Treeson City
Vathax
June 16th
Year 1053
Treeson was a bustling metropolis nestled amidst towering evergreens, its streets teeming with vibrant markets and the harmonious hum of urban life.
Nature and modernity blended seamlessly here, even more so than other parts of Vathax.
Within the streets of the city whose heartbeat echoed with the rhythm of nature's embrace, were Eliza and Felyela who had just completed the last in the series of teleportations carrying them from the GEE, down to the South of the continent where Vathax was situated.
They used a combination of Teleport Waypoints and Felyela's own teleportation magic to make the trip, which resulted in them completing the 6000km journey in just an hour.
"Thanks. Aunty Fey."
"You're Welcome. I was coming here anyway."
Felyela replied as she brought out her communicator and tapped a few things into it, waiting for a few seconds until a message cback.
"I'm going over to Brathe now. What about you? Going to see your parents?"
"Nahh. I feel my Dad may lockup in Vitalis if I go back now so no."
"Considering you snuck out in the first place, it's only natural you get grounded."
Eliza raised a brow in light surprise when Felyela spoke of this, and when she asked how the older woman knew, Felyela just called her grandmother's name.
Felyela and her grandmother had been friends for over two centuries and they had little secrets between them, especially when it concerned the latter's grandchildren.
"If you aren't back by the tI'm done, I'll leave you here."
"You'd leave behind? All alone?"
Eliza looked at Felyela like someone who had just been betrayed by a lifelong friend, and seeing this, Felyela just sighed and flicked Eliza's forehead.
"Stop messing around and get moving already."
Though Eliza didn't know this, that forehead flick sent a stream of magic into her body, creating something like a small danger sense beacon inside her body. This way, if Eliza was in trouble, Felyela would know and cto her rescue.
The two split up and Eliza slipped out of the busy city centre, moving all the way towards the outskirts.
She headed towards an area that screamed 'Noble's District', with large mansions and mini castles all over.
Waves of nostalgia washed over her as she walked down the familiar concrete road, eventually reaching the gates of the largest mansion in the Estate.
There were two guards on each side of the Cantilever gates, and when they saw her, they stepped forward and stopped her.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Halt. This is private property. State your nand business."
"Hmm…I don't recognize you two. You must be new, then."
Eliza held out her hand and pointed it at the gates, before releasing a tiny beam of magic power that hit the gates.
Naturally, the guards sensed this, and though they were fast enough to try and intercept it, Eliza flicked her finger and the beam curved around them and hit the lock of the centre of the gates.
"What ar-?!"
Expressions of surprise covered the faces of the guards when they saw that the gates had opened up in response to Eliza's magic power.
The teenager slipped around the guards and crossed through the magic barrier surrounding the entire compound before waving at them and saying.
"Name's Eliza. As for my business? I cto speak with Aunty Darcy."
The third guard who was in the guardhouse was alerted that someone had passed the barrier, and when he stuck his head out to see who it was, his eyes widened in shock.
"The Master's Granddaughter!"
"Oh? You recognize me?"Hearing her words, he quickly turned his gaze to the other two guards at the gate and they looked away in embarrassment.
He made it a note to scold the two who had not remembered the appearance of their Master's granddaughter, even though they had been shown her portrait many times during their orientation.
"Good morning, Young Mistress."
"Morning to you too. Is Aunty Darcy in?"
"Yes. Madam Darcy is present."
"Okay. Don't be too hard on those two."
Eliza left them with those words before taking a single step that spanned the distance between the gate and the Mansion's Entrance.
'Fast!'
That was all the guard who barely caught sight of her movements could think, before turning his attention back to the other two to begin scolding them.
Meanwhile, Eliza stopped in front of the door and took a deep breath before speaking to herself.
"Okay, Elizabella. You can do this.
The moment you take this step, there's no going back."
After she hyped herself up a bit, she opened the doors and was met with the sight of the servants all lined up while an older woman wearing a governess dress instructing them on their daily tasks.
Naturally, all heads turned towards her and the light of recognition flashed in the eyes of 75% of them.
Eliza, however, only had the older woman in front of them in her eyes.
"Aunty Darcy!"
"Young Mistress?!"
The older lady was surprised to see her, but she was still able to respond quickly enough, opening her arms to catch the teenager who had literally jumped into her embrace.
"Why didn't you send a message beforehand? We'd have cout to receive you properly."
"Hehe! I wanted it to be a surprise!"
Eliza made a peace sign as she replied to the woman's inquiry, making Darcy sigh and shake her head.
"Surprises are too much for this old woman's heart…"
The woman named Darcy was someone who could be considered the caretaker for this Mansion, one of Alden Kaur's summer homes.
She was a grey-haired elderly woman with a gentle, yet dignified demeanour, a soft voice and a warm smile. Her appearance reflected her true age progression, as even though she was a Peak Master Level existence, she was already over 300 years old.
Considering she was just a normal breed human, with no particular martial or magical talent, this meant she was somewhere around 95 years of age if you converted her age to the format of a human from Earth V.
She was one of the hundreds of millions who never got to break the wall barring them from achieving grandmaster level and had remained stuck at the peak of the master level for the past two centuries.
Truth be told, she was already nearing the limit of her base lifespan, but considering she worked for the Head Elder of the Laneford Clan—a Clan that dealt with Life Manipulation—it wasn't hard to guess why she had extra time.
For someone like Alden, it was possible to extend her life by a few months, years and eventually, he had tacked on an extra decade to her lifespan.
But there was a limit to how much extra he could add, unless, of course, she beca grandmaster.
As for why Alden would go to such lengths for Darcy; it was because this woman was the nanny who had raised the past 3 generations of the Kaur Family women.
His wife Marguerite, his daughter Deborah and his granddaughter Eliza.
After Darcy had dismissed the servants, she took Eliza to a nearby drawing room and questioned the reason for her sudden return.
"Well, I have a little event I want to use this place for."
"Oh? Is it a party?"
"You could say so."
Eliza happily sipped the milk tea Darcy made while swinging her legs on the chair as she spoke.
"I want you guys to help prepare everything I need and then leave the compound. It'd be a day off for you all."
Darcy's interest was piqued when Eliza said this, wondering just what on Aidos the teenager was planning.
"I'm very curious, but first, when is this party happening?"
"Actually…it's in October."
"That's far."
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmIndeed, it was. It was still June, after all.
"I know. But I just recently made the decision and if I didn't do anything to start preparing now, I may change my mind and back out of it.
I wanted something to be done, so even if I eventually chicken out, I can have you pullback on track."
"Mind explaining exactly what this decision is about?"
Eliza's body stiffened when Darcy asked her this, and the girl took a deep breath before placing her teacup down and explaining her little plan.
When she was done, Darcy's gentle smile vanished from her face and Eliza reflexively scooted to the other end of the couch.
"Eliza, you're not being pressured into anything, are you?"
The fact that Darcy dropped the 'Young Mistress' title showed just how seriously she was taking this and Eliza took a deep breath before nodding.
"No, I'm not. If anything, I'm the one who brought it up.
Let's just say that I didn't have as much 'restraint' as I thought I had."
"…"
Darcy was happy that Eliza told her about this, but a part of her also didn't like this as well.
"Don't worry, Aunty Darcy. I'm fine, there's nothing wrong."
Eliza reassured the woman before getting up to her feet and stating her intention to leave.
"What? But you just got here?"
"There are a few other things I want to wrap up before Aunty Fey is done with her business in Brathe.
She broughthere and though I'd like to believe she was joking when she said she'd leaveand go back if I'm not quick…I'd rather not take my chances."
"Ohh, it's been a while since I've seen Fey. Okay, you can go but send a message before you come, next time, okay?"
"Yep."
As she was leaving the mansion, Darcy told her to stay safe and be careful and Eliza nodded before mentioning that this remedied her of how Darcy acted when she was still in primary school.
"You were a lot rowdier back then…is what I'd like to say but considering the pretty dangerous situations I've been hearing you've gotten involved with, I'm not so sure anymore.
Anyway, I heard there's a war going on now. Do well to avoid those countries, okay?"
"…"
Eliza silently averted her gaze when Darcy spoke, and as the Nanny who took care of her, it wasn't hard for the elderly woman to figure out that she was hiding something.
"Young Mistress…"
"Hmm? Okay, Aunty. I'd be careful and stay away from danger.
Anyway, I need to leave now. Aunt Fey is probably at the location now. Bye!"
Eliza practically ran away, leaving behind Darcy who sighed before turning around and re-entering the mansion.
"She's definitely gotten herself mixed up in that War already."
It seems Eliza's desire to not lie to Darcy worked against her in this case.