Chapter 29: Collaboration

A week passed. The hole on the floor was filled, the walls were repaired and the door was replaced.

The day after the incident, some instructors trusted by the principal came for the maintenance work. They were quite efficient as it did not take more than an hour to finish the work.

Isabella came home early. Now, just like her young master, she was exempted from taking further advanced combat classes for the year.

She began to clean the whole house because her young master was expecting some visitors today. She became quite adept at taking care and the house the last four months. She took pride in her ability as a maid.

*Knock. Knock*

She turned to the new front door, the pride she had as a maid deflated as if were a punctured balloon. But she was happy nonetheless. She rushed towards the door and opened it. It was Mia.

“Hey, little sis. How have you been?” Mia greeted, her tone was more intimate.

“Is it ready?” Isabella had her hands clasped together as she was jumping up and down. She could not curb the wide smile she had on her face.

“You have no idea how much I envy you.” Mia sighed.

“Likewise.” Isabella calmed down and looked down.

Despite their past ‘rivalry’, they decided to sit down and have a talk last week. They felt awkward at first, but two hours later- they were gossiping as if there were no tomorrow.

Even Adrian, who caught sight of the scene tried to uncover the intricacies of the relationship between two females- but to no avail. Despite his drive towards perfection, he knew there was nothing he could do. He reluctantly gave up.

The conversation that lasted for a quarter of a day, formed a bond between the two maids- a bond called ‘sisterhood’.

“Cheer up!” Mia smiled again as she gave Isabella the bag she brought with her.

Isabella snatched the bag from Mia’s hand, checked inside, and squeezed the bag to her chest.

“Thank you!” She ran towards her room with the bag and a solid grin on her face.

“At least close the door before you go.” Mia shouted but her effort was futile. She shook her head as she left, closing the door behind her.

******

In a dense forest devoid of the glow of the sun or the shine of the moon, stood a hooded man- melding into darkness itself.

His eyes were closed, but he could ‘see’ everything nearby. He sense the flow of wind, the movement of leaves, the lives of insects, the burrowed animals- everything. Soon, he felt the presence of a man. His eyes opened.

He saw another hooded man, he was walking- leaving behind neither a footprint, nor its sound.

“You sure took your time, Rafs.” He said.

“My apologies, captain.” The one called Rafs said.

“Report.”

“We… failed.”

He frowned as he reached out his hand.

Rafs understood the gesture as he brought out a scroll and handed it to his captain.

He opened the scroll and began to skim through it- the further he read, the more his eyes widened.

“He killed a level 6 circler all by himself, without any guardians? Though he nearly died himself, it does not change the fact that he is a monster. He became even more of a problem then we previously thought.” He frowned.

“Indeed, captain. And worse, I think that the Academy has noticed us.”

“What?! How?” He gasped.

“They somehow found out that we held that secretary’s family hostage and tried to track us. Thankfully, we found out and escaped.”

“What have you done with the family?” He squinted.

“We made sure they were not hurt.”

“Good job. If you did anything to that family, the feud with the Academy would have been irreconcilable; they would have used their whole force to track us. If that were to happen, we would have been found out sooner or later.”

“Well, at least we have one good news amongst all these bad news.”

“Good news?” Rafs frowned.

“Yes, the vice principal wants to collaborate with us.”

“What?! Did they send you a message?”

“Yes, through you, just now.” He smiled.

“I don’t understand.”

“The vice principal must have already suspected our presence inside the Academy and he should also know that Becks is our man. Since he decided to tell Becks what happened during the attack, he wishes for us to know. Thus, he wants our help in getting rid of that monstrous brat.”

“So, that’s how it is.” Rafs gasped.

“Okay, you can leave now. Standby for further orders. I have to meet his Majesty.”

Rafs bowed and left, leaving him alone in the eerie forest, just like before.

“Who would have thought that there would be such a variable in the grand plan?” He sighed as he disappeared into the darkness.

******

Afternoon.

Adrian was lying on his bed, his eyes closed. Though he could move like before, his body was still not fully recovered. He suddenly opened his eyes as he turned towards the door.

It opened and Isabella stepped in. She had a wide smile on her face as she was spinning clockwise and then anti-clockwise- showing off her new dress- a maid outfit.

He did not need to look into her eyes to know how happy and proud she was of her new dress. He beckoned her to come close.

“You look good in it.”

Her smile grew wider as she bowed. “Thank you, young master!”

“Oh yes, I forgot. Do you remember that parcel which was delivered a week ago?”

“Yes.” She looked at the desk, the box was still on it.

“That was meant for you. Go on and take a look.”

Isabella rushed towards the box, as if it would run away- and opened it. There were two identical daggers with a dark slightly-curved blade and intricate designs on the hilts. She recognised one of them, it was the same dagger her young master used that day to pierce the instructor’s heart.

“I ordered them from old man Forge. These daggers made of darksteel are way better than the regular sabre-tooth blades you have been given by the Academy. You have already ‘seen’ its test use that day; so you should know how sharp they are.” He explained.

Tears started to well up in her eyes. “Thank you!” She sniffed as she bowed.

“Start practicing using them from tomorrow.”

She nodded.

Suddenly, both of them turned towards the direction of the main door. Adrian smiled as he got up from the bed.

“They are here.”

******

“Remember, whatever you do, don’t enrage him.” The principal proceeded to knock on the door.

But before she could, the door opened. It was the tier 5 talent of this generation… in a maid uniform?

“Greetings, principal. Greetings, instructor.” Isabella bowed towards them.

“We had an appointment with Adrian Darkheart.” She said.

“Yes, the young master was expecting you. Please come in.” Isabella gave way.

The principal stepped in first. Her daughter followed, her head was lowered, eyes- dull.

Isabella led them towards his bedroom. The principal went into the room casually, but Abegail hesitated; but she remembered what her mother told her and stepped in.

They saw Adrian sitting on the centre of a three seater sofa. Opposite him, there were two one seater sofas. They knew what he wanted them to do. Both of them sat on each. Isabella stood behind Adrian.

“Greetings.”

The principal nodded. But Abegail had her head lowered as always.

“How is your body now?” The principal asked.

“Not fully recovered. But good enough to give you what you want.” He smirked.

Abegail, a virgin, failed to understand what he meant. But her mother blushed.

Adrian clicked his tongue.

“What happened?” The principal frowned.

“I never knew that the vice principal would give up his candidacy. If I knew this would happen, I would have dealt a much weaker blow. Besides, who would have known that you would come in with two deans.” He gave her a look.

The principal began to sweat. She was afraid that he would misunderstand.

“Don’t worry. They also detected the Anatoly and rushed here.” He shook his head.

She let loose a sigh of relief.

“Lets leave the small talk for later and do what we ought to, shall we?” He smiled evilly as he scanned Abegail’s body.