Just as Julie was about to pull Skadi’s fluffy ears and give her a heavy scolding for speaking without any tact or consideration for the other party. But to her surprise Isabelle spoke first.

“That’s right.” She said smoothly, looking as if she was wasn’t offended at all by the statement.

Julie’s gaze snapped back toward her, watching closely. But Isabelle simply smiled.

“I did attempt to take my master’s life and I’m most definitely a treacherous maid who turned against her master” She admitted openly, as if she were stating a simple fact with a slightly somber look on her face.

Aisha let out a tired sigh, clearly expecting this conversation to derail. Julie also stiffened slightly, prepared to intervene—But then, to her surprise, Isabelle turned toward Skadi with a completely different kind of energy.

“But…” Isabelle continued, her eyes lighting up slightly. “I’ve already moved past that under the mercy of my young master and honestly, I know this is really bad of me to say.”

“…But I actually preffered how things went, as it was only through that unfortunate event did I get to have a chance to be so close to my young master.”

While Aisha and Julie were stunned by her bold statement and how determined her eyes looked when she uttered those words, Isabelle to Skadi’s surprise took a step closer towards her, her expression filled with conviction.

“But more importantly, Miss Skadi I do have to say that not only am I a fan of your captain like you said, just like any other girl in the world is.”

“…But I’m also a massive fan of you, as well.”

Skadi blinked when she heard the fews words that she never expected to hear.

“…Me? As in, your a fan of Skadi?” She asked, sounding genuinely caught off guard, as her ears twitched and her tail paused mid-wag.

To this, Isabelle nodded firmly, clasping her hands together.

“Yes!” She said, genuine admiration in her voice.

“Why wouldn’t I be your fan when you are the epitome of raw strength in the Holy Guard.”

“The loyal bloodhound who only leaves the battlefield after decimating her enemies.”

“…You’re simply to cool to ignore!”

She declared out loud like she was trying to spread her greatness to the whole world as her hands tightened slightly, her voice filled with passion.

Julie barely had time to process what was happening before she witnessed something truly rare.

Skadii—the fearless, rowdy, battle-hungry Skadi—actually froze.

For a solid second, she just stood there, her mouth slightly open, as if her brain was still processing the words.

Then—

A wide, ecstatic grin suddenly spread across her face.

“You…I like you. I like you a lot!” Skadi declared proudly, her tail wagging furiously.

And then without a second thought, she lunged forward and vigorously ruffled Isabelle’s hair, completely ruining the maid’s once-neat appearance.

“Good girl.” Skadi grinned, still ruffling Isabelle’s head. “Keep up the praise whenever you see me and big sis here will surely give you the honour of listening to my heroic tales and the dangers I faced to reach my current position one day!” Skadi said like, treating Isabelle like a kid who was meeting her idol when Isabelle was much older then her.

Aisha, who had been hanging off Skadi for support, let out a small, dry chuckle when she saw this strange sight.

“Wow…” She said, her tone dripping with sarcasm. “So there really are people out there who admire a dumb dog like you?”

Skadi’s ears perked up, and she immediately snapped her head down at Aisha, baring her teeth in mock offense.

“You wanna say that again, kitten?” She growled playfully, her tail flicking.

Aisha merely rolled her eyes, clearly too exhausted to engage in their usual back-and-forth.

Meanwhile, Isabelle, who had been absorbing the interaction, suddenly realized something.

Her eyes flickered toward Aisha, and an expression of recognition and excitement dawned on her face.

“Oh!” Isabelle straightened slightly, her hands clutching her bottles tightly as she turned toward her next target. “You’re Aisha Nocturne!”

Aisha blinked tiredly, then let out a slow exhale, already sensing what was about to happen.

Isabelle’s lips parted, clearly about to launch into yet another speech filled with praise and admiration.

But before she could even get a word out—

Aisha suddenly raised a hand.

A silent stop.

A firm, tired gesture, as if she were warding off a storm before it started.

“Don’t.” She muttered.

Isabelle tilted her head slightly. “Huh?”

Aisha let out a quiet sigh, her fingers lightly gripping Skadi’s sleeve for extra support as she leaned back into her.

“My head’s already aching from the way your master brought me here.” She mumbled tiredly, clearly still recovering from the breakneck speed Cassius had used to transport them.

“So, as much as I want to hear your ten thousand word essay about how great I am, I would prefer silence for now.” She said as her amber eyes fluttered shut briefly, and she exhaled in deep exhaustion.

There was a brief silence.

Then, Isabelle’s eyes suddenly widened, as if she had just remembered something important when she saw the condition Aisha was in.

“Ah!” She gasped, her posture snapping upright. “How could I forget about something so important?!!”

Julie and Skadi both then curiously watched as she quickly reached down toward the bottles she had been holding tightly this whole time.

“This!” Isabelle said, lifting the bottles up. “This is from Master Cassius!”

Julie’s sharp emarald eyes immediately focused on the shimmering golden liquid inside the glass containers.

Isabelle handed each of them a bottle, making sure they all had one before stepping back.

“Drink up.” She instructed firmly like she was giving medicine to children. “Young Master told me to deliver these to you immediately and make sure all of you drank everything in the vial without leaving a drop.”

The three women stared at the shimmering golden liquid swirling within the delicate glass bottles, their reflections flickering against the polished surface like ghostly mirages.

Julie, ever the cautious one, turned the vial between her fingers, watching the way the liquid clung to the glass. The consistency was strange—thicker than water, but lighter than oil—and it gave off a faint, almost unnatural glow.

Aisha, still looking half-dead, merely eyed the potion with suspicion, as if she were debating whether it was worth the effort to lift it.

Skadi, on the other hand, was the first to move.

With zero hesitation, she popped off the cork and sniffed the contents without a care in the world.

Julie and Aisha immediately tensed, half expecting her to drop dead on the spot just in case it was a poison. But instead, Skadi’s ears twitched, and after a beat, she let out a hum of approval.

“Hmm…” She muttered, tilting the bottle slightly. “Smells kinda…sweet?”

Julie narrowed her eyes. “Sweet?”

Skadi nodded. “Like honey and spices. Not bad, actually.”

Aisha, still hanging onto her for balance, grumbled. “If you start foaming at the mouth, I’m not saving you.”

Skadi grinned. “Oh? So you’d just let me die?”

“If it means peace and quiet.” Aisha sighed, her eyes half-lidded with exhaustion. “…Then yes.”

Julie ignored their bickering, her sharp gaze shifting toward Isabelle.

“And what, exactly, is in this?” She asked, twirling the bottle lightly between her fingers.

Isabelle straightened her posture, her loyal, well-trained expression slipping back into place.

“Young Master said it’s a recovery tonic.” She explained eagerly. “It will soothe your exhaustion, mend minor injuries, and restore your stamina.”

Isabelle, still clutching the tray where the now-empty potion bottles once rested, continued speaking, her voice carrying a hint of awe.

“I don’t know where Master got it from.” She admitted, her gaze flickering between the three of them. “But I do know that it’s rather amazing.”

She hesitated for a moment, then, as if recalling something, she perked up.

“One time, there was an accident in the kitchen.” She said. “A maid accidentally spilled boiling water all over her hand—completely burned it.”

Skadi, who had been casually licking a drop of leftover potion from her thumb, winced sharply.

“Oof.” She muttered, her ears flicking back. “That must’ve hurt like hell.”

“It did.” Isabelle confirmed, nodding. “She couldn’t even move her fingers.”

Aisha, half-interested, half-drowsy, furrowed her brows. “So what happened?” She asked.

Isabelle’s expression softened slightly.

“Master heard about it.” She said simply. “And the moment he did, he sent over this potion.”

A brief silence fell over the group. Julie and Aisha both narrowed their eyes slightly, listening carefully now.

Isabelle continued, oblivious to their growing suspicion. “When she drank it.” She said. “the burns—they disappeared. Instantly.”

Julie and Aisha’s heads snapped up and both their sharp gazes locked onto Isabelle.

For a long, still moment, neither of them spoke.

Then, slowly, Julie’s brow twitched. Aisha, still leaning heavily on Skadi, turned her head slightly toward Julie, her voice low with doubt.

“Captain.”

Julie exhaled softly.

“…Yeah?”

“There’s no way.” Aisha muttered. “Right?”

Julie let out a small, almost amused chuckle.

“There’s no way.” She agreed.

But despite how confident she sounded, neither of them could shake off the sudden, nagging suspicion curling in their chests.

Because there was only one specific potion they knew of—only one—that could heal injuries instantly.

But that was impossible.

Absolutely impossible.

There was no way Cassius had that.

Right?

And yet—

Neither of them could stop thinking about it.

Skadi, meanwhile, watched them go eerily silent, her tail flicking curiously.

Then, with zero hesitation, as if they couldn’t handle their curiosity anymore and wanted to know if what they were thinking was true or not, Aisha and Julie both uncorked their bottles at the same time.

And in perfect synchronization, they tilted their heads back and downed the entire thing in a single go.

Gulp~ Gulp~

Seeing them drink, Skadi—who had been about to lick the rim of her bottle—perked up.

“Oh! We’re drinking now?” She said brightly and then grinned, lifting her own bottle in the air.

“Cheers!” She declared, before promptly guzzling it down like she was chugging a celebratory drink.

The moment the golden liquid touched their tongues, the warmth spread.

Julie, usually composed, trembled slightly, while Aisha, who had been ready to brush it off, stiffened completely.

Skadi, meanwhile licking her lips, muttered. “Huh. This actually tastes pretty nice. I wouldn’t mind having another one—”

And then—

Julie’s eyes snapped wide.

Aisha’s head jerked up, a visible tremor running through her body.

And at the exact same time, they both shouted—

“Angel’s Tears?!”

“Angel’s Tears?!”

Skadi, caught mid-sentence, blinked.

“…What? Who’s tear? Who crying out here?”

Julie’s breath came sharply, her fingers gripping her coat.

“No way…This can’t possibly be true.” She muttered, her voice just above a whisper.

Aisha stared down at Julie’s hands, watching the blue bruises that were there before fade, while her own soreness vanished, the weariness and sickness dissolving into nothing.

While Julie’s ribs—which had been aching nonstop from Cassius’s first kick—felt perfectly fine.

Skadi, finally noticing their shock but not noticing how her own body was healing on its own, frowned. “Okay, okay. What’s Angel’s Tears? And why do you both look like you just saw a ghost?”

Julie’s emerald eyes gleamed sharply as she looked at Skadi. “Angel’s Tears.” She said, each word measured. “It’s an incredibly rare healing potion made by the Church.”

Aisha nodded in agreement, her expression still one of disbelief.

“It’s said to be created through a grand prayer ritual.” Aisha added, her voice strained. “It takes so much time and manpower that not a single bottle of it is ever sold to the public.”

Julie exhaled sharply, shaking her head in sheer astonishment. “The Church only uses it in cases of absolute emergencies.” She murmured. “Like if the king himself was fatally injured.”

Aisha, still gripping Skadi for balance, narrowed her eyes, her mind racing. “And somehow.” She said slowly. “Cassius just…had some?”

A heavy silence settled over them as they thought of the impossible situation they were in almost of they had just found a dragon egg in a basket full of chicken eggs.

“How in the world did Cassius get his hands on something like this?” Julie exhaled.

Aisha, still processing the overwhelming reality of what they had just consumed, let out a low breath, her eyes flickering with unease.

“You know, Captain…” She began, her voice wary. “Just a week ago, the grand cathedral in the Holyfield estate was broken into by an intruder. It turned out to be a big issue around that part and since the local investigation didn’t bear any fruit to who did it, even we were scheduled to a investigation soon.”

Julie’s gaze sharpened instantly.

Aisha continued, her tone dripping with realization.

“The High Priest reported that certain items were stolen.”

She let the words hang for a moment before turning her tired, knowing stare toward Julie.

Then, with a wry smile, she sighed.

“It seems…” She murmured, her voice laced with irony. “…like we the leader of the force that’s as the face of justice just indulged in something that’s highly illegal and stolen.”

Julie rubbed her forehead, a deep sense of exasperation washing over her. “Unbelievable.” She muttered, shaking her head. “I can’t believe I just drank the very potion I was supposed to be investigating and finding out who stole it.”

A sigh left her lips as she muttered under her breath. “And here I thought Cassius criminalizing us would at least take longer than the first day of him being our master.”

But Skadi, who had been listening idly, merely scoffed. “Who cares if it’s from the Church?” She said bluntly, folding her arms. “I support Master either way.”

Her silver eyes gleamed with something sharp.

“In fact, I think it’s great.” She added. “Those bastards from the Church act like they’re so high and mighty all the time. They deserve to be robbed.”

Aisha, despite her usual wariness, let out a low chuckle at that.

“You know what?” She said, amusement laced in her voice. “For once, I actually agree with you.”

Julie arched a brow. Aisha smirked slightly, leaning back on Skadi again.

“They pretend they exist to help the common masses.” She scoffed. “But in the end, all they do is cater to the upper class. It’s the same old story, isn’t it?”

“All that talk of charity and divine love, but who gets the holy benifits and the whispered blessings? The wealthy donors, of course…The rest of us? We’re left to scrape by, praying for crumbs while they feast. They preach about helping the poor, but their actions speak louder: they’re building gilded halls, not orphanages or free kitchens that are actually needed in this age.”

Julie sighed as she heard her chiefs tant about the church and she wasn’t exactly against the sentiment since being a noble herself, she knew just how dirty the inner working of the church was.

But politically, this plicated.

Still, before she could speak, Isabelle, who had been listening quietly, hesitantly lifted her hand. Her expression was a mixture of uncertainty and curiosity.

“This potion…” She murmured, eyes flickering toward the empty bottles. “Is it…really that rare?”

Aisha let out a small chuckle, shaking her head. “Rare?” She repeated. “Isabelle, the main Church only produces fifty of these a year.”

Isabelle froze.

“Fifty.” Aisha reiterated, holding up a single finger for emphasis. “And they distribute them among the various branches.”

Julie watched as Isabelle’s eyes slowly widened in realization, the maid muttering under her breath, almost in awe.

“That means…”

Her voice dropped slightly, like she was speaking more to herself than anyone else.

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“…Young Master must have hit the jackpot then.”

Julie’s stomach twisted slightly.

Something about that phrasing made her uneasy.

She hesitated for a moment before finally asking.

“What do you mean by that?”

Isabelle, however, didn’t answer right away. Instead, she simply reached down, her hands moving toward the small pouch that was strapped to her waist.

And in one smooth motion, she pulled something out and handed it to them.

Julie, Skadi, and Aisha all glanced down at their hands.

The moment they saw what it was—

Their expressions stiffened.

Another bottle of Angel’s Tears.

Aisha’s fingers tightened around the glass.

Skadi’s tail froze mid-wag.

Julie, for the first time in a long while, felt a true chill run down her spine.

Slowly, her emerald gaze lifted, locking onto Isabelle.

The maid, smiling innocently, simply tilted her head.

“Master told me to give these to you after you finished your first ones.”

She explained sweetly as if she had just given them a some treats she had made in the kitchen, instead of elixers that nobles would literally fight to death over.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep