From where she stood, Scarlett observed the interactions of the other guests with an impassive expression, ignoring the veiled looks occasionally sent her way. She had overheard a few whispers speculating about her relationship with Beldon Tyndall and some curious questions about why she was here, but nothing too bothersome yet.
Tapping the side of the glass in her hand, she took a sip of...
2023-04-23 21:04:11 +0000 UTC View PostAfter being shown to their quarters, Scarlett and Evelyne spent a couple of hours getting ready for the ball. The handmaiden who accompanied them to Windgrove assisted with any tasks they couldn’t handle themselves, and while they had been given separate accommodations, the rooms were close enough that the servant woman could move easily between them. Numerous servants working for the Tyndall...
2023-04-20 21:42:12 +0000 UTC View PostThe sounds of silverware clinking against porcelain echoed throughout the dining hall as Scarlett and the other members of her household dined together. This included Evelyne, with Garside standing silently by the wall, wearing a calm but bland expression on his face.
Engaged in their conversations, the individuals at the table occupied themselves with talking while Scarlett focused on ea...
2023-04-16 21:52:40 +0000 UTC View PostWaiting in her office within the Freybrook mansion, Scarlett’s gaze was fixed on the large painting adorning the wall behind her desk. ‘The Field of Broken Pacts’ was the title The Gentleman had called it by. The artwork depicted an expansive battlefield from some bygone era, painted in excruciatingly exact and lifelike detail by whoever the creator was. Despite how long she’d had it no...
2023-04-13 21:19:38 +0000 UTC View Post“That’s a curious statement,” Arlene said. “I am aware I have a few years on you, but I don’t look that old, do I?”
Scarlett considered her. While Arlene did have faint wrinkles and darker skin under her eyes, she didn’t appear much older than forty or so. Younger than Adalicia Mendenhall, probably.
She shook her head. “I do not believe you truly think that ...
2023-04-09 21:38:04 +0000 UTC View PostScarlett eyed Arlene quietly for a while before finally speaking. “What do you know about the nature of this world?”
The woman gave her a curious look. “That depends. What do you think the ‘nature’ of this world means, in this context?”
“I am not entirely certain myself,” Scarlett admitted. “But in essence, what I am referring to might be what this world is 2023-04-06 21:03:30 +0000 UTC View Post
“You are not the real Scarlett Hartford?” Arlene gave her a long, inquisitive look. “That is an odd thing to say, if you ask me. What does that mean?”
“…It is exactly as I said. I am not the real Scarlett.”
The two of them observed each other for a while, and a strange sensation wound itself up Scarlett’s spine, like a faint tingle. She wasn’t sure if it was becaus...
2023-04-02 21:11:51 +0000 UTC View Post[Name: Scarlett Hartford]
[Skills:
[Greater Mana Control]
[Greater Pyromancy]
[Major Pyrokinesis]
[Greater Hydromancy]
[Superior Hydrokinesis]]
[Traits:
[Dignified August]
[Supercilious]
[Cavalier]
[Callous]
[Overbearing]
[Conceited]
[Third-rate Mana Veins]]
[Mana: 1324/5047]...
A heavy atmosphere had descended over the mansion ever since Scarlett’s return. It loomed over the hallways and corridors, clinging to the nooks and crannies and stretched out across the entire estate. It left people in discomfort. Wary. Tense. As if they had done something wrong, and punishment would be meted out any second now.
The Baroness was in a bad mood.
Rosa would have to ...
2023-03-26 20:22:22 +0000 UTC View Post“…What?”
A chill ran down Gaven’s spine as the Baroness’ steely gaze locked onto him. A sudden tension filled the space between them, and the frigid night air was forced aside as the temperature spiked.
“…You took care of her?” the woman asked him. Her voice was as emotionless as always, but there was a danger to he...
2023-03-23 21:59:52 +0000 UTC View PostFaith is a funny thing. There was not a person in the empire who didn’t put their faith in someone or something. The blind devout in the divine, the fanciful nobles in their traditions, the gullible soldiers in their captains, and the dirty street rats in the hope that someday they didn’t have to crawl and beg for their meals.
The thing they all had in common was that they didn’t kn...
2023-03-19 21:32:49 +0000 UTC View PostScarlett listened to the sounds of the winds and rustling leaves outside as her carriage rocked along the narrow forest path. It was a long ride, and it was far from comfortable.
The carriage’s seats were just solid wood, the air was stale, and the cabin was cramped. With no windows, the only light in here was from the glimmers of moonlight that sneaked through the cracks in the plank w...
2023-03-16 22:34:16 +0000 UTC View PostUnfortunately, I've been extraordinarily busy these these past few days so I haven't been able to do much writing. Because of this, there won't be a chapter today.
2023-03-12 22:02:44 +0000 UTC View PostAs was becoming relatively common for Scarlett these days, she currently found herself sitting beside Arlene on the porch in Freymeadow, resting after another practice session with her magic.
She glanced over at the raven-haired woman who, as usual, had her attention focused on the book in her lap.
Over a week had passed in the outside world since Gaven returned with the [Memory of ...
2023-03-09 22:25:39 +0000 UTC View PostScarlett sat on a couch in the east wing’s parlor with the Countess sitting opposite her. The robed woman was nervously fidgeting with the fabric of her clothes, head turned downwards as they waited in silence. Scarlett didn’t particularly mind the quiet. There weren’t too many conversations to be had with the woman, anyway, and she doubted the Countess cared much about things like feelin...
2023-03-05 22:25:16 +0000 UTC View PostSitting in her office, Scarlett looked over an assortment of maps spread out across her desk. Roughly half of them were recent purchases, most of which were completely irrelevant to her current aim, but she’d had them all procured just in case, so it wasn’t clear which area in particular she was interested in. The extra caution probably wasn’t even necessary, but it didn’t hurt to err o...
2023-03-02 22:28:51 +0000 UTC View PostBack in the Freybrook mansion, Scarlett stood in her room as she finished dressing herself. She then walked over to the nightstand next to her bed and picked up her [Pouch of Holding].
She and the others had returned from Faybarrow about an hour earlier, having spent a few days in the city. Things had been rather uneventful after clearing the Zuverian ruins, with them only finding two sma...
2023-02-26 22:22:24 +0000 UTC View Post[Quest completed: Cleared Zuverian Ruins]
{Skill points awarded: 5}
Scarlett squeezed out of a narrow slit ahead of her, exiting from inside the cave wall she had been in to the natural quarry where her party had originally started. It had turned dark now, with a quiet air hanging over the space and the nearby forest as the stars shone down on them from above. She look...
2023-02-23 22:22:39 +0000 UTC View PostScarlett and the others entered a dark room made of precisely cut gray stone and which looked like it had seen no living things passing through it for ages. The air was stale, with overturned shelves and tables spread out before them, covered in the dirt and dust that had accumulated over the long years.
Adalicia conjured a set of small orbs of light that lit up the space. The orbs were a...
2023-02-19 22:07:36 +0000 UTC View PostScarlett sat on top of a smooth piece of stone, idly flipping through a book on magic theory she had found in the Freybrook mansion’s library. The book didn’t cover exactly what Arlene had lectured her about back in Freymeadow, and a lot of its contents honestly went over her head using terms unfamiliar to her, but some of the concepts it discussed appeared to be at least similar. ...
2023-02-16 22:21:19 +0000 UTC View PostScarlett sat opposite Evelyne in the younger woman’s carriage as they traveled from Count Knottley’s estate back, on their way back to the Hartford mansion for the night.
“…That went better than I thought it would,” Evelyne said after a while.
Scarlett looked away from the window and to the woman, considering her for a moment before giving a small nod. She then turned her ...
2023-02-12 21:24:02 +0000 UTC View PostEvelyne turned up from the papers she was holding as their carriage pulled to a stop. She looked out the window at the courtyard outside. It was situatzed on top of the hill that overlooked the central part of Freybrook, with tall stone walls that blocked out most of the city itself. It had been a while since she last visited this place.
Opposite her in the cabin, Scarlett rose without a ...
2023-02-09 21:02:45 +0000 UTC View PostScarlett ran a hand over the faceted surface of the [Obedience’s Solitude Loci], studying the emerald. It felt odd, holding it like this, if only for the fact of how valuable it looked. Like holding a wad of thousand-dollar bills. The brain couldn’t quite comprehend its value.
She pushed those musings to the back of her mind and focused her attention on the Loci.
‘Listening’...
2023-02-05 22:19:56 +0000 UTC View PostScarlett idly eyed the flowers growing in tiny, cordoned-off patches as she walked through the small hedge garden at the back of the Freybrook estate. She was surprised these plants were still flowering, to be honest; November was fast approaching, and it had been getting colder for a while now.
If she wasn’t misremembering, there was only one gardener working here, and he was in charge...
2023-02-02 22:10:29 +0000 UTC View PostA short rain shower fell over the edge of Freymeadow’s village square as the shimmering spheres of water that Scarlett had summoned burst apart all as one. She watched the droplets sink into the ground for a moment, then raised the towel on her lap to wipe away the sweat from her forehead.
[Name: Scarlett Hartford]
[Skills:
[Greater Mana Control]<...
Smoke trailed up into the dark red sky around Scarlett as she and Rosa walked through the ruins of Freymeadow. They passed body after body—the charred remains of the people that had lived here—and what traces were left of the villagers’ daily lives. Burnt tools, hammers, clothes, toys, and much more were strewn around the streets.
No matter the ambivalence Scarlett felt regarding th...
2023-01-26 22:07:02 +0000 UTC View PostEventually, Scarlett was sitting in the parlor with Evelyne and Leon once again.
Cleaning up after Leon’s barging through the mansion hadn’t taken too much time, but it had been annoying to do nonetheless. Not only did she have to go find Molly and give the servant woman a vague summary of what happened so she could go check up on the Countess, but she also had to figure out what to d...
2023-01-22 22:05:27 +0000 UTC View PostScarlett frowned as she looked at Leon. The bright golden light that had risen to surround him wreathed, almost like a beast confronting a threat, and the man was staring at her with an intense expression.
“…I am afraid I do not know what you are referring to,” she said after a moment of silence.
What had caused this sudden reaction of his? Neither she nor Evelyne had said any...
2023-01-15 22:48:31 +0000 UTC View PostFirst of all, I wanted to notify all of you that there won't be a chapter next thursday since I will be gone the entire week from sunday and forward. (Sunday will have its chapter as usual)
Secondly, I wanted to give a brief update related to the display bug that some of you have encountered related to prices on my patreon page. I have been in contact with Patreon support regarding the i...
After having concluded matters with the Withersworths, Scarlett and the others stayed in Autumnwell for three more days. The old couple was generous enough to let them stay as guests during that period, and surprisingly, Leon had also asked to remain with them for that time. That was despite what he’d previously said about having other things to deal with before he was sent off on whatever as...
2023-01-12 22:57:03 +0000 UTC View Post