Auric Dynasty Estate
A luxurious mansion—not as grand as the main manor—stood about a kilometer to the right: the Sapphire Manor, the estate of the first of nine wives of the late patriarch, George Auric, Richard's father.
As the sun's luminance bathed the manor, sparkles of blue could be seen radiating from the sapphires at the edges of the road, the largest of them at the crest of the building, meticulously shaped into a turtle's shell—vibrant and colorful.
"...We don't know what happened, as mana poisoning is a fairly new disease," Kaida explained as she stood before the First Lady, the latter comfortably behind her desk, the back of her bluish executive swivel chair turned to Kaida.
"...This might have caused his unexplained recovery, but at the price of his memory..." Kaida added, borrowing the words of the doctor.
"How could you have allowed my son to even contract mana poisoning in the first place..." The First Lady's voice cut through Kaida's words—sharp and unforgiving.
Slowly, she turned her chair to face Kaida, sapphire-blue eyes meeting crimson red.
Kaida quickly looking away, as it was inappropriate for a servant to lock eyes with their master.
"My lady, I..." She paused, thoughts of her many attempts at stopping Richard from purchasing artefacts crossing her mind, her words always falling on deaf ears.
"...am sorry. I will take better care of him..." She bowed, unable to say anything else.
She could have told the truth, but that wouldn't have mattered.
She was just a servant—her words meant nothing, only coming off as a poor excuses.
"You think sorry is enough..."
The lady rose to her feet, the gentle breeze wafting from the window brushing through her reddish-brown hair which complemented harmoniously with the wine 'Rosalia-draped satin-trimmed gown' she wore.
"You almost caused the death of the only heir to the Auric Dynasty..." She stepped forward, her steps steady, her voice cold and heavy with malice.
"You know that's a crime worth your neck, right?" she added, stepping back.
Elegantly, she sat back into her chair, resting her elbows on the luxurious mahogany table.
"I am sorry, my lady..." Without a hint of fear, Kaida responded.
"Tch..." The First Lady clicked her tongue, disappointed by the girl's reaction.
"Well, whatever... Make sure it doesn't happen again." She relaxed in her chair, her gaze turning sharp.
"Yes, madam, I..." Kaida paused, a sharp pain assaulting her temple.
"Ahh." She winced, her pained expression quickly turning into one of horror.
"What's wrong?!" the First Lady inquired, worried.
"My lady, I have to leave now..." Without waiting for her reply, Kaida bolted off with unnatural speed, leaving sparks of fire in her wake.
"What is going on..." the First Lady wondered, her curiosity greater than the supposed disrespect a servant had caused.
Meanwhile, Kaida was running—no, sprinting—at full speed, her pace a few seconds short of the speed of a Lamborghini Veneno, a fiery trail behind her scorching anything it came into contact with.
Yet she did not stop to check, a grave expression on her face.
"Be ok... be ok... be ok... be ok... be ok"
"FIRE!!" exclaimed a maid tending to the flowers in the garden Kiada just passed.
She felt a hot gust of wind pass by her, then a trail of fire.
"Don't panic, you forget where we are..." her companion, standing beside her,said to her, gesturing for her to take a look.
Numerous bluish wisps of light followed the trail, droplets of water spraying from their luminous body, quenching the flames before they could do any more harm.
"See!!" her companion smirked, the two drawing their attention away from the water sprites—lower water spirits—their gazes on the trail that continued, wondering what it could be.
"The guards will take care of it, remember we are in the safest place on the Mundus," her companion comforted, noticing the worried expression on her friend's face.
She slowly nodded, yet her gaze did not leave the trail.
Meanwhile, the culprit continued her sprint, her heart racing more from her worry than the quickly depleting stamina of her full-power sprint.
She grimaced, trying to increase her speed, but that was it—the fastest she had run in her entire life: 300km/hr.
"Found him," she thought, the presence of her master increasing as she neared the greenhouse.
Screech!!
The ground beneath her crumbled as she dug her heels into it, trying to stop before she crashed into the greenhouse.
Her momentum too great, she continued forward, the pavement scorching, crumbling into magma as she slid through it.
Unable to control her momentum, she crashed into the greenhouse.
Thok!!
The thick glass shook slightly yet did not even crack under her force, breaking her sprint at the cost of her nose—her nose bent at an unnatural angle, blood flowing down like a stream—yet she paid no heed, quickly rising to her feet.
Her boots completely destroyed, her hair disheveled, her entire body covered in sweat and dirt, looking like one from a battlefield.
"Winston... Where... Where... is he..." With haggard breaths, she quickly asked the head butler, who stood calmly before the greenhouse gates, his arms folded behind his back.
"The young master is in the greenhouse."
Kaida's pupils constricted, and before she knew it, she was right before Winston, leaving a trail of flames behind her, gripping his collar.
"What did you say?" She raised him off the ground with little to no effort, her crimson eyes glaring, filled with unbridled killing intent.
Calmly, Winston responded, "He is in the greenhouse," his hands still behind his back.
"Grrrrhh..." Kaida gnashed her teeth, growling like an untamed beast.
Her fist catching flames.
"F*ck!" Winston quickly reacted, weaving out of his suit skillfully, almost like a shadow—just at the right time, as his clothes burst into flames.
"You traitor..." she growled, once again appearing before Winston, who was a few metres away.
The butler was caught off guard once again, and before he could react, Kaida grabbed the neck of his undershirt—the underwear igniting upon touch.
"Ahhh..." Winston let out an undignified scream as his chest hair was burnt off, once again weaving out of danger like a shadow, appearing a few feet away.
This time he quickly raised his hand in surrender, his cool façade completely crumpled.
"I brought him here on his orders! He said he wanted a tour of the estate and got interested in the greenhouse..." Winston hurriedly explained, his face distorted in pain, his bare chest as red as a butcher's slab.
"So what... Why didn't you stop him?" Kaida retorted, a bit calmer as she no longer attacked the butler.
"I didn't see a need, it was just a child's curiosity..." he added.
But before he could continue, Kaida was once again in front of him—but this time her fists were closed, fiery red as she connected her fist to his grey beard, the flames consuming it before she made impact.
Crack!!
With a crisp sound, Winston fell to the ground—everything too fast for him to react.
"Scoundrel," Kaida spat, kicking the old butler, who was old enough to be her father.
"Young master..." She turned to the greenhouse, her crimson eyes slightly glowing as she filled them with mana—an action to allow her to bypass the illusion spell on it.
Her vision cleared, easily penetrating the illusion defenses, the contents of the greenhouse in full view.
And as she feared, she couldn't find him—the greenhouse a thick foliage.
"Please master, don't die... you promised..."