excellent job. Leaving them behind in Sainz would not only be unfair to all the hard work they’d done, but it would also hurt their confidence and possibly lead to serious consequences. That wasn’t something Violet wanted to see.
As Lilya had once said, a maid shines the brightest only when she is by her master’s side. So even if it caused a bit more trouble, Violet decided to bring them along and officially made them her personal maids instead of just temporary helpers.
And as things turned out, this was clearly a smart decision.
Noticing the return of the black-haired girl and the dragon girl, the two young maids quickly stood up, brushing the dust off their clothes. They politely bowed to Violet. Mia then smiled brightly and greeted them.
“Welcome back, Lady Violet and Lady Xiao Guang~ You’re just in time! The meat is almost done cooking, and the soup is just about ready. Would you like to start dinner now?”
“Hmm…”
Violet replied casually, but then she looked around and suddenly seemed puzzled.
“Where are Leila and Rene?”
Those two girls had been sticking close to her ever since reuniting in Sainz. Even though they had been living on their own for over a year now, they were still just as clingy as before. When they heard that Violet planned to cross the border and explore the ruins, they even insisted on leaving the team to go with her. Something that made Violet feel both amused and helpless.
Their presence was actually one of the main reasons Violet had agreed to travel with the delegation for now. After all, angels were a rare and sacred sight in the Holy Empire. It was said that the two of them now had a status in the Church that rivaled the Three Saintess. If they suddenly ran off with a certain priestess, it would probably shake the whole country!
Since joining the team, Leila and Rene had been sticking close to Violet nearly every day. As a result, the dragon girl, whose alone time has been significantly reduced, can barely conceal her murderous gaze. That’s why Violet sometimes took her out for private walks.
But now, the fact that the two girls weren’t here to welcome her back and eat dinner together was quite unusual. It was probably not just a random coincidence.
When Violet asked about it, the two maids looked at each other, unsure. Selna, keeping a blank face, could only answer honestly.
“I’m very sorry, Lady Violet. We don’t know where they went. But they haven’t been around since we started setting up the campfires. Maybe you could—”
“Um… Eudora knows!”
Just then, a young and clear voice suddenly spoke from the other side of the fire. The girls turned their heads and saw a little girl who looked around thirteen or fourteen, and whose height was about the same as the small dragon girl's. She had beautiful, crystal-clear pink hair and soft white skin that made her look like a porcelain doll.
Noticing all the older girls were looking her way, Eudora quickly put down the hot roasted sweet potato in her hands and shyly explained.
“I came here with Sister Leila and the others. But halfway here, the Saintess called the two of them away. She said she found something strange and needed their help to go check it out… or something like that?”
“She specifically asked the angels to help with an investigation…”
Violet exchanged a glance with the dragon girl beside her. She motioned for everyone to sit down, took the fragrant meat soup that Mia handed over, and gave a shiny skewer of grilled meat to her dragon. As she began eating, she asked more about the situation.
“It sounds like something went wrong. Did they say exactly what happened?”
The pink-haired girl quickly shook her head and rested her chin on her hand with a helpless look. “The sisters left very quickly, and the Saintess didn’t look very happy… so I didn’t dare to ask…”
“Hmm.”
Even though Violet hadn’t told Eudora that she was the same "Sister Fox" from before, the two had gotten along well during this time. Violet knew Eudora wouldn’t lie or give false information, so she believed the girl wasn’t hiding anything on purpose.
In other words, Frederica had likely chosen not to explain the situation in detail in front of the child. Was it because it was something she didn’t want others to know about…?
As the firelight flickered over Violet’s thoughtful face, showing her beautiful side profile, the dragon girl suddenly leaned in and gently licked her earlobe with her soft pink tongue. Violet was startled for a moment, then realized what her dragon was trying to do and just shook her head with a helpless smile.
Earlier, they had already found a “surveillance device” near the camp, and now there was suddenly a matter serious enough that the Saintess and two angels had to go deal with it. That didn’t seem like just a coincidence.
But this time, things were different. Frederica was one of their own. Rather than guessing blindly…
“If you’re really worried, why don’t you just go ask them?” the dragon girl suggested. “Their scent is still nearby. They haven’t gone far, probably still somewhere around the outer edge of the camp. It wouldn’t be hard to find them.”
Violet nodded in agreement.
“You’re right, I’m probably overthinking it. Instead of sitting here guessing, it’s better to just ask them directly… But there’s no need to go out of our way to look for them. Let’s eat dinner first. We can talk when they get back.”
“Hehe… Since those annoying girls aren’t here right now, I want you to feed me yourself!”
“Alright, alright… But calm down a bit, okay? The little one is still watching…”
Although Violet planned to wait and ask Leila and Rene when they returned, time passed longer than she expected, making her feel that something unusual might really be going on.
More than three hours later, deep into the night, Eudora had already gone into her tent to sleep, Leila and Rene finally came back looking exhausted. They reported the situation to Violet.
As expected, it wasn’t good news.
“There were signs of cult activity? Another cult again…? Isn’t the Austre Empire supposed to have decent security? Wait, don’t tell me it’s the ‘Church of Truth’ again? Or maybe those annoying people from the ‘Eternal Throne’? I remember their headquarters is in the Austre Empire too…”
As Violet sighed and complained sharply, Leila shook her head.
“It doesn’t seem to be either of those two groups, Lady Violet… Here’s what happened. Around sunset, Lady Frederica came to us and said the scouts found a large mass grave north of the camp. It was very close by and might be dangerous, so she asked the two of us to help investigate.”
“You know that the Valandia Province, as a border region of the Austre Empire, is near several small countries and chaotic factions. It’s a dangerous area full of illegal crossings and one of the worst places for bandits.”
“These bandits attack travelers and merchants. Sometimes even kill whole caravans and dump the bodies in the wilderness. So places like mass graves are not unusual in Valandia, and it’s normal for those places to have a gloomy, haunted feeling.”
“But after we got there, we realized something was wrong. The amount of negative energy there was dozens of times more than what you’d find in a normal grave. It wasn’t natural. That kind of energy only appears when someone has created a place to raise undead creatures on purpose.”