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Chapter 129
The Requirement
“Fayee…!”
Ann quickly darted and hugged Faye the moment she saw her little daughter, erm, her cute little maid.
It’s only been a while, but it sure feels like an eternity since I last saw her! Time sure flies by when your life is in shambles, hahaha…
Wow, look at her! Is it just me, or does she feel chubbier than before?
Ann continued to hug Faye, rubbing her cheeks to Faye’s.
The little girl with her short green hair could do nothing but accept her mistress’ public display of affection. It felt embarrassing, but it felt warm also, so it wasn’t like she hated it.
Little Faye was escorted by Viscount Jonas and Viscountess Vanessa, who were led by Nymnienna to the place where the Imparie tribe resided, after they were summoned through a magical message bird that the prince sent.
After being stared at by the Imparie tribe in the village that they passed by, they finally reached the meeting point that was designated beforehand. The verdant forest that surrounded them was the same area where Ann and her party met with Rakiasha for the first time.
Faye, whose eyes faced towards the front where Rakiasha was, was actually a little bit nervous because she finally realized that she ought to give a greeting first before having this tête-à-tête with Ann.
Thankfully, the rest of the group didn’t mind them, as Prince Kiehl proceeded with introducing the coming party to Rakiasha, and Viscount Jones and Viscountess Vanessa seemed to have represented Faye.
But before Faye could even heave a sigh of relief, she suddenly found two round, clear blue eyes that seemed like very clear and clean water, peering into hers with curiosity.
“…?!” Faye was taken aback and wanted to step back, if not for Ann who continued to hug her.
Ann noticed Faye’s movement, so she let go of Faye and asked, “Faye, what’s wrong?”
She can’t be uncomfortable with my hug, right? Has she reached that rebellious age?!
Ann’s heart thumped.
Faye didn’t respond, perhaps because she was so focused to look straight ahead.
Standing right in front of Faye and next to Ann was a small girl whose body size was roughly the same as Faye. Her brown skin was a tone lighter than the majority of the Imparie tribe, her slightly wavy hair was silver blue in color. When Faye looked at her hair, she was reminded of a clear water that reflected the moon.
Her wide, round clear blue eyes seemed to be scanning Faye from head to toe, before she frowned and puffed her cheek in dissatisfaction.
“Master, who is this girl? Why did you run to hug her with such urgency? Am I not your only disciple?” The little girl pouted as she turned to look at Ann and protested, pointing at Faye.
“…??” Faye’s brain froze.
What is this girl talking about? This ‘Master’ she’s calling, it can’t be her mistress, Ann, right?
She couldn’t understand…
“Quira… She is my maid, Faye, and she will fill in the role of the lead songstress in the ritual,” Ann introduced Faye to the girl she called Quira.
“???” Faye tilted her head in confusion.
Lead songstress?
She was never briefed on anything, so she was really confused.
All she knew was that suddenly, they received a message from the prince, asking for Faye to be escorted to where the Imparie tribe resided, for a matter that needed her presence.
That was how she was escorted by Viscount Jonas and Viscountess Vanessa, as well as their family’s guards. The guards only accompanied them until the meeting point with Nymnienna, and they weren’t allowed to proceed further after that. It was to be expected, since not even the crown prince of their kingdom was allowed to bring his guards with him.
Faye’s eyes traveled to the crown prince as well as her mistress’ husband who was standing next to the prince. She somehow understood why the crown prince wasn’t as worried. Aside from believing in himself, he also had his close aide with him.
“Huh…”
Quira’s voice made Faye quickly refocused her vision towards the little girl who was only frowning at her, seemingly dissatisfied about something that made Faye even more confused.
“Ahem… Let me fill you in on the details,” Ann said after she turned around to look at the rest of the party, who seemed to be having a serious discussion, a little bit separate from the three of them.
So, it is up to me to explain things, then… Well, it’s my fault to not hold myself back and just hug Faye. Ann thought to herself.
Ann then introduced the girl that was currently frowning at Faye–Aquira Calarein fa Fiel XVI, the heir to the Sun of the Imparie tribe and Rakiasha’s only daughter, who had just become her disciple.
Then, she explained about how the ritual to separate the villainess’ soul and merge it with Birdie would be held in the Imparie tribe’s area, with the help from Imparie’s tribe.
“But since my case is unique, that is where we need your help,” Ann explained as she pointed at Faye with a proud smile.
“M-my help? What can I possibly do?” Faye was obviously nervous. She knew how important this ritual was, so she was afraid she’d just mess things up.
“You just need to sing,” Ann patted Faye’s shoulder and looked at her with an expression that seemed to say ‘You’re such a good singer, so of course it’d be easy peasy for you, right?’
“S-sing? Really? Just that? How will that be of help? Won’t it be easier to get a more experienced songstress from the Imparie tribe?” Faye was sweating from her nervousness.
After the failed first attempt, Faye couldn’t help but be afraid. She almost lost her mistress back then… who’s to say that the first ritual attempt failed not due to her inadequacy in performing the song?
This had been weighing on Faye’s mind all this time…
“Well… Rakiasha-san, the Sun of the Imparie tribe, noted how my case is unique in how it is a case of two souls occupying the same body, and how we want to drive out the original soul of this body instead… and to let me, the outsider, stay. We need to make sure that the right soul goes to Birdie’s side to incarnate with Birdie. A voice of someone that’s familiar to both me and Birdie can help by leading us to the right place. And… of course, we can only think of you!” Ann quickly explained in a way that’s easy to digest.
“C-can I really do such an important task? How do I guide your souls?” Faye trembled. Clearly, this was a very important matter! A single mistake would be fatal! And, the probable victim could be the person she loved the most! The stake’s too high!!!
“Coward! You just need to listen to what Mother’s going to tell you, and learn diligently from Songstress Sylthea!” Quira pointed at Faye with a very dissatisfied look.
There was clearly an air of rivalry that Faye didn’t know where it even came from in the first place. But she could somehow guess the reason behind Quira’s attitude towards her.
Quira seemed to really admire Ann, who had just become her teacher.
And since Ann was really close to Faye, a child that should be around Quira’s own age, Quira was a bit jealous. Perhaps she was a possessive person to begin with.
“Oh…,” Faye felt a bit relieved that there would be an expert teaching her, but that didn’t really mean she was no longer nervous.
Will I be able to perform it well? I hope I really can be of help, and not a hindrance…
I hope the first ritual didn’t fail because of me… and that the second ritual will be successful…
Though she was still scared, she could only trust in the judgement of others–of the pro, the Sun of the Imparie tribe, as well as Ann, the mistress that she loved that believed in her.
***
After they were done with the initial briefing, the group shortly moved, wasting no time.
Faye was then taken to Songstress Sylthea’s place, which was a cave hidden inside the forest.
“You’d better be grateful! Your short-term teacher is Songstress Sylthea, the most experienced singer for rituals! Don’t make Sylthea tired!” Quira was the one who introduced Sylthea to Faye, albeit reluctantly.
“Dear me, I didn’t expect the singer to be a child. Quira-sama, you seem to have gained a new friend, isn’t that great?” Sylthea greeted Faye warmly.
“She isn’t my friend! She is my rival!!” Quira quickly denied.
“Sure, sure,” Sylthea only laughed, not believing Quira at all.
Sylthea’s slightly wrinkled face only showed kindness towards Faye, and there didn’t seem to be any hint of hatred or reluctance in her eyes, which made Faye feel relieved.
Sylthea then started to measure Faye’s skills first, evaluating her skills so she would be able to know how she should teach Faye the necessary song to perform during the ritual.
“How long will it take?” Allen asked, since the schedule of the ritual depended on the preparations.
“She’s quite clever. I believe it will take a week at most,” Sylthea answered.
“A week. That is good,” Rakiasha nodded.
“Does that mean Master Ann will be able to teach me for a week nonstop?!” Quira asked with glittering eyes.
Uh, girl, why are you so… diligent? She’s going to be a workaholic in the future, won’t she?
Ann thought to herself. She failed to understand that Quira was excited at the chance to be with Ann for a full week.
“No, sweetie. Like I said before, your lessons will start after the ritual finishes. Mother only told you to get introduced to your teacher before, right? For now, your teacher needs to undergo her own preparations,” Rakiasha answered as she caressed Quira.
“HUH?!” Ann almost jumped. I wasn’t briefed on this!!
“I will guide you to meditate and prepare your mind and soul for the ritual,” Rakiasha said, explaining things to Ann.
“Aww boo… then what can I do?” Quira pouted, clearly not satisfied with this unexpected response.
“Why don’t you come hangout with your little new friend, Quira-sama?” Sylthea suggested.
“No! She’s not my friend!” Quira denied once more.
Sylthea and Rakiasha seemed to have a brief moment of eye contact before Rakiasha said, “Then, can you watch over Sylthea’s lessons and help Sylthea so she won’t be too tired? Report to me how it’s going.”
“Sure! I can do that!” The gullible Quira answered happily.
“Then, the rest of us…?” Laura asked, unsure.
“You can leave them with us and return a week later to wait while we are doing the ritual,” Rakiasha said.
At her response, Elder Matthias’ face fell as he began to grumble about how he wanted to stay to learn more about the Imparie tribe as well as the Mythical Bird of Soul Ascendance, but his two loyal and patient accompanying priests quickly helped by moving away from the rest of the group as they tried to cheer their grumpy elder.
“…I entrust them to you,” Prince Kiehl slightly bowed.
Though unwilling, Allen and the rest of the group had no choice but to entrust Ann and Faye, while the rest of them retreated to the Doussier family’s residence to wait.
And finally, on the day of the ritual…
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