"Dad... How many troops do we have...?" Asked Necro, breaking the silence.

"Officially?? Barely over a thousand..."

"And unofficially?"

"I think another thousand or so... buy they are worth tenfold."

"I... I see..."

'... Was that supposed to be reassuring?'

Vlad's words further preoccupied Necro. The lack of manpower to fend off the attackers was obvious.

Silence grew once more. Nobody said a thing until the end of the breakfast. A gloomy mood was obvious in all present. Each for their own reason.

Vlad had already accepted his fate, but he needed to find a way to protect his family.

Jusztina on the other hand was extremely worried about Vlad. So long as he was safe the whole family would also be. Despite his looks and reputation, he was a strong and kind man. And her only true love.

She was well aware of the overwhelming power of her and her husband's men... But that was only against normal humans, against the church the tables could potentially be completely turned.

Necro was afraid she was gonna go through all that again...

And Drac... Drac was an idiot to begin with.

"Nec, Drac, please go take a bath, the maids will arrange clothes for you. You can go first Nec."

"Okay, Father."

As Necro left the room, Vlad continued.

"Drac, come here, we need to talk."

"Yes, Father."

------

'What is going to happen to me...'

Necro was fiddled with her thoughts while soaking in the hot bath.

The bathroom was amazing. Lined with polished marble, it gave a very clean impression. The bath was manually filled with hot clean water every water by the servants. The water was a little too lukewarm for her taste, so she heated it up with the use of fire magic before entering the bath. The hot water helped her relax and think things over.

'He said the maids would arrange clothes for us... This means they are not the ones we usually wear... It's likely that we'll leave to the Cetadea unannounced to bring less attention. Well... we officially live there anyways. What is he thinking? He said he needed to talk to Drac... I hope I could hear what they are talking about... Maybe something related to us escaping? I mean, he could do it... Is that really the case?'

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*Knock* *Knock*

"YES!?"

A knocking on the door awakened her from the brooding.

"It's almost time to go. You should hurry"

A muffled voice answered from the other side.

"Sorry!"

She stood, quickly leaving the bath. As she grabbed the robe to dry herself, she looked at her figure in the silver mirror.

'They are so small...'

She thought, holding her breasts with both hands, and pulling them together. The robe forgotten over the counter.

'They say men prefer larger ones...'

She slowly turned to the side, watching her own body on the mirror.

'Ah... I wish I hadn't stopped growing already...'

Regardless of her doubts, she still thought her slim figure was very cute.

Her low stature and low weight made her look fairly younger though, almost like an early teen. Her only redeeming feature as a woman was her ass.

'At least this is hot...'

She thought as she rose her leg, caressing her thighs... Her body was spotless and almost free of any hair, with the exception of her nape, where the hairline went down a little further than usual.

She knew for a fact she was a man in her last life, but she could not care less. She was far more worried about what kind of looks she would get as an adult with almost no female charm... The one thing she knew: There was a person out there who would love her regardless of her appearance, and she had promised to find her no matter how long it took.

'Haaah~... I hope I find someone who likes the way I look though...'

Her insecurity was further fueled by her unusual looks... A Purplish black hair and Reddish eyes...

'My vibe is the very opposite of hers isn't it...'

It was true. While Necro had a dark, almost gloomy vibe, Lyara was light itself, as bright as a pure maiden.

'Nyaaa~'

She released a cute sigh as she thought of the two of them...

'Oh shoot!'

She slapped both her cheeks. It was not time to daydream! She needed to leave.

She quickly grabbed the robe and wore it after drying her hair with it a little bit. The maids would do the rest.

She hurriedly left, aiming for her room.

As she arrived, two maids awaited her. On her bed, a plain unbleached dress was laid...

'This... I guess things are worse than I expected...'

The simplicity of the dress was not the problem... The material was.

This meant they were not only going to leave unannounced, but they were also going to sneak out as peasants. Her father was definitely trying to buy them extra time.

'Huh... this is...'

As she was worn, she realized something. The dress was far more comfortable than one would expect. The interior was lined with high quality woven wool and cotton, making it feel incredibly cozy and smooth. It was pretty long, reaching a foot over her feet, like those used by commoners in the town nearby.

The maid who was brushing her hair braided it. This was the first time she had her hair up. Previously she would at most have it brushed and used a tiara to stop it from falling on her eyes as she went horse-riding.

It felt weird and heavier than usual... But it would make it easier to hide it with the hood... So, she wouldn't complain.

"Wow... Necky looks very cute in those..."

"Yeah, right?! She looks like the most beautiful normal person ever!"

"... Was I not a normal person to begin with?"

"Eh."

"Ah... I mean... You are royalty, not a commoner. So... I meant..."

The maids froze. Stuttering to answer.

"Relax... I meant it as a joke"

""Few...""

Both let out a sigh of relief as they heard her answer... Despite their employers being quite understanding, offending Necro would never be forgiven by either of the Lords.

"Should I get going then?"

"Wait! Necky, His majesty told us to have you wear these."

One of the maids turned around, grabbing a small jewelry box from the desk.

As she opened it, a torrent of magical particles assaulted Necro.

Those were not simple jewelry. Those were artifacts.

"What are they?"

"Our Majesty said it was a family heirloom."

'So, they can't tell it's an artifact...'

The maid held a beautiful golden neckchain in her hands. There was a small symbol dangling. One Necro though she'd seen somewhere but couldn't recognize clearly.

She held her hair up as the maid arranged it around her neck.

In the box, a couple more items were present, each emanating the same thick aura.

Next was a couple of golden earrings. each had a beautiful small violet. As she wore them, Necro instantly felt her mana pool grow larger. The feeling was that of when you let go off of a water balloon, the water waving throughout its surface.

And lastly, two rings.

The maids were surprised as they shrunk when worn on Necro's left middle and index fingers.

The middle finger one was a larger gold ring, on it, a royal seal was present.

"A... Are you sure I should be wearing this? Wouldn't it be better to have it hung from the neckchain?"

The maids looked at each other, comprehending her question.

"Yeah... Makes sense."

As she took out the golden ring, Necro focused on the other ring. It was far less attention grabbing, yet still equally as beautiful. It was very similar to the earrings, but it was silver instead. A single small amethyst was encrusted. This one was significantly smaller than those on the earrings. What grabbed her attention where the incredibly detailed inscriptions on the side. They were so small it would take her a magnifying glass to be able to discern the characters.

'Wonder what they do... I can't use Identifying magic in front of the maids though... Such a bummer.'