"Don't tell me you..." Clive asked with a skeptical face. The face of a certain ill-tempered person appeared in his mind.

"Yeah... I took it from him" Angelica shrugged.

She put down her cup and tapped Clive's cheek. It felt satisfying to see Clive's pale face.

"You'll be paying him for this by the way"

"I told him you'll be visiting soon. And he was excited just from thinking about it"

The nose ring was an alchemy device developed by the infamous alchemist Axel Gilbert, a man with a lot of temper.







Right after departing from Danny's little cottage, Angelica made a detour on her way home and paid a visit to her former tutor, Master Gilbert.

She remembered reading about his isolated workplace in a magazine a few months back. And it was not hard to locate him since he was a strange man always surrounded by ridiculous rumors.

There were multiple articles published by the papers in the capital just to describe his hatred for fellow humans. Thus it was the perfect place to lay low and gather information before going to Ashford County.

*neigh*

Angelica stopped in front of a huge board on the path to Gilbert's mansion.

'DO NOT ENTER' A warning board was written in bright red letters, enough to catch one's eyes even from a distance.

"Somethings never change..tsk tsk" Angelica clicked her tongue and continued on her way.

The further she ventured the weirder the warning signs got.

'RUN AWAY'

'TURN AWAY IF YOU VALUE YOUR LIFE'

'YOU STILL HAVE A CHANCE TO RUN'

'FORCE FIELD UP AHEAD'

The pathway illuminated automatically as she crossed through it.

Smart lights were one of Gilbert's oldest creations. It also had a built-in security system that detected any kind of movement within its range, which meant that Gilbert has already been notified of the intruder on his property. Knowing him, he would probably be waiting for her at the entrance with a frown on his face.

People tend to be amazed at such inventions but Angelica was an exception since she was already familiar with it from her previous life.

At a distance, she could see a small figure, who looked like one of Gilbert's assistants standing by the gates of the mansion.

*neigh*

"Show them what you got" She patted Beauty's head.

Angelica smiled and dashed towards the mansion at full speed disregarding the warning boards placed on either side.

"Huh" Ralvol's ears twitched.

He was a beastmen from the cat clan with orange hair and yellow-black eyes. He could hear the faint sound of a horse in the distance.

He was also Master Gilbert's secondary assistant and was also considered as his nanny.

Ralvol was sent out by Gilbert 'to pick up the delinquent brat'

When he strained his eyes and looked in the direction of the sound. He could see a dark figure riding a horse charging towards him without any brakes.

At the speed it was moving, it was bound to collide with the gates if he didn't open it as soon as possible.

"!"

Ralvol opened the gates in a frenzy and let the horse dash in.

If he were to open it even a second late, it would've turned into a huge accident.

*neigh*

"That was fun" chuckled Angelica, getting down from the saddle.

Suddenly she heard a familiar grumpy voice from behind.

"Why are you here?"

Gilbert furrowed his brows and looked at the young lady with an annoyed face. He was standing with the help of his cane dressed in his pajamas.

'Pissed off as always'

"Is he alright?" asked Angelica, looking at Ralvol ignoring Gilbert's question

"How would he be alright! You were charging like the horseman of death" Gilbert snarled at her.

"I didn't mean to you know..." Angelica pouted averting her eyes. It had been quite a while since they last saw each other and this was how he was treading her.

"Hah..hah" Ralvol was on the ground clutching his chest. He was panting from the adrenaline rush to his head.

Although felt as if he just had a heart attack, Ralvol managed to force a smile. For the things he had seen from working for Gilbert, he deserved a better pay.

"I'm.....I'm fine"

Thinking of asking for another pay raise, Ralvol slowly got to his feet and staggered as he made his way toward them.

"Take the horse to the shed" Gilbert yelled at Ralvol and turned to Angelica.

"You. Get in"

"Where is uncle Greg?" Angelica asked looking around.

Greg was Gilbert's primary assistant. He was from the western dwarf village, which was a little far from the Finnel mountains.

In contrast to Gilbert's temper tantrum personality, he had a heart of gold. He was friendly with Angelica and at times even helped her to bunk classes.

"He's gone to visit his family" Gilbert answered without turning back.

'Probably due to the continuous storms' Angelica nodded to herself. As a person who saw the damages first hand, she knew how tough it would have been for uncle Greg.

"What are you doing, nodding like a bobblehead. Follow me!"

Gilbert led her to his research room on the east side of the mansion. It was also the most secured room equipped with multiple security devices and incantations.

The research room occupied an entire floor. It was filled with peculiar equipment and books scattered everywhere.

The room looked like it needed some serious cleaning. But Gilbert wouldn't agree to that since he preferred to keep things 'messy and visible' rather than 'arranged and invisible'

'Looks more like a haunted house'

Angelica took a seat at an armchair near Gilbert's desk and looked at him buzzing through the room like a bumblebee.

Gilbert pulled out an orb about the size of an ostrich egg, after rummaging through a dusty box at the corner of the room. He strode towards his desk with a deep frown on his face and settled down.

"I heard you got married" Gilbert said with a smirk.

"It is the hottest topic in Volos. To the point that it even reached me"

"Yeah....kind of" Angelica rolled her eyes.

"Although I wouldn't exactly put it like that. I guess... in a way I did"

"Hmmm... God bless the poor soul that got caught in the demon's clutches" Gilbert closed his eyes and prayed to the goddess. He was sincerely praying for the unfortunate individual who got crafting her clutches.

Angelica's face twisted from hearing his words. If anything she was the one who narrowly escaped from the handsome crazy demon.

"Anyway.." Gilbert continued,

"How is my prodigy student? It's been so long since I've seen him"

"Heh..." Angelica scoffed.

"He's doing great. Great enough to drug his sister's drink"

"What?!" Gilbert exclaimed, startled by her statement. He couldn't believe his own ears.

"He did what?"

"It's exactly as I said" said Angelica, shrugging her shoulders.

"All I remember was having a cup of tea with him. And the next time I open my eyes, I found myself in a stranger's bed"

"Quite the criminal prodigy you have"

"My goodness!" Gilbert banged his hands on the desk.

"Relax, Grandpa" Angelica tried to calm him down. She walked towards him and made him sit back.

But in reality, she wanted to rile Gilbert up to the point that he would want to beat Clive into a pulp the next time he sees him.

'It's a subtle revenge..hehe'

"How dare he" He continued to grumble under his breath.

"What about you?"

"As you can see, I made it out in one piece" Angelica waved her hands.

"Though I'm sure it's going to be very noisy for a few days"

Angelica beamed towards a confused Gilbert.

"Because I just died"