The Centipede Robe

As she walked through the throng of people, Connie could not help but be high in spirit.

Her steps were fast and light as if she was walking on cloud. It had been a few days since she saw natural light and everything seemed to be going swimmingly.

When she reached the Noble's District, she noticed a distinct quietness of the atmosphere. There were less traffic and she saw only servants tending to the gardens.

As soon as she arrived in front of the Steelheart Mansion, she was once again stopped by a guard.

"This again?" she said.

"M-milady! W-why are you here?" the guard asked. He had heard about the ruckus that happened the night she ran away from the mansion and the resulting guards who were bedridden from injuries.

"This is my family's mansion," she said. "Am I not supposed to be here?"

"No, I mean yes! I mean – " They were fully armored! With swords!

"Whatever. I doubt I'll remember you anyway. Where is Bertus? And has there been a girl coming here to sell the flowers?"

The man looked around for help. There was no one in sight.

"Bertus is in his room resting. I-I don't know about the girl."

Connie was exasperated. It was like speaking to a wall. A wall that was slowly crumbling from sheer idiocy.

"This is a waste of time," she began walking in.

"Milady. Please wait! The Duchess told us to stop you from entering!" he blurted out. Once he realized what he just said, he fell on his butt.

"Do you want to stop me?" she asked coldly.

"I – "

"Can you?"

The answer was a small whimper. The guard shrank even further into the background.

"Thought so."

She left the cowardly guard and entered the mansion. Two maids who were busy cleaning a large vase was surprised by her entrance that one lost her footing and almost knock over the vase. Thankfully the other maid was quick enough to hold the vase in place.

"You two. I have a package sent to me by Planthorne. Do you know where it is?"

"Y-yes, milady. I'll fetch it right now," the quick witted maid to the right saw this as a chance to get away from the fearsome girl and scrambled away as soon as she said that.

The slower maid looked down, cursing her fate as she dared not look at her mistress.

After the recent change in personality, the maids found their mistress to be hard to read. When she was younger she was naïve and easily bullied. Now just looking at her made them feel like they are looking at a demon about to eat them.

"I didn't see the carriage outside. Is Lady Carell out?"

"Y-you don't remember, mistress?"

"I don't remember what?"

"The ball, mistress. The Great Ball that is to be held in the capital in a week's time. It is to celebrate the Maiden of Water's coming of age! You were looking forward to it so much. Lady Carell left for the capital two days ago."

"Oh, okay."

The maid was confused by the nonchalance. A month ago she was looking forward to the day so much that she gathered up money from her adventuring for her dress as her stepmother did not want to spend money on dresses for her, but now she seemed so uninterested.

Honestly, Connie was uninterested in what is going on in the Capital. There are more things to do here in Cairula. She just defied the natural cycle of life and death, for heaven's sake!

"Let's leave that for now. I asked a girl to come her every morning to sell me flowers. Do you know about her?"

"Yes. Bertus kept the flowers and paid her out of his own money," the maid said. "He is a good man, Bertus."

Connie nodded in agreement.

As she did so, the quick-witted maid came with a beautiful white package with a pink ribbon on top. On the side was the Planthorne Fineries' symbol.

"I trust this has not been tampered with?"

The two maids shook their head quickly.

"I'll trust you then."

"Will you be needing us, milady?"

"No. I'll do it myself. Continue with your work. No need to cook for me either."

Connie went up to the second floor and noticed that the guest room had been barred shut. She let out a chuckle and continued to her room.

She placed the daintily decorated package and opened it with great care. Untying the ribbon and removing the top. The clothes within was wrapped in soft protective paper tied with a golden thread. A small thank you note written in cursive was placed on top of it, thanking her of her patronage and asking for more commissions with harder challenge.

Connie was pleased with the professional touch and gently opened the wrapping paper to uncover her new ensemble.

She caressed the silk and inspected the linings. Every thread was masterfully sewn. No excess, no fray. The rims of the robe used thick embroidered cloth to let it keep its shape. She then ran the fabric across her fingers. It was so fine that it felt like water slipping through her fingers.

Connie was so impatient that she quickly discarded the loathsome dress she was wearing aside and started to put on the new robe.

She put on the inner white shirt with golden threads and the white trousers. Then she wore the white outer robe with large, black centipede patterns over it. On the rims of the robe were images of beautiful but deadly flowers. Black over red.

She slipped her feet into the boots, which she then stuffed the ends of her trousers into.

Finally, a fine leather belt with ornate buckle completed the assemble.

She gazed at her reflection and saw a Confucian scholar with androgynous appearance and refinement. It reminded him of a life she had forgotten. A life when she was innocent and her hands were still clean.

"Hmm. Excellent tailoring. The waist and shoulders are perfect fit. I think I'll commission a few more clothes for the man. Oh, and Illumca's part too."

After she was done, she tied her hair in a ponytail and stored the package safely under her bed.

"Now, on to the next item on the list."

At the back of the mansion, Bertus was lying down on his bed. As the senior guard, he had a private room for himself. It was filled with only the bare necessities. An old bed, a stool and a table where a pitcher of water was placed.

Lady Carell have long hated him and his loyalty to the bloodline, yet she could not fire him as he commanded the respect of many people due to his stubbornness to follow the knightly code. He had saved many people during his service, most of whom had gone on to be knights of high standing. If he was treated too unjustly, those very knights would come to his aid.

Bertus knew this and had sacrificed himself to stop Lady Carell from going too far when the Duke died. This and combined with the naïve dreamer that Cornelia was, made his job even harder. Unfortunately, with his limited ability he found himself unable to help much. The stress had taken the toll on his body and he was now a mere shell of his former self.

While staring absent-mindedly at the ceiling, he heard three knocks from the door.

As he laid there, groaning from the pain plaguing his aging back, he said. "Come in."

The door opened and Bertus wondered if he was hallucinating.

"The pain must have made me crazy. There is an angel on my door."

"Flattering, but uncalled for."

Bertus was surprised by the voice and realized that the handsome youth by the door was actually Cornelia.

"Milady! You should not be here! This is a man's private room."

"I am only here to visit a foolish man who lost to a handful of weaklings."

The old man sighed at his own powerlessness. "Yes, I did. Shamefully. I heard what happened after. That little Cornelia now had become so strong."

"Bertus. You are stupid. You are stupid and overestimates yourself. Do you think you are a knight? You are a guardsman of a mansion inside a well-guarded city. The most you can do is driving away hooligans."

"You are right. I am a fool," he did not refute. He only smiled weakly. "Just being employed as a guard for the Duke is a great luck."

Connie stood up and pointed out. "You do not have the talent or the skill that I need. But that loyalty of yours can be used for other things," she threw a pill onto his lap. "That is a Three Jade Pill. Drink it and you'll – oh you already drank it."

"If the Lady orders it. I will gladly drink poison."

"Hhhh…"Connie exhaled tiredly.

"Oh, somehow I feel better," he tried to get up as he felt that his back pain had greatly lessened. Connie stopped him from rising and pushed him back down.

"What is that thing? It is wondrous. I think it's on par with a High Potion!"

"On par!" she exclaimed, rather angrily. "If I have enough ingredients, I can make a pill that will cure blindness from birth!"

"You made it, milady?! So you are an Alchemist too now?"

"…Indeed," she replied, not wanting to spend too much time explaining about her true job.

"That is wonderful. The Duke would have been proud."

"Enough of that. Though you are not that smart, your loyalty at least, is unquestionable," Connie said appreciatively. "The pill will help your recovery, but a full rest is still important. It will need take one night for full effect. The day after, meet me in Windlepoons Concoctions. You will take part in a small project of mine."

"As you ordered, milady," he saluted primly, even with him still lying on his bed.

"Oh, and I need the flowers Sen brought you. I'll replace you the money tomorrow."

"Never you mind, Milady. It is only right that I gave the money in your place."

"Tomorrow then."

She nodded succinctly and walked out of the room. Now that she had done all that she needed to do, Connie organized a plan for the marrow washing and innards cleaning for her newly born girl.

"The Marrow Cleansing Broth mixed with some weak viper blood and biles. Oh, and some nutritious and fun items too add to the reinforcement. What else - "

"Milady! Please wait."

"Hmm?"

Connie turned to see the caller. It was Nick. The coward who tried to apprehend her. He suddenly stood there in disbelief.

"M-milady?" he repeated, unsure. Such a handsome teen! How is this a girl?

She glanced at him coldly. "What is it? You want some more beating?"

"N-no," the man panicked. "I have an information I think you want to hear. It's regarding 'the sword'."

"…the sword?" she raised an eyebrow. Not understanding the man.

"Meet me at the 'Trapped Bear' Tavern tonight after dinner."

The man bowed and left running before she acknowledged the meeting plan.

"Strange man."

She did not intend to listen to the words of a shallow man like him and went on her merry way to the market, where she bought many items for Illumca. The start of a person's path towards cultivation is important, and she fully intended to make it the best start she could have.