Chapter 86


    “It’s already past midnight. Why should she have to drink with him?” An elderly woman with a


    walking stick emerged, indignantly confronting them.


    “Shut it, old hag! Where’s Oda? The young lord fancies her,” the man sneered.


    “No! Oda has already gone to sleep!”


    “No? That’s easy to fix! The usual penalty, then: tomorrow, all the mine ves will work an extra


    hour, with one less bottle of water and one less piece of bread. Oh, and with the unrest in the east


    lately, maybe we should send some of your guard over there to check it out, eh?”


    “You... you are despicable!” The old woman coughed with rage, mming her walking stick on the


    ground. The other women were furious, but numbness had set in, and none dared to resist.


    “Aunt Helna, I’ll go,” said a gaunt young girl emerging from behind thedy of the house. Her face


    was pale and weary, showing signs of fatigue, yet she mustered a smile tofort her kin.


    Aunt Helna? Was she Aunt Helna?


    vin stared incredulously at the weathered old woman. Tears welled in the corners of her eyes,


    and her chin was quivering with emotion.


    Was this old woman his aunt? She was not yet fifty years of age! In his memories, she was regal


    and radiant, a woman of unrivaled beauty. How... how could this have happened...


    The girl changed her clothes and gave everyone a reassuring smile before following the Cobalt


    Strike Protégé out of the courtyard.


    The people in the courtyard were worried, but theycked the power to resist, only able to watch


    helplessly as Oda was taken away.


    Thedy tapped her walking stick gently on the ground. “Go inform Lucan! That bastard from Cobalt


    Strike is up to no good!”


    The young girl was vin’s sister, Oda. She was two years younger, and already a graceful and


    exquisite figure, with an air of refined beauty. But the long hours of hardbor had dimmed her


    complexion and left her spirits low.


    She was led into the opulent manor next door. Her hands clenched unconsciously within her


    sleeves, and her eyes were filled with nervousness and wariness.


    Deep within the manor, in a spacious courtyard, there was a scene of decadent affluence. The


    sound of a lute yed, light and crisp. A group of dancers moved gracefully, their dance enchanting


    and their steps light. Each woman was scantily d, with pale corsets and long trousers beneath


    thin red veils, revealing their perfect figures to the onlookers.


    Many Cobalt Strike Protégés were scattered about, shamelessly admiring the dancers’ beguiling


    movements.


    Though they danced with ethereal grace, their faces were expressionless, and their eyes betrayed


    fatigue.


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    In the courtyard,rge tables and lounging chairs were set up, where a youth not yet twenty years of


    age was lounging. He held a delicate wine jug, and his head was lolling in drunkenness. Several


    pretty young girls knelt beside him, fanning him gently and massaging his legs while he half-closed


    his eyes in blissful enjoyment of the spectacle before him.


    “Sir, Oda has been brought,” announced one of the Cobalt Strike Protégés as they ushered Oda


    into the courtyard, lingering to feast their eyes on the alluring dancers.


    “Oda, go take a bath and change your clothes,” the young man said with a grin, beckoning Oda with


    his hand.


    “What do you want me for?” Oda’s heart was filled with sorrow and anger every time she saw the


    scene in the courtyard. These women had once been maidservants of the Mallister family, tending


    to the household, but now they had been reduced to dancers and were forced to engage in


    shameful acts.


    “What for? You are a servant of the manor, and I am its master. When I call, youe and do what


    I tell you to do.”


    “Grennan, we of the Mallister family are hired help, not your ves.”


    “Take that up with the Grand Elder. Arguing with me is pointless. I don’t care what crimes the


    Mallister family hasmitted, nor what your status was. All I know is... you now must obey me,”


    Grennan dered, swaying on his feet as he drunkenly approached Oda. This little maid


    deliberately didn’t adorn herself, looking quite in, but he could tell she was a beauty in the


    making, and ah... heh heh... just beginning to blossom.


    “What are you going to do?” The lute yers and dancers all stopped, stepping forward to stand


    before Oda, shielding their young mistress.