After the guest is gone, Menedelia went inside the house, going to Rebecca's room.
She found her pregnant charge lying on the bed staring at the ceiling. She released a deep sigh. "Are you still upset about them?" she asked.
"Can you blame me, Granny?" she asked her, her eyes still fixed on the wall.
Menedelia released a deep sigh. "I understand how you feel. I'm sorry for everything," she said.
Rebecca looked at her. "You didn't do anything bad to me, Granny. No need to ask my forgiveness..."
"I know. I'm here to inform you that the guest already went home..."
Rebecca released a sigh of relief. "Finally! I hope our path won't cross with their path ever again!" she said vehemently.
"Okay." Menedelia nods her head. "I'm going back to my room to have a long rest," she said and exited the room. She went back to her room, lies down on the bed, and stared at the ceiling. She saw the three holes on the roof. It's where the lights had passed through to rescue her.
If the portal didn't open on time, the lights won't be able to find her. Now, she was 100% sure that she and Zero were taken to another parallel universe! It would be hard to find out the parallel universe's exact location. Only its inhabitants know its location. And nobody knows how to enter and exit that place, except them.
It's futile thinking about that place. The important thing is she's safe now.
If she made an enemy out of that mysterious master, she needs to be more careful this time! She will start to create a new spell array that won't be easy for that blinding light to track her. She needs to make a spell that would give her and Rebecca a warning if it's about to come near them.
Next week, she will return to the shop to earn a living again.
She released a deep sigh and closed her eyes to sleep.
~~~0~~~
Zero and Nini appeared in the rented manor, right in the living room.
"We finally arrived at our temporary home!" Zero told his companion.
"Wow! This place is huge!" Nini gushes.
"Yeah, two kilometers of free space to move around, and the house is two-story with ten bedrooms on the second floor. There's a beautiful flower garden on the front and backyard!" he elaborated further.
"Awesome! I love this place already!" Nini enthused.
"I'm glad you like it!" he said.
Hera appeared in the living room and was shocked to see a newcomer in the house. She went to her side. "My lord, who is this young lady?" she asked in bewilderment.
"Looked at the ring on her finger, Hera!" Zero ordered his most trusted person.
Hera looked at the girl's finger and saw the amethyst ring. "Oh, you mean...? You finally found the real missing baby?" she asked.
"Yeah! It's her! Her name is Nini. It's a long story how I found her. I'll tell you later. For now, I need to rest because I was injured," he said and showed his back to her.
Hera's eyes widened. "Why something like this happened to you, my lord?" she asked, confused.
"As I said earlier, it's a long story. You will know everything soon enough," Zero said. "Bring Nini to her new room upstairs. Chose the room that is overlooking the garden, the one with a terrace," he ordered.
"Okay, I'll take her to her new room and settled her there," she said.
"And after you're done with her, come to my room so that you can change the medicine on my wound," he ordered.
"Sure!" Hera said and guided the girl towards the staircase.
The women arrived at the spacious room with a terrace overlooking the beautiful garden. It also has a nice view of the trees dotted around the property.
A few minutes later, they finished touring inside the room.
"Wow, this room is awesome, bigger than my previous room! And I can finally see the flowers and trees outside!" Nini gushes, her eyes sparkled with happiness.
Hera was amused by the girl's reaction. There still so many things she needs to know about this girl. How and where did her master found this elusive girl? She will know soon enough. "Nini dear... do you like this room? We can choose another room if you don't like it. There's plenty of room to choose from," she offered.
Nini looked at the old woman. "Hera is your name, right?" she asked.
"Yeah!" Hera nodded her head in confirmation.
"Hera, thank you for giving me this room! I like it so much! I'm satisfied with it. The view is amazing and beautiful!" Nini said brightly.
Hera smiled. The girl's enthusiasm is contagious. "Alright, enjoy your room! You can rest in the bed or stay on the terrace for a while. Suit yourself. I'll come back later to give you a full tour around the house. Don't leave your room until I come back for you, okay?"
"Why I can't explore the house on my own?" Nini asked innocently.
"Because human servants are working in this house. They will be startled if they discover a new person in the house. They would think that you are an enemy or intruder that entered the house without permission. They will drive you out of the house. I still need to introduce you to all of them. But before I do that, you should stay in this room first, and after I'm done dressing the lord's wound, I'll return here, okay?" Hera said gently.
Nini smiled and nodded her head. "Ah, okay, I understand now. Don't worry, I'll just stay inside the room and never venture outside until you come back," she finally said.
Hera smiled. "Good girl!"
"You may go now," Nini said.
"Alrighty!" Hera said and left the room. She walked in the hallway going to the other end where the lord's room was located.
She knocked on the door first before entering the room. "My lord, I'm coming..." she said, announcing her presence.
"Come inside! The door is open," Zero replied.
Hera entered the room and saw the lord lying on the bed, his back facing the ceiling.
"You see that herbal plants in the table? Make a paste out of the leaves without adding anything and then apply it on my wound and find a piece of clothing to keep the herbal leaves in place," he gave his instruction.
"Okay, my lord. I'll bring the plants to the kitchen first and make a paste out of them. Anything else?" she asked.
"Bring me something to drink. I'm very thirsty!" he added.
"Alright, I'll take my leave now," she said and left the room.
A few minutes later.
Hera returned to the room, carrying the tray containing the drink and the herbal paste. She looked at the lord, he was standing at the window looking at the view outside.
"My lord, medicine is ready. Shall I apply the medicine to your wound now?" she asked.
"Give me the drink," he said.
Hera gave the glass of strawberry juice to her master.
Zero accepted the glass and drink it bottoms up. "After you finish tending to my wound, make more of this drink and bring it here in my room," he said.
"Copy, my lord!" Hera replied.
Zero went back to bed and lie on his back. Hera began dressing his wound.
A few minutes later, she finished her task. "I'm done dressing up your wound, my lord," she said.
"Good! Now, go back to the kitchen and prepare my drink and come back here so that I will tell you about Nini," he said.
"Okay," she said and left the room with the tray.
Zero went back to the window. He's not severely wounded and his wound will heal after a few days. He plans to present Nini to her family in the capital so that he can finally live his life the way he wants it to be. His years of finding the truth about the mystery of the missing baby are finally over! He's looking forward to another chapter of his life!
No more going too far-flung places and finding the elusive truth about the mysterious disappearance of the baby!
The case is finally solved!
A triumphant smile appeared on his lips.
Hera returned to the room, bringing one pitcher of Strawberry drink and put it on the table. "My lord, your drink is here!" she said and poured the juice into the glass and gave it to her master.
Zero accepted the glass and took a sip on it, then drink it bottoms up. He gave the empty glass to Hera.
Hera put the glass on the table and lowered herself on the chair.
Zero cleared his throat. "I'll tell you now about Nini," he said.
"Please, my lord," she said, eager to know the history of that girl.
Zero went back to bed and faced his most trusted servant. "It all started when the pregnant woman and I returned to the shop. Unfortunately, the mysterious light returned and took me away as well. I discovered afterward that the fortune teller was also imprisoned in that place. Men in black cloaks arrived and brought a cage, Nini was inside that cage, and she was already wearing the missing amethyst ring on her finger. The men told us to kill each other within 24 hours. The one who survives alive can bring the girl to safety.
He paused for a moment and continue.
"I can't bring myself to kill the innocent old woman, so we devise a plan pretending that I killed her to bid our time while waiting for her back up to arrive and save us. Finally, the rescue arrived, and we were able to escape the place. That is why Nini is here. She was imprisoned in a room with her Nanny Gracen. That place was located in a parallel universe. That's why it's so hard to find the missing baby."
He looked at his trusted servant. "I want you to Be patient with Nini. She will act like a child sometimes. During her growing up years, she has less interaction with our kind and with humans, so she needs thorough guidance with everything. That's all!" he concluded his narration.
Hera nods her head in understanding. "Don't worry, my lord! I'll treat Nini with an utmost patient," she assured him. "How about the other girl, Sofia? What are we going to do with her?" she asked.
"We will set her free. One of these days, I'll return her to where she comes from," Zero responded.
"Thanks for telling me everything, my lord. My confusion is gone. I'll take my leave now and go back to Nini's room. I'll give her a tour around the property and introduce her to the servants," she said.
"Okay, you do that!" Zero spoke.
Hera walked towards the door and exited.