“Miss! Miss!”
At the northern part of the Imperial Capital, near the city walls, Maid Jenny finally caught up to the lady ahead of her.
Exhausted, she bent over with her hands on her knees, gasping for breath.
“I… I finally caught up to you. So, what about that thief who stole the Bouquet of the Hundred Flowers?”
Noble Lady Nola looked up at the petals drifting through the air with a hint of disappointment. “She escaped.”
“What?!”
Jenny’s face fell in shock.
As Nola’s personal maid, she knew better than anyone how formidable her mistress was. She held the title of Honorary Duke, earned by slaying demons.
Although Jenny didn’t know Nola’s exact magic level, she was already at Legendary Rank three years ago. That meant even if her magic power was low, she was at least above LV70.
With such strength, almost no one in the Aos Empire—except a few ancient veterans—could stand against her.
And yet… her lady hadn’t caught the flower thief?!
“She’s stronger than me.”
“Huh? If someone’s that powerful, why would they steal a Bouquet of the Hundred Flowers?”
Could they be caught up in some internal political struggle within the Aos Empire?
Jenny frowned deeply.
A thief with such power definitely wasn’t an unknown petty criminal. There had to be a reason behind stealing the Bouquet.
Could it be an attempt to disrupt the Hundred Flowers Ritual and undermine the Oracle Hall?
But to attack the Oracle Hall would be to challenge the Goddess herself. Anyone daring to do so must be incredibly foolish—after all, the Goddess truly existed.
“I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter anymore. I saw the Oracle Maiden,” Nola said quietly, “and she… isn’t what I expected.”
After catching a glimpse of a shadowy black figure beneath the sky, she lost interest in the thief.
She now wondered if her initial assumptions were wrong.
Maybe the person she was looking for wasn’t even in this Imperial Capital.
Seeing the disappointment in her lady’s eyes, Jenny sighed and advised, “Miss, I suggest you give up. Some people, once missed, are gone forever. Other noble ladies aren’t any less than her, in my opinion.”
“Not less than her?” Nola shook her head.
To her, they were worlds apart.
Nobles often thought themselves elegant and distinguished, but beneath their glamorous exteriors, they schemed ruthlessly for money and power.
Vanity, arrogance, pride… all the dark sides of human nature were on full display among today’s nobles.
The original meaning of nobility had long been forgotten.
Once she accepted her noble identity, she felt like she was falling into the same mold as them.
But she didn’t want that.
She lacked the power to overthrow the current nobility, so she pursued what she loved instead—freedom, adventure, and the purest virtues in the world.
And that girl was, to her, the perfect lover.
Every smile and frown revealed a unique innocence and kindness. From the moment she saw her, Nola felt her heart beat only for that girl.
The noble ladies could never compare.
She firmly believed this.
Yet now, she felt lost.
If that lady wasn’t in the Imperial Capital, then where could she be? Or had Nola simply overlooked some place?
With these questions, Nola returned to Central Avenue. Seeing her expression, Maid Jenny knew her encouragement had failed.
“Miss really is stubborn.”
“By the way, did you see? The New Saintess hosting the Hundred Flowers Ritual this time is as beautiful as Isavel!”
“I saw her! With the silver hair and the flower crown, she looked just like the Goddess from legends!”
“Exactly! When she was on the flower float, I swear she smiled right at me!”
New Saintess?!
More than one Oracle Maiden?!
Nola halted and glanced back at the two passersby who had just brushed past her. Suddenly, an answer struck her.
……
The Hundred Flowers Festival had ended, and only five days remained before the Rose Knights’ deadline to purge the Abyssal Demons.
At this time, the first squad to clear the tenth floor of the Golden Dungeon was born—Leanna’s Squad.
The tenth floor was closest to the Abyss and housed much stronger and more cunning monsters than before, but through their hard struggle, Leanna’s Squad reached the dungeon’s end.
Of course, the phrase “hard struggle” came from Leanna’s Squad themselves.
In truth, rumors said that the monsters on the tenth floor had developed a new terrifying reputation among humans.
That was—being utterly despicable!
[If traps can handle monsters, why bother fighting them head-on?]
[If we must fight face-to-face, it means we were reckless and careless.]
[If there’s even a one in a thousand chance the plan could cost us our lives, I suggest we abandon it. Monsters can die countless times, but we only have one life.]
These were Joina’s words in the tenth floor of the Golden Dungeon.
After two near-death experiences, her personality underwent a complete 360-degree transformation. She refused to do anything without absolute certainty.
Isavel, as the one who led the squad to conquer the Golden Dungeon, naturally rewarded them with a simple prize: a day off.
Five days remained before the demon purge expedition. One day off, four days of training to follow.
Though tough, the rest was useful.
Perhaps because they had never had a day off before, Leanna’s Squad was ecstatic. They planned to go to the flower store together to make up for missing the Hundred Flowers Festival.
Except for Meilin.
“Meilin, aren’t you coming with us to buy flowers?”
“No, you go ahead. I have something to do. We’ll meet up later.”
After waving goodbye to Leanna and the others, Meilin headed to Central Avenue in the Imperial Capital.
It was her first time in the capital, and it was far more bustling than her hometown. She could easily get lost if she wasn’t careful.
Luckily, the people here were friendly. After some asking around, she found herself in front of a newsstand.
She had an idea—she believed Isavel and Saintess Selis were the same person.
Of course, she knew this idea was absurd, but she couldn’t stop thinking about it. The more she thought, the more suspicious things became.
For instance, why had Isavel and Selis never appeared together?
Why did the Magic Gem Selis gave them shatter, only for Isavel to arrive first?
She just couldn’t understand.
But according to her calculations, Isavel came to save them on the very day of the Hundred Flowers Ritual.
If they were truly the same person, perhaps the ritual would reveal some clue.
Maybe one of the Saintesses would be absent from the ceremony.
With this thought, she stood before the newsstand.
“Boss, give me a copy of the newspaper from the day of the Hundred Flowers Ritual.”