Chapter 74: Isabella, Who Was Not Valued
Adela stood in front of the desk with a hint of guilt as she stepped into the office.
She hesitated for a moment before finally speaking up:
"You just said I should complete the third metamorphosis first?"
Her voice carried a trace of delight, along with some excitement.
"Yes."
Sylvia didn’t correct the other’s subconscious use of the honorific, simply nodding instead:
"Although I’ve already verified the feasibility of the 'Sinner' path, that was only through cases involving those who had just stepped into the extraordinary."
"And for those of you who are already far along the extraordinary path, there aren’t yet enough cases to support compatibility."
Hearing this, Adela’s expression froze:
"Sinner?"
In response, Sylvia’s lips slowly curved into a smile:
"Yes, that is the extraordinary path woven by my Lord… mm… He used my body as a vessel."
Upon hearing this, Adela, whose heart had just skipped a beat, suddenly turned pale:
"Does it possess similar or compatible traits with the Puppeteer path I’m on? Otherwise, I won’t be able to transition into that new path."
Upon hearing her words, Lakdevo took a closer look at this newly recruited servant of his master, then let out a mocking laugh:
"Squawk!"
"Foolish and ignorant mortal!"
"Since my master, the great Her Grace Sylvia, has offered you such advice, then that path must be the correct one!"
"And who might you be?"
Adela, bewildered by the sudden ridicule, shot an annoyed glare at the fat crow perched on the chair back.
At the same time, she muttered in disdain within her mind:
Where did this extraordinary crow come from? Why is it so fat? If it hadn’t spoken, I would’ve thought a chicken was just squatting there!
"Squawk!"
"Ignorant! Foolish!"
Lakdevo shouted with evident displeasure.
At the same time, the temperature in the room plummeted. As a wisp of deep purple flashed through his eyes, the sensation of being watched by countless unseen eyes suddenly flooded Adela’s mind.
At this moment, the fallen noblewoman from the Kingdom of Ulpus forced a smile that looked worse than crying:
Damn it, that’s an Apostle!
Isn’t this the Ferryman?!
What’s he doing here? And calling a follower of an Outer God… no, calling my master his master?
Is it trending nowadays for the Orthodox Church to defect?
First it was the Church of the Lord of Radiance, now it’s the Ferryman atop the River of the Dead?
Is the Reformer from the Church of Machinery next in line to express goodwill?
At this point, Adela chose to follow her heart’s instincts and offered the greatest respect to the Ferryman atop the River of the Dead with the loudest voice and quickest speed.
Watching this scene unfold before her, Sylvia couldn’t help but let the corners of her mouth lift slightly.
Then, she tapped her fingers lightly on the desk:
"You'll need to wait for a while, roughly between half a month to a month."
"Mm… during this time, you can make the puppets needed for your ritual."
"Alright!"
Adela, who had just lifted her head, responded excitedly.
Seeing this, Sylvia smiled slightly again, took out two items from the inner pocket of her clothes, and pushed them toward Adela:
"You have one more task. Later, have Loruze arrange a room for you near my office, and help me refine these two items there."
"You’ll be responsible for repairing this mask, and processing this diamond into components usable by a puppet."
Hearing this, Adela opened her mouth, feeling that her expression was on the verge of collapsing:
"Um, I’m just a Puppeteer. I can’t repair or create extraordinary items. That’s the specialty of those craftsmen from the Church of Machinery."
Seeing this, Sylvia gave another faint smile:
"Your job isn’t to transform or repair them. Not just you—even most of those craftsmen from the Church of Machinery couldn’t manage that. After all, these two items contain divinity."
"Your task is simply to make them more aesthetically pleasing."
Hearing this, Adela finally relaxed and nodded.
Making ornaments? That was right up her alley!
After all, every Puppeteer was a top-tier tailor!
But why did these two items look so familiar?
Hmm… that mask seemed like the one she picked up in the City of Vekonte, and that diamond…
In an instant, she abruptly raised her head and pointed at the diamond with a trembling finger:
"Your Highness, th-this wouldn’t be…"
Before she could finish her sentence, Sylvia directly cut her off:
"That’s right, exactly what you’re thinking."
"It contains divinity?!"
Seeing Adela's expression, looking so heartbroken that she could hardly breathe, Sylvia inexplicably felt a wave of delight.
"Tsk, what a disgraceful display."
"You’re a noble."
Leaning back into her chair, Sylvia teased, then added:
"This diamond can reduce your debt by ten thousand gold Luthers."
"Only ten thousand? Your Highness?"
Adela looked at Sylvia with aggrieved eyes, but the puppet before her said nothing more, simply beaming at her with a smile.
Hmm… was this girl a bit of a fool?
Seeing Adela unconsciously reveal her true nature, behaving naturally instead of being uptight like she was with others, Sylvia nodded in satisfaction.
However, this scene was also taken in by Lakdevo, perched on the chair back. He then mimicked a certain gray-haired puppet’s gesture and nodded as well.
After a few seconds, seeing that Adela had returned to normal, Sylvia tapped on the desk again:
"When you escorted Isabella back to Serborn Manor, did you notice anything unusual there?"
"Unusual?"
Adela pondered over the word, then shook her head:
"There was nothing unusual, but..."
At this point, she seemed hesitant to continue.
"Hmm? What is it?"
Sylvia gestured for her to go on.
Seeing this, Adela thought for a moment, then organized her words before speaking:
"Miss Isabella doesn’t seem to be highly valued by her family."
"Oh?"
Sylvia was a little surprised at that moment, because based on both Isabella's own descriptions and the intel provided by Loruze, the Earl of Lancaster appeared to dote on his daughter.
Adela then continued explaining:
"I found over ten extraordinary individuals at Serborn Manor."
"And at least more than half of them weren’t members of the Lancaster family. They seemed to be bodyguards either trained or hired by them."
"As far as I know, in the Western Alliance countries, except for a few unusual cases, direct descendants of noble families are always accompanied by extraordinary escorts when going out due to the presence of border demons."
"But there were none around Miss Isabella, which I found quite strange."
After hearing this, Sylvia fell silent for a moment.
A few seconds later, she nodded:
"I understand."
"Go find Loruze and have him arrange an office for you."
"Understood, Your Highness."
After receiving the order, Adela walked out briskly with the mask and gemstone in hand, while Sylvia sank into deep thought.
A few seconds later, she spoke slowly:
"Tell me, should we bring little Isabella to live at St. Ruls Cathedral?"
"I'm beginning to think her staying at the Earl’s residence might not be as safe as we imagined, especially now that her body has started to gradually return to normal."
After speaking, she slightly turned her head to look at Lakdevo.
However, at that moment, a pair of small red eyes suddenly entered her field of vision, catching her off guard.
The gaze from those eyes seemed to speak, carrying a bit of grievance and a hint of flattery.
Simultaneously, Lakdevo’s grating voice rang out in sync:
"Squawk~"
"Master~"
"Get lost."
Sylvia said flatly, without the slightest expression.