The sound of shattering porcelain echoed through the room, making the servants attending to their Mistress look up in surprise.
"M-My Lady, is the tea too hot? Are you hurt?!" one of the servants asked as she looked at her Mistress' hands to see if she had been burned by the tea she served earlier.
"Don't worry, Marie," the beautiful woman reassured her. "The cup simply slipped from my hands. Please, have someone clean it up."
"At once, My Lady."
Sarah Osbourne, the Mistress of the House, gazed solemnly at the broken tea cup on the floor.
For a brief moment, she felt as if someone had gripped her heart, making her loosen the grip on the cup that she was about to drink from.
'Garret…,' Sarah thought. 'I hope nothing happened to you.'
It had been four days since the full retreat of the Human Army from the Wanid Kingdom.
The Haca Dynasty was still unaware that their recent campaign ended up in failure as the retreating army was still on their way back to the border.
As the wife of the Great General of their Dynasty, Sarah was treated in high regard, and many wanted to gain her favor.
But she wasn't the type who liked to mingle in politics. The only things she cared for were her husband and her three daughters, whom she loved very much.
"Marie, do you know where my daughters are?" Sarah asked the maid that was busy collecting the broken pieces of the teacup that had shattered on the floor.
"My lady, your eldest is in her room and painting," Marie reported. "As for the other two, I believe that they are playing together in the garden."
"I see…" Sarah couldn't shake off the anxious feeling in her heart, so she decided to go to her eldest daughter's room to chat with her for a bit until the uneasiness she was feeling disappeared.
—---------
Meanwhile, outside the Ousborne Residence…
"Master, are you sure about this?" Draven asked.
"We've already come this far," Lux replied. "Besides, we don't have much time left. If we don't hurry, that Ronan guy might arrive here through the teleportation gate. When that happens, our mission will be more difficult."
The Half-Elf then crouched down and patted Eiko's head.
"Eiko, I will leave the rest to you," Lux said softly. "Do your best, okay?"
"Pa!" Eiko nodded her head with determination.
"Draven, watch over her."
"As you command, Master."
Eiko opened her mouth and swallowed her Papa whole. Draven looked at the Baby Slime with a complicated look on his face, but since his Master had given his orders, he had no option but to obey it.
After storing her Papa inside her body, Eiko crawled on the wall with the intention of going to the other side.
Draven merged with Eiko's shadow because he was tasked to protect the Baby Slime from any harm.
The Great General's residence was heavily protected by many powerful fighters, so if Lux were to enter through the backdoor, they would definitely sense him.
On the other hand, since Eiko was a Baby Slime, the guards might not see her as a threat, allowing her to explore the residence unhindered.
'Pa!' Eiko talked to Lux via telepathy as soon as she jumped over the wall, and landed on a field of flowers.
'Very good, Eiko,' Lux replied. 'Now, all we need to do is–'
Lux wasn't able to finish whatever he was going to say because a shadow fell over Eiko's body.
The Baby Slime turned her head and saw a little girl, who seemed to be around five to six years old, looking at her with curiosity.
"A Slime?' The girl crouched down and looked at Eiko closely. "A Baby Slime?"
"Hi!" Eiko said with a smile, which made the little girl cry out in surprise.
Half a minute later, the little girl regained her composure and lightly poked the Baby Slime that was as soft as jelly.
"You can talk?" the little girl asked.
Eiko nodded. "Un!"
"My name is Leah, what's your name?"
"Eiko!"
"What a cute name! Nice to meet you, Eiko!"
"Meet you!"
Now that she was acquainted with the Baby Slime, Leah felt a lot braver and picked up Eiko from the ground.
"What are you doing here, Eiko?" Leah asked. "Do you want to play with me?"
"Un!" Eiko nodded. "But! Need to find Mama first!"
"Your Mama?"
"No! Your Mama!"
"My Mama?"
"Yes!"
The Baby Slime nodded her head, which made Leah giggle.
"Okay, I'll take you to my Mama," Leah replied with a smile. "Let's play after you meet her, okay?"
"Un!"
Having found a new friend, Leah ran towards the house carrying the Baby Slime in her hands. The first person she saw was Marie, who had just come out of the kitchen, carrying a tray of tea and desserts.
"Marie! I found a new friend!" The little girl happily showed the Baby Slime to the Maid, which made the latter almost drop the tray in her hands.
"Leah, where did you find this Monster?" Marie asked. "Don't you know that you shouldn't casually touch them? What if they attacked you? Get rid of that Slime right now!"
"No!" Leah pulled her hand back close to her chest. "Eiko is my friend, she won't hurt me!"
"No hurt!" Eiko replied, which made the Maid scream and drop the tray she was holding on the floor.
"S-Someone! Anyone! Save the young lady from the Monster in her hands!" Marie shouted, which alerted the other servants in the house.
Leah couldn't understand why their Maid was so scared of Eiko even though she was so cute. The only thing she knew was that she couldn't let anyone hurt her friend, so she immediately ran towards the stairs in order to find her Mama.
Eiko, who was being carried by the little girl, found this event quite exciting.
"Run, Leah!" Eiko said happily. "Run!"
The Baby Slime thought that the two of them were playing, so she supported her new friend's action and cheered for her.
Leah, who was also emboldened by Eiko's encouragement, giggled as she ran towards her mother's room in order to find her.
"Mama?" Marie asked as she opened the room. "Are you here?"
"Hello?" Eiko said. "Here?"
The two looked around together, but it didn't take long for them to realize that Leah's Mama wasn't inside her room.
"Let's go to my sister's room!" Leah said.
"Un!" Eiko replied. "Go!"
As soon as the two left Sarah's room, the Maids, as well as a few Guards of the residence, appeared in the hallway and pointed in their direction.
"There they are!" Marie shouted. "Don't let that Monster harm our young lady!"
"Lady Leah, you're safe now," one of the Guards said as he approached the little girl with a smile on his face. "Just give me that Baby Slime, and everything will be fine."
Instead of obeying, Leah held Eiko close to her chest as if trying to protect her.
"Don't come closer!" Leah shouted. "Eiko is my friend! Don't take her away!"
The Baby Slime glared at the Guard who wanted to snatch her away from Leah's hand. Truth be told, Eiko was itching to summon a Blast Bomb and throw it at the annoying Guard's face.
However, Lux, whom she was sharing her senses with, repeatedly reminded her to not hurt anyone in the residence.
Just as things were about to get out of hand, Sarah appeared in the hallway, accompanied by a teenage girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes.
Now that Sarah was here, Leah felt more at ease because she knew that her Mama was always on her side.
