ã€ŠDead Servantã€‹


 #1 Young master

    After several weeks of travel, the cloaked figure stopped in front of a huge estate. She placed the luggage which she was clutching with both hands on the ground and removed her black cloak, revealing her short black hair. Her skin is so white that it looks as if it were carved from marble. Her slightly bluish full lips trembled slightly under the chill of the wind as it blew. Eyes like midnight fixed on the door in front of her, she adjusted herself using the small piece of mirror she carries in the pocket of her cloak.

    The storm raging over the manor made her shiver slightly with cold. Her short dark dress, slightly above the knee, quilted with white thread, did not warm her directly. On the contrary, she is incredibly cold. If she had known she would be hit by such weather on the way, she would have dressed warmer. As a ghost, she shouldn''t feel the cold. Most of her race possess a wooden or porcelain doll after death and use it as a shell. She''s different. Unlike the others, she uses a human body.

    She turns her gaze to the watch adorning her pale wrist. She''s due here in exactly one minute, which means she''s too early, so she decides to wait for the watch hand to move.

    After a moment, there is a tick with which the hand moves. The woman takes the huge knocker in her hands and slams it against the door three times. Even though her visit is expected, the door remains closed. So she tries again and again to find herself without an answer. Determined to leave, she grabs her luggage annoyed..

    Just as she takes a step away from the mansion, the door opens. Standing there is an older man whose neck is adorned with a necklace with a blue crystal inside. A werewolf. The woman pierces the man with a look at which he immediately realizes she demands an apology.

    "I am very sorry for the delay..." He stares at her necklace, which unlike his is colored gray - a ghost. "You must be Mrs. Maria if I''m not mistaken," the woman before him merely nods her head and the man steps slightly away from the door, motioning with his hand for her to come inside.

    Maria walks in and the old man waves his hand to one of the servants nearby to come over to them. "You can leave your luggage here, our servant will take it to your room," he gestures to the young man heading towards them.

    Skin white as snow and golden hair that looked like blazing fire under the lamplight, she didn''t even have to see his necklace to realize he was an elf. The boy took the suitcases from her.

    "Follow me." Without so much as a glance at Maria, the old man dispersed into the dark hallway, lit only by a few candles. "Please don''t touch anything," he warns her in advance. Not that she planned to touch anything...

    The walls are decorated with beautiful paintings of all kinds. From painted landscapes by famous artists to the estate''s former owners. There are bunches of flowers under each of the portraits, if someone had taken care of them, the place would certainly look more lively. Unfortunately, the half-dead flowers gave the place a rather dark atmosphere. The dark colored walls are decorated with golden ornaments that, although magic exists in this world, are painted by hand. Maria immediately recognized that these were not just random lines, but the ancient language of witches that had ceased to be used long before she was even born and... died. The entire estate looks dead, except for her footsteps accompanied by raindrops from outside, it''s quiet. They haven''t met a single servant in the entire journey.

    After a few minutes in the dark corridor, the old man decided to break the silence. "I''m very glad you accepted this offer... It was not easy to find a servant to hand over the young master." He said with a little joy in his voice, without turning to Maria who pierced him with her eyes.

    She still hadn''t forgiven him for keeping her waiting, not to mention the letter he''d sent asking her to visit. It took her almost three days to decipher who was writing and where she was supposed to go. She''d never seen such a scrawl in her life.

    "I have not yet accepted the offer, I have only agreed to meet your young master." Maria replied coldly.

    I hope he doesn''t think I would serve someone I know nothing more than a name. The only reason I''m here is because I don''t exactly have many offers. Which is kind of surprising with who I served a few years ago.Now that I think about it.¡­ It also makes sense, after all, there''s not a single sentence about the past life I led before I died. No one knows who I was.

    The man finally stopped in front of a huge black door. "Could I ask you something?" He asks, turning to Maria, who doesn''t seem to want to hear his question.

    Even though he has figured it out, the old man doesn''t wait for her to answer and asks directly, "If you don''t like him the first time..." He pauses before continuing, wondering if he should continue when the woman before him pierces him with her gaze. "Please give him a chance..." He finishes in a pleading voice.

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    Is he really trying to soften me up? I came here to serve a man where it will make sense, I''m not going to waste decades screwing around with someone who has no future.

    Maria lifted her chin and folded her arms across her chest. "If I don''t like him, I''m leaving." She replied in a sharp voice, tilting her head slightly to the side.

    Still, the man doesn''t give up and continues to urge, "Please, give him a chance!" As Maria takes a breath to cut him off he quickly holds up three fingers in front of her. "Three days, that''s all I ask!" He continues desperately.

    "One."

    "Two!" He shouted, clasping his hands together in a pleading gesture.

    Maria, who would have preferred to refuse again, merely sighs and rolls her eyes. "One and a half." She relents. The man''s face lights up and he quickly grabs both her hands to show his thanks. "Thank you very much, you won''t regret it!"

    The old man jumps up from happiness, while Maria, who lacks energy from the long journey to argue, merely exhales in annoyance. I hope I won''t regret the wasted time.

    The man knocks on the door and even though he doesn''t get an answer he doesn''t bother to repeat the gesture and opens the door. With his hand, he motions for Maria to come in and closes it again right behind her. He snaps his fingers and the candles in the room - of which there are not many - are lit. She looks around the room which smells musty, just from this alone she can tell that no one cares much for the room. She looks around it and immediately regrets her decision. The huge bed with its dark blue sheets is unmade, a few pillows even lying at the foot of the bed. Dust glistens on the shelves adorning the walls under the light. Scrolls are scattered on the table and under it, and a chair is propped up with a book. When she looks down she notices several broken toys lying on the floor. Despite all this mess, the owner of the room is nowhere to be found.

    When Maria realizes what is all this about, she immediately turns around with a firm," I''m leaving¡± without even giving a look at the old man. He quickly grabs her by the arm, preventing her from leaving.

    "But you promised..." Without letting him finish his sentence she turns to him with a deep breath. Before she can say anything, however, the door behind her swings wide open with a mighty bang and they both look to see who is it.

    Standing in the doorway is a small child, Maria could have sworn he was no older than seven. His black hair sticks out in all directions, the kid sure hasn''t seen a comb in a good few days. His dark shirt is wrinkled and his pants have ripped legs. If the boy hadn''t been missing a necklace, she would have mistaken him for one of the werewolf pups. His lapis eyes glowed in the candlelight even though they were hidden under a disheveled hair.

    "Oi Shmidtz! You''re late!" The boy exclaims as if he wasn''t the one who was late...

    Maria immediately turns to the old man, mouth agape, "You can''t be serious!" She screamed at him in his head and pulled away from the man, but he immediately grabbed her again, realizing the situation she was in, Maria turned to the boy in front of him.

    "Young sir, you are the one-" without finishing he was interrupted.

    "SILENCE!" The kid barks at him and walks past them as if this situation was normal.

    I want to leave so badly, I really do! What did I sign up for? The room isn''t even clean, it looks like some kind of dump. The so-called ''young master'' is just a rude little brat! I knew he wasn''t the oldest, but I was expecting someone around seventeen at least, was I just called here to babysit?

    She turns her gaze to the old man who is giving her a pleading look. You can do this... Inhale, exhale. She repeats in her head and then turns to the child sitting on the bed. He merely smiles at her and tilts his head slightly - looking down at her, not respecting her at all. This is a normal attitude towards servants and maids, but something was boiling inside her when such a brat did this. When she calms down at least a little internally, she gives the boy in front of her a small bow.

    "My name is Maria De Glaze, a ghost spirit. My master used to be Kristoph La Rence Michaels." Straightening up, she adds with a slight arrogance in her voice, "I''m sure you''ve heard of his actions and achievements even at your young age."

    "So you''re quite a hot shot, huh?" Said the child in front of her arrogantly.

    The old man rolled his eyes at his master, and Maria turned to him in incomprehension.

    "Huh?!" That sound was the only reaction she could muster after all that.

    Schmidtz waved his hands in panic. "You-YOUNG MASTER!" He shouted at the boy in front of him, who merely chuckled. "Do you know how hard it was to get her here!" He said, the anger in his voice was not audible, rather you could tell he was embarrassed.

    "I guess I should introduce myself too." The kid says in a serious voice. The eyes that sparkled a moment ago are now cold and serious. He jumps off the bed and folds his hands behind his back as he slowly approaches the woman in front of him.

    Maria turns to the boy in front of her, only now realizing he hasn''t even introduced himself. She had completely forgotten about it in this crazy situation.

    "My name is Alfonse Geonal Mai Millelia and I am the seventh heir to this estate." He gives her a small, not very deep bow, his eyes still fixed on her. "It is an honor to meet you, Miss Maria de Glaze." Alfonse says with such a cold voice and expression on his face that Maria almost froze.

 #2 Brat

    The next day after the storm there is no sign of it. The sky is clear without a single cloud and the sun shines brightly high in the sky. The birds are chirping and it seemed like a wonderful start to a new morning. Unlike yesterday, the estate is swarming with servants who don¡¯t know where to jump first. There is a bright aroma coming from the kitchen, the food they are preparing is probably one of the local specialties.

    Maria stood at the door of Alfonso''s room, watching him destroy and reassemble the ruined toys.

    I''ve been watching him all day and he just keeps making a mess and telling me to clean up after him. I honestly come across more like a nanny here. This day and the next I leave right after lunch. If I knew this was going to be my job I wouldn''t even bother coming here...

    Maria sighs softly. Alfonse seems to have gotten tired of destroying toys and without saying anything he runs to the window. Luckily it''s protected by bars so he can''t fall out of it.

    Maria bends down to the toys and automatically cleans up the havoc he left.

    "Oi!" he yells at her like she''s some kind of dog without even looking at her.

    Maria looks up at him and doesn''t forgive herself an angry snort. Alfonse, however, takes no notice and continues to stick to the window.

    "Lunch is coming up soon so I''ll show you around before then, so get my clothes ready." He jumps down from the window and starts shedding his clothes.

    She annoyingly ditches the cleaning that''s been getting on her nerves for the few hours she''s been here and goes to the closet to pick out some clothes for him. She opens the black, not very well preserved wardrobe and notices that she doesn''t have much choice in what to dress him in. The only formal clothes she has here are two wrinkled white shirts, one dark tie, and a black dusty jacket. So she opens the second wardrobe, but there''s not much in it either. A couple of shirts and trousers resembling the attire of a citizen of the village close by rather than someone of the nobility. She looks at it for a moment and then just grabs one of the shirts that looks the least ruined and a pair of polo shorts, due to the warm weather. Maria rummages through the drawers that the closet contains and finds a pair of suspenders, she might give those to him since most of the clothes he has look like they''re at least a size too big.

    As soon as she puts it on he runs out of the room and Maria has a hard time keeping up with him. When he notices that Maria has no intention of running, he slows down.

    Along the way they meet many servants and maids, but none of them greet Alfonse or bow. They acted as if he wasn''t even there.

    "Aren''t you even going to ask where we''re going?" He asked without giving her a glance.

    "It''s not polite to ask questions of a master."

    "I heard what you and Schmidtz were talking about yesterday, I followed you the whole time." He tries to strike up a conversation, but Maria isn''t in the mood to talk so she stays silent. "I can tell you don''t exactly want to stay here, especially after seeing the state my room is in." He continued.

    Maria just barely held in her reply. Even though this whole situation is a literal disaster, she doesn''t plan on insulting him for it.

    It seems like Alfonse doesn''t have any servants, the only one who cares about him is Schmidtz, who, judging by the state he''s in, won''t be here much longer. In the entire trip, none of the servants even bothered to give him so much as a glance. All the clothes he owns are shabby remnants that his older siblings couldn''t fit into. Even as she was dressing him she noticed that he could put on some weight. Alfonse didn''t even have breakfast, he said the old man usually brings it to him every morning. But Schmidtzs hadn''t shown up at all today. Alfonse said something about him having back problems lately, which was probably why Schmidtz had summoned her to this estate - to replace him until it''s his time. Although the young master he serves doesn''t seem to listen to him twice, the old man cares for him very much.

    "Most of the servants, after hearing that I am the seventh of my eight brothers, are determined to reject me. So don''t blame Schmidtz if he behaved the way he did before, he didn''t mean any bad. In fact, he''s the only person I trust. He''s been taking care of me since my mother died, I don''t even remember her." Alfonse said with a slightly sad voice.

    "I don''t blame you." Certainly not after the state she had seen him in a few minutes ago .

    Alfonse threw a look at her. He was rather surprised that she had spoken. "I''m glad," he muttered without Maria hearing. He curled his gaze to the ground again and continued to the road.

    They both turn the corner to tell the truth, she comes to think of this place quite like some kind of maze. The hallways are long and endless, they can walk straight for ten minutes and reach no end to this. It''s quite a wonder that such a small child can navigate their way around here easily. To make matters worse, the walls are very thick, there could easily be a murder going on in the next room and they wouldn''t hear a peep.

    "You know, I used to have a maid, she was with me for about three months." Alfonse said in a slightly sad voice and was silent for a moment before adding: "I trusted her quite a bit and she betrayed me. She is currently in the service of my older brother."

    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    This is a fairly common case. Servants will infiltrate the estate of one of the younger - and easily influenced masters, for the sole purpose of getting closer to the older and more successful ones. While I can understand and make sense of these actions, I personally disagree with them. It seems to me that if someone does this, they shouldn''t deserve anyone''s trust. Overall, this is even more disgusting when something like this is done to a young child.

    "Me about the wolf and the wolf before us." Said Alfonse

    Two figures loom in the horizon in front of them heading in their direction. As they get closer Maria is able to make out that it is a child quite similar to Alfonse. Although enough is an understatement. The boy looks like he''s fallen out of his eye. The woman is the opposite of Maria. A tall, slender figure with long golden hair. The glare on her face suggests she''s using a porcelain doll to possess herself. These types may look beautiful, but they are very easy to destroy or damage in any way.

    When the two groups are only three steps apart, they stop. Maria bows her head slightly, ready to greet the head¡¯s son in front of her, but is interrupted by Alfonse who slaps her quickly across the knees. She looks at him in confusion and he merely shakes his head. So she straightens up again and stands next to him instead.

    His brother, who has been watching this the whole time, merely snorts in amusement. "But if it isn''t Alfie with his new servant."

    "But, but, if it isn''t Heinry..." Imitating not only his brother''s tone, but also his expression. "Our silly little Heinry with his baby snake." The mockery is clear in his voice as he wipes his imaginary tears.

    Heinry flushes red with rage, Maria could almost swear that his ears are smoking.

    "Hahaha!" He laughs out loud, a bit too much. Alfonse can''t resist pointing his finger at the teased Heinry. He turns to Maria. "Did you see his face?!"

    But that''s the last straw for his brother. With a loud "Shut up!" he swings his fist at Alfonse, whose laughter immediately turns into a startle. He flinches, closes his eyes, but all he feels is a gentle breeze caused by the swing.

    When the blow doesn''t come, he opens his eyes. The fist is still there... Just not on his face, but a few millimeters in front of him. Maria managed to stop the hit just before it landed.

    Alfonse immediately recovers and starts laughing again. Maria almost regrets stopping the blow.

    "Let me go immediately!"

    He tries to free himself from her grip, but unsuccessfully. Maria rolls her eyes at Alfonse and waits for the order to release him.

    The maid next to him bends down and tries to free her master from her grip.

    "If I were you, I wouldn''t do that; he has delicate bones, and a wrong move could actually break his arm." Maria warns her coldly.

    Tears well up in Heinry''s eyes. Maria slightly loosens her grip to prevent accidentally breaking his arm or causing him harm as he keeps trying to wriggle free.

    "Did I say you release him?"

    Alfonse''s voice sounds quite cold compared to the mocking tone he had a few seconds ago. With what he told her on the way, she understands it to some extent; after all, betrayal is betrayal.

    Maria tightens her grip on Heinry¡¯s hand, but not enough to hurt him. However, it''s sufficient for Heinry to burst into more tears. He quietly continues begging her to let him go for a while, until Alfonse got bored and waved his hand.

    "Let him go already; I''m starting to feel sorry for him." Without a single glance at his brother, he walked away down the hallway. Maria did as he said and released his hand.

    The blonde lifted her master into her arms and quickly disappeared from sight, presumably taking him to the infirmary.

    <hr>

    "Well, here we are," he said and pointed to the worn-out door with the number three hundred twenty-six. "This room is reserved for my future servant. Since I''ve never had one, if you''re going to stay here, you''ll have to clean it yourself."

    Maria grabs the doorknob and tries to open it. It takes a moment, so she pulls the door towards her and then turns the handle. There''s a click, and she gets a glimpse of the room.

    He was right; this place definitely needs cleaning. It''s in an even worse state than his room, and that says a lot.

    She enters the room, but as soon as she inhales, she has to cough due to the dust. The only source of light here is a small round window. The walls are adorned with mold thriving in this environment, given that probably no one bothers to ventilate the room. Corners are filled with cobwebs, and Maria doesn''t even want to imagine what it looks like under the bed; she wouldn''t be surprised to find a rat''s nest there. At this moment, she realizes how grateful she is that she could spend the night in the guest room and didn''t have to endure a night here.

    "Thank you Mari."

    This word surprised Maria so much that she turned to Alfonse. His gaze is fixed on the ground, hands behind his back, and the tip of his shoe is tapping the floor. As if sensing her gaze, he lifts his head and looks into her eyes for a second before blushing and lowering his gaze again.

    Since Kristoph''s death, she thought she would never hear this nickname again. Thanking a servant is something unimaginable in these times when they are treated more like toys, but using a nickname is even more surprising. Judging by his reaction, even at his age, he realizes how nice this is to her.

    She quickly recovers and bows deeply, concealing the smile that doesn''t suit her current position as a lifeless puppet. When she straightens up again, Alfonse presses his lips together and takes a deep breath.

    "You know, most of those who were here before didn''t stop the beating, even when he was hitting me on the ground... They just watched. You are the only one who stood up for me and stopped his fist."

    A moment later, he shook his head as if trying to shake off embarrassment.

    "I''m glad you like the room," Alfonse said with a pronounced irony in his voice and smiled. It was again the same guy she met yesterday.

    "The room is not a problem; a little cleaning, and it could be as good as new in a few days. After all, it only serves for a night," she replied with an equally playful tone.

    A loud knock repeats at least three times.

    "It seems like it''s lunchtime. Can you clean this place up before I return from eating?" As soon as he said that, he ran away. Maria just turned to look at the room behind her and sighed.

    From one of the maids she met on her way, she borrowed a cobweb broom and a few other things and started cleaning up.

 #3 Kristoph

    When Alfonse returned from lunch, he showed her the rest of the estate, or at least what he thought might be useful. After all, this building is monstrously huge.

    There are many bathrooms here, each serving a different purpose. The first type is for the lords of this estate. They are very spacious and adorned with gold and various gemstones; it''s evident that no expense was spared. The second type is for guests, looking almost identical to those for the estate owners, just slightly smaller. The servants have ordinary baths, and there are many of them in the room, so Maria assumes that the servants bathe together. Apparently, the ghost servants can bathe where their master permits.

    The library was, of course, not spared either. It''s enormous; Maria would swear she has never seen a larger room. Books of all kinds are here, and experienced mages and history enthusiasts would kill for the volumes present. The ceiling is adorned with glass to provide enough daylight. To prevent fires, every visitor is thoroughly searched¡ªexcept for the ghost servants and their masters. Glass jars filled with fairy dust are used as night lights, left in the sun during the day to emit a bright glow at night.

    The gardens are full of flowers of all kinds. Specially crafted fertilizer by elves is used, allowing even rare plants that wouldn''t survive in this part of the continent for more than a few hours to thrive. The main owner of this estate is probably a flower enthusiast; the entire garden is swarming with gardeners carefully examining every leaf to ensure they are in good condition. Maybe if they took care of the inside in the same way, the estate would look much livelier.

    This whole tour took them about five hours. Since there is no teleportation device here for protection, all those stairs and passages have left Maria and Alfonse quite exhausted, and so they sat on one of the benches in the garden.

    "Was Kristoph as they say he was?" Alfonse suddenly asked after a moment of silence.

    "What have you heard?"

    "Well..." He paused for a moment, thinking, before continuing. "According to everything, he was very smart, brave, and strong. A strict but kind ruler of Eamer. He won countless battles. Since he cared for both the poor and the rich, he was a favorite of both classes."

    Maria couldn''t help but smirk and raised an eyebrow. "So you''ve only heard fairy tales and legends created by wandering bards."

    "Really?!" Alfonse exclaimed in surprise, leaning on Maria''s knees and stretching towards her. "Tell me more!"

    Maria looked at him in surprise for a moment, then realized and pondered.

    "Well..." She hesitated for a moment. "When I met him, it was shortly after I became a ghost. He was a young boy, if I remember correctly, around sixteen years old. Very quiet, took some time before he started talking. He wasn''t supposed to ascend to rule; he was his father''s youngest son."

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    "So, he was somewhat like me!" Alfonse excitedly interrupted. "I''m the seventh of eight! And what happened next? Tell me more!"

    "He was indeed very smart, as you said. He came up with many inventions that no one had thought of before. For example, glasses... After all, why invent such a thing when we have witches, right? But Kristoph noticed during a visit to a village that these witch services were very expensive for the poor class, so he came up with the idea for them. He created many of them, significantly improving the lives of the poorer class. However, he mostly handed over most of these inventions to his brothers, thinking he wasn''t fit to rule. One day, he asked me to bring a sketch with the invention of glasses to his oldest brother Zikreso. Instead, I took it to his father."

    "And the father realized everything was his ideas and decided to name him the successor?" Alfonse eagerly asked, thinking he had the answer.

    "No, not that. His father knew everything and secretly recorded all these inventions under his name, not his brothers''. He asked me to talk to Kristoph about it. But Kristoph didn''t want to hear about it, so I presented the idea with the glasses in his stead. Thanks to that, he won part of the competition his father created to decide his successor."

    She took a deep breath before continuing, Alfonse still with an intense expression, eagerly listening.

    "Since there was a war in the country at that time, all brothers were sent to the front. Unlike the others, Kristoph didn''t fight; instead, he helped the wounded. Normally, they would bring all the healing-capable witches to the battlefield, but he ordered only a few of them, along with elves, vampires, and others. Witches closed large wounds, but not completely to avoid exhaustion. They were then disinfected with healing herbs from the elves and stitched up. If someone lost a lot of blood, the vampires stepped in. As you may know, they can recognize blood types, and Kristoph used that. They gave the person the same blood type, and with the help of witches, stabilized them. Werewolves, with a stronger sense of smell, took care of changing bandages, and those who could control their claws even opened bodies for surgery. So, even though he didn''t fight, he became a literal hero, winning another part of the trial."

    "When you put it that way, he sounds like a very kind and clever person..." Alfonse commented after absorbing the information. "So where did the idea come from that he is strict and unsympathetic, punishing criminals?"

    "A few months after becoming a ruler, he had to attend trials, of course. Kristoph didn''t have the heart to condemn anyone, seeing only the good in people. His first case was a vampire who killed a few innocent people-"

    "And he let him go?" Alfonse asked, and Maria nodded.

    "He should have normally received the punishment of drying up in a coffin, but Kristoph gave him a second chance, with a condition... which was a mistake. A few days later, it was discovered that he not only killed humans but also vampires. He was a cannibal, and because Kristoph let him go, twice as many people died as before."

    "Why didn''t he just imprison him? It was clear that it would happen, right?" Alfonse asked, puzzled.

    "He told him how much he regretted it and that he couldn''t control himself. He secured blood supplies for him from the blood bank¡ªestablished easily after the war. He believed there was a chance for him to change and that the vampire hadn''t done it on purpose. When he learned what happened because of him, he felt sick, stressed, and kept repeating that everything was his fault and how sorry he was. Since then, I have executed judgments at the trials in his name." Maria finished as the bell rang.

    "It looks like it''s dinner time. Well, you can finish telling me more another time." He said, getting up from the bench. It''s already quite dark outside; Maria didn''t even realize how quickly time flew by.

 #4 Paper and a blood

    Alfonse sat at the table, and shortly afterward, an elderly dwarf brought him food. Without a word, she placed the plate in front of him and left. While his brothers sat together at a large table, he was alone in a corner.

    As he glanced at his siblings, he noticed one was missing ¨C Allney, his youngest brother. Perhaps he didn''t want to eat with them, or he had no appetite at all. Based on what he had heard from Heinry, the others, especially their third oldest brother Mattezs, didn''t treat him well.

    The food prepared by the cooks looked very appetizing, but his plate seemed less appealing. Probably leftovers from what was prepared for his siblings.

    After a moment of poking at the potatoes, he took a bite.

    "Ugh." He spat it back onto the plate. "How much salt did they put in this..." He grimaced at the potato in front of him and took a sip of water. Putting the glass back on the table, he turned to the dwarf behind the counter, who was busy preparing supplies for the next day. As if sensing his gaze, she looked at him and stuck out her tongue. Alfonse scowled at her.

    He heard the shuffle of a chair being pulled, so he turned to see who joined him. It was Allney.

    "Y-you can t-take mine." He said, sliding his plate towards Alfonse, his gaze fixed on the edge of the table.

    "Thanks."

    "M-mine sh-shouldn''t be too di-disgusting."

    Alfonse cut a piece of meat from the thigh and put it in his mouth. Allney was right; the seasoning was fine, and there wasn''t as much salt as in his plate.

    "You can have the whole piece of meat." Alfonse skewered it with the fork and placed it on Allney''s plate. Allney nodded in thanks.

    Allney began to eat his potatoes, giving Alfonse a view of his face. His skin was as white as snow, almost like Maria''s. His eyes, once bright blue, were now almost white, with purplish circles underneath. His hair, which had a beautiful chestnut color when Alfonse last saw him, was now somewhat dark ash. When he lifted the fork to his mouth, his sleeve slipped down, revealing bony hands.

    Until now, Alfonse thought he was the worst off among his siblings. However, seeing his younger brother in such a state made him almost sick.

    Unlike him and Heinry, their other siblings have living mothers, so they don''t meet them much. Every woman with their father''s child keeps them in a private villa with a few servants to take care of their education and growth. But there was something very wrong here.

    Allney¡¯s mother was very kind to Alfonse whenever they met. She always showered him with sugar cubes and other candies, sometimes even brushed his hair or made him tea when it was cold outside. Thinking that she would be capable of something like that¡­ makes Alfonse sick.

    From what he knows, Mattezs is living with them because his mother got killed by a servant. Even though he can be very mean and sometimes drastic, Alfonse doesn¡¯t believe that even he could be capable of something like that.

    Thinking more and more about this makes Alfonse lose his appetite.

    "I''m not hungry anymore, but thanks." He picked up the piece of meat Allney gave him and returned it to his plate. "I have to go, so goodbye."

    "Ah... Um... G-goodbye." Allney stammered softly, but Alfonse was already too far away to hear it.

    At the door, Maria was waiting for him with the other servants. Without a glance at her, Alfonse headed to his room.

    "Let''s go," he ordered with a slightly irritated tone.

    "You haven''t eaten anything."

    "I don''t like the food."

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    "Why not ask the cook to prepare something else for you?"

    "I''m not exactly popular in the kitchen."

    "Sorry, I asked so many questions."

    "Ask whatever you want; I don''t care."

    Alfonse quickened his pace. He felt sorry for Allney, but he knew he didn''t want to get involved in this. The only option would be to talk to his father about it, but that wouldn''t change much. After all, he is constantly absent and doesn''t care much about his children. He would probably be indifferent to what happens to them.

    *************************

    Maria dresses Alfonse in warm clothing while he constantly urges her on.

    "Hurry, hurry, or we won''t make it!"

    She stuffs him with as much clothing as possible, and at the moment, he looks like a small ball of fabric. She can''t help but smile at how comical he currently appears.

    Alfonse turns to the mirror and doesn''t look thrilled. Slowly, he turns to her with an expression that says, "Are you kidding me?"

    "Sorry, master, but due to a shortage of warm clothing, I can''t exactly layer you up." There is not a hint of remorse in her voice; rather, there''s a touch of amusement.

    She turns to her suitcase and takes out a red scarf. She wraps it around him, as he is quite small compared to her; only half of his head is visible¡ªfrom the nose up. To keep his head warm, she puts on her own hat, which she bought on the way here. Now, only the tip of his nose and his large eyes are visible.

    "Ugh..." is all Alfonse says.

    "If you don''t like it, you can freeze." She reaches for the hat, but he quickly puts his hands on his head to prevent her from taking it off.

    "I didn''t say I don''t like it..." Even though not much of his face is visible, Maria can tell he''s blushing. "You can leave what you chose."

    "However you wish, young master." She smiles at him.

    "C-can you call me by my name! It doesn''t bother me!" He exclaims, startling her.

    "It''s not exactly polite, but as you wish... Mr. Alfonse."

    "Feel free to drop the ''Mr.'' It''s not exactly pleasant for me; it''s quite strange."

    "Sorry, Mr. Alfonse, but I can''t do that." She replies.

    "O-okay, only when we''re alone? Please."

    "No." She cuts him off. Overall, it''s very impolite to address a master by their name, let alone skip the title entirely. He''s probably too young to realize that.

    *************************

    After a while of riding, he orders her to stop the horses. Maria spreads her arms so Alfonse can grab onto her. Due to the clothing, her movement is somewhat restricted, and he almost falls off the horse. If she didn¡¯t catch him, he would end up with his face in the ground.

    "Careful, Mr. Alfonse." She warns him and takes him into her arms.

    "Stop calling me that." He says angrily, and judging by his raised eyebrow, he''s quite annoyed.

    "No." She replies firmly and puts him back on the ground.

    She turns to tie the horses, but due to the darkness prevailing over the forest, she struggles with it. When she looks back, Alfonse is nowhere to be found.

    "Young master?" Maria calls out, hoping that in the few seconds she didn''t look at him, someone didn''t snatch him away.

    "Forget that horse; it won''t run away!" A voice echoes from the forest.

    So, she lets go of the reins and goes in the direction from which the voice called her. She staggers through the darkness of the forest, as there is no light passing through here, and she can''t even see the tips of her boots.

    "Sir? Where are you?" She asks, this time with a caring tone.

    Suddenly, something small grabs her hand. She immediately realizes it''s little Alfonse, and she lets him drag her deeper into the forest.

    A moment later, they reach a clearing, and he lets her go, running towards the light. Maria has to shield her eyes from the dazzling brightness.

    Alfonse stands on a hill''s edge with arms outstretched.

    "Do you see this?!" He shouts at her with enthusiasm.

    Maria uncovers her eyes, and the beauty of the sky almost makes her jaw drop.

    The entire sky is adorned with stars. Could she see a comet fly by? The whole town seems like an anthill, and the estate, with its dark colors, is barely visible.

    "All of this," Alfonse screams at her and spins, with his arm outstretched, in a circle. "Will be mine someday! And for that," he stops and points at her. "I need you..."

    Maria, overwhelmed by the beauty of the sky, can only nod¡ªher mouth still wide open.

    As if he sensed that this would be her response, Alfonse pulls out a paper with a vial of animal blood from his cloak.

    "Animal blood won''t be necessary." Maria says and, with a clip she takes from her pocket, cuts her finger. A drop of blood appears; she presses her finger, and a little more comes out. She puts her finger on the paper. Alfonse looks at her in confusion, as he shouldn''t... She''s a ghost, and she shouldn''t have blood. "I''ll explain when we get back." She promises and winks at him.

 #5 Fox-enchanting Culinary

    ¡ª12 years later¡ª

    In the time Maria has been in service, Alfonse''s room has changed beyond recognition. The once dusty shelves now gleamed with cleanliness, and stacks of worn-out furniture were replaced with new ones. Unlike Schmidt, Maria was able to stand up to the accountant and get the money her master deserved. Instead of the musty bedding, the bed was adorned with a not-so-cheap dark blue bedspread.

    All the lamps and candles were replaced with glasses of fairy dust that emitted a bluish light at night. This is a very rare commodity that can only be obtained in the area of the Frelian Tower, belonging to the family of ice sorceresses. Each of the brothers received it as a gift when Allney got engaged to the sorceress''s daughter. However, he is not the only one who found a fianc¨¦e; almost all of Alfonse''s brothers, except for him and Heinry, either found someone or got assigned by their father.

    Maria finished making the bed and looked around the room to make sure it was clean. Except for the mess around the table, which her master constantly made and she couldn''t keep up with, everything was tidy.

    Alfonse sits behind a table overflowing with papers. Next to him is a plate with dessert, which he eats in small bites while reading the newspaper, oblivious to the piles of documents scattered all over the table and the surroundings.

    In the twelve years since their first meeting, he hasn''t changed that much. His short black hair still sticks out in all directions, even though Maria combed it a few hours ago. Due to his constant raking, her efforts to make her master look somewhat like a nobleman are entirely futile. Previously pale skin, resembling a corpse, gained a more lively color thanks to walks and better food, which she has been forcing him to eat for a while. The only thing she hasn''t been able to improve even a little is his fashion sense. Despite all her efforts to make him dress in attire befitting a nobleman, he still prefers a more rustic style. Instead of a clean white shirt and expensive black trousers that she bought for him, he wears a dirty, rather gray T-shirt and brown pants with a torn hem. Then he wonders why nobody in the estate takes him particularly seriously.

    With a sigh, he rolls up the newspaper he just read and throws it into the bin next to the table. He opens the top drawer and takes out a vial, pouring its contents onto the bottom of one of the papers. He pierces the spread blue wax with a wooden seal bearing his family''s crest, reaches for the dark box at the edge of the table, and spills light blue powder onto the wax. The powder instantly cools and freezes the seal. "This is so boring... I don''t understand why my father wants me to go through these stupid papers. Most of them are completely ridiculous requests, and only about two out of a hundred are worth considering..." He sighs in frustration and slouches on the chair.

    Maria takes the scroll with the seal from his table and carefully rolls it up, placing it in the wooden box. "That''s all for today, Mr. Alfonse," she assures him, but instead, he turns to her with a displeased expression.

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    "How many times do I have to tell you to skip the ''Mr.''?"

    "Mr. Alfonse, have told you a thousand times that I won''t skip this title until your death."

    "Aah! Fine!" He utters defeatedly. "It''s just uncomfortable... Even Schmidtz used to call me Al in private."

    "Mr. Schmidtz has not been with us for at least ten years, sir."

    "I know..." His angry expression turns slightly sad when he realizes that the man who was almost like a father to him, the father he never had, is long gone. Maria, who is tidying up the papers, noticed his expression, but she ignores it and focuses more on her work.

    Suddenly, Alfonse shifts away from the table, catching Maria''s gaze.

    "When you finish tidying up, call the chef for me."

    "Is there something wrong with the food?" She asks.

    "Just call the chef." He repeats, now with a rather gruff tone.

    "The chef fell ill, so someone else prepared the meal for you instead-"

    "I don''t care, call the one who made it then."

    "As you wish, sir." She bows lightly and then leaves the room.

    *************************

    She stops in front of the kitchen door, takes the handle, sighs lightly before turning it, and steps inside. As soon as she takes a step into the room, a massive bang echoes. Maria turns towards the source of the noise and sees smoke coming from the back of the kitchen.

    She runs to see what happened. Standing over the pot from which smoke is billowing, with her back to her, is a woman with medium-length red hair tied in a ponytail. Judging by the brown skirt with a white apron, she is the cook.

    Maria quickly opens a window and tries to waft the smoke out using one of the towels on the table. The woman who caused this havoc tried to cough out the inhaled smoke.

    "Excuse me," the redhead apologized, and when she finally caught her breath, she looked up at Maria, giving her a full view of the woman before her. Pink colored eyes with a purple crown around the pupil, long fangs, and skin as pale as death. Long fox-like ears and big fluffy tail wagging furiously, not helping to get the dust out of the room. Considering she doesn''t wear any necklace, she''s probably a foreigner.

    "Are you the one who prepared today''s breakfast?" Maria asks with a cold tone, ignoring her apology.

    "Y-Yes," the redhead stammers and shamefully lowers her face to the ground.

    "My master requests that I bring you to him."

    The woman widens her eyes at Maria and starts slowly retreating.

    "I-I just r-realized I h-have to g-go somewhere..." Before she could attempt an escape, Maria grabbed her shoulder, stopping her.

    "Surely, you meant to say that you''re coming with me."

    She slowly turns to Maria and nods with a feigned smile. "Y-yes, that''s what I meant."

 #6 Chance

    "I Apologize!" The redhead screams while kneeling on the floor, head against the ground, both hands resting on a wooden tile.

    Maria stands calmly beside her, hands by her side, piercing the redhead with her gaze.

    "Seriously! Very much!" The redhead continues to shout.

    "Aaaa! Be quiet!" Alfonse yells at her, silencing her.

    After a moment of silence, he releases an annoyed sigh.

    "Firstly... I didn''t call you here to scream at me."

    "I apologize," she whispers.

    "Secondly..." He pauses for a moment before continuing. "I didn''t also call you here to scold you for the meal you made."

    "Why call Min then?" She asks without raising her head.

    "You know... Your food is unbelievably oversalted and over-spiced; I nearly burned my mouth just having breakfast. Honestly, I don''t understand how someone can make a broth so spicy."

    "Min, apologize. I can''t taste food like you humans do."

    "And that''s why I called you here!" He says and claps his hands together.

    He can''t be serious about what I think he''s planning¡­ Maria thinks to herself wishing she is wrong.

    Alfonse looks at Maria, and she returns his gaze. She shakes her head slightly to express her disagreement, but he just smiles and winks at her.

    "I want to ask you to be my personal chef!" He exclaims excitedly.

    Maria only shakes her head and rubs her eyes with an exhaled sigh.

    The redhead looks up at Alfonse, confusion in her eyes, waiting for him to say it''s just a joke.

    When his smile deepens, and she finally realizes it''s not a jest, all she can muster in that moment is a bewildered, "What?"

    "I take that as a yes," he says, offering her his hand. "My name is Alfonse, which you probably already know. But I seem to have missed your name amidst all the yelling." He didn''t hear it, given all the noise. She was too distraught to introduce herself.

    "Min," she introduces herself, accepting his gesture. When she stands up and straightens herself, as if finally regaining her composure, she adds, "Min Shee Shyu Kwei."

    "Judging by your name, you''re from a completely different continent," Maria comments. Min nods.

    "Min is not from Aashile, Min is from Yaa Dzo. Specifically, from the city of Chongwo."

    "That explains why you don''t wear a necklace, even though you work here," Alfonse says thoughtfully.

    In the mansion, it is customary to wear a necklace that reveals the race of the owner. This rule mostly applies to wealthier districts of the city, as a precaution against the black market trade of necklaces. However, it doesn''t apply to the entire Aashile, as most large cities and villages are adapted to the living conditions of a particular species.

    "How long have you been here?" Maria asks.

    "Two months."

    "For someone from Yaa Dzo, you speak our language very well." She gives her a somewhat skeptical look, and Min notices.

    "Min have been learning your language since Min was little. Min always dreamed of coming here." She smiles slightly and adds, "Many traders from your lands visit us, and one of them told me fantastic stories. He even brought me a book about Krystoph. One side was in your language, and the other in Min¡¯s. Over time, I learned your way of speaking."

    Alfonse looks at Maria with a triumphant look.

    "All right, we''re done here. Lunch will be ready soon, so you should go back. And from today on, you''ll be cooking only for me," Alfonse declares and sits on the bed.

    Min enthusiastically nods, saying, "Min won''t disappoint Alfonse!"

    "Polite!" Maria hisses.

    "I apologize." Min¡¯s ears fall down quickly as she is surprised at the sudden remark.

    "It''s fine, Maria tends to take everything too seriously. Pay her no mind." He grins at her and waves his hand, signaling her to leave.

    She bows slightly in farewell to each of them and exits the room with sparks in her eyes.

    "Sir, don''t you think she¡ª" Maria starts, but he cuts her off.

    "Just be quiet. She probably has a different reason for coming here and attempting to cook, despite not having taste buds like humans." He lies back on the bed. "Give her a chance. You gave me one."

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    ¡°Yes, but with you it was different.¡± Maria opposes.

    Alfonse sights and sits. ¡°Maria,¡± he starts and pauses for a moment. ¡°I know you are suspicious. She is a foreigner and probably a changer at that. Maybe even something totally else. With her cooking skills Min would be kicked out immediately, I guess the chef let her just peel the potatoes and stuff and didn¡¯t even know she was that bad.¡±

    Maria confusedly stares at Alfonse. ¡°Why did you take her in then¡­?¡± She asks curiously.

    Alfonse just lays back on the bad. ¡°Everybody deserves a chance.¡±

    ¡°Everybody?¡± Maria repeats.

    ¡°Yes, everybody.¡± Alfonse answers without hesitation.¡±Just, stop being overly suspicious, it¡¯s not like someone would waste their money on killing me. I¡¯m the seventh heir, unless all my brothers get killed or my father magically does not decide I would be the best heir, it¡¯s not happening.¡±

    He''s right; she does tend to overthink things. Min doesn''t seem like a bad person, and her master is likely correct. She should try giving her a chance.

    "Now, go, I want to lie down for a while."

    He nods for her to leave, so she exits the room with a lighter bow. Hopefully, neither of them will regret this decision.

    ***********************************************

    Maria enters the kitchen. In the hour she wasn''t there, the place came alive. The entire room is filled with the aroma of dishes currently being prepared. Various commands echo from all sides, and with dinner time approaching, every minute, if not every second, is crucial.

    She looks around the kitchen, but there''s no sign of Min. Given the chaotic scene that resembles a battlefield more than a kitchen, Maria wouldn''t be surprised if Min tucked herself away somewhere, considering her cooking skills.

    Assured that Min is truly not here, Maria decides to check the back part of the kitchen. However, as soon as she takes a step, she collides with one of the dwarves.

    "Watch where you''re go¡ª" the woman starts to shout. When she realizes who she''s talking to, she immediately falls silent and merely bows slightly before rushing off to the other side of the room with a pot in hand.

    I could have asked her about Min¡­ Maria thinks to herself.

    Maria shakes her head to dispel that thought. Even though her position is almost on the same level as the owner''s sons in this establishment, interrupting the chefs is never a good thing. Once a cook lost his head for overcooking meat. Perhaps, if the head of the house hadn''t been in a bad mood that day, the chef would still be alive.

    She continues to the other side, being more careful this time not to collide with anyone.

    After maneuvering through the dwarves jumping into her path from all sides, she takes the handle and opens the door. She was right; Min has indeed been tidied away.

    The redhead stands over a massive pot emitting a bubbling sound.

    Is she cooking soup?

    "Min, what is this?" Maria asks and slowly makes her way toward her. However, Min is so engrossed in her mess that she still hasn''t registered Maria''s presence.

    Min takes a bottle of pepper, but instead of sprinkling a pinch, she pours the entire contents into the pot.

    Maria stops right behind her, and Min freezes as if turned to stone. "What are you doing?" Maria repeats.

    "S-soup," she replies with a slightly nervous voice.

    "Whatever it is, it looks more like an attempted murder."

    Maria looks around. Based on the scattered ingredients and open bottles, it seems like Min added not just a pinch, but quite a lot of everything. She leans in to smell the purple concoction but quickly recoils.

    "You really can''t serve this to the master."

    Min, without saying anything, just lowers her gaze. She stares at the pot for a while. Suddenly, she tilts it on its side, and its entire content flows into the sink.

    "I guess I''m really not cut out for this." Tears well up in her eyes. She turns to Maria, seemingly expecting something encouraging. "I... I don''t understand; I followed the recipe exactly!" She cries out, pointing to the book on the stand as if it were her fault.

    "Miss..." Maria sighs. She doesn''t need to examine the book to realize that Min is definitely not a cook based on what she''s created. "Did you receive this book from the dwarves next door?"

    "H-How do you know?"

    "It''s not a cookbook; you might have figured that out from what you''ve created."

    Min gives her a bewildered look. Maria frowns slightly and turns to the pot. She examines it for a while, and when she finally realizes, she turns back to Min, who is waiting for something encouraging. Maria nods.

    "It''s a joke from the chefs. You shouldn''t be so naive."

    "I-I apologize," Min stammers while wiping away her tears.

    Normally, Maria would scold her or at least reprimand her in some way, but she feels sorry for Min. She doesn''t know the culture of Aashile, let alone the foods prepared here. Just as food from her country might seem strange to them, Min has the same experience with what she eats and cooks here.

    Maria can''t muster more than a sigh.

    "I''ll help you," she finally says with a determined voice.

    Min''s mood immediately lifts, and she looks up at Maria. In her eyes, where clear sadness and frustration were visible a moment ago, now joyful sparks have replaced them.

    "Firstly... For breakfast, light meals are served here. Soup is usually before the main course. Fortunately for you, Mr. Alfonse eats everything, so his menu doesn''t have to be overly complicated. In the morning, something like pastry with jam and some vegetables on the side is enough. Since it''s cold in the morning, and the walls are more for defense than living, heated water with herbs will be more than sufficient." Maria explains and opens a cabinet with herbs. She takes out a box and opens it. Inside are dried strawberries mixed with birch leaves, chamomile, and dried honey. "This one is the only one Mr. Alfonse drinks." She returns the box.

    "I can handle making tea! It''s a very popular drink in my country." Min cheers.

    "Well, that''s one less thing for me to worry about." Maria says and smiles slightly.

    "You smiled!" Min exclaims in disbelief.

    Maria looks at her with confusion. It''s true that she doesn''t smile much, but for someone to be so surprised...

    "Uh-huh." She coughs and continues, "As I said, breakfast can be lighter. Mr. Alfonse often skips it since he almost has lunch by the time he gets out of bed. So when you bring it to him, don''t be afraid to wake him up. Any form of violence is allowed if it gets him out of bed."

    "And what if he gets angry and fires me?" Min asks with a slightly sad voice.

    "That won''t happen. Mr. Alfonse can be grumpy, but it always passes quickly. He gives people a chance, even those who don''t deserve a second one."

    "Since dinner is approaching, I''ll explain lunch tomorrow and help you with it."

    "Thank you so much! I''m in your hands!" Min exclaims, clasping her hands together in the air.

    Maria pauses at her gesture. It must be something from her homeland.

    "Um." She clears her throat and continues, "Since dinner isn''t my favorite when the master eats sweet dishes. But since your current task is to win him over and probably thank him, we''ll make Curd Porridge."

    "Curd Porridge?" Min asks, confused.

 #7 Airhead

    "Curd porridge?" Min asks in confusion.

    "Yes, I''m not surprised you don''t know it." Maria says, taking the honey in her hand. "It''s nothing hard, and the master will be satisfied with it, after all, it has been a while since his appetite was satisfied even at night." She adds in a slightly playful tone.

    "What do we need?" The redhead asks, flicking her ears inquisitively.

    "Just honey, water, butter, semolina and curd cheese." Maria replies, and from the expression Min is currently wearing, she correctly deduces that she hasn''t been understood.

    "Curd cheese? Butter? Heeeeh...?" She lets out a confused squeak.

    "This is going to be a long one..." Maria mumbles under her nose before continuing with a deep breath. "Butter and curd cheese are milk products-"

    But the redhead doesn''t let her finish and interrupts, "milk? Like from a cow?" She frowns.

    "Well... Yes?" Maria replies, confused.

    Min stares at her in disbelief, her mouth agape. "You... Ugh!" She shudders in disgust. "Straight from the T-titty." Her expression says it all, she''s fully disgusted. But when she thinks about it like that, she''s not surprised that Min, who probably doesn''t have milk on her daily menu might find it almost disgusting depending on what it''s based on.

    "T-Titty...?" She pauses at the word and blinks in surprise. "Have you ever had milk?" She asks after a small pause.

    "Min doesn''t eat such abominations." She replies dismissively, "hmh!" She never thought anyone would take it that way.

    Maria takes a deep breath and continues with a sigh, "Min may not eat it, but the master is more than happy to." She has no plans to argue with her about this. Min grunts in disapproval, but soon enough realizes she lost. So she walks defeatedly into the next room.

    If Min wasn¡¯t a broke shifter it might have even unnerved Maria. Thanks to magic, all shifters are stuck between human and animal form. Only those who have undergone a long, arduous training and mastered their magic are able to change completely. But there are very few of them. After all, it carries innumerable risks, many who have tried it themselves have either died or cannot change back. Unfortunately, those are the better options, Maria has met many unfortunates in her many years who had a human torso while their legs or arms were animal. The most bizarre case was a man who had mouse limbs, they were very small, so much that he couldn''t even move from his seat, one day he turned around badly and crushed his limbs. He had to have them amputated.

    Min just comes back and sees the milk that Maria is holding and can''t help but grin at the white substance inside the glass.

    "We''ll save our differences of opinion about the milk for later," Maria says, motioning for Min to put all the ingredients on the table. "Get a pot of water ready and put it on the stove." Maria instructs and Min obeys without a word.

    "Is this really a normal thing to eat?" Min asks rather incredulously.

    "Yes, we make many kinds of dishes and other meals or desserts out of it. It''s like our culture wouldn''t exist without milk." She replies, crumbling the curd into semolina.

    "And what else do you get your milk from?" She asks further, this time rather intrigued.

    "Well," Maria muses, and after a slight pause, continues, "from goats, sheep, cows, donkeys, but also mares." She answers the question, Min says nothing in response, so she turns to her. Her reaction is very interesting, as if she can''t decide between being horrified or disgusted.

    "F-from mares and donkeys?!" She exclaims in disbelief.

    Maria sighs. "The food is ready, so you can take it to the master. Feel free to say you made it yourself." She hands Min a plate of food.

    But the redhead''s reaction is not what Maria expected. Instead of thanking her, Min frowns and looks angry. "Why would Min do that? Maria helped Min!" She snaps angrily.

    "Yes, Maria helped Min, but Min is the one who wants to thank the master." She explains, Min looks like she plans to argue so Maria just slips her out of the room and locks her after her.

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    "Okay, now just clean up..." She looks around the room and realizes that she doesn''t really feel like doing it. "One child will grow up and another will appear." With a loud sigh, she dips the rag into the bucket of water.

    After a moment of silence, a few knocks on the door are heard. Maria initially ignores them, but eventually opens the door to find no one else but Min. "If you don''t hurry up, it''ll get cold," Maria remarks.

    "B-But Min can''t go alone," Min squeaks with a sad voice.

    "Why can''t Min go alone?" Maria asks, confused. "What you tell the master is up to you-" Before she can finish, Min interrupts her.

    "M-Min scared alone! What if Alf not happy, what Min say then?" Her ears, which were up the whole time, now droop, and her tail sweeps the floor in a slow rhythm.

    "I''ll go with you, but then you''ll clean up here by yourself, okay?" Maria replies with a defeated tone and heads with the redhead towards the master.

    ****************************************

    Min and Maria stand in front of the table where Alfonse is sitting. The redhead reluctantly sways her tail from side to side, her eyes darting between the food and Alfonse''s face. Maria elbows her in the side to calm her down; after all, she mostly prepared the food, so it''s clear that the master will enjoy it. Min calms down a bit and loudly swallows, likely nervous about the presence of milk in the food.

    Alfonse scoops up some porridge with a spoon and blows on it since the food is already cold, indicating a force of habit. Min leans slightly towards Alfonse, and he smiles at her. Maria, with a sigh, pulls Min back.

    Alfonse finally puts the spoon in his mouth, and when he swallows, he nods at Min with a smile. She immediately lights up with joy and turns to Maria; her tail now happily sways from side to side, and her ears are upright.

    "Now you can go clean up the mess," Maria nods with a smile, and Min jumps with joy, running out of the room with a smile. As soon as the door slams behind the redhead, both Maria and Alfonse lose their smiles.

    "You cooked this, didn''t you?" Alfonse asks, even though he already knows the answer.

    "The cooks messed her up, and if I hadn''t made the food instead of her, you''d either be dead or without a meal."

    "Hmm, can she at least follow a recipe?" Alfonse asks without dwelling on what the cooks did to her.

    "I would say yes; what she created before looked quite like the picture in the book. Not that it''s any great achievement."

    Alfonse rubs his hands. "In that case, a little trip to the town would suffice," he orders with a smile. Maria sighs, and Alfonse quickly adds, "No, I don''t take that as an answer."

    Maria pierces him with a look. "Who am I to go against my master''s wishes, but wouldn''t a short walk benefit your highness more? After all, the sun would be very beneficial to your health." She tries to argue.

    Alfonse deepens his smile and squints his eyes. "As you surely know, I am very busy, and since I belong to the heirs, someone might try to kidnap or kill me." He supports his chin with his hands.

    Maria tilts her head slightly. "Your servant can also fill out documents, and if my information is correct, you should have a brooch that prevents such events." Maria continues.

    "But I don''t want to go anywhere," he pouts and leans back in his chair. Maria sighs; obviously, her arguments have run out.

    Honestly, she doesn''t understand why he''s so adamant about refusing to at least try the brooch. Yes, the master is a bit skeptical, but Maria strongly doubts that his father would try to kill him or harm him in any way. After all, the other brothers carry it whenever they go out. They are magical artifacts that protect their wearers. They are also the strongest in all of Aashiile, created by Ririana herself - the sorceress because of which there is a barrier placed over the entire island, dampening magic and preventing anyone from leaving. If someone were to tear down this barrier... She would awaken, and history would only repeat itself. She would likely seek revenge, and since everyone who collaborated in her imprisonment is long gone by now... Surely, no one would stop her.

    Maria sighs; she has no intention of arguing with him further. "Right after lunch, I''ll take her to the nearest bookstore."

    "Oh!" Alfonse exclaims so suddenly that it startles Maria. "There''s a meeting tomorrow after lunch!"

    It doesn''t surprise Maria at all. "And when were you planning to tell me about it? Do you have anything prepared at all?"

    "Well, I wanted to tell you as soon as I found out, but I kinda forgot," he chuckles with a smile.

    "So should I go with her the day after tomorrow, or rather in the morning after breakfast?"

    "Probably right after breakfast; I''ll grab lunch in the kitchen in case you''re not done by then," Alfonse replies, digging through some papers. "You can also order her a new uniform while you''re at it."

    "Is there something wrong with the one she has?" Maria asks.

    "Wrong? It''s absolutely terrible!" he exclaims and pauses for a moment before continuing. "Don''t spare any expense; just have a new one made for her, probably two or three different ones so she doesn''t wear the same thing every day."

    "As you wish." Maria bows slightly and leaves.

    *************************

    When she arrives in the kitchen, Min has already cleaned up, and there is no sign of her.

    "If you''re looking for the shapeshifter, she packed up a while ago and went to her room," a dwarf''s voice comes from the other side of the room.

    "Thank you," Maria nods as a gesture of thanks in case she didn''t hear it. Maria hasn''t assigned a specific room to Min; she completely forgot about it. She''ll probably find her among the other cooks.

 #8 Deadly breakfast

    Rays of morning light gently pierce through the curtains of Maria''s room, if one could call it that. She changes into her dress and ventures through the corridor to meet the master. Throughout the journey, she feels like she has forgotten something, or rather someone. Maria stops and ponders, oh yes, Min. She stops in the kitchen, but there''s no sign of the redhead.

    "The fuzzball usually snores at this time," comes a voice from the other side of the kitchen, the same dwarf as yesterday. Maria nods in gratitude and slowly makes her way back.

    When Maria reaches the fox''s new room, she knocks on the door, but it remains closed. She tries again, still no response.

    "Could they have passed each other?" Maria wonders, but immediately dismisses the thought. The only way would be if Min went out the main hallway, and she''s not that foolish. After all, getting lost in the estate is easy, but the main corridor is marked by a black oak floor, making it easy to know where to go. As long as you don''t leave it, you''re fine.

    Maria tries again, this time instead of gentle taps, she pounds on the door. There''s a sound like something falling to the ground, followed by limping footsteps and a pained squeal. Clearly, Min stepped on something she shouldn''t have. The door creaks open with a loud squeak, revealing Min.

    "Y-yes? Maria, need something?" she asks foolishly. Maria sizes her up with a glance. Min is in a white nightgown, her long red hair reaching the ground and sticking out in all directions.

    "Breakfast," Maria responds plainly, and the fox immediately realizes she overslept.

    "Aaa!" she exclaims in horror. "Min apologize, Min overslept! Min¡ª" Before she can continue her excuses, she is interrupted by Maria''s sigh. "Yes, yes, Min, hurry!" she squeaks, slamming the door in Maria''s face. Within seconds, it opens again, and Min is now dressed in simple brown clothes with a white apron. "Min is ready!" she proudly declares.

    Maria eyes her. "After breakfast, we''ll go to the town. The master wants you to have new clothes." As soon as Maria finishes, Min''s eyes light up, and her tail quickly wags from side to side.

    "Min, new clothes?" she joyfully exclaims. "But Min has no money..." She mumbles and lowers her ears, her tail now drooping like an unfurnished flower.

    "Don''t worry about money. The master has enough funds to buy you something."

    "But Min can''t accept this, Alf is too kind..."

    Whenever Min refers to him by name, Maria can''t help but smirk. Maybe it''s a cultural thing, but using his name, let alone a nickname, is... offensive. Maria takes a deep breath and exhales. Although Min probably means well, it feels like she''s looking down on her and her master.

    Maria swallows all the snarky remarks she wants to make and continues. "I''ll go prepare the money and the outfit for our outing. You go and prepare breakfast. Then wake up the master and wait with him until he finishes eating." Min seems eager to ask another foolish question, so Maria saves her the time by answering. "He has a habit of either tossing or hiding his breakfast." She replies, and before the redhead has a chance to say anything, Maria leaves.

    --------------- Min ---------------

    Min enters Alfonse''s room with breakfast. It''s dark, and if not for her sharp eyesight, she would surely have stumbled. She pulls back the curtains and opens the window, immediately leaning out to breathe in the fresh air. With all the wood and other nonsense Min has never seen before, it''s genuinely suffocating. However, Alfonse, deeply asleep, doesn''t seem to mind; it''s only she who has an overly sensitive nose.

    "No... Light..." Alfonse''s sleepy voice sounds, clearly not planning to get up.

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    She walks to the bed and pokes him twice with her nails on the arm. However, Alfonse, without any sign of willingness to wake up, continues to lie there. "Alf?" she tries to wake him again, this time more forcefully. The response is a grumpy grumble. "Alf!" she squeaks and shakes him.

    "Alright, alright!" Alfonse exclaims irritably, covering his head with the blanket. "Five minutes..." he mutters from under the fabric.

    Maria told Min not to be afraid to use force; would it be enough if she just takes away the blanket? With how tightly he holds it, he might lick the floor if she doesn''t let go when she tugs. Min grabs the blanket and pulls on it three times. As expected, she takes Alfonse down with it. However, he''s desperate to stay in bed and bundles up on the floor in the blanket. Min grabs his leg sticking out from under the blanket and tries to force him out, but in vain.

    "Min waking you up! Alf must get up!" she shouts at the resisting Alfonse, who fiercely fights for the blanket. Min looks around the room and notices a bucket of water; without a second thought, she grabs it and pours all the contents onto the blanket... and it seems to have worked. The soaked boy finally shows himself.

    ******************************

    "If Alf had gotten up, Min wouldn''t have had to use water!" Min protests while rubbing his back. Alfonse throws an offended look at her.

    "But you didn''t have to throw a bucket with a dead fish at me!" he exclaims angrily.

    "Min didn''t know there was a dead fish there! And why would there be a dead fish in Alf''s room?!"

    "It was a test, he failed, and it died overnight." He pouts angrily.

    Min dries Alfonse''s head; in the meantime, he has cooled down a bit and doesn''t seem as offended. "What did Alf want to achieve with the fish? Why is the fish dead?" she asks again.

    "I found it battered by the stream, someone probably tested its limits and then threw it back. So, I took it and tried to fix it," Alfonse replies, with a somewhat sad tone.

    "Alf talks about the fish like it''s an object," Min remarks. Although she doesn''t master the language perfectly, ''fix'' surely isn''t slang for healing. Alfonse doesn''t respond further; he looks quite thoughtful, and Min decides not to press him any more. After all, it would not bring the fish back to life and wouldn''t change anything, and frankly, she feels quite relieved. After all, if he turned out to be an animal tyrant, she wouldn''t want to stay with him twice.

    ******************************

    "Um... What is this?" Alfonse asks while staring at the breakfast.

    Min pouts offendedly. "Min prepares breakfast, and Alf asks silly questions?"

    "No, I just..." He tries to salvage the situation, but quickly realizes it won''t work. "What is this supposed to be?"

    "Maria said Alf should eat healthily, so Min prepares healthy food!" she proudly replies. Alfonse stares at the bowl of rice as if it were some strange creature. "Min eats this all the time! A good base for the day!"

    "That''s not exactly how you say it, but fine... a good base for the day." He mumbles under his nose and starts on the rice.

    "Min heard Alf is going to buy clothes." She begins uncertainly, but Alfonse doesn''t pay attention to her as he is currently choking on rice. He taps the table. "Hm?" She looks at him surprised.

    "W-water..." he exhales and immediately coughs. Min quickly brings it to him, and he swiftly takes it and drinks. "Ahhhh," he exhales. "I thought I was going to die!"

    "Alf doesn''t eat rice?" She asks in surprise.

    "No, it''s gross and dry!"

    "Alf, don''t insult the food!" Min says angrily and snatches the bowl from his hands.

    "H-Hey!" Alf reaches for it, but Min is quicker, taking a step back and keeping the bowl out of his reach. "Okay okay, I apologize to you, Mrs. Rice..." he apologizes to the food, and Min returns the bowl to him with a smile.

    "Are you done?" Maria asks, startling Alf once again. Min has quite good hearing, smell, and all the other senses; how didn''t she notice Maria?

    "Y-yes." Alf answers and places the bowl on the table. Min glances at Maria, not sure why, but she has an uneasy feeling that whenever she''s not looking, Maria is piercing her with her sharp eyes. But when she does look at her... she seems normal. If Min bothered her, Maria would surely tell her, right?

    ******************************

    "So, does it suit you?" Maria asks.

    "Why does Maria switch between informal and formal with Min?" Min asks confusedly. Maria gives her a piercing look and remains silent for a while.

    After a minute of silence, she interrupts with a calm voice, "do you want me to use informal or formal?"

    "I-informal, can Min use informal with Maria too?" Min asks eagerly.

    However, Maria doesn''t share her enthusiasm and continues with a cold voice. "You''ve been using informal with me all along, so the answer doesn''t carry much weight." Does it mean that the reason Maria is upset is that Min unknowingly uses informal language? After all, in Min''s language, there''s no such thing, so she didn''t consider it something to be cautious about.

    Min lowers her ears and stares at the floor. "Min sit in the dress," she replies stiffly.

    "Great, let''s go so that we''re back by lunch."

    --------------- Maria ---------------

    The entire journey to the town passes without a single word. Not that Maria minds. Quite the opposite, at least she doesn''t have to listen to nonsense.

    "Did Maria sleep poorly?" the redhead asks after a long time.

    "No, I slept very well," Maria replies and completely shuts down the fox''s attempt to start a conversation. Honestly, she slept poorly, and even though the redhead didn''t bother her that much yesterday, for some reason, just her face annoys her now.

 #9 The woman named Mai

    The entire room is coordinated in white and blue. It seems that the seamstress, a goblin who sews here, is doing very well. The old ugly furniture has been replaced by white oak wood furniture adorned with hand-cut blue ornaments. Shelves that were previously stuffed with sprawling dresses are now filled with transparent decorative vases alternating with books. The floor is made of blue topaz, and Maria doesn''t even have to bend down to see that it is a very meticulous work, all sealed with ice stones that are very hard to come by. Perhaps a gift from the winter sorceress herself for the dresses. Maria doesn''t remember being here; pulling the lord out of the estate was always difficult, so she usually asked the goblin to come to them.

    "Does it fit you?" Maria asks.

    The fox in white canvas twirls around and doesn''t look particularly thrilled. "Min don''t like white, it gets dirty." The redhead grumbles and tries to wriggle out of the dress. But before Maria can stop her, the goblin returns.

    "What! Stop it immediately!" Goblin exclaims and stomps loudly. Startled, the redhead jumps and turns to the petite woman who angrily strides toward her. Despite her height, every step sounds as if an elephant is passing; long black hair in a ponytail slaps against the ground, and short red dresses lick the floor. "If you ruin it, you''ll pay for it!" She continues to rage. The fox can only muster a pleading look for help towards Maria.

    With a sigh, Maria rubs the bridge of her nose. "This is just for you to try the material and see how it might look..."

    "Oh," the fox blurts out and immediately apologizes to the goblin. However, the apology doesn''t seem to have softened her in any way.

    "If you weren''t here with Miss Maria, I''d kick you out immediately," she grumbles and lifts redheads tail, which the fox doesn''t like. Startled, she accidentally hits the dwarf in the face.

    "This is going to be a long time..." Maria takes a book from a nearby shelf and sits down in one of the armchairs.

    <hr>

    Maria closes the book as she reflects on it. It''s been a while since she could just sit quietly and read something. Although the story was short, it took her a little over two hours. However, with the sounds coming from the other room, where the two have moved to avoid disturbing others who might come, Maria couldn''t fully enjoy the peaceful reading.

    She stands up and goes to return the book to where she took it. On her way, she locks eyes with Nara. However, Maria pays her no further attention and, once she completes the task she set for herself, sits back down. This time, she picks up a magazine lying on the table. It''s not about anything interesting, but it might serve its purpose.

    "Listen..." Nara speaks up, seemingly on purpose, having kept her eyes on Maria the entire time. However, Maria ignores her and pretends to be engrossed in the magazine. Nara, being too foolish to grasp the real reason for not getting a response, tries again, "Um... Maria?"

    The raven-haired woman sighs and slaps the magazine on her lap. "What part of me not wanting to talk to you does your stupid head not understand?" she questions.

    The blonde looks at her confusedly. "Isn''t it over already? Mr. Heinry and Alf-"

    "Master," Maria corrects her, "is the least you should use when addressing him."

    "Master Henry and Master Alfonse are talking fine, and it occurred to me that you might know the reason behind why I treated little Master Alfonse badly. Do you care about it?" She asks as if the answer wasn''t clear.

    Maria rolls her eyes and leans back on the couch. "If you leave me alone afterward, then go ahead."

    The blonde hesitates for a moment, as if contemplating, but eventually starts speaking, even though Maria would prefer if she stayed silent.

    "It all started before I became a spirit..."

    **************** Nara **********************

    Seventeen years ago, Nara worked on one of the village farms. It was a very peaceful village in the middle of nowhere, hidden in the forest from the surrounding world.

    "Simon, could you fetch some wood from the shed?" asks a young dark-haired boy, around the same age as Nara.

    "That storm probably soaked everything, I guess..." Nara mutters, raising an eyebrow. "Didn''t someone here boast about how well it was built and could withstand even a storm?" she sarcastically inquires.

    "I definitely didn''t mention a storm, but I really thought it could handle it." He grumbles and puffs on almost extinguished flames. "So, if you could-"

    "I''m going, I''m going," she replies, waving her hand to hush him. "But if something eats me-"

    "Don''t worry, if something does try to, just scream, and I''ll be there in a flash!" he assures her, winking. Nara nods with a smile and puts a whistle around her neck. She grabs a hand-knit dark basket and heads into the woods.

    On the way, she picks up a few herbs and puts them in the pocket of her dress. It''s getting dark, and the clouds hint at another incoming storm. She should hurry to get home before the werewolves start transforming. She takes the same pocket and retrieves the key, unlocking the shed.

    "Aaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!" A painful scream echoes from the darkness of the shelter. Nara freezes in place, could a monster have gotten in here? But that''s impossible; Alec checked right after the storm ended, and there was nothing here. It''s also too early for werewolves, and nobody should be transforming in their shed. Another scream, accompanied by loud sobbing, snaps Nara back to reality. In the shed, there''s a woman giving birth.

    She immediately grabs one of the lanterns hanging beside the door, lights it with a quick puff, and opens the curtain. When she does, she sees two eyes staring back at her. She was right.

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    "Wh-who..." the woman tries to ask, but before she can say more, her eyes painfully squeeze shut.

    <hr>

    "Heinry!" Nara calls urgently. "Alfie!" she shouts while searching through the bushes.

    "Simon, did you find them?" Alec asks, running his hand through his dark hair. "Of course not," he answers himself when he doesn''t spot either of the children. "Damn it."

    "Is she awake?" Nara asks without turning around.

    "No, not yet," he replies quickly and bends down, probably trying to see if they did not left any trace in here.

    Nara grabs her head, her voice trembling. "Damn it, I promised her I''d watch over them."

    Alec leans down to her and takes hold of her shaking hands. "It''ll be okay-"

    "It won''t!" she interrupts him. "If those two die just because instead of watching them we went off to-"

    "No, the boys are fine. No blood anywhere, and the full moon hasn''t come yet," he reassures her.

    "You''re looking for these two?" A rough voice interrupts them as a man approaches them with slow steps. They''ve never seen him before. His long black hair contrasts with his almost bluish-white skin. Judging by the worn armor he wears, he''s likely a rogue soldier. He tosses a bag at their feet, and when Nara opens it, she finds the boys inside. "Those two goblins were hanging around the dragon rock," he informs them and turns to leave. Once she''s sure the boys are alive and well, it''s too late to thank the man.

    "Don''t say a word about this to your mom!" Alec orders the boys, and they both nod. Apparently, the man scared them enough that they don''t want to think about it anymore. Alfonse reaches out his arms, and Alec lifts him up. Nara takes Heinry''s hand, and they all slowly head back to the farm.

    "Did he do anything to you?" Nara asks Heinry, who just shakes his head in disagreement. "Then why were you in the bag? Where were you even going? And why?" She presses more impatiently now, but Heinry remains silent, staring at the ground. She stops and leans down to him. "Will you tell me what happened?" she asks again. Heinry just keeps his gaze fixed on the ground.

    "If he doesn''t want to talk, let him be," Alec speaks up from the front. "We can ask tomorrow after they''ve had a good night''s sleep."

    The next morning, Heinry told us that they were playing outside hide-and-seek. His brother broke the rules and chased after a wild rabbit. Heinry went to find him, and when they were attacked by a wolf, the man saved them

    <hr>

    "Say aaaa..." Nara instructs, and Alfonse complies. She puts a spoonful of porridge into his mouth, and he simply grimaces. "Oh, come on, it''s not that bad," she pouts.

    "Simon, do you want help with something?" Their mother asks from the other side of the room.

    "No, Mrs. Mai, please stay lying down, you know you shouldn''t get up much." Nara replies and tries to coax Alfonse into opening his mouth. "Come on... You have to eat something." The blonde continues to insist. However, the child refuses to cooperate in any way, turning his head to avoid another spoonful.

    "Let me try," Mai says with a hoarse voice, sitting on the floor across from her son. Her pale, sickly skin is painful to look at. Once black hair as coal, now gray as ash. After giving birth, she becomes weaker and weaker with each passing month, and Alec and Nara don''t know what to do. The doctor prescribed a special herbal tea that should delay her death until they find a cure. "Can you open your mouth for mommy?" She asks, and Alfonse obediently does so.

    "I really don''t understand why he won''t eat from me," Nara complains.

    "He''ll have to get used to it..." Mai responds simply, handing Nara an empty bowl. She looks at it with sadness in her eyes. Her raspy breath doesn''t sound good at all, indicating that she''s struggling even by sitting with them.

    "Mai-" Nara begins, but before she can finish what she wants to say, Mai interrupts her with a disapproving shake of her head. "He''ll get used to it, don''t worry." Nara reassures the woman in front of her, and even though she smiles, but her eyes are not smiling.

    A loud bang resounds, and shortly after, the door swings wide open. Alec stands in the doorway with horror in his eyes. "What''s hap-" Nara starts, but she immediately realizes what''s going on.

    "Rogues, there''s no time for questions, hide somewhere immediately!" He shouts and rushes to the cupboard, grabbing one of the old swords, "get into the cellar, they won''t find you there! And no matter what happens... Don''t come out!" He orders and runs out of the house.

    Nara quickly slams the door and grabs Alfonse. "Heinry!" She calls, and the boy quickly comes over. Nara takes him by the hand and leads them to the cupboard, pulls back a false wall, and sits the boys inside. "Not a word." She commands and looks at Heinry; even at his young age, he knows very well that if he doesn''t obey, something bad will happen.

    Nara pulls the wall back just enough so that they could push it themselves if something were to happen to her or Alec.

    "Mai, can you please-" She doesn''t even finish the sentence; the woman is leaning against the wall, barely breathing. "No, no, no..." Nara repeats to herself and grabs the woman''s face; she is deadly cold, and her breath is even slower. The shock from the entire situation is probably the final blow for her. "Come on, Mai!" She calls urgently and tries to warm her cheeks with fiery magic; the woman only opens her eyes a little.

    "Hide..." It''s the only thing that comes out of her. A blow hits the door, but Nara is so frightened that she doesn''t even hear it, and Mai pushes her away with her last strength. Another blow follows, and a painful scream echoes. A stream of red blood starts flowing from under the door.

    Terrified, Nara clenches her jaw, throws a blanket over Mai, and rushes to hide in the nook behind the stove. The door flies wide open, and a head rolls into the room. Nara muffles her scream and prays that the boys won''t witness this.

    Two men enter the room, surveying the scene. "Looks good in here," says the tall, fuller man with a dark beard. "Perfect for those monsters," adds the other, eerily resembling the first.

    It doesn''t take them long to notice Mai. They both smile and uncover her. "We won''t get anything from her; she doesn''t even look like a fire witch, probably a werewolf bitch" remarks the first man, bending down towards her. "She''s half-dead." He glances at his probable brother.

    "Maybe for meat...?" suggests the second man, bending down to touch her face. "Wait, this is..." He turns her head, examining her ears. "Looks like a human."

    "What would a human be doing here? Aren''t all of them in Millelia estate?" asks the confused second man.

    "It doesn''t matter; do you know how much we can sell her blood and meat for?!" the first man exclaims enthusiastically.

    "She''s half-dead; it won''t be much of anything," argues the second.

    "Even if you were to dissect a human corpse, you could only afford a house in the middle tier for their bones," the second man continues. "So that tip was right." He joyfully jumps up. "I''ll tell the boss!" he exclaims and runs out of the house.

    "Ugh," grumbles the remaining man. "Anyway, we won''t get much out of this." He mumbles to himself and leans towards her neck, inhaling her scent. "For someone who''s almost dead, you smell beautiful..." He caresses her thighs with his hand, "there is a lot of meat as well, maybe no one would be angry if I took some,", a loud cry comes from the cupboard, it is just for a second, but it didn''t miss his ears. "Well, well..." He hums towards the cupboard and smiles. He stands up and slowly walks towards the source of the sound, too absorbed in the cupboard to notice that someone is approaching from behind. On the way, she picks up the dagger the man dropped, tightly gripping it. His hands heat up, causing intense pain, but she must ignore it. The man opens the cupboard, reaching for the stone wall, and as soon as he stretches towards it, Nara thrusts the dagger into his throat. His body starts burning, she tosses the man aside, and bends down to the same spot, quickly pushing the panel aside.

    Heinry is sitting, his face dry and tense, while Alfons''s face is full of tears and snot, likely slipped out of Heinry''s grasp. "Come on," she extends her hand to them, and Alfonse jumps into her arms, while Heinry grabs her dress, and they all escape through the window. She doesn''t even look Mai''s way.

 #10 Deadly fire magic

    "Open your mouth, I don''t have all day for you," mumbles Nara, and when Alfonse again refuses to do as she says, she simply places a bowl with a spoon in front of him. "Just feed yourself then." She gets up from the table and looks around. They found a place to hide, but the cottage is in terrible condition. Dust is everywhere, and the air is stale; the old wooden furniture is eaten away by mold and almost falling apart. Even if she were to clean it up, it wouldn''t help much.

    "Simon, look!" Heinry''s voice comes from outside, and Nara goes out, with him rushing towards her, holding a cloth handkerchief with something inside it.

    "What do you have there?" she asks and approaches him.

    Heinry opens the handkerchief with a smile, revealing toxic berries. "Look what I found for you!" He bounces with enthusiasm from side to side.

    Nara reaches out her hands, and Heinry pours them into her palms. "Clever boy, thank you," she says with a smile. "Did you have some yourself?" she asks, and Heinry shakes his head in disagreement. "Let''s give them to the birds, okay?"

    "Birds? But these are for you," Heinry says confusedly, his expression turning sad. "Are they bad?"

    "Yes, these berries are for little animals," Nara replies, and Heinry thinks for a moment.

    "There was a bit of water, should I bring it?" he asks. Unlike Alfonse, Heinry is trying to help. Although Alf is younger, compared to what Heinry was like at his age... Nara sometimes wonders what she did to make him so different towards her.

    "You can, but be careful not to fall, okay?" She smiles at him, and he happily runs away. Nara straightens up and goes back into the cottage. As she closes the door behind her, she notices that the bowl of food she gave to Alfonse is exactly as she left it, but the boy is nowhere to be found. "Where did that little imp go again..." she grumbles while searching for something to cover the bowl, she will give it to Heinry, who will gladly eats it, better than wasting it.

    Nara takes some dirty clothes and checks the wardrobe to see if there''s anything there. The only thing she finds is a huge shirt; maybe if she cuts it, she could make something like quarter-shorts for the boys.

    Suddenly, there''s a knocking on the door. Did she not close it properly, and Heinry couldn''t get back in? With a sigh, she stands up and opens it, but instead of Heinry, there stands a soldier. Nara notices that Heinry is hiding in the nearby bushes.

    "G-g-good day," she greets, trying to appear as calm as possible. "What brings you here?" she asks.

    The soldier remains silent for a moment. "Have you seen a human woman with black hair around here? She should have two children with her."

    Nara clenches her jaw; Alfonse should be somewhere nearby, hopefully not revealing himself. Mai never spoke about her past, but if soldiers are still looking for her after all this time... "No, I haven''t seen anyone," she replies with a smile.

    The soldier sizes her up, not seeming to believe her. "Do you live here alone?" he asks suspiciously.

    "Yes," Nara replies, and when the soldier starts rummaging in his bag, she looks at Heinry and nods her head. He immediately understands that he should go hide somewhere else, farther away. It''s too risky for him to be so close.

    The soldier takes out a paper and unfolds it with his other hand, raising it so that Nara can see. "With this permit, validated by the seal of Geonal Aska Edrich Millelia, I will search your house. If I find nothing, I will leave," he says, rolls up the paper, and puts it back in his bag.

    "S-sure," Nara responds, stepping aside. Even if she tried something, she probably wouldn''t succeed, even without the sword around his waist. His armor looks ordinary from a distance, but up close, it''s evident that it''s anti-magic, a specially tailored material. Even if she managed to surprise him and do something to him... It probably wouldn''t end well.

    The man enters the room and looks around, then covers his mouth after a while. "Could you please open the window?" Nara looks at him for a moment, but as soon as she recovers, she opens all three windows. She heard that soldiers can be quite rough, but this one seems to be quite okay. "Thank you."

    The man looks under the bed, pushes aside cabinets, and partially opens all the cupboards and furniture in the room. She has no idea where Alfonse might be hiding, but it seems that for once, he managed something on his own.

    After a while, the soldier returns from the kitchen and stands in front of Nara. "It seems everything is in order. I apologize for the inconvenience, but orders are orders," he says, slightly bowing his head in farewell. Nara, relieved that everything went smoothly, takes a deep breath.

    The man opens the door, and there stands Alfonse. Nara feels her heart stop. Everything could have been fine. The soldier looks at him for a moment and then turns to Nara. As she tries to think about how to explain this, nothing comes to her. The man''s eyes dart between her and Alfonse, who casually enters the cottage as if nothing happened.

    Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot. Nara repeats in her head, why does this child keep causing problems?

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    Nara only innocently smiles at the soldier; he will probably chop her head off and drag the boys who knows where.

    To her surprise, the man just sighs in frustration. He rubs his forehead and turns to her. "You''re lucky, miss, that it''s me here," he says, and Nara just looks at him, confused.

    "W-what do you mean?" she asks, with a slight hint of fear in her voice.

    "About having the boys here, I know about it. Why do you think I''m here?" he asks, but Nara has no idea. "You don''t know?" he inquires when he notices her puzzled expression. "You must be kidding," he sighs again.

    "I don''t know, really, I don''t know," Nara confirms.

    "We received a tip that in the Hidden Village in the Confusing Forest, the corpse of Mai Geonal Naushe Millelia was found." The soldier says and closes the door. "What can you tell me about that?" He doesn''t pose it as a question, even though it sounds like one.

    "The village was attacked by rogue soldiers," she replies. When the man remains silent, she continues. "There was a human woman in the village who appeared out of nowhere; no one knew anything about her, but we let her stay with us because she was running from something."

    "There should also be two human children in the village, probably Heinry Geonal Mai Millelia and the other unnamed son." He turns to Alfonse.

    "Alfonse," Nara responds.

    "When this information reached us, expeditions were sent, but none found that village. A few months later, the barrier protecting it collapsed, probably because the forest couldn''t contain so many dead souls inside and released them, thereby exposing the village." He pauses before continuing. "According to all reports, a woman left the barrier, and the market showed that the children weren''t in it, hinting; the woman should be with the children." He continues, and Nara has no idea where he''s going with this.

    "Where are you going with this?" she asks.

    "You''ve been taking care of the children all this time, haven''t you?" He poses a question, and Nara simply nods. "According to witnesses, Mai was with you the whole time from the birth of the younger son, is that true?" He asks again, and she nods once more. "Mr. Heinry and Mr. Alfonse are potential heirs to this land. Did you know that?" This time, she shakes her head in disagreement. "I can give you only a week, no more."

    "A week for what?" she asks confusedly, for her life?

    "For consideration. In a week''s time from now, I will return, and if you and the boys are still here, I will take you to the estate. If not, I will pretend I saw nothing, and at worst, I will declare the boys dead." He says and prepares to leave.

    "Wait, wait, why?" She would never expect this; why doesn''t he just take her and the children back? They have been searching for them for so long, and if what he said is true, the boys are very important. Not only are they humans, very rare in themselves, but also nobles.

    "It''s just an order," he replies and leaves.

    If Nara understands correctly, if Alfonse hadn''t shown up, they could have stayed here. Especially if someone else was here instead of this man... He would probably drag the boys away, and her with them, or just kill Nara outright.

    <hr>

    Nara stands with the boys in front of the house. Heinry is doing laundry, and as for Alfonse... who knows where he is. It''s already getting tiresome for her how he constantly disappears and then brings problems. Honestly, tomorrow that soldier is supposed to come, and she''s considering leaving Alfonse here and taking Heinry with her. But would he even go with her if she decided not to take his brother? Not that they interact much, Heinry probably realizes that Alfonse constantly brings trouble, but they are still brothers.

    "Heinry, come here," she calls to him, and Heinry immediately leaves everything he''s doing, walks up to her, and sits on her lap. "Do you remember the soldier who was here?" she asks him, and he simply nods. "He offered to take you and your brother to your father tomorrow." Heinry doesn''t say anything, so she continues. "Do you want to go with your brother to your father, or somewhere else with me?" she asks him. Heinry doesn''t think for a moment and just hugs Nara.

    "With Simon, I don''t want to go to Dad," he says as he pulls away again.

    "Do you even remember your dad?" she asks him, and he shakes his head in disagreement. "And are you sure you don''t want to go with your brother?" This time, he nods in agreement.

    "I don''t want to be without Simon..." he mumbles, and she just smiles at him. "So tomorrow, when we wake up, we''ll go. We''ll leave your brother here, and the soldier will pick him up."

    "And won''t brother be sad?" Heinry asks.

    "Will you?" she asks him, and he thinks for a moment.

    "I don''t know, Alfonse doesn''t talk to me much..." he mumbles and looks at Nara. "And couldn''t we all go to Dad?"

    "I don''t know; the soldier didn''t say anything about me." Nara replies. "I''ll finish the laundry, so go play or do something," she says, and Heinry jumps off her lap and runs away.

    <hr>

    "Simon, Simon, Simon!" Heinry calls out in fear and runs to her, holding Alfonse''s hand. Nara turns around, confused, and what she sees terrifies her. A massive bear is chasing the boys. Both hide behind Nara, and the mother-bear approaches, angrily raising its paw.

    Nara quickly conjures a fiery shield, but the bear easily breaks through it with a roar. Her paw is severed, accompanied by a crackling sound, and the scent of burnt flesh fills the air. Fortunately, it scares off the bear, and it runs away. Nara turns to the boys. "Are you okay?" she asks them, and Heinry nods. "What happened?" she inquires, and Heinry just glances at Alfonse. Of course, she thinks to herself.

    "Are you okay?" Heinry asks, his voice trembling.

    "Y-yes, why-" She doesn''t even finish when she notices her reflection behind the boys. She touches her lips, blood dripping. Her insides seem to be burning, and the tips of her fingers are black, rapidly devouring the rest of her hand. She coughs and spits out ash. It hurts. She leans towards the ground, trying to stay on her feet. The fiery magic she used has engulfed her, spreading uncontrollably. Deep inside her body, she feels a burning heat, as if flames were smoldering within her. She screams in pain, but the sound of her voice is distorted, almost as if the core of her being has consumed it. The boys, shocked and horrified, watch as the magic becomes entirely uncontrollable. Nara tries to utter a few words, but each word only tortures her more. Her eyes are filled with desperation as she realizes she has become a victim of her own spell.

    In the moment she attempts to take a step, her leg gives way, and her knees send her to the ground. Though every loud breath is now a challenge for her. The burning in her body persists, as if adding another layer of flames with every passing moment. Flashes of fiery tongues are no longer just in her eyes, but it seems her entire body emanates from them. The boys desperately look at her, feeling helpless and incredulous. Nara tries to articulate some words, but pain and the fiery heat hinder her. Her own magic, intended for defense, is now consuming her. Helplessness and despair fill the air around them as Nara loses the battle against her own magic.

 #11 Bring the bad luck

    "When I woke up, I couldn''t remember anything," Nara says, pausing for a moment. It''s normal not to remember anything; spirits rarely recall who they were before they died. "I was assigned to Alfonse a few years later, probably because of my different appearance... Even without memories, I didn''t like him at all; I always had this feeling... I don''t know how to describe it. He just bothered me, so I switched to Heinry." She finishes, looking at Maria.

    "What about your memories? When did they start coming back?" the raven-haired girl asks.

    "When you came," Nara replies, her gaze fixed on the ground. "When you took Heinry''s hand. At first, everything was fuzzy, but a few days later, it became clearer and clearer until everything came back to me. I asked Heinry about it, and it all matches."

    "Probably because you felt fear for Heinry before his death, so those memories returned by the same feeling," Maria speculates.

    Nara turns to Maria, staring at her intently before continuing. "I would say the same, but maybe it''s also because you look quite similar to Mai."

    "Like Mai?" Maria asks, puzzled.

    "In the face, I could easily mistake you for sisters," Nara tilts her head to the side. "I don''t know if you remember your memories, but perhaps you''re from the same lineage."

    Maria ponders, "maybe, who knows."

    "Don''t you have your memories back?" Nara asks, looking a bit surprised. "I honestly thought you did."

    "Why did you think that?"

    "Well, I read somewhere that you said so," Nara continues.

    "As far as I know, there shouldn''t be any records about me," Maria argues.

    "Really? Then I must have been mistaken..."

    "Probably," Maria stretches, her body stiffening from sitting too long. "By the way, what do you want me to do with this information?" she asks casually. "Do you want me to tell Mr. Alfonse?"

    "I would be very grateful if you did."

    Maria just raises an eyebrow. "Do I look like a pigeon to you?"

    "Well, no, but¡ª"

    She doesn''t let Nara finish and cuts her off. "Maybe I''ll mention it, but I don''t know if he''ll be interested in any way. Maybe yes, maybe no; he''s never mentioned anything about it."

    "Maybe he just didn''t want to talk about it¡ª"

    "I didn''t exactly ask, but that could also be a possibility," Maria looks around. "By the way, why are you here?"

    "After your cook finishes, I''ll go try on some new dresses and work on alterations for Heinry''s attire for the ball."

    "A ball?" Maria sighs in annoyance. "There''s supposed to be a ball, and I''m once again clueless...?"

    "Alfonse is invited as far as I know," Nara quickly blinks, "don''t tell me you didn''t know. If you don''t show up, it could be quite a mess; after all, it''s mandatory for all sons except the first two."

    "I know, but Alfonse doesn''t like going to balls, so he probably wanted to avoid it somehow." She pinches the bridge of her nose, not really believing what she''s saying. "Thank you, Nara."

    She just smiles, "if you want, I can keep you informed about similar events."

    "That would be great..." Maria sighs and rubs her face. "When is it supposed to be?"

    "In two weeks."

    "Two weeks, I could get him something by then."

    Nara scratches her chin thoughtfully. "If you want, I could give or lend you something from Heinry. Since he started practicing with the sword, his figure has grown a bit, and some of his clothing no longer fits him. Alfonse, if I''m not mistaken, is slightly smaller, so his old clothes might fit him." She quickly extends her hands in front of her. "Of course, I won''t ask for anything in return. It''s probably the least I can do as an apology, even though it''s probably too late."

    "Why didn''t you say anything earlier? You''ve known about this for quite some time."

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    "Well... I felt awkward about it. But as time goes on, it still bothers me."

    The door bursts open, and the dwarf literally kicks Min out of the room. "Next!" She yells, her squeaky voice echoing throughout the room. Her vocal cords don''t sound good at all.

    Maria stands up, Nara imitates her, and both shake hands. "Until next time." They nod to each other in farewell, and Nara follows the dwarf back into the room from which Min just flew out.

    "Ah...!" The redhead exclaims as she slowly approaches Maria. "Min thought she''d die!"

    Maria rolls her eyes and heads towards the exit.

    "Wait, Miss Maria!" Min calls out and runs towards her. "Miss Maria, where go with Min now?" She asks as soon as she catches up.

    "Maria is going¡ª" She doesn''t even finish; how did she addressed her? Surprised, she blinks, quickly waking up from the slight shock and continues, this time at a slower pace so that the stiff redhead can keep up. "We''re going to buy a cookbook."

    "Books expensive! Miss Maria have money? Min no have money!" Min whines, rummaging through her pockets.

    "Don''t worry about money; a book is something Mr. Alfonse can afford." Maria continues as if nothing, but honestly, it made her internally happy, even though she tries not to show it. While it might seem mean, it''s better if she learns to address people correctly as soon as possible; if, for example, she were to address one of the older brothers incorrectly... it wouldn''t end well.

    <hr>

    Alfonse runs his uncombed black hair through his fingers; it''s almost reaching his shoulders. He hates it when someone else cuts his hair, so Maria always had to take care of it. However, with the approaching ball, he''ll have to go to a specialist. Maria didn''t want to disturb him at first while he was filling out the documents, but it doesn''t seem like he''s nearing the end. If anything, she''d say he''s dragging it out on purpose, judging by his mood.

    "How long have you known about it?" Maria breaks the eerie silence that has prevailed since her arrival.

    "A few weeks," Alfonse replies indifferently.

    Maria sighs, her tone slightly sharper. "When were you planning on telling me about it?" She asks, but Alfonse doesn''t pay her any attention and continues writing.

    "Honestly?" Alfonse leans back in his chair and stretches. "I didn''t plan on telling you, but I guess I''m out of luck now that you already know." He stretches grumpily and sighs.

    "You know very well that this will be a problem." She rubs her face. "Miss Kasandra will certainly attend, and Father clearly told you that you must attend." She continues angrily.

    "Well, I don''t have much choice now, do I? Is that all?" He leans back towards the paper in front of him and dips his pen in ink. "If so, good night?"

    Maria shakes her head but doesn''t plan on arguing. "Don''t stay up too late, or I''ll have to cover up those dark circles under your eyes again." She turns to leave, but pauses the moment she reaches for the door handle and turns back to the boy. "I met Nara in town today."

    "Nara is quite a character, isn''t she?" Alfonse scoffs, confusing Maria. "She told you about the ball, didn''t she?" Maria nods.

    "She also told me about your past; what do you remember?"

    Alfonse lightly bites his lip before answering: "Not much; my memories only start with Schmidtz." Before Maria has a chance to say anything, Alf steers the conversation elsewhere. "You won''t even ask how today''s meeting went?"

    "How did today''s meeting go?" Maria repeats indifferently, knowing the answer already. There wasn''t one because Allney didn''t show up.

    "There wasn''t one in the end because of Allney again." Alfonse grumbles, finally lifting his gaze from the paper. "I''d say it won''t be long before Father''s patience runs out." He looks down and scratches his head.

    "If it''s bothering you, why don''t you go see him?" Maria suggests. Alf ponders for a moment before rolling his eyes. Maria squints slightly, but eventually she smiles and wishes him a good night before leaving the room.

    <hr>

    As soon as the door closes behind Maria, Alfonse sighs heavily and leans back in his chair. He lets his hands fall along the chair and gazes up at the ceiling. With an annoyed sigh, he ruffles his hair, then with a loud thud, he rests his head on the table. He just stares at the floor beneath him for a while before slowly getting up.

    Drowsily, he staggers to the door and grips the handle. What if he meets one of his other brothers on the way? Heinry wouldn''t be a problem, but Haffrey or, God forbid, Mattezs? When an elf knocked on his door to inform him that today''s meeting is canceled, he felt relieved like never before. Just the thought of being in the same room as his brothers repels him, let alone breathing the same air as them. Whenever such a meeting occurs, he can''t help but entertain paranoid thoughts that one of them will bomb it. While using magic wouldn''t be possible, they would surely find another alternative. Sometimes he surprises himself at how long he''s survived. Why did he have to be born human? Even if he were a stupid werewolf, he''d still have some means of protection without transformation. As a human, he''s helpless... He takes a deep breath and exhales. He shouldn''t dwell on these things; rather, he should plan what else to create.

    Returning to the table, he reaches out to the corner of the it and picks up the glass of water lying there, taking a sip. He just watches its empty bottom for a while before placing it back in its place. Maria is right; he could go check on Allney. After all, he owes him a bit for always being kind to him when they were kids. But maybe it brought him bad luck; after all, everyone who is kind to him ends up badly. Witches, mother... Simon.

    "No, no," he murmurs to himself, sinking back into his chair. "It was all just a bad coincidence because I was a dumb little kid," he pinches the bridge of his nose tightly and takes another deep breath. "I''m calm, I''m calm," he reassures himself aloud.

    He claps his hands on his thighs and puts on a fake smile. "Allney probably just has his usual bad mood and apologized for it somehow; nothing''s wrong with him, nothing''s wrong with anyone."

    He stands up from his chair and strides purposefully towards the door, lightly tapping his hands as he opens it and steps into the dark corridor. A loud ''pst'' comes from the walls, followed by soft whispers. When this happened on his first day here, he couldn''t even go to the bathroom alone for a few weeks. Now, however, any whispering from the mansion''s walls doesn''t scare him; on the contrary, it calms him. If anyone were to attack him, the house would protect him, hopefully.

 #12 Meeting

    Alfonse walks down the hallway, dark walls whispering in a language he doesn''t understand. In the library he often visits, he read that the witches who wrote texts in the witch language here died and their souls likely remained trapped in this estate. Perhaps the entire house is just a big cluster of their souls.

    Alfonse hears voices, but these don''t belong to the house. He quickens his pace and catches sight of his Uncle and Allney. Alfonse stops and watches the whole situation from behind the corner.

    "Allney, we''ve told you several times that if you don''t show up for the meeting, I''ll strip you of all rights to this estate."

    Allney grabs his hand, his sleeve looks... bloody. "I..." Before Allney has any time to respond uncle notices and grabs his hand, lifting it up. Allney''s sleeve slides down, revealing a scarred hand, the scars fresh and blood smeared.

    "Disgusting, are you so weak that you do this?!"

    "Uncle, I..."

    Alfonse steps out from behind the corner, both of them turning their gaze towards him. "It''s my fault."

    Alfonse immediately averts his eyes; it''s not polite to look Uncle in the face. Both of them stare at him intently, Allney''s eyes pleading for help. Uncle is their father''s brother, as their father rarely leaves his study, he takes care of the household. He''s very decisive and strict, having fought in many wars and led many military actions... he detests weakness. Alfonse slowly approaches them.

    Alfonse quickly comes up with a lie. "I invented a new device and wanted Allney to try it out, but it got a little out of hand and... he got cut during the explosion."

    "What kind of invention was it?" He asks suspiciously.

    "It was a device that was supposed to automatically slice vegetables, I wanted to help the kitchen with cooking." Uncle stares at him for a while, then releases Allney''s hand, who quickly hides it behind his back. Allney stares at the ground.

    "Oh, like that! You could have told me, I would have sent a servant to try it out." Uncle responds and laughs loudly. "You''re a clever boy, Alfonse, so I''ll trust you. Many of your inventions are interesting and surely would benefit us. Lately, the pieces of vegetables in the food have been huge and hard to eat."

    Alfonse fakely smiles as he continues with his lie. "Yes, Uncle, I noticed that you have a problem with vegetables, so I wanted them to be small and easy to eat, it would also make it easier for the kitchen to have more time for other things, after all, chopping and peeling vegetables takes a lot of time."

    "Take Allney to the bathroom and help him wash up, next time you come up with something, tell me so we don''t have to postpone the whole meeting because of an injury." Uncle commands and smile, he always had a soft side for Alfonse as he reminds him of his grand-grandfather Krystoph.

    "Of course, Uncle." Alfonse response.

    Uncle pats Alfonse on the back before leaving, leaving Allney and Alfonse alone. Alfonse lets out a loud sigh. Allney looks at him with a sad expression and thanks him.

    "I don''t know what''s happening with you, but you should stop," Alfonse says.

    Allney remains silent, simply lowering his gaze.

    "Come on, let''s go wash you up," Alfonse suggests, taking Allney''s hand and leading him to the bathroom. There, Alfonse rolls up Allney''s sleeve and cleans his hand with a clean cloth. He then retrieves a wooden box and pre-prepared bandages from the cabinet above the sink. Applying ointment made from crushed medicinal herbs to Allney''s wounds, he carefully wraps them up.

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    "I thought you said you wouldn''t do this anymore," Alfonse remarks.

    "I... it helps me. I haven''t done it for a long time, just..." Allney trails off.

    "I won''t interrogate you. Just if you need anything, you can come to me," Alfonse assures him.

    Allney had often helped him when they were children, so Alfonse feels he owes him at least a listening ear and possibly some assistance. However, he doesn''t want to force Allney into anything.

    "Matyash wanted me to call Frezya, he said he wanted to talk to her," Allney reveals.

    "Why would he want to talk to her of all people?" Alfonse wonders.

    "I don''t know, but when I said I wouldn''t call her, he got angry," Allney explains.

    "Did he shout at you or something?" Alfonse asks.

    "No, he just told me I would regret it. And when I came back from dinner... my whole room was totally wrecked. He even stole the plans I had for the meetings and hung my cat on the chandelier... When I returned, there was blood everywhere, and..." Allney''s voice falters.

    "And you took it as your fault because you didn''t give him what he wanted," Alfonse concludes.

    "Yes..." Allney admits.

    "I''ll talk to him as soon as I take you back to your room," Alfonse decides.

    "Don''t do that, he''ll just tell you he won''t do it again, and then he''ll do something worse to me for telling you about it," Allney blabbers.

    "What do you plan to do then? Just let it be?" Alfonse inquires.

    "Even if I called her, she wouldn''t come right away; surely she''s busy..." Allney trails off.

    Alfonse sighs, realizing that''s likely not the whole truth. Matyash is quite... strange, but he wouldn''t wreck his room just because Allney didn''t want to call Frezya. Unless it was very important.

    Alfonse sighs. Maybe he could ask Frezya if Matyashe wanted something from her because why else would he go to Allney to ask her to come? Matyashe could simply send her a letter to come, so she must have refused, and that''s why he wanted Allney to call her instead.

    "Leave it to me; I''ll figure something out," Alfonse declares.

    Allney doesn''t say anything in response, but it''s evident that he''s quite scared.

    <hr>

    A few weeks later, everyone gathered for the meeting.

    "As you surely know, a lot has happened since the last meeting, and I''ve had enough of all of you," Uncle says angrily, slamming his fist on the table. No one utters a word. He shoots an angry glance at Matyash.

    "Matyash, we''ve heard that you haven''t been attending classes and instead, you''ve been wandering around the woods and constantly going somewhere," Uncle accuses, his voice so loud that Allney flinches.

    Then, his gaze shifts to Allney. "You! Teachers have complained that you haven''t been to a SINGLE class in the past month!" he shouts so loudly.

    He then turns his gaze to Alfonse. "You, stop doing everyone else''s work! It''s great that you help, but first, do your own work, and then, if you feel like it, you can help others!"

    Pointing his finger at Haffrey, he hisses, "You infuriate me the most! Others at least go to that stupid church once in a blue moon, but you haven''t shown up there for more than a year! You don''t do your work, and instead, you wander around the town as if there''s nothing else to do!"

    He angrily slams his fist on the table again. "Do you all find this amusing?! All you have to do is attend classes, go to church, and occasionally fill out some documents to learn something! Everything is arranged for you! Is that not enough for you?!" he continues to yell without pause. "You all have everything served to you on a silver platter. At your age, I was already riding into wars and leading battles. If someone sent you to the front lines, you wouldn''t last a day! Each of you has everything handed to you! Your entire life is already prescribed, and you don''t have to do anything! Each of you has a clear future for which many would sell their soul! What more do you want?!" He angrily kicks the chair.

    No one says anything, and they just wait until they can finally leave.

    "I''ve had enough. You will attend church every other week on Sundays. You will be obliged to participate in balls and all events, in addition to classes. Those who lag behind or fail to show up will get the tracker or be fired straight away!"

    The tracker is a bracelet that cannot be removed. The only way to get rid of it is to cut off your hand or have it removed by the one who put it on you. Whenever you stray, you''ll get shocked, and your position will appear on the map. It''s not something anyone would want.

    Uncle continues angrily, "This is not acceptable at all. Your sisters manage everything, which is also why I excused them from today''s meeting. There are eight of you, and only two are capable of doing everything correctly..." He sighs loudly and then continues in a calmer tone. "If it took up your entire day, or even just half a day, I''d understand if you tried to wriggle out of it. I myself sometimes skipped training to go to town for women, but this will only take a few hours a week."

    Uncle falls silent for a moment, and the room is filled with grave silence. Alfonse hears a tapping sound next to him; it''s Allney nervously tapping his foot. Alfonse discreetly glances from under his bangs at Uncle, which fortunately didn''t notice the sound.

    With another loud sigh, Uncle slumps back into his chair. "I''m ending the meeting. Get out, all of you."