CHAPTER 8.5: DETERMINATION TO DEFY

***The residence of the demon ambassador to Chersea, Kalen Grattiani***

A carriage with gilded trim, pulled by four horses and emblazoned by the coat of arms of the Human Saint arrived at the courtyard of the demon ambassador’s villa in Chersea. The Paladin Corps squad that came with it immediately alighted their war steeds and lined up along the door of the carriage and the stairs that led to the doors where the Lady Grattiani awaited, together with her human servants.

“…”

The first one to go out was the Head Maid, Princess Lilyhaven of Nerfes, followed by the younger servant, Duchess Eris of Braunhauer. Then, when they had already stood in their proper positions, the Human Saint, Lady Madelaine Rubinforth, finally graced everyone with her presence.

It is their usual pomp whenever they visit the demon ambassador.

“Good day, Your Holiness!” was the greeting of Lady Grattiani. “I see that you dropped by our humble embassy once again, after the visit yesterday…and of the other day, too…”

“A pleasant day to you as well, Lady Grattiani,” Maddie replied to her, even though she could read her mind. The demon lady, though amicable, was getting tired of her repeated visits. However, just as she swore to herself, she would always update on the status of the Lord Kuro in Cherflammen.

“Please, let’s have a cup of tea,” the ambassador signaled to one of her servants, who went to the kitchen for her mistress’ request. Meanwhile, the Lady Grattiani led Maddie’s group inside her villa’s visitor’s lounge for a proper conversation.

“You must be getting tired of seeing my face coming over again,” the Human Saint quipped.

“Ah, it’s fine, Your Holiness,” the ambassador answered. “I understand your concerns regarding the safety of the Lord Kuro of Arles in our lands. Rest assured that my master, the Prince Hurion Devras, is taking care of him for the time being.”

“…” Maddie remained silent. Deep inside, she knew full well that the demon ambassador was just bluffing; the Lady Grattiani hadn’t receive any communications from Cherflammen for about two weeks now. And she herself was worried that there’s something going on back in her land.

“Please,” the ambassador gestured for her maid to serve the Human Saint, “have some of our finest tea, Your Holiness.”

“Lady Grattiani…”

“Y-Yes, Your Holiness?”

“Tell me the truth; you know you can’t hide anything from me,” Maddie’s voice was gentle, yet the pressure she exerted was enough to heighten the tension inside the visitor’s lounge. “There’s no communication from your master in Cherflammen. Is everything alright?”

Lady Grattiani froze. She couldn’t find the right answer to the Human Saint’s question, for she had no idea as well. The last letter that the demon ambassador sent went unanswered, and there was a decrease of caravan trade from Cherflammen to Chersea. In her books, that meant something big was going on back in the demon realm. However, the merchants who came back from that land had no answer; they couldn’t even remember the times they were inside Cherflammen, or their memories were vague.

“Milady, I believe you’re only acting in the interest of your ruler, the Prince Hurion Devras,” Maddie began. “However, I must remind you again that my faithful servant, the Lord Kuro of Arles was taken by your mistress, the Lady Noir. As such, I wanted guarantees for his safety.”

“My sincere apologies for lying, Y-Your Holiness,” the ambassador bowed her head. “Honestly, I’m also in the dark of what’s going on in Cherflammen. I thought of delaying from telling you the true situation, for I was still hoping for a letter from milord until now. However, I already sent a trusted deputy to check on things, for the silence of my master is already a source for concern on our side.”

“I understand, Lady Grattiani,” the Human Saint smiled at her. “I’ve been communicating through you for a while now, and you’ve also been a good friend to us humans. As such, if anything is needed by your master: supplies, finances, or even an army, the United Kingdoms of Chersea can help.”

“Your Holiness…that’s too kind of you. Yes, I will update you on the events in Cherflammen, but I must appeal to your generous heart to await for our master’s words.”

With that, Maddie ended the conversation. As she couldn’t glean any useful information from the demon ambassador on the condition of her beloved, she had to back down for now, lest she risk an incident with the demons. The Lady Grattiani was a good friend, after all, and it’s not like she couldn’t understand her intentions for vainly keeping the truth from her. For the meantime, she and her entourage stayed and were entertained by the demon lady’s household.

----------

The Human Saint set off for the Holy Palatial Gardens about an hour before the long sleep. As the Lady Grattiani had been used to her everyday visits, the demon ambassador prepared to receive her well. After all, it was her only connection to Kuro after he disappeared once again in Cherflammen.

“Haa…”

“That’s quite a sigh, Maddie,” it was Lily. “Are you alright?”

“I miss my Kuro…” she answered. “It’s been a while since the Lady Grattiani had a news from him.”

“True, Your Holiness…” Eris spoke. “And it’s wonderful that he’s doing what he does best in Cherflammen: teaching those demon students.”

“Hmm…I’m still worried. You know how much those demons hated us since time immemorial.”

“Well, this is Kuro we’re talking about,” Lily reassured her. “More than he relies on us, we rely on him. And he’s not even a person born to power!”

“Yes, and he survived the Imperial legionnaires, Lady Seirna’s zombies, and the beastmen of Lady Konka!” the Duchess of Braunhauer added.

“Eh…it’s not really about his safety that I’m concerned about though,” Maddie admitted. “Well, I’m worried about his safety, but not as worried about the Usarved girl who took him.”

“Lady Noir?”

“It’s Princess Noir,” she corrected her head maid. “That half-demon, half-human girl has been pretending to be someone else, the Prince Hurion Devras, because of the attitudes of her people towards females, and especially, towards halflings like her. I just let her be around Kuro, thinking that she was someone ‘harmless’, but…I guess I was mistaken.”

“What are you mistaken about her?” Lily asked.

“She’s his student, Lily! His student!”

“And?”

“Don’t you get it?” the Human Saint was becoming agitated. “Kuro loves his students more than his life! I’ve seen his past; he willingly gave up on his ‘work’ as a ‘teacher’ when he defended one of his students from a molester!”

“C-Calm down, Your Holiness!” it was Eris. “We all know that the Lord Kuro knows what he’s doing! He’ll come back to Chersea soon, safe and sound!”

“Eris, you haven’t seen Kuro—” Maddie suddenly stopped talking, and her hands quickly went for her head.

Lily and Eris exchanged anxious looks, before racing for their pockets and bringing out talismans given to them by Seirna.

“Aaargh!” the Human Saint’s hands began to glow white, which meant that she was using her god-powers. The two maids pressed their amulets on her, and it turned black instantly.

“Eris, tell the coach driver to stop the carriage!” Lily ordered her junior, as she held Maddie in her arms, “There are more talismans in the compartment at the back!”

“Y-Yes!” the young servant followed as the head maid told her, and nearly jumped from the moving carriage in haste. Outside, the paladins also stopped their horses, and were assisting Eris.

“It’s alright, Maddie!” Lily tried to reassure her. “Kuro always loved you! He won’t leave you!”

“Y-Yes…aargh!” the Human Saint was still standing her ground, “Y-Y-You w-won’t…co-control me!” Her hands glowed even brighter, as if there was a floodlight shining through the carriage. The Head Maid and the others had to avert their eyes; it was painful to look at. And then…

“!!!”

The bright white light suddenly went off, and Maddie became limp. She was still conscious, but severely weakened from her ordeal. Lily and Eris supported her.

“Haa…haa…I…I w-won,” Maddie muttered. “Sh…she tried…controlling…”

“Shh…it’s alright, Maddie,” Lily told her. “Don’t speak anymore. Just take a rest.”

The Human Saint, seemed satisfied of the fight she put up, then closed her eyes to sleep. Meanwhile, the two maids never hid their worries from their faces. Maddie was getting worse with every day passing, though she was determined to resist the Seductress’ influence on her.