Diego was busy in his office as usual, trying to get some work done. Once again, the question that Natasha had asked him the previous night before came to his mind. He actually had a sleepless night thinking about it. "Is that really the case?" He thought in his mind, as he paused his actions. He admitted that he did find Diane attractive and he was fond of her, but as for love? He was uncertain. "Is there something bothering you, my lord?" Egiel who was with him in his office asked, bringing him back to his senses. "No, it's nothing important." Diego said, as he continued what he was doing. "Are you sure, my lord?" Egiel pressed. Diego glanced at him for a moment. "I am sure." He said, turning back to his files. "My lord has always been a terrible liar." Egiel mused, while going to the file cabinet. "So, How is the relationship with my lady going?" He asked, with his back turned to Diego. If Diego could see his face, he would know that this servant was smirking to himself. "Don't overstep your boundaries, Egiel." Diego warned, while cursing at him internally. Honestly, Egiel might be the most competent, but he had a high tendency to not mind his business. "I was only asking because I observed that my Lord genuinely cares for her." He said, as he returned back to Diego's side. "I show concern to whoever it is that I want to show concern for." Digeo said coldly. "If you are done with what you are doing, you may leave. You have become quite the chatterbox, Egiel. That is what I get for letting you serve Theodore." Diego said, while his eyes strayed to the window of his office. "Alright, then. But before I leave, I would like to bring something to your knowledge." He said. "Speak." Diego said. "For the past three months, I have been observing the two new maids- Dorothy and her daughter, Alice. They have proven themselves quite competent enough, but we still have to take repercussions. They must perform that ritual, or else the other families will begin to point fingers at us." He said, the gaze in his eyes firm. "I have listened to you." Diego said, as he got up and stretched. "But first of all, I have to inform Diane about this, I can't do it without her consent." He said. Once again, he briefly glanced at the window.
Down at the garden, a young maiden could be seen concentrating, a slight frown on her face. Water droplets were floating around her, motionless, and time itself seemed to have stopped. Absolute silence. The only living thing next to her with a lady with blue hair, who had her both hands outstretched, eyes closed, as she helped the maiden concentrate better. Soon the maiden gasped, and all those water droplets, both big and small, plunged to the ground without the slightest hesitation. "I saw her!" Diane said, as she jumped to her feet, her blue eyes shimmering with delight. Natasha on the other hand, crashed to the ground. "I really envy your stamina, Diane." Natasha said from where she sat, watching Diane who was skipping around as of she had gotten her favorite gift. Even the birds that flew ahead joined her to celebrate, chirping loudly. "Congratulations, at least you established a connection." Natasha said, as she stood up to her feet, dusting her dress. "Thank you Natasha!" Diane said, as she jumped into her sister-in-law. Natasha swayed, and both women nearly fell on the grass. "Take it easy, Diane. Don't just go charging into me like a wild horse." Natasha berated. "Sorry." Diane said, as she scratched her head awkwardly. "Did she talk to you?" Natasha inquired. "Not really, she just stared at me." Diane replied. "I see." Natsha thought, with a pondering gaze. "Let's go through this again." Diane said, as she picked up her sword. She unshielded it, and breathed slowly, facing a huge projectile of rock. She slashed at it, and a blade of water emanated from hersword, slashing the rock cleanly in half. "Water is really one of the most permanent forces In the universe." She observed. Before she even had time to pacify her heart, she heard applause, and the applause was not coming from Natasha. When she saw who it was, her eyes opened wide. "How long have you been standing there?" She said walking towards him, throwing Natasha an accusing gaze. "Not too long." Diego replied, as he patted her head. "Stop treating me like a little child." Diane scowled. Diego ignored her. "So this is where your three months of training has accomplished. Well done. You too Natasha." Diego said to his cousin, who only curtsied slightly. "But it is still weak in my eyes." He said. "You.. I am not like you that knew you were capable of doing this from the start, you know?" She said, as she punched him. Diego didn't feel any pain, though. "You will have to display this to the king, you know." He said, as he turned to her. "I finally got his request for an audience today. Maybe the old geezer will help us to investigate more into your background." He said. "So the king.." "It is exactly as you think." Diego said, clarifying her doubts. "It really required a lot of effort to hide this from the entire kingdom though. Even the king..." Diane said, feeling overwhelmed. Now who else could possibly know about the existence of magic? "Right, and Lucille is leaving this evening." Diego said. "My goodness! I completely forgot!" Diane said, as she bolted out of the garden. She could barely hear Diego's warnings telling her to be careful.
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Lucille was still packing her bags, when she heard a knock on the bedroom door- she wasn't physically packing her bags anyway, she was just telling the servants what to Do, with her arms crossed across her chest, until a nearly breathless Diane burst into the room. "Thank the cosmos that you haven't left yet." Diane said, As she sitted herself down on the bed. "You could have reminded me that it was today you were departing." She said, as she threw Lucille a menacing glare. "Sorry about that." Lucille apologized half-heartedly, knowing deep down that she didn't feel any obligation towards Diane. But still, she couldn't let a petty rivalry ruin the good relationship with Diane. She had to accept the fact that he was never hers In the first place, or rather try to. "Come to think about it, you never once mentioned your parents to me." Diane said, seeing that Lucille sat beside her. "There is nothing to mention, afterall, I am an illegitimate child." Lucille said, bluntly. Ignoring Diane's reaction, she continued. "My mom, well she abandoned me, basically. And my dad, let's say he didn't care if I lived or died. If not for my uncle, I wouldn't even know where I would be." She said, with a sigh. "Of course, the strong affinity for the fire element which I had also contributed to things. Maybe this is what, you, Diego and I have in common- the fact that we had to grow up without a mother's love."
Everyone soon gathered in front of the house to bid Lucille good bye. She was quite tearful, and unwilling to depart, but she knew she had long overstayed her welcome. She didn't forget to bid Diego good bye though, by embracing him tightly, although all she got In response was a light pat to the back. Soon the carraiage rolled out, getting smaller and smaller until it disappeared into the distance.