Chapter 437 436: Return To The Capital



Kat PoV

I rested my hands on Leone's back and allowed my Water Mana to flow over her body, absorbing her sweat and cleaning off her clothes after a long hour spent inside the training grounds.

All of us were sweaty and dirty, the hard exercise of mock fighting and being knocked into the sand making this a grueling, yet beneficial hour spent on this beautiful morning.

I was both surprised and not surprised to learn that I had improved quite a bit compared to the others, my journey spent away from them reaping me many benefits, although I was still an all rounder compared to each of them being specialists.

My over all stats had gone up, giving me more speed and power - along with precision and control - to bridge the gap between me and them physically, while my arcane stats were still unclear compared to Leone's.

Anput focused on speed and precision, while Jahi focused on raw power with a hidden control over her blades.

Comparatively, where they might be at around 90 in those respective stats - Anput with AGI and DEX, Jahi with STR and DEX - I was still at 70, but those were 70's across the board.

Add on the benefits of the Anklet of the Zephyr giving me an additional 7 to AGI and 3.5 to DEX, and I was closer to beating Anput than I was Jahi.

That, however, was without utilizing mana whatsoever, and that was where our differences lay.

For now though, my in depth analysis of each of my lovers was halted as we needed to scramble to take whatever we needed and pack it up.

Some clothes, medicine, and a coin pouch that Mother handed me was all I had, while everyone else got their things together quickly enough as well.

Walking with us to the front door, Mother stood quietly by my side as she watched them pack their things onto the carriage, which was being led by two Draconic Horses that they had apparently 'borrowed' from the Empress without asking.

"You just came back, and already..."

Her voice cracked slightly there at the end, and I bit my cheek as I turned to look at her, donning a warm smile as I hugged her close.

"I know... but I can't be left behind by them, otherwise... well, otherwise I wouldn't be doing my job as their maid, and as their lover... in my eyes, anyways. I have to go, Mother, so that I can take better care of them and myself. I... don't want to go either, but I have to. I need to get stronger, so that I can look after myself and my two little siblings that are on the way~! Besides, we'll see each other again in around two or three weeks... Doesn't it feel relieving to know when you'll see me again?"

She gave me a sad smile as she nodded slightly, muttering "It's preferable to before, but I still don't like it... I just got you back, and I wanted... I wanted to spend more time with you, to do things that we should have done when you were younger... Things that I... failed to do as your Mother all those years ago..."

I just pinched her waist at that, making her flinch as I said "You didn't fail to do anything, Mother. You gave me a safe place to call home, gave me a family that loved me, made sure I had what I needed... It definitely didn't help that I matured quickly either, did it? If you're still so... regretful about 'missing my childhood', then put that energy into my two little sisters, alright? I was never going to have a 'normal' childhood, not when I was the maid of the Heir to this House."

Mother nodded again, her smile warming up as she stroked her pregnant stomach.

"I... That makes you sound so mature, Katherine..."

We smiled at one another before she kissed my brow and ruffled my ears, waving me off towards the carriage.

"Go on then... Don't leave them waiting again. I'll see you soon, and I love you."

Even though her eyes still held traces of sadness in them, Mother's smile widened as the Countess returned to her side, wrapping her arm around the Dogkin's waist and holding her close.

Approaching the carriage, I turned and waved to them both before boarding first, assisting everyone else inside and eventually sitting down between Jahi and Anput.

Leone and the Marquess sat opposite us, and a Banshee acted as our coachman as they started rolling us forwards, off towards the west where Sanctus Ignacia towered in the distance.

~~~

Julie PoV

Standing on the walls of the estate, I watched the carriage slowly pick up speed as it rolled over the roads, carrying my daughter inside of it.

My heart ached knowing that she was - once again - gone, but Ria rested her head on my shoulder as she muttered "You're not the only one feeling terrible with their departure, Julie... All of us hate leaving the others. Chordeva made that apparent last night... Besides, I'm not happy either that she's being called forwards for increased training. I know what that does to her, and after telling us about what's happening, well..."

She took a shaky breath before smiling at me, her sapphire eyes sparkling as she said "They're going off to train for the fight to come... We need to do our best to support them when we see them again, to make them feel better. There... isn't much training you can do in your current state, and I've reached my ceiling a long time ago. So let's do what we can to make sure they can focus entirely on themselves and not worry about us. Alright?"

I nodded and took one last look at the carriage before turning towards her, accepting her hand as we began to walk back towards the mansion.

Ria was right; there was no point worrying about them now.

Instead, we should focus on reassuring them and comforting them for what was to come, and make sure we take care of ourselves so that they don't need to worry about us.

I knew that, but sending them all away again was not an easy thing to do, even if I knew that they'd be safer in the Capital then anywhere else on this continent.

It was just the fact that I wasn't with them that made it seem unsafe and worrying...

However, I needed to focus more not on myself, but instead on them.

The two babies that were growing inside of me.

They had calmed down recently, no longer giving me the fits that they were in the beginning as my body got acclimated to the mixed blood children, but I could tell that if I began to worry too much again, those fits would return.

So, I needed to keep myself calm and collected, for everyone's sake.

As we walked back to the mansion and returned to the comforting confines of the place I had learned to call home though, I allowed myself a brief moment of worry as I thought about what they were going to train for, and who they were training with.

I hadn't experienced it personally like Ria had, but from what she had said, well...

Lady Fenryas was certainly a Demonic woman, deserving of her half Demon blood.