Maria wasn’t a particularly patient person.

Well… perhaps she was when it came to enduring the nobles’ orders or doing her work without too much complaint, but when it came to waiting for something that was gnawing at her curiosity, her patience simply didn’t exist.

At that moment, as she stood in the hallway with her arms crossed and one foot tapping the floor in a steady rhythm, her desperation had reached its peak.

Hours had passed! Entire hours, and that damned priestess was still inside Hugo’s room!

Maria bit her lower lip, casting furtive glances toward the closed door.

"But what the hell are they doing in there?" she murmured to herself, squinting her eyes.

It wasn’t that she wanted to imagine things, but… come on! It was impossible not to!

Hugo was an old grouch, yes. A bitter man who seemed to care about nothing in life but his research. But even he must have some… human needs, right?

Maria frowned.

"Ugh… no, no, no, I don't want to think about that…"

She shook her head vigorously, trying to erase the mental images that were appearing without her permission. Yet no matter how much she tried to distract herself with other thoughts, her curiosity kept dragging her back to the same spot.

Although she had heard that love knows no age… Hugo was really putting that adage to the test! Maria ran a hand over her face in frustration.

"This is ridiculous…" she thought.

Maria took a couple of steps back, assessing the hallway and the possible routes for eavesdropping. Maybe, if she moved toward the back of the mansion, she could find a window with a better view of Hugo’s room. Or perhaps she could sneak over and press her ear against the door.

Maria was weighing her options when, finally, the door opened. She reacted instantly, quickly hiding behind a column as she watched intently.

The priestess emerged from the room…and the first thing Maria noticed was her condition.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

She was sweating.

Her white robe was a bit rumpled and her hair slightly disheveled.

Maria blinked. And then, her imagination soared to alarming heights.

"Oh… oh, no…" she murmured to herself, feeling a chill run down her spine.

'Hugo… really?'

Maria looked at the young priestess with an incredulous expression. Not only was she sweating and all disheveled, but her gait was somewhat unsteady—as if she had just endured an utterly exhausting ordeal.

Maria felt her stomach churn.

'Did that old man really do what I’m thinking?!'

Her mind waged an internal battle between disbelief and a complete lack of faith in Hugo’s morals.

But… there was something odd about it all. If her theory were correct, then Hugo should have come out too, right?

But no. He was still inside the room.

Maria had a bad feeling. She didn’t know whether it was because she truly feared for the priestess’s well-being, or because she was starting to lose her mind thinking about Hugo’s private life, but something just wasn’t right.

For her part, the priestess didn’t pause at all. She simply continued on her way toward the exit with determined steps. Maria kept her eyes on her, careful not to be seen. The woman went down the stairs, crossed the foyer, and exited through the main door, where a white carriage awaited her. Without even looking back, she climbed into the vehicle and, within seconds, the carriage departed, moving along the path until it vanished from sight.

Maria blinked.

"Huh?"

For some reason, she had expected the woman to linger a bit longer, or at least say something before leaving. But no—she left as if nothing had happened. This only left her even more confused.

"What… what was all that?" Maria pressed her lips together as she glanced again in the direction of Hugo’s room. She definitely had to find out what had happened in there.

But just as she was about to move…

"Oh, wait…"

Something hit her mind all of a sudden. A thought—a thought that shouldn’t have taken so long to appear.

"Where’s Aria?"

Maria froze for a few seconds, as if her brain were processing this newly arrived information. And then…

"WHERE IS ARIA?!"

The cry burst from her lips before she could control it, and she immediately began rushing down the corridor. She had been spying on Hugo for so long that she had completely forgotten about the little girl!

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" Maria started scouring the mansion’s surroundings, checking every nook where Aria might be. She went to the library.

Nothing.

She went to the dining hall.

Empty.

She even checked the kitchen, thinking that maybe the girl had decided to grab a snack or something.

But she wasn’t there either.

Maria felt panic beginning to settle in her chest.

"No, no, no…"

The image of Esmeria immediately flashed through her mind.

"Take care of her."

That’s what she had been told.

And now… now the little girl was missing!

Maria swallowed hard, feeling sweat starting to form on her forehead.

"No… she can’t have gone very far…" But the more she searched, the less she found her. And with every passing minute, her anguish grew more and more.

"Aria! Aria, where are you?!"

The echo of her voice resonated through the empty hallways of the mansion. But no one answered.

And at that moment, Maria realized something—something that sent a chill down her spine.

Aria… she really was nowhere to be found!