The Wind Magic Wolf locked its eyes on its prey and lunged at her. Its bloody maw looked like it could swallow the petite girl in one bite.
Facing the terrifying fangs and claws, Sherry showed no fear. She leveled her sword again, but this time she didn’t strike at its body. Instead, she pierced a specific vortex in front of it.
The air collapsed in that instant. The Wind Magic Wolf let out a low growl, and its outline became blurred. Its mana had lost its stable anchor.
Sherry seized that split second, lunged forward, and drove her blade through its chest. There was no blood, only a sudden dispersal of air currents. The Wind Magic Wolf’s body began to disintegrate, like the wind itself being taken apart.
When the last trace of mana dissipated, the snowy mountain became quiet again. Sherry stood there, her breathing slightly ragged. She sheathed her sword. There was no cheering or celebration. She simply looked down the mountain, in the direction of the mansion.
“Enise.”
She whispered the name softly and turned toward the deeper parts of the mountains.
In the middle of the vast, white snowscape, a brownish-yellow wooden cabin stood out sharply, yet it possessed a unique beauty. Sherry wiped the doorknob a few times, turned it, and pushed the door open.
*Meow—!!!*
Xiao Mi’s cry was like an air-raid siren, causing Sherry to instinctively cover her ears.
*Hiss—*
Sitting on the table, the cat was like a door guardian, protecting the little home that belonged to its master.
“Don’t hiss at me. You should know I’m the one who gave this cabin to Enise!”
Sherry didn’t back down. If she wasn’t afraid of a monster like the Wind Magic Wolf, why would she be afraid of a cat?
“Wuuu…”
Xiao Mi’s intimidation immediately lost half its strength. Sherry stepped forward and said to the cat, “You can understand human speech, right?”
The cat nodded.
“Your master is in trouble. I’ve lost all means of contacting her. I need your help.”
“Meow!”
The cat immediately rose onto all fours and arched its back, looking ready to strike at any moment.
“Also, the teleportation circle in her room was moved, so I need you to find another way to reach Enise.”
Sherry quickly drafted a handwritten letter at the table. “Take this to Enise. I need to receive a reply from her so I can make a more specific plan to save your master. Do you understand?”
“Wuu~” Xiao Mi whimpered from her throat.
“You can use the teleportation circle here to get to the Glass Greenhouse in the mansion. The rest is up to you. Go on, I trust you.”
Xiao Mi took the letter in her mouth. Sherry placed her on the teleportation circle, and she didn’t relax her expression until the cat’s body vanished. Written evidence was piling up. If she failed, she would be forced to take action early.
Sherry headed higher into the mountains toward another cabin. This cabin was dilapidated, barely enough to block the wind. She stood at the door and knocked three times.
The door opened. A young girl wearing simple armor over a maid outfit stood at the entrance. The two looked at each other. Sherry could clearly see a glint of light in the other girl’s eyes.
“Is everything all right?”
“Lady Sherry… you look quite exhausted.”
“A lot has happened, after all.”
“I…”
Cybelle wanted to speak, but Sherry stopped her. “Princess Rubia is our core. Everything must prioritize her.”
She knew Cybelle wanted to say she should “come back and take care of herself,” but the current situation wouldn’t allow for that.
“How is Princess Rubia’s condition?”
“Her Highness is…” Cybelle bit her lip, lost for words.
Sherry quickly entered the house and walked to Rubia’s side. Looking at the Princess’s condition, she didn’t know what to say for a moment. Rubia had fallen into a deep sleep again. Her breathing was very rapid, and beads of sweat surfaced on her forehead from time to time. Her cheeks were thin, even sunken. Even an outsider like Sherry, who knew nothing of medicine, could see there wasn’t much time left.
“Her Highness’s condition is deteriorating faster than we imagined. At this rate, she can only hold on for… one week at most.”
“One week…” Sherry murmured. “It seems our only hope lies with Enise.”
“Oh, right.” Speaking of Enise, Sherry remembered something. “A lot happened at the mansion. Enise has been completely imprisoned. We need to save her.”
“Lady Enise…”
“She is our key and the only person who can save the Princess. Given the Princess’s current state, we can’t afford any more delays. Once Enise makes new progress, even if we have to alert that old geezer at the mansion, we must pull Enise out of danger!”
“What do you need me to do?”
“I sent Enise’s cat to try and deliver a letter. You protect it from the shadows. Until Enise makes new progress, don’t alert the enemy. I will look after things here in the meantime. Go and come back quickly.”
“Understood.” Cybelle bowed and left quickly.
Sherry sat by the bed, looking at the dying Princess Rubia, and could only pray in her heart.
‘Enise, I hope you are safe.’
Roughly two hours later, Cybelle reappeared. She was holding a cat in her arms.
“How was it?”
“I used my identity as a maid to deceive the lower-level guards and successfully delivered the cat to her. At the same time, I left a Magic Communication Crystal on the cat. If everything goes smoothly, we should be able to restore contact with her.”
Cybelle took out the crystal, but just as she was about to connect the communication, Sherry stopped her.
“She has mana monitoring around her. Don’t activate it unless absolutely necessary. In any case, it’s good that we have a way to contact her.”
“Yes.” Cybelle put the crystal away and took an envelope from her pocket. “Lady Enise wrote a reply to us.”
Sherry hurriedly took the letter and tore it open, eager to know the contents. There was only one line, but Sherry recognized the handwriting instantly.
*The theoretical structure for the 100% Purity Magic Stabilizing Potion is complete. The rest requires practical attempts.*
Sherry’s breath hitched for a moment.
“This is…” she whispered.
“Yes, she succeeded.” A slight smile appeared on Cybelle’s lips. “Lady Enise has mastered the ultimate power to save Princess Rubia.”
Sherry sat down slowly, reading that line over and over again. She suddenly realized that while she was fighting the Wind Magic Wolf, Enise had completed a world-class breakthrough inside her cage. Two completely different paths were pointing toward the same result.
“How is her current state?” Sherry asked.
“Her mind is stable. There shouldn’t be any major issues in the short term,” Cybelle replied. “But the surveillance on her hasn’t been lifted.”
Sherry nodded. “Can we contact her?”
This time, it was Cybelle’s turn to look troubled. “Didn’t you just say there is mana monitoring around her?”
“I will take the risk.”
Cybelle said nothing more and activated another Magic Communication Crystal.
*Hiss—*
After a short burst of static, Sherry heard the sound of air currents coming from the other side.
“Enise?” she called out softly.
“Hmm?” The voice on the other side sounded somewhat surprised. “Xiao Mi, why are you making Sherry’s voice?”
“It’s me!” Sherry shouted huffily. “Cybelle placed a communication device on the cat!”
“Oh, it’s you.” Enise’s voice sounded noticeably disappointed.
“We haven’t seen each other for so long, and yet you sound unhappy instead!” Sherry grew even more indignant.
“Let’s get to business. I have mana monitoring here, as you know. Did you really take this risk just to chat with me?”
“Of course not. I heard you’ve made a new breakthrough, right?”
“Yes. It’s not convenient to go into detail here. You should have seen the letter.”
“Yes, I saw it. One hundred percent.”
A short silence followed.
A moment later, Enise asked, “What’s next?”
“Protect yourself and wait for the opportunity. Next, I’m going to clear the path—the path outside. You change the rules inside; we’re working on the same thing.”
Enise was silent for a long time before she spoke. “After this, I will no longer just be a subject of management, and you will no longer just be the daughter of the Head of the Florenst Family.”
Sherry gave a soft “Mm” in response. “It’s time to move forward.”
The communication cut off, and the room became quiet. The gloom on Sherry’s face was swept away. From this moment on, the battle in the shadows was finally going to be brought to the surface. From this moment, they were linked on the same line again. Not a line defined by systems, but a path forged by actions and results.
She stood up and straightened her armor.
“The next step?” Cybelle asked.
Sherry looked beyond the snowy mountain. “They will surely get some information through the monitoring. What we need to do is rescue Enise tonight. Let those old-fashioned fogies know that we are the right ones, and that Princess Rubia is the future of the Kingdom.”
She pushed open the door. The wind blew in from the window, no longer turbulent, but changing direction.
“Cybelle, we will strike from both inside and out. Once we rescue Enise, the rest won’t be a match for us.”
By the time Sherry returned to the mansion, the sky had already darkened. The mountain wind still clung to the edges of her cloak, carrying a chill and the lingering ripples of mana.
When she stepped through the main entrance, she expected to see the butler or a maid as usual. But as she entered the inner hall, she saw the one old geezer she least wanted to see.
Baron Fronst.
His expression was very grave, and his eyes were filled with displeasure.
“You’re back. How was it?”
“The Wind Magic Wolf has been slain. it turned into a wisp of wind and dissipated, so I couldn’t recover its body.”
“No matter. Come with me to the study. I have something to discuss with you.”
“What happened?” Sherry asked, feigning ignorance.