13 Guest

The table was already served and it was a simple egg dish, some toasted bread, and a bit of meat that I didn't know the name of. I feel like I know a lot, and absolutely nothing at the same time. Can't tell if it's my lost memories or the fact that I've just never seen this dish. Probably latter. I should probably find some healthy recipes for Cera… But there's just so much to do. It's only been a day and I'm already stressed.

"Lady Zara, I took care most of your orders. The money will be sent out in a few hours, the cleaning of the house will be maintained by three people, including myself. All the other positions will be relegated to the remaining available servants as you ordered. You also have your Alm lessons this afternoon in the front garden with Miss Chantel."

I simply nodded and continued to eat, until I remembered about Maddy. I know what I saw last night. Cera attacked her first. Not only that, but her power is also pretty developed. She pierced through her armor yesterday and her Alm boosted body while aiming straight at Maddy's heart. Even if she doesn't know how to fight, she definitely knows how to kill. Seriously scary! No wonder she wasn't affected by my Alm yesterday. Damn. I need to ask these things now or it'll get in the way later.

"Cera, how old are you?" I asked right before I brought the fork to my mouth.

"I'll be nine in four months." She replied after swallowing her food.

So she's eight. Why did she word it like that? A hint?

"When's your birthday?" I stopped before I took another bite.

"The 25th." She continued eating her food and maintaining eye contact.

She's eight and already manifested her Alm? This world is unfair. What the hell? I know I can use it because of the demon pact. No, rather than knowing, there's no other explanation. But she already manifested, even though her Alm density and compression are low, she already knows her quality. Rather, what is her quality? Wind? Or is it a self-created quality? Crap. I wish I knew more. I can't really help her with my worthless knowledge on Alm. I was never strong, and even now, I'm simply abusing the amount of Alm I have from the demon pact to attack. Did I ever really learn how to fight? No, I learned to survive.

"I'm going to look for someone to train you today, I'm hoping to find you a three star master at least. If you think they aren't trustworthy after meeting them or if there's any problem, we'll fire them." I continued eating after seeing her nod as if it were natural that I would do that. I guess she expected this? I can't read her at all.

It's alright, no need to get anxious over needless worry, I'll get to know her in time. But the problem now is how I'm going to get one. Money? No. I need connections. I need to find a good merchant by the end of the day…

After we finished eating, I had Noire prepare a desk for Cera in the new room so she can study while she recuperates. She shouldn't be training Alm right now, but I still need to find someone today. I started leading her back to the room.

"Cera, I don't want to force you to tell me anything, it's not something I'll ever do. However, I won't let you practice Alm control while your body is still frail. You can bring books from the library here and study anything that interests you. Ah, you can study anywhere in the house though, just have Noire arrange it for you." I told her as we entered the room.

"When will you be coming back?" She looked at me a bit anxiously.

Should I not leave? Damn. She must still be a bit uneasy about staying in this house alone.

"I'll be back before noon and we can study together, okay? I'll try to come back earlier if I can." I held her hands to try to assuage her, but she still looks anxious. She hugged me and put her head down.

"You won't leave me?" Her voiced cracked and my heart along with it.

What the hell am I thinking? Even if she is mature for her age, even if she acts tough, she's still a kid. Not only that, but I can tell that no one has ever treated her nicely or ever showed her any affection; She wouldn't ask me this otherwise. She was probably abandoned and mistreated by her family and has killed a few people already out of need. I'm sure of it because of what happened yesterday. She didn't flinch or tremble when I was killing all those people in front of her, she's definitely used to it. I can't leave her like this.

"How about we go to the library together and pick out a few books instead? I'm definitely not as smart as you, but I'll try my best to help you. I'll probably need you to explain things to me though, okay?" I patted her head and let her whimper for a few minutes before we went on our way.

The house library wasn't big, but it had a lot of used books ranging from elementary level to advance about house management, finance, Alm tools, bargaining, etiquette, mathematics, and literature. I'm surprised there aren't any books about history and the current kingdom we're living in. I need information on that more than anything.

"You know how to read, right?" I asked her as we looked around the books.

She simply nodded and looked at me with reddish eyes.

"Is there anything that interests you? I don't know much household management and affairs, but finance, bargaining, math, and trading I'm confident in." As I had to learn these to survive.

She was looking around the library with her fluttering dress and I couldn't help but smile. Even if I didn't improve her mood, I'll at least try my best to distract her from her own thoughts.

I felt a chill run down my spine. No way… why is someone this powerful outside? Cera turned around to look at me right away since I instinctively released all of my Alm to protect myself.

With an exasperated face, Noire came running into the library.

"Lady Cera! Her highness is here to see you!!"

The queen?! What the hell is she doing here?!

"She's waiting in the living room!" Noire continued and looked at me with extreme panic.

I'm also extremely worried! You're only making me feel worse by looking at me like that! But wait, isn't this a good thing? Who better to strike a deal with than the queen of the kingdom? It might be a bit risky depending on why she's here, but I can't pass this up. If this goes as planned, I don't have to worry about money or protection for a while.

"Cera, pick a book you're interested in and bring it to the living room in a few minutes. I'll need your help again." I slightly tugged on the back of my shirt and put a finger on my lips to insinuate my intentions. I waited for her to tell me she understood my intentions with a nod and went to the living room.

Why is she here though? I can only think of one reason, but I really hope I'm wrong. Even if it helps me find out more about her intentions, if she knows everything about last night, then I can only feign innocence. I walked into the living room that I ravished yesterday and saw that she moved the single sofa to face the large couch and was sitting there waiting for me.

"Hello, Miss Zara Valentine." She made eye contact with me and I got goosebumps all over my body.

Fuck. She knows.

I walked five steps into the living room to keep an appropriate distance and genuflected.

"I greet the celestial star of the kingdom." I always hated doing this.

"There's no need to be so polite, this is your home, so please have a seat." She said sounding condescendingly happy.

If it's my home, why are you telling me to sit down? I seriously hate royalty.

"How can I help the celestial star of the kingdom?"

If you think I'm going to let push me around, you better change your attitude. I won't stop releasing my Alm either, even if its disrespectful, you can't kill me. You're here in secret, and if you use your power, you'll get caught.

"I just came to make some small talk. I heard a few interesting things last night." I sat down as she spoke.

"Is that so? If your highness found them interesting, I'm sure it'll be worth hearing." I can't let her take over the conversation or get flustered. Even if she can't kill me, there's a lot of ways she can indirectly hurt me.

"The Marks family was so impressed when they found that you had manifested your power. They were so surprised that they invited me over to watch your training session this afternoon, but I simply don't have the time to come later. So I decided to come now since I really wanted to see the little prodigy."

Bullshit. Since when has she been watching me? Was it one of the rats I killed? I can't believe she has spies in noble families. There's also no way she's not watching the other families. And prodigy? So she wants my support or my power. I need to control the conversation though; it'll be bad for us if I let her take the lead.

"Yeah, it was somber night. I didn't get a wink of sleep because of the unjust accident. I wanted to do right by them, and I will be sending a letter of apology and money to their loved ones. I simply wouldn't be able to live with the guilt if I didn't do anything to mourn and repent for the accident I caused." I simply stared at her and spoke with a monotone voice.

She smiled at me and laughed amusedly.

She really did come here to make trouble. Too bad for you, I'm not an easy target.

"Zara?" I heard the timid backup standing by the door. Perfect timing. I think I can make this work. The queen is here to blackmail or extort me, but with Cera here, I can turn this around. I stood up and urged her to come next to me.

"Excuse her manners, your highness, she has yet to learn the kingdom's greeting. She was an orphan until recently and doesn't know much about proper etiquette, please shine the light of the celestial star upon her." I brought Cera next to me and sat near enough to be able to pull her at any time.

"The children of our kingdom belong to the stars. The light of the celestial star will illuminate on any and all twinkling little stars." She smiled politely at me with her double twisted words.

She seriously disgusts me. Did she just say that Cera and I belong to her? If I ever get the chance, I'll kill her. Not only that, but according to her words, she came to make a deal and not to extort. Perhaps even help depending on the situation. I also hate her annoying way of speaking, If she's the celestial star, then we are 'her' twinkling little stars.

I pulled Cera to me and made sure her left arm was behind me while I held her head with my shoulder and intertwined her other hand with mine.

"Her name is Cera and she is the future lady of my house. We pray that the stars bless our future with their guidance and protection."

Ah. Look at her eyes dripping with greed. She was here for my power. She must've seen the whole thing last night and since a marriage between women can't have children, she probably wants my power even more. A household that doesn't split power with inheritance is a much easier target to control. If she's here to use me and my 'future' power, I'll just use her back.

"Is that so? How wonderful. I'd love to have two new lovely flowers join my tea parties." Her tone changed and her expression turned more amiable.

So she wants us to join her faction and help her in exchange for the marriage and protection? That sounds troublesome, but it has to be done. There's no way my parents will allow Cera to marry into the family. However, with the queen's consent and backup, their opinion doesn't matter.

"We'd be honored to receive an invitation within the week. I'll be the only one attending for now though. I hope you understand." I can't send Cera in there. I don't know what she wants us to do and Cera isn't ready yet. Not only that, but Cera is definitely not ready for high society and all their scheming bullshit.

"Then I'll see you soon, Lady Zara." She smiled happily and was about to get up.

"Before you leave your highness, I'd like to commemorate the start of our cooperation with a business deal that will enforce our trust, fund our goals, and expand your influence within the kingdom and palace." I need to make this work.

Before she could reply and ask questions, I amassed as much power as I could and prepared an Alm Oath in my mind before displaying it on the palm of my hand.

"This is a new type of Oath that my wife and I developed. It guarantees 100% obedience with an imposed ultimatum of death. I would like you to patent this and any future variations that we'll make with a 50/50 profit split. In exchange, I'd like for both of us to do a non-aggression pact with this Oath, and for you to find us a suitable master to train under." If she agrees, it'll take care of everything and I'll be able to stay home with Cera.