The Diabolical

Craving & Meeting New Friends

Third Person PoV

“Do you want anything? I’m going to town to buy some supplies.” Calypso looks up from the book she was reading and faces Gisele, who’s getting ready to leave.

“I want a fresh pot of red rose. The room is too dull, and it needs some flowers. Also, I’ve been craving cheese and chocolate- do you think you could get me a bar of chocolate from that famous store in town?” Gisele nodded her head.

“Of course. Anything else?” Calypso shakes her head no.

“Nothing at the moment.” Gisele nodded her head before excusing herself. After Gisele had left, Calypso called for her secretary and asked what Gisele did while she was in the hospital.

“Nothing particular. She was following your orders and did nothing out of context. The dame even refrains herself from hurting those who piss her off.” Calypso hummed.

“So Gisele wasn’t lying when she said she kept everything under control without spilling blood?” Calypso’s secretary nodded her head. Calypso smiled from ear to ear before telling her secretary to leave.

Calypso decided to continue reading her book when she heard a commotion outside. Calypso sighed when the screaming seemed to get even more high-pitched. Putting her book aside, she went to the window and looked down at the lobby.

“What happened down there?” Calypso asked when she heard someone entering the room.

“Our regular patron seems to be too drunk and forces one of our newer courtesans to the VIP room. The new girls aren’t even trained how to entertain the clients yet. So the manager had to interfere, which made the client angrier.” Calypso sighed.

“Banned anyone who tried to hurt the girls. If they force themselves into the establishment, call the authority. This establishment is different than a brothel. This is where we have to draw the line.” Norman nodded his head.

“I understand, mistress.” Norman bowed before excusing himself from the room. Calypso continued to watch the commotion until Norman appeared.

“Can’t I have one day of peace around here? I thought everyone would learn the rules by now.” Calypso sighed before she went back to her seat and continued to read her book.

IN THE MEANTIME,

Gisele walked through the town to find the things Calypso had told her to find. The knight smiled while looking at the flowers in her hand.

“Care to buy some hot steam bun?” Gisele looks up to an elderly woman selling a hot steam bun.

“Well- I guess it’s alright for me to eat something. One meat bun, please.” The woman smiled as she got Gisele’s order ready. Gisele found a place to sit and waited for her food patiently. The elderly woman then came and served the knight her order.

“You seem a bit happy today, lady knight. Did something good happen today?” Gisele nodded.

“You can say that. Anyway, did Elfie and the others come by?” The elderly woman nodded her head.

“They came yesterday and bought all of my buns as soon as I opened my shop. I was happy that I got to come home earlier yesterday too. I wouldn’t know what to do if Elfie and the others didn’t come by yesterday.“ Gisele smiled.

“Pack thirty pieces of meat bun for me. I want to share such an amazing bun with everyone.” The elderly woman smiled from ear to ear.

“Thank you, lady knight.”

“Please- call me Gisele. Weirdly, you continue to call me lady knight.” The elderly woman shakes her head no.

“It would be rude of me to call you by your name, lady knight. I should pack your order now. Please enjoy.” Gisele smiled as she ate the steaming hot bun.

Gisele took a huge bite of the bun when a child suddenly came to her table asking for money. Gisele tilted her head to a group of children waiting for her to come back.

“Have a seat. Call the others to come and have a seat. I’ll treat you guys today.” The child seems surprised but wary.

“We will never fall for that!” The child said while asking for money. Gisele sighed.

“Call your friends and sit down,” Gisele called for the old lady and ordered more buns for the alley kids. Gisele smile at the children as they take a seat at her table.

“When was the last time you guys had a decent meal?” The children look at each other before showing all of their fingers.

“Ten days?!” The children nodded. Gisele hummed her response before leaning back to her seat.

“Do you all want to work?” Gisele suddenly asked.

“Work! No one wants to hire children. And those who want to take us as workers are not good people. Some of our friends died from overworking.” Said the child who asked for money earlier. Gisele sighed.

“Well, you guys will be working for a friend of mine. The work is not that hard, and there will be a roof above your head. Not only that, you will have three meals a day. What do you guys think?” Gisele offered.

“That’s too good to be true. Why should we trust adults? No adults ever show that they care before. Grown people only know how to trick us and then abandon us.” Gisele smiled.

“I’m not like that. I understand what you are going through, and I would like to help. If you like, you all can follow me back later. Then you can see if I’m lying or not.” Gisele smiled before raising her hand.

The children were surprised when several knights suddenly appeared.

“Call for several carriages. We need to transfer these children to a better place.” The knights nodded before excusing themselves.

“Who are you?” One of the children asked.

“My name is Gisele. And I work for the empress.” Gisele introduces herself. The children seem surprised as they eat the buns.

“You’re lying.” One of the children said, but Gisele laughed it off.

“It’s true- lady knight works for the empress. You all should follow the lady. She knows what she’s doing, and I’m sure everyone will be safe and sound. This is not her first time giving hope to you children who live in the alley.” The elderly woman said with a smile.

“Since the lady who sells bun is the only adult whose kind to us, we believe you.” A chubby child said while stuffing his mouth.

“Great! Eat up. You all won’t regret this.“

AT THE SAME TIME,

“You brought children back from the alley? How did you do it without making a fuss? Those children grew up being betrayed by adults like us. They often cause trouble for us since they believe adults-only wants to get them. But from what I heard, you managed to convince them. How?” Gisele smiled when Calypso asked her how she brought the children from the alley back with her.

“All I did was give them assurance and my trust. Children are the same when you think about it. Especially alley children, they thought they were abandoned, but in reality, there are people like you who take care of them. So thank you for taking care of the children, providing them with a roof above their head and even meals to fill their stomachs. It’s not easy to do what you did, but here we are.” Calypso smiled.

“Gisele, you’re the only one seeing the good in everything. Even my investor was surprised when I decided to build a place for those children. They all thought it was a waste of money, but I find joy in helping others. I mean, what’s the point of having all the money in the world if you’re not going to share it with the less fortunate?” Gisele smiled as she watched Calypso eat her food.

“Aren’t you going to eat? You’re going to a duke’s place after this, right?” Gisele nodded her head.

“And an old friend of mine wanted a divorce from her abusive husband. The empress told me to teach him a lesson or two. Not only that, we believe that the duke has betrayed the empire by selling information and giving important documents to the enemy. All we need is proof.” Calypso hummed.

“I can’t believe duke Ravenport is a man who would raise his hand to his wife. I heard that his wife, not just any person- Catherine is a daughter of a noble merchant who had been living in Goterra since its founding day. And the duke’s used to be a commoner who didn’t have anything. The former emperor was too kind for his good.” Gisele chuckled.

“It seems you’ve done your research well. But did you know that I used to date Catherine?” Calypso’s expression changes, but it is subtle for Gisele to notice.

“Oh- I didn’t know that. How did your relationship with Catherine end?” Gisele shrugged her shoulder.

“We need to part ways. After all, she was a daughter of a noble merchant, and I am an orphan. Besides, society didn’t appreciate it back in the day, and I was the type to care what others would say about my partner and me. Now that I am an adult, to hell with what others said. As long as I know, I’m doing the right thing, that’s enough for me.” Calypso smiled.

“How many exes do you have?” Gisele didn’t expect Calypso to ask her such a question.

“Not much- probably just four. What about you? Have you ever fallen in love?“ Calypso nodded.

“It would be a lie if I have never fallen for someone. But I am a courtesan- and he’s a priest. We slept together, but it was just a one-night thing. I probably made him a sinner too.” Calypso chuckled. Gisele raised an eyebrow.

“A priest?”

“High priest Xavier.” Gisele almost choked on the food she was eating when she heard the name of Calypso’s exes.

“You’ve dated the high priest?!” Calypso shrugged.

“Can we even say it like that? I don’t think we ever thought of our relationship like that, but we do things like a couple would do. In the secret, of course. Back then, he was just a normal priest.” Gisele looks at Calypso, who continues to enjoy her meal.

“Calypso, what about us?” The courtesan looks up at the knight with confusion.

“Us? Isn’t it obvious? You’re going to take responsibility.” Gisele giggled.

“I know that, and I will take responsibility, but what about us? What should we do about our relationship?” Calypso shrugged.

“Do you like me? Because I have some interest in getting to know you better. I realized that I have such feeling after getting all worried whenever you’re away for a mission.” Gisele blushed.

“I- I like you. The moment I saw you inside the carriage when bandits were surrounding your entourage, my heart skipped a beat. It has always been that way since then too.” Calypso chuckled.

“I never heard anything like that before. No one had ever fallen for me when I was in trouble.” Gisele blushed.

“And I never knew someone like you could blush like that too.”

“I’m human. Of course, I could blush, smile and have emotions.” Calypso chuckled.

“Yes, but I heard lots of things about you. There’s a rumor about you drinking blood because you’re secretly a vampire. Technically, you’re a demon, and that rumor doesn’t seem farfetched.” Gisele sighed.

“I heard about those rumors before. At first, I find it annoying, but as I get older, I see them as a joke now. Don’t you have any rumors about you?” Calypso nodded.

“My client’s wife called me a succubus.” Gisele chuckled.

“A gorgeous succubus indeed.” Gisele winked at Calypso before a servant knocked on the door and informed the two about a fight between Galvan and Kiera.

“The empress wants the commander to deal with this matter.” Gisele sighed.

“Alright.” The servant excuses herself before closing the door again.

“Catherine’s daughter will be joining them soon, and those two decided to kill each other again?” Gisele clicked her tongue in annoyance.

“Well, think of this as a lesson for you before our child arrives. How about that?” Gisele smiled at the thought.

“I like the way you think, Calypso.”