at the moment heâs off in the eastern part of the Frontier on business, though heâs scheduled to be back within a day or two. Until then, perhaps it would be wisest to stay with Dr. Brosmen.â
âIndeed. Letâs do that, then,â Miska said, assenting with the greatest of ease.
No sooner had she entered the village of Krauhausen than all the strain of the battle up until now began to work against her. Though she was somewhat forlorn, the real reason she was taken in so quickly by the pairâs honeyed words was because sheâd led the life of a princess. Normally having nothing but scorn for humanity, the Nobility didnât believe they could be deceived by their inferiors, and thus were prone to being caught off guard. This was the fundamental reason why the humans had been able to rise en masse against them. And that was how Miska came to be separated from the baron. But there may have also been another reason, known only to her.
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It was dusk when the white carriage arrived at Dr. Brosmenâs mansionâor just a little before. Claiming that the plains were dangerous, the pair urged her to make the trip at top speed. But in their hearts, they were motivated by the thought that the baron and D might make it through the flames. When the white carriage halted and its door opened, it wasnât surprising that the two men gasped in astonishment. The pale beauty who stepped down was followed by a timid yet unmistakably human pair, and girls at that. They finally realized the other reason Miska had agreed to accompany them.
âDo what you will with those two. Itâs been a long journey.â
And saying this, Miska entrusted the pair to Zanus before she began to leave with Sai Fung.
âAs soon as I have any word on Taboo, Iâll get in touch with you, perhaps even as early as tonight,â Zanus called out to her.
After going through a number of gates, they were passing through the garden when Sai Fung asked, âWhatâs on your mind?â
âNothing,â Miska replied in a slightly irritated fashion.
âThen forget I asked. I just thought that perhaps you might still be concerned about those two girls.â
âDonât be absurd. Why would I care?â
âFirst of all, itâs rather unexpected to have a human come out of a Nobleâs carriage. Even more so when itâs members of the fair sex coming from a Noblewomanâs vehicle. Lady Miska, I canât help wondering if perhaps youâve grown fond of those girls.â
âSai Fung, spewing any more of that nonsense will beâunpardonable!â
âYes, milady. Begging your forgiveness,â the man known as âSai Fung of the Thousand Limbsâ said, tensing as if from a jolt of electricity. That was the effect the Nobility had.
âI was thinking that you might be a liar. Look. This garden is positively a shambles. And that tower up ahead of us is even worse. Itâs like the lair where some sorcerer leers down at the world below. Youâre not trying to mislead me, are you?â
âNoânot on your life!â Sai Fung said, swinging a long hand in front of himself dismissively.
Actually, the garden of this mansion heâd said even a Noble would find passable was truly desolate. Long ago, it mustâve been impressive in scale and elegance, but the shrubbery had died off, and the marble paths and fountains were so sadly blanketed in dead and rotting leaves you could make out the layer of humus. Whatâs more, there was an unpleasant miasma flowing from God-only-knew-where and the smell of chemicals, both of which assailed Miskaâs far superior olfactory sense and repeatedly left her on the brink of gagging. This was clearly a place of egregious death and decay. And the symbol of that was the tower that menaced the heavensâthe same structure thatâd just stopped Miska in her tracks. No, having seen the gigantic tree that the