Chapter 251 Vanessa’s Revenge: Overture
Chapter 251 Vanessa’s Revenge: Overture
— (Well, well, well, I've finally got you!)
Vanessa promptly forgot about her recent encounter with her sister Sheryl, brandishing her silver flute, prepared to give this insolent youth a lesson.
At that moment, a muscular man emerged from the entrance, blocking Vanessa's view.
With a look of disbelief on his face, the man muttered something about "impossible...Garvit... must have been deceived by that boy!" and "Ah, what about my plan to ingratiate him...".
Once the man had moved on, Vanessa was left dumbstruck —? the insolent archer lad had vanished?
— (No, if he had exited through the door, I would have seen it...)
— (He must still be in the Quest Guild!)
With a light sigh, Vanessa recalled her three errant doe spirits to her side. After a brief word with the coachmen, she led her doe spirits into the Quest Guild.
Immediately upon entering, Vanessa saw a robust man in full armour approaching her.
Vanessa blinked in surprise. Wasn't this man Garvit?
"Captain Garvit?" she queried.
"Ah, Miss Vanessa, you've arrived," Garvit removed his helmet and bowed, "I am at your service."
As the captain of the Emerald City's cavalry, Garvit was beholden to the Azure Lizard Family, to whom Vanessa was a cherished guest. Thus, his greeting to Vanessa was akin to a vassal greeting a princess.
In addition, the Emerald City had sent three representatives to the event: the eldest son of the Azure Lizard Family, Wallace Azure; Vanessa of the Snowy Hart Family, who was living with the Azure Lizard Family; and the cavalry captain, Garvit.
If Wallace and Vanessa were like a young master and maid on a trip, then Garvit was the attendant who was responsible for serving them.
"Regrettably, Miss Vanessa, had you arrived a bit earlier, you could have heard the instructor's explanation in person."
"The instructor? The labyrinth instructor is already here?"
Vanessa couldn't hide her disappointment. She had rushed all the way here, only to miss the instructor's explanation.
"Yes, this time's instructor is..." Garvit hesitated, but ultimately revealed, "Ice Polestar · Sheryl."
Upon hearing this, Vanessa was taken aback. Now she understood why sisteer Sheryl had appeared at the door earlier. b𝚎dn𝚘v𝚎𝚕.𝚘𝚛𝚐
— (So that's what happened...)
— (They've even sent Sheryl over... what on earth is the King of Wester thinking? Since when did the Aqua Nest Labyrinth become so important?)
"Right, where's the young master? Shouldn't he have arrived by now? Why haven't I seen him?"
Vanessa hid her emotion. By bringing up Wallace, she decided to make good use of the Azure Lizard Family's resources.
"No, it seems he hasn't arrived yet."
"Eh?" Vanessa found this strange. Given the speed of the Azure Flying Lizard, Wallace should have already arrived. Could it be that he had taken a detour to some other place?
In any case, guessing blindly wouldn't help, so Vanessa set the matter aside for now and approached a woman who looked like the branch chief inside the Quest Guild.
Upon making eye contact, the mature but still attractive female branch chief courteously greeted her.
"Welcome, Miss Vanessa."
"Thank you. Do you know me?"
"I'm Pamela. I used to serve as the instructor for the archers in Emerald City."
"Oh, then your promotion to branch chief here is quite a loss for Emerald City."
Vanessa complimented. She was trying to get on Pamela's good side, hoping that the branch chief could offer her some convenience.
"Branch Chief Pamela, I'm also here to join the labyrinth raid team. What are the arrangements?" Vanessa asked.
The branch chief's expression hesitated for a moment. She then told Vanessa that Ice Polestar - Sheryl had just finished her first lecture. She had written down the details of the lecture and suggested that Vanessa take a look.
"During your reading, please excuse my absence."
Vanessa didn't mind and nodded to let Pamela leave. Then, Captain Garvit also told Vanessa that he had some matters to handle and would meet up with her later at the inn where the labyrinth raid team members were staying. Vanessa felt that she didn't need Garvit's help at the moment, so she let him go.
Thus, ten minutes later, after Vanessa finished reading the contents on the parchment, she suddenly realized she had been "abandoned."
— (What is Branch Chief Pamela doing...? Why hasn't she returned?)
.
After a ten-minute wait, Pamela, the Branch Chief, finally emerged.
Vanessa saw Pamela descend from the second floor of the Quest Guild, bidding farewell to a youth and a young girl with a broad smile on her face.
The youth was none other than the archer lad whom Vanessa detested!
For a moment, Vanessa's grip tightened on her silver flute, but she eventually restrained herself, considering that Pamela was present, and that it would not befit her to lose her temper.
Once she had regained her composure, Vanessa began to sense that something was amiss.
Given Pamela's intelligence and social skills, it seemed unlikely that she would neglect the importance of Vanessa's noble status to attend to a commoner youth.
— (Perhaps there's something unusual about the girl?)
The white-haired girl had indeed caught Vanessa's attention. Her snowy hair was a feature that Vanessa had once coveted.
However, the girl's eyes were a deep blue rather than emerald, which made Vanessa tentatively rule out a certain "suspicion".
Moreover, Vanessa clearly saw that Pamela had been engaged in conversation with the youth throughout her descent from the second floor. This suggested that, between the youth and the girl, the former was the more significant party.
These signs all indicated that the youth was far from ordinary; he might not even be a commoner.
.
"I apologize for keeping you waiting, Miss Vanessa," Pamela said when she finally approached Vanessa.
"It's fine, but... who were those two you just sent off?"
Vanessa cut straight to the point, seizing this golden opportunity to know more about the archer lad.
At this thought, Vanessa didn't feel much anger about being neglected.
"Ah, those two..."
An intelligent woman herself, Pamela knew that Miss Vanessa must be upset and quickly chose her words.
"The brown-haired lad is Felix, a representative from Sunny Town, and the white-haired girl is Heloise. Originally Felix's companion, she has now become our representative to assist our town, Delis Town..."
As Pamela spoke, she watched Vanessa's reaction, hoping that her words would placate her.
"As you well know, Miss Vanessa, our Delis Town lacks talents. I was afraid of missing this valuable opportunity, hence the negligence earlier. I hope you would understand."
After finishing, Pamela bowed deeply, thinking that if she could settle this matter by enduring a scolding, it would not be too bad.
However, she had indeed lied to Vanessa - the real reason she had been so eager to meet Felix and Heloise was to figure out the relationship between Felix and the cavalry captain, Garvit.
Compared to Vanessa, Pamela was more worried about neglecting the mysterious "Felix".
Meanwhile, Vanessa also had her thoughts.
— (So, his name is Felix...)