Cannon Fodder To Villainess

🏮 71. Duke's Close Subordinates

Amber looked down into her pocket and there was Alina, hugging a big purple fruit like it was her baby. The fruit had tons of tiny bite marks all over it and her face was covered in juice. It was kind of funny earlier, when she had been eating while invisible. Now that she was asleep, her invisibility wore off.

Amber gently poked her in the cheek and Alina turned her head towards Amber's finger and bit her. Amber pulled back her finger and shook her hand while frowning at Alina. Then she grabbed Alina by her leg and lifted her out of her pocket. She held her up above and then let go of Alina's leg.

Alina abruptly fell through the air, but woke up before hitting the floor. Fluttering her wings, she stopped her descent. She looked around in confusion and then spotted Amber's pocket once again. She made a beeline for Amber's pocket with droopy eyes and her mouth wide open in a yawn.

Amber abruptly lowered her hand over her pocket. She blocked an irritated Alina who started pulling on her fingers, trying to make a large enough opening to slip inside.

[Gimme pocket] Alina said into Amber's mind. Amber's pocket had quickly become her favorite spot. Now she rarely wanted to exit it.

"I will put all sorts of little snacks and a small bit of soft fabric in my pocket for you. But only if you stay awake until we leave from here. I need you to cloak my exit." Amber kind of felt like she was keeping a little mouse as a pet in her pocket.

[Will there be more of this yummy fruit and some nuts?]

"There can be. If you're a good girl and do as I ask," said Amber.

[Alright] Alina said while rubbing her eyes. She fluttered up to Amber's shoulder and landed. Then she leaned against Amber's neck and yawned again. [So sleepy.]

Using her powers exhausted her and depleted her internal mana storage.

Amber pulled out a cap from her storage and filled it with mana water. Amber made a mental note to pick up some tiny supplies for Alina.

Alina perked up and took the mana water and drank it down. Then she held out the empty cap to Amber. Amber filled it a couple of more times. Until Alina had drank enough to gain back her energy. Her skin once again glowed with a soft light and she was able to keep her eyes open.

[That's much better. Now let's get out of this place. I don't know about you, but I don't trust that Duke. I think he's up to something.]

Amber rolled her eyes. She didn't comment and she also didn't show Alina the paralyzed and injured Duke right behind them. There was no need to frighten or distract Alina. Amber knew that her personality was a bit unique, but she wasn't going to apologize or stop being herself.

Alina flicked out her yellow glowing palm and Amber could feel a slight tingling sensation cover her entire body. It wasn't making her feel numb or anything like that, it was just a slight feeling like moisture in the air touching her skin. It was the feeling of being affected by magic.

She held out her hand in front of her face and didn't see anything. She wasn't sure if she would ever get used to this.

They left the room without notice. There was no one in the hallway or really anywhere nearby, whatsoever.

[That's strange, where is everybody?]

Amber made no comment, there wasn't really any need to.

As they were exiting the building without meeting anyone, Amber walked around the side of the building. There the outside stairs curved around the outside and led to the first floor. They climbed down the stairs and saw a large opening where there were four large tables, a huge outdoor oven, and a fire pit in the center of the room. There were chairs all around the fire pit. Around the sides of the room, were stalls made out of stone where people used to sell and trade their wares many years ago. It was beautiful, in a simple way.

Sitting in the chairs around the fire pit were some of the duke's subordinates. Jessera and Omar were sitting next to each other and there were five other people sitting around a roaring green fire with them.

Going clockwise around the fire pit and sitting on the other side of Omar, there was a light pink haired girl with hair that was thick, to the middle of her back, and curly. She had big sparkling light blue eyes framed by thick pink eyelashes and the face of an angel. She was quite short at about two heads shorter than Amber. Her name was Larelle.

Sitting next to the pink haired girl, was a tall and well toned man with short cut dark blue hair and matching dark blue eyes. No expression showed on his face, except for when he looked at the pink haired girl. Then his stern features softened. His name was Toren.

Next to the blue haired man, was a man with hair as black as ink and dark gray eyes. He had a particularly bored expression on his face, but was obviously in charge of their current conversation. He had a no nonsense demeanor and wore square glasses on his face. His clothes were simple and functional, gray without any embellishments. He wore a tunic and legging combination with a small gray leather bag strapped to his side. He was the only one not wearing the hunter red outfit. His name was Quinn and he was the Duke's strategist.

He wasn't talked about a lot in Duchess Dash. Amber remembered that he had been born into a family of servants that had worked for the Duke's family for generations. His personality clashed with the Duke's greatly, because he thought the duke was, in basic terms, a brash moron.

He was a largely unappreciated genius and someone whom Amber would keep an eye on.

Sitting next to him, was a muscle bound man with short brown hair and matching brown eyes. He looked like a bodybuilder with veins bulging. He had deep dimples in his cheeks when he smiled, which was almost constant. He kept on moving in strange ways that almost seemed like he was purposely posing. His name was Axel.

Every once in a while, Quinn would glance Axel's way with an irritated expression. His eyes clearly said, 'why are you still here'? 'Why are you sitting so close to me'? 'There must be something wrong with your brain.'

Next to Axel and on the other side of Jessera, was the Duke's younger brother. He looked almost identical to the duke. Except clearly younger, with golden highlights in his bright red hair, and he had dark golden eyes. Everything else was identical to the duke, his build, facial features, mannerisms, and even his hair style. His brotherly hero worship was indeed intense. His name was Ray.

After a few moments of listening in on their conversation, and holding in a sigh, Amber turned around and walked off. Quinn really was wasted on the Duke. She had every intention of correcting that situation, but now wasn't the time. Such a shame.

After silently leaving the little gathering, Amber walked around the back of the building, and easily found Oberon. He was as weak as a newborn and covered in a bright pink glowing light.

Amber remembered this power from 'Duchess Dash' briefly mentioned during a war scene. The duke had Larelle steal a familiar from his enemy and give it to him. Although she had a sweet and naive personality, her power was anything but sweet. It had made a huge contribution to him advancing so smoothly during the many wars he'd been a part of.

Amber put out both of her hands and gritted her teeth. Both of her palms brightly glowed white and healing power poured out. This power was not naturally hers and so it was extremely exhausting to use. Normally she would have guzzled down some mana water ahead of time, but she was trying to avoid doing that because of Arabella. A sheen of sweat covered Amber's skin while she clenched her jaw and her eyes started to lose focus. She had to hurry. Otherwise she wouldn't have enough time to leave with Oberon, before Larelle noticed that her magic was being tampered with, and came to investigate it. This was the only way to break the pink haired girl's magic quickly and heal Oberon at the same time, but it definitely took a tole on her.

Amber stumbled from exhaustion, just as Oberon stopped glowing with a pink light, and stood up.

"Quickly, crouch down so I can easily climb on your back. Let's get out of here," Amber said in a choked whisper.

Oberon gently rubbed the side of Amber's cheek with his face and did as she commanded. They had just flown above the trees, when Amber heard the sound of many approaching footsteps.