67 "Don’t make me lose control, Master"

When the purification ritual ended, the unconscious Euphorie was brought back to a boat by the docks.

"Must you return to the Silverblade Castle with her, sir?" Alodia asked, "She's already purified, and the dark mana had been eliminated within her."

"I apologize, but we still need to question her," Xenos explained. "The increasing number of people with Dark Mana is very disturbing. We have to question everyone who was purified."

She sighed. She knew that even though Euphorie had no more mana within her, she still needed to be imprisoned for breaking the peace and order of the Kingdom, and this was the price she had to pay. "I understand. Please take care of her."

While five of the knights stayed patrolling on the sanctuary's private shore for security, the other five rode the boat, as well as the other Royal Knights. Before Xenos hopped on the boat, he faced Ivory, "Goodbye for now, Miss Sprucemint. See you around."

"See you, Sir Xenos! I will really… apply to be a Royal Knight!"

"I look forward to it," Xenos winked at her, then they departed.

"Do you really want to become a Royal Knight, Miss Ivory?" Althaia asked her. "You can be a disciple if you want."

She chuckled, "Thank you for your offer, but my goal is to really become a Royal Knight. Oh, and to win the Servant Competition."

As Ivory told her about her dream, they all went back to the dungeon and up the stairs, until they reached the bottom of the bridge in the Sanctuary.

As they walked over the bridge, Althaia told Ivory, "I trust that you keep the information about the Dark Mana a secret."

"Yes. I will, I promise."

"You can tell it to your Servant, though. He's loyal to you."

"Yes. How about the Principal of Qawiun Academy? He was once a Royal Knight, and he witnessed what had happened in the Silverblade Castle twenty years ago."

"Oh, you mean Zwain who had a black crow Beast Servant?"

Ivory nodded. "Yes, have you talked to him about it?"

"Last year, he once passed a letter to me that he would like to ask for my opinion, and the knights had read it before I could. From that day on, he hadn't sent me a single letter."

"Principal Arthurdane didn't want anyone from the Silverblade Castle to know. And that includes the knights..."

"I shall meet that man as well someday, so you can tell him about the Dark Mana," Althaia smiled sweetly at Ivory and patted her head. "One day, if you can fully trust me and our kind, you are welcome to come back here and tell me everything. I won't force you today, as I saw how uncomfortable you are."

"Thank you for understanding… But I wonder why you have been telling me that I am one of you?"

"This is not yet the right time. I will tell you, once you meet His Eminence. Do not worry, I shall inform you through a messenger if the time is ripe. For now, you may go."

Ivory embraced Althaia and thanked her for everything. After seeing Ivory walk far away, the priestess hurriedly went to her quarters with them, took a quill and ink, then wrote something on paper.

She told one of the disciples, "Hand over this letter to Lycus," she gave him a folded paper. "Tell him… to follow and guard Ivory Sprucemint from now on."

"Yes… But, may I know why, Priestess?"

"Ivory Sprucemint is one of us… but she also isn't. I want to know more about her and get her to side with us in the warfare that will happen soon."

It was mid-afternoon when she returned to Sigmund and the other city guards. As soon as the Vampire Servant saw his Master, he quickly approached her, "You birdbrain, you should have taken me with you. What took you so long? I almost fought with the knights just to enter the Sanctuary to find you."

Ivory giggled when she saw Sigmund's worried face. Even though he sounded angry, there was gentleness in his eyes. "I will talk to you alone about something once we get back to the inn."

"Oh, it must be big news if you want us to be alone, or…" he whispered to her in a low voice, "Do you want another massage?"

Ivory remembered how nice Sigmund's massage was last night. She could feel her body heat rise as he touched her with his big hands, and she couldn't help but groan every time he put pressure on her body. It felt so good with clothes on, what's more if he touched her bare skin and spread the jojoba oil all over her naked body?

'What am I thinking of?!' she suddenly slapped her own face once. She had just gotten out of the holiest place in the kingdom, how could she think about lewd things?!

Sigmund chuckled when he saw Ivory's face getting as red as a tomato. He then said, "Let's go back to Preston's first and tell him what happened."

When they reached Preston's house, some of the other city guards were already there. Ivory explained that she had found out that Euphorie was in the Silverblade Castle, and her twin sister was a disciple in the Sanctuary.

Then, Preston reported to them that the tavern where Euphorie and the Gallean Town Leader met really existed. It was an illegal, underground tavern wherein some high-ranking officials had been gathering, and because of their search for Euphorie's relatives, they had discovered where it was. The city guard chief had now ordered it to be closed, and he promised to find the others and close each tavern within the holy city of Valios.

When their meeting adjourned, Sigmund and Ivory returned to the inn. She changed into a thin, linen sleeveless nightgown she had brought, while Sigmund just took off his cloak and vest, leaving only his pants.

"Okay, tell me about what happened inside the Sanctuary," Sigmund quickly sat beside Ivory on the bed. He noticed how thin the nightdress she wore and how loose the cloth to her chest was, exposing her cleavage, "Oh, wait a minute," he took the blanket behind them and covered Ivory with it.

"Thank you, but I'm not cold," she tried to put the blanket off her shoulders.

But Sigmund touched her hand then gripped it, "No, don't take it off," his crimson red irises gazed amorously at her, "Don't make me lose control, Ivory."