[Emergency protocol started. Waking the host up in 3…2…1…go]

It felt like she was waking up from a long sleep. Maria’s body felt sluggish and difficult to move, quite a familiar feeling to her by this time. Her whole life had been spent like this after all.

But there was something different about her current situation. The surface she was lying down on felt hard on her back. There was no way this was her hospital bed.

Then where was she? The doctors would not have allowed her to sleep anywhere else but on the assigned bed since it was bad for her.

Maria’s eyes opened slowly but they saw nothing. Her first thought was to struggle but her body refused to comply with her.

And then her chest heaved at the lack of oxygen. Her hands shot out to explore her surroundings, only to find out that she was in a small and constructive space. The lack of sight was not due to an injury, but due to a lack of light.

[User is advised to calm down. User is wasting oxygen with their unnecessary effort]

Unnecessary? How was Maria’s effort unnecessary? Someone had locked her in a small and dark space. Maria was left to die here all alone and she missed Nao and Princess Neah.

Where was Nao anyway? She had promised Maria that she would get her out of the palace, not in a life or death situation.

“Wait a minute and settle down. I can’t open this coffin till you stop banging on it or it would hurt you” the voice managed to penetrate through Maria’s panic and caused her body to freeze.

It seemed as if she was not as alone as she had first thought herself to be. Was it the council? Had they come to take Maria for the sacrifice.

The coffin door opened and the first thing Maria did was to focus on her magic to summon her chains.

It might come to bite her back later but Maria needed to live for now. She needed to fight against anyone and everyone trying to kill her.

“Hey, what the-?” the person did not get a chance to explain themselves before Maria lashed out. The other person managed to get out of the way in time but the floor was not as lucky.

The pressure from Maria’s chains broke the ground and caused the rubble to fly all over.

“Who are you? Speak or get ready to be killed?” Maria would not kill the other person but she needed to appear intimidating in front of them. Her master had taught her to look dangerous in case she got into trouble.

Maria had never thought that this time would come for her but here she was.

“R-Rouge demon? B-But they said that you were tamed. P-Please, let me go” the small body trembled in front of Maria and her rage finally calmed down enough to recognize the other as a child.

A small human child who seemed to be trembling in front of Maria.

“I’m not going to hurt you kid. I just need some answers from you. Think you can get an adult for me?” Maria tried to be as gentle as she could. She even dismissed her chains to not scare the kid anymore.

But one look was all it took for the kid to break out into a sob. Tears were coming out of his eyes as well and Maria panicked even more.

“Please don’t cry. I did not mean you any harm. What should I do now? I’ve never dealt with children before” the kid seemed to be around 6-7 years old.

“Step away from the child and keep your hands where I can see them. Who are you and how did you get in here?” there was something sharp pressed against Maria’s back. The voice behind her did not sound happy with the current situation.

The situation was getting worse by the second. Maria felt her life flashing before her eyes as she stepped back.

One misstep would be all it take for the sharp weapon to pierce her back.

“Would you believe me if I said that it was not my fault? I don’t know how I got here but the kid opened my coffin and I panicked. Don’t worry, he’s unharmed” Maria quickly reassured her attacker as the weapon dug into her back.

There must be a small wound on her back now and it would be difficult to patch up alone as well.

“From the coffin? Did Nao lie to me? She said it was the oracle we were smuggling but you are a half-demon. Damn that bitch, lying to me like that” Maria felt a jolt of happiness shoot through her at Nao’s name.

She wanted to turn around and reassure the other but the weapon was still pointed at her back.

“That’s me! I’m the oracle. I can prove that I am the oracle as well. See, I have her weapon and I can activate it as well. Can you get Nao for me? Please” Maria felt her energy get drained as she activated her chains.

But it was well worth it if it saved her life. And it seemed to be working as well. The weapon was no longer pointed at her back.

“You, stay here for a while and I’ll get Nao. Don’t try anything funny” A small press at her pressure points, and there went Maria’s mobility. Her body was locked down and she did not even get to see her attacker.

‘System, can you do something to regain my mobility?’ Maria hated the current state of her body.

[Initiating healing protocol. Regaining mobility in next five seconds]

Maria felt her body move as the five seconds passed. Her arms were stiff but not in pain. She could move around freely.

And the kid was still inside the shop, terrified out of his mind at seeing Maria move despite the lock she had been put in. His voice broke as he tried to gain distance from Maria.

“Y-You, but h-how did you break out? Will you k-kill me now?” the kid was a kid and scared out of his mind. Maria did feel pity for him but she could do nothing except reassure him of her standing.

“Nah. You’re not worth killing so you can relax” Maria spoke in a soft voice and the kid finally started to come around. Maybe she could make him even more relaxed, “You have cards or something to play?”

The kid nodded, now a little eager. The card game was fun, if not a little boring. But it did make for a good pass time.

And this is how Nao and her companion found them, playing cards on the floor. Maria was sure she must have looked foolish and totally unlike the oracle but she did not care.

She was having fun.

“Look at her. She does look like the oracle but she’s no human. The oracle was supposed to be pure human, just as that woman. Why is she like that? That demon?” Maria had still no idea what they both were talking about.

Was there something wrong with her? Was it her dress covered in soot? Was it her face unwashed? And what demon?

“Lady Maria is as much ‘his’ daughter as she is Lady Silvya’s. There was no way she would have been pure human. Not with ‘that man’ as her father. Lady Silvya just took some measures to suppress the information” Nao sounded so sure of the facts.

Maria felt lost at the pass of information. She could only summarize that the person they were talking about was her mom and dad in this world.

Maria knew little about Silvya but she knew even less about her father. No one mentioned him by name, only by the title of ‘Lord Kishin’. There had been no images or videos of him as per her mother’s orders and even the system classified him as ‘non-existing.’

It all did paint a very grim picture but Maria had not found herself interested in that aspect of her new life. That person had not been necessary for having a good second life so he had been forgotten.

But maybe Maria should have tried harder to know about it all.

“Doesn’t it complicate things for us? We have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time now and you tell me that we lost even before we begin?” the unnamed female looked distorted, her expression twisted into grief.

Maria could no longer hold herself back. She needed to know about it all and she needed to know it badly.

“Excuse me. Can you include me in this conversation as well? I am a little lost here”