"Lord Hero!!!.... Something big has happened!!"

"Calm down now... take deep breaths and start from the top," Zorat said calmly as he led Florielle to sit on his lap.

Myrra was watching their interaction far off to the side, where the cabin meets the surrounding woods.

After the amazing night she had experienced with her lord, she had been feeling particularly possessive of him.....

Maybe it was because she had experienced her first with him, she felt even more competitive with Florielle ever since....

And she was thankful that the strange woman from the previous night hadn’t made another appearance as of yet. The lesser the better, she thought.

Florielle had behaved unusually earlier in the day, but seeing her jump into her lord’s lap like that, Myrra reasoned she must be back to her usual self.

This made her feel even more threatened by her as she watched them, carving away at the wooden statue she was making of her lord.

Myrra realised her lord had not brought her over for her assassination abilities, which was surprising because that’s what she’s best at.

She still doesn’t know what value he hopes to gain from her, so she plans to make sure she’s at least useful at something until her lord designates her to a particular task.

She had a knack for making art out of wood, and she was hard at work at polishing those skills to please her lord.

As she carved, the lingering feelings and sensations from last night kept playing through her thoughts again and again.

’Did he enjoy it .... as much as I did ?’ Myrra wondered as she watched from where she had set up a station to practice her craft. She could see Florielle frantically detailing something to her lord.

Back with Zorat, Florielle, as usual, got into her favorite position with her master, as she gives him all the information he is unaware of.....

Regardless of her present complicated emotions toward her master.

The moment she reached the main palace and discovered all that had transpired, she ran straight over to inform him.

Zorat, of course, did not bother mentioning to her that he was the architect of all the chaos that had ensued the night before....

He simply listened to her, smiling as she spoke of all the things he already knew of that were directly and indirectly his own doing

Florielle informed him of all he already knew until she mentioned one thing that even Zorat had been unaware of...

"And then, not too long after, news came that the imprisoned grand vizier had managed to escape!"

Heh ?.... Victor escaped?

Aahhhh..... What a roach....hehehe.

Zorat was genuinely impressed that Victor had a means to escape under the watch of someone who was a half-step transcendent.

This just goes to prove how resourceful he truly is and how well he would have performed as his subordinate were it not for the fact that their agendas did not align.

It is a certainty that sooner or later, Victor would eventually come for him, but Zorat no longer cared....

The only reason he ever bothered was because of Victor’s influence and how he might ruin some of his plans at outwardly playing the role of hero at the moment to fulfill his agenda...

But now that he has been discredited, accused of treason, and has become a wanted man, being hunted by the kingdom....

He has lost all the leverage his position accords, and if he does come for Zorat, even if Zorat is not strong enough at that time to kill him for good, he is certain Victor could do nothing to his body as well.

And at the rate at which Zorat was getting stronger, he was certain that in only a little while, even the half-step transcendent would be blown apart by a simple attack from him.

Now Zorats’ strength can even dispatch a grandmaster realm individual, but anything above was still uncertain, unless he risks the destruction of his body by going beyond his current means.

"That’s not even the weirdest part... something really strange had happened while I went back to my quarters...."

Zorat was pulled out of his thoughts as he noted the complicated expression on Florielle’s pretty face as she spoke...

"Pray tell.... What else happened?" Zorat asked concernedly.

"all my fellow maidservants.... "

"Something evil happened to them last night...."

"They... they have all gone bald!!"

Hehehehe.

"What ?!"

"Lord hero.... It was the most terrible sight... and ... it could have happened to me too..."

"Were it not for the fact that I stayed the night here..." Floreille mumbled as she visibly shivered at the thought of having what happened to the rest happen to her as well.

"Who would do such a thing!..." Zorat blurted in shock as he wrapped his hands around Florielle in consolation

Florielle rested her head on his chest, as if she had just survived a huge disaster.

A lady’s hair, after all, is a crucial part of their beauty....

And Zorat had cut these other maidservants in such a way that left not even a single sprout of hair in place.

"It’s okay .... Don’t worry, that hair-cutting maniac will never get to you here," Zorat murmured assuringly as he caressed Florielle’s hair.

"But that wasn’t the strangest part, lord hero..." Florielle suddenly spoke again. This time, looking more confused and disturbed.

"Really ?... what else happened ?" Zorat muttered in interest.

"The moment..... any of them saw me....

"...I have never seen such expressions before..."

"What happened, Florielle ?!"

"..."

"Abject terror.... Is the only way I can describe it..."

"It was as if they had seen..... a ghost.... "

"Every one of them has abandoned our shared accommodations...screaming as they saw me...."

"Really ?!"

"Yes..."

"... and most have already left the palace altogether...."

"All that really happened?" Zorat remarked with worry in his voice, doing his best to stifle a lingering grin from spreading through his face.

"Yes, lord hero. It was actually.... really scary...."

"Shush now...."

"You are safe here...." He reassured her warmly.

"But...."

"Isn’t it a good thing..... that those ladies who have been a constant source of anguish to you are finally getting their due ?" Zorat purred into Florielle’s ear as he stroked her hair.

Florielle was quiet for a while before she responded..."I guess.... but ...."

"I don’t think they deserve all that," she murmured with clear pity in her voice.

"Even after all they’d done to you ?"

"..."

"I always forgive them right after.... I’m not mad at them...."

"They looked really hurt... no one should hurt like that," Florielle said, smiling up warmly at Zorat.

Hmmm...

Tender heart indeed....

Hehehe.

Zorat just smiled back and patted her head, saying nothing more as they relaxed in the quiet.

However, it seemed Florielle had more to say as she fidgeted on Zorat’s lap, but before she could muster the courage to speak....

They were interrupted by the presence of two approaching individuals.

Two royal guards in full uniform and armor bearing the kingdom’s sigil arrived in front of Zorat and Florielle as the lead on spoke....

"Honored Hero Of Item Box..."

Honored hero?

hmmm....

"Your presence is required in the Throne Room!"