Libitina sighed and opened her eyes slowly to stare blankly at the ceiling.
'Tudor, the nice lady just now said that her husband is a Marquis. What's that?'
"Hmm, Master is wondering about the monarchy. Then let Tudor explain!
"In Clomodor, the monarchy is topped by the King and Queen, followed by their children the Princes and Princesses, then Dukes, Marquess, Earls and Viscounts. So Mister Gregory and Missus Alisa are actually very influential, it seems!"
'Wow, amidst all the misfortune, I finally get some luck,' thought Libitina wryly.
A few days later, Libitina finally recovered enough to sit up on her bed. Gregory and Alisa had come to visit her and they were extremely nice to her, even though Libitina found it extremely hard to smile and fully express her gratitude to them.
Even though her heart wants to show her sincerity towards them for saving her life, something seemed to stop her from smiling or reacting warmly to the couple's touch or words. Even Libitina felt that it was weird.
For instance, there was once when Alisa wanted to feed Libitina some warm porridge as she could not move with two broken arms. But Libitina felt herself wanting to turn away from Alisa, and she refused to be fed. In the end, she saw Alisa's sad face and was left with an empty stomach that meal. But Alisa still returned to feed her for dinner.
Even the white-bearded Gregory was very gentle with her. He had formed a strong bond with Tudor, and he could sit beside her bed for hours, playing with the little owl. Even though Libitina did not want to admit it and she never smiled, she was quite amused by their antics.
'A gruff-faced man with a kind heart. Alisa and Gregory are well-matched.'
Libitina thought that they seem to be treating her as a daughter or some sort, and she finally understood the reason when she was told by a servant-in-waiting that the couple had had a child before, but lost her after an incident.
Given that she had been in the couple's house for some time, Libitina started to worry that she would cause the same chaos in their home, as she did in Enzak. Tudor noticed her concern and suggested that he could perform a 'seal' on her once she was strong enough.
"This seal is called Eleanor Seal," Tudor explained as he nestled in her hair. "As Master has lost quite a bit of vitality, we will wait until Master has recovered enough spiritual power. Since we are spiritually connected, Master will impart half of Master's powers to me, and I will use it to perform the seal on Master to suppress the remaining spiritual powers within Master."
'So, in essence, I will be sealing myself.'
"Yup, Master. It's pretty ingenious, if I say so myself. But of course, Master is the genius one for Master is the only being able to self-seal. Master is the best! Hmm, the Eleanor Seal is a very powerful and complex seal, but I have the incantation in my memory, so it should be fine."
So once night fell, Libitina quickly urged Tudor to seal her. The floor beneath the bed had lighted up with a blue rune before congregating above Libitina's heart, forming a beautiful blue Queen of the Night.
The saw whet owl hopped tiredly to Libitina and looked at the white and blue rune curiously.
"It looks beautiful on Master."
'I am safe to be around now?'
"The Eleanor Seal should be able to seal Master's humungous spiritual powers for at least five years. Master should be able to keep those around Master safe, but it would still be safer if Master doesn't stay in one place for too long."
Libitina touched the location where the blossom laid, and she looked up in determination.