Chapter 1690 - In The Lion’s Den (Part 2) (1/2)

”Don't worry about what happened yesterday. The important is that you are here now.” Jirni said.

”I'm sorry for not visiting you earlier, Mom.” Quylla gave her a deep bow. ”Dad kept me confined inside the army headquarters until Phloria broke me out. The silver lining is that at least now I know what's happening.

”Maybe if you can help Dad with his mission he will-”

”Shush, child!” Jirni put her hand on Quylla's mouth while glaring at her. ”You spend too much time in your magical lab and too little in the real world. Think before you speak.”

Phisa was still in the room, exactly like planned.

”I'm sorry, Lady Ernas.” The maid gave them a bow for outstaying her welcome. ”I'll take my leave now. Call me if you need anything.”

”We'll take some tea but no pastries to not ruin our appetite.” Jirni said, going off script and making her daughters almost flinch in surprise.

”It will be done.” The maid gave them one last bow and left the room.

”Phisa is a good maid.” The moment they were ”alone” Jirni took a piece of writing paper from the desk of her room, playing with it with her nimble fingers. ”She is kind and discreet, but she needs a bit more training.”

Jirni folded the paper quickly, turning it into a frog.

”The rest of the staff is better, they come when you call them and leave the moment they are done.” Jirni then turned the frog into a swan just to undo everything again and make a dog.

According to the script, in case of emergency the rule was to ignore everything Jirni said and only look at her hands, yet Quylla could see that wasn't the case anymore. Jirni kept dragging the conversation about her accommodation, keeping her hands still until she mentioned the house staff.

Then, she would start unfolding the origami, giving it a new shape by the time she was done talking.

'Do you have any idea what's happening?' Phloria asked via a mind link. 'Mom has always been good with her hands, but she isn't the type to fiddle for no reason. You know what she always says.

'A restless body is the symptom of a restless mind. Mom would never screw up her own plan for no reason and if she's panicking then I'm a Dragon.'

Quylla was glad that Phloria had thought about pooling their resources. Quylla had understood everything but she couldn't use Spirit Magic without her wand and had no way to share her findings.

'She's not screwing it up, she's saving it. We are surrounded by shapeshifters.' Quylla thought.

'What?' Phloria was flabbergasted, but nothing transpired from her face.

'Then she must be telling us who we have to watch out for. On top of that, catching the shapeshifter that will go to put the weapons back into place will be pointless if those here escape and kill the Marquis.

'We must change the plan so that Beilin and Metra get arrested the moment the trap is triggered, otherwise the mastermind will have the time to tie up the loose ends before disappearing.'

”Can you shape it like a dog again, Mom? It's my favorite because it reminds me of Lucky. Gods if I miss that furball.” Phloria tapped on the origami, to let Jirni know that she had gotten the message.

Phisa returned right after Jirni was done with the paper, bringing a silver tea cart and leaving the moment she was done serving the guests.