Chapter 152

Like a scorching desert with nothing but sand, the attic of Helga's house was buried within dunes of filth and dust. Bridging across the walls were thick layers of spider web. Riddled with long dead insects left to dry, the place had a distinct smell that soured the very air.

The dead rats and their dropping across every creaky step only added to the musk, although, unlike Aria, the Valkyrie didn't seem to mind the smell.

"I'll have to throw this dress away now," however, that didn't mean she had no problems with the mess at all. Her sundress, now covered in cobwebs, and her shoes dirtied by rat droppings, Helga wanted to get out of the place as soon as possible. "Here! Carry this!"

Taking off a piece of cloth from over a pile of boxes, she spiced the air with freshly blown dust.

"What the hell?!" Feeling her mouth growing drier from the dust, Aria tried to hold back from coughing but her attempt didn't last long.

Even Helga, who hadn't quite expected the results of her action was left coughing out dust, and only after it was settled did they manage to move forward. Grabbing the box from the very top, Aria took it downstairs while Helga followed right behind.

"There's a coffee table in my hallroom, put it there and make sure nobody touches it," Helga ordered, her eyes scanning through her dirty clothes.

"And where are you going?" Aria mused and couldn't keep it to her own head.

"To change what else?" Upon hearing that, she felt slightly embarrassed to have missed such an obvious reasoning. But brushing the embarrassment off of her face, she did as Helga told and took the box into the hall room.

'Thank god, I'm wearing armor. Unlike linen, it was no struggle to get things off.' Placing the box on the coffee table with those thoughts, Aria looked around the room, admiring the decor. 'It's smaller on the inside than I expected.'

Though the building was tall, the insides were quite cramped and full of many rooms. Perhaps size was a sacrifice for Helga and her husband, and in return, they had more than enough room for them, and their daughters, and even some space for the dog.

'A couch, a fireplace, and frilly curtains all over, I wonder if her daughter picked the decor?' Looking around at the scribbles, the pencil sketches on the walls, the dark elf was reminded of her own mischievous childhood. Wandering through memories, her eyes looked around yet her mind failed to register any imagery. Instead, lost in her own world, she wondered.

'I wonder if I'll have kids of my own when this is all over?'

At the very end, her eyes landed on a portrait of Helga and her husband, which brought her back to the present. Moving closer to the distant painting, her eyes glued to the white veil over Helga's face, Aria matched the Valkyrie's smile from the picture. They were getting married on the day the portrait was made, and the genuine smile on Helga was something Aria never thought she would get to see.

Shifting her attention to her husband, the elf keenly stared at his robe as it reminded her of a mage's attire. Unlike Helga, the man was dressed in military clothes and the dust marks on his face were sure signs of combat.

"Was he in a fight before attending his own wedding?"

"I heard Mommy and him had a fight before the portrait was taken!" Tatiyana's voice exclaimed from behind.

Astounded, Aria jumped before slowly turning around and noticing who it was. Her hand resting on her chest, the racing pulse echoed until it reached her ears.

"You scared me!" She retorted.

Shutting her for a moment, Aria heaved a sigh and turned back to Tatiyana and her sister standing right beside her. Placing her hands on her hips, she tried to be intimidating, but doing so to Helga's children was a doomed attempt from the start.

"They didn't fight! Father was in the military!" Stella tried correcting her sister.

Having not even been born at the time, their stories were quite disjointed. But the bits and pieces did fall in place, although the true story behind the military attire could only be explained by Helga herself.

'She left the military after her husband died, or was it that she lost a battalion?' Trying to figure things out, even Aria was confused by the rumors that had floated for long throughout the city. On one hand, some claimed she lost a battalion and left the battlefield, the other simply cited her husband's death that made her part ways with blood-glory.

"By the way, what's in this box?" Trying to open the box on her own, Tatiyana struggled to untangle the rope tied around it.

Before Aria could interject and stop, Helga walked on in from the side with their fluffy dog held on her side like a light purse.

"I knew I couldn't leave them with you," letting go of the dog, the Valkyrie glared down at her daughters. "Go play with the dog before I get the paddle!"

"EKK!" Squeaked the girls, and without wasting a moment, they rushed out of the house with genuine fear in their eyes.

Left alone with the elf, Helga wanted to reprimand her for failing to keep her daughters away from the box. But saving her strength, she decided to untie the past after all.

Sitting down on the couch with Aria standing in front, she quickly opened the box–revealing a pile of dented armor with skulls on shoulder blades, some folded dark clothes, and what appeared to be a book wrapped in a brownish cloth. Setting it all aside, Helga finally pulled out the one thing that could help Aria get rid of those gauntlets.

"Put this on the gloves," tossing a glowing red bottle at Aria, Helga quickly began stuffing the rest of the stuff back inside. "It's a devil pact potion."

"Devil?" The very word drew caution, and almost made Aria put the bottle back inside the box.

Stopping mid-way on stuffing the box, Helga glanced back up at her with her eyes deeply frowned.

"The sacrifice is already made by someone else, the devil will simply grant your wish so that he can finally have the soul inches from his grasp," flashes of her crimes from the holy wars imbued themselves anew. Forcing the enemies to give up their souls for a merciful death, Helga was one of the few allowed to make such underhanded deals with the devils.

"How did you even get your hands on something like this?" Asked Aria, her expression overtaken with confusion.

"By getting my own hands dirty," closing the box shut, Helga got up from the couch. "Like I told you before, no mercy for the enemy for they will have none. Now, get outta my house!"

Walking out of the hall room, haunted by the ghost of her past, the Valkyrie headed straight for the wine glasses to ease her heart a little. However, in her rush, she'd made a mistake, one that would haunt her the moment she realizes what she'd done.

'The book…' Staring at the book tucked beside the couch cushions, Aria's fingers tingle to swipe it off and run away. 'Fuck it! I'm taking it!'

And that's how the book of Unholy Grace ended up with a curious dark elf.