Chapter 173: The Madame

With a loud creaking noise, the adorned, lavishly decorated room of the study room opened up. A pillar of light quickly slid in through the rapidly widening crack from the brightly lit hallway. A moment later, a long shadow revealed itself, a feminine figure donned in a dusty, black silk cloak stepped inside from the hallway.

The figure looked inside, its eyes that were safely hidden under the dark shadows of the cloak's hood spotted the masked figure standing in front of the window, it took a deep gasp of air. As it slowly exhaled the accumulated air, it could feel its tense nerves slowly calming down. 

Once it felt ready, it opened its eyes, and from it, a heavenly, melodious tune disrupted the serene peace and quiet of the place.

"Mother… *khm* Mistress, I am back." The figure spoke. From the void of the hood, a pair of purple glow abruptly lit up, adding that mystical aftereffect of its voice.

The masked woman simply hummed in response, not sparing even a single glance at the newcomer. 

Although the response was within her expectations, it was still not an easy thing to hear. Regardless, the hooded figure could only grit her teeth to hide her pain, and with a solemn expression, stepped inside the room.

Promptly closing the door behind her, she took a few steps forward, stopping a few feet away from her Mother and Mistress. Taking one last look at the back of her head, she knelt down.

"You called for me, Mistress?"

"You sent me information about this new fellow that caught your eyes." The masked woman insipidly spoke. Her attention seemed to be looking into the distance, towards the direction of the Guild's Hall.

"Yes, Mistress. I did. He is called Aiden. I believe he would be a good choice. Much better than-" Sarah, the hooded figure and leader of the Guild's Examiners began but she was promptly silenced by the Mistress with her right palm raised up high.

"Enough. I know what you want to say. Tolerate that buffoon, we need a figure like him for now. You should also know that we have to stay hidden, we can't show ourselves, we can't step out into the light." The masked woman replied with a stern tone, not giving any room to the kneeling girl behind her.

"But…" Sarah wanted to speak up and voice her concerns, but feeling her Mistress' tone, she could only keep it to herself. She sighed, then changed the subject.

"I understand, I apologize, my Mistress. As for Aiden, he…" She wanted to go into details about her findings, but was once again, silenced.

"I read your report, Sarah." The mistress spoke. "Are you sure you can control him?"

"Yes, Mistress. I am sure." Sarah nodded.

The masked woman did not respond to the question immediately. The small holes that gave way to her charcoal black irises kept piercing towards the distance. As if her all-seeing eyes would be able to scan every minute detail of the landscape and there would be nothing that could hide from her. 

After about a minute of silence, she broke the agonizing silence that followed the girl's words.

"Do not lie to me. You failed multiple times already. How do you plan on controlling him?"

"I…" Sarah didn't dare to raise her head, she kept her eyes plastered on the floor. Small beads of sweat perspired on her forehead. Trepidation noticeable in her voice, she answered.

"We have come to an agreement, Mistress. He agreed to help me, no, help us, and in return, I promised him to gather information about a place he was looking for."

For the first time since she came into the room, the masked milady turned around and looked at the kneeling woman. Although her expressions were hidden behind the silver mask, her tone betrayed her. For the first time, it carried a tinge of surprise.

"What place was he looking for?"

Feeling her Mistress' gaze on her, Sarah, nervously looked up slightly, not daring to match her eyes. 

"He… Aiden was looking to find a place called the Demon Grotto, Mistress."

A microscopic jolt could be seen pass through the masked woman's body upon hearing the name. With a stern tone, she continued with her questions.

"And what did you say to him?"

"I pointed him towards that cursed place in the forest. The one with the strange, mystical aura surrounding it, which we could never explore because every team that was sent in has disappeared. I…"

Sarah took a gulp as she saw her Mistress shaking upon her words. As she spoke she could feel as the temperature of the room suddenly turned colder, chillier. 

"M-mistress?" She looked up, taking a glance at the famed mask, but still avoiding her stare.

The woman did not reply to the question. Her body kept shaking, her trepidation reaching new levels. The cold, chilly aura was released by her, engulfing not just the room, but the entire mansion as well.

Faint but approaching footsteps could be heard from the other side as it increased in volume as it approached the source. A few moments later, loud knocking could be heard, and an elderly voice spoke from the other side.

"Mistress, are you alright? I am coming in, please excuse me." 

The door quickly opened, and the elderly butler rushed into the room. He skipped past the still kneeling girl, stepping next to the now-visibly shaking masked woman. Light blue strands of energy could be now witnessed as they seemed to be pulsating outwards from its body. In its wake, this transparent but visible energy carried a chilling cold. Hoarfrost began to appear on the window glass, a thin layer of ice began to form on the tile.

Raising his palm in the air, the elderly butler closed his eyes and began to whisper seemingly jumbled words. At least they carried no meaning for Sarah, who could only make out fragments. 

A couple of seconds later, as the butler finished his ancient chant, Sarah gasped as he saw his palms lit up with an orange flame. Promptly, the butler thrust his flaming hands against her Mistress. As his hands made contact with her back an invisible shockwave of energy was released with the butler and the Mistress as its origin, extinguishing the blue aura and immediately raising the room's temperature back to their previous, normal level.

With the situation resolved, the butler stepped back and knelt next to the kneeling woman. His eyes were plastered to the ground, as he asked with great care in his voice.

"Madame, are you feeling better now?"

With her clarity seemingly returned, the mature masked woman, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled before she responded.

"Yes. Thank you once again, my dear Sebas." 

Contrary to the cold, insipid tone she spoke towards the woman, her voice carried affection when she addressed this aged man. 

"Please, Mistress, your words are wasted on these old bones. This is my duty and honor."

She reached for the man, she gently placed her silk laced glove covered right hand on the man's chin and gently lifted it, straightening his pose.

"Rise, my dear Sebas, you know you never have to kneel before me."

The difference in how the elderly butler and she was addressed, stung Sarah's heart a lot. Still, she kept the pain bottled in, and kept her eyes on the floor.

However, even the tiniest of changes in her aura couldn't be kept hidden before the madame's heightened senses. With gentleness in her voice, she addressed the butler once more.

"I still have to talk to Sarah, could you please leave us, my most loyal caretaker?"

The elderly butler nodded and bowed.

"Certainly, madame. Please excuse me." With his words finished, he turned around and quickly left the room, closing the door on his way out.

Once his footsteps died down, the masked woman turned her attention towards the woman once again. She kept silent, as her eyes scanned the woman in front of her. A few moments later she approached her, and just like with the butler, she reached out and gently raised her up. She pulled her hood back, revealing her unique purple hair and pain-filled eyes.

"Don't be afraid, you should know how much I care about you, Sarah," she spoke, but this time her voice was much more alive, it carried a kind, loving emotion with it, surprising Sarah by a great deal.

"I…" Sarah couldn't respond to her words. She couldn't even recall the last time, she was addressed by such a tone. Her vision quickly became blurry as, despite her will, tears rapidly began to gather and escape from the corner of her eyes. Deeply rooted emotions began to come to the surface and escape through the watery drops as they slid down on her spotless, beautiful face.

With her left hand, the masked lady pulled her right glove off her hand, and reached for Sarah's face, picking up some of her teardrops.

"Don't be sad… You know that I love you…. My dear daughter!"