Chapter 358 - Release Me!

The following day.

The girls visited Horace in the cave.

Veronica entered the chamber, carrying Horace's breakfast. "Good morning! How are you feeling today?" she asked cheerfully.

Horace's smiled brightly and replied, "I'm felling good! Thanks for asking!"

"We bring you your breakfast. After you're done eating, Elva will check your health. If you are no longer carrying poison in your body then you can finally go home this morning," Veronica said.

"Thank you!" Horace responded with a smile.

"I'll take my leave now.. See you later," Veronica said.

"Okay. See you later..." Horace said and took the dishes from the basket and put them on the wooden bed. Then he began eating.

Veronica left the chamber.

The women went to the other chamber where the cursed King's trusted servant was holed up.

They found him sitting in the corner, bored to death.

Veronica put the basket on the ground and waved her hand, the basket vanished from the ground and appeared inside the chamber.

The servant looked at them, wearing a sad expression on his face. "My lady, I beg you... please release me! Or if you don't want to release me, then at least let me serve you! That's better than doing nothing here. I'm getting bored out of my mind inside this chamber. Please, have mercy on me!" he pleaded.

The women looked at each other.

"Do you think it's now safe to let him go?" Elva asked her companion.

Veronica sighed a bit. "Do you think he's telling us the truth? That he is just a mere servant of the cursed King?"

Elva addressed the guy. "You really have no idea if the cursed King is dead or still alive?" she asked.

The servant shook his head. "To be honest, I have no idea, my lady. My master is mighty powerful, he can do anything," he replied the wisest way. "Besides, when he switched bodies with me, I have no idea what happened next because I'm unconscious. I really can't remember anything," he added.

"You know Graven, right?" Elva asked another question.

"Yeah, the prisoner? I know him," the servant replied.

"Do you know that we already found him?" Elva said. She watched closely the expression on the servant's face.

The servant's eyes glimmered a bit. "That's a good news, my lady! I'm happy for you because I know that you've been trying to find him for a long time. May I know where did you found him?" he asked curiously.

"Graven was currently a prisoner of the cursed King's relatives. They claimed that their great-great-grandfather, the thousand year old, King Rhazien, will finally reincarnated into this world and the body that they found inside his coffin will become his body to live succesfuly in this world. They found the coffin from the ruins of the castle and bring it to thier territory..." Elva elaborated further.

The servant looked at Elva. "My lady, I don't care about the cursed Kings affair. I'm no longer interested to be his servant. I longed to leave that basement for a long time. Now that I finally have the chance to regain my freedom, I would appreciate it very much if you release me from my captivity so that I can go on with my life as a free man," he said, pretending not to care about the King's affairs.

The two ladies looked at each other for a few seconds.

A moment later, they vanished from the chamber.

The cursed King released a deep sigh. He needs to continue pretending that he is the servant. Once they will know his secret identity, they will never let him go and they will kill him for sure. If he kept pretending, then one day, the ladies might believe his disguise, then they will pity him, and finally release him.

He was shocked to find out that Graven's body was already under his relative's jurisdiction, it's fantastic news for him! Therefore, the spirit of Graven's twin brother was also with him since he imprisoned him in the Soul Eater Vase and put him in the coffin together with his brother.

And his relatives already thought that he will use Graven's body? Why not?

Graven is after all Laura's husband in the current times, that would be a perfect setup for the three of them. He doesn't mind using Graven's face and body as long it is beneficial for him.

This is an interesting new development!

The ladies thought that by sharing the news with him he will finally reveal his true self. They're wrong!

Sooner or later, they will believe in his lies and set him free!

He can't wait to leave this cave!

...

Veronica and Elva went back to Horace.

They entered the chamber.

Veronica smiled at Horace. "Time to go home!" she said cheerfully.

"I'm excited!" Horace replied with a bright smile flashing on his face.

Elva looked at Horace and said, "I'll inspect your body first to detect any abnormalities. If negative, then you can go home," she said.

"Go ahead, goddess!" Horace said excitedly.

"Sit down on the bed and close your eyes," Elva ordered.

"Okay," Horace replied and followed the deity's order.

Elva waved her hand up and down at Horace's body, a few seconds later, his body was bathed with soft blue light.

After Elva finished checking Horace's body for any traces of poison, she declared him clean and fit to leave the cave. "You're ready to go!" she said.

"Thank you, deity! Thanks for saving my life, girls! I appreciated it very much!" Horace said in a thankful voice.

"Don't mention it, we're glad to help to you," Elva stated.

"Alright, let's go!" Horace said cheerfully.

Elva looked at him. "Um...Horace, I think you should stay away from getting yourself involve with Graven's case for a while. We are surrounded with dangers and we don't know yet the true capabilities of our enemies. Veronica told me once that you are Graven's right man and you're taking good care of everything on his behalf. If something bad happen to you, Graven won't like it, especially that his pregnant wife and his entire family as well the whole South Pond Town is also depending on you. You are carrying a heavy responsibility on your shoulder. You should stay way from danger. Leave the rest to us. Just my piece of advice," she said.

Horace pondered about that issue the whole night. "Yeah... I think you have good point, goddess. I'll follow your advice from now on," he said.

"Good! Don't worry, Veronica and Calder will keep you updated with our effort in rescuing Terros and Graven. Just avoid endangering yourself form now on, okay?" Elva said.

"Got it, goddess!" Horace replied.

"Let's go!" Veronica said.

A few seconds later, the three of them vanished from the chamber.

...

Horace finally returned to the headquarter.

Calder and the rest of Graven's men rejoiced after his safe return. Then he told them all the things that he and Veronica have to undergo in the hands of the enemy. Good thing the goddess Elva intervened to save Veronica and the rest is history. Then he also told them that he was able to see and talk with Grandpa Terros and discovered that Lord Graven was alive and being kept in another room by the enemy.

Calder and the men were happy to know that their master and Grandpa Terros were still alive. He told them that he wasn't able to see the lord in person because they were not allowed to enter the room. But Grandpa Terros assured them that the lord is still alive, although he was unconscious the whole time he arrived at the enemy's territory.

They all wanted to attack the territory of the enemy and rescue Grandpa and their master. But Horace told them that they need a solid plan because the enemy's location is still blurry in his mind. He's still trying to figure out the place because he believed that a part of his memory was purposefully obliterated so that he can't teleport back to the place.

"Guys, I still need to go back to the capital to check how things are going there. I'll return here after a few days, then let's discuss extensively on how to rescue Lord Graven and Grandpa Terros from the clutches of the enemy," Horace said.

The men dispersed and left Horace and Calder to talk to each other.

"I have a good news for you," Calder told Horace.

"What is it?"

"Rebecca is back and heavily pregnant..." Horace reported.

Horace's face brightened up. "Where is she? I want to see her!" he said eagerly.

"Rebecca wanted to see Laura, and she has no place to stay, so I brought her to Laura's place so that they can catch up," Calder replied.

"Good! I'll visit the women tomorrow. First, I need to go to South Pond Town and resumed my duties and responsibilities," Horace stated.

"Alrighty!" Calder spoke.

The men bid goodbye to each other.

...

Meanwhile, at Menedelia's fortress.

Ebony arrived at her sister's place in the forest.

She found Grandma Sitas and her sister, sitting on the wooden bench located under the shade of the tree, they're admiring the daffodil flowers in full bloom.

Menedelia looked at her. "Sis... nice to see you again. Are you going to bring Grandma Sitas to the manor today?" she asked.

"Yeah. I wasn't able to return here the other day because I have to tend to our neighbor's sickly child suffering from high fever and vomiting," Ebony said.

"I see... how's your patient now?" Menedelia asked.

"The child is finally cured from her illness and sleeping well when I left her house," Ebony replied.

"Good! Grandma is ready to go with you to the manor. Have you already told your master that you're going to bring grandma to the manor?" Menedelia asked.

"He offered me that opportunity long time ago. Anyways, if he won't agree, then I have to bring Grandma Sitas back here," Ebony replied.

"No problem. You and Grandma can return here anytime," Menedelia said. "Don't worry, I'll continue my palm reading business so that I can earn money and resume my financial support to you and Grandma," she assured her.

The sisters have a chit-chat for one hour, then Ebony took Grandma Sitas with her back to the manor.