***
Neri let herself fall off the roof. she turned herself mid-fall and landed silently on the ground. She would have to train more on her Qinggong technique, she almost broke the crates earlier.
She was getting rusty after not going on missions for so long.
She drank another pill that reversed the effects of the first, she was back to normal.
Enya came running with her dress in hand, "Master! I can't hold them off anymore, Lord Lucien had Mrs. Landel come in and check on you."
That child was indeed quite bothersome at times, but she quickly changed into the dress.
"Quick, let's head back."
She ran in and saw Keir and Alen entering the waiting room, perfect timing.
"Excuse me, Mrs. Landel, where is the restroom?"
Nathan ran to her, "We panicked when Mrs.Landel told us you weren't in the dressing room.
When did you leave? We didn't even notice."
She looked innocently at them, "When there was a scream, I went to the front to look for a restroom."
Lucien walked up to her, "Your ponytail..."
She hadn't realized her hair had come loose while riding.
"Oh, forgive me, my lady. Your hair tie broke, it got caught on one of the dresses you tried on." Enya said as she bowed.
"You look pretty with your hair loose," Keir commented.
Alen nodded in agreement. "Our little sis always looks pretty-" his stomach interrupted him as it growled in protest.
He grinned sheepishly. "That means 'Can we leave now and find food?'"
"Typical Alen," Lucien added as everyone laughed
As everyone walked out of the store, she ran back to the men's section. "I'd like to purchase this belt."
She walked outside and saw that they all stood at the entrance. Her heart warmed; they were waiting for her.
"Did you buy something?" asked Lucien. She nodded, as she handed the package to Alen.
"For me?" Alen said with a surprised expression.
She nodded, "Can I open it?" She giggled, "Of course silly."
"Whoa, a swordsman belt. It's lightweight yet durable." She took the empty wrapping from him,
"I noticed you returned with a broken belt in hand, so I bought you one."
He hugged her, "Thanks, Neri, I'm very honored to receive a gift from you." She knew he was probably making a face at the rest of the brothers. She could feel her other brother's jealousy,
She sighed "I'll treat you all to dessert, any recommendations?" After discussing where to eat, the tension between the brothers disappeared.
She whispered to Enya, "There's been a request to guard lord Ikar. I assigned Killian to it, but for now, we'll guard him."
They arrived at the restaurant and sat down, to her surprise Lucien sat next to her.
She thought he disliked her, she was usually quite good at reading people.
This child confused her quite a bit.
The food arrived, and as she handed Lucien his food, she smelled moonseed, a poisonous berry.
She was immune to poison, but nobody else here was.
She stopped Lucien from grabbing it, "I smelled something odd," she took the spoon from his hand.
"Hey! Stop!..." He reached for the plate, she took a spoonful before Lucien could knock the food from her hand.
"Feigning a cough, she covered her mouth and quickly swallowed a pill—one that would soon make her vomit blood and collapse."That was hot," she said, acting as if she burned her tongue.
Lucien grabbed her shoulders. "Are you crazy!? Why would you eat something if you thought it might be bad? What if it's poisoned or something?"
She momentarily looked away as she signaled for Enya to go after the culprit, who would try and escape after seeing her vomit from the poison.
Lucien was calmed by her brothers. "She's fine. But, Neri, if you see something wrong, don't risk your life. Just tell one of us."
She lowered her head. "Sorry. I didn't mean to make you worried. I just thought Lucien wouldn't believe me, so I drank it first to check."
Lucien clenched his fists. "I would have believed you," he said, his voice hoarse. "You didn’t have to risk your life to prove something to me. Don't do that ever again... Neri?"
She swayed as her vision began to blur. She covered her mouth as she began to cough—and when she removed her hand, there was blood.
Perfect. The culprit would be caught now that the poison had been revealed.
She looked up to see her brothers' and Lucien's eyes filled with worry, panic, and horror.
Her vision blurred, but in that frozen moment, the world slowed around her—then collapsed inward.
A memory struck like lightning: She was nine, tied down, gagged, her throat raw from screaming as a bitter poison was forced down her mouth. Another time—twelve, maybe?—they had laughed when she convulsed in the dirt, foam spilling from her lips. “Again,” they said. “You’ll never be useful if you can’t survive this.”
Faces blurred. Hands held her down. One man clapped. Another kept a tally. No one stopped them. No one cared.
Pain. So much pain. Always alone.
But now—
Hands gripped her shoulders. Voices trembled with panic. Keir. Alen. Nathan. Even Lucien.
They cared.
Her heart clenched as her body gave out.
“...Oh…” she whispered, the word barely leaving her lips, eyes widening with something like wonder— And then, she collapsed.
***
Enya signaled for Cyr when she saw a man flee down an alley. Cyr came and attacked the man.
He fell to the floor. Enya reached him and tied him up.
Koa appeared, "So that's why Cyr left. What do we have here?" he asked as he observed the man.
She knocked the man out before responding.
Koa winced, "How cruel."
She scoffed, "He tried to poison Lord Ikar, Master drank it in his place. This is only the bare minimum."
He raised an eyebrow. "Nyssa is immune to poison."
"I know, but I saw her drink that pill." Koa gasped, "What!? Gehenna's curse?"
She nodded. Koa became infuriated, "Why didn't you stop her? You know what that tablet does!"
She sighed, "I... I couldn't, she had told me to keep an eye out for potential threats. She was quite pale when I left her. But you know how she gets when we get in her way or ruin her plans."
Koa punched the wall. "Has she lost her mind? Gehenna is for torture, not theatrics. She could die, I should never have given it to her!"
Enya had seen what Gehenna was capable of. The excruciating pain and suffering it caused, she had seen several people die from it. They used it to punish and obtain information from the most miscreant people.
Koa kicked the wall in anger, "Here, this is Arcadia, the only tincture that can ease Gehenna. I'll handle this guy. Hurry back!"
She tried to enter, but a guard stopped her. "No outsiders allowed right now. Find another place to eat," he said. She glanced through the window, but her master was nowhere in sight.
She whistled for Cyr, "Bring me Nyx." The bird flew off, and a minute or two passed before she saw the bird returning and heard the horse galloping.
"Nyx! Take me to master!" The horse ran toward her, she jumped on him as he ran past her.
She could sense the horses' agitation.
Nyx knew his master was suffering. He ran at a frightening speed towards the direction of the Rue mansion.
She hoped the guards wouldn't prevent her from entering, the duchess was sure to be angry.
***
Lucien had stayed behind to look for Nyx but saw no sign of the horse. The Rue brothers took a carriage with Neri and rushed her to the mansion family doctor.
He sighed in frustration, "Let's go back, Orin." He turned his horse around and was about to leave the city when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nyx running toward the city gates with Neris's maid on board.
"Hya, let's go, boy." He rode ahead. Second later he glanced back again and the horse was only inches away.
Orin thundered beneath him at full speed, yet Nyx overtook them like a ghost on the wind.
Orin, who was known as the fastest horse among the nobility, was easily beaten. Nyx's speed was indeed unsurpassed. The horse was out of their sight in minutes.
Lucien's heart pounded—not just from the chase, but from dread. What had Neri done to herself?
Once he arrived, he saw the maid arguing with the guards.
Lucien dismounted. "What's the problem?"
The guards saluted him, "Lord Ikar, the Duchess ordered us to not allow this maid in."
She came up to him, "I went to buy a cure. Please, I must see my lady."
"Let her in, we're in a hurry. I'll speak with the Duchess." The guards hesitated but moved.
He could only pray that Neri would be alright as he ran into the mansion.
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