They came back to the real world and Amaya noticed how different her body felt. It was as if her body before she came to Erebus was like a sieve and all the energy she consumed was water escaping through the holes.

But now she noticed that the dull ache she had felt over a while was gone. She still felt weak and hungry but having no constant pain was an immense improvement. She noticed that she was sitting on one of the light chairs her Majesty had conjured. Elise arrived by her side as she sat up and gently grabbed her arm.

Elise’s fingers started to glow and began to probe Amaya’s arm. Her eyes were closed as she was trying to sense something and after a minute or so, she left Amaya go and smiled at her.

“Well Amaya, I’m happy to report that your body is now back to normal. The drain on your body from the grimoire is basically non-existent. Some rest, nutritious food and exercise should have you back to normal before long.”

“Of course, she is cured. The grimoire might be a legendary artifact but it was in a greatly weakened state. It would be embarrassing if I couldn’t seal it.” Emile said as he walked next to Elise.

“Will she stay here?”

“Yes, I’ve offered to be 4th disciple and she has accepted.” Emile ruffled Amaya's hair and grinned at her annoyed expression.

“That’s good, I can offer her my protection but this is the best place for her to grow.”

Elise turned her attention to the rest of the room, and the knights got up and prepared to leave. She looked at Amaya and cupped her cheek gently.

“I’m sorry Amaya but this will be goodbye for a while. I’ve already been for too long and need to leave now. This is your home for now and while it might seem scary, I can promise that you will love it. Most of the castle's residents are kind and reasonable people.”

Elise bumped Emile with her elbow, “And even if they aren’t, being this guy’s disciple will make sure that no one will harass you.”

Amaya gave her a small smile, she had already mentally prepared herself.

Elise said to Emile. “We’re are going now but before we go.” She called out one of the knights.

The knight took off their helmet and revealed themselves to be a young woman with short green hair and piercing blue eyes. She came forward and saluted her fellow knights goodbye. She then went and bowed before Elise and Emile.

Elise gestured to her. “I know we have official channels of communication but because of the sensitive nature of this, we decided to set up a new channel. This is Mia and she is a knight and bureaucrat and she liaison.”

“To ensure that Erebus and its debtors don’t clash heads and create conflict, the council will be the middleman. We will take in requests, decide if they are reasonable and prioritise them. Mia here will be our contact and she will take in your considerations to the council.”

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“She will also follow you when you fulfil those requests to take notes and ensure that a record is kept for any potential dispute. Mia, can you introduce yourself please?”

Mia stood up from her bow and said loudly, “Yes, Your Majesty. It’s a great honour to greet you, Lord Emile. My name is Mia Dawnbreak, and I graduated from Mida University as a Valedictorian. After my graduation, I worked for Councillor Kismer for 5 years. My best attributes are my meticulousness, my research skills and my defensive skills.”

Emile was thrown off by the enthusiastic greeting and didn’t know how to react to her. After a moment of silence, he realised that she was finished. Coughing into a fist to clear the awkward silence.

“So are you a knight or a bureaucrat? Usually, those knights don’t become pencil pushers, especially valedictorians from the prestigious Mida University. What’s your story?”

Mia frowned for a second at the term pencil pusher but didn’t react otherwise. She corrected her expression and answered Emile.

“I come from a long line of knights and that was the path my parents had set out for me. But in university, I realised that paperwork and administration are my passions, and as long as I graduated with great honours my parents didn’t care what I went into.”

“Huh, this is the first time I’ve met a knight that wants to be a pencil pusher. But to each their own I guess.” Emile smirked as he saw the professional mask that Mia had cracked at the second mention of “pencil pusher”.

Elise jumped into the conversation before Mia reacted. “She is a highly respected and valued person, please don’t bully her. Councillor Kismer is already livid that we took her away and if he hears that you aren’t treating her well he might decide to show up here.”

“Mia’s admin skillset and her particular combat abilities are very rare and will be invaluable for you. She will station her and will serve as your contact to Council on this matter. Because of the delicate relationship between Avalyn and Erebus, she will be employed by you.”

Renard bristled at the statement, “And what are the details of that employment? What salary are we expected to pay and what about benefits such as holidays, pension and training budgets.”

Before Elise could respond, Mia took out a contract from the satchel at her waist. “These are the terms of my previous employment. The only thing I’m going to negotiate is that salary, I expect the rest to be the same.” Renard impressed by her quick action looked over the contract.

“These terms are acceptable, we can discuss this in more detail later.”

Satisfied that wasn’t a major issue Elise spoke up “I’m glad that there aren’t any problems, but it's getting late and we need to return to Cecilia.”

Mia went back to say goodbye to the rest of the knights and Elise and the archmage went to say their farewells to Amaya.

Emile went to see Elise and the rest of them off and before he left told Renard to give Amaya and Mia a tour of the castle and some food. It was only at the mention of food that Amaya realised how hungry she was.

As the Queen and her entourage left the throne room, Renard gestured for Amya and Mia to follow him. He took them further into the castle through the twisting corridors. Before long they arrived at a dead-end.

Renard waved a symbol in the air and the illusion concealing the true nature of the blank wall disappeared. In its place was a large wooden door.

Renard explained to the confused women, “A lot of the castle residents hate when guests come, they don’t want to be inconvenienced by random people who are of no importance to them.”

“The parts of the castle you have seen are a tiny fraction of the true castle and it’s rather for temporary visitors. Think of it like a reception. That is also why it looks unfriendliness, inhospitable and ruined. There is no staff to regularly maintain it and the atmosphere is there to put off visitors. The true castle is not for want of lavishness.”

Renard pushed open the door and both Amaya and Mia were dumbstruck by the sight in front of them.