Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 63: Fifty-eight: Don’t seek medical treatment recklessly

Chapter 63: Fifty-eight: Don’t seek medical treatment recklessly

"Has anyone been here recently, Lena?" Lifting his gaze from the newspaper in his hands, the manor’s male master, donned in a well-fitting robe, inquired with a hint of curiosity as he watched the head maid enter from the side hall.

"A guest from the Church, delivering a letter to the lady." The head maid spoke calmly and slightly curtsied to the man.

"Ah, a guest from the Church, looking for Anna about something?" The head maid’s lady clearly wasn’t his own Queen, so as a husband, he was quite curious.

"It concerns Miss Faye’s education, Lord Hoffman requested that I pass a few words on to the lady." The head maid finished speaking and turned her head toward that half-elf, Mr. Lev, who, as His Majesty’s old steward, always remained impassive.

Seeing that her master had no further response, Lena curtsied once more, "Please excuse me, master, the lady has asked me to ensure the young miss has taken her medication on time."

"Go, and tell my darling to go to bed early." The master of the house nodded with a smile.

After seeing her off, the ruler of the country turned to his old steward and received a confirming nod.

"All that was spoken is true."

"Indeed, but elves like her are so adept at weaving truth into lies, aren’t they?" The middle-aged man sighed and said, "My Queen is always meddling with Faye’s marriage affairs. Doesn’t she realize that this child ran all the way from the Capital to Carterburg precisely because she didn’t want to marry one of her relatives?"

"Your Majesty, the Queen will soon arrive at the manor." Lev smiled as he spoke.

"I’m afraid this time my Queen and my lady might have quite a clash, should I seek out the insurance industry to take out a policy on my manor?"

"However, Your Majesty, if the insured property is destroyed by your own family, the insurance industry will not compensate you."

The king’s conversation with his steward ended there; they both heard the sound of carriages outside and the guards’ announcement.

So he put away the newspaper, stood up and welcomed his Queen into the hall with a smile. She, in turn, smiled as she approached her husband, embraced him, and they shared a kiss.

"My Queen, you must be weary from your journey."

"There’s no need for formality with me, dear. How goes the war in the North?"

"We’re making steady progress, but we need more soldiers as the front extends."

At this point, the head of the household noticed his old steward leaving with the Queen’s attendant: "Jason came with you?"

"Yes, Lev’s brother is quite amusing and perceptive."

"Of course, he is Lev’s brother, after all. Come, I know you must have something in mind with this visit, so why not tell me what it is?"

"Oh, dear, you’re always so straightforward. Well, I’m here to engage my grandnephew to Margaret." Leman, nestled in her husband’s arms, looked up at him, remembering how blunt this man had always been in his youth, Mowish’s golden lion, ever so popular.

"Margaret gets on better with Colin, my dear. Have you asked Anna about it?"

"Anna likes Colin even less, and I believe she will support my view this time. Colin may be a fine young man, but after all, he is a student of old Hoffman."

This statement rendered Goethe, of the Mowish family, silent for a moment, but he eventually smiled and said, "It’s Margaret’s marriage, after all, I think we should respect her wishes."

"Fine, but if Margaret is unwilling, may I, as her mother, ask you for indulgence on behalf of my family’s Sigro?"

"Oh, my dear, you are indeed a formidable opponent. Faye is so headstrong."

"As a mother, I’m only looking out for her best interests. Sigro is such an excellent match, and I don’t want Faye to follow in Margaret’s old path."

"But when we were together, no one blessed us either, my dear. I won’t plead with Anna on your behalf because they are all my daughters, and I want them to be happy."

Goethe didn’t like Sigro; the young man was indeed exceptional, but in his view, none compared to the youths of Faye’s age. His daughter adored her peer, and he had no right to tear them apart.

"It’s fine, I will discuss it with Anna. Just don’t side with the girls, and we mothers will secure a beautiful future for our children." With that, Manli kissed her husband again, "I need to bathe now; after a week on a carriage, I’m practically falling apart."

"Then go quickly." Patting his sweetheart on the lower back, Goethe watched his Queen depart before frowning slightly and muttering to himself, "Margaret’s old path... it seems my Queen is quite impatient."

.........

"Brother, what’s the matter?" Following his brother into the side hall, Jason looked at his sibling, who, in silence, reached out and pulled a tiny soft-bodied worm from behind his collar.

"Uh... It’s Cain Dodge, I’ve seen him at the Church of the Harvest Goddess." Watching his brother evaporate the little worm with spiritual energy, Jason hurriedly explained.

"Have you seen Miss Faye?" his older brother asked with no expression.

Jason shook his head, "No, but I saw a boy walking out of Miss Faye’s room, and the lady was very angry."

Hearing his brother’s words, the elder brother lost his composure for the first time and his eyes widened, "Did you lay a hand on him?"

"It was the lady’s order." After saying that, the brother perhaps sensed his older brother’s unusually strong reaction, "What’s the matter? He’s just a Thainan half-blood."

"Even if he’s a half-blood, the mongrel in your eyes, he’s still a rare seed of the Church of the Goddess of Harvest, a genius who has learned the four-ring spell formations in just half a year. The reason Cain Dodge stopped you is because he is the church’s hope for the next hundred years. If you attacked him, and had it not been for your service to the Queen, you wouldn’t have been able to leave the church’s gates at all," the brother explained.

"Is it really as bad as you say? I didn’t see anything special about the kid."

"Believe me, my brother, if you don’t want to die, stay away from him, or else I will no longer have a brother," Lev said, noticing his brother’s curious expression, "What do you mean?"

"Because if what you say is true, then I’m in trouble," his brother lowered his voice.

"What do you mean?" The elder brother was puzzled.

"The boy had a magical beacon on the back of his neck, placed by Lady Anna." The brother said with a bitter smile, "If it’s as you say, then I’ve offended someone today."

"Then you better think about how to apologize to the lady," his elder brother said irritably, rolling his eyes, before looking around the hall, "Go and talk to the master, I hope he can plead for you."

After speaking, the older Lev took his brother and headed towards the main hall.

The side hall corridor was somewhat dim; Lev and Jason passed through the lit area and then into the darkness between two lamps. When they emerged into the light again, Lady Anna was walking beside them.

"My lady," Lev stopped in his tracks immediately.

His lady walked past him, not looking at Jason, who had stopped, but patted him on the shoulder instead, "Tell your brother I will forgive his first mistake, but if he thinks of touching that child again, I will make sure he and his family disappear very thoroughly. Understand, Lev?"

"Yes, my lady, I will certainly warn my brother," Lev bowed his head.

"Good, now, does anyone else have business with Goethe?"

Lev and Jason both shook their heads and quickly left the side hall.

.........

Faye was anxious because she didn’t know how Malin was—her mother, the Queen, had such a strong desire to control, she didn’t like her, she even hated her.

But that was still her mother, and so Faye could only wait for dawn; only then could she leave home to check whether Mason was safe.

"Miss, it’s me, Lena," came a greeting from outside the door, prompting Faye to decide not to open it.

"Have you had your medicinal tea?" asked her Head Maid with a smile.

"Yes," Faye lifted the empty cup from the table.

"That’s good." Saying this, the Head Maid took out a badge of the Church of the Goddess of Harvest from her pocket, "Mr. Colin was just here, and he confirmed that Malin is safe," and she placed it in the hand of her young mistress, "Malin is safe."

"...Thank you." Taking the badge, Faye frowned, the young lady felt like crying, "Why? I’ve already fled here, and she still refuses to let me go."

"I have already informed your mother," Lena’s words made Faye lift her head, "My mother won’t argue with her over this, right?"

"If it weren’t for young master Malin, possibly, but miss, young master Malin is the offspring of someone we and the lady know well. So please be assured, the lady and I, we will protect her for you." Saying this, Lena held Faye, who had thrown herself into her arms, "Miss, don’t cry. Tears are the epitaph of the weak."

Faye sobbed, eventually calming her crying, "I understand. Is Malin truly the offspring of a person my mother and you know well?"

"Yes, and so your lady will not mind you being with young master Malin. On the contrary, she has told me to assure you that when necessary, she will personally remove some people. Human history is always repeating the same mistakes, but the lady and I are not human, so we won’t make the same mistakes."

"...That’s great, then, what about my mother?"

"As for that majesty, your mother will take care of everything for you, so don’t worry."

"Okay, I understand." Faye nodded vigorously.