CHAPTER 66

                                    

                                          
'What's up with him?'  
Angelica furrowed her eyebrows when she caught the head knight nodding while staring at her. She rested her hands by the window and looked at him with a confused face.
She was feeling bored from looking out the window.
'Grass grass grass tree grass....'
After leaving the main district there was nothing much to see outside the window other than grass and the occasionally passing trees. 
'It looks like it will rain any minute'
Angelica gazed at the dark grey sky. The sun was about to set down.
In addition, the sky was getting darker with every passing minute. Soon, thunder started to rumble as if the skies were angry.
The further they went away from the city the more deserted it got.
'It's like they want my carriage to be attacked' Angelica frowned, thinking of the arrangement of guards. 
No matter how much she contemplated it was unusual to send someone who just had an assassination attempt against their life to a temple at the top of a mountain located in the middle of nowhere.
Then again, she was not the master they were serving. She was just a random noble lady in a marriage of convenience who might even get divorced when their master's curse gets undone. It was obvious whose life mattered the most to them.
Angelica wanted to roll on the carriage cushions and get some rest. But she was unable to do that since she was not alone inside the carriage. Two young maids were assigned to take care of her. This left her no choice but to keep up the facade of a noble lady, which she often forgot that she really was one.
'They say when you start a con, never drop the con'
Angelica's head started to throb from traveling through a carriage after a long time. Her usual methods of transport are a horse or walking. She kept the use of carriage to a minimum, as there were not many instances she needed them.
Angelica closed the window and covered it with the curtain. She leaned her head on the back seat with closed eyes and tended to her temples.
"Haaaah..." Out came a bored sigh.
"Are you alright my lady?"  asked the maid with pigtails and cute freckles on her face, who deeply resembled a baby squirrel. 
'My lady?' 
Angelica rolled her head to the side without getting up and opened one eye to look at the person talking to her. This was the first time she was called anything other than 'madam'. Which means she's either an inexperienced maid or she doesn't know how to address her.
She didn't like being addressed that way but also felt lazy to correct them. Hence, it ended up with Angelica taking no action.
"If you feel uncomfortable please tell us" said the girl, smiling with a little blush of her cheeks.
Angelica squinted her eyes and took a good look at her face. And the more she looked the more the girl resembled a familiar person.
'She's like a female version of Herbie. Even the eyes and hair colors match. Are they related by any chance?'
" 'Madam' must be worried about His Grace's health" interjected the maid with braided hair. She was a senior maid despite her age and was also the one who usually took care of Angelica's hair.
"Because this is the first time the madam will be staying overnight at a distant place. Isn't that obvious?" She said with the eyes of a teacher towards her pouty junior. 
'Worried? The only ass I'm worried about is mine' Angelica sneered internally.
Suddenly she had an idea to alleviate her boredom.
"Yeah.....that's right" She sat up straight and adjusted her posture.
"I'm soooooo worried that I can't stop thinking about my dear husband" She wept, putting an act of a tragic heroine
"I shall even sacrifice myself so that my husband can wake up. All I ever wanted was for him to live peacefully"
""Madam"" Both the maids gasped, visibly stunned by her words. 
The rumor about the Madam being deeply in love with His Grace was true indeed! They felt elated.
Their eyes started to sparkle as the misunderstanding continued to deepen. Angelica on the other hand continued her con without any knowledge of the misinterpretation spewing inside their heads.
"If only the curse had taken me instead of my beloved" Angelica held her chest and wiped her imaginary tears.
""Madam"" The maids exclaimed. They felt as if they had seen the Saintess of Theodore.
'This is fun'
"What are your names by the way?" Angelica asked, doing a one-eighty in attitude and changing back to her usual self in a fraction of seconds. 
She had forgotten to ask for their names since she was immersed in looking through the window when the carriage went through the city like a puppy who got to ride a car after a long time.
"I am senior maid Eve and this is Heather. We will be assisting throughout the stay at the temple. We will be at your care" Eve said in a professional manner. 
She trained herself by talking to the mirror to introduce themselves when she heard she would be assisting the Madam to the temple. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity she could not afford to miss. Eve also had to take care of Heather who has been training under her for the past year.
"I am excited to be working under you Madam" Heather said with twinkling eyes.
Although Heather was a little clumsy, she was close in age with Angelica and she had the heart of a child which meant no harm. She had a cheery disposition by nature. That was also why Heather was assigned by the Headmaid Lynn to take care of Angelica, overlooking her inexperience in the field.
"Haha... The pleasure is all mine" 
Angelica started chatting with the maids. Heather was up to it in an instant whereas Eve hesitated for a bit before joining in the conversation.
Angelica felt the carriage move in an upwards direction at a slow pace. They were going to the Temple of Eir, the goddess of long life situated at the top of Mount Zion. 
Her instincts screamed that whatever that was coming her way was getting closer and closer.
When the carriage was passing through a flat land, it suddenly came to a halt.
Puzzled, Eve knocked the wall behind her to call the coachman. But there was no response. Sounds of metal clashing were heard outside the carriage. In an instant, they could understand the situation they were in. 
"We are being attacked" Heather trembled as she held onto Eve's hand.
"Don't worry. The knights will protect us" Eve reassured her, though she was trembling herself.
A faint smell of blood lingered in the air, sending the maids to panic mode. Angelica on the other hand sat there calmly contemplating whether now was a good time to go out or not.
'About time the bad guys came. I was starting to think they forgot about my visit to the temple' 
"Madam?" Eve called out, confused by Angelica's serene expression.
"Oh! Yeah... we are being attacked. I'm so scared" Angelica snapped out of her train of thoughts and tried to act scared only to fail so miserably.
"..." The maids stared at her.
"Haah" She sighed.
"Don't worry. You'll be fine" Angelica tried to console them. They were safe to some extent since she was their primary target.
"It's me they're after"  Angelica said without taking her eyes off the door.