"Hmm, fourth-degree Tribulation realm?" Questioned Elif, as it was the first time he's ever heard that term before.
"Once you get to the Embryo phase in cultivation, minor realms are no longer separated into low, middle, late, and peak. They are separated into what we call degrees, and there are nine different degrees in total." Explained Celeste as both Elif and Illumia intently listened.
"Nine Degrees? Tribulation realm? I hope my suspicion is wrong, but must you face a Heavenly Tribulation every time you advance in the Tribulation realm?" Asked Elif, secretly hoping he was overthinking things.
"Yes, you're mostly correct, my adorable little genius. However, instead of facing a full Heavenly Tribulation every time you advance, you must face a lightning tribulation corresponding to the degree you're in and the preceding degrees." Said Celeste happily as she once again carried Elif while heading back toward the entrance of the room with Illumia still wearing the Voids Cloak.
After securely closing the treasury and returning inside Great-grandmother's room, I was finally set free from her clutches as she sat back down in her usual spot while I used that time to fix my appearance.
"Oh yes, Great-grandmother, can you keep the knowledge of Illumia sneaking inside an Arch-Dukes estate a secret, please? I don't wish to possibly get punished again." Asked Elif after fixing his appearance, though all he got was a mischievous smile in return.
"Hmm, that's quite a big secret to keep, Elif, especially from the Emperor and Empress of the Empire. I might need some incentive to keep my mouth shut." Said Celeste with a mischievous smirk while eyeing Elif.
"I'll make sure to visit you more often, alright? Haa, fine; Elaine and I will visit you more often, ok." Said Elif, trying to negotiate a deal, but since Celeste had all the leverage, she was in control of the deal.
"Alright, since you're so incredibly adorable, I'll keep what happened today a secret. Just make sure to visit me a lot, ok!" Said Celeste with a delightful smile, while Elif merely sighed in defeat at her antics.
"See you soon, Great-grandmother." Said Elif as he and Illumia exited Celeste's room.
While walking through the palace, I checked on Marley's progress using my divine sense, and I must say, seeing her in a maid's uniform was quite the spectacle, though it seemed she sensed my presence as she attempted to fight back through her divine sense; however, I swiftly retracted my divine sense back to my vicinity, denying her even the opportunity to vent her anger and frustrations, which seemed to be at an all-time high.
"Alright, Illumia. Now that you have the Voids Cloak, I want you to sneak into the Eve's estate and obtain all the information regarding Marley and Sarah you can." Ordered Elif while walking down the halls, though since he was in a secluded section of the palace, there were no servants nearby to hear him.
"I understand, your highness." Acknowledged Illumia with a bow before injecting Qi into the Voids Cloak and disappearing from Elif's side.
'Well, while Illumia is doing that, I suppose I'll just go and cultivate. I've got nothing better to do as I'm prohibited from stepping outside the royal grounds. I must also not forget to return the silver crystal to Father.' Pondered Elif as he headed toward the throne room before returning to his room to cultivate.
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'THAT BASTARD!! DID HE REALLY JUST LEAVE!?' Thought Marley in anger as she dropped whatever she was holding and started scanning for Elif's presence, though her actions caused her to be quickly pressured into a kneeling stance.
"This is the tenth time I've been forced to admonish you; if it weren't for your special circumstances, you would've long since been thrown out of here!" Said the chief servant coldly, the same chief servant that Elif handed Marley to.
"For today's punishment, you'll be forced to do your duties without interruptions, on top of your previous punishments." Added the chief servant as she gave Marley one last stare before walking away.
I wanted nothing more than to kill that lowly maid for all the times she's forced me to kneel, yet even after I tried attacking her, the result was no different. So having restrained my anger, I swiftly stood up once the servant was no longer pressuring me and slowly picked up items I dropped, all while trying my best not to lash out in anger; however, the other servants mocking wasn't helping.
"There she goes again, angering the Chief servant. I told you she couldn't go a single day without angering her; you better pay up." Commented a maid in the distance while she outstretched her hand toward a butler, to which he huffed before handing her a pouch of spirit stones.
"She is quite lucky, though, no? How many times has she messed up or angered the Chief servant? Yet, she hasn't been kicked out and is still here." Said another maid, jealousy, and dissatisfaction in her voice as she eyed Marley.
"I don't know why you guys are so worried about her; she'll eventually be abandoned with how useless she is." Said a different maid as she mocked Marley.
I would've ignored them like I usually do, but when I heard that maid call me useless, it brought back some unpleasant memories, and in a fit of rage, I broke whatever I was holding while looking at that specific maid while indiscriminately releasing my killing intent. This caused all four of them to shudder in fright, yet contrary to what I thought, witnessing such a scene hardly eased my anger; in fact, sorrow quickly replaced my rage.
'What are you doing, Marley!? You can't show sadness! That is not you! Your Marley Eve, a noble and a cultivator in the Divine realm!' Thought Marley as the sorrow she felt was once again confined to the deepest parts of her already crumbling heart while her exterior put on an angry facade.
Looking at them angrily, I retracted my killing intent before ignoring them and cleaning up the mess I had just made.
'Three more weeks, Marley. Three more weeks.' Thought Marley repeatedly as she continued her duties as a temporary maid.
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Just like that, three weeks passed by in a flash, well in an instant for most people, but for me, it was the most agonizing three weeks I've ever lived through. Every day, I felt like I was on the verge of losing my mind; each moment that passed caused the anger in my heart to intensify, yet worse was, I had no way to vent my anger, and I could sense myself slowly crumbling; I didn't know how much longer I could keep going. The small amount of hope in my heart is the only thing keeping me from mentally breaking down.
"Marley, to my office, now." Said the Chief maid, eyeing the impassive Marley in the distance.
"Ohh my; she must've done something really serious this time." Muttered one of the maids.
"Tsk, didn't I tell you three? That useless girl was going to get kicked out eventually. I'm surprised she managed to last even a full month with her behavior." Said another maid, once again mocking Marley; though different from the last time, Marley showed no external reaction.
Arriving at the chief maid's office, I entered the room and closed the door behind me as I stood in front of the desk the chief maid was sitting at.
"It's been exactly one month, and per Prince Elif's orders, you're free to go." Said the chief maid while paying more attention to the papers in her hand than Marley.
Her words almost made me scream in joy; never have I felt so happy in my life, yet I wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible and return home, so I stayed silent and left the room. While walking down the hall, I occasionally heard some of the servants whispering about me or mocking me, but I was too focused on leaving this place to care about their words. Once I finally exited the palace, I headed towards an isolated area and quickly destroyed my maid uniform before summoning a new set of clothes for me to wear, one fit for a high-class noble such as myself.
Once I was fully clothed, I continued on my path toward the main gate that allowed access to the Royal grounds, and when I arrived, I was stopped by a couple of royal guards, though after having shown my medallion and proven my identity, I was allowed to leave shortly later. Once outside the royal grounds, I finally felt freedom; no longer was I confined to the Royal palace as a mere servant.
With high spirits and vengeance on my mind, I flew back home, something only nobles are privileged to do within Yggdrasil; otherwise, it would've taken quite some time to return home.
'Finally, back home. Now I can continue my cultivation and show Father I'm better than that waste Sarah.' Thought Marley as she hovered just before the gates leading to the Eve estate.
"Stop! Please show your identity and authorization to be given access- Young Mistress Marley! My apologies; I didn't expect it would be you; please forgive my rudeness from earlier." Said the guard with authority before quickly bowing once he realized who he was speaking to.
Ignoring the guard, I flew past him, and shortly after, I began seeing the Eve manor in the distance; a little bit later, I arrived just before the Eve manor as I landed on the ground and headed inside. Everything looked the same, which is expected, considering I was only absent for a month, though once I arrived at my room, I realized it was different like someone else was now living there.
'Don't tell me; Father has moved my room again.' Thought Marley as she fought back the sadness and pain that threatened to escape her heart.
With a heavy heart, I turned around and prepared to roam around the manor until I found my new room, but before I could, two guards were standing behind me, yet, I could tell they didn't come with good intentions.
"Patriarch Eve has requested you to see him in his office, Marley." Said the two guards, neither displaying the respect that should be given to someone of Marley's status.
The way they behaved caused a terrible foreboding feeling to blossom in my heart, yet, I denied that feeling, as for the first time in two years, Father had finally requested my presence, and with wishful thinking, I followed the two guards to Father's office.
'Maybe Father has realized he had previously made a mistake by ignoring me and wished to give me another chance?' Thought Marley while the tiny strands of hope that kept her motivated clouded her mind. Not knowing that the small hope she still had would be ruthlessly crushed on this day.
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Created a discord server, so if anyone wishes to join, [https://discord.gg/TGc9yymDJP]
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Elven Legacy (Chapter 203: Ancestral Land) || Hero of Harmony (Chapter 84: Relaxing) || One Piece: Chaos Kong (Chapter 142: Peace After Battle) at [patreon.com/Ozonelayer691]