Rhoda walked steadily down the stairs, as her thoughts wandered back to two days ago, the day the midwives had told her about the Master disciple duo.
Herbalists were in fact, very rare in regions outside the southern region and were even more rare in Tayekan empire which had once discriminated against spiritualists.
But one of those rare and proud professions had somehow found his way into this little village just to deliver her baby.
The coincidence was so obvious, it made her become even more doubtful towards their intentions behind their visit.
Rhoda stopped on the stairs, a few more steps before she arrived downstairs and took a deep breath, then slowly let it out.
And with that little activity, she had calmed her chaotic thoughts and put on a stoic expression. Then she assumed a dignified posture and sauntered downstairs.
Gradually, the living room came into full view with every step Rhoda took downstairs, and she soon saw two unfamiliar men, whom she assumed to be the Herbalist and the doctor, sitting on her sofa.
The little girl who had called her earlier, Greta, had already set the table and was standing by the master chair in the living room.
Rhoda swept a full glance over the living room and could not help but grade her student out of habit.
'Let's see… Although impromptu, she did a great job with the house arrangement. And she's already served them refreshments, and is even on standby! She's passed her practical test with an A+. I should give her a proper reward later on.'
She thought to herself, feeling proud of her student, and could not even suppress the smile on her face.
'If I had known I'd be having visitors today, then I would have accepted those parents' offer to have their children stay around to help.'
With a soft sigh, she corrected her facial expression and finally faced the two men. The two men had been waiting patiently for Rhoda to arrive, but although they appeared calm, they both harbored different thoughts.
The doctor was anxious and restless as they waited for Rhoda. He thought about it over and over again and still regretted saying anything.
He really shouldn't have told his master anything, even though he was required to. As he pondered what his master had come to do, his unease grew.
Meanwhile, the Herbalist leisurely sipped the tea placed in front of him, patiently waiting for Rhoda to arrive. He had come with two objectives and was determined not to leave without achieving at least one of them.
Just then, Rhoda appeared before them, and greeted them with a half bow.
"Good day, Young masters."
"Good morning, miss (madam)"
The Herbalist and doctor returned her greetings.
They had only made assumptions on her identity, but now that they were interacting with her, the guesses in their hearts were slowly being confirmed.
The Herbalist flashed a playful smile at Rhoda, while the doctor looked away nervously.
'Is Master really going to go ahead with his plans?', he cringed at the thought, but eventually turned to Rhoda.
Rhoda had long black hair braided into a single braid with bangs and plain black eyes that revealed not even the slightest emotion, or gave away any perceptions of what thoughts might be going through her head.
Her bearing was oppressive, and countenance, formidable.
She did not seem like someone that had just given birth, but instead, appeared to be someone who had spent every single day fighting for the chance to see another one.
And to achieve that, they had to put their all into it, their emotions, efforts, dreams, hope, every single thing they possessed would be converted into pure conviction to strengthen their desire to survive.
Although they had been the ones to save herself and her baby, Rhoda did not dare to let down her guard in front of these two unfamiliar yet powerful men.
The villagers might not know, but the experienced Rhoda could tell there was something off with these men, especially the Herbalist.
Just now, when he smiled at her so provokingly, he seemed to be testing her. And that just got on her nerves.
Young Greta stared at her teacher fearfully, and remained frozen in an awkward posture, completely forgetting all the etiquette she had been taught.
Her teacher's stern demeanor during corrections or strict lessons had always seemed scarier than the rifts that appeared out of nowhere and brought demons.
But now that her teacher was in a deadlock with these two handsome men, the aura that emanated from Rhoda reached her very core, and made her inner subconscious want to run away and even scream out loud in fear, but she was so scared her legs refused to listen to her.
So she could only remain still while covering her mouth tightly, breathing heavily and perspiring abnormally.
Greta's abnormality attracted Rhoda's attention and she realized she had made a mistake, so she calmly extended her arm towards the sofas and said, "Let's have a seat and begin our discussion. But before that, Greta?"
The two men were stunned by her withdrawal, but one of them was more relieved than the other. And Greta stiffly turned to Rhoda.
"I need you to go upstairs and watch my baby for me, can you do it?", She said gently.
A stark contrast from the woman she was before.
Greta relaxed considerably, and slowly nodded her head, before turning to the two guests.
And with trembling hands she held up her gown for a curtsy.
"W… ", She stuttered, and lowered her head, still in shock but Rhoda calmly patted her back and said softly, "Go on."
Greta took in a deep breath and said firmly, "If you'd please excuse me"
Once she said that, she stood upright and retrieved the empty cups from the table, before heading towards the kitchen.
The duo's eyes followed her practiced movements, but the Herbalist turned to Rhoda, "That child is quite intelligent and bold. See, when we first arrived I thought she was a mute"
He spoke in a light and cheerful tone, rhythmically tapping the empty tea cup in his hands.