A hand was placed on Edmund's shoulders from behind, and as he turned around, Ethan showed himself with a smile.

  ‘Hello Edmund, it has been a long time.’ Ethan came to Edmund’s side.

  Edmund looked at Ethan by chance and saw marks on his neck, which made him wonder if he had contracted some kind of disease in his travels.

  ‘Ho, hello, Ethan. May I ask something?’ He looked into Ethan’s eyes.

  ‘Fine, no problem.’ Ethan looked at Ariadne’s back.

  ‘What are these things on your neck? Are you sick or something?’ He touched Ethan’s neck with his finger.

  Ethan used his hand to cover his neck, and his face blushed light red as he looked away from Edmund.

  ‘It was a girl.’ He muttered.

  ‘Hum, it took only a trip and a nice girl to break you, hum? Now I know why Leah never gave you a chance.’ Edmund chuckled.

  ‘It's not that. She's older, you know; you would break, too. ' Ethan said?.

  ‘I doubt; maybe when we defeat the demon lord.’ He laughed while tapping Ethan’s shoulders.

  ‘I don’t understand you, Edmund.’ Ethan smiled.

  ‘You don’t need to; if you excuse me, have things to do.’ He smiled.

  Edmund walked out of the scene, into the town, back to the mansion, and up the hill. As Ariadne walked into the crowd and talked to the people up close, Egor came next to Alon and greeted the captain.

  ‘Sir, as ordered, we hid the antennas on the other side of the kingdom.’ Egor looked at Alon?.

  ‘As we do more expeditions to gather more people, we expand our communication network, like Her Highness wanted.’ He looks at Ariadne, smiling while talking to the people.

  ‘Ho, this is Eli Blau; he was the one that gathered most of these people from the cities we passed by.’ Egor looked at Eli by his side.

  ‘I only did what the goddess wanted; I don’t need compliments.’ Eli greeted Alon.

  ‘Hum, did she? Well, from the reports that Egor passed, you know of more Chatzi and their families hiding in other parts of the country, yes?' After looking at Ariadne and smiling, he turned his gaze to Eli.

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  ‘Yes, in the kingdom, there are more of us hiding, some in plain sight in the slums of big cities. Commoners don’t care for us, as you ?know; just nobles don’t like our existence.’ The old Chatzi spoke?.

  'Look, Eli, this may task an old body like yours, but we need these people here, and that is an order from your Highness. Can you do that?’ Alon put his hand on the old Chatzi's shoulder.

  ‘Of course, it makes sense. The goddess wants to gather all her followers in one place to protect them.’ Eli spoke with a grin on his face.

  ‘Yeah, let’s go with that, my friend; she wants all of us to be safe; that much is true.’ Alon smiled at the older man.

  Ariadne noticed that some people were passing their hands on her arms, not to grab but just to feel; some were looking at her with tears of joy and enormous grins. She felt needed, not because she was a noble receiving recognition but because of something more profound than that. Her heart was noticeably full of joy like never before.

  Eliza almost didn’t recognize Ariadne for the smile and grin she was showing to all those people; it was a noticeable contrast to her when there were parties in the capital, and her face was utterly shut in as nobles openly disrespected her.

  The archduke could only watch, and as a maid, she was responsible for the aftermath. She wondered what changed; she could only remember the last party they attended, and Ariadne just looked around, paying attention to what others were saying. Ultimately, she saw a smile when she thought tears would come down her eyes.

  ‘Again, I hope I can count on everyone. Have a nice day, everyone.’ Ariadne walked back to her carriage.

  ‘Your Highness, I’m glad you are receiving the praise you deserve.’ Eliza opened the door of the carriage.

  ‘It is an amazing feeling, Eliza; I’m delighted; let’s go.’ She sat in the carriage.

  ‘I’m happy for you, your highness.’ Eliza sat on the side, facing Ariadne.

  On her way back to the mansion, Ariadne saw Edmund walking towards it and signaled Eliza to stop the carriage when they passed him. Edmund came closer and looked at Ariadne through the window, waiting to see if she wanted something from him.

  ‘I will give you a ride, peasant; I’m in a good mood today.’ She blocked her grin by opening her fan.

  ‘Ho, thanks, your highness.’ Edmund opened the door and sat next to Eliza.

  As the carriage began to move again, the young man noticed by her eyes that the duchess was happy. With a corner of his eye, he noticed that Eliza was smiling while looking at Ariadne.

  ‘Well, this people worshiping you is strange, I said.’ Edmund crossed his arms.

  ‘I’m not against it; it makes me feel good, which is better when people recognize me as their leader. It fills my heart with happiness.’ She looks outside.

  ‘You feel something, or is it just normal happiness? Because seeing you back there, I thought it was affecting you. Don’t you think so, Eliza?’ This Edmund looked at the maid.

  ‘I just think Her Highness never had this kind of love shown to her; this is a new feeling for Her Highness.’ Eliza smiled.

  ‘To me, this is real; it feels like my heart is filling up more and more. Today, it was more obvious to me that this is unnatural.’ She started to fan herself.

  ‘Humm… Maybe it is a two-way path; they can use the devices, and you get something from them. What is it? I don’t know, but I have a better question.’ Edmund looked at Eliza.

  ‘What it is, Edmund.’ The maid looked at him, puzzled.

  ‘Why are you still a maid? You should be practicing healing.’ He moved his eyes toward Ariadne.

  ‘She asked me too, is there a problem?’ The duchess looked at him with a serious expression.

  ‘Well, I think she should focus on being a healer; now, more than ever, she could help the new people and gather more support for Your Highness.’ Edmund grinned.

  ‘You are right, Eliza, your healing magic is usable?’ Ariadne changed her gaze toward her maid.

  ‘With Edmund’s wand, I can do it; I even cut my finger a little at night to see if it works and is amazing.’ Eliza moved her hands nervously, trying to calm herself.

  ‘That is amazing, Eliza!!!’ Ariadne patted her seat, signaling for the maid to come to her.

  Eliza sat next to Ariadne, who hugged her. It differed from other times; she felt her chest burn and the air escape her breath, but it was a good feeling she had never felt before. It made the Maid smile, and she could feel Ariadne's pride.

  ‘Anyway, you could help the town doctor; that way, it serves as training, and you can gather more support for Ariadne and even be a saint. Who knows.’ Edmund laugh.

  ‘You have a greater calling, Eliza; we will still be closer or better than ever.’ Ariadne showed a tender smile to her maid.

  ‘Ok, I will do my best.’ Eliza nodded.