Chapter 40: 40

Both Mare and Snow felt that Michelle made a contract with a very powerful beast, so they weren’t surprised when she knocked on their rooms. But they were surprised when they saw that the small bird was white with light blue on the ends of its wings. “Master, this is the Vermilion Bird?” Mare asked with a raised brow.

“Wasn’t it a red bird before?” Snow added.

Michelle was about to speak when Cold Flame beat her to it. “Master, your contracted beasts are so beautiful!” he exclaimed.

Hearing Cold Flame’s exclamation, Snow and Mare asked, but they were still curious abut why he was a white bird instead of a red one, so Michelle had to answer them: “Cold Flame is one of the few Vermilion Birds in history to be born without an affiliate element, so when I made a contract with him, he gained the ice element and his appearance changed to what you see now.”

When Michelle finished her explanation, Made frowned a bit. “Master, does that mean you forced your ice element on him?” she asked, clearly not liking the idea.

To that, Michelle didn’t even have to answer as Cold Flame spoke up: “Sister Mare! Don’t worry about that. I was the one who initiated the contract because I wanted my affiliate element to be the ice element.” He chirped happily.

Mare and Snow started chatting with Cold Flame and as Michelle watched them, a though struck her, making her slap her own forehead. “I’m a stupid idiot… How could I forget that?!” she groaned.

“What did you forget, master?” Cold Flame asked in concern. “Is it something serious? Can I help you with that?” he continued asking.

Michelle smiled and patted his head. “It’s serious… I forgot to go visit two ‘friends’ of mine.” She groaned again as she remembered what she told Eleanor Hillberg; that she would come for an answer the next day. But over a week had passed since then, and she still didn’t go. She didn’t even know if the Hillberg siblings were still living at the same inn. But she could be sure that they didn’t leave, as with how she acted, it seemed like she disregarded Thomas Hillberg and if they left, she would go after them to vent her anger.

Mare and Snow realized what “friends” Michelle was talking about and frowned a bit. “What will you do now, master?” the asked worriedly.

Before Michelle could respond, Cold Flame interrupted. “Master, did you forget to go get the answers from the Hillberg siblings?” he asked curiously.

But his question shook Michelle. How did he know? And she realized one more thing. Without her needing to introduce Mare and Snow to him, he knew their names and species. The species could be explained as he had the memories of all his ancestors, so he could recognize them, but the names were something Michelle randomly came up with. “Cold Flame… How do you know all that?” Michelle asked as she looked at the harmless-looking white bird in her arms.

“Master, you don’t know? By forming a contract with you, I got access to your memories!” Cold Flame grinned childishly. His body might have been only a month or so from fully maturing, but his mind was that of an innocent child, even with all the memories inherited from his ancestors in his head.

Michelle finally understood what was happening, but she was still surprised. “I see…” she finally responded after a while. When she finally snapped back to reality, she realized she had to go look for the Hillberg siblings. “Cold Flame, can you stay with Mare and Snow here for a while? I’ll go look for the two and then return to get you?” she smiled before using Shadow Spirit Steps to leave the Archduchy and start searching for the two. As she had expected, they were no longer in the inn where she found them the first time, but in one quite far from it.

The sun was already setting when Michelle found them, but she didn’t mind. She went back to the Archduchy and took the three beasts with her to the new inn. Looking like Michael Grayson and leaving Mare and Snow behind a window again, she took Cold Flame on her shoulder with her and entered Joseph’s room. At the moment, he was discussing something with Eleanor, so the both of them were there, but as Michelle concealed both she and Cold Flame’s aura, they didn’t notice her. Just like before, she leaned against a wall and waited to be noticed with a lazy smile on her face, petting Cold Flame’s head.

The two were discussing something Michelle didn’t even bother to listen to as it was completely boring, so using her contract, she chatted with Cold Flame, Mare and Snow using the contact. When the two noticed her, it was only after they were finished discussing and Eleanor was about to leave. The sky was already dark and “Michael Grayson’s” face was illuminated by the light of the spirit stones in the room.

When her gaze fell on “Michael’s” smiling face as “he” petted a white bird in his arms, Eleanor was momentarily stunned speechless before reacting, instinctual fear rising within her when she realized she once again couldn’t feel “his” presence. “What-What are you doing here?” she asked, her voice trembling.

Seeing the fear in Eleanor’s eyes, Joseph turned around to see “Michael” standing behind him with a slight smile, petting a white bird. “So you decided to come?!” he frowned. “Didn’t you say you would come the next day? What did stop you from doing so?”

“Joseph?!” Eleanor was shocked when she saw how crazy her brother was acting. Maybe it was because of how scared he was the past week, but he had clearly lost all sense of fear as he confronted “Michael”.

Seeing how Joseph was acting, Michelle smiled coldly and let go of Cold Flame. He flew up and landed on a supportive beam under the roof. From there he waved his small light-blue wing and white fire erupted in front of him, flying straight towards Joseph.

Joseph froze in shock as he stared at the ball of white flame that was rushing at him. “Argh-!” Eleanor screamed in shock, covering her eyes in fear. Michelle smiled coldly as the white fire hit Joseph in his legs and ice started spreading over them. Joseph screamed in pain as he felt the ice stabbing into his flesh and spreading up to his waist. The ice stopped at his waist, not going any higher, but the pain in his legs was torture, making him scream and roll around in agony.

“Stop! Please, stop!” Eleanor started begging as tears stained her beautiful face. She grabbed Michelle by her shoulders as she pleaded. “Please, forgive him! Just this once!”

But Michelle just smiled coldly and didn’t even bother to move. Cold Flame flew back down to her and landed on her shoulder, looking at Joseph wailing in agony. The young bird did have the mind of a child, but still, he had the memories of his ancestors, so he didn’t show any reaction seeing Joseph going through the torture caused by the ice on his legs. Michelle patted his head a bit as she stared at Eleanor coldly. “What’s the answer I wanted?” she asked lazily.

In reality, both Eleanor and Joseph were much stronger than her and would be able to kill her if they wanted, but first, Cold Flame was on par with them and able to use large scale attacks, and second, with her skills from her past life, the two were inexperienced brats who did have more power than her, but she could easily outsmart and overpower them with her skills and experience.

“How can you be so cruel?!” Eleanor exclaimed, tears and mucus staining her face. She looked nothing like the graceful Young Lady she was when she came to the lower realm with her brother.

Not getting an answer, Michelle frowned, and Cold Flame flapped his wings threateningly, some white flame dancing on his feathers.

Seeing the flame, Eleanor instantly stopped complaining and fell to her knees weakly. “The… prophecy said that the person with Spirit Blood doesn’t belong here… is a ruthless ad coldblooded killer with a birthmark on each hand, and sometimes a mark on their forehead… the mark is a snake coiled round a thorny rose,” she spoke, her voice weak in fear and despair. The wails of her brother in the background were torturing her.

“I see…” Michelle smiled coldly. Then, she raised her hand and Cold Flame flapped its wings, the white fire on its feathers rushing at Eleanor, putting her into the same state as Joseph. Leaving them like that, Michelle smiled and disappeared along with her three beasts. “Mare, go to Ivona and tell her to prepare the thing. We’re going to turn Thomas Hillberg’s life into hellish agony.”

“Yes, master!” Mare nodded and rushed towards the Beltrez mansion.

As Mare rushed away, Michelle frowned a bit. “You two…” She glanced at Snow and Cold Flame and asked: “Why are you calling me ‘master’?”

“Well…” Snow was clearly surprised by the question. “Mare called you ‘master’ so I followed suit…” she said with some uncertainty.

Cold Flame nodded. “Master, I’ve seen in your memories that they called you ‘master’ so I did the same!” he said with a smile.

“I see…” Michelle nodded and glanced in the direction of the Beltrez mansion. “It seems I’ll have to tell Mare not to call me that. You two too, don’t call me master. Just use my name.” She spoke decisively, as she didn’t like being called “master” by anyone.

Cold Flame beamed. “Yes, Michelle!” he instantly changed his way of addressing her. Snow smiled and nodded.

“Now, let’s go home and wait for news from Mare!” Michelle said with a smile as she led the two back into the Archduchy.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep