PS. I've seen complaints that the protagonist is still too weak. I want to say that this is Warhammer, where the setting is all about fists to flesh, real men fight in close combat. Even the mightiest beings can't just destroy worlds or shatter stars with one punch, or erase the universal laws with a gesture. That's just not a thing here, in this western fantasy, in Warhammer.
...
Peace returned to the room, as if nothing had happened.
Morgianna's stunning face twisted in ferocity as she raised the Potion Holy Grail, gathering powerful magic in her hands that lit up the entire room, even dazzlingly so: "Since you refuse to show yourself, then accept judgment!"
The curtain of magic was drawn, covering the entire suite, leaving no entity hidden.
As the light swept through a corner bookshelf, Morgianna's expression changed. Chains of emerald energy shot towards the corner: "Show yourself!"
"Wait!" Ryan suddenly shouted.
"This concerns your safety!" Morgianna continued her spellcasting.
"I said wait, Princess Morgianna!" Ryan struggled to continue: "Uh~cough cough cough~I'll handle this."
"What exactly are you planning?" Morgianna, clearly displeased, glared at Ryan for a while with a warning look before finally lowering her hand.
"Come out, Emilia. I didn't expect you could find this place... cough cough cough~" Ryan appeared very weak, nearly sliding off the pillow, which Morgianna hurried to adjust for him.
From the corner of the room, a girl timidly walked out, her head bowed as if materializing from thin air without any sign, appearing before Morgianna and Ryan. She wore a brown women's shirt with a blue floral knee-length skirt, underneath which were practical soft boots and black cotton socks. Her long hair was tied up, and her lovely, cute face blushed fully.
Facing Morgianna's scornful gaze, Emilia moved lightly to the bedside, bending down: "Ryan... Princess Morgianna, I'm sorry."
"Miss Emilia, do you realize where you are? Just for sneaking in here using despicable means, I could have you hanged immediately," Morgianna's voice was as cold as the coldest winds of the northern wasteland, freezing the atmosphere in the room.
"I'm sorry, but I had to make sure Ryan was safe," Emilia, usually a timid maid, looked up, staring at the Lake God Witch who held more power than the king in this country: "I'm very sorry, Princess Morgianna, but I had to."
"Are you challenging me?!" Morgianna reacted immediately to Emilia's words, her anger rising. She extended her silken-sleeved arm with white lace gloves, the rings on her fingers shining as Emilia painfully grasped her throat, slowly rising and floating in the air, her little feet in soft boots kicking. The Lake God Witch's voice was sharp and suffocating: "I could end everything for you right now."
"Morgianna!"
"Hmph!" Hearing Ryan's dissatisfied shout, the lake-colored witch finally opened her jade hand, stopping the spell, and Emilia fell to the ground, gasping for air: "Ha~ah~"
Morgianna straightened her skirt, approaching Emilia, her voice cold and filled with disgust: "For Ryan's sake, I'll forgive your mistake this time. Now that you've confirmed Ryan is alright, you can leave. The Holy Grail Cathedral is not a place you can come and go as you please."
"But..." Emilia tried to say more, but Ryan's voice overpowered hers: "Let her stay, my princess. I need someone to help me."
"Ryan! There are plenty of Lake God Oracles here to care for you at any time. Keeping such an unknown girl here is too dangerous! And she's not even a devout follower of the Lady!" Morgianna immediately said, looking very angry at Ryan's decision: "Now, just a dagger could harm you!"
"Let her stay. Emilia won't harm me. I trust her, and she knows what I need," Ryan continued, looking tired.
"..." Morgianna actually had no intention of truly harming Emilia; she just wanted to scare her. But things had developed in a way the Lake God Witch didn't want to see. For this girl to have sneaked in here was a great shame to her and all the Lake God Oracles and guards of the Holy Grail Cathedral.
Morgianna really wanted to call the guards and Lake God Oracles outside to catch this girl and throw her out or even lock her up for questioning. But remembering the Lake Fairy's instructions, Morgianna hesitated again and again, finally reluctantly nodding: "Fine, go get your things and come back tomorrow. I'll arrange a room for you."
Emilia, as if pardoned, thanked them repeatedly before happily leaving.
After the girl left, the room was quiet for a long time.
Outside the window, the sun set, and the moon hung in the cold sky, shining a chilly light. The Lake God Oracle knocked on the door, bringing in a lavish dinner.
How the injured Ryan finished his dinner, no one knew, only when the moon was high in the sky did the cold atmosphere in the room break with Morgianna's voice. The Lake God Witch sat at the head of the bed, her voice rarely carrying some emotion and warmth, for once not about making things difficult for Ryan's maid, Emilia, who was of unknown origin, weak in faith, and mysteriously capable of sneaking into the Holy Grail Cathedral on her own. Morgianna had just rearranged the guards.
"She... won't harm me. That's enough. Who doesn't have secrets? As for her identity, I have several guesses... but that's not urgent now. She's neither a chaos creature nor undead, just an unfortunate, homeless, pitiful girl," Ryan persuaded Morgianna, who was a divine chosen arch-witch of holy realm strength. Offending her could spell great trouble for Emilia. In this country, even the king didn't wield as much power as the Lake God Witch.
"This matter is over. I have something to tell you," Morgianna had gone out for a bit and came back changed into a new dress, a gray one adorned with countless golden iris patterns. Underneath the long sleeping gown, a pair of crystalline white silk feet, delicate and cute, lightly swayed in front of Ryan.
Such white silk stockings, made from unicorn fleece, were a luxury item in the empire, expensive beyond measure.
"Go ahead." Ryan was a bit tired but knew Morgianna wouldn't come to talk to him at this time without important news.
"The Grand Archbishop of the Mercy Goddess Church has disappeared," Morgianna handed a parchment to Ryan: "We found signs of a struggle and magic use in the headquarters of the Mercy Goddess Church. Clearly, the Grand Archbishop was attacked by a powerful being and then taken away."
"That's... cough cough cough, very strange. I remember the Naga Demon Army appeared because the Mercy Goddess Church discovered the lost cure for malaria?" Ryan was puzzled, trying to understand more.
"Yes, the appearance of the Naga Demon Army was because the Mercy Goddess Church found the malaria cure. So, the Grand Archbishop took many priests and temple guards to the sanatorium for experimentation, which eventually drew the attention of the Naga Demon Army," Morgianna nodded, her face filled with confusion: "But the developments are filled with strangeness. You defeated the Naga Great Demon and banished the Naga Demon Army, yet the Grand Archbishop mysteriously disappeared at this time, and the formula for the cure for malaria also encountered serious issues."
"What issues?" Ryan asked curiously.
"After the Grand Archbishop returned to the Mercy Goddess Church headquarters in Corona, she took the scroll containing the cure formula into a secret chamber, but did not come out for an entire day. The guards, risking their lives, opened the chamber to find both the Grand Archbishop and the scroll missing, leaving behind only signs of a struggle and the presence of undead magic," Morgianna retrieved a dossier and continued: "We searched the city all day, even using my magic to aid the search, but found nothing. The search continues, but I believe..."
"The Grand Archbishop of the Mercy Goddess is likely more unfortunate than fortunate," Ryan's voice grew heavy.
"The Grand Archbishop was not a priest skilled in combat," Morgianna nodded, her brows furrowed: "But she was incredibly adept at defense. Even with only mid-legendary strength, I couldn't have taken her down unexpectedly, indicating the attacker's strength is beyond imagination."
"...What about the cure formula? Was it preserved?" Ryan's breath was growing weaker; he was tired.
"Several priests and physicians claim they remember the formula, but when they write it down, not a single one matches completely," Morgianna pulled out another parchment, somewhat amused by her frustration: "If it weren't for the emergence of the Naga Demon Army, I might even suspect a grand deception orchestrated by the followers of the Mercy Goddess."
"There must be a connection behind all this... But my princess, I think I need to rest," Ryan wanted to ponder the cause and effect of these events, but his body was reminding him it was time to rest.
"Yes, rest now, champion of the Lady. You're tired; heal well!" Morgianna's hand brushed over Ryan's face, a magical whisper allowing him to close his eyes, quickly falling asleep.
After confirming Ryan was asleep, Morgianna, displeased, massaged her golden brows. These past few days had been filled with events, and the Lake God Witch hadn't recovered from the fatigue of the great battle.
Setting several magical seals and restrictions, Morgianna placed a pillow on the other side of the large four-poster bed, laying down the golden laurel crown and belt, covering herself with a blanket, and the room once again fell quiet.
...
In the following days, Ryan was bedridden for recovery, his maid Emilia granted permission to care for him, which delighted her. She took meticulous care of Ryan, while Morgianna went to the Lion's Ring grand racetrack to preside over this year's Knightly Combat Tournament.
"Ah! Ryan, open up!" Emilia, in a white women's shirt and red plaid skirt, was feeding Ryan with a spoon.
"Emilia, I can eat by myself now..." After several days of rest, Ryan was able to eat on his own, feeling somewhat helpless and embarrassed.
"No way!" Emilia immediately pouted: "Ryan, you're injured; you must let me feed you!"
"I can do it myself..."
"No! Here, ah~" Emilia spooned the porridge into Ryan's mouth.
"Um~"
"Ah~"
"Uh..." Ryan's face reddened, preferring to do things himself, but the usually compliant Emilia was very insistent this time, not allowing him to eat by himself at all. Left with no choice, he let her feed him.
"See, Ryan, you need to rest more!" Seeing him comply, Emilia's cheerful and sweet little face turned even redder with excitement, continuing until the whole bowl of porridge was finished, then she eagerly asked: "Do you want more?"
"No more, no more!" Ryan hurriedly indicated he was full, and Emilia finally put the bowl down. After sending out the dishes and cleaning up, she returned to sit by Ryan's side: "Ryan, feeling better?"
"Yes, in a few days, I should be able to move freely, just weak for a while longer," Ryan nodded, his injuries healing at an astonishing rate, with the damaged lung lobe regrown and the broken ribs rapidly recovering.
"Phew~ that's good." Emilia let out a sigh of relief, somewhat timidly saying: "Ryan, you can't get into trouble; otherwise, I'd have nowhere to go. I promised to be your maid, and if the master is gone, then a maid is no longer a maid."
"How could I possibly die so easily," Ryan smiled faintly, gesturing for Emilia to sit closer: "Staying here is quite boring, seeing nothing but the four corners of the sky. Emilia, come and talk with me!"
"Okay!" The little maid nodded, taking off her little leather shoes, her delicate and pink legs covered in black opaque tights as she snuggled next to Ryan under the blanket, contentedly leaning on his shoulder: "Ryan, what do you want to talk about?"
"Let's talk about the recent Knight Tournament. Sulia mentioned it when she visited yesterday; she seems to have made it to the semifinals?" Ryan regretted not being able to witness the grandeur of the Knight Tournament due to his injuries.
"Yes, Sulia has made it to the semifinals. The four semifinalists are Sir Geoffrey from Anglerton, Count Reyno from Gisoleaux, Sulia, and someone we've met, Mr. Matthew Bard from Connaught!" Emilia counted on her fingers: "Considering overall strength, the strongest is Mr. Matthew Bard. He has reached the early stages of legend, though his realm is very unstable, resulting in inconsistent strength. Sometimes he can easily defeat his opponents, and other times he barely wins after several rounds of fighting."
"Matthew Bard? Wasn't he missing during the Night of Blood? I remember Miss Fiona offering a reward for information on Matthew Bard's whereabouts," Ryan found the mention of Matthew Bard peculiar.
Wait... Ryan suddenly raised his hand to Emilia, signaling her to pause and give him a moment to think.
He felt as if he had overlooked something.
But what was it?
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