Chapter 29

The tacking sounds coming from footsteps echoes in a large hall with paintings, vases, and busts. Three men were walking down a corridor the brightly lit hallway with decor. Although it seems bright, it mainly comes from the reflection of the sun from the snow. The three men stood in front of a large door, and the two at the sides grabbed a handle each and pulled the door. There, the man at the centre walked in and inside the room he saw other people sitting at a rectangular table.

“Good day, my Lord.”

“My Lord, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Greetings, my Lord.”

Several men and women stood up and bowed, gave their greetings, and sat back down upon the words of Count Garthus. They were the trusted captains and generals of Count Garthus, Osar, and Zila. Beside the Count were Osar and Zila, who had also opened then closed the door before and after their entry.

The table they were seated at had different shapes and paraphernalia on top of it.

“Right. Gentlemen, I presume that all of you know why you were called.” Count Garthus sat on his chair at the end of the table and asked the men. They all nodded in affirmation.

“I have received letter that the mages from the capital would arrive four days from now. As of now, there are no notable movements within the orphanage. It’s just their daily routine that’s happening.”

“My Lord, is it really necessary to gather this much of a force? We’re close to a thousand men and about a third of which are notable characters with exemplary skills. With the arrival of mages, we would be around two thousand strong.” One of the men, who was in a military outfit, asked.

“Yes, General Brein. I’m sure you know of Esia’s achievements and capabilities. She personally trained your elites after all.” Count Garthus lightly smiled as he reminisced the past. “We also cannot ignore the fact that we might be going against the eastern district.”

“But why would they be involved? Especially with that old and dilapidated orphanage. What’s so special about that? About the girl?” Another man asked who looked about the same age as Osar, an old man.

“General Vaila, there are many children who have been sent to the capital because of their knowledge and or practical skills. Take the vice-president of the Haveloft Company, Brulam, as an example. He came from the orphanage and was raised by Esia. There is also the best shipwright in the continent who currently works for the Imperial family of the Empire of Gusam, Drizjhan. Don’t forget the Imperial Court Mage of the Kingdom, Illana.”

“The eastern district considers the orphanage as some sort of school that requires no tuition fee as well. There are currently less than 20 registered names in the orphanage, but there are close to 50 children there. Majority of the kids came there for socialising and education. Besides that, they have complete trust in Esia as an individual who not only cares for the children, but helps around in the community. Although, honestly, I don’t know myself as to why she still has not refurbished the orphanage.” Osar added to Count Garthus’ words.

“Besides those things, I think the number of people is mainly for surrounding the city and the orphanage in case they have an alternate escape route, is that right, my Lord? One man spoke up, forcefully changing the topic from earlier.

“Yes, you are right, Captain Fiorl. As of now, we only know of one entrance to the underground of the orphanage, and that’s the ‘wall entrance’.”

Captain Fiorl nodded and turned silent. The others also remained silent as they had no other questions to ask. With that being the signal, Count Garthus proceeded to delivering his plan.

Osar and Zila had gone to the sides of the tables, fiddling and picking up the items that were on there. They were scale models of certain buildings and identification of each general and captain. On the surface of the table was a map of the whole city with great detail. As Count Garthus spoke and gave instructions, Osar and Zila placed and moved the objects around, making a visual representation of their posts and moves.

“Lord Zila and Lord Osar would mainly be dealing with the orphanage with the help of General Vaila, who is in charge of the east. A few men of Lord Osar would infiltrate the orphanage first and after a the signal is given, we publicly declare the arrest of Esia. There is a chance the residents of the east would protest especially since the arrest is sudden, so General Vaila is to keep the citizens in check and away from harm. Captain Rudlia, the right-hand of General Vaila, is in charge of closing the gate and keeping watch of it.

The people who were mentioned nodded their heads in confirmation. They understood their position and acknowledged their posts.

“General Brein and Captain Lukars, General Swohl and Captains Mirr and Yerhv, and General Astioch and Captain Bellam would be in charge or their respective districts, the north, west, and south respectively. Your main duties are to keep the gates closed as much as possible and calm the masses from the sudden change in schedules.”

The others nodded but one.

“My Lord, the Count, how do we go about the admission of those who are time constrained?”

“The process will be the same as how we always do it, but only restrict it to one entity at a time. Thoroughly check their documents if they are all legal and free from forgery, and inspect all the products. Same would be true for those who are entering the city.”

The woman nodded her head and agreed to the Count’s words.

“With that out, we shall move on. The mages who will be stationed at the wall entrance would try and activate the magic. While they do so, Lord Osar would force his way inside the orphanage while Lord Zila would follow slowly, mainly keeping the area in check. Lord Osar would rush for the room of Esia and the secure the location of the other entrance to the dungeon. Take note that, again, there is a chance the people of the eastern district would retaliate as to out sudden actions. Lord Vaila, I wish you would not harm any of the citizens but if you have to use force to restrain them, then do so.”

“Yes, my Lord.” General Vaila said so while the other two nodded.

“There are a few notes that everyone must keep in mind. Firstly, assume there are three devils powerful enough to trample on the soldiers and maybe even destroy the city, so a bloodshed might occur. Secondly, when it does become a battle, the evacuation of the civilians is the top priority. Thirdly, we conduct the arrest at dawn. Additionally, all of us would be stationed a bit far from each other and only when the signal is given would we all move to surround the orphanage and city. Fourthly, my men will be stationed throughout the forest with some distance to each other so if one is alerted, the others would notice. Any questions?”

“My Lord, if the dungeon is underground, could we not have searched the sewers?” Captain Lukars asked teh Count.

“I had General Vaila search the sewers, but there have been no signs of tampering or anything suspicious at all. The dungeon might a dungeon created by magic, that is why there may be several entrances around the city.”

Everyone was flabbergasted. The concept of creating a space using magic was theoretically impossible and even mages of high calibre could not even fathom for strenuous it would be to achieve such a feat. But they passed it off as Esia being a devil, so there is a chance.

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As the men were discussing their next moves, exchanging their views on the topic, Esia was packing her things in her room. She had already informed the children of the orphanage that she would be leaving for a few months. Their tears never stopped flowing and even fell asleep. Alana, in particular, cried her eyes out, almost tearing Esia’s clothes when she didn’t want to let go. All the children, both from the orphanage and from other families silently lay on the ground, sleeping. Those who were still awake just clung onto Esia, allowing her not to move an inch.

But now that she was free from their clutches, she was preparing all her clothes and other things needed for her trip. She knew she only had about a week left before the Count makes a move. So, while she prepared Esia’s things, Teiyninya and Altafaigaman was preparing the things Eiulj asked them to prepare. With so much valuable items they needed to transfer to a single room, they needed to be careful lest they incur the wrath of Eiulj.

Veyrr was awake the whole time, almost never sleeping. He noticed that the experiments done to him drastically decreased and if ever done so, Eiulj would only feed him a certain drug and that was it. He did not know what it was but it was better than being cut and healed, boned broken then healed, or even seeing horrifying images in his head and only to realise it was all fake. Even at his state, he still wonders what Esia is up to.

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The soldiers have already begun moving in secret. Most of them just wore casual clothing. Since it was still winter, no one wore their metal suits, but wore thick hides to keep themselves warm and provides protection as well. They scattered everywhere, moving in multiple directions, interacting with different people, and just casually walking. It seemed very normal, like any other day. But Eiulj noticed it as strange. There were more people walking to certain areas people don’t normally walk to. There were more people at night. More people as watchmen. She knew that the time she had left was even lesser than what she had thought. She did not have about a week. She had less than a week. She panicked and breathed deeply multiple times. But at the end, she had calmed down.

The other two devils were still doing what they were told to do but Eiulj sat at the circle room writing something. She wrote so fast she filled the entire paper, the size of an atlas book page, with text in just a few minutes. Both Veyrr and the two devils wondered what she was writing.

“What... are you writing... mother Esia...?” Veyrr asked in a soft voice.

“It’s amazing you’re still calling me mother Esia after all that I’ve done to you and saying my name. But well, it’s a message for visitors of this dungeon. In other words, you’re saviours.”

Veyrr couldn’t yet comprehend what she said. Message? Saviours? Will he finally be free from whatever Esia, Eiulj, has done to him? He didn’t know so he kept quiet and just watched Eiulj write at a fast pace.

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A few days had passed with all the preparation on both sides finished. The soldiers and hunters were well hidden around their posts and ready to act at any time. Eiulj had already compressed the rooms and items she needed. She looked back at the dungeon she so meticulously created for decades and only bit her lip. There were still many Evealora that were left behind. But the most painful to her was leaving Veyrr and Pharazus. Veyrr was one of a kind sample with a rare disposition. As for the bastard, he was just a bastard anyways and became the stress relief of Eiulj.

Teiyninya had tears trickling down her face as she had to say goodbye to Eiulj.

“Uwaaaa Yul... I don’t want to be away from you again!” She cried while hugging Eiulj, rubbing the top of her head of Eiulj’s belly

“Calm down Ninya. We would be meeting soon enough anyways. It’s been quite a long time since you’ve called me that. The last time was when I was still working in the palace centuries ago.”

“I mead... Iz been zhenchureeth thince I got ta zthee you agen.” It was almost incomprehensible, but Eiulj got the message. She just caressed her head while as Teiyninya sobbed.

“Both of you. Here’s the magic formation. Inject your mana into it and it teleport you to Dravan’s place. I’ll contact him once I get settled down again.” Eiulj gave them a paper each with drawings and incantations written on it.

Altafaigaman was silent but Teiyninya was sobbing as she gripped the paper.

“Well, off you guys go.”

Without any more words, the two disappeared after pouring their mana into it. Now it was just Eiulj in that space with some of her other things. She gave one last look at the round space with an expressionless face, then left.

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Early in the morning, even before the sky had changed its colour, there was a knock coming from the room of Frianne and Aniem in the orphanage. The two woke up and opened the door and found Esia with a coat on. They were surprised to see her all dressed up.

“Esia?! Won’t you be going in a few more days?” Frianne asked with much surprise. It’s understandable.

“Yeah, sorry about that. But with the reaction of the kids from a few days back till now, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to leave. And don’t worry about the carriage. Everything’s prepared. I’m going with one of the Haveloft’s carriages.”

“Still... it’s much too sudden. I’ll get prepared then-“

“There’s no need. Rather, I need you to do a few things for me after I leave.”

“After you leave?”

“Yeah. There would be visitors coming in. Although I’m not sure when. But when they look for me, give them this.”

Esia had given Frianne a rolled-up paper. She asked why Esia wouldn’t give it to them directly. All she was told was that the guests would be a bit rowdy and noisy. So she would ask Frianne to do it in her stead.

“Just give it to them yourself. I’m not your messenger or something.” Frianne sighed and pouted as she spoke her thoughts.

But with a little more push and ‘please, it’s my last selfish request’ from Esia, she gave in and did as she was told.

“But, how would I know which visitor it would be?”

“Oh, you would definitely know.” Esia spoke as she walked out of the corridor and disappeared.

After a while of contemplating, Frianne decided to walk with her until the west gate, where she was supposed to head to since that’s the direction of Orzshresha. But as soon as she grabbed her coat and left the room, Esia was no longer in sight, even if just a few seconds passed by. She ran outside but Esia was no longer in sight. Aniem chased after Frianne and told her to get inside. He thought that Esia might have a secret lover or other agenda that didn’t want them to know. So, she left discretely.

The soldiers and hunters disguised and on watch wondered what happened but passed it off as just some couple’s quarrels. After all, they never saw movement before they got out. They never saw Esia move after she entered the room.

Author Note: Sorry I didn't post a new chapter yesterday. Was busy travelling and forgot to post KEKW