When Eliz emerged from the bathroom, Alobela was already there, ready to help her get dressed. Eliz had chosen a simple dress in dark blue. It was unique only in its unadorned design, but the fabric was soft and expensive.
"You said the family wanted to have an early dinner. When?" Eliz asked as she walked down the hallway and headed out into the garden.
"Five o'clock in the afternoon, young lady," Alobela replied, walking behind her.
Eliz sighed inwardly. "I suppose I know what this is all about," she said aloud, and Alobela didn't answer.
Eliz suddenly stopped and looked at Alobela. "Alobela, when I leave for the Blue Rose estate, will you follow me?"
Alobela looked up at her, and Eliz saw the question in her eyes. "Young miss, I am your personal maid. I will follow you anywhere," she replied.
Eliz rubbed the back of her neck. "Of course. But this is something you must decide for yourself. What is it that you want?"
Alobela stared at her for a moment without blinking. "I don't understand, young lady."
Eliz gave Alobela a searching look. She knew Alobela was intelligent and competent, but her private nature made it hard to figure out what she was thinking.
"I'm wondering if you're only coming with me because you have to or if you genuinely want to," Eliz repeated, feeling a bit distant from Alobela, who didn't seem to like her very much despite their closeness.
"I'm your personal maid..." Alobela began, but Eliz shook her head and interrupted.
"Yes, yes. But imagine you're not my personal maid, and you have a choice. Stay here or follow me to the Blue Rose estate. What would you do?"
Alobela momentarily fell silent again, and Eliz couldn't tell if she was thinking or staring blankly at her.
"It is my duty to look after you, young lady," Alobela finally said, and Eliz raised her eyes to the ceiling.
"Aaahhh... forget it." Eliz turned away from her and continued walking, muttering to herself. "It's like I'm talking to a programmed robot." Eliz realized she needed to learn more about Alobela's past because she knew Alobela wasn't stupid.
Behind her, the corners of Alobela's mouth turned up slightly for a moment before falling back down.
Before Eliz entered the garden, she waved to Alobela to let her go and went to see the children.
As she approached, she could hear the children's laughter as they played, and Eliz felt a little better. She felt a pang of remorse that she might have caused the children trauma.
They didn't notice her right away, but as she approached, the oldest boy, Blumind, jumped to his feet and rushed over to her like an excited puppy. Blum was part cat, but he lacked their nonchalance. Eliz was a little surprised by his reaction, but as they talked briefly, she understood what was going on. The boy was falling in love. Oh boy. She just hoped it wasn't Stockholm syndrome.
After a moment, she left the blushing boy behind and approached the children who had already noticed her. They stopped playing and retreated to their nanny. It seemed they were still afraid of her, except for Lila, who stood before them with her legs spread wide and her hands on her hips.
Eliz stopped in front of her and smiled. "Are you protecting the others? Aren't you the brave little thing?" Eliz meant well, but for some reason, she found it a little intimidating. Maybe it was because Lila's bear ears drooped down in fright. But Lila immediately regained her composure and stuck out her chin belligerently.
"You.... witch! I want to go home! Let us go home, all of us, now!" She demanded.
Eliz raised her hand. Lila flinched as she did so, but Eliz just raked her hair and tossed it dramatically off her shoulders and onto her back before leaning into Lila and resting her hands on her knees.
"I admire your bravery. But I must disappoint you. You're not going anywhere just yet, and I suggest you stop this rebelliousness. Just enjoy the riches you have around you. Sooner or later, you will be reunited with your family," Eliz advised her.
Lila pursed her lips and stomped her foot. "But I want it now!"
Eliz's eye twitched. Eliz didn't particularly enjoy dealing with children, not that she hated them, but she wasn't overly gentle or patient with their behavior. While people might melt at children's excitement, Eliz sometimes found it annoying. But what she really disliked most about children was their infamous 'I want' line.
Eliz lifted her hand and flicked Lila's forehead. She recoiled in surprise and grabbed her forehead. "I want a lot too. But you don't always get what you want in life, sweetheart. Deal with it. And if you ever tell me I'm a witch again, I'll twist both your ears off." Eliz smiled and straightened up again.
Hearing this, Lila quickly moved her hands from her forehead to her ears, protecting them from the possibility of Eliz twisting them.
Eliz laughed and walked around Lila to get to Mother Green and the two remaining children. She was the first to look at the other two children, Halina and Destin, who were holding onto their nanny's skirts. They were the youngest and hadn't shown much of their character so far.
Mother Green squeezed them both together as Eliz leaned in close. "What about you, Halina? Destin? How do you like my house?" Eliz asked.
The kids weren't looking at her directly; it was more like sideways glances or constantly averting their eyes, looking startled but also curious. Well, except maybe Destin, who was looking at her indirectly and didn't have much expression in his eyes. He reminded Eliz of Alobela.
"You have a nice house..." Halina said quietly.
"And the garden is nice too. Lots of roses. A lot... you know there are flowers other than roses?" Destin spoke up as well, and what he said made Eliz laugh.
"Yes, Destin. I know that, but my mother loves roses the most in the world. So there are mostly just roses," she replied.
Destin turned his head and looked around. "Ah. Then I understand."
Eliz could tell she liked Destin the most out of the kids. As cute as Blum was with his enthusiasm, she appreciated Destin's thoughtful nature more. She remembered that Destin had a Trail Herbalist. "If you're interested, you can go talk to the gardeners. There are plenty of them, and if you tell them I sent you, they won't have a problem talking to you about plants," Eliz told him, which brought life to his eyes. He let go of Mother Green's skirts. "May I? Okay!" Before Eliz could say anything else, he was running away.
Halina stared after him with her mouth open. She glanced at Eliz, then at Mother Green, and then back at the receding figure of Destin before letting go of Mother Green and running after him. She probably didn't want to be left alone with two adults.
Eliz shook her head with a smile before looking at Mother Green, who watched her warily but lowered her eyes as their gazes met.
"Let's take a walk," Eliz said, looking back at the other two children. "Blum, keep an eye on Lil for a moment. I need to talk to Mother Green," she said.
Blumind was immediately on alert. "Yes! I'll take care of her, Lady Elizabeth!"
Eliz nodded gratefully to him and walked into the vast rose garden, with Mother Green following behind. After a moment of silence, Eliz looked back at her and gestured to the side. "Come beside me, Mother Green. You are not my maid to walk behind me."
Mother Green hesitated but then took a few quick steps to walk beside Eliz. "You're surprised, aren't you?" Eliz remarked, looking ahead but keeping an eye on the old lady beside her from the corner of her eye.
"That... that's right, Lady Elizabeth," Mother Green agreed.
The corners of Eliz's lips curled upwards. "You may speak freely with me, Mother Green. I have no prejudice against the lower class, and I have respect for the older generation."
Mother Green startled a little and flicked a glance toward her. "I would never allow myself to do that, Lady Elizabeth," she declined the offer.
Eliz clicked her tongue in displeasure. "Hm," was her only reply as they headed for the far gazebo. It was carved from beautiful chestnut wood and covered in climbing roses, creating a blooming spectacle. However, someone had also prevented the plant from taking over the inside of the gazebo.
Eliz and Mother Green entered it, but Eliz didn't sit down. She looked around, ensuring no one was nearby to hear them, before turning to Mother Green.
"You're probably wondering why I attacked your little gang. And also what it means that I took you and the children away, and instead of treating you as prisoners, you are being treated as guests. Am I right?" If Mother Green wasn't going to speak about it, Eliz had to bring it up herself.
Still watching Eliz warily, Mother Green nodded.
"That's right. You were Elizabeth Von Roseblood, daughter of the duke. It... puzzled me why someone like you would be interested in an ordinary, unknown gang like Tyler's," Mother Green responded better than a frightened commoner this time.
"Right? Actually, my plan was to pull this entire gang out of the filth of the slums, take them with me, and properly cultivate them. Why? That's my business, but all I can say is that I had only the best intentions for them. To feed their potential and use it," Eliz smiled at her.
Mother Green raised an eyebrow in incomprehension. She was genuinely curious about the motives of this young lady who changed faces as quickly as she changed clothes. But Mother Green hadn't expected her to come up with something like this. Did she want to cultivate them?
Eliz clapped her hands loudly before raising them towards Mother Green as if offering her something.
"And that also brings us to you, Mother Green. Or maybe I should say... Necromancer Galarie Green?" Eliz smiled brightly. She wasn't really sure she was right; Mother Green had no Trail as a Necromancer, but she could see the potential of the children around her. Except for the oldest, who had been with her the shortest time, they all had the potential to become undead. And that couldn't be a coincidence.
Galarie Green froze, her eyes widening in horror when she heard this. "What... what... how... no...." Mother Green stuttered.
Eliz was even more convinced by her reaction that she was right and smiled broadly. "Or should I say, future Lich Galarie?"
Galarie quickly backed away from Eliz and stared at her in disbelief, having to grab onto one of the pillars, unaware of the thorns digging into her skin. She had to hold on as her knees softened with fright.
She didn't understand how Lady Elizabeth could know. She hadn't used her full name in forty years; no one was supposed to know it, and indeed no one was supposed to know her true nature. Galarie hid it too well; she was sure of it. And now, here was this woman she had known for only a few hours and already knew two of their biggest secrets. It was terrifying, mainly because it was something that could destroy her in an instant.
In general, necromancers and Black Magic users were being killed just for using Black Magic, whether they were evil or good. Whether they did something wrong or not, it didn't matter. If you used Black Magic and it got out, the Church of Light would come and do their so-called justice.
Galarie gripped the post tightly, and the thorns dug into her flesh, which snapped Galarie out of her shock, and instead, she began to frown.
"What do you want?" Galarie asked, realizing that her situation might not be so bad. Lady Elizabeth had taken her to a secluded spot, so there was a chance she didn't want to turn her in.
Eliz dropped her hands, but she didn't stop smiling.
So she was right. Galarie was a Necromancer. How interesting. Eliz started connecting the dots. She remembered the original story when Tyler's gang had been dispersed; there was no mention of Galarie as a caretaker of children. Most of the people in the gang had been killed, but the children naturally hadn't. So Mother Green survived the whole incident, which meant there was a good chance she had turned all the dead into her undead.
Eliz wasn't sure how the children fit into this because, as far as she knew, they hadn't been killed during the gang massacre. But Eliz could only speculate that since the children didn't have people to take care of them then, it was quite possible that they had eventually starved to death or died of disease or something. Or maybe Galarie herself had killed them. Eliz couldn't rule that out either.
Eliz found it fascinating that the original story didn't think much about the consequences. In the story, Gray and the others left with Selene and didn't care about the dead or the survivors. They just walked away and continued to pursue their strange romance. When Eliz thought about it, even Gray, Selene, and even the righteous Donovan didn't report the whole incident anywhere. As Eliz uncovered more and more of the hidden truths behind the whole story, she became more and more aware that Selene had really made Male Lead look like an incompetent jerk. How much trouble had they caused with their unreliability?
Did they just leave dead bodies in the slums? If Mother Green hadn't taken care of them, they would have increased the possibility of the plague spreading. The slums, in particular, are the most susceptible to this! Eliz couldn't even imagine the terror of the plague spreading through the capital. Was that the author's intention, or did he not think these things through?
"Didn't I tell you, Galarie? I want to cultivate your potential," Eliz replied, pleased with herself for actually figuring it out.
Galarie gripped the post tighter briefly before releasing it and staring at Eliz.
Eliz raised her eyebrows, watching the old woman's eyes and thinking she saw a red flash in her irises.
"Do you want to help me? Why? Are you crazy? If anyone finds out who I am and that I'm connected to you, you will suffer the same fate as me. A noble title or not."
Eliz waved her hand. "You think I'm going to do this in public or something? Besides, you and I are the only ones who know, and I won't ever talk to anyone about it. Once we get to my place and rebuild it, I'll set up a secret lab for you to do your thing. I'll provide you with resources and corpses."
Galarie stared at her as if she had grown a second head. "You're not normal, are you? What are you?"
Eliz smiled at her in amusement. "I just felt like raising my own Lich as an employee."
With that answer, Galarie was even more convinced that this woman before her was not normal. Not even a little bit. She didn't consider her crazy, but she really couldn't even put a label on what this young woman was.
"Employee... and what would I have to do as an employee?" Galarie made it sound ridiculous. Who would want to employ a Necromancer who would eventually be a Lich? Then she raised an eyebrow and looked at Lady Elizabeth.
"Are you planning on taking over the world or something? Do you want me to form an army?" was all Galarie could think of.
Eliz rolled her eyes. "Of course not. What would I do with the world? Do I look like some megalomaniacal villain?"
Galarie had to smile in amusement. "The way you talk... yes... a villain would fit."
Eliz stared at her for a moment before clearing her throat. "So be it. Naturally, I want an army, but not for world conquest. More like a line of defense. But more than that, I want you to study medicine."
Galarie thought she misheard. "Medicine?"
Eliz nodded. "Specifically, I want you to focus on the possibility of limb replacement."
Galarie raised her hand and touched her temple as if she had a headache. "Really... Lady Elizabeth. What are you trying to do?"
Eliz smiled slightly at the confusion Galarie had caused. "Just to reduce future losses. As a Necromancer, you know as much or more about the human body as the doctors do. Healing mages are the rarest. Growing limbs is not impossible, but very difficult. Necromancers can bring the dead back to life. So how hard would it be to attach a dead arm to a living body so that he could use it?"
Galaria opened her eyes wide and stared at Eliz in shocked surprise. "That... that could work. I never thought of that," she said slowly, shock replacing thoughtfulness.
Naturally, this wasn't Eliz's idea, but she had read about something similar in another story once and didn't see why it couldn't work here. Eliz just thought of another way to find more followers. I wonder how many crippled veterans there are in this world? Once mighty but now reduced to helpless wretches who have lost their purpose in life? What if she offered them a chance at restoration?
Eliz extended her hand to Mother Green. "What do you say? How does that sound to you?" Galarie glanced at the offered hand and considered it.
"Ah, and by the way, you should leave the children alone. There's definitely no way you turned them into undead unless they died of natural causes. If I find out you've harmed them in any way, I'll make sure your actual death is long and painful," Eliz added, her voice instantly turning cold.
Galarie quickly looked up at her and saw in the young woman's eyes that she was earnest about her words. "I wouldn't hurt the children," she objected.
Eliz didn't take her eyes off her. "Really? So what did you put in their bodies?"
Galarie shivered, pulling back a little from Lady Elizabeth again. It was truly intimidating that she knew these things. "That's just to be sure. I can track their life force with it. If something were to happen to them, I'd find out quickly. And if they died, I could bring them back before the soul left the body. So they wouldn't just be soulless undead," Mother Galarie explained.
Eliz withdrew her hand for a moment and looked at Galarie curiously. "Does that actually work?" wondered Eliz. She had to ponder the existence of a human soul. The fact that she was here already proved certain things, but it was still a bit of an unfamiliar concept to Eliz. After all, in her world, the existence of a human soul was still a matter of conjecture. And now, this necromancer was telling her how to attach a commuter's soul to his dead body. Morbid but rather interesting.
Mother Green nodded. "It's really not in my power to determine what kind of undead they turn into like that, though. Vampires are a common result."
Eliz blinked. So there's a whole science to the undead and Necromancy? She had no idea. Eliz's eyes glittered with excitement because this opened more doors for her. "Interesting. Interesting. You don't know how much you've upped your value with this, Galarie. So what's it going to be? Do you agree?" She held out her hand again.
Galarie was still hesitating. "And if I refuse?"
Eliz was honestly surprised at the question. "Of course, you can, not that I would give you away. But why would you do that? Working for me will be advantageous for you. You'll get equipment, materials, and support. With my help, you'll only become a Lich faster. You would be very foolish to refuse now."
Mother Green could only acknowledge that Lady Elizabeth was right, yet she couldn't help but feel that she was sealing her fate with the deal. It was the kind of feeling you get when you know that tomorrow you will have a lot of work to do. But to refuse would not be in her interest. Her original plans stretched on for years and years to come, and her progress was very slow because she could hardly devote herself to her profession for her safety.
"I agree," she finally said, accepting Lady Elizabeth's hand.
The latter smiled cheerfully at her. "Wonderful. Truly wonderful," Lady Elizabeth said, and Galarie shivered a little, thinking it was a predatory smile.
Eliz was happy, and the places on her imaginary list filled up.
Eliz hadn't expected Mother Green to be a Necromancer in the first place; it was just a test to verify the information the System was giving her. But it turned out better than she could have hoped. She was delighted. And Eliz was also amused. She's collecting quite a weird group.
Now she just hoped the upcoming meeting with her parents would go well too.