After successfully cutting off Lily puppet's body, Vale pulled Frida along with the puppet's body back to the intact side of the bridge.
"You! If you wanted to do something like that, you should have told me first. What if I fail to land a hit on her? She'll kill me if that happens." Frida pointed her finger at Vale with an angry expression.
Without a guilty look on his face, Vale replied, "A successful surprise attack can not only surprise your enemies, but also surprise your friends. Besides, I'm sure you can adapt quickly. You are the best sword user I've ever seen so far."
Vale's praise left Frida silent and slightly embarrassed. "I admit the surprise attack was successful."
'She is the only sword user I have ever seen, so my praise is not a lie,' thought Vale.
"By the way, are you sure that destroying this puppet girl will bring your body back? Why hasn't anything happened yet? Could it be that Lily's magic technique to place your soul in the puppet hasn't ended yet?" Frida asked an important question.
Vale fell silent for a moment. He then answered, "I think we need to destroy the formation to cancel the magic that put my soul into this puppet and the magic that summoned you."
"In that case, let's destroy it."
"Wait, there are a few things we need to do first."
Vale continued, "You said Alex and Laura showed up when you were fighting the Impersonator, while Yor and Colbert came to me when Brenda and I were trapped in that room. This means that other noble students are waiting for us in that cave. With your current condition, if you appear suddenly, you will only be putting your life in danger. You should rest first."
Frida nodded, agreeing with Vale's assumptions and suggestions. He then invited Frida to return to Lily's castle. Vale still didn't know whether Brenda had gathered any valuable items in that castle or not. Besides, he wanted to avoid leaving this place empty-handed.
Eventually, Vale led Frida back to Lily's castle. This crater was not a good place to rest. After a few moments, Vale arrived in front of the castle. This time, he entered through the main entrance.
In front of the castle was an open gate. On both sides of the gate lay puppet knights who were motionless.
"It seems that all the puppets in this castle have 'died' after I destroyed that crystal ball," Vale concluded.
He then opened the castle's main door. He saw that the lighting inside the castle had disappeared. This caused Vale to be unable to see anything. He then used [Fire Ball Party] to create seven floating fireballs, illuminating the castle.
As Vale stood in the dimly lit hallway, he heard the sound of footsteps echoing in the distance. Soon, he illuminated the source of the noise and saw Brenda running towards him, yelling, "Vale! I never expected you to return so soon. I was going to follow you, just as you said."
Brenda rushed towards Vale, but as she got closer, she noticed a figure standing next to Vale.
"Miss Inger? Is that you? You don't look well. Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked nervously.
"I'm fine, Brenda. I'm glad to see you're okay," replied Frida, trying to reassure her.
Interrupting their conversation, Vale asked, "Have you collected any valuable items in this castle?"
Brenda nodded eagerly. "Yes, I've gathered some items, but there weren't many valuable things. However, I did find a locked room. I couldn't enter, so I don't know if there's anything valuable inside."
"Take us to the items you've found," Vale demanded.
Brenda led them to a room where she had stored the items she had collected. Vale saw many glass and crystal balls, which was reasonable, given that Lily often used them to store mana and other items. There were also several low-level magic items. Finally, there were five magic radiation stones: two black-quality and three gray-quality.
"We can't carry everything. Let's choose only what we need. I'll take one black-quality magic radiation stone and this pair of glasses," Vale announced.
The black-quality magic radiation stone was the most valuable item among the piles of goods. The glasses seemed to provide clearer vision in the dark, though not particularly strong. Still, they were useful enough for Vale.
Frida took only the black-quality magic radiation stone, not interested in anything else. Brenda hesitated at first but took the remaining three gray-quality magic radiation stones after ensuring that Frida and Vale didn't want them.
As they packed the chosen items into a bag, Vale and Brenda both felt a sense of relief. They had found something valuable, but the castle was still a dangerous place. They needed to leave as soon as possible.
While Brenda stayed with Frida to rest, Vale decided to investigate the locked room that Brenda had mentioned.
As he approached the door, Vale was startled to see a maid puppet standing in front of it, staring directly at him.
"I knew it. You're not an ordinary puppet," Vale said, commenting on the unusual nature of the maid puppet.
The maid puppet parted her lips, unleashing a voice that was both chilling and mellifluous.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Valentine Chakuva, the legitimate daughter of Redrick Chakuva."
Vale paused briefly before refuting her claim, "You're deceiving me. I have witnessed Lily's prowess and abilities. She is undeniably a puppet master."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Vale felt an inexplicable rigidity take over his body, rendering him immobile. He scanned his surroundings, attempting to locate the strings that controlled him, but to no avail. He was left with only the cold gaze of Valentine, the very maid puppet he had been acquainted with.
"Firstly, allow me to enlighten you on a fundamental aspect of puppetry. A true puppet master would never grace a performance with their presence. They are only meant to control their marionettes from a distance, granting them the illusion of free will and autonomy. As for Lily, she is nothing more than a puppet that I control. Secondly, aura strings are but one of many techniques we use to manipulate our subjects."
Vale felt helpless, vexed, and infuriated with himself. How could he have been so naive as to believe that Lily was the puppet master and the offspring of Redrick Chakuva? This was by far the most perilous situation he had ever found himself in!