Chương 147: Chapter 139 – The Hidden Wardrobe

They entered the domain, and Kira's eyes widened as she looked around. Her attention moved from the open field to the grotto, then toward the bedroom standing alone within the otherwise natural space.

"I'm going to try my hand at making rooms for the four of you. Don't laugh at how bad they turn out. I've never done this before, and I'm sure a soft bed is better than whatever was down in the dungeons." The two elves nodded.

"I'd be okay with the grass over there," Rose commented. She gestured toward a soft patch near the tree. After years beneath the cathedral, even sleeping outdoors seemed to appeal to her.

"That's where I'm sleeping," Chelsea said with a smile.

"Let me introduce you all to Bradford." She reached into her pouch and pulled out the miniature steed. Bradford rested in her palm with his head partially withdrawn into his shell.

"He's a turtle?" Ivy asked skeptically.

"Tortoise," Chelsea corrected slowly.

"Let me show you how I ride him." Chelsea took off and flew roughly a hundred meters away from the others. Once she had enough open space, she descended and placed Bradford on the ground. The miniature tortoise began growing immediately. Chelsea flapped her wings several times to regain some height, then decided to test her new ability. She activated Blessed Travel while still in the air. Her wings stopped supporting her, and she began to fall. The descent was painfully slow.

Chelsea remained upright as she drifted toward the shell, watching Bradford expand beneath her. By the time her feet should have touched down, he was full-sized. She deactivating Blessed Travel and landed properly on his back. Bradford stood beneath her with the field behind the Wixx manor spread across his shell. The tree rose from the center, surrounded by the familiar grass Chelsea had slept on throughout the past year. She directed him toward the others.

Despite Bradford's size, it took him around fifteen seconds to cross the distance. His heavy steps shook the ground beneath the group as he approached the bedroom.

"Please stop, Bradford." He obeyed. Chelsea jumped from his shell and landed in front of the others.

"What do you think?"

"Chelsea," Ivy said.

"Why do you have a giant turtle?"

"Tortoise, and he was what Freya came up with for me as a steed. Well, it was my idea. What's more terrifying than pure pain slowly approaching on the back of a giant tortoise? She added touches, like having the field behind our manor on his back."

"The whole field? Even the tree?" Ivy asked hopefully.

"Especially the tree," Chelsea replied with a smile.

"I've spent more nights sleeping outdoors on his back than in a bed recently." Ivy's expression brightened as she looked up toward the tree. Chelsea suspected she had already decided where she would spend most of her nights.

"Okay, you four explore. I'm going to try to make the bedrooms." Chelsea opened the new Edit Domain ability. Her vision was immediately covered by more options than she knew what to do with. The first section contained settings that could be toggled on or off throughout the domain. One of them would remove all sound from the entire space. Chelsea moved past it before she accidentally sentenced everyone to complete silence.

She found the section for construction and decoration and focused on the area beside the original bedroom. Create envisioned wall in domain? Y/N"Yes." A wall appeared around thirty feet to the right of the existing bedroom. Chelsea stared at it for a moment, surprised that it matched what she had pictured. She imagined another wall extending from the first, then confirmed the prompt when it appeared. The second wall formed immediately.

"This is actually really easy," she mumbled to no one in particular. Chelsea continued experimenting. The System allowed her to alter the size and placement of each section before confirming it. Whenever something appeared in the wrong position, she removed it and tried again. Before long, she had created four separate bedrooms. Each had enough space for a bed and a small amount of furniture. Chelsea added a private bathroom to every room, then placed a door leading outside and a window overlooking the field.

"Beds," she said to herself. She searched through the available furnishings until she found the most comfortable-looking option. The mattress appeared thick without being absurdly large, and the frame seemed sturdy enough to survive anyone Chelsea might invite into the domain. She added one to each room. Chelsea placed a light inside every bedroom and added curtains to the windows so the occupants could have privacy.

"There." She stepped back and inspected her work. The rooms were simple, but they looked comfortable. More importantly, Ivy and Rose would no longer have to return to the cells where they had spent months or years imprisoned. Chelsea looked around for the others. Kira was in the original bedroom, opening drawers and checking the furniture left behind by the previous Empress. Ivy and Rose stood near Bradford, examining the field across his shell.

Liam remained where Chelsea had left him, keeping watch even though nothing inside the domain appeared dangerous. Chelsea decided to see whether Kira had found anything interesting. She entered the bedroom quietly and found the girl searching through another drawer. Kira looked up and startled when she noticed the smiling demon watching her.

"I, uh… Hi. I hope it's okay if I looked."

"Oh, yeah, please do. It's all stuff left over from the last Empress. I'm curious whether you found anything."

"I actually did." Kira closed the drawer and crossed the room. She stopped beside an unremarkable section of wall and placed one hand against it.

"This wall is hiding something. I don't know how to get it to move, though."

"Interesting." Chelsea stepped closer and inspected the surface. The wall appeared identical to everything surrounding it. There were no visible seams, handles, or markings that suggested an entrance had been concealed there.

"Why do you think there's something behind it?" Kira removed her hand from the wall and straightened to her full height. She looked down at the shorter demon, then released a nervous breath.

"Listen, uh, Mom." Chelsea immediately recognized the change in her voice. Whatever Kira was about to say mattered to her. Chelsea reached forward and took both of Kira's hands. She smiled sweetly up at her, hoping to make the conversation easier.

"You are… so nice. And so perfect." Kira's hands tightened around Chelsea's.

"I'm very much not. I don't feel like I deserve to be here, let alone be your daughter. I have a past." Chelsea's smile softened, but she didn't interrupt.

"I don't remember how I did it but I got away from some bad people. I don't think they were my family. I never knew my family. This was when I was… Three? Maybe four? I didn't originally grow up in an orphanage. I stole food or money wherever I could. Before long, I picked up some thief abilities." Chelsea nodded along as Kira continued. She kept hold of the girl's hands, allowing her to speak without interruption.

"I was eventually picked up and put into an orphanage, where I would still steal whenever I could. When someone accused me of stealing, I'd get really angry and attack them." Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

"And that's when you were sent here?"

"Yes. About four years ago," Kira replied. Chelsea furrowed her brows. She looked Kira over again, comparing the girl standing before her to the much younger child she must have been when she arrived.

"How old are you?"

"Fourteen," she replied.

"Ah!" Chelsea exclaimed in surprise. Kira's expression immediately became defensive.

"Is that bad?" she asked quickly.

"No! Actually, it's better. I thought there was a small chance you were older than me. Being taller than me. You could have just had a baby face. I'm nineteen."

"Oh." Relief spread across Kira's face. Her shoulders relaxed, and some of the unease left her grip.

"Well, yeah, that's how I knew about the wall. It's an ability."

"That makes perfect sense. And there's no need to worry about your past. If you start acting up, I'll knock some sense into you myself," Chelsea said with a laugh.

"I've got that level-one Strength, after all." Kira laughed with her.

"Right. Level-one Strength." Chelsea released her hands and approached the wall. She placed both palms against it and pushed. Nothing happened. She tried pressing along several different sections, but the wall remained solid. There wasn't even a slight movement to suggest where the hidden opening began. Chelsea opened the Edit Domain menu and searched through the information connected to the room. She found the section representing the concealed wall and selected it.

"Oh, here we go. It says…" She paused before letting out a laugh.

"Open." Something inside the wall released with a heavy click. A seam appeared down the center, followed by another along the outer edges. The entire section pushed outward, revealing what looked like an enormous double-sided dresser built directly into the wall. Chelsea grabbed one of the revealed handles inside the seam and pulled. She and Kira gasped together. The space inside was far larger than the wall should've been able to contain.

It had the same impossible depth as Chelsea's pouch, with shelves continuing far beyond the physical space behind it. Tiered shelves covered the inside of the left door. Around fifty different tiaras rested across them, each designed in a different style. Some were simple bands of polished metal, while others were covered in gemstones and delicate crystalwork. The right door held rows of necklaces, rings, and earrings.

Light from the room caught against the jewels and reflected across both of their faces as the doors continued opening. Once they were fully spread apart, the wall beyond them changed. A massive walk-in closet extended into the hidden space. Hundreds of dresses hung from long racks, with more arranged along the walls. Rows of shoes filled the lower shelves and stretched farther into the closet than Chelsea could immediately see. Kira remained beside her with her mouth open. Chelsea slowly turned toward her.

"You're currently my favorite daughter."

"Your Grace," Miss Rose said as she looked around Chelsea's newly discovered closet.

"I don't think you're going to have much need for me."

"Yeah," Chelsea whispered loudly.

"Unfortunately, you might be right." She looked over the rows of dresses again, then toward Kira.

"Actually, hey, Kira, grab a dress and go try it on."

"Me? Why me?" Kira asked, taken aback.

"Just do it." Chelsea reached toward the nearest rack and pulled out a dress without examining it closely.

"Here. This one." Kira accepted it carefully, holding the fabric away from her armor.

"You're sure?"

"Positive."

"I'll grab one too," Chelsea said. She looked toward Rose.

"Feel free to grab one, Miss Rose." Then she turned to Liam and Ivy, who remained near the entrance to the closet.

"Don't want you to feel left out. If you want to try on a dress, feel free." Liam let out a small laugh.

"I assure you, I don't feel left out."

"Don't mind if I do," Ivy added. Chelsea selected a dress for herself and carried it outside. Rather than return to one of the bedrooms, she took flight and landed on the field covering Bradford's shell. The tree and raised ground gave her privacy from everyone below. She removed her armor and carefully pulled the dress over herself. Its classification was too high for The Perfect Outfit to alter its design, but the enhancement still adjusted the fit.

The fabric settled perfectly against her body without needing buttons, ties, or assistance. The dress was elegant, with a wide skirt that moved freely around her legs. The material was softer than anything she had worn before, and the stitching was so precise that Chelsea couldn't find a single uneven section. She remembered seeing a mirror among the domain options and opened the menu. Once she found it, she placed a tall mirror beneath Bradford's tree. Chelsea looked into it and was startled.

She had completely forgotten that her hair was blonde now. The unfamiliar color fell around her horns and over the shoulders of the dress. She turned slightly, watching the fabric move with her. The dress was far beyond anything Maggie had made for her. Chelsea loved her friend dearly and still treasured every outfit she had created, but the former Empress's clothing had been made from better materials by someone with abilities Chelsea had never encountered.

"Mom?" Kira called from beneath Bradford. Chelsea leaned over the edge of his shell.

"Oh, you're done already?" Kira stood below with her auburn hair hanging across her face. It reminded Chelsea of how Ivy had worn hers before Chelsea taught her to tie it back. The demon laughed quietly and stepped from the edge. She allowed herself to fall until she was around five feet above the ground, then activated Blessed Travel and drifted down gently to avoid damaging the dress.

"Whoa!" Chelsea said when she saw Kira clearly.

"Something tells me the previous Empress was a tad bigger than you." The dress hung loosely from Kira's shoulders. She had to hold the front with one hand and lift the skirt with the other to keep it from dragging across the ground.

"Which is good," Chelsea added.

"Plenty for Miss Rose to take in." Kira looked between the dress Chelsea wore and the one hanging from her own body.

"How does that dress fit you so well? You're smaller than me. Were there other sizes?"

"Oh, I make everything look good. Spooky demon magic." Chelsea glanced toward the open closet.

"Hey, Miss Rose?" The elderly elf stepped outside.

"Is this able to be altered to fit Kira?" Rose walked toward them as quickly as she could. Once she reached Kira, she began examining the dress. She pinched the fabric near the shoulders and ran her fingers carefully along the bodice. Every so often, she made a pleased sound as she found another detail in its construction.

"I can. Yes and no, though. What's your level, sweetheart?" she asked while continuing to inspect the bodice.

"Thirteen, ma'am," Kira replied.

"Fourteen," Chelsea corrected. Kira looked toward her.

"I leveled up?" Chelsea shrugged.

"I can alter the dress to fit you fabulously, but are you sure you want me to, Your Grace?" Rose looked up from the fabric.

"It's at least Epic+6 classification. Miss Kira can't receive the benefits from this piece."

"You don't have The Eyes, do you? How do you know the classification?" Chelsea reached toward the dress and focused on it. Holy Gown of the Colosseum Required Level: 28 Cloth Armor: Chest +198 Charisma +109 Psyche Increases the wearer's overall Psyche by 2x while in the crowd of a colosseum. Classification: Epic+8"Interesting. It's a dress meant to watch whatever happens in colosseums. Oh, and it's Epic+8." Kira gasped and looked down at the gown hanging loosely around her body.

"Its really an upper epic?"

"Yeah. But I don't really care about you two harming any of them. Honestly, for me to get the benefits from any dress, I have to destroy it. Same with the tiaras and other jewelry." Chelsea laughed, but Rose and Kira only stared at her.

"A year ago, hearing any of this information could get you killed." The concern on their faces deepened. Chelsea realized that probably hadn't made the situation sound any better.

"My mother is huge on Wixx secrets. She considers ninety percent of everything about me a Wixx secret, at least until I've became strong enough, which I feel like I have." She gestured toward herself. Between becoming the Holy Empress, gaining control of the cathedral, and accidentally surpassing Adriane's attributes, Chelsea couldn't imagine what else her mother expected her to accomplish before speaking freely.

"Miss Rose. How did you know it was a high epic?" Rose returned her attention to the oversized dress. She pinched a section of the skirt between two fingers and held it toward Chelsea.

"The fabric is made of arachne hive lord silk. It's very expensive and unmistakable. If you take a look at all of the white parts, you'll notice they're undyed, which is even rarer to find. Typically, arachne export only dyed silks as a means of increasing their value." Chelsea leaned closer and examined the white sections. They didn't appear dramatically different from the rest of the gown, but Rose had identified the material without hesitation.

"You truly are a master at your craft, Miss Rose."

"Thank you, Your Grace," she replied. Rose's fingers continued moving over the gown. She examined the seams with a focus Chelsea hadn't seen from her before. The old elf no longer looked uncertain about whether she had a purpose here.

"I'm curious. Could you make something like this?" Chelsea asked, gesturing toward the oversized dress.

"If I had the materials, I could make this without issue. You see, the materials are the problem." Chelsea smiled.

"You're talking to the head of the Holy Empire and the highest-ranked member of the Merchant's Guild. I can get you materials." Rose looked at her for a moment before a small smile formed.

"I suppose you can." Chelsea's satisfaction faded as another thought occurred to her. She looked back toward the hidden closet, then imagined the cells beneath the cathedral and all the people still trapped inside them.

"How many other wasted talents are down in the dungeon? I'm going to have to retry everyone." She pressed both hands over her face and slowly dragged them downward. The cardinals had treated Rose as nothing more than a debtor who couldn't pay her taxes. They either hadn't known or hadn't cared that she could create equipment of a classification most craftspeople would never reach.

"Liam, any idea how many people there are down there?"

"Seven hundred. Maybe more," he replied.

"The number is larger than normal. The slave traders from the north haven't been able to make it through the mountains because of a greater dragon. Any chance your mother would be interested in taking care of it?" Chelsea's hands dropped from her face.

"No, but I am!" she exclaimed.

"Are you kidding me? There's one just lying around? Yes!" She pumped both fists, her earlier frustration immediately replaced by excitement.

"Uh, Miss Chelsea. No," Liam said simply. Chelsea lowered her hands and looked at him. His expression made it clear that he had no intention of allowing his newly appointed Empress to rush into the mountains and fight a greater dragon.

"Okay, that's a discussion for another day. What was this about slave traders?"

"They haven't been here in a few years. Because of that, the dungeons are starting to become overcrowded."

"As in, we give them our prisoners?" Chelsea exclaimed. She pointed toward Rose, who stiffened under the sudden attention.

"She would've been made into a slave because she couldn't pay some taxes?"

"Yes," Liam answered matter-of-factly. He glanced toward Rose, apparently expecting her to confirm that there was nothing unusual about the arrangement.

"That's pretty standard, and we don't give them away. They're sold in bulk." Chelsea pressed both palms against her eyes.

"Slaves. As in people. Forced to work. Who aren't free?"

"Yes?" Liam replied, his uncertainty growing.

"I know Valhalla has slaves too." Chelsea pulled her hands away.

"What? No it doesn't." She shook her head violently and took a step backward.

"No. There's no way Freya would allow slavery." Kira looked between Chelsea and Liam.

"I'm actually a slave." Chelsea stopped moving. Her attention snapped toward Kira, but the girl's expression held no sign that she was joking. Ivy moved closer, recognizing the panic forming across Chelsea's face.

"Chels? Are you okay?"

"No," Chelsea said.

"There's slavery here and in Valhalla. Did you know?" Ivy closed the remaining distance. She knew what happened when Chelsea received too much horrible information at once, and she could already see her breathing becoming shallow.

"Hey." She took Chelsea's hands and held them firmly.

"Slavery isn't necessarily a bad thing. In your world, I'm guessing it was. Here, it could be a valid career path. Think about your maids at the manor. They could…"

"My maids!?" Chelsea exclaimed, thinking back to Rachel, who was a literal ghost with unfinished business. That business apparently being a slave contract. Her eyes widened, and she pulled against Ivy's grip.

"I have slaves? I-I-I…" Her breathing broke into short, rapid gasps.

"No." Chelsea tore her hands free and backed away. Kira took a cautious step toward her, but Chelsea spread her wings. With one powerful flap, she launched herself into the air and flew onto Bradford's shell.

"No. No, no, no. She has to be wrong," Chelsea mumbled as she hurried toward the tree.

"We don't pay the maids, true, but I thought the royal family did." She reached the trunk and gripped both horns in frustration. The signs had always been there. The maids lived in the manor, worked every day, and never discussed wages or returning to families of their own. Chelsea had never questioned it because they had seemed happy and well cared for.

"I'm so stupid."