Chapter 52: Lord of the Manor
Recalling the battle at Linshire Village that day, Elrose felt a surge of shame from her embarrassing lines, disgraceful actions, and the utterly humiliating finishing move. She wished she could hang herself with a noodle.
And now, every day at work, there were always people nearby saying things like “Shadie is awesome” and “Magical Girls are awesome.”
That was the least of her worries; what Elrose couldn’t bear were those who referred to her as “Shadie, my wife” and “I will always love Shadie.”
Each time she heard such words, her body would instinctively tremble, and she couldn’t even hold a plate steadily, leading to her breaking several dishes over the past few days.
And each plate was worth twenty-five copper coins; every shattered plate got ruthlessly noted by Luna on Elrose’s payroll.
Elrose was in despair, yet she had no way out; she couldn’t just jump out and say, “You hentai, I’m not your wife.”
Let alone, at that moment, Elrose didn’t even dare to admit she was a Magical Girl. Even if she wanted to admit it, no one would believe her.
Because she couldn’t transform anymore.
That night, she hadn’t confessed her identity to Joy but left with a cool silhouette, thinking that since she could transform, she could return to Joy anytime. She would find a chance to be alone with her and have a good chat.
But what was the result?
Expecting the next evening with excitement, she once again recited that incredibly shameful transformation spell, but a brand new interface popped up.
“Error, skill [Transformation] activation failed.”
“Failure reason: Insufficient Mana.”
Elrose was dumbfounded on the spot; she stuffed her head into the toilet and flushed twice, never imagining that the mana supplement given by the Evil God was only enough for her to transform once.
Later, Elrose spent a whole night cursing, “Evil God, you’re so handsome.”
Left with no options, the next day Elrose went directly to Luna to request an advance on a month’s salary, hoping to run to the potion shop and buy some Mana Recovery potions.
However, when Elrose arrived at the potion shop and saw the prices of the Mana supplements on the counter, she was left speechless.
It was outrageously expensive.
Her entire month’s salary wasn’t even enough to buy a single low-grade Mana Recovery potion.
Elrose once again recalled the fear of being governed by poverty.
But without hesitation, she gritted her teeth, stomped her foot, and spent all the money she had.
She thought, as long as she could transform once more and regain her powers, wanting a little money would be a piece of cake.
To put it simply, she could hunt a few higher-level demons, dig out their cores, and sell them.
Or more straightforward, just fly to Mornhart’s royal city, stand before the king, and stretch out her hand: “Hey, can I have some money?”
Sadly, things didn’t go as planned.
The label on the mana supplement given by the Evil God stating “Elrose’s exclusive” wasn’t written casually.
After gulping down a month’s salary in one go, not only did she not recover any mana, but she also ended up with a stomachache that lasted several days.
Reflecting on the various misfortunes over the past few days, Elrose felt like crying.
How unlucky was this?
It seemed she hadn’t encountered anything fortunate in days.
And the source of all these evils…
Elrose clenched her teeth and summoned the main page of Heart of Shadow, opening the Evil God’s message board.
Still no updates.
Today was yet another day without the Evil God being online.
Elrose shouted to the sky, “Damn it! Where on earth has that old pigeon gone?”
Since the battle at Linshire Village, for some unknown reason, the Evil God had not appeared again, even though he still had crucial work to finish.
Elrose pointed furiously and pressed on the Magical Girl development system option.
“Error, beginner tutorial incomplete, unable to open this project.”
“Next beginner tutorial opening time: Undetermined, please pay attention to notifications on the Evil God’s message board.”
“Error, beginner tutorial incomplete, unable to open this project.”
“Next beginner tutorial opening time: Undetermined, please pay attention to notifications on the Evil God’s message board.”
…
In summary.
At this moment, Elrose Fil had once again transformed into an ordinary (useless) beautiful girl (broken vase).
Elrose glanced at the window by her bed, where there was a small paper box containing the egg left to her by the Evil God.
Although Elrose didn’t know what kind of egg it was, she thought that a warm environment was certainly better suited for hatching than the cold storage space of Heart of Shadow.
So she found a little paper box, and whenever she worked, she would bring it out to sunbathe.
Elrose was quite curious about what would hatch from this egg; after all, it was given by the Evil God, so it shouldn’t be too bad.
Just like that golden gem, which could instantly turn into an invincible great sword.
Though after her transformation ended, it turned back into a gem.
Elrose leaned by the window, examining the egg closely.
Today, there were still no signs of hatching.
Elrose sighed lightly, glanced at the time, and realized her break was almost over. She slowly rose from her bed, left her room, and prepared for the upcoming work.
However, Elrose didn’t notice that the moment she closed her door, ancient runes began to flash on the surface of the golden egg.
…
Hundreds of kilometers away, Hilton Grand Estate.
A magnificent white building, a fragrant garden, a swimming pool, a racetrack, a fencing area… it could be said to be luxurious to the extreme, with everything one could wish for.
This huge estate originally belonged to a powerful noble, but for some reason, it was sealed off by the Mornhart royal family and was eventually sold to a private individual in the name of the royal family.
But strangely enough, it had been nearly a century since this house was purchased, and the butler and maid had changed multiple times, yet no one had ever seen the master of the manor.
He clearly sent tons of gold coins every year to pay the servants’ wages and maintain the estate, but he had never visited the estate himself, nor had anyone related to him ever appeared.
He was like a mystery.
But no matter how one speculated, this master was certainly not an ordinary person.
After all, who would spend so much money each year maintaining a house they never planned to live in?
And it had continued for nearly a century.
Until a few days ago…
On a pitch-black night, under a torrential downpour, an old donkey cart slowly brought a woman draped in a heavy cloak to the manor.
The Elder Butler thought she was a pitiful child seeking refuge from the rain.
With the maids already asleep, he had to go down personally to open the grand door for her.
Before the Elder Butler could reach the front door, suddenly, the great door of the manor swung open.
It was the child who used a key to unlock it.
The Elder Butler stood in shock; there were only two keys to this manor, one that had been passed down from his father to him, and the other held by the master.
In decades, he had envisioned countless scenes of the master arriving, but in that moment, he nervously forgot his words.
Fortunately, the master did not seem to be a stickler for such formalities.
She stepped forward slowly, and under the heavy cloak were a pair of silver eyes that shone like the moon, her red lips parted slightly, producing a voice akin to a celestial melody.
“Is there hot water? I’d like to take a bath,” the master said.
“Of course.” The Elder Butler snapped back to reality, “The bottom of the bathtub on the second floor is equipped with a fifth-level magic array. Once activated, hot water will fill the entire tub within two minutes.”
“That’s good.” The master gently nodded, slowly walking toward the second floor alone.
The Elder Butler watched and asked, “Do you have any other orders, my master?”
“Go park my donkey cart and bring me some supper,” she replied.
“Yes.”
The Elder Butler smiled, promptly stepping up to execute the master’s orders.
Although nearly a century had passed, the person before him couldn’t possibly be the one who originally bought the house, but having the key was enough.
The long-silent manor had finally welcomed its master.
The Elder Butler parked the cart and brought the food to the corridor in front of the bath on the second floor.
“Master, your supper is ready.” The Elder Butler said respectfully, “I placed it at the door.”
“No need, just bring it in,” the master’s elegant voice rang out, “At my age, I don’t have too many preferences in that regard.”
At her age?
The Elder Butler paused slightly; based on her voice, the master should be a very young woman, so how could she say such a thing?
However, since the master had spoken, he wouldn’t refuse.
“Yes,” replied the Elder Butler, gently pushing the door open and walking in.
What came into view were the clothes the master had just changed out of; they weren’t thrown about chaotically, but neatly folded on a chair in front of the bath, even the old cloak was the same.
It was clear that the master was a very meticulous woman.
Looking at her clothes, while the style seemed ordinary, a closer inspection revealed they were all magical garments.
These clothes woven from the silk of spider demon beasts had high physical and magical defenses, the only downside being their exorbitant price; even many nobles couldn’t afford such attire.
From this, it could be inferred that even if the master wasn’t a noble, she possessed resources that countless nobles could not.
A feeling of admiration began to rise.
In the bath, enveloped in a mist, the Elder Butler walked along the edge of the tub, slowly approaching the master from behind.
With blue-white long hair, a graceful neck, fair skin, and an alluring butterfly bone, everything was so perfect.
If an ordinary man were present, he would likely have been unable to contain himself upon seeing such a stunning silhouette.
Fortunately, the Elder Butler was professional; his family had served as butlers for generations, and the strict education and his own commitment to professionalism ensured he wouldn’t harbor any inappropriate thoughts toward the master.
“Your supper.” The Elder Butler gently placed the food behind the master, his gaze straight ahead, avoiding any inappropriate views.
“Understood.” The master responded softly, “It’s all right now; you can go rest.”
“Yes.”
The Elder Butler took long strides, quietly leaving, his emotions never having been as excited as they were at that moment.
He had seen the master whom his grandfather and father had never met.
She was beautiful, elegant, with weighty words and a calm demeanor, showing no flaws at all.
The master they had patiently awaited for nearly a century was indeed a remarkable person worth waiting for.
That’s what the Elder Butler initially thought.
Until he accidentally saw through the reflection in the glass the master rising to retrieve her supper from behind her.
He should have immediately shifted his gaze, but he stood frozen in place—on the master’s lower abdomen, there was a cherry blossom-colored slave (lewd) mark.
