Angelica and Danny continued to chat about miscellaneous things. He even gave her the recipe for his soup free of charge, which made her tear up in happiness.

Angelica was laying on the floor near the fireplace with Mimi on top of her. She was teaching the puppy how to give a high five the same way she did when Chirpy was a pup.

"Now raise your paw in the air and boop. That's how you do a high five"

*woof*

Mimi jumped excitedly.

Angelica had decided to rest for a while after thinking about the hectic day she went through.

She had to recharge her depleted energy so she could enact her plans for the next few days without any hindrances.

Even if she did not want to accept it, it was evident that it would take more than a normal person to relax the way she was, after having climbed up a mountain under extreme conditions and going on a killing spree right after.

"Ah!" Danny exclaimed as if he remembered something, in the midst of cleaning the dinner table with a piece of cloth.

"About the guards, you mentioned earlier"

Angelica perked upon hearing his words. She raised her body up using her elbows as support until she could see the back of his head.

Mimi licked her face, startled by the sudden movement. She had been stuck to Angelica like glue since after they had dinner.

"I saw at least a hundred knights in armor marching towards the mountain..."

He continued wiping the table without looking back.

"Whatever needed to be found. Has been found"

"Oh..." Angelica laid back again and sighed.

She stayed the same way for a few minutes till Danny came back after finishing the cleaning.

He was a meticulous and hard worker, who practiced cleanliness just as much. The room sparkled like stars after he was done cleaning.

"Are you staying for the night?" He asked Angelica, sitting down next to her.

"No..." Angelica replied with tiredness in her voice, her arms spread wide and staring at the ceiling.

"Although I'd love to stay and play"

She patted Mimi's head who in turn nudged her head against Angelica's hand.

"I have places to be. So..." She turned towards Danny and added,

"I need a horse"

Danny contemplated on what to say.

Judging from the state of the bloody clothes Angelica incinerated on the fireplace and the army of knights parading towards the mountain where she descended from, he could more or less guess that her life is or was in danger.

And from the looks of it, the blood didn't belong to her since she had no injuries aside from a few scratches on her arm. The peculiar color of her hair was also eye-catching.

He could surmise that she was a noble lady on the run and a crazy one at that. And that the knights were somewhat related to her.

'They are definitely after her. No... scratch that' Danny shook his head to get rid of his thoughts.

He could feel it in his instincts that she was not a bad person. It was the same when he first saw her by the mountain.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have helped her even if she had offered him more money.

"I could get a horse prepared for you..." Danny muttered, thinking intensively. He had his eyes closed with a frown between his brows.

"Is there anything you can't do?" Angelica asked with a smirk.

"I told you. I'm a multi-talented person" Danny smiled and flashed his teeth.

"Little man"

Angelica sat up and ruffled his soft blonde hair. Her chest was feeling fluffy from the adolescent boy's innocent yet calculative words.

"I'll be right back"

Danny stood up and disappeared beyond the door.

He remembered the horse that he was taking care of in place of his uncle, who was away from the capital. His uncle had asked for him to sell the horse if an opportunity arose.

Although he was a buyer who was ready to take him but there was one major problem. The horse has been acting strange ever since it arrived at the barn.

It was a black stallion with a healthy build and handsome features. If only it weren't for that bad attitude he has, he would sell for a high price. The horse would scare away all potential buyers by throwing them off the fence or charging at them like a bull.

His uncle has raised a horse as wild as himself.

Danny opened the barn door and carried the saddle towards the crazy horse.

"Maybe today is your day" He said to the horse that was staring at him intensely.

When Danny tried to put the saddle on him, the horse didn't resist but simply snorted indifferently.

For the horse, it didn't mean much. No matter who the tiny human brought to him, he was dead set on throwing them into the sky.

Meanwhile inside the house. Since Angelica had succeeded in teaching Mimi how to do high fives, she was now training her to give handshakes, to roll over, and to play dead.

It was nice seeing the little doggie happily wag its fluffy tail at her.

When Danny came back after some time, he found Mimi rhythmically tapping her paws into Angelica's hands following her singing.

"I'm just a hap~py hap~py dog... I'm just a happy happy happy happy hap~py dog"

Danny could not hold himself any longer and busted out laughing. He had never seen anyone sing like that before.

*woof* *woof*

Mimi ran towards Danny and tried to climb on him.

"Your horse is ready" Danny said to Angelica while patting Mimi's head.

Angelica picked up the cloak she had stripped off the assassin leader and covered herself. It was made of thick clothing, sturdy enough to withstand cold. The dark black color would allow her to disappear into the night without being noticed, so she decided to keep it instead of throwing it away.

Angelica opened the front door to find a handsome horse all saddled up waiting for her. There was even some food arranged on the side bags.

*neigh*

Her eyes widened at the sight of the magnificent horse.

"Meet Beauty"

Danny handed Angelica the reins and took three steps back.

He did not want to hurt himself just in case things went wrong. He waited to see Beauty's reaction towards his new master.

The horse was staring at her face as if he was trying to read her mind.

"Beauty..." Angelica called out and reached to stroke his face.

The horse huffed and took a step back.

"Is something the matter Beauty?" Angelica tilted her head confused by his behavior.

Danny observed the situation while holding his breath. This was usually where things went haywire.

*neigh*

But to his surprise, Beauty stepped forward on his own and nuzzled his face into Angelica's hand.

"Danny"

Smiling brightly, Angelica turned towards Danny who let out a relieved sigh. He avoided her eyes feeling a bit guilty.

"Thank you for everything" Angelica bent down to his height and gave a big smooch on his cheek.

"Ummah"

The little boy blinked his orange eyes, as his jaw dropped unconsciously. He was slowly processing what had just happened.

Leaving the tomato-red fellow, Angelica jumped up the horse and steadied herself.

*neigh*

"If you are Beauty, then that makes me the Beast huh" Angelica joked, stroking his head.

"Guess we were destined for each other... hehe"

*neigh*

Beauty jumped up.

"Ok ok... I got it. No more jokes"

On the other hand, Danny's mind had shut down from the shock.

He covered his right cheek with his hand, the place till warm from the kiss. His face was beet red in embarrassment. It was his first time being kissed by someone other than his mother and it was a beautiful lady at that.

"Danny!"

Danny got back to his senses after hearing Angelica's voice. She was smiling at him playfully.

"Here you go"

Angelica tossed a small pouch at him.

Danny caught it by reflex and opened it. His eyes grew wide on finding it filled with gold coins.

"This..." He stammered unable to believe his own eyes,

"Take your mother to the temple and have her treated. Although it's probably going to be a bit noisy for the next few days, it will die down after something new comes up"

"You have a bright future up ahead. So..."

"Don't take in suspicious strangers again" She winked at him, making him blush.

"Take care of yourself and you too Mimi" Angelica waved towards the puppy.

"Where are you going?" Danny unconsciously shouted, flushed by her words.

He immediately covered his mouth realizing what he had spouted. Asking such questions was not part of the deal.

"West" Angelica answered, her eyes fixed over the horizon.

"I have some unfinished business there.... he... he... he" She smiled menacingly thinking about home or rather the person she was etching to meet.

"Well then. Goodbye!"

*neigh*

Angelica waved towards the two one last time and dashed through the night like a storm.

"Come visit whenever you want!!"

Danny waved goodbye enthusiastically. He waited and watched till Angelica disappeared from sight before returning inside. It was a day he would reminiscence for years to come.







One week later...

A mourning orchestra was heard throughout the Frost residence in memory of the late Duchess. It was a custom of the Frost family to guide them to the afterlife without any regrets.

Everybody within the residence was dressed in black.

Nathaniel, Luther, and the rest of the head knights kneeled in front of their cursed master.

"We have failed, Your Grace" Nathaniel said, bowing his head.

"We have lost Her grace. She now lives as a part of Goddess Eir"

The Knights followed suit and bowed, with hands on their chest to honor the fallen soul.

Had at least one of them lifted their head, they would have noticed their master Edward's trembling hand clenched into a tight fist.







That night, in the west of Orion.

Inside his office, interim Count Clive Ashford was reading the official letter that had just arrived from the Imperial Palace.

His hands were trembling as he read through each sentence.

"Our condolences..."