Hirodod, having received the answer he wanted, did not continue to stay in Iron Horn City and imdiately had Nanny Nema prepare the carriage to return to Duolin City.
Then he turned to Clara, who was still dazed, and said, "You should go pack as well."
"Huh?" Clara didn’t react at first, not until Hirodod repeated, "You are to co with ."
The little maid was dumbfounded at his words.
"At first, I had Golden Eyes bring you here because I wasn’t sure if you could also communicate with Saturday and inform Prophet rlin of your whereabouts through Saturday," Hirodod explained.
"But now it seems you clearly lack such ability; you rely learned from rlin the ans to contact God, but you are neither devout enough nor adequately trained."
Clara could not refute this, as these were the very points she had ntioned in deceiving Hirodod earlier.
To her surprise, he had applied her own ploy back to her and perfectly explained why she couldn’t communicate with Saturday.
The little maid could only sigh at the demonstration of such sharp-wittedness, worthy of the High Priest of the Silver Moon Church.
However, what Hirodod said next made her heart sink again.
"Besides, you are to continue training in communicating with the goddess. You’ve said it yourself, haven’t you? The more you practice such a skill, the more proficient it becos."
"Uh, that’s... correct."
"Good, then from now on you will stay by my side. I will send you back to Green Field when I can establish a stable connection with Pisya, just like rlin. I keep my word," said Hirodod.
Clara felt a bitterness in her heart.
She had no doubt that Hirodod was deceiving her, because it no longer mattered whether he was or not; after all, she couldn’t do what Hirodod was asking.
But to be candid was definitely not an option either; the little maid might be carefree, but she wasn’t foolish.
She knew that Hirodod hadn’t killed her only because she still had utility, so, to keep on living, she had to grit her teeth and continue the charade.
So Clara said nothing and rely nodded, about to return to her room to pack, when Ruby suddenly spoke up eagerly, "Lord Hirodod, if there’s anything you need brought, allow to carry it for you."
"Unnecessary, I don’t have much to bring, and you don’t have to co this ti."
"But I still need to take care of Miss Mary," Ruby said, her face losing color as she forced a smile.
"Oh, you’ve worked hard these past days, and you’ve done well. I have said I would reward your loyalty. You may stay here and rest, browse the market, buy yourself so new clothes. Nanny Nema, give her five gold lions. As for Mary, I will arrange for soone else to take care of her on the other side," he said.
"But I don’t want to rest," Ruby grew more anxious, "Please take with you. Even if I don’t continue to care for Miss Mary, I can still be of use in other ways."
"Perhaps another ti," Hirodod said decisively.
Ruby’s offering of her services failed, and her complexion turned ashen.
She did not truly want to rest; she had just recently witnessed Hirodod whipping himself, and now she’d heard his crazy plans. She also knew that, unlike Clara, she held no irreplaceable value to him.
Ruby was acutely aware that once separated from Clara, she knew what awaited her.
Yet she dared not defy Hirodod’s command. Just when she felt despair, Clara’s voice rose again, "But I still prefer Ruby to take care of ."
Hirodod pondered for a mont, seemingly weighing the pros and cons, before saying to Ruby, "Then you go and pack up too."
Even though Hirodod had paused for only the ti it takes to breathe, to Ruby it felt like an eternity had passed.
By the ti she heard the last sentence, Ruby felt her body go limp with relief.
Once back in the room and the door was closed, the first thing Ruby did was thank Clara.
The little maid blinked, "It’s nothing, didn’t you help before? Now we only have each other, so, of course, we must take good care of one another."
Ruby shuddered, then as if she had made up her mind, she pulled Clara further from the room door and whispered into the little maid’s ear.
"I... I must confess sothing to you, I was actually ordered by Hirodod to get close to you and beco friends with you, so it would be easier to get secrets out of you."
After Ruby finished, she was already bracing for Clara’s shock and anger.
However, when she took a step back and looked up, she found the little maid much calr than she had expected.
"You knew all along?" Ruby said, surprised.
"No, but since I’m still alive, that ans you didn’t betray ," Clara waved her hand, "The rest are trivial matters."
"You are a good person, Miss Mary," Ruby said, "You’re right, we must protect each other. Is there anything you need to do?"
"For now, we need to stabilize Hirodod. He surely won’t be satisfied with just letting smash clay pots forever. After all, I told him that power grows stronger with practice."
"Do you have any other... what are they, experints?"
"I’ve thought up a new one these last couple of days, and I just so happen to have the materials on hand, but I’m not yet sure how to explain it, considering the phenonon this ti isn’t as simple and clear-cut as whether the cotton burns or not."
"Storytelling? That’s exactly what I’m good at," Ruby volunteered eagerly, "You can leave that part to ."
"That’s great!" the little maid exclaid with joy, "But just doing this isn’t a long-term solution, sooner or later we’ll be found out. We still need to get in touch with the Double Rest Sect. As long as they know where I am, Prophet rlin will surely find a way to rescue us."
"Now that Hirodod has decided to take you back to Duolin City, he will surely keep close watch over you, giving you no chance to contact the outside world. However, he may let down his guard with . Perhaps I could help get your ssage out."
"Then I’m counting on you."
"We’ll definitely be able to return to Green Field."
"No, no, don’t say that," the little maid’s expression shifted upon hearing this, and she quickly reached out to cover Ruby’s mouth.
The latter, puzzled, asked, "Why? I was just trying to cheer you up."
"The goal is fine, but rlin calls this kind of behavior ’setting a flag’, and in the Divine Country, it’s considered a kind of invisible curse. Anyway, it’s better not to say such things usually, even Prophet rlin can’t withstand this curse."
"Alright. I won’t say it anymore." Seeing Clara’s serious face, Ruby also sensed the gravity of the situation and hurriedly promised.
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