“Yes, I’ll go get him.”
Those were her last words before leaving the Lovelace manor.
She knew Soria had understood their true meaning.
♦ ♦ ♦
Dominica moved swiftly through the trees, following the trace left by her tracking spell.
“Arius…”
An old memory crossed her mind.
She had known his father long before he was born.
Back when Michihiro still explored dungeons.
Unlike most adventurers, he possessed no conventional magic. Many took him for an ordinary fighter … sometimes even a weak man.
They were mistaken.
Dominica still remembered that expedition deep within one of the rare unadministered dungeons of the territory of Rebelis. The air there had been heavy, almost stagnant, as if the place itself were holding its breath.
Michihiro walked at the front. He had obtained precise information: a herd of sleipners was somewhere in those tunnels. Everyone knew what he was seeking … but only he knew the true reason for his journey.
When he turned back toward them, a brief smile crossed his face—too calm, like a fleeting caress.
It was a farewell smile.
He wanted those who had survived this long to finally leave the life of adventurers behind.
Then the ground trembled. A stone slab sank beneath their feet, and an ancient mechanism roared to life with a deep rumble. Before anyone could react, a wall of stone burst upward between them, separating Dominica and Michihiro from the rest of the group.
The corridor tightened around them, suffocating, while the sound of footsteps—far too many to be human—echoed in the darkness.
Dominica looked up at Michihiro.
He said nothing.
He simply placed a hand on the hilt of his katana.
Then he searched inside his shoulder bag.
That day, Michihiro devised a plan in a matter of seconds.
When it was over, the tunnel was silent … and their enemies lay on the ground.
Later, when he married Soria, he abandoned the life of dungeon exploration.
“I won’t be venturing into the depths anymore,” he had told her. “But I’ll still need someone to protect my family.”
Dominica accepted without hesitation.
For an elf, a human life was only a fleeting moment.
But some promises were worth keeping to the very end.
♦ ♦ ♦
“ … fine prey.”
“A chance … so young and…”
Dominica slowed almost imperceptibly.
The voices came from the path below.
She could make out two silhouettes.
Their words slid through the air with almost animal hunger.
“Two…”
“Yes … powerful…”
A brief silence followed.
Then the two figures froze.
As if they had sensed something.
Very slowly, their heads turned toward the upper part of the trail.
Toward her.
Dominica stopped.
She watched them.
Calmly.
♦ ♦ ♦
The two creatures turned fully toward her.
One stood upright on two twisted limbs, a gaunt humanoid body whose dark skin looked cracked like burnt bark. Two short horns rose from its narrow skull, and its deep red eyes glowed with cold intelligence.
Beside it slid a viscous mass.
A huge slug whose upper body rose like a misshapen torso. Two soft appendages trembled atop its head, swaying slowly like antennae.
A faint sigh escaped Dominica.
She simply raised her hand.
“ELEN THIR…”
Her voice was low.
The ground behind the demonic beings suddenly trembled. The earth softened, collapsed, and water burst up from the deep roots below.
Within seconds, a wide muddy pool formed across the path.
The humanoid snapped its head around.
Its gaze slid behind it.
Then returned to the elf.
Its red eyes narrowed.
It hissed irritably.
Dominica had not attacked.
She had merely cut off their path.
“Deal with her.”
The slug contracted instantly.
It leapt.
Its body snapped forward, and several viscous spikes shot through the air.
Dominica pivoted with a smooth step.
The projectiles whistled past her shoulder and struck the trunk of a tree behind her.
In the same motion, her hand slipped beneath her servant’s robe.
A telescopic staff sprang into her grasp.
With a sharp snap, the weapon extended.
The slug was already falling toward her.
The staff whistled.
The strike came from the side—fast, lethal.
Metal struck what passed for a neck.
The viscous body warped violently under the blow.
The soft mass compressed until it became as thin as a sheet of paper.
Then the creature collapsed heavily onto the path.
Motionless.
The humanoid froze for a fraction of a second.
It looked down at the body of its companion.
Then slowly lifted its head toward the elf.
“VEL THIREN… SILVARA.”
A pale glow briefly rippled through the air.
The viscous body shuddered, convulsed … then disintegrated.
The flesh withered like a burnt leaf.
Within seconds, a heap of dark ashes scattered into the wind.
The enemy stared at the ashes.
Then its gaze rose toward Dominica.
A rictus of anger twisted its face.
Its hand moved behind its shoulder.
Its fingers closed around the hilt of a massive sword strapped to its back.
The blade slid slowly from its sheath with a long metallic rasp.
The air itself seemed to tighten around them.
Dominica simply watched it.
Her staff rotated calmly in her hand.
♦ ♦ ♦
The humanoid glanced at the muddy pool behind it.
Its gaze returned to Dominica.
Then, suddenly, it turned and leapt off the path, vanishing into the undergrowth.
Dominica did not pursue immediately.
Her eyes followed its trajectory.
Down the trail.
Toward Arius and Jade.
She understood.
It was not fleeing.
It was seeking another path.
Dominica raised her hand slightly.
“ELEN THIR.”
The ground trembled before the creature. The earth split open, water surged up from the roots, and another muddy patch formed among the trees.
The creature stopped abruptly.
She had blocked its way again.
A guttural growl rose from its throat.
Dominica stepped forward.
One step at a time.
Unhurried.
She simply reduced the space between them.
The creature understood.
She was not merely guarding the path.
She was protecting someone.
Its red eyes gleamed with malicious light.
Its hand slowly rose.
A guttural murmur escaped its lips.
Something answered in the forest.
Branches cracked.
Then another sound.
Several shapes burst from the trees.
Enormous lynxes.
Their fur bristling, their fangs oversized, their eyes clouded.
Dominica narrowed her eyes slightly.
Possession.
The creature pointed down the trail.
“Go.”
The beasts leapt.
Dominica immediately understood their target.
She raised her hand.
The muddy pool behind them receded at once.
The path became passable again.
Then she launched herself after the lynxes.
The forest rushed past around her.
The first leapt toward her.
The staff whistled.
The strike shattered its jaw before it even reached the ground.
The second sprang from her left.
Dominica pivoted.
Metal struck its temple.
The animal collapsed among the leaves.
A third darted between the trees.
Too fast.
Dominica accelerated.
Behind her, the creature was already charging, sword raised.
Dominica slowed suddenly.
Just enough.
The creature lifted its blade high above its head.
A sharp click sounded.
The central section of the staff detached.
The projectile shot through the air.
And pierced the demon’s throat.
The blade stopped dead.
The creature froze.
Its fingers released the sword.
A gurgling sound rose from its throat.
Then its body collapsed heavily into the leaves.
Dominica had already resumed her pursuit.
Farther ahead, two lynxes burst from the trees.
The staff struck.
Twice.
Silence returned to the forest.
Dominica finally slowed.
Her gaze turned toward the path.
In the distance, two figures were already running between the trees.
Arius and Jade.
They had escaped.
Dominica stood still for a few seconds.
Then she returned to the demon’s body.
She retrieved the section of her staff.
“VEL THIREN… SILVARA.”
The flesh withered.
The body disintegrated.
Dark ashes scattered into the wind.
Dominica calmly reassembled her weapon.
Then she resumed the path back to the manor.
As if nothing had happened.
Profile
Role : Governess of the Lovelace household
MBTI : ENTJ
Race : Elves
Everyday language with a neutral tone.
- Adaptable
- courageous
- empathetic
- honest
- intuitive
- Inconsistent
- pragmatic
- abrasive
- cold
- bothersome
Dominica is the governess of the Lovelace manor. Upright, methodical, and relentlessly efficient, she embodies the quiet order that allows daily life to run smoothly—even within a household where nobility, magic, and crushing responsibilities intersect. She never raises her voice, rarely explains her decisions, and always acts with an implacable logic: what must be done is done, in the proper order, at the proper time.
Her authority rests neither on fear nor on affection, but on absolute consistency. Dominica does not seek to be liked; she seeks to be reliable. With children, she is firm—sometimes tiresome (especially for Arius)—but never unjust. She anticipates their impulses, reins in their excesses, and often protects them without their even realizing it. Where others might see harshness, there is in her a form of silent care—almost austere, yet deeply sincere.
In the presence of adults and the nobility, Dominica knows her place perfectly. She respects legitimate authority, adjusts her conduct when custom demands it, and recognizes intent without needing it to be spelled out. She never imposes herself unnecessarily, yet neither does she allow herself to be reduced to a mere servant: her role is essential, and she assumes it without evasion.
Dominica is a woman of practicality, little inclined toward emotional detours. She favors facts, efficiency, and continuity. If her apparent coldness can unsettle, it is also what makes her a reliable pillar in an unstable world. Always in her place, always watchful, she keeps vigil without respite—not out of ambition or blind devotion, but because this is how she understands her role: to keep the household standing, whatever the cost.