In the small hours, Angel quietly returned home. Rather than asking a maid to help, she enjoyed a long bath on her own, washing away the traces of a full day of fighting and the exhaustion of advancing to a new Sequence.
By now, the butler and maids had grown accustomed to her frequent day-long absences, sometimes lasting until the following morning. Angel also more or less deliberately steered their private discussions toward the idea that their mistress had been staying at Mr. Dantès's home.
"Everyone knows about our relationship anyway. It might seem a little too liberal to people in Loen, but for a young woman who's returned from Intis, it's just right..."
Muttering to herself, she changed into a loose nightdress and lay down on the bed, falling asleep almost as soon as she closed her eyes.
Normally, advancing would not cause extreme physical exhaustion unless the process went poorly and inflicted some degree of damage on the body.
But Angel had simultaneously gained the enhanced abilities of a Sequence 3 Unaging, undergone the potion's transformation of her body, deepened her connection with the City of Calamity, and endured this Sefirah's "blessing." Even without counting the time she had spent at Klein's home, she was already exhausted in both body and mind.
Only when faint light appeared outside the windows and the mansion gradually stirred with the servants' activities did Angel wake from her deep sleep. With a maid's assistance, she washed and dressed, transforming from a battle-hardened Demoness into a young lady newly entering Backlund's high society. Listening to her personal maid's heartfelt admiration of her beauty, she enjoyed a sumptuous breakfast, then returned to her bedroom to examine her condition after advancing.
"First, after advancing to Unaging, the divinity within me grew and changed. The snakes