Thud.Thud.Thud.
Beyond the sliding door, in the hallway, the sound of hurried footsteps reverberated through the wooden floor.
The noise swelled, louder with every passing second.
Then, just as the footsteps came to an abrupt halt, the door of Zuxe's room slid open with a soft hiss, revealing a woman standing in the entrance.
She stepped into view, wearing a maid uniform.
She had emerald eyes that locked onto Zuxe and Elysia alternately.
With her auburn hair tied in a ponytail, she entered the room.
"Is she the one?" Elysia asked Zuxe, her voice barely a whisper, preventing Mira from chiming in.
Zuxe simply nodded in response, his face showing a tinge of curiosity, wondering what possibilities Elysia would consider.
Mira hastily stepped toward Zuxe, making a mental note to deal with the woman sitting next to him later.
"Come. Fast. You broke the rules," she ordered him, grabbing his head and pulling him toward the exit.
Zuxe didn't say anything and let the event unfold naturally, without his interference.
Elysia took the initiative, calling out to her, making Mira stop in her tracks.
"Wait... Where are you taking him?" she interrogated, her tone polite.
Mira turned around to face her.
"Excuse me, miss... but I advise you not to interfere. As such, I don't even know who you are or what you are doing in Zuxe's room," Mira spoke, letting go of Zuxe's hand in the process.
"You won't get anything good from knowing who I am or why I'm here."
Elysia shrugged her off as she stood up from the bed and neared Mira.
"I will warn you one last time... You entered a heir's courtyard without my permission. If you go back now, I might refrain from informing the elders, lest you want to face their wrath."
Mira stated coldly, her tone clearly indicating her attempt to threaten Elysia.
"At worst, your family might be executed just because of your actions."
Mira continued as a cold, invisible pressure began to emanate from her body, spreading like ripples through the room.
The floor trembled slightly, and the temperature dropped.
Despite how she seemed, she was actually a Rank 5 demon hunter.
The maids assigned to the heirs of the clan were heirs of the important families of the clan.
The clan didn't take any risks when it came to their heirs.
People who would be revered as gods in many other clans were willing to serve as servants for the clan because that was how they were raised from childhood.
Although the number of maids assigned to an heir differed with their position in the clan, heirs with the most talent were assigned maids of very high rank, as they were much more important to the clan than talentless meatheads like Zuxe, making them targets for assassination by intelligent demons.
Elysia didn't budge an inch. In fact, she stood there normally, as if it was her natural habitat.
'What is the problem with this woman...? S-she is pretending as if my spiritual aura doesn't affect her at all.'
A thought raced through Mira's mind as she increased her emanating spiritual aura even more.
"What do you think you are doing?" Elysia inquired, her voice cold, as she glanced toward Zuxe.
There stood Zuxe, his legs barely holding him up as he trembled, blood gushing from his nose and ears, his expression horrible due to the aura.
Elysia caught the boy, who had fainted and was about to hit the floor, and laid him down carefully.
Mira attempted to close the gap, but she froze in her tracks.
Elysia barely lifted her finger while making Zuxe drink a recovery potion with the other hand.
The air turned icy as a crushing wave of overwhelming energy flooded the room, smothering Mira's aura completely.
The room grew impossibly cold; an icy sensation crept along Mira's skin, freezing her in place.
She couldn't move.
She couldn't speak.
The suffocating presence left her mind blank, every instinct screaming to retreat, but her body wouldn't respond.
Elysia swiftly retracted her spiritual aura, and the room lightened as Mira's legs buckled, causing her to drop to her knees instinctively as a realization struck her.
"L-lady Elysia, p-please forgive me... I-I made a grave mistake by not recognizing you... and even t-threatening you."
Her voice quivered, barely above a whisper, as her body trembled uncontrollably.
Elysia didn't say anything but nodded, glancing at the boy who lay on her lap.
Mira sat across from her, all sorts of thoughts lingering in her mind.
Why was a divine being like her with that useless boy?
Why was she protecting him?
Even going to the length of making him drink a potion with her own hands and laying him on her lap.
But she didn't dare ask.
The great Arcane Guardian, in the presence of whom every demon hunter's eyes cast downwards, knowing that even the briefest mistake could get them killed in an instant.
To touch her?
A distant dream—the mere idea of laying a hand upon her and getting to speak with her was a luxury only the highest of the clan had.
But here she was, cradling a useless child on her lap, her slender fingers brushing gently through his hair.
The being untouchable by even the most revered demon hunters, whose slightest touch was a luxury beyond reach, was now tenderly holding the most useless and talentless child as if he were the most precious thing to her.
Not only that, Mira was given a chance to live, even after disgracing her.
She could scarcely believe she was left alive.
"Speak. Where were you taking him?" Elysia interrogated, her gaze still not leaving the boy in her lap.
Even though Mira had spoken to her before, during her training period as a demon hunter, because she was from an important family, she hesitated to speak.
Because the conversations mostly consisted of "yes" or "no."
A chill ran down her spine as she thought about the events that had transpired just a few moments ago, but she quickly composed herself, careful not to disrespect Elysia in any possible way.
"As you command, Lady Elysia."
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Guys, leave a review, and by the way, in the next chapter, the paper system will be introduced in detail.