An Owl's Rise

Chapter 483: Chapter 483 Maeve’s Resolve

"Is this really all necessary?" Maeve asked when she saw the procession gathering outside through the window in the hotel room.

There were several ornate carriages lining up, and musicians and performers of all types preparing to delight the city with their crafts.

And these were not just random people that had been pulled off the street but some of the best in the city.

Maeve recognized a few troupes that had been called on a few occasions to provide entertainment in her family’s estate, so she knew that they were impressive.

However, for as good as they were, they were twice as expensive.

Along with the performers were vendors providing food and drinks for free. And not cheap fare by any means. Only the best had been prepared.

It was essentially a giant festival outside

Lucia had really splurged from her savings to prepare all of this.

"Of course it is. You’re not coming home as a defeated young girl that was unable to make her way in the world, but the triumphant future head of your family. You’ve made it to the arcanist rank at a young age and can even wield true magic now. Your talents are unquestionable, and I can with all certainty your more than qualified to lead your house."

While Lucia was trying to ease Maeve’s burden, she also told the young woman to remember how she was back when she first left home.

She had grown quite a bit meeker since losing essentially everything and having been forced to accept her powerlessness.

Yet, for what she was about to do, Maeve needed to hold her head up high and present herself as her great grandfather’s favorite to succeed him.

She had garnered his support thanks to her talent in magic, and after surviving the last five years in the Verdant Warlord’s Domain, she had proven that her talents had not waned.

"I’m not sure I’m as exceptional as you make me out to be." Meave said, her eyes scanning across the room to look at Evelyn, Rehni, Bylur, and Aralee.

She had seen all of them advance quickly as well.

Even though she had been in a coma, Evelyn had still nearly gone up and entire tier in her sleep. That was what true talent looked like

Among all of them, she did not stand out, nor was she special.

Maeve knew she was the weakest among them by far. As hard as she tried to catch up, everyone else seemed to bound ahead faster than she could ever hope to keep up with.

"What are you talking about?! You fought just as hard as any of us while we were doing everything we could to keep my sister alive. The rest of us just had a head start on you and a bit more luck. Once you’ve become the next head of your family, you’ll receive even more advantages. It’s only a matter of time until you reach the same level as all." Aralee said, reassuringly.

Maeve smiled and thanked Aralee for her kind words.

After that, she slapped both of her hands against her face and pushed all of her nervousness aside.

’I’m not the same as I was when I left. I’ve gotten strong enough to fight on even footing with the other elites of my family and have powerful allies backing me up.’

She knew that none of them were helping her out of the kindness of the hearts.

When Lucia had revealed that they were all beasts, it had come as a major shock to Maeve.

Throughout her life, she had heard that powerful and intelligent beasts were cunning and malicious.

That given the slightest chance, they would bring everything around them to ruin in bouts of wrath and gluttony.

Yet, after having spent so long with everyone, she knew that the stories she had been told were likely exaggerated or wholly fabricated.

Lucia, Evelyn, Aralee, Rehni, and Bylur just wanted to live their own lives in peace.

It was people from the Deamhain Sect that had targeted them and their friends first.

Maeve certainly felt a sense of betrayal once she learned that their primary objective in guarding her had actually been to sneak into the Tyrannis Union and free the owls being held prisoner there.

No one else had told her anything else about their goals or plans, but she suspected that they were the ones that had killed the two envoys from the Deamhain Sect and started the current conflict that had seen the Miris Sect leader killed and her grand-aunt having vanished.

There was still some hope that Vivienne was still alive, but Maeve knew not to cling to it. She had to focus on her own life.

At first, she had resented her new companions for costing her the second home she was beginning to make in the Miris Sect.

Yet after spending five years together with all of them, she had realized that there would be no point in letting such negative emotions fester.

They could have easily thrown her into the wilds to fend for herself, or even just killed her once they left the Miris Sect.

Instead, they had revealed some of their secrets to her and brought her into their group.

Even if she was not fully trusted yet, they all treated her well, and Aralee was especially friendly.

Evelyn was the one that Maeve was having the most trouble connecting with, since she had been unconscious for so long.

Still, Maeve had felt a hint of kinship with her since they first met, and she really did hope to become friends someday.

’I’m certain that will be far in the future though. Aralee told me once that her sister hates humans for what they did to her and their parents. And I can’t really blame her.’ Maeve thought, her gaze being drawn towards Evelyn.

Naturally, she was noticed, and though Evelyn tried to smile and seem friendly, Maeve could tell the expression did not reach her eyes.

There was wariness, animosity, confusion, and a host of other emotions there.

Maeve had picked up on how to determine Evelyn’s feeling during their time together in the Miris Sect.

’I suppose my first step in breaking down her walls will be to complete the task ahead of me and be recognized as the next matriarch of the Taidale Family. Then I can use my new position to help them achieve their goals. I’ve already thrown myself in with them, so I might as well go all the way.’

As the morning sped by, it was soon time for Maeve to make her grand reveal.

It felt a bit like the time her grand-aunt had brought her to be shown off at the Miris Sect.

She was even wearing the same golden dress as back then, though it had been altered a bit to employ some black accents that matched her eyes.

"You look stunning." Rehni said, after helping Maeve get dressed and apply her makeup.

When she looked into the mirror in the room, she almost did not recognize herself.

She looked slightly mature than she had five years ago. The last hints of adolescence had faded away, and she now gave off the impression of a confident and powerful woman. Just like her grand-aunt who she resembled so closely.

With Evelyn. Rehni, and Bylur acting as her guards, she left the hotel room and headed down to the lobby.

There, Lucia was already waiting, having made sure that none of Maeve’s overzealous family members tried something.

"Were there any problems?"

"No, it seems that none of them are rash enough to potentially make a scene trying to kill you. Once they failed to locate you before people started gathering, they lost any chance to dispose of you quietly before you returned to the estate. No doubt many of them are planning to deal with you in relative secrecy once your outside of the public eye." Lucia said.

Maeve certainly did not enjoy hearing about how much members of her family wanted her dead, but she knew it to be the truth.

Practically the moment she started to win her great grandfather’s favor; there were numerous attempts on her life.

There were several times that poison was snuck into her food, or masked assailants tried to kill her in her sleep.

Obviously, none of them succeeded. Her parents and their retainers managed to thwart every single one. At least until her mother and father were killed.

She could still remember the hatred in her Uncle Moten’s eyes, and the venomous words he had said to her after he failed to kill her on her way to the Miris Sect.

He was dead now, but there were still plenty of others in her family that thought the same way.

’I won’t be running away any longer. I’ll face them down and crush those that get in my way. And I’ll find every single person involved in my parents’ deaths and make them regret every being born.’

With her resolve as strong as it possibly could be, Maeve stepped outside the hotel and walked over to the gigantic, ornate carriage that Lucia had purchased for this event.

It had two layers, the lower one that was enclosed, while the top had an open roof.

The plan was for Maeve to make herself visible to the public and gain their adoration.

All of the free entertainment and food was to be attributed to her.

It also came as a show of her wealth and power.

If she was cable of all this just to announce her return home, what would she be able to do once she reintegrated herself into the Taidale Family.