Chapter 117: Black Water Rising
“Blackwater City? You actually have blood from Blackwater City?”
Peiya couldn’t help widening her eyes. In her mind, she recalled what she knew about that place.
It was said that Blackwater City was once called the “Land of Night,” an ancient city forgotten by the gods.
During the time when many regions ruled themselves, it was like a country within a city. Even now, although it belongs to the kingdom, most people still don’t dare to enter it.
Most of its original people have already left. Only a few residents remain. Armies are placed around the outer areas to protect nearby towns and stop monsters from escaping.
There are quite a few places like this in the kingdom. On the surface, the kingdom looks united, but inside, there are still many gaps, mostly old problems left by history.
These are not things the army can fix quickly. During peaceful times, military costs are already very high. If a war against monsters fails, the whole kingdom could fall.
“That’s right. I do have blood from the Eternal Night City in my body. Some people even say my achievements come from my bloodline. I don’t like that.”
Elise shook her head, looking a bit troubled.
“That’s normal,” Peiya said softly to comfort her. “Anyone would feel bad if all their hard work was dismissed so easily.”
Elise pressed her lips together slightly, then suddenly pulled Peiya, who was still eating, into her arms. The other maids quietly left the room.
“I like hearing that. Say more.”
Peiya was suddenly pulled into her arms and didn’t know what to do. She looked around, but no one else was there.
The maids had left way too quickly.
“I’m just stating facts. You misunderstood, didn’t you?”
“No. Sit properly. Don’t move.”
“Ugh—”
Peiya waved her hands in an exaggerated way. But Elise just continued to massage her shoulders. After a while, she finally let go.
“You’re a scholar, but your neck is stiffer than a swordsman’s.”
“Is it?” Peiya touched her neck, not feeling anything strange.
“Here.”
Elise pressed a spot. It felt like lightning shot through her neck, and Peiya reacted immediately.
“Ow! That hurts!”
“See? You probably tilt your head a lot and didn’t notice. I’ll help you relax. Did you just finish a fight?”
“You can even guess that…?”
Peiya was a bit surprised. Her fight with the red tiger didn’t use much effort, and there were almost no signs left on her body.
“I often get injured in this spot too, so I just tried pressing it. Looks like I was right. If there’s a chance, I can teach you some sword skills, how to use strength properly. Maybe your theory is good, but in real combat, it’s different from people like us who have fought for years.”
“Oh… you’re actually quite nice.”
“Maybe. It depends on the person. Eat your meal.”
Elise let go of Peiya, and she continued eating until she finished everything.
Just as Peiya was about to leave, a maid stopped her and told her to change clothes.
“I already have my own clothes,” Peiya said, looking at the sleepwear with clear resistance.
“Miss Peiya, this is the Young Lady’s order. We’re not trying to make things difficult for you.”
“Elise’s idea?”
Peiya looked at the young maid and felt a bit troubled. After thinking for a while, she finally took the clothes from her.
The moment she touched them, she noticed something strange.
You call this clothes?
It felt very smooth, almost like holding a slippery eel. If she used a bit more force, it might slip right out of her hands.
Looking closely, she couldn’t even find any seams. It was obvious this was not an ordinary piece of sleepwear.
When she put it on, it fit her body perfectly.
So this was clearly not something prepared casually. It must have been planned in advance. It had only been about a week since Elise took her to get clothes made.
And now there was already a full set, different styles even.
Peiya suddenly felt like a sheep walking into a pack of wolves. And that feeling only grew stronger.
What exactly is Elise planning…?
Rubbing her slightly aching temples, Peiya tried to push away these unnecessary thoughts. After changing into the sleepwear, she carefully folded her own clothes and put them into her bag, placing it on the top shelf of a cabinet in the guest room prepared for her.
Clapping her hands lightly, she walked out of the bedroom.
After only a few steps, she bumped into the maid, Yuni.
“Miss Peiya, sorry, I didn’t recognize you at first.”
Yuni looked her up and down. Her temperament really looked a bit like the young lady’s now. And from her choice of clothes… yes, it matched the young lady’s taste.
“Yuni, it’s already late. Are you going out?”
“Yes. The security around the manor needs to be handled in shifts by the maids. The young lady is in the back garden. Do you want me to take you there?”
Peiya had walked that route many times already, so she waved her hand.
“No need, you go do your work. I can go by myself.”
“Is that so? Then I’ll leave it to you. I hope you have a pleasant night.”
Yuni bowed politely and left with the other maids, leaving Peiya alone as she slowly walked toward the back garden.
At the entrance, she saw Elise wearing a very similar purple silk nightdress. She stood quietly under the night sky.
On the table were some sweet drinks. From the look of the cups, they hadn’t been touched at all.
At first glance, they looked like decorations on the stone table. But when Peiya got closer, she smelled a floral scent. It was a sweet fruit tea.
“You asked me to stay the night here. It’s probably not just to watch the stars, right?”
Peiya pulled out a chair and sat down, speaking directly. She crossed one leg over the other, sitting in a completely different posture from Elise.
“Of course not. Weren’t you curious about the Church? I actually know a little.”
Elise changed her sitting position and looked at Peiya with her green eyes. “Do you want to know?”
“Obviously I do. But who knows if your information is free.”
Elise smiled lightly.
“It is free. According to the informants I sent out these past few days, some people from the Church have been getting very close to the Beast Tamer Association. But how close, I’m not sure yet. You know, without solid evidence… If they simply say the Beast Tamer Association went to pay respects to the Pope, we can’t do anything about it.”
“That’s true. But I’m not too worried about that. I should be able to get more evidence from that red tiger I caught. What I’m more worried about is… do we really need to conflict with them right now? Does your family have any… business connections with the Beast Tamer Association?”
“A little, but nothing important. And recently, my informants also noticed that the Beast Tamer Association has been in close contact with the Eternal Night City. If your earlier information is correct, then I suspect they want to use the surviving residents of the Eternal Night City to carry out some kind of hidden experiment… to complete their plan.”