A beautiful lady with purple hair sipped her coffee as she lazily gazed outside her window. Her gold-rimmed glasses were there to prevent others from getting charmed by her light-purple eyes, that would send any man to his knees to grovel at her feet.
"Mistress, the organization had made their move," Oliver reported.
"Is that so?" Celine's beautiful eyes looked at the scenery outside her window as if she didn't care for anything in the world. "I wonder… will our Little Will be dragged into this mess?"
"According to the report I gathered, the Royal Academy was forced to send its students to help defend the towns near its territory," Oliver reported. "Ezio has also sent a notice that William was sent to take part in the defense of the town of Dawsbury."
"Mmm." Celine hummed as she placed her coffee cup on top of the table. She then went to the couch and laid down in a lazy manner.
"Oliver, what do you think of my disciple?"
"William? I think he's too narcissistic for his age."
Celine giggled when she heard the Parrot Monkey's reply. She then closed her eyes and the image of the handsome Half-Elf boy appeared inside her head. The beautiful sorceress had taken William as her disciple because of a bet.
At first, she wasn't planning to teach him seriously, but she changed her mind after the battle with the Golden-Scaled-Crocodile. She intended to torture William to vent out her frustration for losing her rare ingredients, but the boy was more resilient than she imagined.
Although the torture he received for the past four years was nothing compared to the suffering she had endured during her own training, she had grown fond of the boy.
She really treated him as a slave. William cooked for her, cleaned the house for her, did the laundry for her, and catered to her every whim and need.
Celine knew well that, in the deepest part of William's heart, he resented her. How could she not understand his feelings? She had suffered the same Fate when she was younger. Forced to wear the collar of enslavement, and forced to experience unimaginable pain and suffering… it was impossible not to feel resentful.
Even now, Celine still resented the people who had tossed her aside as if she was a dirty thing that they didn't even want to touch, nor see in their presence.
'Someday, I will return. When that day comes, all of you will kneel and beg for my forgiveness.'
Due to her strong desire to enact her revenge, Celine endured. She endured for years, until she met an organization that wanted to bring the world to ruin. At that time, the beautiful sorceress wanted the whole world to burn, so she secretly joined their ranks and even helped them out in achieving their goal.
The ingredients she received were the payment for her services. Even now, she was still in contact with the organization. The members of the organization had made a binding oath that gave its members freedom to do what they wanted.
They were free to share information, exchange resources, and collaborate with each other. However, the organization couldn't force their members to participate in something that they didn't want to do.
This may sound absurd for an organization whose goal was to bring the world to ruin, but they really didn't care whether a member participated in their activities or not.
In exchange for this freedom, the organization only asked for its members not to betray it. They were also not allowed to interfere with each other, nor attack each other. This non-aggression treaty was included in the oath that they had taken when they joined the organization.
"It's really ironic." Celine sighed as she looked up at the ceiling. "The potions I made to propagate Miasma are now being used to bring this kingdom to its knees. I wonder, if William knew this, would he feel disgusted with me? Would he be disappointed? What do you think, Oliver?"
"Knowing William, he will definitely demand an explanation," Oliver replied. "In addition, knowing how thick skinned and shameless he is, he will also demand compensation."
Celine chuckled because she could already imagine William's coy expression, as he tried to convince her to give him hush money to hide this secret.
"Such a silly boy…," Celine muttered. "Well, I guess it is only fitting for a silly woman to have a silly disciple."
"Master… should I go there to help William?" Oliver inquired. Although he acted calm on the surface, he was very worried about the boy. He was there when Celine created the potion that propagated miasma.
The Parrot Monkey knew how sinister it was. However, what he didn't anticipate was that the organization would be bold enough to use it to corrupt dungeon cores to trigger Dungeon Outbreaks.
Even Celine didn't expect that her potion would be used in such a manner. However, what was done was done. She had already received the payment for her potions, and the organization had paid her handsomely for her services.
Frankly, Celine really didn't care if the Hellan Kingdom really fell to ruin. She had no attachment to the Kingdom. However, she cared about the people of Lont.
Perhaps, due to this, the organization didn't choose to corrupt a dungeon near her territory. Celine may not care for the Kingdom, but she did care for William. After all, the handsome Half-Elf was her only disciple.
Because of this, Celine felt conflicted. Oliver waited patiently for his Mistress to give an order, but Celine kept her silence.
Ten minutes later, a sigh escaped her beautiful lips as she turned her head to look at the loyal retainer who had stayed with her all these years.
"Oliver, flowers grown inside a greenhouse couldn't compare to those that were born in the wild," Celine said. "I believe in William. He will survive this because he is strong."
Although her words were firm, it was as if she was trying to convince herself that William would be fine even if she didn't send Oliver to help him.
Oliver sighed internally, but he didn't say anything else. He only prayed in his heart that the Gods would keep William safe.
While the Parrot Monkey was deep in his thoughts, Celine stood up from the couch and opened the window. She then turned towards Oliver with a smile on her face.
"Oliver, you have been cooped up inside the house for a long time," Celine said with a sweet smile. "That's no good. You should exercise your body from time to time. I order you to go sightseeing for a few days. Just make sure to return as soon as possible."
Celine then started to walk towards the stairs. "Ah, before I forget, make sure to bring back some souvenirs."
"As you command, My Lady." Oliver bowed and flapped his wings. He flew out of the window and soared towards the sky. His destination, a certain place where a certain narcissistic Half-Elf had been deployed.
A smirk appeared on Oliver's monkey face as he increased his speed.
'Mistress, you look really cute when you act like a kuudere,' Oliver mused as he turned his head to look at the town of Lont that was gradually getting farther away. 'Don't worry. I'll keep your Little Prince safe. After all, I still need to ensure that he will pick you as his bride when he grows up. I won't hand him over to Celeste.'
(A/N: Kuudere are those who are often cold, blunt, and cynical. They may seem very emotionless and stoic on the outside, but on the inside they're very caring, at least when it comes to the ones they love. Thank you, google senpai!)
With another flap of his wings, a sonic boom echoed in the air. Oliver's speed drastically increased as he traveled at the speed of sound.
Half an hour later, the town of Dawsbury finally appeared on the horizon. Oliver arrived just in time to see the little Half-Elf get struck by a lightning bolt that sent him flying a few meters away from where he stood.