"Is this the spy's cursed tool? Was he working alone?" Janice asked Delores, carefully examining the small white cushion.
"Yes," Delores replied concisely, passing her the Sole Ring as well.
"Which faction did the spy belong to this time? Was it someone seeking revenge against the McSuile family?" Janice asked, her tone disinterested. She brought the cushion and ring close to her right earring, and with a subtle movement, they vanished. Moments later, she produced a brass compact powder case from her left earring. The earrings, seemingly ordinary, served as hidden storage curse tools—the right one as the entrance and the left as the exit.
Opening the brass compact, she channeled her curse energy into it. Gazing into the mirror, she intoned, "Mirror, mirror, make me most magnificent!" A surge of peculiar energy washed over her, erasing all traces of sweat, dirt, and filth from her body and clothes. A thin layer of curse energy settled on her skin, shielding her smooth, pale complexion from the surrounding elements.
"I don't know. I killed him before I could question him. But he seemed to be thrilled that the Sole Ring was found here, clearly had a bone to pick with the McSuile family," Delores replied casually. She took the compact from Janice, activated it with her own curse energy, and repeated the incantation. The same transformative process refreshed her.
"You're growing soft, Delores. You should have arrested him and left him for the family to handle. Alas, I'll deal with the cursed tool. Let's stick to the same story as last time when Uncle asks," Janice said, placing the brass compact back in her earring. She then pulled out two crop-top hoodies for them to wear for Mandy's family's crab boil. She showed them both to Delores signalling her to chose one the one she liked.
Janice knew the real reason Delores had killed the spy without interrogating him: if he were captured, the McSuile family would use every method to extract his identity and affiliations, only to then execute everyone connected to him—women, children, the elderly, even mortals. It was their way of warning others and preventing future threats at the root.
"The strong should be benevolent, not fearful," Delores said, pulling on the red crop top over her red sports bra and pairing it with dark Lululemon pants.
"There you go, quoting Grandpa again. We haven't heard from him in two decades, and the family's been on edge. Now that the Sole Ring has shown up in our territory, things will only get more intense. Don't give them a reason to criticize you. I don't want to return to the family," Janice said, donning a yellow crop top over her dark sports bra and matching pants.
"Don't worry. As long as I'm alive, no one will force you against your will," Delores said firmly, locking eyes with Janice.
"I don't want things to escalate to that extent. If something were to happen to you while protecting me, I wouldn't know how to face Grandpa. After all, you are his beloved eldest disciple," Janice said with genuine concern.
After her talent for curse crafting was discovered, she wasn't allowed to leave the family castle for any reason. She felt like a caged bird. No one listened to her pleas—not her parents or elder brother—but Delores, her grandpa's eldest, most loyal, but weakest disciple, did.
Delores wasn't born into the McSuile family. She was a war orphan. Her grandpa took her in after discovering her aptitude for curse energy, gave her his surname, and trained her personally as his first disciple. To him, she was no less than one of his children. He would jokingly call her his eldest child, which irked his other disciples and many in the McSuile family, but such was his love and faith in Delores.
When Janice's grandpa was present, no one dared to question Delores' authority, much less criticize her. But the longer they went without hearing from him, the less authority Delores held in the family. Once her grandpa's right hand, she was now reduced to being Janice's bodyguard.
It was because of Delores that Janice could fulfill her dream of becoming a star. If not for that unfortunate incident a decade ago, she wouldn't have had to disappear from the big screens or be caged once again. Thankfully, with Delores's support, she could at least choose her cage within her family's territory—this resort.
"Don't think too much into it. I'm sure Master will return soon," Delores said as the duo headed out the villa and toward a golf cart.
"You've been saying that since you decided to become my bodyguard," Janice said, rolling her eyes as she climbed into the cart. "I know nothing will happen to Grandpa, given his strength, but I worry that when he returns, it might be too late."
"There's still your elder brother, Master's heir," Delores reassured her, placing her faith in the person her master had chosen to lead the family in his absence. She started the cart and drove toward the lake house where Mandy's family was staying.
"That fool is too busy at the C.I.B. He can't even make time for his own sister, let alone run an entire family. The grand elders, uncles, and aunts will never hand over the reins to him," Janice remarked in annoyance but they were the current facts.
"You're underestimating the Young Master. One day, he'll surprise you," Delores said with firm conviction.
"You've been saying that too since you became my bodyguard," Janice replied, shaking her head before changing the topic. "What do you think the Sole Princess was doing here, of all places?"
"We only found the Sole Ring, not any clue related to the Sole Princess herself. I fear this is part of someone's conspiracy against the family in Master's absence," Delores said, her tone serious. The timing of the ring's appearance seemed too coincidental.
"I'm guessing the Duke will want to dig up the lake and its surroundings to find more clues about the princess. There go my peaceful days," Janice sighed as their destination came into view.
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