Chapter 1079 — Greetings

The garden fell silent once more. The black tea in the cup gradually stilled from its slow rotation. Berentia seemed to savor this rare moment of leisure and quiet, and only after several minutes did she suddenly break the silence: "Ilene, about Uncle Gao Yang... now that you've seen him again, how do you feel?"

The High Maid named Ilene thought for a moment, then answered with her head lowered: "Everything is as I remember. I am glad to see he is in good health now. Your Majesty, have you sensed something amiss?"

Berentia raised her eyelids, but before she could speak, a sound of footsteps suddenly came from the direction of the garden entrance. An attendant appeared at the end of the path, carrying an exquisite wooden box in his hands. After receiving permission, the attendant came before Berentia and placed the wooden box on the white round table: "Your Majesty, a Cecil envoy just delivered a gift—from His Majesty Gao Yang Cecil to you."

Ilene stepped forward and opened the wooden box. Inside were not precious treasures or rare curios, but simply a box of assorted pastries.

Berentia gazed quietly at the colorful cakes in the box. Finally, a faint smile surfaced on her calm, water-like expression. She let out a soft sigh and spoke as if to herself: "Nothing is amiss, Ilene."

...

As more and more envoys from various nations gathered at the elven outpost on the wasteland border, and the eyes of the entire mortal world focused on the northeastern direction of the Great Wall, far away at the foot of the Dark Mountains, within the Imperial capital, the Cecil Palace seemed quieter than usual.

The master of the Empire and the palace's most boisterous princess had both left. Grand Chancellor Hedy spent half her time busy in the government hall. In the days of the master's absence, no visitors would come calling—the vast house had suddenly lost seventy or eighty percent of its activity, making every corridor and every room seem to lack much vitality.

But Betty did not dislike these quiet days—though of course, she did not mind the liveliness of former times either.

Her heels clicked against the marble floor, producing a series of crisp sounds. Betty walked briskly through the broad corridors. Attendants and maids passed by her, and they would all stop to pay respectful greetings to the Head Maid. Betty always responded politely to each one, and most of the time, she could even call them by name.

Years of reading and study had sharpened her mind considerably.

As those attendants and maids departed, Betty could hear their soft, fragmented conversations. Occasionally, a few words would drift into her ears—most were discussing His Majesty's current outing, or the news in the papers, or the conference a thousand miles away. Though they spent most of their time within these great walls, when they spoke grandly of it, they seemed as though they were personally accompanying His Majesty on the battlefield of negotiation.

Betty could not quite follow their line of thought, but seeing everyone so spirited, she felt her own mood lift all the more.

Having completed her routine rounds, the "maid mistress so deeply trusted by the Emperor" let out a faint sigh of relief. She lifted her head and found that she had reached the end of a certain corridor, where a great door inlaid with brass runes stood before her, two fully armed Imperial Guards stationed at their posts with due diligence.

As she walked toward the door, the two guards bowed their heads and greeted her with smiles: "Good evening, Miss Betty."

"Good evening," Betty replied politely, craning her neck to peer at the door. "Nothing unusual inside, I hope?"

One guard immediately straightened up. "No, all is well."

"Mm. I need to go in and have a look. It's time for the inspection."

"Of course," the guard said at once, stepping aside and pushing the door open. "Please, go ahead."

Betty nodded, thanked him, and passed between the guards into the massive door inlaid with brass runes—

Beyond the door lay a spacious, brightly lit chamber almost entirely bare of furnishings, yet countless rune panels were laid out in neat array across the floor and the surrounding walls. Those runes gave off a faint glow, so that the whole room seemed to float in a halo of mist, and in the ceiling one could see separate ventilation shafts, from which flowed a stream of purified, temperature-regulated air that kept the chamber at a most comfortable and warm temperature.

The heavy door closed behind her, and Betty raised her eyes to the center of the room: there stood a peculiar platform with a recessed groove, and upon it rested quietly a sphere fully two meters tall, its surface shimmering with a faint golden light.

This was the "guest" His Majesty had expressly instructed her to look after.

Betty steadied herself, circled the giant "egg" twice to confirm it was still intact, then checked the text and symbols displayed on a holographic projection nearby to make sure the temperature-control and charging devices in the room were operating normally—she did not in truth understand how these complex, advanced devices worked, but she had completed every course at the College of General Studies, and even a small portion of the advanced curriculum at the Imperial College, so reading the parameter reports in those holographic projections was more than within her grasp.

Only after finishing all these routine inspection items did the maid let out a breath. Then she returned to the giant egg's side, and in her hand had somehow appeared a soft white cloth—she breathed on a spot on the egg's surface, then began earnestly wiping its shell with the cloth.

The squeak-squeak of the fabric rubbing against the smooth shell echoed through the room.

Soon Betty had polished the giant egg brighter and brighter still, until a person's reflection could vaguely be seen in its surface.

The maid was plainly well pleased with the fruits of her labor. She stepped back a pace, studied her handiwork closely, and nodded with a grin—then her brows drew slightly together, as though she had fallen into serious thought.

She had heard this was an "egg," but it seemed to be more than just an egg. Princess Frostflower said it was an important guest, and His Majesty had also specifically instructed that this "guest" be well cared for... Since it was a guest, wouldn't it be better to say hello?

Betty thought it over earnestly and at last made up her mind. She smoothed the hem and folds of her maid's uniform, then bent forward in a most solemn bow toward the giant egg. "Hello. My name is Betty."

"Hello. My name is Enya."

The giant egg answered politely.